Bojsey's Blog

photos of paradise!

2005-03-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

Photos here

I'll get some more up as these are from Jennys camera and there are still 360 or so on mine. So the dress up ones...the girls were trying to get to believe that they always dressed up their boyfriends so I gave myself up to them and I ended up looking like a fruity castaway! Was fun all the same.

This is one of my personal faves...

and this one!

To the beach with me!

2005-02-28T01:34:00.000-08:00

In two days I'm off to Mal Pais....can't wait to spend some time with two friends in the surf. I really do love how things come together and things have definitely come together for this trip...another friend who is already living in Costa Rica is driving down to me to pick me up and transport me to the north west. New love interests always add a certain spark to travel and this one..... well... I will remain premain pretty quiet about....why?...I hate diluting the feelings by sharing them with anyone else.
Anyways pictures to follow....prolly once I get back though...have learned once already that I find no place for a computer on a holiday.

Fighting and Discipline

2005-02-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

I made a trip out to Ocean Beach today after selling my Bang & Olufsen stereo to some fella from Bernal Heights. Loved that stereo but shit I never got the turntable working and the receiver just sat there after I hooked up speakers to my computer....was good to look but with my current attitude regarding spring cleaning it had to go.....have also pulled half my wardrobe out and stuffed it into a bag for a drop off to Goodwill.
Anyway...so out to Ocean Beach....went to see Hannah at Wises surf shop to pick up some board shorts for the Costa Rica trip. I really don't like shopping for clothes and tend to just pick out what I like without trying anything on. Getting home this evening I got the shorts out and tried them on....I laughed a little when I realized I had bought white nylon Billabong shorts that undoubtedly will be see through when wet!! This time last year I was at the same beach...Mal Pais...and wore a pair of short black running shorts..this year wanting to look a little more the surfer part I've gone for show everyone everything white 'boardies' sweeeet!
This evening I caught up with Hannah again we went to see Ong Bak. Wow...it's a pretty cool film. Lots of fight scenes that proudly state in the trailers "no wires, no harnesses".
I am in awe of the discipline required to become such a talented acrobat/fighter. Made me feel (as I'm sure it does most males) like I wanted to start training for Muay Thai.
I remember doing it when I was 15 and then again a few years ago...my memories of it?...busting my friends nose at 15 and dislocating my shoulder at 30!! I've missed the boat! I think i'll just stay in awe instead of in pain.

in Forever

2005-01-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Time slipped away.....haven't felt like writing anything here in such a long time. The year is new....travel plans, life planning, cleaning out the shit!!....so much the new year has in store.
I went for a massage at Kabuki Spa last night with a friend who works there. She hooked me up!! Nearly 2 hours of wet steam rooms, dry sauna, cold plunge 55 degrees...yikes!! and hot pools...I was so relaxed by the time my name got called for my shiatsu. went into this little room onto the butchers table and this little japanese fellow proceeded to beat the fuck out of me with his hands and elbows and what also felt like his knees! After fifty minutes of being treated like pizza dough he folded me into human origami and squeezed..the body responded with satisfying cracks and I felt like a new man. Somehow I fucked up my neck while I was in LA and this treatment set me right. I have decided to visit the Spa every Tuesday evening...it's like a mini holiday. Highly recommend.

expecting the unexpected

2004-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Home...finally. And it is home...I feel that this trip back to New Zealand made me realize more than ever before that this place is the place I call home. I'm not sure if I really want to be here right now but I'm happy to have found somewhere I can feel comfortable about planning a future. I'm not in the best frame of mind to be thinking of the future as nothing is ever certain and life is more often than not going to throw you something you don't want to have to deal with. In a sick way I'm kinda glad that I can still feel this way as I was beginning to think nobody could break my heart. So sink myself into work or overindulge in play and sometime soon it will all be behind me and I'll be left with a better understanding of who I am and what I need.....mmmm... what I need is a tall jack and coke!

Twenty years ago

2004-09-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a little strange all day today and it's only just now that I was reminded of the date. My father drowned 20 years ago today. I have been thinking of how I feel about the people in my life and how much I value them also how when I am not in touch with them it can affect my moods. Having a great vacation none the less.

Somewhere in the middle

2004-09-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Got back from up north the other day and am now back in Auckland. The north of New Zealnd is amazing especially my favourite beach up there..Taupo Bay. Regardless of the weather I always find it important to get in the water and taste the ocean, there is something so distinct about it and it reminds me of getting rolled by the waves as a child and getting sea water up my nose. Anyway it was fucking freezing so the swim didn't last too long but all the same it was great to get in. I've been giving some thought to having a computer on this trip and as good as it is for the obvious reasons it also irritates me. I think when I go on holiday I like to leave everything that links me with work or the thought of work way away from my leisure time. I miss San Francisco and realise how I have come to get attached to the city and the comforts of my life there. The old adage of "absence makes the heart......" etc, is ringing true with me. I woke this morning thinking I was in SF...it felt good.
Off to Coromandel tomorrow where we will stay in a house on the beach. I am looking forward to some long walks and another dip in the sea.

First Day

2004-09-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Posting is going to be sporadic. Been trying to find a wireless connection but 'no dice' I'm even writing this with text edit in hope that later today I will find a connection and post. When we flew in it was under the dark of the early morning so we couldn't see the city but upon getting the rental car, me navigating and Eric driving with the thin spacey veil of a valium hangover we head out to Mums place. We had luck on our side as I completely lost us on the map but we kept on and eventually we reappeared right on course! I haven't spent a lot of time out at 'Albertine' so nothing looked to familiar to me but we found our way and arrived to a freshly woken Mum. So good to see her. We talked and drank coffee and snacked as little. Eric and I took Greta (mums schnauser) out for a poo walk apparently she'll 'do two' and then she's all good to bring home! Mum then took us out for a drive and along the coast to Kawakawa Bay. It is so easy to forget how gorgeous this country is. We got out walked around a bit and then head off to Clevedon Oyster Farm. Picked up some delicious mussels and a couple of pots of oysters. Seafood here is so damn good! Had more dinner at a place called Bella on Ponsonby Rd.
So mostly it's all been catching up and adjusting to being here. Bithiah arrives tomorrow and then we are off up North where internet connectivity becomes a thing of the future! It'll be all dial up!
Cool, so I just hooked up a connection with IHUG here in NZ for a month. Shouldn't be problem getting connected anymore.....now I just have to find someone with a phone that doesn't need winding up!!
I miss ya mystery meat!!

Between work and a Holiday

2004-08-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Only 3 days till I take off for NZ and 3 days since I got back from Copenhagen. Had a great time in DK seeing the rellies. Went down to Havnelev one day with Ida, Hans Christian and my Farmor (fathers mother). Went to the grave site where my dad and Farfar (fathers father) are buried. This is the church
My dad died 20 years ago this September 16th and I still find it upsetting to go to his grave. I started to cry when I was there and wanted to hold it back, I went to take the watering can back to the faucet (we had planted a rose bush) and just let go. It felt good to let it out. When I came back my Farmor was standing there looking at the the stone so I walked up and put my arm around her and then I just felt so sad for her and the tears came on again. Fuck what and emotional little excursion that was! We walked around a little bit and then drove by the old farm. My Farmor spent 60 years out at that farm and has just moved into Copenhagen to a little flat by herself....she's an amazing lady who always looks the same to me even now at 92. The rest of the trip was taken up by family also but Per and I managed to steal away a night or two and headed into the city to see Craig Richards play. Bloody good night, even had a wee dance!
So the vacationing continues and NZ is days away. A month away from work is going to see me right. Always like the clarity absence of responsibility brings me.

Time to trip.

2004-08-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Only a week away before I take off for Copenhagen. It's a great little pre-trip trip. I spend a week in Copenhagen where I will meet my brother Per (I arrive a half hour before him at Kastrup) and then we catch up with the rest of the family for my cousins wedding. Per heads on to tour the Adriatic Coast after our family obligations are sorted and I head back to San Francisco for 5 days to prepare for a month long holiday back home in New Zealand. There are mini trips planned in NZ, to Peria (my friend Keshama grew up there) and we'll take a few day trips while up north, Cape Reinga, Ahipara,90 Mile Beach.
The North of New Zealand is beautiful and has so many great beaches to swim at. After 5-6 days up north we'll head back to Auckland for the weekend and early Monday drive to Whangapoua where I spent many summers at a bach on the beach. We have rented a house there within a stones throw of the coast. Same deal again with the days trips. A lot to see around Coromandel and many more beaches to check out, especially Hot Water Beach where you can dig into the sand when the tide is out and creat your own hot tub with the rising hot water from a thermal spring.
Than back to Auckland again to pick up Andrea and immediately back in the car to head South to Picton and the Marlborough Sounds. The house there that we have rented is located in a secluded cove. I am very much looking forward to going out for a row in the dinghy every morning to catch fresh snapper for breakfast. At this stage of the journey I am sure I will be re-thinking the idea of returning to San Francisco.
So anyway after the South Island trip it's back to Auckland where Eric and I will be getting ready to head back to SF.

Promoting and hating it

2004-08-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

So i'm not cut out to be a promoter! Not that I ever thought I wanted to be one...well that isn't strictly true. I've dabbled with the idea of it. I just can't and don't want to sell people on going to a party. I can't hand out flyers and say 'this is gonna be great you should come' because I guess ultimately I just don't give a shit. The worst thing is I realize what it takes to do it I just can't bring myself to spend every waking moment pushing and peddling flyers to people I don't know.
I was thinking how throwing parties has become a lot more difficult and you can no longer 'bank' on a crowd just because you work or are throwing a party at a cool spot. This rant is because I put together a line up and brought a performer in from out of state and it looked good on paper!
Tonight being the night of the event and we got a little under 150 people through the doors. Good if your club holds 100! Not so if it holds 500! So I am a little bummed out but mainly because the staff get bummed and the business makes no money and actually ends up losing on the whole deal. I think that is part of my recent thoughts on my stress levels also. I feel I may take on too much responsibility for things I am not responsible for but can't let them go. In a business such as the bar or club business there is always room for improvement and getting everything to run a lot smoother. Not everyone who works in a place like that sees it or feels the same way. I tend to think that I need to do everything as well as my own job...not saying that I do do everything but I sure as hell think about it and consequently worry about it. Not very healthy I am figuring out!
I'm off to bed to get a good nights sleep..........

Pangs of homesickness

2004-08-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

Only a month before I leave to go back to New Zealand for a 4 week holiday. Bithiah, Andrea and Eric are also coming down. When I was in LA last weekend I bought some old photo frames at the Fairfax Market. Tonight I painted them black and added a high gloss to clean them up. I was intending on putting nothing in them and then went to put some black and white photos of San Francisco landmarks in them. Thought that was really cheesy so that idea got nixed. I ended up going through all my old photographs from about age 20 till now. I decided to put in photographs that reminded me of really happy times in my life. There were many memories captured from my time in the West Indies on The Sir Francis Drake and ones from when I first met some of my closest friends in New Zealand. Whenever I get the photos out the inevitable happens....I get homesick and really start missing everyone that I don't have around me here in San Francisco. When I used to get this feeling I would pretty much start making plans to head back to NZ, I've done it 3 times before, just packed up everything and moved home. I don't feel like I could do that anymore. I don't know if the roots have grown too deep or I am happier here and the memories of life in NZ is enough to keep my spontaneous and often rash return at bay. I said to myself I will make no serious decisions about life, business or education until I return from NZ. I have a lump in my throat thinking about how I have grown away from my family,friends and country. I'm going to leave the photos alone next time I stay in on a Saturday night by myself! I think a month should quench any desire I have to move back.....besides I feel that things here are going in such a positive direction for me at the moment preceeded by quite a long period of stagnation. There are business possibilites on the horizon, an unexpected romance which surprises me more as it develops and the promise of some amazing end of summer sailing. When I think of the bigger picture all I really want is to be surrounded by those I love and a good breeze to fill my sails.
And a bottle of Sailor Jerry wouldn't hurt either....sans hangover!

The heat, LA and European boozehounds

2004-07-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

I went LA for the weekend to see my friend Keshama. It's was her birthday and we always try to be around eachother a day or two either side of the actual day. Well, she always makes it on my birthday and I shoot for the closest weekend to hers. Every time I go to LA it reminds me of why I don't want to live there and then when I come back here I think that it wouldn't be so bad.
I think it's just to damn hot and it takes 6 hours to get anywhere......but it's nice to be outside in the evening without a jacket. Still I'd have to be by the water if I ever moved. I really do like driving up through the hills and seeing all the cool houses that have been built in such small areas of land. There were a lot of them for sale and I couldn't help but think that fire risk would be a large factor in not wanting to live there. Anyway......hung out in a dog park taking Keshamas dog for a stretch and a run. Watched a game of 'touch frisbee' mmmmmmm don't know how I feel about 'touch frisbee'. Stupid game by the looks of it,played by people who take it way to seriously.
Since I've stopped drinking LA has lost a lot of appeal, it is such a good place to go out and get loaded! And speaking of getting loaded......working last night........the euro's have to know that yelling at you and waving money doesn't help. Fuck me if I tried that in France!! Music was good thought last night, some harder edged stuff going on rather than the 'soft option house'.

Need to go sailing...such a let down the other day when Eric and I got out to The Boate, set up the sails, motored to the end of the marina and then decided on the safety route and returned to the slip. I believe that there is no point in getting into a bad situation when it can be avoided. In saying that though we watched a bunch of young bastards take out a group of friends in 30 knots and they looked like they were having a fantastic time.
New rigging and a carbon mast for xmas please!

Live bands and rocking in SF

2004-07-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

I got out to see Sonic Youth last Saturday and then The Polyphonic Spree on Sunday. I think it was quite possibly the best weekend of music I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Sonic Youth were so tight it was mindblowing. A band that has been together 20 years and still manages to sound fresh and still brings an electricity to the stage is just phenomenal. I find that going out to see bands in Sf people don't usually dance they end up swaying, staring or shoegazing. Not so at Sonic Youth or the next night at Slims for Polyphonic. People were dancing and there was a huge energy in the venues both nights. With The Polyphonic Spree it's hard not to have a smile on your face. Their show is like seeing Jesus Christ Superstar on ecstasy and it's been a while since I necked an E......I think I prefer the Spree! Anyway I came off the weekend with a glow of having been given a great gift of live music. thank fuck for the collapse of Lollapalooza!

Life at sea and The Corporation

2004-07-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

I took last Monday off work and went out sailing with Eric.I think it was one of the most enjoyable days I have spent out on The Boate.It was pretty windy which was a bit of a surprise as it looked very calm when we were in the marina. The plan was to head out of the Golden Gate Bridge and have a look around and feel out how The Boate may behave in open water. Slowly planning for a trip out to the Farallon Islands.
I have to admit the Farallons are a little intimidating to me...what with great white breeding grounds and rough seas it's not the place to take an unexpected dip! Mind you in a 26ft yacht no time is a good time to take an unexpected dip. Anyway...back to Monday, so we decided to head to Angel Island and climb to the top. I like sailing to islands, there is something in it that makes it feel foreign and creates a sense of adventure.
We tied up at the dock with only one other yacht. If you ever go to Angel Island avoid the weekends and shoot for a Monday or Tuesday....no one else around and the deer come down and feed from the picnic areas undisturbed. After 45 minutes or so we got to the top. The view is absolutely amazing...photos don't do it justice. But check it out anyway some pics and the top......pretty cool.
So we walked back down and chatted about the state of the country, it's economics and the impending future not being so positive. The land of the free with opportunity abound just doesn't fit any more for me. I'm pretty positive with my outlook on life but I can't help but feel that the grass may be greener somewhere else. I know this about myself that when things start to get difficult and I'm not having such a good time that I pack up and head home....or at least I have done that in the past. Now I feel my roots have dug deep and it will be more difficult to leave but not impossible, and I don't want to wait until it may become impossible. But i'm straying......we got back on The Boate and stretched out looking across Raccoon Strait and the glassy waters. Seals heads were popping up for air as they fed....must have been 20 or thirty we spotted. We hoisted sailed and pushed off from the dock not wanting to disturb the peace with the outboard. As we slowly sailed back out into the bay my thought was "maybe I want to be back living on the ocean". I do love it but find it to be a little removed from 'real life'. It was 11 years ago that I was sailing the West Indies and living aboard the S/v Sir Frances Drake (now a dive site somewhere off St Maarten).
I have always thought of going back there and trying it again and I'm not sure what turns me off the idea....I think of it as escapism but a sweet life nonetheless.
Anyway with those thoughts in my head we sailed home to Berkeley Marina.
Last night I went to see The Corporation with Pia and the feelings of wanting to escape arose again. I lived in Sydney 14 years ago when the environment was a huge deal as the war against the greenhouse effect was big news and protection of our planet seemed more prevalent than it does today...i'm sure that it is still the same...I just don't pay as much attention to it. The movie showed sweat shops and pollution and greed and destruction of the earths resources and all I could think about was sitting out at sea not wanting to be a part of it. Wanting to live 'off the grid'. So where does living with a conscience start I asked myself....what am I responsible for? I don't know the answers but I think it may be easier to find them having removed oneself from the center of the shit pile......I'm ranting....The Corporation depressed me but I think that it's a valuable documentary that should be seen.

Ok to work!

Around the World

2004-07-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

I just came across this map generator. You input where you have been and it spits this out

create your own visited country map

Kinda cool. Makes me realize how much more there is to see and do out there though.
Better start saving for the year without work.
Sonic Youth in a little over a week!!

Tax me!

2004-07-03T00:33:00.000-07:00

I have been getting more and more frustrated with getting my paychecks. It seems that I should just give the Government all my fucking pay and let them give me what they want. Well....I guess it's kinda working that way now! I really don't mind paying taxes but the amount I pay seems to be climbing, I'm never going to stay in this country long enough to see the benefits of S.S payments but damn I sure pay enough into it. I can't help but feel that my taxes are fighting wars not benefitting my community. And now I hear sales tax is going up! Guess I'll be happy next April when I hopefully see a return.

We wanna get loaded..and have a good time....and we wanna be free...

2004-06-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking tonight how annoying some people become when they drink. I have to be honest and say that when I was drinking (occasionally heavily....well...more heavily than occasional) I don't think that I was as annoying as I find some people today.
It's not the repetition or the slowed and slurred speech, there just seems to be an element of complete hopelessness about them.
I 'm not preaching or saying that I think booze is bad and certainly not suggesting that anyone should stop...although for the sake of some of my friends health I wish they would at least slow down so I get to be around them when they are old and we can recount the 'good ol' booze days' together while watching our own kids deal with the heinous sweaty hangover that hopefully I will never experience again. About 5 months ago I just stopped drinking.....today I feel great. I felt great then also, just not as often. I don't tell other people they should stop and I don't get angry about it...i.e I am not a dry drunk. I think I have just reached the point in my life where the people I am around don't want to get loaded and I like that. As I spend more time not drinking alcohol I seem to like myself a whole lot better as well. I'm sure there is some AA blog I could've posted this on but I don't want to have to drink my words after my month back in New Zealand where the peer pressure will be high...'wadda ya mean ya don't drink...you a fuckin sheila or sumthin"

Recent Rash

2004-06-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

After being sent a recent rash of blogs written by Americans now living or travelling in New Zealand and reading what they have to say about 'my' country I wanted to get my voice out there and say what I think I think about living here. Truth is I am slightly jealous that they are there and I am here. So in the coming days/months......I'll try get it out what I love about being here, what I miss about being there and the little things that happen in between.