Dreamtime
My favorite tradition is traveling for my birthday. Visiting a far off land where I don't check social media or a phone- it was nice being away from many who go on about "Building a personal brand."
No, I met people who lived their lives without caring about vanity metrics. Auckland is sixteen hours behind the east coast. How is that possible? Australia is fourteen hours behind New York. Don't worry about it.
My sleep was disrupted before the trip and the first day was spent in bed. This is vacation and I could write it off as a "Mental Health Day". The fact I could sleep eight hours or more and take in what the city had to offer was quite the vacation.
I experienced dreamtime. This trip took me back to my first trip to Los Angeles. Not because I was in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. For whatever reason, my initial trip to LAX made me think about visiting far-off lands as I was further west than I had ever gone.
God forbid I find something enjoyable when adults simply wanted me to make money and get married. They never spoke of love or fulfillment. It was all about sex and money. Those are available along with the fulfillment of purposeful work and good relationships.
The first restaurant I saw in the heart of Auckland was Denny's. Really? I lost August 20 to see a restaurant disregarded in America? In Singapore I ate at Carl's Jr once. You cannot live on street food alone. I should have eaten at Kenny Rogers Roasters since they still had one at the time.
On that first trip to Los Angeles I had intense dreams. Probably PTSD related since I was stuck in divorce nonsense. My whole was turned upside down so flying to Los Angeles by myself was better than seeing twenty five therapists who had to hear the same ugly story.
My life felt like a police report then. Holing up in the LAX Holiday Inn took me away from school, too many therapists, divorce counselors and charlatans. There were no college fantasies. I was living my real life in Inglewood, California.
The dreams I had were school related. I saw classmates from the previous year. My English teacher from the previous year walked past. He had an individual gait and he was a rock in one of the shakiest periods of my life.
I would see him after returning and in Unholy Week when I hit bottom a few weeks later. When life is so awful that you don't have the strength to plot a suicide attempt- the book remains in stasis. Write it off as the worst hangover in history and I let time pass.
None of which has to do with Auckland. Between dreams of everyone who stayed in my hotel room returning to that room there was a Curt Mercadante double shot. I have met him, talked to him on the phone and enjoy what he has to offer.
In the first dream we were on a panel and I pointed out Vivian Vance was a few seats down. I mentioned there was more to her than I Love Lucy. There were better television options in Auckland. I have no idea where Vivian Vance came from since I haven't seen any iterations of Lucille Ball's programs in years.
The following night Curt returned. Did William Frawley? Now you're being silly. Curt has mentioned he can help people appear on local news as he has interviewed on morning television.
What job did he find for me? Announcing the Chicago White Sox. Not color commentary- I was the one who announced who came up to bat at Second Rate Field. He is a lifelong White Sox fan so it is not in my best interest to badmouth the last cookie cutter stadium; especially if I had a new position utilizing my public speaking.
Remember when I was in a foreign country for the first time? I enjoyed the people of Auckland. There were great parks, a lame casino (there were no sights or sounds that make them interesting places to wander through) a really good art museum with local artists and nightlife was not necessary. It was a Business District and a worthwhile trip.
Why New Zealand? I learned international flights are better for Gold members of United as my Silver Status led to little prestige. Long haul flights can help reach Gold Status although it is expensive when I buy all my tickets.
This country banned assault weapons after one mass shooting. In the United States there are politicians who say assault weapons are needed for hunting. If you are that bad at hunting; take up another hobby. There was a mass shooting the day I returned to the United States. None in New Zealand.
It was cooler; never cold. The real reason I wanted to visit a new country was no country handled Covid 19 better. There are rumblings of a return and I need to get this year's vaccination. I could collect my Covid 19 articles into a book and this trip gave the conclusion I wanted. With diseases: the story never ends. It was a fulfilling trip with productive conversations that kept me off the internet for a week. The sun still rose and set. Sixteen hours earlier although it happened.