Ocean

No matter what coastline I sit at, nostalgia floods my senses with the familiar smell of ocean drifting across a light breeze, smacking head first into memories of being in the Bahamas, Hawaii or Zanzibar. The scent of salt, fish and decaying organisms transports me to a dock on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas where a local man is selling fresh conch off his dingy, or catching large fish off the coast of Hawaii and sitting down to eat fresh snapper on a beach in Zanzibar. This allows me to reinstate peace of mind when I feel far from those I love knowing they're never that far away. Surprisingly I have felt quite at home here in Kohimarama thanks to a great set of Flatmates and I imagine it's going to set up a great summer filled with trips to the north shore, BBQ's and sun.

It's quite amazing how much a person can miss of the surrounding area when focused on driving. Having walked to the beach from my house (an exhausting 10min stroll) I've discovered multiple cafe's, a fish market and fruit stand along with the local wine store and a few restaurants. People are certainly recluses when it's winter here which is pretty mild if you ask me. Received a taste of the summer atmosphere last weekend when the beaches and cafe's along the shoreline drive were packed with people on the first bluebird day of Spring.

I watched a gentleman today comb the shore at low tide with his metal detector not sure if this was a true passion of his or just a way to occupy time. Another couple photographed him in amazement for about ten minutes and snuck a few of me as well since I was in a pretty interesting place making it look as if I was floating on top of the water where I sat. It made me wonder what these persons passions in life were. What did they enjoy doing the most? What did they find pleasure, gratification and fulfillment in and what if anything holds them back from realizing their greatest dreams. I applied this to my life and realized simultaneously that I'm currently living one of those dreams.

Apologies if this post doesn't have a lot of flow but I'm just pouring ideas and thoughts down at the moment.

I'm extremely fascinated with seeing how much The All Blacks rugby team is supported here. So much that one in five cars has flags or banner streaming from them, most Kiwi households have flags showcasing support throughout town and even fire engines on runs to emergencies have giant flags flying behind the blare of siren and light. Fans certainly bleed black down here. Sadly the Americans had their last game last night against the Italians but from what I've heard their team since last World Cup has improved substantially but it's going to be quite a number of years until they are potential contenders. One of my Flatmates just received from a client a pair of Finals tickets accompanied by a ride to and from the event, corporate box seats and dinner off-site before the game. For a Kiwi this is what they dream about at night. We shall see if The All Blacks make it to the final night at the end of next month. If they pull it off I'd expect a city wide bender for days if not weeks after.

Spring hockey starts on the 3rd and I'm so excited to be playing on a consistent basis through Christmas. My boys are about to start their season soon as well. Hopefully they can pull themselves out of the bottom of the NHL this year! Go Avs!