My Pad and the Skybar Parties

Wow, it's been a while again since I posted, I've been so busy with work the last month. To start off the winter season here I decided to throw a trilogy party at the bar with three themed nights three weeks in a row: Miami Vice, James Bond, and A Night at the Playboy Mansion. For the last two Wednesdays there have been Miami Vice and James Bond. The parties were a lot to plan and get decorations for on top of my normal load of work, but they have been a huge success and tons of fun! Miami Vice was great, we all dressed up in cheap 80's sport coats and played 80s tunes all night. Everyone had such a great time!

(Dave, another bartender with Nikki and Anna, two friends (left). Me with Beth and Dave, the three bartenders on that night! (right)

(Some hard lines of icing sugar and two cool dudes)

Next was James Bond. All the bartenders dressed up as Bond wearing our bow ties and carrying a PPK. Brilliant! Quite a few people dressed up as villians and other Bond characters, such as our door man as Oddjob, a girl as Goldfinger, and Jaws...

(Me with 'T', our doorman as Oddjob, and Barbora, one of our bartenders.

It was an epic night, and everyone said it was the best Bond party they ever went to. We played the Bond theme periodically and snuck through the crowd with our guns. It was so much fun! I went to bed at 9am that day.

Next Wednesday is the Playboy party and I hope everything goes ok. I got a Hugh Hefner robe for myself, some pink and black balloons and a few of my female friends to dress in provocative bunny outfits.

Now, as promised some pictures of my cool flat! Its one of the best flats I've ever had. Not only is it a 5 min. walk from town and has an incredible view of the lake and the mountains, it has a spa pool and a sauna! Additionally, the basement floors are heated tiles and we have a big screen plasma TV. My flatties are really cool too! Its such a great set up, I don't want to leave. Chris Payne and his girlfriend Kat are my flatties. Chris is a genuinely nice guy from NZ and helps me out at Skybar. He's a professional bartender and knows his shit. Kat is a lovely girl from Ireland and is a pleasure to be around. I feel so lucky and I don't want it to end!

(Our Front door and view looking down on QT, and, of course, our spa, and BBQ.)

(Our living room and the door to our sauna)

(Our living room, kitchen and TV, and our downstairs bathroom with its' cool tile work)

(Chris and Kat, and Queenstown Wharf after our first snow)


(Me with the Flatties in our living room)

(The view from our front porch, and snowy mountains on Lake Wakatipu from the QT waterfront)

Millonare for a Day...

Yesterday was probably one of the most memorable days of my life to date. You will not believe what I got to do...

My boss, Al Spary, owner of Skybar and 6 other bars in the region, not to mention liquor distributors, liquor stores, and countless real estates, called all the bar managers for an all day meeting. He didn't describe the events of the meeting, but just instructed us to get a taxi at 8:30am.

We arrived to his estate to find three helicopters with their rotors going and were just told to get inside. I'd never been in a helicopter before and always wanted to, so you could imagine how excited I was!

(Kieran, our manager, and Adam, Angelo, and Dan, other Bar Managers)

So here, at 9am, and after being handed an ice cold Heineken inside a helicopter, we took off and began what was to be one of the best adventures I've had to date. Immediately, I was amazed at how versatile these machines were and how quickly they could gain altitude. In no time, we rotated 180 degrees and were 2000 ft up, moving West at 105 Knots.

We headed toward Glenorchy and the Routeburn Track and within 30 seconds traveled the track that took me 3 days only a few months ago. During our initial flight, we flew close to the mountains getting views I only have had in my dreams and that you saw in Lord of the Rings: mountain peaks and ridges running underneath you and opening up into large valleys. I was in the front row seat and experiencing these first hand.

(To Glenorchy via Chopper)

(Routeburn Track from the air)

(Glenorchy, top left, and On the way to Milford)

Next, on the radio I heard, "Al, you wanna go through Milford?." I thought holy crap, we are going through Milford via helicopter, a trip people pay 700 dollars for! We descended through clouds and valleys and passed snow capped mountain peaks in the morning sunlight on our way to Milford, a convoy of three choppers, on a mission.

My third visit to Milford was of course spectacular in the air. Snow topped peaks and calm deep waters below made up the visual stimuli. We stopped for fuel there and then went straight for Bowen falls. Our pilots took us vertically up the falls right next to the water, and turned around and went straight back down toward the ocean floor! Shit! My stomach was turning and I felt like I was dreaming!!

We continued out toward the Tasman sea winding close to the glacial carved rock faces and fern trees. We reached the coast and flew about 100ft up really fast over waves breaking on the coastal rocks. We even found a huge seal colony that we whisked by. Oh my god, what an experience! And it gets better...

There were two huge rocks out at sea and our pilot put the chopper sideways through the middle of them! We followed the coast for another 10minutes and landed on a remote beach only accessible via helicopter or boat.

(The West Coast with Dan and Adam)

We had another beer there and enjoyed the scenery before we hopped back in our cool transport devices and were off. Now up to Mt. Aspiring National park into the glacial capped alpine peaks. We flew just barely above rocky snow covered peaks before Al told the pilots to land.

(Bar Managers: Dan, Angelo, Adam, Rob. Right: All of us enjoying Bollinger Bubbly)

(Al and I)

We landed in the middle of nowhere on a glacier and then broke out a case of Bollinger Champagne! Man, Al has style! He really knows how to enjoy life-a completely different lifestyle being a Millionare. I just couldn't believe it! Here we were in the middle of the Alps in New Zealand, hopping out of helicopters and downing cases of $150 bottles of bubbles. I just felt unreal, like all of the South Island was our playground, like this magic land that we were treading up through the air and exploring like you'd do in a dream. Going anywhere you wanted to go, and doing anything you wanted to do. I got to experience that and I still cannot believe it. How lucky I am. Wow. To think if I'd never left my cubicle in the states and came down here...I just can't fathom what has happened here.

We took off from there, flew up to a high valley glacier and flew right next to it, admiring its giant crevasses and beauty. Again, our pilot, who I'm told is one of the best in the world, flew really close to the glacier, pitching downward toward the snow capped crevassess...man. Maybe I'm still dreaming.

We winded our way through canyons heading toward the East coast, stopping for fuel while refilling our glasses of champagne. We made it to a small old mining town called Dansey's Pass, parked our helicopters and went into the pub. We dried our feet by a hot fire and sat down to have some lunch. I can hardly eat from excitement.

After lunch we took off again and went to St. Bathens, another small mining town in the middle of nowhere. It was just crazy, parking our helicopters and zooming up to these pubs. People couldn't believe us, they were taking pictures of us like we were celebrities. It was then I really felt like a rock star. I got to feel what it was like to actually be famous, a Millionare. We just parked our choppers wherever there was space in open lots. It was so laid back. We did more shots at the Vulcan lodge there and just got back in our flying machines to head to the next pub. We were on a pub crawl all over the South Island, via helicopter. Man, what a trip!

(Maniatoto Valley from the air near sunset, NZ's Big Sky Land)

Flew up to the final pub, the Cadrona hotel and ski lodge, about 4pm to find seven people staring at us and taking pictures. You don't know how cool you feel when you get out of a chopper! Millonare for a day, mate. Wow.

This day will last in my memory forever and probably won't be easily topped. I work my ass off for Al as all the bar managers do. He expects a lot, but then he does things like this. Gives you experiences that money can't buy, well, my money anyway. I am so lucky. It was the first time he'd done this for everyone, I was in the right place at the right time. We'd clocked over 4 hours of flight time, and you could tell even the pilots were having fun.

What a way to experience New Zealand.

Forward Thinking

I watched a movie that has changed the way I think about things. Its an American film called "What the Bleep do we Know?" about quantum physics and how that applies to our lives. Synoptically, this movie discusses how our thoughts dictate our reality and how we can be in control of our environment. They also explain how they have scientifically proven some examples of this.

One such example is Dr. Emoto's work on photographing the water molecule. Dr. Emoto took water from the same source and put it into several different bottles and subjected these bottles to different thoughts and ideas. For example he put a label on one bottle called "Thank You." On another he put "You Make Me Sick. I Will Kill You." The next day Emoto photographed the water molecule with a microscope and got strikingly different images. "Thank You" presented a beautiful, symmetric crystal, while the other was distorted and discoloured. Just the thought that he put on that bottle physically changed the chemical structure of a water molecule! If the body is over 70% water, imagine what your thoughts can do to you...

He also had water subjected to different music, and names of world leaders.
Read more about this experiment here: (http://www.wellnessgoods.com/messages.asp).

I'm starting to believe now more in personal affrimations, optimistic tendancies, and treating others better. Try it. They also talk about in this movie that the synaptic interfaces in the brain are conditioned to certain paths that dictate how we react to situations. We react how we have in the past. Changing our thinking will weaken these links and form new links in the interfaces which will, in turn, change our behaviour.


I've still been really busy with the bar. I've really turned my focus and energy on managing staff. I'm learning how to do this bit by bit and hoping that this experience I can carry on to any line of work. I hope if I can manage a bunch of crazy bartenders, I can manage a group of nerdy engineers any day! I've also attended a manager's seminar through the Otago Polytechnic Univerisity here and learned a great deal on the subject. I will follow the steps necessary and eventually get a internationally recognized General Manager's Certfificate. It costs about $400 but I figure this is a good thing to have. I'm also thinking of attending a professional bartender's course which will give me an internationally recognized credit to the bartender's guild. I guess I just like learning in general and I figure if I do anything, I want to do it well. I'm also updating the website now (or supposed to) so feel free to join in: http://www.goodbars.co.nz/bars/GoodbarsHome/Skybar/tabid/58/Default.aspx

Ski season starts soon here (in about 5 weeks) and the whole town is buzzing about it. I don't expect the snow or the terrain to be anything to write home about, but I think it will be a fun experience nonetheless.

I also have more news to come as I'm moving into a new primo flat with a plasma TV, a spa and a sauna overlooking the lake! Stay tuned.

Holiday with Mom and Grandma

Today I saw them off and now, naturally, I'm a bit sad, realizing that I don't exactly know when I'm going to see them again. We had an amazing time, bonding with eachother over a very relaxing and well needed [for all of us] vacation away. For me, we saw much of the same places I'd been. However, I was still happy to revisit them in a different season, and thoroughly enjoyed being the tour guide. I tried to expose everyone to a bit of kiwi culture by trying out my new accent, pointing out customs, words, and foods. The last night we even had the treat of a home-baked Pavlova, a traditional kiwi dessert made from egg whites and sugar and topped with cream and fresh fruit, such as kiwi or strawberry. Our chefs and hosts were the amazing Rob and Debby, the fantastic kiwi family that so graciously invited me into their Wellington home when I first arrived in NZ.

(Debby's Wonderful Pavlova)

Our holiday started in Queenstown with Grandma and Mom, and Mark and Tim a day before, getting off the plane and making their first steps in the Southern Hemisphere. I introduced them to Queenstown and next we headed to the famous Milford Sound for a boat cruise. The weather was not as desirable as when I was there a few months back, but nonetheless, it was spectacluar. We also make a quick stop to the glow worm caves in Te Anau before heading back to snowy Queenstown.

(Milford with Mom and Grandma, Tim and Mark)

We went out to a few bars as I showed them Skybar and gave them the entire experience by lighting the bar on fire and performing like an deranged idiot.

(Skybar Shananagans)

We parted ways with Mark and Tim the next day as they were planning on going up to Mt. Cook and travel a bit faster to get to the North Island. Our trip continued up the West Coast of the South Island visiting Franz Joeseph Glacier and the reverent Pancake rocks. We were able to meet up with Mark and Tim again in Franz Joseph for a meal and to trade some stories. In Punikaiki, near pancake rocks, we stayed in a private, calming wooden cottage buried in the rainforest.

(Franz Joseph Glacier, Punikaiki Rainforest, Pancake Rocks)

Next, we made a very special visit to one of my old professors from Montana State. Dr. Mike Wells and his wife, Phyllis live on the West Coast 6 months out of the year and spend the other 6 in Montana. After not seeing eachother for 5 years, we caught up in New Zealand, of all places. We had a fantastic visit with Mike and Phyllis and were touched by their hospitality and their beautiful home, 50 yards back from the Tasman waves.

Sunny and warm Nelson capped off our South Island experience, were we made a stop near Abel Tasman National park for some views. We took the Picton Interislander Ferry up to Wellington and had a very pleasant stay with Rob and Debby before we had to say our emotional goodbyes.

(Mom and I near Abel Tasman National Park)

It was great to get out of Queenstown and see NZ again. I think when you're working in QT, you get into this zone that you can't think out of. Being out, I was re-inspired to both travel NZ and to try out some different jobs. I'm not making any moves yet, but now I'm thinking of looking for new jobs elsewhere, possibly returning to engineering. We'll see how it goes for the next few months. I'm coming up on my 6 month mark here. Wow, I've been here that long! *sigh*...Time flies.

My thoughts on a few things

I just have to say that I really enjoy reading so many of your comments and I greatly appreciate all of the compliments. I can't believe how I've inspired so many of you to write to me about how you are now thinking of traveling, or changing they way you live your lives. I've just realized how one person's actions can affect so many other people's lives. I hope everyone can acheive happiness and feel as if they are free in life. All it takes is that first small step.

Back in the US when I was daydreaming at my computer screen, I thought of working in Switzerland, living in Spain, or New Zealand and it all seemed so far fetched, like a dream, like it could only happen to those special people. Now that I've come down here, made that first step, and met people that have traveled the world, the dream has morphed into reality, into reach. It doesn't seem so hard or restricted anymore. I just hope all of you take steps toward dreams in your life, even if it's small steps.

My mom, grandma, and my friend Mark from Helena, MT are going to be here tomorrow and I'm really excited! Two people, Mark and my grandma, have never traveled outside of North America. They are coming half way around the world to visit, traveling outside of their comfort zones. I hope to broaden their view of traveling, and on life.

Recently, I've had car trouble, phone trouble, and a staff member quit all putting me in a bind for my upcoming two week vacation. For some reason, I'm not stressed out about all this. Back home, I would be worried to death and stressed. Here, I just keep believing that somehow things will work out, and I'm still generally happy. I think its just that I still believe that I'm on holiday and things are all ok, as if my 'real' life is still back home in the US. I've just realized that maybe we all should just treat our lives like we are "on holiday." Life works out. Funny how all these cliches are hitting home to me here.

What was is it about being back home [in the US] that some of us can't cut through the crud and see the simple things? Are we feeling that we are always trying to fill someone's expectations? Is there something about American society that stresses us out and puts pressure on performance and induces worry? I wonder.

Until the next mind dump...

The Routeburn Track

For those of you that don't already know, I took over the management of Skybar and things have been going pretty well. We have finally built a clientele and we are now on the map in terms of bars in Queenstown; its on everybody's pub crawl. It feels so good to be a contributer to the wild and crazy culture that makes Queenstown and to show people, both locals and tourists a good time. The management has been a new challenge for me in terms of hiring and training my own team of staff, keeping the bar stocked, getting broken things fixed, and most of all, keeping it fun, busy and running smooth. There are so many of the same cycles here as when I helped run the team of engineers on my project last summer, and its fun to see how life can contain so many hidden rhythms like that. I've been attacking it hard and apparently its paying off. The bar has been busy and the owner and bosses have been really happy with my work, giving good feedback and encouragement. Whats so liberating about running the place is that the owners are crazy themselves and go out and party a lot, so they know what it takes to keep a place fun. This allow me to be crazy, dance on tables and light the bar on fire, and they dig it. Pretty unique situation!
I just got back from an amazing trek in the mountains on the famous Routeburn track. It was a 3 day, 2 night hike, overall 38km (23 miles) through some of the best scenery I've ever seen. There were serene waterfalls and pools, alpine peaks, and cascading rivers and amongst high valleys. Many scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed on this track, and I felt a lot like the fellowship trekking through the alpine valleys on a journey through the pass of the misty mountains. Its just amazing how unique this place is, like a dreamland, and it makes you wonder if Lord of the Rings was written based on this place instead of the other way around. The landscape seems to inspire a feeling of kingdoms and grueling journeys.

The best part was that it was a fully-guided trip paid for by the owner of Skybar and other bars in Queenstown, a 1200 dollar per person value! It was sort of a staff party in which all the managers of 5 bars and 4 liquor stores were invited to come. All together with the upper management and owners, there were about 20 people. It was a great chance to me to get to know the owners and coworkers a bit better.

We were bused in and out and stayed each night in these private, posh lodges with hot showers, comfy warm beds, laundry facilities, and amazing views. To top is all off, we had all our meals prepared for us, and stopped for morning and afternoon hot tea, all in the middle of the mountains! We had steak dinner with mushrooms and potatoes the last night, can you imagine? Wow, what a unique, once in a lifetime experience!

The owner also sent in tons of bottles of wine, beer and spirits for each night via helicopter so we partied each night. I didn't drink very much, but I was amazed at how those kiwis could drink so much and then kick my ass on the trail the next day. As a side note, I've noticed that most kiwis seem to be really burly and tough. They all seem to be in incredible shape and can hike fast and I was told that some people run the whole Routeburn track in one day.

The first day was perfect, beautiful and sunny for 12km (7.2 miles) of gradual uphill climbing through a dry bush landscape. We stopped for lunch and a refreshing shower in beautiful Earland falls before making it to a more moist, mossy landscape on our way to Lake Mackenzie lodge for the first nights rest, including Chicken Kiev and wine for dinner!

(Earland Falls)

(Lake Mackenzie Lodge)

Day two started out cloudy through a dark, mossy, beach tree forest that eventually gave way to hot sun and a clear hillside and steep switchbacks. We summited a pass called Ocean Peak corner (1150m, ~3500ft) where you can seen the Tasman sea in the distance and followed a mountain ridge along Hollyford face into a cloudy, windy and cold Harris Saddle (1250m, ~3900ft). We also did an optional and incredibly steep part of the trail to summit Conical hill (1515m, ~4600ft) after lunch at the Harris Saddle hut. Finally, we decended through 2 wide open valleys into Routeburn Falls lodge for night 2. Went for a dip in the ice cold waterfall before dinner too! Overall distance, 16km (9.6mi)

(Ocean View Peak)

(Harris Saddle)
(Lake Harris)

(Conical Hill)

(Routeburn Falls)

(A very cold dip)

(Routeburn Falls Lodge)

Day three was quite easy on paper, 10km (6mi) downhill, but difficult for me as I was pretty sore. It was all down hill through the narrow Routeburn valley following a deep blue rushing river. The landscape was pretty consistent mossy bush and high canopy beach trees.

(Routeburn Valley)

(Routeburn River)

It was so great to get back into the mountains and do some tramping. It has really refreshed my motivation to get into the outdoors, which is why I came here to NZ in the first place.