It's been an interesting few days! Finally I managed to get out of Auckland yesterday, even if it was only for 24 hours or so. I'm really glad I got some time to go away and do nothing, just do what I felt like when I felt like it. In the end the decision to go to Taupo instead of up North towards Paihia was based on a coin toss 5 minutes before leaving. Much more fun if you don't really think too much about what you're doing.
First I guess I should blabber about Saturday night. I was all ready to work from home because there really wasn't much that I needed to do this time round. But about 11pm I got an email from our automated alarm thingy telling me that one of our major uplinks to the rest of the world (ie the router that feeds us our internet from the US/Australia) had stopped working. This is usually a pretty bad thing. Everything failed over OK to the other router (we have two of them) but I don't like to leave all our Internet running with no proper backup. So into work I headed! It was SO good to jump in the car and drive and not have to wait for a Taxi. I'm sure the company will agree too when they don't get massive Taxi bills.
So I get into work and go and have a look at the router in question. All it's lights are off. Uh oh. BOTH it's power supplies are telling me they've failed. They both have the "Input Voltage OK" light showing, which tells me that there is nothing wrong with the power they're getting, but their "Output Voltage Failed" light is also showing. Telling me that something is wrong with both power supplies. This should never happen. One going away, yes. Two at once, no. So I am busy stressing and getting unhappy to people on the phone. 10 minutes later parts are getting flown out from Sydney on the next plane blah blah when into the basemen walk 3 guys looking all stressed too. I notice one of them is carrying stuff that makes me think he's an electrian. Turns out he is. Turns out my little lights are lying their arse off, the DC voltage in the basement has turned to custard. We (the internet group in TelstraClear) only have one box that runs off DC in that particular basement, which is why all my other routers were running along fine.
So eventually after a few problems the power dudes fix the DC power. It caused us some pretty big issues because over the next 30 minutes 2 other people walked in with worried looks on their faces too because their stuff (phones etc) had also stopped working.
I won't even explain what happened to make the DC fail. DC failing is one of those things that is just never supposed to happen in an exchange. It's bad bad unhappy karma. Suffice to say there was a large amount of muppetitus involved.
So that was my getting to sleep by 12:30am plan ruined. By the time I got home it was 3am and I was still wide awake anyway. I didn't really get to sleep until about 8am... And therefore slept away a fair chunk of my Sunday.
Monday I woke up about 10am and decided that fuck it, I was going to go away. I got my tent (actually it used to be someone elses tent, but I've claimed it as payment for "being a lying slut" Tax) my dodgy matress (not THE dodgy matress, it's long gone) and my sleeping bag and Doona. Yes Doona, don't anyone try and tell me it's said that other stupid way. Eventually around 1pm I chucked everything in the back of the BoD and then tossed a coin to decide where I was going to go. Down South it turned out to be, so off I went. The drive down was pretty good! Because it was Monday and a public holiday, everyone was driving home back to Auckland. Traffic going the other way was really heavy, traffic going down my way was really light.
About 5pm I made it into Taupo and thought I'd keep driving until I found somewhere I could pitch my tent, so I kept on driving until I found THE most perfect spot right on the lake. I went and asked the people if I could have a camp for the night and they said "sure, just got anywhere, you're the only person camping tonight" which was great. I went and pitched my tent right on Lake Taupo. Took me a couple of attempts to get the tent up, having never pitched it before and it being really windy, but eventually I got it up and everything instead. The sunset was just perfect so I went to take some photos, only to get the "flat battery" light on my camera. I was fuming as I'd only brought a new battery for it a month earlier and had hardly used it. As I was pulling the battery out I saw something interesting. ANOTHER battery. God I'm stupid, I'd replaced one battery a month ago, but not the other one. So I'd lost my photo chance, but it didn't really matter. It was just nice to sit on the waterfront and watch the sun go down.
Then I drove into Taupo to get myself some tea and supplies. I ended up finding a Pizza Place that was open (most of Taupo was closed, it being the night before everyone had to go back to work) and ordered what looked like a tasty Mexicana pizza. The only thing spicy about it was how much farking pepper they put on it. Not pepper as in peppers. Pepper as in sneeze. But I managed to eat it, it was still tasty.
I went and did some shopping (milk, yoghurt etc) and then went back to camp.
Sleeping proved to be more of a challenge than I thought. The primo camping spot had one problem. The highway ran right through the middle of the camp ground. There were lots of trucks on the highway. Just as I was getting off to sleep one would come past "Bwoooarrrrr" and shock me awake. Eventually I got to sleep though, but I woke up a few times in the night due to trucks.
I'd set my alarm for 7:15am and I got up nice and early then. I'd brought new batteries for my camera the night before and wanted to get some nice photos with the morning light. But it was a shit overcast day, so that didn't really turn out too well. I still took a few photos though, so I'll see how they turn out.
I then went into Taupo for a coffee and some breakfast, then drove onto a place called Craters of the Moon which I'd driven past on the way down. It's the most amazing place. Basically it's just a large area of thermal activity. But it was such a cold morning, all the steam coming up all over the place. It looked spectacular. There's a boardwalk and you just walk around that and get to look at all the bubbling mud etc. Nothing really doing it justice by trying to write about it, hopefully some of the photos I took will show up well.
That's about it really. Nothing too exciting. I was just so glad to get away from my apartment and Auckland etc and just to have some total freedom. I didn't take my laptop, didn't go near a computer. Turned my phone on divert. I did geek out a bit and send a few txt messages, but that was about it.
Got back to reality today at about 2pm or so. My flat is so messy, though I've tidied it a bit just now. I've also shaved off all my red hair. Got sick of that, so I am now a total skinhead. It should grow back to just about the perfect length in about 4 weeks, which will be just in time for Simon and Hera's wedding! Yaa. I have to organise Simon's bucks night too.... hehehe. Should be fun! Watch out Simon.
That's all mofos. I realise there's going to be lots of mistakes in that because I haven't proofread it at all (not that I usually do anyway, as you might have noticed) but I might later if I can be arsed. Until then, party hard, eat a funky chicken and long live toasters.
--TiM
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