Legends to the left of me, rhombus to the right.

RIP Sydney Street residence. A whirlwind of two years in the same house has steadily dissipated and Saturday the 14th saw my two housemates and I elbow deep in grime. A good 8 hours of cleaning and booooooom, all our bond is back. 

The change of scenery is pleasant, I'm staying at some champs house temporarily. Getting put up until the room I'm moving in to is free. Legend to the left of me. 

The move was pretty poorly timed though, work has been fisting me furiously lately. Three of the staff are off on month long or longer holidays, and a nice old electrical storm decided to knock out a few of the main radios in town. Fixed those suckers like I was a vet and they were dogs testicles. Crisis neuteralized.

Was out again on Saturday night, hadn't been out in a little while. I think it was the busy work week that put me in a going out mind frame. Went down for some mean as steaks at Atlas, sunk a few pilsners and then checked out a few new bars that had opened up. The Powder Room had a lot less cocaine than its name implied, so Vinyl Underground was next on the hit list. A few shots later and the room which should have been square started to tilt. Rhombus to the right.

Other than that, I've been trying to keep things on the down low. Attempting to save money. Just being boring. Short old blog post tonight then.

"If I believe in Heaven I deny myself a death, dying keeps me conscious of the way I waste my breath." - Cosmo Jarvis

As the light spills out

Spotify has changed the way I live my life, every new day has a new soundtrack that matches my highs and lows. I fall asleep each night with a new song trickling in to my ears (and wake up soon after with the head phones wrapped around my throat.) So damn peaceful.

Hillman aka Chicken was over for a visit. Got some decent snowboarding done on the first day with him, sun shining, soft mushy snow. Beautiful weather for park riding.  The next day was a little more dreary, but still decent snow up Remarks. The third day we made the mistake of going to coronet, which was simply terrible. I got so bored with riding the concrete tracks they call snow that I went off hiking to find a jump.  That was about when James and I fell about fifty feet down a sheer icy slope that felt more like glass with some water and oil sprinkled over it. Poor old James went flying off down past the barrier which had massive warning signs on it saying, DANGER - NO SKI PATROL AREA. Somehow we managed to clamber back up by jumping up to grass patches and grabbing a hold of them until we got back to the path.  Once there we went and ate lunch in silence, brooding over our shared life experience.

Also recently in the life of Ashton was a pub crawl. Butt loads of fun, and loads of fun butt. First drink was at 2:30pm down the old courthouse, 1876. We took a photo in each pub to follow, with the pictures steadily containing more red eyes and drooping stances. After a few too many beersies, my usual drunken smile was frozen permanently on my stupid drunken face. When 5:30am rolled around it was time to leave the pubs, and where better to go next then with some random stranger up on to the rooftops to run around like crazy adolescents? Leaping around from roof to roof like intoxicated ninjas looking like ducks with no feathers trying to fly. Our misadventures finally leading us in to a backpacker through the top balcony, where we practised a guitar we found and then ran off into the rising sun to get some shut eye.

After my spontaneous inebriated parkour it was a pleasant change of pace to work down at Milford Sound for a couple of days.  With the boss flashing his credit card around paying for food, beverage and accommodation we headed off at 5:45am Wednesday morning, which saw us miles away from anywhere by the time the sun started to rise. The clouds hung in droves just above the jagged mountain peaks, creating a giant scar in the heavens through which the golden sun blared, spilling out like molten blood. As the fiery orb rose its light reached out and touched the clouds, turning them insane pinks and purples. Milford was a great little escape, but work took up most of the time and soon enough I was back in Queenstown. Back to my monotony. Back to routine. Man I need a tropical holiday...

Ears Bleeding Out

My life is a soundtrack and I wake up everyday with fresh vibes. My mind is packed full of erratic thoughts, and my cognitive process is starting to blur the lines between reality and the bizarre. Work is taking over my life, I dream about it and then have to live the real thing for 8 hours every day.

Off the subject of work, I've been trawling the less travelled recesses of the internet for a song I heard on George FM a few months back. Just came back to me randomly as I was walking to work yesterday morning, so I googled the lyrics. Only problem was the lyrics are, da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da, do do do do do do do do do do do do do, ba ba ba ba.. yeah you get the point. Anyhow, I challenge any of you sons of anarchy to google those lyrics and find the song like I did. Took me a good three hours of listening to every shite song that has da's, do's, ba's, nyehs or anything like that in the lyrics. Once I did find it I listened to it once and that was me sick of it again. For any peops interested in a really random tune that reminds me of a few months back, here it is. I'm not even sure I really like it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOMe-8Tf1Y0 ) It's a pretty annoying tune when I think about it, but it was just something that past Ashton really wanted to listen to in his stubborness. Jerk. Wasted three hours of my life I could have been trawling through even darker recesses on the interwebs...

Anyboob, I just had a few mates from Townsville show up in QT a few weeks back and totally make my night. Had a few bevvies with them and then went home and passed out like I was shot by a cannon ball, in the face, from a yard away, by twelve cannons. This week I was meant to have another mate visit but seeing as he's from Townsville he waited to get to the airport before checking/finding out when his visa expired. WINNER WINNER, NO FRIENDS FOR WINTER.

In other news, I've been knocking in goals on the weekend playing soccer as well. 3 in 3. Pity I only ever manage to score on the pitch. AM I RIGHT?

Snowboarding is stalemating for me. I'm at that stage where I'm too chicken to push my limits. With self preservation in mind I've not been hitting any of the bigger features in the park. :( I will one day, I'm slowly getting back to that stage of just hating life every Sunday morning when I wake up and wonder why I thought it was a good idea to have 15 jager bombs and spend all my food shop money in one night. One day I'll loathe myself enough to chuck my body off a cliff with a board strapped to my feet. 

Also, got a black eye the other day. I looked hard as sin for a week, so I swaggered around town in a manner that almost got me a second black eye. Shitttchyeer. I'm tuff as m8. Don't wanna mess wiv me. xox, lolkthnxbi.  But sometimes that's just the way it goes, mother flipper I fight fire with volcanos. 

Well enough word vomit from a very bored Ashton, this really is not a good blog post but at least I know my mum will have read it.

LOVE CHOO MUMSIE. 

Peace errebody.

Rainbow Spawn

Autumn again. Schwing. Those Autumn colours that you've come to love from the movies, the dull golds and lightly burning oranges, or the faded street-light yellows and lady-beetle spotted reds, they're everywhere.  The leaves are dropping from the trees and carpeting pathways with a layer of debris that crunches underfoot when I meander my way to work in the chilled mornings.  The air has a winter bite to it now, and my breath mists when I exhale.  Sometimes I think I could amuse myself for hours watching my breath steam up in front of my eyes, forming ghostly shapes that dissipate into nothing and leave me staring at the fog wreathed mountains in the distance.  Although they do say small things amuse small minds. Which makes me believe that all my ex's have small minds, because something small used to amuse them regularly.

My new job is jizztastically fantastic, generating a firm platform to base my I.T. career on. I'm learning loads and enjoying my time in Queenstown, which is a balance that sometimes proves reasonably difficult to maintain.

Despite my cracking new job, my thoughts are still occupied by the grandeur of travel, however; it has been firmly established that I cannot save money in Queenstown. Too many distractions. The allure of inebriated backpacker bombshells has proven expensive. I have no idea how the New Zealand economy is so poor, I'm pretty sure it should be kept afloat by my contributions alone to businesses/bars around Queenstown. Maybe they should stop using monopoly money as the currency, they need to realise their notes are worth less than a kid's board game.

So with travel dominating my conscience, Australia is back on the cards for a stint. So that I can earn some of the world's wheel spinners and get myself back on the road. Melbourne looks like a likely destination, although with my elder brother getting a sick as, mean as, cool as, mint as job in Brisbane I wouldn't mind heading to Brisneyland either. Depending on how much this winter abuses my bank balance it may even have to be a trip home to bum off the folks for the first few weeks until I find my feet and start earning millions. In any case I'll be glad to have a break from people who say Chups and Sut. Didn't really bother me at first but now it's like sticking a drill in my ear and holding it on each time I have a conversation with a local. Thank god I predominantly hang around with European's, the have sexy as sin accents. They have voices like tiny little angels playing silk stringed harps in my ear holes. These angels must live in castles of ear wax and forests of fine white hair.  Dirty little sprites.

Long time since my last blog post. This one was simply due to being on call for work tonight, and having to sit in front of a computer to log calls and reset passwords and whatnot.  Who knows, being on call once a week might mean I post more.  Hope all you sexy daughters out there are flaunting what your mother gave you, and all you lads a gawking what they mothers gave them. Peace.

I Could Be Your Ransom

What can I say about winter? The snow wasn't terrific this year but it hardly mattered, this season has flown past me faster than a racing pigeon on crack.  Work has rammed me with ridiculous hours for no extra remuneration, and study has taken up my weekends reducing my mountain time.  This past week I took on a second job as well in the hopes that eventually I will have two part time jobs which will give me days off to myself where I don't have to go to college.  But for this week I did a grand total of 110 hours work and 13 hours college, proving once again that I am unstoppable once I put my mind to something. (Cockiness justified in my opinion) 

My savings are looking substantially healthier which is a load off my mind.  Now I don't have to brick myself every time a bill or something comes through. HOLLA

Tomorrow I have a day off booked for Cardrona, hopefully I have nice clear weather as I want to try some new tricks in the extensive park they have up there. I'll be riding with a big group of homo's that I have grown to love from QT and I quite simply cannot wait. 

My new job at the Pig and Whistle is brilliant.  The staff there are great craic and bar work is a lot more fun than washing or fixing cars. Especially with the hotties I work with ;) Its been over two weeks since I last went out for a brewsky, and I'm well looking forward to having a pint instead of pouring one for someone else. 

He loves to romance them  
Reckless abandon 
Holding me for ransom  
Upper echelon

Time To Dance

Autumn has descended on Queenstown like a necromancer, casting its spell of browns, oranges and vibrant yellows on the foliage. The lake front provides a perfect backdrop as leaves vacate their branches and take flight in twists and turns like natures ballerinas of the sky. After a short flight the leaves shower down into the lake, a golden downpour, where they nestle on the surface of the water inducing ripples and floating away.  Red wine or strong coffee along with good conversation help construct Queenstown into one of the most majestic and awe inspiring destinations conceivable.  Sitting outside however makes it apparent that the winds are changing, as they carry a chilled bite antecedent to winter, a brisk promise of what there is yet to come. But Queenstown still strives to impress with days where the skies are as immaculately blue as Cameron Diaz's eyes and a warm happy sun glowing such as Cameron's Diaz's hair.  (I watched the mask the other day and Cameron Diaz is in it, man she is schmoken)

It is evident I am not the only person captivated by the magnificence of the southern lakes (or Cameron Diaz). Travellers from far and wide make merry visits, either short or long term, bringing their culture and experiences and more than happy to share their stories in the jocular environments the bars facilitate. Saving money is still a huge problem on the abysmal wages, however limiting myself to going out two nights in a week sometimes helps save the bank and prevents any impecunious situation. Gym is a good destination to keep me preoccupied after work, and has more benefits (except for some occasions) than getting inebriated in public areas. Strapping on the dancing boots is something I am becoming less inclined to do after the realisation I'm a horrible mover and shaker, but Queenstown induces a smile that makes your feet itch. As The Shoes like to say, its "T.I.M.E.T.O.D.A.N.C.E. in this city."

Festivities in NZ

Dear diary, everybody is mean to me at school and I keep having dreams in which I’m falling. Oh wait, no that’s some poor unfortunate bugger, I’m too awesome for that. The festive period has just wound up to an end, and what a time it was. Christmas Eve saw my first ever unclothed entry into the freezing lake Wakitipu before rocking out partying until the wee hours of Christmas morning. After waking up to the smiles of my lovely new housemates we opened up a plethora of presents that I was not expecting, the smiles only increasing as the festive spirit starting setting in. Chocolate. Glorious amounts of crunchie chocolate fell out of a variety of differently coloured wrapping paper, and new summer threads from my mum meant I had something good to wear for Christmas Day.
Next we headed up to the wonderful setting which would see out our Christmas lunch. The ladies of the party had been slaving over the food for hours the previous night and several that morning. As the barbeque was lit up I knew it was my cue to start helping out. The shirt came off under the hot southern hemisphere sun, and two hours of intense heat from the sky and the simmering plate in front of me ensued. After all the food was ready was the feast of all feasts. Every variety of food hit my tongue in a race to get down into my belly. Flavour after flavour assaulted my senses and merry banter flew about the table as I sunk deeper into contentment. My first Christmas away and I couldn’t have felt more at home. After the main course I pulled up a bed on the grass and slept away a few hours with insane full tummy dreams flashing in front of my eye lids.
My wakeup call was the clink of spoons and forks as desserts came pouring out the door onto the table. Another mad eating frenzy followed. Once that was done there was no room for alcohol, although I managed a few comfort beers that saw my eyelids drooping like never before. The party was coming to an end so I vacated my seat and went up to a friend’s house to enjoy the luxury of a hot tub under the stars. A couple more beers and my bed beckoned.

Thanks to the midnight curfew I had given myself on Christmas I was up raring to go the next day, boxing day. Blue skies greeted my pleased eyes, and I got up with a smile on my face. The plan of attack was Little Thailand, the rock jump into the lake. After visiting the house that hosted the wonderful Christmas feast and cleaning up a few dribs and drabs I grabbed a few mates and headed out towards Glenorchy. Pulling over at the top of the road we walked the precarious track down to the edge of the cliff that dropped 20 feet into the lake. The smell of sunscreen climbed through the warm sticky air and settled in my nostrils. A couple of beers accidentally spilt down my throat and soon we were laughing and jumping off the high cliffs into the gorgeous blue water. Soon the day wound to an end and it was back to work for a couple of days.

Then my birthday hit me like a tonne of bricks. A couple of drinks at the local pub saw six shots placed in front of me from my awesome new friends in the space of about forty minutes. The last thing I recall that night is kicking out the door of Brazz with a bottle of water clenched firmly in my hand and a wild thrill of excitement coursing through my veins. My shirt came off several times in several clubs, however I made it home in one piece and recovered the next day with the help of a blanket and several movies on T.V.

New Years a couple of days later saw the end to the busiest part of my year. Having my birthday smack bang between Chrissy and New Years really knocks you around. Unfortunately I was working on New Years Day which slowed my drinking down (a blessing for my mother no doubt). That day I was sober, working by myself fixing cars in the sweltering heat while half the world recovered from a brutal hangover.

Since then things have been quiet, I did an extra day at work during the week which saw me drive to Dunedin and dropped off a car to a client. The first time I’d left Queenstown in a while, and once I arrived in Dunedin I could not wait to get home. Queenstown, my home and it feels amazing.