this blog is not about good grammar by the way

I've had alot of spare time on my hands lately. I've been filling the spaces in with music and books and food. I just finished reading Catch a Fire by Timothy White. It's a in depth bio of Bob Marley. It's a great read for those savvy readers out there. It goes pretty in depth into Jamaican politics and the rise of reggae music with it, and brings out all the strange and power powerful aspects of a man not fully understood my many who wear his face on their t-shirts. Amid political and social chaos this street fighting kid from the ghetto heard his calling and followed.

Music has been keeping me company for the past couple months....lately its been.

Bret Dennen

Pete Yorn

Michael Franti and Spearhead

Ben Kweller

Death Cab

Bob Marley

Band of Horses

Fat Freddy's Drop

I finally bought my ticket to Australia! Ill be taking off next month on the 21st to Sydney to meet up with my cousin Christina. I can't wait to have a break from work and see the place for a bit. It's only a short trip, then its back to the grind.

hooray for free internet

I rode the train into downtown Auckland for the long weekend and have been wandering aimlessly around the city drinking coffee and wearing holes in my sandals. It takes me about two months to completely trash a nice pair of sandals or as they say here "jandals," a term which I have not sucomb to using. I have officially walked the entirety of downtown. So here are a list of some of my favorite places to go.

• High Street: one giant gradually sloping stone street lined with coffee shops, book stores and vintage clothing stores. this place was made for those who really want to buy those mean looking leather boots in the window go, or in my case those that really want to buy those mean looking leather boots in the window but leave the shop because it would cost my food for four months. High s.t is good for shopping if you have the money or in my case enjoying a good book and coffee and doing some people watching. much money and many hours have been spent on this st.
• Real Groovy music store. Real Groovy is the music junkies heaven. From records to cassettes to Peachy Keen vintage clothing. this place cool....
• One of my favorite places for sure is the Tea Room. It's on Karangahape rd....Its a tea room/radio station/art gallery/tattoo parlor check it out! http://www.kfmradio.co.nz/
• Hands down the best coffee shop is Fraser's in Mt. Eden, small little place on the corner of mt eden road with a real laid back vibe and good looking staff! and good coffee!

Its been eight months now. sometimes it seams like I've been here ten years, at others it feels like i stepped off the plane ten hours ago. Its been a whirlwind of emotions. Ive become attached to this county and too its people. Home is pulling strong from one direction and Aoetearoa is pulling strong from the other. It's going to be a bittersweet goodbye for sure. One conclusion I have reached is I need to see more of the world. Getting far away from everyone and everything you know really makes you feel small and insignificant. it also widens your'e eyes to how flipping brilliant the world is and how sheltered we are when we stay confined to the comfort and normality of home. I already know when i get home ill be itching to hit the road again, not because ill get tired of home or the people but because I know for sure there is so much shit out there waiting to blow my mind and theres no reason why i shouldn't check it out

i am itching to get home though. I miss asheville. I miss my friends and family. i miss my damn bed!!! soon. get the rocks ready, im ready to climb. get the trails ready, im ready to ride. get the mtns ready, im ready to camp. get the ears open, im ready to tell stories!

Homeless'ness and other badly spelled words and incorrect gramma

Ive been homeless for about a week and ahalf now, im talking ive been living under trees in Brandford Park and sleeping on the sides of Volcanoes....Its a great way to save money and pick up smelly girls who also enjoy men that smell bad and other stuff...So my trip to "sunny" nelson ended with me leaving nelson to return to where i started...square one..auckland..I travelled thru mordor and scaled mt doom only to NOT throw the ring into the fire, in my case, get a job....not because lack of effort...oh no...I looked and called everywhere...nada...bit of a recession right now...oh well so im back in auckland. about to start back up at Interworld plastics....Ronnie Davidson (my boss) has got to be one of the goodest people i know....

Today was a sad day....the travelling crew lost two deeply valued members....(moment of silence)


Hana and Mariana are both back to their respected countries (usa, argentina)
The past five months have been insanely good and im going to miss these two like crazy, theve become like sisters...

So its off to work starting monday...ive had more money , ive had better food, ive been in better shape, ive had way better luck but im completely content and satisfied with my current situation....

ive also been listening to alot of ben harper lately..the song "blessed to be a witness" is my current favorite

thanks for reading followers! and all of you that read but arent technically followers

peace, love, Jordan

Chuck Norris

Nelson! NZ's sunniest town...The passport situation is finally sorted. Once I flew back into Auckland from Queenstown I checked back into Oakland's Lodge. I ended up scoring the gardeners position at the hostel so I pulled weeds for a week for my accommodation (thanks mom all that slave labor has payed off, I'm a damn good weeder:) After a bunch of paperwork and real crap passport photo sessions I got all my paperwork and stuff turned in to the embassy. It took literally a week to get a new passport, which is way quicker than a kiwi can get a new passport here, weird huh..while still in limbo with the passport dealio i upgraded to a cleaning job at the hostel. So up at ten every morning scrubbing the toilets and other exciting things. I'm not complaining at all, I'm super super grateful for all work I can do seeing on how Mr. MasterCard has now become my best friend. I booked a ticket to fly back south on Monday the 1st hoping the passport would arrive before i left, sure enough it did! So I arrived here in Nelson Monday evening. Nelson airport is about 6k's from the town center so i opted out of a cab ride and walked....figured id try my hand at hitchhiking again...didn't go so hot....but i made it, so i passed out in a local park and woke up refreshed the next morning! not! i woke up and it was raining...it was like a movie where things cant get much worse and then it starts raining...So i decided rather than hitchhiking to the next town, where ill be looking for work, i would just check in a hostel for a night and relax....so its off to a little fruit pickin town called motueka tomorrow to find work (fingers crossed) picking apples...

sleeping bag

I woke up this morning outside the Dunedin yatch club....I rolled out of my sleeping bag which was sitting on the edge of the harbour....I flung my hair back like they do in the movies and looked over to the parking lot and saw the girl of my dreams...we quickly got married and are now talking about settling down somewhere in Saigon.....ok so most of its lies...i did wake up outside the yatch club though looking out over dundedin expect i woke up too a parking lot of old people in speedos and running shoes warming up for a triathalon....its been two weeks now living out of the old North Face sleeping bag not paying a dime for places to stay....

Since leaving christchurch weve been driving down the east coast of the south island...the land is insane....the rivers and the lakes are a teal color that would blow your mind...tropical sorta stuff but in the middle of the mtns....Im now in Dunedin, home of the steepest road in the world....we drove up....then this old german couple came walking up and called us lazy....i really didnt care seeing on how i got real crap sleep the night before and couldnt be bothered....we checked into a hotel today because it was pouring down rain and nobody felt like doing anything...so scott and rhona booked a room and the rest of us snuck in later and split the cost....hooray for sleeping indoors! and cheese! i booked a ticket home...ill be flying out of auckland on the 29th of july...

things are good...ive got a few more weeks on the road and then its off to work my ass off picking apples and selling bras, cant wait

Hookers and other stuff

Im officially really really really flippin dark...im talking nigerian or kenyan dark....the ozone layer above new zealand is so thin that the sun is twice as hot... So im in Christchurch atm...got here two days ago and met up with Hana, Gemma, and Mariana....Christchurch is pretty cool...fairly small city, tons of character....I got lost last night at like one in the morning, somehow i ended up in the redlight district...will just say there were alot of occupied street corners and the majority of the clientel were ladies with large hands and adams apples....so i quickly made my way out....the weather has been insanely good...Ive been sleeping outside in my sleeping bag for the past couple weeks, only had one day with a little rain...On the way to christchurch we stopped by this place called Flock Hill....it is basically a huge boulder field for climbing....i took loads of pictures ill get up on facebook soon...the rocks were crazy though, random wierd formations everywhere with so much climbing potential..so i broke out the climbing shoes and chalk bag and climbed around for a bit....i booked a flight home finally...i officially leave new zealand on the 29th of july!...i have a feeeling the next six months are going to fly by...ill be traveling around the south island for another month and then its off to find work...the plan is to pick apples for a bit and then sell bras....yes, sell bras...this guy goes around to dif festivals in austrailia and new zealand and sells bras and he pays really really good...so hopefully that will work out...then its off to austrailia to meet up with Christina for a couple weeks...last but not least im gonna scrape the money together to go to southeast asia and hopefully meet up with Jess Maggart for a few weeks....really the plans are completely in the air...taking things as they come seems to be the best option...

BACK ON THE ROAD!!!

So i'm officially travelling again...I feel like i have something to write finally...sort of....I left Auckland on the 22nd and drove to Rotorua with Scott and Rhona (my scottish partners in crime) and Hana (my favorite new yorker of all time) for the Raggamuffin music festival....after a night of sleeping in the back of a toyota i rolled out and headed to the festival..the first half of the festival was local new zealand acts...Katchafire was definitely my favorite...Sweet and Irie was also sick....The festival vibe was amazing...everybody moving to positive vibrations in the sun, nothing like it...The the international groups started up....Ill mention the positives first...Julian Marely! increadible...when he did a cover of positive vibrations you could close your eyes and it was like listening to tuff gong himself....Lauryn Hill!!! enough said...she was sick!...and now...the not so good...sean kingston is a royal chode....he thinks verry highly of himself to say the least...shaggy who was the ending act was also just ok....beside the songs, "angel" "wasnt me", and "mr. boombastic" he just paraded around and air humped the microphone...

I'm now in Taupo..heading to the south island tomorow...cant wait...I keep hearing nothing but good things about it....We've been living out of the back of Scott and Rhona's car which is oddly enough named after my mom...last night i slept outside of the bathrooms near lake Taupo...i thought i was going to be robbed at one point by this homeless guy that walked by and starred at me but then i thought to myslelf...why would a homeless man want to attack a fellow homeless man??? overall things are good..between my sessions of stressing out over no money and stomach cramps from being constipated im enjoying myself immensely! so its off to wellington tomorrow and then south island! adam lambert just came on the radio in the internet place im in..im about to destroy everything in sight....so yess...south it is!!! thanks for the money mom!!