days of walks, of work, of bargains and of frisbee

Hello again my friends,

It's actually been quite eventful. My good friend Carsten I met in Thailand made it over from his travels around New Zealand to Auckland before flying out to Bangkok on Valentine's Day. Was great to see him, I actually got off my backside to do a few constructive things, like a walk around the nearby Rangitoto Island. Some more fantastic scenery (I'll get some pictures up) and great views of the Auckland skyline from its summit. The walk was pretty hard going though, I'm rather unfit - at one point I remember struggling with my fellow hiking virgins, as Great Dane Carsten powerwalked his way up the incline. I need to sort it out really.

I was surprised I didn't hit anyone at Albert Park when Carsten was teaching me his frisbee moves. I got better but he's the guru - top game though.

For those of you who know the goodness of MBNA Bank back in sunny Chester, well, my job is quite similar to that really. The place and people are great though, and I'm having a decent time there, it's only been a couple days so I can't have grown to hate it just yet.

And finally, days of bargains. One has to wonder what the problem is when these kinds of bargains come up. I bought some shoes for work, and being the cheap backpacker I am, I went on the hunt for the dirtiest, cheapest, most plasticy shoes I could find. And, boys and girls, I'm sure I did it. I parted with an amazing *nine* New Zealand dollars, roughly equating to £3.50, for my lovely footwear. Who is the arab with the bargaining skills?