I just closed up at the gym for one of the very last times. You see, I never really liked that job, so last Friday I had an epiphany and decided to quit. I resolved to let my boss have a nice birthday weekend, while I ruminated over my abrupt career change, so I had a weekend to think it over.
Well, let's rewind a bit. A couple weeks ago I emailed a few bands who were advertising for a bassist, and one of them got back to me, so last Saturday I went for an audition. Richard (the ringleader) emailed me the bass parts (otherwise known as "tab") and I showed up with my bass, ready to roll. However, as soon as I walked into the garage Richard asked me if I could sing, to which I responded, "Sure." I was thinking they might want a bass player who could also provide some backup vocals, but no. They wanted a lead singer. We played for about two hours - a workout for my fingers, which have not taken that sort of musical abuse in a while. One of the songs we played was "Come Together," by the Beatles, which has a fairly integral bass part and crazy vocals, so that was interesting to do. In the end Richard and Sarah (the original members of the band) decided that they could find another bassist, but could I please sing for them. So, that was that.
There was another guy there auditioning on guitar - Vasa Vojinovick, or something like that - and after the rehearsal he said that he'd like to collaborate on some music stuff, so I gave him my email address in case one or both of us didn't end up playing with Richard and Sarah.
The next day Brandon finished his stint for The Phantom of the Opera, which was nice. Though, that meant that once again he was unemployed. However, that predicament didn't last very long. I have come to understand that B has a certain sort of luck around him - like he's got a found penny, a four-leaf clover, and a rabbit's foot in each pocket. He always lands on his feet, and in this case that came in the shape of landing that crazy UK commercial he auditioned for. So that's ten days of shooting for $250 a day, for a major commercial. He's awesome.
He also got an audition for a children's Christmas play, so we knew pretty immediately that he was going to have plenty of work until Christmas.
So, then, there I am, at my job that I'm really not liking, and I'm finally starting to believe it when B tells me that I'll be able to find work elsewhere if I quit my job. I love teaching yoga, and I love gyms, but working in sales gives me a funny feeling like someone has stuck my spirit in a dry sauna too long. On top of all that my work days have steadily lengthened from the original 7-hour shifts to 10 1/2 hour shifts. I'm fine with long hours, but not doing something that's hoovering my soul. Like I said, I had a weekend to think it over.
On Saturday Brandon went with me back to Parnell for an audition with Vasa and his friend. They really only wanted me to bring my guitar and sing for them, because Lynn (the other guy) is the bassist. So it was just me on vocals and occassional rhythm guitar, Vasa on guitar, and Lynn on bass, which was less easy to sing over because I was worried about being too loud, but I guess they liked my voice okay, because they said they definitely want me to sing for them, too. I'm starting to wonder why I brought all these instruments but forgot my pitch-pipe. The coolest thing of all was that they seemed genuinely interested when I told them that I write songs, and after I played a few for them they started talking about maybe shifting from covers to original songs - MY original songs. It's a total dream come true.
After that B and I went to a park near our house that we hadn't explored yet. It's right between a race course and the zoo, and was only about a 30 minute walk from our apartment. The park is gorgeous and lush, and features a lake stocked with eels and grounds with chickens, roosters, bunnies, black swans, white geese, and all sorts of crazy birds found only in New Zealand. One shining moment of our trip to the park was when we got to watch a pukeko (a type of bird) eat an eel in a struggle to the death. After that B and I were thinking that we'd caught a once-in-a-lifetime viewing of nature at its wildest, but about three minutes later the same bird ate another eel. The craziest thing was watching the bird gulp down the eel a few times as it tried to swim back out of the bird's throat.
My favorite thing at the park was the black swans, who were leading their baby swans around in their little family units. B and I also saw a couple swans dancing around the water with their necks arched toward each other and their beaks kissing - a sort of mating dance, and I think that swans mate for life, so that was pretty cool to see. If the guy from One Tree Hill had been there he would have given the swans a bottle of wine.
That evening was the New Zealand election for Prime Minister and new parliament, which happens every three years. The past three terms the same woman has been in office - Helen Clark from the Labour (liberal) Party, but the National (conservative) Pary leader (John Key) has been advertising like crazy, and we'd heard it was going to be a close election. B and I watched the race at the house of a friend of Geoff's. The party was Geoff, Lisa, Mike, Mike's partner Alicia, and Aiya, Mike and Alicia's beautiful, sleepy baby girl. I, not being much into politics, leafed through one of Alicia's recipe books while the results came in - favoring the National Party.
Another cool thing happened on Saturday - B emailed both the Christmas show people and the woman who was organizing the cast for the commercial and said that he had a "friend" who would be interested in auditioning as well. Zara (the commercial woman) basically just said I could have the job, and Tim Bray (writer and director of the Christmas show) invited me for an audition. All that information further convinced me that I needed to quit my job. I was just wishing that I didn't have to go through the process of actually quitting. I hate quitting. It makes me feel like such a... quitter. But, you gotta do what you gotta do.
So that brings us to yesterday (Sunday, November 9th), which B and I spent cleaning house and preparing for our very first house guests. I taught yoga in the morning, and then we had about 7 hours before my friend Amy and her friend Rachel were going to be flying in from Wellington. In the midst of our spring cleaning I got a call from my boss, who was wondering what I wanted to talk to her about (I guess that my mid-boss had already mentioned I had some things to say). I then told her I wanted to quit, and we talked for about a minute, and she was like, "Okay," and I was like, "Sweet!" and that was that.
Amy had been doing a semester at the University of Otago in Dunedin, so I was really glad that I got to see her even briefly while she was in Auckland. B and I concocted some dinner for the group of us, and then we watched Obama's acceptance speech, which B and I had already watched twice. We talked about the states, and what we miss, and what we don't miss, and about New Zealand - what we like and don't like. It was nice to hang out with some Americans for the evening, but the next morning B and I drove Amy and Rachel to their bus stop bright and early, and then there were two, again.
We fell back asleep for a couple hours, and then B drove me to work, which was slightly awkward, but bearable, and then picked me up three hours later to take me to the audition with him. Brandon auditioned for a split-role where he'd play a six-year-old boy sometimes and Woody, from Toy Story, the rest of the time. I auditioned for the role of the main, snooty six-year-old girl who has to be taught a lesson about Christmas. We both had to sing a song and prepare some stuff, and it was a pretty laid back audition. The problem for me is that the girl is supposed to be a kiwi, and there's no way I'll master a New Zealand accent before Thursday, so we'll see what happens. I personally think that Brandon is a shoe-in.
Then I went back to work, and stayed until closing - mopping up the bathrooms, doing the banking, emailing the head office our daily stats. I won't miss it, but I've learned a lot in a month and a half. And that, after all, is what this year is all about.
A few words about the elections in the states: aside from Brandon and my personal political leanings, it's been an interesting experience to hear the news of the election from an outsider's perspective. I've had several people tell me that they're "proud" of Americans. I've gotten a couple people who admitted that McCain's concession speech was very gracious. Everyone here is overjoyed that The United States are finally in some competent hands. Michelle Obama has cover stories written about her on New Zealand tabloids. Barack Obama is unanimously liked. Whether you voted for him or not, I think that he has already improved our international relations just by getting elected. The night of the election women were coming into the gym and saying, "Did you hear the news?"
So, I'm phasing myself out at the gym, B and I are acting in a UK Halifax Bank commercial, we auditioned for a Christmas play, I'm singing with two bands, we had some visitors, and we're very happy that the days are getting longer again.
We love you all!
Forever yours in Kiwiland,
Brandon and Jenny
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