Relaxin

So, have finished the doco now. The last weekend was pretty hectic but its all over. The final show was really entertaining and i think all the kids did an amazing job! We still have a few exterior shots and maybe a couple of interviews to go so am looking forward to shooting those.

I got my first payed job of this year last week!! Thank god!! Now i will last for a little while more. Did one day of lighting on Power Rangers, and it happened to be on tuesday when a small cyclone hit the north island!! It was funny because it was the day after we finished the doco and i was really tired. I woke up that morning and it was pouring!!! I just thought to myself, "i want to go outside today in the rain". As soon as i thought that, i got the call to go to bethalls beach and stand in the rain all day. There was no way i was gonna pass that down. Met up with a lot of people on the set that i havent seen for ages!! So it was wicked catchin up with them!

Been playing badminton quite a bit at night which is good because i kinda feel lost at nights. Played last night and i somehow managed to hit myself in a place where the sun don't shine too often. Amit, Dean and becs were all laughing. I woulda laughed too but it hurt quite a lot!!
Last week during a break i went to get a drink from the vending machine. The machine stole my money!! The next day, i did the same thing, but went to the 2nd machine because the one that stole my money was out of order. That machine wouldn't except ANY of my coins!!! Sooo annoying!! So i sat there with the others and was just saying how the gods weren't on my side at the moment and that i must have done something to piss the vending machine gods off. Anyway, i then went to see if the machine had sold out of everything and then suddenly, a drink falls down, WITHOUT me putting any money in at all!!!! Man, it was weird!! The vending machine gods must have heard my call!! haha. We were all in hysterics for a little while.

Got back from Parachute concert last night. Me and Jono went down there to do camera on the big screen for the weekend. Little did we know that as soon as we got there we were told that we were not actually doing camera, we were pressing a button called "play" on a DVD player all weekend!! We could'nt believe it!! It was pretty annoying especially as i had given up payed work to do that for free so i was a little pissed off! Anyway, im not too much of an angry person so ended up having quite a good time just sitting right next to the stage and watchin the bands all weekend, and also taking photos of the bands. got talking to this girl who was a photographer for the event so now i am going to be one of the photographers next year so that will be wicked!! On the way home we stopped off at Rachaels house to say hi. Hadn't seen her and Carl (her little bro) for at least 2 years!! Man time just flys!!

better leave it there for now bacause my apple that im trying to eat is going brown. And im not a fan of brown apples. i like them crunchy!


lance

Shatisfied

Today was one of the happiest/scary days i have ever had due to a couple of reasons and also, by far, the most stressful!!

Stressful because we have shot a shizer load of tapes!! And we need a shizer load more to be able to finish the doco and we dont have enough! We will find a way tho. Another was trying to organize this weekends equipment at the herald theatre whilst shooting non stop all day! What a mission but i know its all gonna go well this weekend (positive thinking, great secret!!).

We had a couple of amazing interviews. One of them i was almost balling my eyes out. Its incredible the amount of struggle some people go through and survive to tell the story. It has definately been one of the most inspiring days of my life today and I consider myself really lucky to have met and got to know these people.

Its pretty cool being busy again. I have done more work in 10 days than i did in a couple of months last year. I wrote the other day about dreading the end of this doco. I am now not dreading the end but am excited about the work coming up afterwards. I have a week off afterwards and am probably gonna travel up to the Bay of Islands to swim with the dolphins and then its all go!!!

I better go to bed, im starting to see things


LAW

Time and insomnia

Can't believe its been 10 days since my last post and i also cant believe i've been back from India for almost 2 weeks now!! I have already started planning my next trip back that i will be making either at the end of this year or sometime next year!! Cant wait!! I am seriously thinking about going back to become a mango farm boy (no joke!). Haha, mum freaks out when i tell her!!

Been really busy with the doco i am working on at the moment which is a VERY good thing because if i was'nt working on this doco i think i would have gone nuts by now due to the lack of sleep because of the dreams im having. I think it is the Malleria drugs that i am still taking. Will finish them in a couple of days so hopfully can get a good nights sleep and stop dreaming. I am dreading the day the doco ends (22nd) but i do think that we will be following a few of the kids to their homes the following week so i really look forward to that :)

The doco is going really well now and there is a few amazing stories poping up. I think that it is true that everyone on this earth has an incredible story to tell, you just have to get to know people. As this is happening with the doco. I think experiencing India has given my people skills a huge boost too which is cool. I am getting quite excited about a few of the stories emerging! The kids in the doco are wicked and full of life!!. Working with the juniors and hanging out in their classes all week has been a really cool experience. There is one kid in the class who is just, the most intelligent and funny kid i have ever met. He is destined to become a famous presenter or actor or dancer (which he wants to be), no doubt about it!! The funny thing is that Me, Echo (crazy chinese camera girl 1), Simon, Sophie (crazy chinese camera girl 2), Dom, Tina, Melanie, Melissa, Greydon and Katja are all starting to sing and dance everywhere because we are all being inspired. And whats even crazier is, i usually dont dance!!! So at the end of the shoot we are all gonna go to a karaoke (think i spelt it right) bar and sing one of the songs from the show we are filming. I already know the song im gonna choose (it requires a really high pitched opera voice haha).

I almost lost it in one of the interviews today too. One of the students broke his toes and we interviewed his mum. She was asked what she was gonna do now. She said that she was gonna go home to Takapuna now. I thought that she said, "I am gonna go home to Take A Poo Now!!"
Was really hard keeping the laughter inside but i managed after locking my lips together and holding my nose so nothing would fly out. As you can see, honest mistake on my part when you say "Takapuna now" quite fast!! Lucky i managed to keep myself together. Thats another thing i love about this doco. The whole crew is having a blast and mucking around whilst getting the job done. It reminds me of Studio 2. I LOVE being Imature at work and in these situations you just have to. I have had to step up my responsibility heaps for this job but my levels of maturity have dropped hahaha.

Its now 11pm and i am pysically stuffed, mentally stuffed too and am fighting off a shizer head cold and cough. Look forward to tomorrows interviews with a lot of the kids. Have a really good feeling about it.


LAW

HAHAHA

HAHAHA,

i was checking on the internet to see if www.lance.com was available.

It was already taken but check it out!! It's pretty funny!!
I cant get that song out of my head hahahaha!!
I cant believe you can actually buy T-shirts that have "I've got LANCE in my pants!!!"
Sooo gotta get one!! hehehe


LAW

Games

Last night Armpit, Dean, Becs and I played badminton. It was quite hard getting into the swing of the game after not playing for 3 weeks. Being unfit and weighing 3kg's heavier than before i could really feel how unfit i was. So over the next few weeks, if im not too tired, i am going to go for runs in the morning and then do some boxing in the afternoon. Be interesting if i stick to the routine haha, doubt it!!

We also had a BBQ at Dean's house and it was great having a proper BBQ for the first time in summer! If you can call this summer because for some reason I have been cold the last 2 days. Played Poker for the 1st time in my life and i must say that i really liked it. Next time we should play with proper money!!! Or lollies will do.

Today I went to Joanne's house for lunch and a catch up. Bronwyn and Pratesha were there too so it was cool seeing them again. We played "Cranium" which is a cool game. Its kinda like a mixture of all the best games around like Pictionary or scrabble but with a twist. So had a great laugh with that game! When i went home Anna and Gareth came over so showed them the photos from the trip and then we ended up playing "Perudo", this amazing dice game!! Such a random day playing board games but pretty fun.

Saw "Legend of Zorro" with Gareth after Perudo. Really enjoyed the movie although the pacing did seem to slow down in the middle of the film. But apart from that it was full of action, fun and adventure and there were some pretty cool moves! Zorro's son is cool. I can imagine my son turning out like him haha. Its strange because i actually felt connected to the character of Zorro. There were some strange similarities with me and him although i am not Spanish :(

Its now 1.30am, i've been sitting up for a while just looking over my photos. I am exhausted but cant sleep. I think it is just adjusting to the different time zone again. Will go and try and sleep now seeing as i am playing golf tomorrow.


LAW

Home!

Well, after quite a long period of no sleep and travel i am sitting at home, by myself, in silence, typing. Its quite weird being here now. I was really looking forward to coming home but now i just want to go away again and experience the world. Especially after a shit morning yesturday (excuse my french) with my car breaking down. But im over it and happy now because everything happens for a reason. I have decided that i will make that trip at the end of 2006 or begginning of 2007. I don't even know how long i would go for yet but i think it would be for a long time. There is just too much to see and experience.

Did'nt have a very good sleep last night even tho i went to bed after midnight. The main reason was because it was too quiet!!! My ears were ringing (and still are) from the noise of Delhi. When i did go to sleep i had 2 freaky dreams. One was me, on my bed, in the middle of the road in delhi hahaha. Pretty crazy!! The other dream was even crazier!! I was working on this film and there was a huge explosion in the distance and all the power went out. It was my job to go out and check what happened. So i went out of the house in the dark and I then got attacked. Not by monsters, ghosts, giant ants or mutant babies, but by PUPPIES and KITTENS!!!! WTF!!! And it actually was scary too hahaha!! One thing that did help me go to sleep was this really annoying fly that kept flying right over my head!! Having at least some form of noise helped.

Hong Kong was a fun experience once again. We had 12 hours there so we made the most of it. We traveled to Big Buddha which was about a 40 min drive from Tung Chung. It was a very peaceful and serial place. Just being up in the hills, surrounded by mist i felt this feeling of immense power. Duno what it was but i find it strange going to some religious places because, no matter what religion it is, I still feel something. We then went into the city and walked around all day, going to markets and shops and bassically experiencing HK. Was funny on the MTR (train) because Armpit and I both had to stand the whole time. If we sat down we would fall asleep instanly!! I almost fell asleep standing up too which i did'nt think was possible.

The flight from HK to Auckland was pretty long. It felt a lot longer than the trip to HK and i think that was due to the fact that i was really looking forward to seeing people at the airport. After a long wait in customs getting Max's flute checked and Armpits pickles hahaha, we escaped and saw my family. Was nice to see everyone again :)

This morning i was offered another job which is good because i really thought i would be struggling and did'nt expect to get offered one when i hav'nt started looking yet. I am now excited because, if i take this job, it will mean i have a busy year ahead of movie making and travelling in between:)!!

So, now I am going to go out and smash some cocks with Armpit, dean and becs so that should be fun. Will be interesting to see how my shoulder holds up from that 250kg weight i lifted (tried too :( ) in Hydrobutt. From there its onto a BBQ and a couple of beers so bring it on!!


LAW

Last Day!!! :(

Today is our last day in India!

I am sad leaving because this country has sooo much to offer and i feel like i hav'nt seen the slightest part of it. Will miss the people, the life, the history, Armpits whole family, the squirrels, the eagles, people taking photos of me, black bogey, the traffic, elephants, sleeping with Armpit (hahaha NA!! sorry amit, i know you liked it but im just not like that), auto rikshaws :(, the temples, mosques, tombs, smells, sounds, public toilets, ahhhh the list goes on!! I am definately coming back soon and it has now put a travel bug into my system. Next trip overseas - as soon as i have the time and money :)

So after the morning packing my bag, and then sitting on it, and packing again, i am now ready to leave for Honk Kong and then HOME!! We weighed our bags earlier and my bag is exactly 20kg's so hopefully its all good. And thats not including my hand luggage too! Armpit had to get a bigger bag for all of his clothes and after i finish this blog i have to buy an extra carry bag for my stuff haha. The bags here are extremely cheap too.

So the flight to HK is 4 1/2 hours, we then have a 13 hour stop off in H.K, then we leave for an 11 1/2 hour trip to NZ and arrive on 6th at 11.15 am :) One thing i did miss was how quiet it is in NZ. No more horns!!

If anyone reading this wants anything from duty free you can txt me (before i reach Auckland haha).

So, I am looking forward to seeing everyone again :) Look forward to being unemployed!!! What have i done, one thing i have learned here is that i am an idiot haha!! Cant wait for a HOT shower!! Cant wait for a lot of things. I feel like this trip has changed me and my outlook on life. I will still be the same old me when i return but some things may be different (my new found religion of the toilet paper). Its funny because now i am used to being here and walking amongst sooo many people, i might be considered rude in NZ when i don't move out the way of people hahaha.

Anyway, got a lot of things on my mind but will leave it here.


Lance

Delhi - MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy birthday too me!!

Thanks for all the txts everyone!!

So i woke up and Armpit was in a good mood because i did'nt wake him up! I can not believe that i am 23!!!! Don't feel like it.

Today Armpit and i went for a nice stroll around the city. Went to a nice park in the middle of the city. Its amazing how much noise parks drown out from the city. It was nice listening to the birds.

gotta go,


Lance

Hyderabad - Delhi - Day 15 - The waking of the bald Indian!

This morning was funny! Over the last 3 days i have been sleeping top and tail with armpit because i did'nt want to catch what he had. When i woke up this morning my head was the same side as his an my feet were resting on my pillow! I was completely confused as to what had happened. Amit (looking pretty pissed off ahaha) told me that i had been talking in my sleep and that i jumped up and down and then rested the other side of the bed. Whilst jumping up and down i kicked Armpit and he almost fell off the bed!! I could'nt remember a thing about it tho but i do know that i had a really scary nightmare last night.

Our flight to Delhi was at 5.50am. The flight was only 1hr 45mins but i had THE most annoying person sitting behind me. I have never heard anyone snore whilst they are AWAKE!! Plus i was getting a back massage from his kid kicking my seat the whole time.

Delhi is a lot colder than Hyderabad, the traffic is a hell of a lot bussier, the noise is 10 times louder, the air is 10 times thicker with pollution BUT, i still love it here!! Although taking baths in the morning is freezing. But when you are here you really cant complain about ANYTHING because when you look around you, there are millions of people here who have it a whole lot worse than you do. My personal thoughts and feelings are nothing to what these people on the streets have to go through every day. So i am content with being freezing, but clean :)

When we were in Vijayawada i got bitten on the chest by somthing one night. The bite was perfectly positioned to be a 3rd nipple. Its funny because everytime i get bitten between my nipples, the bite gets infected!!! This one has now turned out to be a rather impressive 3rd nipple and i am sure it will leave a scar. So now it is a permanent third nipple haha. O well!
Its funny because Armpit said the other day that i could become a national monument because everyone wanted photos with me. I was thinking, maybe i should go to a national monument, stand there with my top off and have a cup by my feet. I could become world famous in India as the 3 Nippled Ginger God!! One things for sure, I would definately make a lot of money! Maybe, if the Mango farm boy thing fails, this is what i will end up doing. Would definately get me an indian wife then :)


Lance

Hyderabad - Day 14 - Fort

Today we travelled across Hyderabad to Golconda Fort.

This was definately the most amazing fort i have seen!! We decided to pay a little extra and have our own guided tour of the fort. Im really glad we did because the guide told us a lot of really amazing info!! Just the history of this fort made me gasp! It was built in the early 13th century and i was amazed at how sofisticated they were back then. They had a very interesting way of communicating using accoustics. What they did was have these great ceilings that were covered in small diamonds. (i took a photo so you can see soon). When you stand directly under the centre of the ceiling and clap, on top of the hill you can hear it clearly. There was also 7 Gates around the fort with these ceilings. As soon as the enemy was spotted, they would clap and the whole fort would be closed up within a few seconds. And this fort is HUGE so that is an amazing thing. The length of the outer wall is 7 km's!! Another thing that amazed me was there water system. They had no water at the fort so they had to collect the water from a lake, which was MILES away and on top of a hill!! So they made an underground clay pipe and pumped water to these huge pools. If the king or Queen wanted hot or cold water, all she did was send a messenger to the top of the hill and through a series of pipes leading down the bottom of the hill to the main palace the water would be pumped. How cool is that!!

To be able to get into the army you had to pass a test. And that test was a test of strength!! The only way they would get in would be to lift 250kg, yep 250KG!!! with ONE ARM!!! ONE ARM!!! How big were they in those days!!! They must have been monsters!! Kinda like Luke, no, Shane, no, hang on, i forget his name but he was a cyclops in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" but even bigger!! So being me, i wanted to see if i could get into this army and tried to lift the weight. I must say, and i will be honest, i almost moved the block with one arm, Almost. But with 2 arms i managed to get 3 corners off the ground so i left it at that. Next time i go back, my aim will be to lift that sucker off the ground with my little finger! Then i will join that army and become a warrior! ahaha!

After climbing the fort 2 times, it was actually quit tough when you've been eating so much and not exercising over the last 3 weeks. And becoming a national monument (as Armpit calls it) because SO many people wanted photos of me because i was so amazingly good looking, ahaha!! Na, i think it was my hair :( And poor Armpit must have been roasting because he was wearing jeans and a denim jacket! We left and travelled to Hyderabad markets. Almost got hit by an Auto Rickshaw, supposedly Armpit saved my life! Looked around the markets. We then went and met MG (Armpits uncle) and had dinner and now i am here typing (NERD!).

Oh and i almost forgot to mention a couple of things. This morning, i had a shower!!! O man it felt sooo good!!! Its amazing the things i take for granted when i am living at home. Even tho there was no hot water, just the feeling of drops hitting your head and shoulders hmmmmm. It was almost like slow motion when i was in there. Kind of like a pantene pro v advert. God it was good!! Another thing was we went past a stall today that was selling Goats heads!! There were about 20 heads all lined up staring at ya. I was saying to Armpit that i should try and bring one back to NZ. Maybe if ripped the head off a teddy bear and stuck a goats head on it then customs would'nt notice :) Actually thats just sick so i probably would'nt. And last night for new years, the fireworks were pretty cool!! It was almost like we were being bombed. The sounds were incredible!!! So it was a cool, but very quiet and not so quiet new years for me.

So overall it was a great day, even tho the scene from yesturday is haunting me quite a bit. Hopfully i will sleep better tonight because we have an early start. Our flight to Hydrobutt is at 5.50am so we are getting up at 4.

Anyway, better head off and kick Armpits butt in pool. Plus i have one beer from last night to finish off before bed.

Lance