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I keep forgetting to mention a couple of things, so going to write them now before i forget again.

first i had had an email from the map guys in taupo a couple of weeks ago saying they needed a yes or no now in regards to me going forward with the rotorua map. Gary said from our previous schedule it showed i needed to start the Rotorua map almost immediately and that they needed to figure out their work load due to a possible big job they were bidding on. There was also a line in his email about his sales girls being in Rorotua and a number of guest houses asking about a new map and him saying, "so there is a market for it" Ok i smelt bullshit. First off the Rotorua map didn't need to be started until the end of May, second, i dont see how a "bid" should be a concern unless they actually landed the job. The comment about the guest house guys saying they wanted a new map, well im sure they do, the current one has mistakes and is badly produced, but gary gives the guest houses free maps and they dont even advertise on it, so of course they'd love to see a new one. I felt like i was being pushed into making a commitment, and we all know how well I do with commitments! So it actually pushed me the other way to tell him i felt with his vague and already high estimate on the map design and the open possibility that the ad design could run to $4000, I didn't think there was any money in it. It was a bit of a shot at seeing if he'd either commit on a lower price or come up with a better deal. instead he didn't reply at all. It's sort of left me feeling that he maybe wasnt planning a scam, but that i wasn't getting the amazing deal he was leading me to believe that he was offering.

I go through highs and lows with my ab workout. In India it had fallen off completely, but before I left I'd managed to get it back to full strength. i still do the same workout. 5 sets of 50 sit ups doing different sit ups in each set working all across the abs. between each set i do 10-15 push ups and do the whole thing as fast as possible with as little rest between. After india, it was difficult to keep up the routine in australia and in NZ it fell apart completely. Its not like i need much equipment to do the workout, but i do need a comfortable space and a place to lift my legs for raised leg crunches. The obviously place is out on the grass, but in NZ you can hardly go 3 days straight without it raining, so the grass is always a little damp if not soaked. so i just stopped and then its so hard to start back up. about two weeks ago i was laying in bed and thought about the workout and tried it in bed. vola! the perfect place. between cuboards and seat backs i have the perfect place to lock my feet and a comfortable pad for my back. It started out i couldn't even get through the first 50 sit ups, but each day got better and better. I'm still only up to doing 3 sets of each, but each time it gets easier and easier to get to those. So hopefully i will be back up to all 5 of each soon. Just in time to go travel again and then not be able to do any of it again!

Its easter weekend, and also on Tuesday in Aus and NZ ANZAC day, a remembrance of those that died in the horrific battle in Gallipoli. So its a big holiday here. The campsite in Rotorua was over run with obnoxious campers with yapping dogs and screaming kids. The kitchen and bathrooms were over run, and to top it all it was raining and cold. Up in katikati at the naturist campsite it was 4 degrees warmer. Thats 4 degrees centigrade in a distance of less than 60 miles. Since Im heading back up to Auckland next week I figured why not go up to the naturist park for the weekend. The people there are always so much more respectful and they are naked! So here I am. Its raining here too, but it really is much warmer and if you get cold its nice to go sit in the hottubs or the sauna. And its quiet! Oh and lastly they have cats! three lovely kitties.
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massive storm moved through last night, we caught the tail end of cyclone Wilma, and today its a strange mix of sun cloud and constant really strong winds.

Dream last night was me on a motorcycle, on my BMW GS or at least one like it. I was on a narrow street and got on the bike to ride off, but a bus was parked that I couldn't get past. I rode up a rock wall that started at ground level then went up. As I was passing the bus and about to drop back onto the road the bus started moving so that by the time I got past the bus I was so high on the wall I couldn't jump off back onto the road. I veered off onto the other side of the wall and was sort of stuck.

I keep thinking about this meeting on Wednesday. I don't want to give all the business away to them. I guess I'll only know how its going to play out after I meet them. They maybe totally unrealistic or they maybe really cool to work with and a good opportunity. If I went in with them on all the good locations I want to do, it could be really difficult to get them back out and to get the business myself. I'm also seeing that the printing prices I'm getting from India arnt really that much cheaper than what I can get here. So why are all these companys charging so much for their ad spots? Is there something I'm missing from my costings? This will be part of the benefit's of working with a company that has produced one before, they will know all the in's and outs.

I went looking on HelpX again the other day and came across a woman in Auckland that lives in the same area as my journalist friend which is also the same area as Susan the yoga woman I met the the other day. They all live withing 2 blocks of each other! This woman on Helpx wants someone to help her build some sort of studio in her backyard. Whats interesting is she is a graphic designer and does have map making experience! Ive already been in touch with her and she is asking when am I coming to Auckland.
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My little Elana called today from Thailand. She wanted to call yesterday to wish me happy valentine's day, but with the time difference it didn't work out for her. Anyway nice to hear from her today, she sounded in good spirits and was having fun and thankful that Id recommended Ko Lak, the amazing lake I went to a couple of years ago.

Agh my legs hurt. As usual I want things to happen now. nearly 3 weeks ago I arrived in NZ and before that I hadnt run in 6 weeks. Now here I am whizzing twice around the lake, which is still only 11km, but im breaking the one hour mark now, but I still want more!! I want the run to feel like nothing, I want it to be my warm up before a 3 hour bike, I want to run it in 40 mins like the pros. Shit the pros ran it in 40 mins after the 26km bike! Ah well I am pleased I guess. Just keep on building.

I am also pleased with progress today on the mapping. Talking a bit more with Linda the local graphic designer and she has pointed me more in the right direction. I also located a company that does Illustrator training up in Auckland. Its a one day course for the basic, but it would give me a good start. Although I think Id do better with a one on one with Linda, if she'll do it. Even better I located the company that produced a really nice tourist map for Rotorua. The guy emailed me right back when I made an inquiry to find out if it was them that produced the map, but when I told him what I was after, some one on one training, he didn't reply. Doesn't mean its dead, since i did send it late in the day. If I could get with this guy that could be really useful.

Did nothing on the van today! Must do better tomorrow.

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February 2018

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