moonrise over abel tasman

last night we watched the moon rise and it was gorgeous. when you're out camping and only have a flashlight, there's not much to do at night so i went to bed early. i figured i could get up early and catch the sunrise. it was not to be. i am noticing a pattern. i got up at 12:55am and it was raining. i also really had to pee. but there's no way i was gonna use the doc (department of conservation) facilities in the dark so i went back to sleep. i woke up every couple of hours and each time it was raining. great. when i finally got up and had breakfast (some damn fine muesli with pears and bananas) it wasn't raining as hard. we packed up the tent. all of us waited for the water taxi to take us back because the kayaking had been cancelled due to bad weather. then it started raining harder. it wouldn't let up. so many of us were crammed in the doc kitchen shelter to get out of the rain. it seemed like the water taxi would never come. again, nothing to do. just wait. seemed like forever. at least 1.5 hours of standing doing absolutely nothing. finally the boat arrived and we got to leave. however, it was awhile before we were back in kaiteriteri. we stopped to pick up several people. just really hanging out and waiting in the boat. i think it would've been faster if we walked.

in kaiteriteri, we had to wait around at the shoreline cafe until one of the workers could take us back to nelson. i ordered a hot chocolate made with soy milk for myself and a green tea for twiddle thumbs, plus some fries. i was charged a lot and thought the holiday tax couldn't possibly be that much but didn't say anything. i'd wait until my order was ready to question things. perhaps she put me down for large instead of small fries. when i went to get my order of drinks, there was an extra hot chocolate. i told the drink guy that i only ordered one but he said in a rather pissed off tone that he only makes them and i'd have to take it up with the cashier. i thought i wouldn't bother and i could split it with twiddle thumbs. we might be waiting awhile. i downed the hot chocolate pretty quickly. when i was almost finished, i looked closer at the receipt that i had only just obtained when i picked up the drinks. it said 2 hot chocolate, 1 soy milk. FUCK! i thought it tasted a little funny. great, i just drank real milk. well, at least i have 1-2 hours before it kicks in and the bathroom becomes my home. i should be back in nelson by then.

back in nelson, we get to the hostel and get our things that had been locked in the office. i bang my head really hard on a low ceiling/wall thing that i couldn't see because the replacement hat i was wearing blocked my view. i also didn't see my old hat i left behind. no one has seen my hat. in fact, none of the workers were told about a missing hat. great, the fucker i spoke to just let me talk and did not bother to tell anyone! so i'm out a hat. now i have to find another perfect hat. perfect in that it meets all the requirements: black, solid top as to not get a scalp burn, wide brim all around as to not burn ears, string around chin as to not fly away in the wind.

we got back to the room. i was wet and dirty. i had just banged my head. all my frustrations that have built up over my time here for the past few months swelled up and let loose. i cried. let it all out. took a shower. felt soooooo much better. did laundry. felt A LOT better. i am like a sim character. if certain conditions are not maintained, the green light above my head turns to red and i get upset and start crying and throwing a tantrum. then i get sick and die. oh wait, that's the sims part. the factors are pretty much like the sims too. how tired you are, how hungry, how dirty, it all adds up and affects your mood. well, i had a red bar above my head and i worked on it until it was green again.