5 November 2007 - The Final Countdown (Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo)

The time has come, the walrus said, to get the hell out of this country.

I currently have four and a half days until I hitch a ride on an jetplane and leave like I'm John Denver (Not knowing when I'll be back again, not crashing into the Pacific Ocean). So how do I plan on celebrating my remaining week in Auckland? Why, two art history finals, of course. And by "art history finals," I mean "watch reruns of The Office and start packing."

But also, I figure that I should do some reflecting in a retrospective of my time down here. A Reflectrospective, if you will, of the time of my life. When I get back home, everyone will be asking a) What were the best things about New Zealand? b) What did you love about it? and c) How is it different? So over the next 4.5 days, I'm going to be preparing for the onslaught of interrogation.

Top 5 things that I will miss about Auckland:
1) The weather - It's not so much that I love rain (although devotees might remember this post), but when compared to the heat wave that's running wild in SoCal, I'll take the overcast. What's worse: Light showers 3 days a week or 105 degree heat, wildfires, and fat chicks who think the temperature is an excuse to wear cut-offs?
2) No sales tax. The 8.25% imposed by the People's Republic of California is going to be a bitch getting reaccustomed to.
3) The somewhat advantageous exchange rate. True, the US dollar isn't as strong as it once was, and I'm probably paying the equivalent for a loaf of bread. But there's such an invigorating feeling when you go to the ATM, take out $100US and end up with a cool $131, it's a high than only morphine can top.
4) The relaxed attitude that everyone down here has. The key suffix for the entire country is "-ish." Nothing is too precise or too exact. A lot of leeway and flexibility in NZ, which when compared to LA is much appreciated.
5) No longer being 18 hours ahead of the West Coast. It was pretty fun being Future Max for the past semester, being able to warn those in the past about all of the misfortunes to come.
And an honorable mention at #6) Dan Coscino.

Death to the infidels,
-MGD

Max Davison is a junior at Claremont McKenna College. He's gonna be leaving at the break of dawn. He wishes you could come but he doesn't need a woman tagging along. There's always something greener on the other side of that hill. But he was born a wrangler and a rounder and he guesses he always will.