the photography of brian boyko: Not Bowling Alone

Something cool before I get to the pretty pictures. First, the Otomotai pool is awesome… but the heating pump broke. The pool temp was 23.5 degrees Celsius, which I knew was cold, despite not having any idea how to convert Celsius into Fahrenheit. I’m pretty good with most metric system estimates – meters, liters and kilos. Temperature still eludes me.

So instead I went to the Baywave pool. It’s a bit further – about a half an hour – and a bit more expensive – about twice the price of Otomotai (but still cheap, at about $4.50 US) But in exchange, you don’t just get a pool, there’s a lap pool, a wave pool, a kid’s pool, the wave pool has a hot water fountain (you can walk in) and a cold water fountain, and for extra fees (about $2.75) there are steam rooms, saunas, and a waterslide.

Yes. Waterslide. I’d take pictures, but first, it was too late in the day to actually do the waterslide, and second, I didn’t want to get my camera wet, so I didn’t bring it. Maybe later.

Anyway, the last two days have been interesting. I still miss my friends, but I seem to be making new ones. Isreal, my roommate Ben’s friend, invited me via IM to go “bowling” with his church youth group.

When I got there…

WTF???? the photography of brian boyko

From the photography of brian boyko

Well stocked goldfish fountain at the Bowls. the photography of brian boyko

Hello, little goldfish! the photography of brian boyko

Fun game, similar to bocce, but the balls are oblong and are designed to travel on a curved path, meaning you have to get both power and anticipate the curve – the less power, the more it curves… It’s interesting, but because of it’s cost ($500 for a set of 4 balls,) it’s typically an “old person” sport in NZ, and getting a real game going among young 18-24 year olds quickly devolved into chaos.

Another friend is my next door neighbor, Kelly, who is insane, and in many ways, my opposite. She’s extremely manic, goes days without eating… and today, I caught her literally out on the ledge ready to jump.

Don’t do it! the photography of brian boyko

She was fine – she assured me she could make the jump into the garden without hurting herself… I doubt it.

That’s actually weird – maybe it’s the fact that I’m next door to a crazy woman, but the “bowling alone” idea where people don’t really talk to or know the names of their neighbors – I find that it hasn’t yet it New Zealand in full force. In fact, a neighbor here, is alot more like a roommate… except that when they move away, you don’t have to pay more rent for a couple of months.

Some random pics: