Friday

The forecast was for deluge (not in Auckland anyway) so I thought, I might as well work from home as it won’t be too hot. It was humid though which I discovered when I had to go to Papakura for some stuff; just a shirt then and leave the hoodie behind.

The plan was to take the bus to Papakura and then Uber back - it was more affordable to do only one trip at $26. I picked up stationery stuff at Whitcoulls and got some gift-wrapping stuff from what is probably the worst $2 shop I’ve been in. The place was massive, but it hardly had anything and the stuff that was in there was worse than shit. How the hell could these people afford the lease??

But I didn’t want to go to another one so I just got what I needed. Near the exit was this big mirror and I saw that I was frowning. I remembered this random lady on TikTok being bullied by her stupid retard child, who (aptly) described the lines on her mum’s forehead as looking exactly like the wifi icon.

Well, mine weren’t as bad, but I probably need to set aside some savings for botox. Or not.

Then lunch which was Starbucks for my usual and I was hoping for som tacos from Broke Boy Tacos at the Papakura Bodega, but they had a sign that said they didn’t have any because there was no gas. Hmmmmmmmm.

So got a bao bun and some fresh spring rolls instead.

Feel like a nap now (I only work to 2pm on Fridays).

Friday

The weather in Auckland is the weirdest. While you’re out and about enjoying window shopping in deserted shops with just a light rain outside this happens.

My sister does her hobbies on her days off work. On mine, I go to the city and enjoy its pleasures. The train is pleasantly warm even if we had to stand up the rest of the quick (it was an express route) 25 minute ride into the CBD.

Another weird thing about Auckland; people are not really keen on public transport. They’d rather drive and moan the rest of the day about how horrendous the traffic and the weather was.

Sam and I have coffees and a nice danish (tomatillo with passion fruit and cream) at our current favourite Daily Bread. I had my Surface with me so what do you do when you have one of your work devices with you? You just have to check your emails.

I take the train back to Newmarket; my go-to local label just dropped some more active wear. The trains are empty, the shops deserted which is perfect. The rain is falling heavily now and I realise that the shop opens at 10am, not nine.

I duck into the once bustling Rialto Centre where there are seats in the lobby. It’s nearly deserted of shops which is another weird thing about Auckland; retail shops struggle in a city that no one wants to visit either by car or by public transport! (how stupid is that?). I’m facing this shop that sells candles, postcards and kitschy decor and I wonder, do people buy enough of this crap to allow you to pay the lease?

I read a longish New Yorker article on my phone about the 33-year old wannabe mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani and by the time I’m done, it’s 10:20.

I’m an efficient shopper; I know what I want and I’ve already picked the stuff out from the website. I don’t try anything else which prevents me from buying more. I’m done in about 15 minutes. The rain has stopped a bit and someone is lingering at Aesop which is just next door. I could smell black pepper and cedar. Damn it.

I go in and buy a pottle of body cleanser, a hand cream and a lips salve.

Friday purchases

Costco is full of great and useless things. It’s also a fantasy world where inflation doesn’t exist and those huge bags of Lay’s potato chips that you bought are actually made of air and have zero calories.

But sometimes you do need a reprieve from everything that’s happening even if it’s just a couple of hours.

When I was in college, my cousins teased me for having oily skin and I’ve been trying to turn that around ever since. But as it turns out after an analysis at a dermatologist’s clinic, my skin was actually very dehydrated, and it only looked oily from the outside from all the stuff I put on it.

So I started drinking more - even if I hate the taste of water - just for that.

And lately, I’ve discovered oils and how I could get away with slathering it on and people describing it as a glow. I’ve started off with Sunday Riley and Emma Lewisham but after several expensive bottles, you’d think, let me find some cheaper ones and as it turns out, there is a whole universe of oils.

This one is local (Miabelle) and they also have body oils which I want to try out; not particularly happy with normal drugstore/supermarket body lotions like Aveeno and Jergens.

Friday

I have this fear that there will be that one morning when I wake up, having blissfully put my phone on flight mode through the night, that goddamned North Korea has launched a nuclear/hydrogen bomb attack because of goddamned Donald Trump. 

This Friday morning the sky seemed on fire for no other reason than the fact that it was another Friday; that we get to be alive and well for one more day; that we have to persevere only because there are people we love who need our protection and care.