Beauty, Lame Birds, Brain-Busting Books, and Meat Pies.

Snake Eyes here. I'm finally getting acclimated to Auckland, which means I'm not running into everyone on the sidewalk and I look right instead of left when crossing the street (trust me, I've almost been hit like six times). The last couple of days have been full of clouds and rain, so I took full advantage of today's sunshine and walked around my area of Auckland all day. My legs are going to be Chuck-Norris-strong by the time I obtain my Masters. Be prepared for lots of slow-motion roundhouses.

The following are some pictures from the park that is right by my flat. It's called "The Domain" and it is a place of peace and beauty.




When I was sitting on a bench for a bit, the white bird in this picture came to keep me company. You can't really tell (due to my less-than-stellar photography skills) but he only had one good leg while the other was shriveled and hanging limply from his body. You should have seen him move, though. I was silently cheering him on when I should have been reading.






Speaking of reading, I met with the head of my program and we had a discussion about what authors I'm currently reading and what I am interested in. Based on this discussion she made me a personalized list of reading materials so I can begin my research. I have been trying to work my way through a particularly dense book of philosophy that includes sentences like:
"The paradox of the last phrase (or of the last silence), which is also the paradox of the series, should give x not the vertigo of what cannot be phrased (which is also called the fear of death), but rather the irrefutable conviction that phrasing is endless."
What?
Here is a visual aid as to what is happening to my brain. Pretend Steven Segal is the book, and my brain is the dude with the knife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8uIdYpImHY&feature=related
I'm being taken to the blood bank by this stuff!

Oh yeah, and I had a meat pie courtesy of a cool Kiwi I met named John. He insisted meat pies are about as Kiwi as it gets. It was a giant pastry shell stuffed with minced meat, gravy, and cheese, smothered in ketchup. I'll probably digest it by the time I'm returning to the states.


Edit: So I just found out that the Auckland Domain lies mostly in the crater of the Pukekawa volcano. How cool is that?!?!