Snack Attack!

I think one thing I'm learning about myself is that I like to try weird food. Today I saw "Burger Rings" at the grocery store, which apparently are Burger Flavored Onion Rings. I almost got them, based on sheer ridiculousness. Then I had a vision of what my evening would like like after consuming the burger rings, and it was kind of like The Road Warrior, only in my stomach.

But I did grab some NZ snacks to share with my friends Bea and Andrea tonight. And I thought I would offer you my snackspert impression of Auckland's cure for the munchies.

Here's the lineup:



1. Signature Range's Chilli (they spell it that way) & Lime flavored tortilla chips
2. ToffeePops
3. Hokey Pokey Squiggles
4. Home Brand Party Mix

My assessment:


1. The Tortilla Chips: Actually Pretty Good! I've had lime flavored chips before and they can be pretty zesty, but these have a nice, laid-back flavoring so that the corn really comes through. Perfect for those nice, laid-back evenings maaaaaaaaaan! Post hackey-sack feed food!







2. ToffeePops: Muy excelente! It's basically a cookie with a layer of caramel covered in dark chocolate. The Pop part of the name probably comes from the fact that I could Pop a whole bunch into my mouth right now! That or the fact that they make the shirt buttons Pop after too many.






3. Squiggles: There's this flavor that I keep seeing all over the place (candy, ice-cream, cookies, etc.) called Hokey Pokey. I have no idea what Hokey Pokey is, so I decided to get some Squiggles which are advertised to be centered around the flavor. Well, I tried one and it tasted sort of butterscotchy. I still have no idea what Hokey Pokey is, but the cookies are alright. I prefer ToffeePops. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be "shaking all about" in terms of this Hokey Pokey stuff. Maybe it's best not to know.




4. Home Brand Party Mix: I think Home Brand is kind of like a NZ version of "Sam's Choice." That should have been my first indication. The second should have been when I pulled out, I kid you not, a marshmallow milk can. Hmm. So I ate it. And guess what. It was as appetizing as it was visually appealing. I think I'm going to stay away from the Party Mix in the future. Here's a visual review:





In review, NZ snack food = acceptable for playing hours of Call of Duty while wearing Xbox pants. In other words: success! Except for weird marshmallow creations.

In other snack news, I definitely ran across a pack of "Starburst Rattlesnakes." At first I thought to myself "How can we not have these in the US?!?!" Then I looked more closely and realized why. They looked pretty phallic. Fruitily phallic?

Also, Andrea pointed out that what I bought at the grocery store today (since I had already done my "real" shopping earlier in the week) was ToffeePops, Squiggles, Gummies, Chips, an energy drink, and light cream cheese. I told her it's 'cause I'm on a diet.

PS As you can tell, my Star Wars shirt has not been forgotten. Now I'm off to the Toshe station to pick up some power converters. Heart!

Buddha-Belly Grub Grab!

So it's been awhile since I last wrote of my adventures here in NZ. And I know what you're thinking. "There goes Travis with another one of his two-post-then-the-abyss blogs." Touche. Really I've just been trying to soak it in. You know, atmosphere and all of that.

But let's get down to the good stuff. The food stuff!

I feel like I'm ready to make some preliminary observations about what I've been stuffing my face with the last month or so. Here goes:

1. Coffee: Totally different approach than the US. They do not really do drip coffee here. Most of what you find in the grocery store is instant (not a fan), and the ground coffee I've been able to find for my french press so far has not been too satisfying. But there are a ton of local coffee shops. Everything is espresso-based in the shops. My go-to drink is a "long black" which is a double shot of espresso pulled over some hot water. Makes my heart beat in that special, "I feel like ADD-children have invaded my bloodstream" sort of way.

2. Burgers: Kiwis make awesome burgers. I went over to my Kiwi buddy Steve's house last weekend and he made me a standard Kiwi burger. Ingredients: hamburger patty, cheese, fried egg, pineapple ring, beetroot. Sounds weird but tastes like High School Musical made edible. In other words, "dancingly delicious!"

3. Peanut Butter: Not as sweet as I'm used to. Kind of disappointing, but probably waaay healthier. But reading my sister-in-law's food blog does not help me with my PB-envy.

4. Bread: Lots of crazy choices. Last week it was soy and linseed bread. Totally delicious, although weird for making sandwiches. My mouth felt very sophisticated. Now if only the rest of my body could catch up....(maybe the Star Wars t-shirts aren't helping any)

5. Ice Cream: Sampled some "Jelly-Tip Ice Cream." It essentially was vanilla ice-cream with a fruity, raspberry stripe mixed in. I was into it. I could eat a pint while watching "Grey's Anatomy" or as I like to refer to it "Go Away Ghost of Dead Boyfriend!"

Those are my buddha-belly thoughts at the moment. I'm sure there will be more.

On the topic of schooling, here's what's up.

I found out at my first class session that I actually have to finish my novel by July 1st. That's less than 4 months. Luckily I was already planning for this (it's a God thing).

We were split into small writing groups with the purpose of looking at each other's work in-depth. I think I possibly have the best writing group in the history of writing groups. My two group buddies are: Emily Perkins, who is a published and award-winning novelist who is just going through the program to "credential-up." Her newest novel "Novel About My Wife" is a great read. She actually just won the 2008 Believer Award, which is awesome (you can read their reveiw here. Needless to say, I am totally pumped to be able to learn from her. The other member of my group is named Zak, and he is working on a post-apocalyptic graphic novel, which is totally exciting. I've already been learning a ton from both of them!

The other writing news is that I have two stories coming out in publications this month. The first is my story "Eyes Open, A Melody" which will appear in the next issue of the Australian online publication: SWAMP. I think the new issue comes out in the next couple of days. The next is my story "Future Music" which will be coming out in a local Auckland literary magazine upstart called PotRoast. I am very excited to be working with them, and hopefully will be more involved in the future. So yeah, pretty exciting stuff!

I will also be giving a public reading of an excerpt from my novel in progress on March 25th. Here's hoping I don't choke. And my voice doesn't crack!

My life outside of food and writing has mainly consisted of pummelling my brain with as much literature/theory as possible. There's a reason I keep daydreaming of Steven Segall fight scenes. I think it's a metaphor.

I recently finished the novel "The Rings of Saturn" by the German author W.G. Sebald. Absolutely beautiful. A haunting and compelling metafictional walking tour through a quickly-fading Europe. It's like a simultaneous dream sequence/folk tale/history lesson. I loved it.

Here's a quote:
"The day was dull and oppressive and there was so little breeze that not even the ears of the delicate quaking grass were nodding. It was as if I were passing through an undiscovered country, and I still remember that I felt, at the same time, both utterly liberated and deeply despondent. I had not a single thought in my head. With each step that I took, the emptiness within and the emptiness without grew ever greater and the silence more profound."