Men at Work, speak my language.

This is how I would describe a tall, strong, sturdy, well-built man.

6 ft 4, full of muscle.

Overthinking is often a sign that your intuition is trying to warn you, of something, but it cannot point a finger, yet.

My overthinking process was always right.

The brain / body / soul picks up the danger when it alarms you; but it cannot name it.

Brains are strange little nighttime screenwriters.

One month, psychological horror; the next month, “what if everyone behaved normally for once?”

Human beings invented “joking questions” specifically to survive emotional vulnerability without exploding into dust like Victorian poets.

You don’t learn a country from “Best Hidden Beaches in somewhere.”
You learn it from someone complaining about council rates while fixing a fence in the rain.

That’s anthropology.

You understand a country faster through what people argue about.

Who would have thought that the French have a cake called croquembouche, made of lots of cream puffs stacked together? It’s basically a tower of cream puffs. And why should Oceania have that, but not here?!

Autumn has arrived in New Zealand!!

It’s beautiful!

Arrowtown is all about the colors!! Leaves are sparkling yellow and orange on the trees!

It might be hard to believe how Gold Rush ended up in New Zealand. Yet the Otago region on the South Island was once a hotspot for those in search of gold. Even in the show Brokenwood Mysteries, season eight features an episode all about the quest for gold.

That being said, today I want to speak to you about Arrowtown, a cozy little town near Queenstown in the Region of Otago.

It has a population of fewer than 3,000. The town was built along the Arrow River because of the gold rush. Even today, people still live in buildings dating back to the 1800s.

I haven’t been there, but I guess it has mild temperatures, but, but! includes all 4 seasons. Meaning that, you will see the transition in between the seasons.

This small town is surrounded by mountains. Some of them are bare, without trees or forests, while others are covered in them. Together, though, they give Arrowtown a rare beauty. All around it, there are ski fields—but that part doesn’t really matter to me.

From the photos I’ve seen, it’s the cafés with tables set out in front of the shops, the street-side coffee spots—like the ones Frodo in The Brokenwood Mysteries has, often called coffee trailers or carts—and the various festivals, especially the Autumn Festival, that make me want to see it all up close.

I’m not saying it’s perfect. But I have a feeling that one of our best trips could be travelling to New Zealand’s South Island in autumn or winter—say April or May, or even June and July. I could even say it might be a very good place to live forever, if you’re able to pursue your hobbies and, most importantly, if there’s a research lab nearby where I could work.

Imagine buying one of those cozy houses, warming it up in winter, and sitting with your family in front of the television, watching a film and simply enjoying the moment. The fireplace is keeping you warm, and you’re drinking smoky tea with your loved ones.

Watching those scenes, just the town, the houses, the streets, gives out a really safe, calm, cozy vibe. I can see myself putting on my boots, and walking by the quiet, cozy streets.

I like this girl, Janie. She is a detective in Death Valley.

Well, she’s Detective Sergeant Janie Mallowan, a young, ambitious cop in a small South Wales police team, to put it accurately.

Not only is she dedicated to her duties, she is a bit obsessed. Her obsession partly comes from grieving the loss of her best friend. It has turned to a coping mechanism for her mental state. But it is also part of who she is. It’s a fuel, kind of.

She loves to get a promotion, and she would do anything legal, and ethical, to have that come true.

She’s sharp, but flubs social cues, blurts comments, and wears her emotions just enough that she’s relatable instead of polished and dull. That’s actually why Dua Lipa disinterests me (and Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber, for another reason, and Mariah Kerry, and NSYNC, Jonas Brothers, Cold Play, and many others.)

Her energy is strange, and resonates well with mine. Strange in a good way. I get you, girl.

Her lack of filter and quirky delivery are sources of comedy, which makes her fun to watch. She makes you laugh with her, not at her. She just says things out loud in perfect honety.

She has real pain and ambition — that mix of vulnerability and competence. And as funny as it sounds, John Chapel resonates well with her, as a mentor, father, possibly a little grand father, and a male figure she never had.

That’s why I enjoy that show. It’s not that the storyline is special. It’s Janie.