Sunday, March 14, 2010

Painting the Town Red – An Exposé


According to Wikipedia, the world’s most reliable and #1 News Source, the Prime Minister of New Zealand is a fair looking young man named John Key.  What they don’t tell you is that this man is a puppet – he has no free will.  Key is merely a spineless marionette in a much larger scheme.

The puppeteer?  You ask.  Who is this string master?  It is, of course, Vodafone.  Vodafone, being the only discernible option to obtain a cellular telephone in this entire archipelago, has dominated all communication, and probably listens to your conversations, too.  You’ve seen them everywhere.  Even when you think your safe at Uni there’s a store right in the quad.

But it doesn’t end there.  Vodafone is not the ultimate master.  Everyone, nay, everything in this country is run one big fat red W.  The Westpac.  ASB, The Bank of New Zealand, all shams.  They don’t control anything.  Have you ever seen anyone use them – no, didn’t think so.  The Westpac, NZ’s premier banking establishment as well as most popular ATM, is running this entire country behind closed doors.  It’s already the largest bank in Australia, and even has ties to China – that’s a big red flag right there.  The smartest part about the whole thing is that they’re not hiding anything, they just throw it right in your face, daring you to question it.

The Westpac (rumored to be in cahoots with the demon Bazza) is conveniently located every half block in NZ and has no problem giving you lots and lots of colorful money, just don’t expect to see your card again.  Just ask DK, he’ll tell you his sob story – but be warned, you may never be the same after hearing it.  The Westpac, never one to be lax, does not stop at simple brick & mortar locations, but goes so far as to send the Westpac Buggy through the Domain and flying the Westpac plane high in the sky, dropping money on all us mindless cattle.  Hell, they even have their own rescue helicopter!  It’s a commonly known fact in NZ that if you find the end of a rainbow, a Westpac ATM will appear.

Though most NZers are all too content to turn the other cheek while The Westpac takes control of their democracy, one man is leading his crusade to expose these atrocities.  A legend of local lure, this champion of humanism and social rights has seen what this flawed system is capable of and will take it no longer.  He’s spoken of just as much as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster, but sightings of this man are much more common and much less pleasant.  His name, simply McQuiggles.

While others may sit in their fancy highrises and simply comment on the issue, McQuiggles is out on the streets, bearing the cold in his leather crime-fighting jacket, and making a difference.  While most barely even know their own children, McQuiggles is out there finding strange children and making impassioned speeches to them, not dissimilar to one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  But McQuiggles doesn’t selfishly ask for his dreams to come true, he asks only for a cigarette in return for his underappreciated lobbying.

When reached for comment, McQuiggles was quoted as stating, “Heh botta gabba gona bak a wahhh I know you have a cigarette behh komna ick,” followed by some more lighthearted raspy slurring.  He then eventually said something inappropriate about our mothers’ birth canals, to which we were forced to terminate the interview.


As it stands, no one is exactly sure of Westpac’s agenda.  It may be to spread Communism, or it may simply be to steal DK’s debit card information.  But at least we could rest assured that one champion of a man is out there, going to bat for all of us.  Sort of like NZ’s Hancock, McQuiggles has become a superhero of sorts to the local children.  Everyone knows that when Superman or Spiderman are around there must be danger near, so Kiwi kids that catch sight of McQuiggles are smart enough to immediately run away from him in order to avoid any potential danger.  Let’s let McQuiggles be an inspiration to us all.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Super Liquor: Destructive Vice or Beacon of Hope


As you may or may not know, I am a beer drinker - some might dare to say enthusiast, but that's not a word I often use to describe myself.  I don't drink liquor, I wish I did, the thought of going from zero to drunk in eight shots is brilliant to me, but for some reason I just can't handle it.  Wine also eludes me.  It's something about the taste, I'm not really sure yet, but I'm working on it.  

As a beer drinker, I often purchase copious amounts of it (with the desired end result of drinking it) and I would like nothing more than for this habit to continue.  Now, I'm in a country where beer distributors do not exist, and you just don't get 30 Natural Lights for 13.99. Through great searching and a citywide quest to find the cheapest beer in Auckland (not at Craig's across the street) has led to one beautiful, disgusting thing: Ranfurly (colloquially Manfurly), which tastes roughly like failure in a can - in layman's, 'the Milwaukee's Best of New Zealand'.  At $15 NZ for 12 pints, compared to $16 for your average six pack, it's really my only option.  And where is the absolute cheapest place in Auckland to obtain this aforementioned hangover-inducing beverage: Super Liquor.

Super Liquor, conveniently located by the corner of Queen St. & Karangahape Road, now has total exclusivity over all my beer purchasing and is graced with my presence multiple times each week (sometimes even twice in one day).  Admittedly, alcohol is one in my triumvirate of vices alongside gambling and fried food, and yet I keep hemorrhaging colorful money into it.  Its close proximity to Huia merged with its low prices and my penchant for binge drinking create a Mark Wahlberg-like 'perfect storm' of sorts for your everyday alcoholic/uni student.  

Yet, for as much harm as Super Liquor does to both my body and wallet, it brings so much joy into my life at the same time.  Chiefly it serves to sate my alcohol-related desires.  But more than that, it serves as a beacon of hope and encouragement.

You see, when we go out at night, the walk to the bars is a benevolent 20 minute downhill trek full of wonder and patriotism and merriment (oft tinged with a little light singing) and almost always includes a wee break at the Wendy's restroom.  The walk back on the other hand is a bitter and sloshy 25 minute uphill battle between you, the 8-14 pints you just had, and gravity.  As a doughy individual, gravity kicks my ass on a very regular basis, so I don't look forward to these walks with much more than disdain.  

At some point in these walks though, something beautiful happens.  By some great providence, a sign appears (quite literally).  A glowing, almost angelic red, white and blue (purple?) sign.  Quite simply, it reads "Super Liquor", and I know I'm almost home.  As I fight exhaustion, inebriation, and self-deprecation, the Super Liquor sign shines boldly in the dark of night.  Perhaps it was the wind, but I could swear it whispered "you can do it" as I passed it less than 24 hours ago. 
Alas, what can you do?  Sometimes the things you love the most can hurt you, kind of like women.  But at the end of the day, you still love these things, for not only their low prices but also the way they make you feel, inside and out.  Thus, I thank and commend you Super Liquor for always being there for me.