The Earths orbit is Approximately 92,960,000 Km each orbit of the sun and it has been exactly 1390 days since Gerald and I Left New Zealand for another Adventure.
Gerald had acquired a lot of dust sitting on the top shelf of the bookcase and looking rather sad…. Spock the dog had been looking longingly at him for a few years trying to decide if Gerald was the forbidden fruit he was never allowed…. a bit like the sexual act all men want but when they get it someone end up grumpy for the next 3 days.
so what has changed in the last 1390 days?
in October 2018 I managed to convince my father that starting up a vehicle wholesale business was a good idea and he helped fund my current business Otago Wholesale Limited.
November 2018 introduced the latest addition to the family, his name is Spock the Dog and he is a Yellow Labrador who will eat anything that looks disgusting and take pride while doing it….. that was a nice surprise for Hamish and Sandra (Momma Bear & Poppa Bear) to return from the Caribbean sailing and being greeted by a boisterous 3 Month old Puppy who decided to take a liking to a leather lounge suite….. now called Spocks’ couch that looks like it has been at ground zero of a Russian nuclear strike.
but that aside 2022 seems to be a year where we can get back to some definition of a normal lifestyle, and in that it brings us to the present day.
Gerald the Alpaca has settled on a trip to the Philippine’s, this is for a few reasons.
1: its not an expensive country to visit
2: Foreign relations between the NZ & PH Govt. are healthy
3: they are not at war with Russia
4:its only a 13 Hour Flight from CHCH international Airport to Manila.
As Per usual Gerald and i always travel with no plan, we have found this the most effective way as it puts no pressure on the time schedule and all i need to do is make sure I’m back in Manila by the 30/6/2022 without Covid to return to NZ…… should be easy enough
so what does the Philippines have to offer?……. well if you ask the CDC they list the following
-COVID-19
-Cholera
-Hepititas A & B
-Japanese Encephalitis
-Malaria
-Measels
-Rabies
-Typhoid
and if you want to know what travel safe recommends. here you go.
-Terrorism Risk
-Organ Theft (liver and kidneys are probably wrecked)
-Violent Crime
-Kidnapping
…. what could possibly go wrong!
Visa Requirements for New Zealand Travelers
-Medical Insurance for cover for $50,000+ USD
-48 Hour Departure Covid test upon leaving country of origin
-Vaccine Pass for international Travel to WHO Standards
-Entry for 30 days upon arrival at border with no pre-approval for NZ travelers.
so what leads someone to travel during the middle of a pandemic you ask?….
well this all spawned itself 3 weeks ago from a natural cause of events similar to my last travel experience I have been off work for personal mental health reasons and i can only describe the situation I was in for the last 3 months as “ground hog day” except it wasn’t a comedy but a horror film, and I decided that rather than sit here at home and wallow in my self pity and depression I needed to go out and make new memories to replace the painful old ones.
Life is a rather peculiar journey for most and what I have learnt is that sometimes we don’t look after ourselves the best that we can, and I am truly guilty of that. the past 3.5 years I have Smoked heavily, drank regularly and with the change in lifestyle of trying to build up my business a lot of fast food….. if you need recommendations for these 3 items I can confirm
DUNHILL switch cigarettes are awesome
Burger King Double Whopper with cheese is a great go to burger
NEW NEW NEW Promise pilsner is great on a hot day… actually any day to be frank.
so after many days and months and years of not taking care of myself something had to break and that was my mind, and just like a bone it takes time to heal and that time is really at the mercy of yourself.
when someone is suffering from Depression, Anxiety, Loneliness and lack of identity it is the worst pain I can ever describe and as the spiral gets faster and faster and when you near obliteration you don’t wish it on anybody…. you only wish that the pain will stop for yourself.
you start to withdraw from life and nothing gives you solace or peace from the splitting headaches, lack of communication skills, dark and evil thoughts creeping in from the darkness and naturally we look to things that used to give us pleasure.
for men this usually includes alcohol… but as we know that’s a depressant and the spiral continues untill…… BOOM! you crash and wake up in a ICU bed at 7.30AM with tubes hanging out of every hole the doctors could find and a tube rammed down your throat and it hurts to breath and swallow.
after that you have sit in that bed feeling really grim and when your parents come to visit you you have to look at the sorrow on their face like they think it was somehow Their fault cause they didn’t see it coming…. then the guilt kicks in and you wonder how you failed and weather you really wanted to do it but with all the left over medication running around your system it feels surreal and your not really sure if this is just a bad dream.
After a suicide attempt the following 3 weeks are the hardest. your doctor is reluctant to prescribe anything to take the edge off as they are worried you will try again….. the statistics around this according to the Harvard medical journal are as follows
the First time suicide attempts in males has a success rate of around 35%
the chance of a second attempt is 5%, however the second attempt is usually a fatality rate of 95%.
I find comfort in these statistics.. when your sitting at home for days on end smoking more than Thomas the tank engine with a blown head gasket you have a lot of spare time to get lost in your head and ask questions you want to know the answer to and the more you search the more you realize the situation you are in is not uncommon, however no one has a silver bullet for the pain and suffering you are feeling.
anyways enough of the sad depressing stuff, but i have always found it good to be honest in these writings. mainly as a therapeutic level for me but also a gateway into my inner thoughts.
this blog will be updated daily as per last time with photos and all the weird things i get upto on my travels.
the link will be posted daily to my facebook feed…….. or you can go to https://geraldthealpaca.com/
as per always i like to leave my writing with a great quote that gives insight into the human experience
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond it can bare” – The Quran – Surah Baqarah.
Quantum Entanglement 