Some Unsubtle Sojourns

On a domestic flight with a workplace acquired lover, a surge of anxiety passed through me as the plane took off, traveling direct to New Zealand's capital, Wellington city. The flight was safely uneventful, even the baby in the seat behind was quiet, as the landscape passed underneath, mostly the brown of late summer grasslands, with the occasional block of rich green national park bush.

Wellington airport was a garish attempt to capitalize on the filmography of hobbits and elves but not the last seen of it in Wellington. The city streets were cold despite the summer season, the grand stone buildings lining the streets channeling wind and frigidity. The hotel room booked was an upmarket shoe-box, which served little more than baggage storage and a showering point.

Sleep was an elusive state, as my night time work schedule combined with the lack of affection from my sleeping partner, left me restless and exhausted during the entire 3 day trip. I remember walking past the strip club later, just down from the promenade of Dixon and Manners, saddened that this could be the closest I get to sensual satisfaction all weekend. How true this early thought would be, not that there was much time for reflection, on relationships or otherwise, as the busy sightseeing schedule devised by my companion, involved a lot of walking.

To be fair, Wellington has a lot of good places for walking; the waterfront and its associated museum, Te Papa (Tolkien's world at the bottom of mine); Cuba street and it's bohemian charm, a good place to catch a show; and after short train ride north, a walk through the annual market fair, and a few cheap paperbacks.

The trip's busy event schedule ended with a unaccompanied second trip to Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand, to peruse the video game exhibit, a scattered exploration of the auteurs in the medium. My frigid lover had elected to return to the hotel room to sleep, exhausted from all the walking and lack of sex.

How I had gotten to this point was no real mystery, the lack of sleep has left my nerves raw, my body fueled only with restaurant fare, time spent in tourist traps, one evening assisting dull comedy magicians. I could feel like this holiday weekend had been first nail in the coffin of my year long relationship. Conflict-less, no fire or passion, just smoldering resentment; the feeling and exhaustion probably mutual.

There had been much to do in Wellington, and none of it was my girlfriend.