My Daily Journal while I visited this Country...
23JAN - I had an awesome time with my family for a couple of days while I was in Los Angeles waiting for my flight to go to New Zealand. It was Jamisen's first time seeing the other half of the people who look like her ... It was a good thing ... all four of my brothers and sisters with our mother under one roof was priceless. The crazy thing was I got up this morning at 0600 Pacific Time thinking my flight left at 11:55AM ...so my brother had already mapped out the shortest way to get to LAX from Pomona... we were on the road at about 0640 put gas in the tank...(even filled up the back right tire) ...had all kinds of time...just in case something happened on the highways....called my wife and told her that we were on the way to the airport and she said 'for what?' I said 'cause my flight leaves at noon.' ... she said 'Umph... I thought your flight left at midnight' ... then we kept talking ....when I hung up with her I was saying to myself ...why would she say that ...so I looked up my flight and sure enough ...it leaves at midnight ... (she booked it) ....who knew?? (Her...LOL) So now Im waiting for my actual flight time....and I've been anxious all day ... I had to take a nap to settle my nerves. The next time I journal I will be in New Zealand. Thank you Father for the opportunities that you have bestowed upon me. Thank you so much. Take Care yall!!!!
24JAN -So Im in the capital of Tahiti right now ... Papeete pronounced PAH-PAY-TAY ... the French keyboard is very different from ours ... the homerow is: fdsq space jklm ... the q and the a are backwards and you would not believe how hard it is to go from 90 plus words a minute to 20 because of this keyboard... then you have to shift for the period ...and I cant find the (THERE THEY GO YOU HAVE TO PRESS 2 tab buttons at the same time) Ive noticed that all the women are very beautiful in a tall thin Pacific Island type of way... almost all of the women wear their hair up and tied in a scrunchie... they said its because of the heat ...all that long hair would burn up. Im at some kind of Cyber Cafe with about 10 computers in it.. It looks like it was made for kids to play Battlefield type games and that WarCraft Witches game...but the dude next to me is helluv old and hes cooing and smiling and laughing talking to some young chick... see women they cheat in other Countries too LOL. Oh Oh before I forget .. I saw 2 GAY TAHITIANs ... the first one looked at me in a "i KNOW YOU KNOW... just dont tell anybody" kinda way ..and the other one looked at me and turned away with his head up as to say "YOU AINT READY!!" (that one reminded me of my Uncle) He had me rolling... with his white flower behind his ear... Im almost positve there are NO same sex laws here in Tahiti .. but who knows if you keep pushing the issue about anything change is pôssible. I caught the bus downtown for 130 francs and 500 francs is 5 US dollars.. I went to McDonalds too and McDonalds will mess up your stomach in WHATEVER Country youre in LOL.. Ill hit yall when I get to New Zealand.. and thank you LORD for blessing me with a mother who pushed us to expand our boundaries... real JABEZesque
26JAN - Let me make sure were all on the same page ... I know youre saying "GRIFF" what happened to the 25th ... I left Tahiti on a 1415 flight (ooooohhhh it feels so good to be on a regular keyboard) ...so I left Tahiti around 2 on the 24th ... the flight to New Zealand is only about 5 hours ... so you would think it would be 6 or 7 Tahiti time on Saturday ... WRONG ... when I landed in Aukland after only 5 hours it was SUNDAY AT 7:15PM!!! riggggggggttttt ... so thats what happened to the 25th its 3:30am right now on Monday and my wife might JUST NOW be waking up for church on Sunday ... thats the weird part. On the plane I drank this soda called 'L&P' it stands for Lemon and Paeroa (taste's like a ginger ale and mountain dew mixed together) Its New Zealands own soda. On the flight I read the Country's newspaper and they can CUSS in the newspaper .... it was a shootout on the highway and a dude who was caught between the crossfire says in their paper (and I quote) "I heard this noise and realized ...S**T... they're shooting!!" Im staying with J.J. & Dom from The Morning Madhouse (http://www.theedge.co.nz/) We stayed up for a couple of hours and had pizza (my kids will love to know that they have GOOD pizza and we ate what I would have called chicken tenders but they called them chicken loins or tenderloins) I keep looking for water spinning the other direction but everybodies toilet is different. Dom mad some Mijitos and put peppermint in it from a plant he was growning outside. (that was kinda cool) I was watching tv last night or some hours ago around (looking at Nip & Tuck) ...It was an olllllllllld episode but before 11pm I couldnt keep my eyes open ....when I woke up 'BrideZilla' was on their station called VIBE. I went to sleep and woke up at 0230 like I missed something ... jumped online ...checked all my emails and jumped in the shower. I just realized technically speaking I hadnt took a shower for 2 days ... Thats a record for even me!!! (LOL) *just in case you only read from the middle of paragraphs Im in a different time zone ...* Im going to work with Dom and J.J. in just a few... they should be waking up in 30 minutes. They're a cute couple ...she raises her 5 year old nephew who is on vacation right now and DOM reads ....reads like me ....has a library in the house so that'll keep me busy for 2 weeks too. Ill probaby have a continuation of todays date ....later on, now that I've reached my final destination (smile) ...Ill send pictures to my web designer (OH THEY LOVE THE SITE BARRY) and have him put them up ... Take Care and Stay Blessed ...When I was a little kid in California my mother told me I could do all things ... and her I am in New Zealand ... Thank you Father GOD for the gift of endurance ... Yall Stay Blessed ... Take Care... Oh just realized its a SIXTEEN HOUR DIFFERENCE ... whew
27JAN - Planet Earth What the Deal!!!! I think my Jet Lag has finally wore off ...for all the people that think they can get Jet Lag from going to Atlanta to Charlotte ...Im here to tell you that you CANT!!! Ive been over her for about 3 days now and I STILL cant get my sleeping patterns right ..but this morning I did wake up at 0330 (supposed to wake up at 0400) to go on the Radio ...and I went back to sleep for 30 minutes. Today wasn't a Holiday so it would be like going back to work after Martin Luther King's Holiday. Tuesday is a Monday you know ... The actual Country of New Zealand has about 4 million people in it ... and from North to South its about a 25 hour drive including a 30 minute Ferry ride because the Country has a North and South ...and I am on The North Island. Im asking Dom and J.J. right now what's the distance ...but they're telling me in kilometers. 10 kilometers 7 miles or so. (closer to 6.5 miles) We did Radio this morning and it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay different than yesterday because the entire Country was up and listening (even though yesterday was only Auckland's Anniversary ...half the Country had off) ...So we did the Show this morning and it was cool ...Im really embraced by the people at their jobs ...I met Leon today (has a black name but he's FULL KIWI...LOL) he's their Program Director...cool dude ...was having a My Sky Decoder put in his house so his meeting after we got off air was short (My Sky Decoder is a TIVO)... After AIR today we came back to the house and I watched the 2nd disc of The Flight of The Conchords .....HILARIOUS ...then took .....Wait a minute ... one of the girls from Promotions at The Edge took me to another Station called 'MAI FM' ....thats their Hip Hop Station ... When I got their they were playing AMERIE's song from 2006 ...... sooooooooooooooooooooo (LOL) Came back and went to the grocery store because I was going to cook an American Meal (TACO's) but got to the store and they didnt have any taco's ...the corn ones so I ended up making burittos. J.J. said that was the best buritto she ever made .... (I KNOW!!!) made some rice (their version of rice-a-roni) and we got it crackin. But before I cooked I took a nap and J.J. and Dom poured a bucket full of ice on me ....I sleep so heavy they couldnt get the reaction that they wanted .....LOL, You could set me on fire and I wouldnt wake up. Ill probably stay up and read some books then watch some DVD's....but then were getting ready for 2morrow. You can listen to me on http://www.theedge.co.nz/ ...Oh and tomorrow will be the first day that I do stand up in the Country. Talk to yall later ...Take Care and STay Blessed
28JAN - Okay what happened to yesterday right ... well I'll tell you. (Damn ...let me think of what DID happen yesterday) We did the Morning Show as planned ... OH..OH... I walked from Dom & JJ's house (Westmere) to The Sky Tower (Queen Street) Met all kinds of interesting people ...a guy named Marcus actually listened to the Show that morning and offered me a ride back to Dom and JJ's house...ended up giving me $2.00 so I could catch the bus back (I didnt have any pockets) He also worked for Red Bull and gave me a cold one. (So yeah ...I was begging in downtown Auckland) ...Wait till the homeless people at home find out about this ... I walked into a bunch of different stores ... oh and got my ...(get this) nose hairs clipped at this Barber Shop on The top part of Queen Street (North Queen St) from this guy named Bronson. (Since last year I have these thick white nose hairs that keep popping up and since I use to pull them out with tweezers ...now you can braid them) I jumped on the bus came back and took a nap with so much material that I was ready for The Comedy Club that night. When I woke up Dom and JJ brought me to the Club that I actually walked to some hours before and I went on 5th ...(last one before the intermission) When I got there it was already filling up in the lounge area and I met the owner Scott who I had been going back and forth with for about a month as I planned my trip. He was really cool took me around the Club and introduced me to the sound man named Steven. Right before the Show started I met Keisha Castle-Hughes ...shes the young woman who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 'The Whale Rider' ...I saw the movie before I came over here ...plus she played herself on an episode of 'BroTown'(Morningside for LIFE!!!!!) and Im on the 2nd Season of that now (JJ and Dom have all 3 Seasons on DVD) Its like the Simpsons meet Fat Albert for the Pacific Islanders here. (very clever and HELLUV funny) The host was a cat named Benjamin Crellin, I really enjoyed him ...I met 2 very funny comedians from Wellington and a dude from Finland that SUCKED!!!! (I thought about that word for about 2 mins) After I went off ... what can I say? Im a REAL comedian ...They loved me (smile) if you click on http://www.comedy.co.nz/ ... you'll see that I actually made the front page of their site (its an honor) After the Show 'Keesh' (as I now call her) took me out with her homegirl and homeboy Casey and Katie and we stayed out till 0315 ... too long to talk about ...went to some Club and the music he was playin was right up there with Funky Cold Medina ...then me and Keesh went to a Karoke spot and sang "Whats my Name" by Snoop ...LOL. After a gang of Canadian Club (They dont have Crown Royal in the Bars....I DID buy a bottle at the Liguor store over here and Dom has a flask so it all worked out) and Jager and Red Bull bombs ...I had to have them drop me off (I couldnt hang) Plus I had to jump off a bridge the next morning so having a hang over probably wouldnt have worked. Ill see you in the next paragraph cause I have to type them both back to back. (smile)
29JAN - Alright ..TODAY! I dont know if I told yall this or not but Ive been going to work with JJ and Dom every day at 0500 in the morning to do radio with them from 0600-1000 (EVERYDAY ...since I arrived on Sunday) last night they let me sleep in (till 0630) so I could catch up on some more rest since 'The Club Rider' kept me out late with her folk the night before. We had planned it with The Morning Show annnnnnnd the Country that I was going to bungy jump off of the Auckland Bridge (its set up under there like a type of Amusement Park that only 30 people can go to at a time) I left the Station at 0800 to go to AJ Hackett Bungy (http://www.bungy.co.nz/) to get my jump on. I made the weight by about 6 kilos to actually do the jump ...and they strapped me in ...had us walk to the middle of the bridge ...and up some more ...then some more ...and some more and we finally made it. I was cool all the way tilllllllllllllll ... I felt like my legs were shaking nervously so I wouldnt jump off of the plank until I could calm myself down...but then I found out that it was the cars on the bridge above us ...and the guy Jimmy kept saying 'okay GRIFF ..and 5..4..3' and I kept cutting him off saying HOLD ON A SECOND (mind you we were live to the whole Country at the time...they had a phone taped on my right hand) I dedicated my jump to two young New Zealanders I met in wheelchairs who said they listen to the Show....and after regrouping I basically went to dive like I was on a diving board and jumped fully harnassed by my ankles AND BUNGIED!!! What a thrill ...so much adrenaline... (my wife was on the phone the entire time in Atlanta and she had to be going crazy in her mind) I probably didnt help sending her a video from my phone that said 'If anything happens to me I want to leave everything I own to my wife" (smile) When you see the video your gonna laugh how I tried to stall as much as I could ...saying things like 'sooooooo ... I just jump right' ...when you look at the video notice how my body goes off the plank but my legs kinda stay like ... 'whats going on.' When I went back to the studio I got helluv love and listeners texted and called in and congratulated me. After that I met with the GM and Morning Show Personality of MAI FM (The Maori Station here) MAI FM is like the 'Hip Hop' Station here ... their is another one called 'FLAVA' though (So MAI is ONE of TWO Hip Hop Stations here) Then JJ went to go get her hair done ...so me and DOM hit the City ... First he took me to the Sky Tower (which is like the Space Needle in Toronto and Seattle) then we went to the Casino inside of it ...just to take a look ...and we ran into SIX African American women who were going back to The States TODAY (they were in Melbourne for the Tennis match) 2 of them were from Atlanta. It was crazy ... After that we went to get something to eat at a local hamburger spot .... (the owner melts his cheese in a way that I've never seen it done... Toni's gonna love it) ... got our food to go then went to EDEN PARK (its the home of The ALL BLACKS Rugby Team) They are a big deal here like The Lakers or THE OAKLAND RAIDERS!!!! We went down to the pitch (the field) as well ...left their then went to eat our burgers on the top of a volcano (I would never be able to pronounce or spell it) but that was cool ... got back to their house ...took my ALMIGHT NAP ...then woke up and we went to eat dinner at this place called 'Pregos' (its their favorite rest.) The food was awesome ... I just had the spaghetti. Okay ...were all caught up ...2morrow ...we jump into complete strangers pools .... (A promotion with The Morning Show) ...My eyes are bleeding ... Im out .. Thanks LORD for not wanting me today during that jump ... I left alot of things on that plank ... alot ... Love Yall ... Take Care and Stay Blessed
30JAN - This morning was BANANNAS!!!! I dont know how you say 'CRAZY AS HELL' in Kiwi ... but man...what a rush!!! We went to work like we always do ...but today we had promoted for a couple of days that we were going to do 'Pool Crashers' on Friday ....and essentially what it is ... Dom (that PSYCHO above ...I love em... randomly picks a house from Google Earth and the newspapers (whoever has a pool) and gets listeners to meet us at the Station and we go jump in the pool!) ...and the purpose is to 'get a nice swim with some friends' but wouldnt it be cool to get kicked out on the Air from some irate person ....can you imagine a gang of people jumpin in your pool .... (Only in New Zealand) so at 0730 we had FIFTEEN PEOPLE meet us at the Station ... We left in a caravan of FIVE cars and we went to a 3.6 million dollar mansion ... jumped in their pool for about 2 minutes and 34 seconds and three dudes came and told us to get out ... cussed us out ...tried to block people from leaving ... it was all LIVE on the Air ...It was AMAZING!!!! That was more fun than the BUNGY JUMP ... so they had all these different things planned for The Morning Show but it ended up turning into everybody in the Country texting and calling saying that the guy that cussed us out was wrong ...Then J.J. started crying on AIR cause she said DOM and all men dont know how to 'let stuff go' .....Then the police came because Chang (dude who got drunk on Monday ....Chinese New Years) told the police that the dude who cussed us out 'stole' his phone but he left out we were trespassing onto someone's property ... IT WAS A RIDE OF A MORINING!!!! WHOOOOOOO...I loved it ...Ill have the sound up shortly. Its 4 hours before I hit the stage again tonight at The Classic Comedy Club ....Im on the 2nd Show tonight (Pros Only) and I get a 15 minute set. (http://www.comedy.co.nz/) ....DOM went to his hometown this morning ....so its just me and J.J. till Sunday ....her nephew comes back from her mom's house this Sunday the same day Dom gets back so next week is going to be different as well. Ill hit you 2morrow ... What a ride The LORD lets me get on .... People are People on any Continent. (smile) ..... But White Folk Crazy everywhere ....LOL
31JAN - OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH what a night ... thats all I can say ... The Show was good ...I sold out the Show by talking about it on AIR ... and the room was absolutely HOT ... not a good crowd ... it was a GREAT CROWD ...but it was HOT in there... I had this nice jacket that I wore to sport all proper ...had it off in 4 minutes! I didnt like my set as much as I did the first night ...but I already beat myself up yesterday for a STRONG 5 MINUTES ..and kept it moving. Ill go get 'revenge' tonight. After the Show we walked to a Club that we REALLY should have caught a taxi to...and it was even HOTTER in there!!! Everybody went their seperate ways except me, JJ and James (one of the comedians on the Show) ...we met his Costa Rican girlfriend at her job (shes a bartender) and we were supposed to be drinking ...but her job closed ...so me JJ and him went to a spot on the corner where she worked AND THEY HAD CROWN ROYAL!!!!! My other homeboy James (Sarah's man) is from Toronto and he almost went crazy when he saw I had some in the fridge on ice...We talked about NFL football for an hour at least before the Show. He's a die hard Kansas City Chief Fan!!! (YUCK) but other than that ... LOL...hes a good dude. Now comedian James girlfriend came to the bar we were at ...then JJ left ... so now its us three at another bar around the corner from the last bar that we were at (following?) She starts buying shots of Tequilla ...(I HATE TEQUILLA) ...but they were good ... she told me to 'Man Up' in some kind of New Zealand phrase ...it was hilarious. They dropped me off by Taxi probably after or real close to 5. I got up at 0845 because my homeboy Akini needed me to send him somthing last minute to the States ...(but thats my 'MATE' ... Ill do whatever for him) and then I met Samoan Comedian James at the train station so we could go down to South Auckland. Thats supposed to be their hood. The Hip Hop Station here (http://www.maifm.co.nz/) were doing an open campus registration for M.I.T. and they had performers on the Show ...all of the performers are part of 'Dawn Raid Entertainment' Its the So So Def or Bad Boy of New Zealand ... the Headliner is this dude named 'SAVAGE' ...one of the guys on the bill was 'DEVOLO' ...hottest song in New Zealand right now .... My FAVORITE song ...and Im not just saying that. They all ripped it ... SAVAGE closed it out ...right when we got there 'BROTHER D' met us and brought us into VIP ...and made sure we were straight ... The place was right next door to their Swap Meet ...so I got some glasses (2 pair) one for me and one for James ($8.00 nz) All I can say was I had a BALL at that place ...kids were singing and playing and SAVAGE brought all these kids on stage to perform. Its a dude named 'SCRIBE' here from New Zealand who is like the JAY-Z of New Zealand ...so I have to imagine in my own words ... SAVAGE would probably be like ...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm The 50CENT??? (cause of his Posse ...they're HELLUV Artist's DEEP) FBI out of The States did the track for DEVOLO that I love. Oh and The MAI FM jock chick let me and James get on stage to entertain the crowd for a minute ... it was cool. But after when we were saying 'peace' to everybody ... SAVAGE was like 'Ill bring yall home ...you dont have to ride the train back.' ... dude took us around South Auckland ...took me to a 'hangi rest.' (its a certain food ...Ill tell you 2morrow ...tryna take this nap) ... took me around to taste and try all these different Samoan foods...Oh he brought us back to 'Dawn Raid's' Headquarters and gave me ...seriously 20-25 cds and a DVD. Then dropped me off at JJ's house ...she couldnt believe I brought SAVAGE to her house ..she was cracking up. (I brought James too) ...and now its 1739 and Im taking a nap ...I put in the pictures and the video 2morrow (smile)
( Thats James, Brendan and his girl Christina
( Me and James ....His look is priceless
( Dawn Raid Headquarters .... SAVAGE, ME, Brother D and Andy
ME DVOLO (pronounced DUH-VO-LO) and SAVAGE
R Robert and Steph Sarah, James and JJ
01FEB - Whew last night was the best. We did the Comedy Show and I had a great set. James went on before me and it was perfect because we hung out all day with Savage and the guys and Savage, Marenko, Dvolo and all their (fiance's and girls) came to the Show.... (http://www.dawnraid.co.nz/) I met a Numerologist before the Show (theyre not like Psychics) ...theyre just actually precise with their numbers ...like if you tell her your birthday ...she breaks down the month the day and the year ... Ill go get what she wrote in my book about me ...(second) She wrote "Im happy, young at heart, one of the joy bringers of the world, on earth to uplift loving joy and to bring laughter to the world!" Also she told me to not scatter my energy and to prioritize and focus. (http://www.positivepower.co.nz/) after The Comedy Club we went to a Club called 'Imperial' where Ill be watching the SuperBowl at Monday afternoon at 12 with probaby James from Canada and B-Rolla from MAI FM. They were playing good music Josh had been spinning at the Event we went to early in the day at M.I.T. ...so I already knew he was gonna be the truth!!! We rode with some people to the Club and the girl who actually owned the car let her homegirl drive and we went to drive into a parking deck ... she hit the back (YUP) ran into something ... so while she was still parking ..we were all 'Its okay ..dont worry about it ...it can be fixed'...woo woo woo ...you know, the driver jumps out the car and goes 'HOLY &$% ...YOUR CAR IS @#$%#*ED UP!!!' ...she was so crazy about it we all thought she was kidding and when we walked around the car ... it was ... messed up. So we kept her spirits up by buying her spirits (LOL) but me and JJ had to dip with James to his girlfriends bar... this time she was working ... we got a couple of drinks (they didnt have any Crown Royal ....but Imperial did..hence the going BACK for The SuperBowl part ...James is going to be stoked ...again ..he's from Toronto...thats where Crown Royal Liquor is from) So we got in a cab but we were hungry ... The KFC was closed but next door was some spot that everybody was at ...so we had the taxi wait ...before we got out the car these two ladies said 'are you GRIFF? We've been listening to you all week ...and there's JJ!!!" We went to order the food and had the taxi running ... The taxi ended up being $50.00 but it was worth it ...they do something different with their cheese over here before they put it on your burger ...they take the grated cheese and put it on the grill for a while then turn it in 4 corners ...like an egg ..THEN they put it on your burger...oh my GOD... its heavenly (smile) ....We woke up this morning and went around the corner to a little deli to meet JJ's Boss (and close friend) I just had sausage and bacon and toast ...and I tried some watermelon juice ...it was awful ...it tasted like ...like ...hmmmmmmmmmmm ...OH ...a cup of damn watermelon juice ...YUCK ...ended up getting the equivalent of a sprite (they didnt have any L&P) ...I washed clothes before I left so Im about to go put them in the dryer ...JJ went to go pick up her nephew and DOM from the Airport and Im going to the Dawn Raid / Horseman Picnic that theyre having for their own kids as a little celebration for school about to start tomorrow or Tuesday. So Ill probably have the girl who's car crashed come scoop me ....but all of a sudden Im real tired ... Ill blog more later ... STAY BLESSED
03FEB - What happened to the day before ....I know, I know ...thats what happens when you have a dedicated Blog ...LOL, Its all good ...Yesterday (the 2nd) Even though its the 2nd right now in Atlanta. I learned how to do the 'Haka' ..its the official chant of the 'All Blacks' Rugby Team, a guy came in the Studio and taught me how to say it and do it and then I did it live on the Air. They're teaching me so much!!! Yesterday was ALSOSuperBowl Monday, and I watched the game at this place called 'The Imperial' ...went there on Saturday night with B Rocka, James (the comedian) and JJ. I went there Monday afternoon at 12 and watched the SuperBowl that came on at 12:28 with Dwayne, James (Comedian), James (Toronto), Ro Ro, Jazz, B-Rocka a black chick from Sunnyvale, CA (believe it or not) who lives in Hong Kong (her husband is a realtor or something) but she stopped by before she got on her flight ...she left at Halftime...so all of us sat next to a GANG of REAL STEELER Fans from Pittsburgh wearin all their jerseys and shakin their 'Terrible Towels.' We drank and talked messed because I explained football to all the New Zealanders around us and they got it quick. So I had all of them rooting for Arizona!!! (Oh it was a dude next to me named Tim who was from Canada and he was working a one year gig in New Zealand and he was on his 9th month) ...He had his first girlfriend after only being in New Zealand 2 days meet up with us ... The SuperBowl was awesome ... Arizona was really lookin like Arizona for the entire 1st Half ...then they came out smashing!!!! That play by Larry Fitzgerald...why didnt they hit him in the 1st half ...oh and THE NFL NETWORK's Broadcast of The SuperBowl SUCKED!!!! GEEZ ... horrible commentating and where they keep the 1st down markers ..SUCKED!!!! Anyway props to The Steelers ..now were gonna have to hear their mouth's till August... RAIDERS FOR LIFE ....Later on I went to Ro & Jazz' house and they invited their 2 friends over ...I taught them how to play dominoes (no nicks) and we slammed some Crown Royal ... it was all good!!! Then this morning (Tuesday) I woke up and did MAI FM's Radio Stations Morning Show with B-ROCKA ...Had a ball with him and Adam all morning ...they have a hot 'in the streets' girl. (smile) Today is Dom's BDAY so his wife got him a surfboard and hid it in the room Ive been staying in since Saturday ...and I just went downtown to Borders BookStore and got him a 'how to surf' book that came with a DVD. Think Im gonna watch the 1st 3 episodes of LOST ...then Im gonna take a nap... I LOVE MY LIFE ... Thank You Father!!!
04FEB - Up and early getting ready for The Morning Madhouse with JJ DOM & Mike ... I was on MAI FM yesterday ...theyre all under the same company 'RadioWorks.' me and Dom watched 'Man on Wire' last night. Thats the Movie about the dude that wanted to take a tightwire and string it across the World Trade Centers... It was crazy ...but it was good ...it was on my list of things to watch anyway when I got back home ...they get movies late here ...then sometimes on time ...I think Valkayrie just came out last week ...and I know the movie 'Role Models' just came out last Friday. 7LBs had just got here when I arrived from the States. I always thought to myself that ...thats cool to go have a gang of Movie Premieres around the world ...now I get it. ...Oh so back to 'Man on Wire' ...dude brought all these people in his 'world' and when he was done let em all go ... It was almost poetic (smile) Today were doing a Show in ChristChurch ...thats the South Island. Me and James Nokeyski (the comedian in all the pictures above) were performing at a place called 'Fat Eddies' in LOL Square. (www.fateddies.co.nz) Its gonna be awesome ....then were going to do Pool Crashers as well. Ill hit you guys up from ChristChurch ...Ill take alot of pictures and some video. Have an awesome day.
05FEB - So last night was CRAZY ... the flight was real short ..like ...wait a minute ... a boy racer is about to come get me ...Ill blog the rest from my sidekick if I can ... SWEET AS!!!! Okay so Im back from Christchurch...we just flew in and caught a taxi back (with a voucher) Dude tried to hit Dom with the 'long way home' face ...and saw that voucher and was like 'DAMN!!!' The kid that came to scoop me in Christchurch was JJ's brother, Paul...He's an admitted 'Boy Racer' ...he takes me around Haglee Park and says 'This is the strip.... Friday nights ...its a thousand Boy Racers out here.' Then he did 'drifted' with me in his car ... his tires are bald as HELL!!!! He had like an 07 Mazda RX8... we were only gone for about 22 mins ...then he dropped me back off. I wanted to go visit JJ's mother but he said she lived too far out. Okay ... Last night ... we flew in Christchurch about 4:30 and went to the Edge's Studios there ... we hung out with the promotions people and waited for the Auckland Promotions people to get back from the Airport ... we probably got to the hotel around 6:15 ...went to walk to the venue (www.fateddies.co.nz) and walk back ... on the way back me and James (who was on the same flight as me and Dom and I didnt know) went to a Pacific Island art exhibit that his homegirl was throwing ...then we walked to this place that holds comedy called ...Um ..Um Baileys (but they spelled it weird) ...then we walked back to the Hotel ... saw Dom and them downstairs in the lobby and just went upstairs and ironed my shirt ...came downstairs and walked over ...300 people in the venue EASY!!!! James went on ...I did mine ...and we KILLED!!!! Wish I could say 'we did alright ...the people were'nt responding' ...but we DESTROYED Christchurch ...it was awesome ... The Edge staff in Christchurch treated us so nice ...they love JJ, DOM and Mike down there ... Shout out to my man Matt (my Bartender) and Lisa ...(the other bartender) ..and I want to say 'Rick' (one of the owners ...) dude lived in Atlanta for 5 years ...how crazy is that ...LOL. The next morning we woke up at 0600 fully hung over ...went downstairs and waited for the promotion team to bring us to the station so we could crash some pools ....when we got to the station about 0640 nobody who said they were coming had showed up yet. When we went downstairs on some 'how you think its gonna go?' feelin ...the elevator opened ...and it was 23 people downstairs in the lobby waiting for us ... we had two mini-vans they rented, 2 station vehicles and a gang of people following us and we went to the 1st house ...We all jumped the gate of this one pool ...the lady came out before we jumped in ...and we were like ...is this 'Marcus' house?' ...she said 'No ....he lives next door!' ...How funny is that?? We jumped in hers ...then went next door to go jump in dudes, but he came outside and was like 'what the hell is going on?'...He was so cool ...he just let us in and said 'shut and lock the door behind you...I gotta go to work' ...we jumped in his pool ...it was freezing!!!! OH MY GOD ... then we left ..found out later ...one of the guys that was with us said thats a 'Tinny House!' (Ill tell you ONLY if you want me to...LOL) ...Then we were off to our THIRD house ...this place was BEAUTIFUL!!! it was called the 'Something MANOR' ...it was huge ..we had to go NEXT door to figure out how to get in because their was a code on the gate ...we all jumped the back fence onto this gorgeous 2 million dollar house (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the 1st one we did last week that got us screamed on ...and they wanted 3.6 for that one) and the dude who lived there pulled the pool cover back and said JUMP IN!!! Got on AIR and was HELLUV COOL!!!! we all jumped into this pool and it was WARMER than BATH water ...OH MY GOD!!! It was Saltwater too .. he said thats big in Australia ...not so much in New Zealand (the salt water pools) ...All the chlorine and stuff is bad for you ... he jumped in with his jeans and everything on after we jumped in. Went in the kitchen and got EVERYBODY something to drink!!! it was crazy ...nobody wanted to leave ...we had officially 'POOL CRASHED CHRISTCHURCH!!!!' ... James was still there and he went straight from dudes house to the airport!!!! (WET) .... me and Dom went back to the hotel ... jJ's brother came and got me ... back in Auckland ...Tonight is my last show in the country at The Classic Comedy Club (www.comedy.co.nz) ...Ill hit yall 2morrow ... Thank you LORD for not making me SCARY!!!!!
07FEB - Its Saturday night and me and Dom just got back from ... man ...from EVERYWHERE... let me start it right though ... couple of days ago was my last night at The Classic Comedy Club ... Mickey, Brendan and ... damn ... damn ...Hold on Steve (www.stevewrigley.com) James and Don and I went out after ... Great Show ... everybody was funny ...but it was HELLUV more fun hanging out with the Best Comedians in this Country. I TRULY love New Zealand!!! We went out to some Club ...think Showgirls? Then me and Dom ...nope ...hold on...we went to James' girlfriends bar 1ST ...thennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn we went to Showgirls ...then me and Dom went to get something to eat...and came back to the crib ... I slept the longest Ive slept since I've been in Auckland...I slept from like 0300 - 1300 .. straight SLEEP!!! Then we got up and got on the road to Rotorua ... they were having this gigantic concert ... kinda like 'BDAY BASH' for the people reading this from Atlanta, but it was called 'RAGGAMUFFIN' ..it was all reggae ... Ziggy Marley, Arrested Development ... (From the Town... Atlanta) Shaggy ... it was cool ...but WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE went down there to meet up with 'Keesh' (from the picture up above)...Whale Rider ... and her man (Brad) and her family ... went over there ...couldnt get a room no where so we crashed with this dude named Meryn (MARE-REN) where Keesh and Brad were at ... we had a ball ...I taught my 2nd set of New Zealand people how to play dominoes ... they learned quick ... bout 4/5 peole learned it quick but this girl named 'Jude' straight gave up ... and quit... "I see 9 and 3 showin ... Whats that 8?" ... with a straight face!!! The chick who learned it the most ...who I called 'M' ...father is a card shark ...so she got it SUPER FAST ...then was lookin all in Jude's hand cause she couldnt hold the dominoes right...and we kept telling her how to hold them ... just put em down, so the dude meryn was nothing but cool ... let us crash at the pad... fed us... it was Mike his girl ... Mike' s sister ('M'), me and Dom, Keesh, Felocity (Keesh's 21 month old daughter ...who is racist ...Ill come back to that)..LOL Lil Phil, Meryn, Jude ... ALLLLLLLLL playing drinking games ...listening to some cool music next to the beach.. CHILLIN!!! On New Zealands 4th of JULY!!! (Waitangi Day .. The Treaty of Waitangi)...Meryn goes to sleep ...were playing this card game called 'Drunk Driver' ... pick up a face card Drink so many times ... woo woo woo ... THEY HAD CROWN ROYAL ... it was a REAL Holiday ... Were all HELLUV LOUD ... Then Meryn comes out with music playing behind him ...very stern ... nobody said nothing ...we just looked at him like we were spending the night at somebodies house when we were all 11 ... and says "Hey this my house ... my neighborhood ... you dont live here " .... Then he just looked at us and nobody said nothing for about 20 seconds with him still in the door ... I dont even know what he had on ... Canttttttttttttttt really tell you if we quieted down or what ..you know IIIIII cant whisper .. last thing I really remember (because we had drove all day ...and I was tired) is Mike got to arguing with his girl ... she stormed off ... he stormed off behind her yelling ... It was a real good time to just go ahead and call it a night ... (great timing!!!) ... went and crashed ... then woke up around 5 ... Mike who is now nicknamed 'MAD MIKE' .....I guess got to yellin and screamin and drunk bipolarin talkin to his girl and Meryn came out and told Katy (forgot her for a sec) Yall gotta be up outta here in the morning .. have you some breakfast... but BOUNCE!!!! (I love how he still made sure we were okay with the breakfast) Dom woke me up at about 0745 ... He went to the beach and swam because we were in bunkbeds and I was snoring ... when he found out what happened ...he was rolling .. we woke up... woke everybody up at the house ...and laughed and said they better be up out before Meryn came back with the police... Left them ... dipped to Rotarua...where the Ragamuffin concert was .. called 'Ro Ro & B-Rocka' and asked them what was up with the concert ...(because MAI FM was hosting it) ...They didnt have any tickets ...but it worked out ...cause after me and Dom got into town ... we got something to eat ... and dipped to Temuera Morrison's (Tim) MANSION ... now ...here it comes ... Tim is the dude who was the star of "Once were Warriors" ... its ... to me .. .like a Maori version of 'Whats love got to do with it" ... lotta violence ... keepin it real ... domestic violence ... woo woo woo ...he was also in SPEED 2 (Royale Watkins a comedian from D.C. was in that movie ...and him and Tim worked together.. What up Royale) 6 days 7 nights with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche... he's a LEGEND IN NEW ZEALAND ... the lead singer from UB40 (Ali Campbell) was over his house the night before (cause him and his new group were making their inaugural performance as a band at the RaggaMuffin Concert) ... sooooo ...we chilled with him and his people and his very adorable 4 year old daughter (whose name I cant pronounce but I know it means 'tranquil' ...and 'still') was counting down Dom jumping in his pool and learning how to jump in the pool with help by herself (real if you dont have kids you wont care about this part stuff going on) we chilled and left ... he made this dish ..that he cut up open this pumpernickel roll with the giant potatoe eye seeds on it .. reached on top of this plate of stacked high cold lamb meat (kinda looked like bar b que pork with no BBQ on it) ... reached into a giant glass of peaches (that were ...whats the word preserved ..) put the peaches on the meat ... reached into the same lookin jar of thinly sliced cucumbers that were also preserved ... put that on the bread next to the peaches... grabbed a spoonful of white beans mixed with a clear sauce ... put that next to the sandwich with a giant baby potatoe half and handed it to me ...and I told em "Thanks man ...I already ate" so he said 'eat it' ..."Wow ... I PROMISE YOU ....we just ate before we came here... I appreciate it though... looks WONDERFUL!!! Ummmmmmmmmmm ...with the peaches ...and the cucumbers ... Im mad at myself for not wanting the peaches with the preserved juice on the lambmeat with thin cucumber slices on the pumpernickel bread ... I dont even want to talk to MYSELF ...any more ...Everytime I have a thought ...Im gonna ignore ME ... sat there all the way in ANOTHER Country and didnt eat the peach, lambmeat cucumber pickled .... PICKLED thats the word ...not preserved ... PICKLED ...both of em ...the peaches ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNd the cucumbers ... pumpernickel delight ... So he made Dom one ...and he ate 3 ITTY BITTY bites out of it ... HILARIOUS!!! We drove to Dom's Aunts Summer beachouse and caught up with his Grandmother who is 81 ...and Carol who looked like a very close friend of the family and talked to them for a while ...then his Aunt and Uncle came in with the Tour De France bicycle uniforms on .....except they were not yellow ...and said they just ONLY rode 40k's today ... (thats about 24 and a half miles) ...chilled with them ... had a great conversation ...and then we walked outside and John walked me downstairs and showed me a tractor ...Old School ... asked me what year it was??? I said without thinking ... "1944" ...he was like "44 / 45" (Im GREAT) ...LOL ... got back on the highway played LOTTO on the way (they have Lotto stores) ....its funny ...rode 3 hours ..got back to Auckland ... jumped on this computer ...ate some buttered chicken ...and about to finish this BLOG ... THATS WHAT IVE BEEN DOING ...Stay Blessed ... Im not worthy ...
08FEB - Two weeks ago I came to a Country that I never heard about ... EVER ... Closest Country that I heard about was Australia. (Im listening right now on www.ESPN.com that A-ROD was caught being positive for steroids in 2003)... SHOCKER!!!! Back to what I was talking about ... I didnt know what to expect when I got here ... (thats not true) ...I did so much research on the Country, the people, the cities, the weather and the Natives ...that you would have thought I was filling out an Immigration test (smile) All I knew for a fact was that I was offered an opportunity ...and I've never messed up an opportunity!!! I thank GOD in front of everyone that will ever read this Blog ...that without JESUS CHRIST ...Im nothing ..wont be ...cant be!!! I just read this book by Richard Branson (dude that owns Virgin) and he had all these ways and tips to do things and how he did it ...and he sometimes chopped it up as luck..other times it was his guy ...but halfway through reading it ...He said he was in a Hot Air Balloon thousands of feet up and it was about to crash ...and his next sentence was "...I dont believe in GOD but ..." I couldnt believe it ...not that he didnt believe in GOD ...Thousands of people dont (hundreds of thousands) but I couldnt believe in an instant that he never knew GOD but thought to call out to him first ...not his wealth, or even the captain of the Hot Air Balloon.... GOD!!! He doesn't even know the 'Big Guy' ...and Im a true worshipper ... It made me eagerly finish reading the book...taking notes here in there but putting at the top 'He doesn't know THE LORD' ... Im so motivated. Im in another Country ... Im a kid that came from horrible beginnings ...horrible ...Dont even want to go into them because Im delivered from all that mess ... and Im a SURVIVOR ...not a VICTIM! But as I look back at my past ...and the mistakes Ive made and the things that I was blessed with ...I just Thank GOD ... I just thank him for his Grace, for his ability to not think and behave like man, for his unconditional love, for the fact that when I go to sleep he alone has the power to wake me up ...not me. It brings tears to my eyes as I sit on the dinner table of some people I just met in August and write my last blog in New Zealand ...I just met them in August ... PHILLIPIANS 4:16 .."I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me!" Dont forget your maker and ... and if you dont know one ... look into it. All the Kiwi's I will act as an official Delegate for yall when I get back to the States ... I will tell everybody about your awesome Cricket Team ...who at the time is getting 'hands put on them by Australia' ...Ill tell the people who dont know about the infamous 'All Blacks' ....and OH ...OH ..you'll love this ...Ill be watching Rugby this whole season ...Got a team and everything ...since the people in Christchurch were such the opposite of what everybody on the North Island said ...Ill be ..from this day forward be rooting for the Canterbury Crusaders!!! Richie McCaw and Dan Carter!!! So long to the home of the Maori ... my great Samoan friends ...and all the listeners of www.theedge.co.nz (and www.maifm.co.nz) James (you the funniest smallest Samoan I know ...thanks for the love potna), Savage (Im part of Dawn Raid now...thanks for the Hangi, and the South Auckland Tour. .. Chopping Center), Marenko, Brother D, Andy, Devolo, Benjamin (we got that project to work on baby), Brendan (you were one of the realest), GISH, Jan, Mickey (stupid ..thats all I can say...Stupid), Jimmy, Alisha, Amanda (Harden Up ...Ill be bringing that one to the States), James (from Toronto..youre cool The Chiefs SUCK), Sarah, Meryn (youre the best) Rick, Lisa, Matt, The promotion staff at The Edge in Christchurch, Fat Eddies, JJ's little brother (The Boy Racer) Doms Grandmother, Aunt Allison, John, Carol, Jude, Keesh (wait till you come to Cali ...Im gonna have my family take care of you and your dude), Katie, Casey (what happened to YOU?), B-Rocka (were gonna show em what REAL Hip Hop is Homie), Adam (I wish I could do the Jamaican accent) "Ro-Ro", JAZZ ('...a Moa) Jack, 'Mad Mike' (we all go through it with are girls homie), Lil Phil, 'M', Felicity (she gave everybody at Meryn's house cheers and high five except me... so you never seen a black guy before ...get over it ...LOL) Brad, COOG (with your Scary Self), My guy who taught me the Haka, Chang (all jokes aside ... youre growing in radio and you get it ...you'll be GREAT one day ... for right now ... stop chopping up the pauses...LOL), Mike (sometimes its cool to be 'the voice of reason' ..I couldnt play the role ...but you get the Oscar) Leon (would love to work with or for you ...whatever comes first...GREAT P.D.!!!!) Merena (thank you for the 'seeds' of opportunity), Jana (I tried to come to your office to see you one day ... they said you were gone ..thanks for breakfast), SEVEN (you'll be cooler ...its in you...when you can read this ...you will have reached your full Coolness...smile), Nathan, (horrible commercial on tv...but cool voice over at the movies...LOL), Scherene (thanks for the ride to MAI for the first time), Sonny (preciate you hitting my blog...funny dude), Tim (youre a legend in the game and your daughter is next ...she has 'it')Nixon (you came through with the Biggie...AND you like the Clippers waaaaaaaaaaaaay over here...I got you when you come to the States) and AJ Hacketts Bungy Business...
To JJ: Not alot of women in the World that I respect ...not in a bad way ...Im just kind of a chauvinist (smile) ...In a good way. But I've listened and watched you for two entire weeks ..not kinda ..but ALOT ...and all I see is a woman who wants to be the best possible person she can be, an awesome wife, a great friend, The Best woman on Radio in your entire Country ...and the makings of a wonderful mother. The way you take care of your nephew and your husband and how you love your friends says alot about your character. You let little things take you over the top (but thats the Aries in you) ...I like how you have learned to bring it 'back down' though by yourself ...that takes discipline. Your smile and charisma changes peoples mind. Thats an awesome quality .. thank you so much for seeing something in the 'only black guy' at a Radio Conference five months ago. Looks like you bet RIGHT!!! But because you knew it in your heart to let me stay .. thats what I thank you the most for. The bacon sandwiches with Cheese wont ever be duplicated (because are cheese isnt as good as yours) ... Remember ...Talk to people more ...everybody ... just ask them how they're doing ...when they start telling you TOO MUCH ... tell em you have to go 'cut your arm off' and thats gonna need some gauze...lotta peroxide...and time (smile) Love You Lady!!!!
To DOM: Its weird cause in my best man way ...Im trying to figure out how to say I love you in the most 'unromantic table for two' kinda way. Im just gonna leave you with a bunch of call backs.... I have met my New Zealand twin all the way around the world ...youre bold, crazy, fun, humble, talented, daring, love your wife ...great with kids, a sports lover, an instigator, a jerk, sarcastic, an ass, a poet writer, David Tua, a family man...and a KICK ASS Air Personality who works more than any listener could imagine ... we could wife swap WHENEVER ...were the same person ... cut from 'the same cloth' ... we have so many personal stories ... "Meryn", Porn Talk (that 11 year old on the bridge)...***not what yall think***, OH GOOD ...how'd that go for you?, your surfboards nickname 'G.A.M.', 1000 words in an email for the 'cool' reply, Do you have an eye problem? (thats the funniest) you killin em with that shirt ...they aint even ready for the shirt, the restaurant dude with all the rules... dont look in the street...dont buy a soda...the taxi driver who wanted to just work in a cubicle, the girl with the sling-shot...double bus head, That Itty Bitty Man, that awesome half Moa ... half fruit cocktail burger you had to eat, the 'Rapery Man' ...who was trying to bring us in his 'Rape Cloud' ... Just catch the sausage...and I wrote all of this DOM on my computer from the inside of Valerie Vili's small intestines. DONT CHANGE HOMIE ... DO NOT CHANGE ... if they dont like you ... they should continue to like what they did before knowing you ...and we'll see how much that'll get em. You did cry at the end of Slumdog Millionaire and youre an EGG....you'll never be like Marcus...ROFL!!!!
11FEB - Okay ...Okay ... "GRIFF...whats up with the blogs???" (I already know what you guys are thinking...LOL) ... So Im still in Los Angeles (actually Redlands) Im sitting in on The Morning Stiffy Morning Show with my Homeboy JIMBO (www.kcalfm.com) I stayed at his house last night...he has an awesome wife (who made REAL Mexican food) ...he has twins that are about 6 months old (boy and a girl) ...they were sleep the whole time but his 2 year old (3 next week) 'Jimmy' was an AWESOME host!!!! My mom and my twin nephews went over there with me ...then they dipped ...so its 0554 on Wednesday morning ...I have the worst case of Jet-Lag that you can even believe and Im not in my own time zone ...Me and 'That Baby' go home tonight ...arriving in Atlanta tomorrow. Tonight Ill go over my little sister Toyia's house (the twins mama) and show them the pictures and tell the stories of New Zealand. Then we'll be off ...I actually did something smart yesterday ...I sent about 28 pounds of dirty clothes through UPS ... so that should be alot less on our bags (always thinking) Im still 'High' off of my New Zealand trip ... All I can think now is 'I gotta get a house there' ... when my family listened to some of the sound from The Morning Madhouse ...they could only laugh at how some words were pronounced ...like 'Dentist' (Deen-tist) ... I told them that the Kiwi's laughed at me the whole time I was there ...I pronounced everything wrong and funny ... so they loved it. Bout to go on Air ....I MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT be able to blog again before I leave ... but Im almost CERTAIN that nobody in my sisters neighborhood has WIFI (LOL) ...Ill talk to you guyz later!!!!
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