A digital nomad’s midnight ramble through Auckland, powered by lukewarm coffee and questionable life choices

i’ve been stuck here for 3 hours trying to figure out why my laptop battery icon turned bloodshot red. the coffee shop’s wifi is stronger than my will to leave, so here we are. 18.88 degrees, feels like 18.57-i’m told this is ‘balmy’ but my cardigan’s crying into a latte. locals swear by the ‘hidden dive bars’ but ive never seen one that didn’t have a bouncer pretending to be a bouncer.

‐smelling the grass after a rainstorm‑ this place does it. the air here smells like saltwater regret and freshly baked bread. someone yelled at a seagull outside my apartment window earlier. i’m 90% sure it’s the reason why the neighbor on 3b left their dog in the elevator again. if you get bored, [cities] are just a short drive away. [someone told me that... but also don’t trust graffiti artists to give good life advice.]

check this map i made while hopping between cafes-it’s basically a modern art piece• [iframe map here]

unrelated rant: the banana pancake vendor at the market charges $12. someone call buddy holly. i tried haggling and got a free coffee. my inner child is now doing yoga on my windowsill.

here are 3 places to lose your dignity:
- the upward spiral cafe-so..like.. a little coffee shop times satan• [tripadvisor link]
- beachside barbers-get a bleach bite and a grin• [yelp link]
- the concrete pond at midnight-edgy ducks• [local forum link]

i’m writing this with one hand and swearing at a mosquito. the humidity is at 67% and my socks are sweating. if you live here, you either hate this or you’re a consultant who wrote a book about how to monetize hugs.

someone told me that the ferry at 2am plays ABBA. i’m still looking for proof but my blurry camera roll says otherwise. i think i saw a seagull wearing a fanny pack.

img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1603131492058-09d8db4718d6?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&w=1080&q=80" alt="people walking on pedestrian lane during daytime" width="100%"] img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1568650436496-a2a288c7be3f?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&w=1080&q=80" alt="Hamilton Richard Rodgers signage" width="100%"] img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1474502602016-93ddf42348aa?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&w=1080&q=80" alt="aerial photography of city buildings under white and blue sky at daytime" width="100%"]

postscript: i’m sure this place has a soul. i’m just not allowed to see it. oh and the wifi’s still dying. hope you like buffering.