I've always been very careful with what I spend my money on in New Zealand. But given I've had some really foolish expenses too, which I do not look back on fondly.
Anyway, I recently spent $123 and I'm still wondering whether or not I'm proud of it. On one hand, it's going towards a good cause, charity for the Christchurch Earthquake and all. But on the other hand, that's not what I paid the money for.
I paid the money to watch this guy. The man from Man vs Wild himself, Bear Grylls.
You have no idea how much I love this man. To me, he is the epitome of what a real man should be - tough, wild, disciplined, capable, skillfull, extremely resourceful, and darn good looking. He also tends to portray the image of a loving husband and father, and a devoted Chief Scout, although these qualities could very well be part of his on screen persona. It's ok. I buy it. heh.
So I bought VIP tickets (because regular tickets just wasn't enough) to watch him talk 2 nights ago at the Sky City Convention Center in Auckland. When I first heard he was coming here I was ecstatic! So on hindsight, I think my VIP ticket purchase was a little rash and unnecessary. A regular one would do. But hey, come on. It's Bear Grylls. I don't know when I will see him live again =).
So I went to watch, and be inspired. And I was surprised to see how young he looked in person, when he wasn't covered in dirt and blood. And he told us a simple story, of when he went up Mount Everest at the age of 23. I really liked it, because he told it from the perspective a young individual, humbled by the greatest mountain in the world. I thought it was pretty inspiring.
But the other acts that were on that night were pretty good too. Chris Cope was a pretty good musician, a Kiwi based in Auckland. I really liked his singing and thought his little loop pedal thing was quite awesome.
And Mark Inglis from New Zealand, who climbed Mount Everest with two prosthetic legs - he was pretty inspiring too. It kinda puts things into perspective, he's a double amputee, Bear Grylls was 23, and they have both went to the summit of Mount Everest and came back alive. I'm reaching my 25th birthday (as much as I am trying to delay it), and I have both very real, pretty strong legs, and I am no where close to climbing up that mountain.
I think I left the room feeling a sudden sense of urgency to go out there and DO things. GREAT things. There is so much I can offer in my life, to myself and to others. Who am I to let it all go to waste if I didn't at least try? =)
based on what you've written in this post, i'd say that $123 was very well worth it if it inpired you and sparked the urge to go out and "DO things" within you HAHA!
ReplyDeletei also agree that he is very VERY leng chai.
:D
ReplyDeleteI saw you southern lights photos! Awesome much?! How often does that actually happen?