π o clock chronicles in new zealand

2025-01-23

π o clock?

inspired by Karpathy’s tweet, i started taking a picture every day at 3:14—pi o’clock. i have a terrible memory, and the moment i saw that post, i knew i had to try it. i’ve always thought of memory as a kind of key:value linked list, if you lose the key, it’s almost impossible to retrieve the memory. but by taking a picture every day, i figured it could serve as a key database. Seeing those photos might help me retrieve specific memories. though i do think the brain’s memory is limited, only the most significant events from that day are likely weighted more heavily and stored by the hippocampus.

anyway, I’ve noticed that most of the photos i took at π aren’t particularly great, which makes sense since i wasn’t planning the shots. i’ll be including additional photos from the same day to help the story make more sense.

PS: expect some clumsy word combinations, i wouldn’t even dare to call them poems, that would be an insult to unrealistic analogical word combinations(poetry). speaking of weak memory, my surface level vocabulary or key db is so weak, that’s why i struggle with writing well, but that shouldn’t be the reason to stop me writing.

day 1: 16 Dec 2024

flight from hyderabad to singapore.
reading about cinematography, and photography.
gotta get the best possible frame of the fading memory.

day 2: 17 Dec 2024

at the auckland airport, stopped by the customs officer.
combed every corner of my bag and myself.
an ounce of foreign soil on my hiking shoes; not allowed.
the brits ruined the flora and fauna, won’t allow it again.

finally, came through the customs,
the gypsy is on the move
started adventouring through this new land
call me abel tas-man

day 3: 18 Dec 2024

at the auckland art gallery
portraits rarely face squarely
this one does, and now i know why
the gaze is intimidating and dry.

while the flowers melt my heart,
yearning to be plucked to propogate,
yet, its a mere art,
impriosned for my pleasure

weary through the day,
restlessness longing for rest.
walk to a park, sit beneath the tree,
look around at birds, animals, and humans
let peace find me.
…………but wait, the damn notifications
dragging me back to the mess.

day 4: 19 Dec 2024

not a fan of cities
heading to lake taupo

lack of symmetry in the frame sizes bothers me
immbalance effects the aesthetics
yet, i do not dare to tweak the css
it’s a pain in the css

have to admit
this hostel room reeks with sweat of hikers
the odour from wet clothes waging war on my nostrils,
and i fear my socks want to join the battle.

day 5: 20 Dec 2024

cycled
through huka falls
past tall trees,
along empty streets,
to the serene lake views

day 6: 21 Dec 2024

a big nothing.
a fleeting concious spark,
shining as bright as it can,
then merging again with infinite stardust.

cooked a not-so-tasty pasta
went back to the lake
for the sunset
then moved on to a better hostel

day 7: 22 Dec 2024

bad weather postponed the hike
readin n tweetin about intelligence
eatin not-so-tasty pasta leftovers

day 8: 23 Dec 2024

a day hike to tongariro
n unearthly trail across lands of volcano.
mount doom hiding in clouds
perhaps my presense fills sauron with fear

day 9: 24 Dec 2024

on a flix bus to wellington
the norther part of north island

day 10: 25 Dec 2024

went to botanical garden
said hi to the ocean
came back and cooked some bangers

day 11: 26 Dec 2024

cruising to south island
through the rough cook strait
though today, the sea rests peaceful

met an old kiwi along the way,
milked cows is whole life
sold them all, bought a boat
to sail on these dramatic bays.

how long until the dopamine fades?
how long until this freedom bites back?
how long until he yearns to old ways?
excess of both brings a distress

the entrance to marlborough sounds
is like an holywood set
oh, the snapchat ceo chilling on his yacht

day 12: 27 Dec 2024

staying a day in picton
the hostel lady is an artist
atlantis, she calls it
the hostel itself, her living art.

went on a small hike
legs still aching from tongariro hike.
napped a while
until the pi o clock pulled me from sleep.

day 13: 28 Dec 2024

met an aussie in atlantis
doing the te araora, a 3000km walk
from one tip of new zealand to other
i asked why? he replied, why not
yes, why not!

but for now, i’ll stick to my bus
next stop kaikoura peninsula.

day 14: 29 Dec 2024

it’s a long walk around the peninsula
but man, isn’t it beautiful

met a brit, who left his home
works for few months, saves what he can
travels with that money, a lifestyle looks so alien
disconnected from the social construct
and just travels, a free man?

day 15: 30 Dec 2024

off to christchurch
joined with two other friends
rented a car
discovered the best quick noodles

day 16: 31 Dec 2024

To the lake tekapo
for stargazing on new year’s eve
lay upon the quiet shores of tekapo
and lose myself in the infinite abyss
and wonder if anyone is gazing back

day 17: 1 Jan 2025

a quiet sunset
vast galaxies
symphony of noosphere
keeps me awake
alive in thought and wonder

drove to mt. cook
went for a small hike

day 18: 2 Jan 2025

no groceries stores nearby
drove to nearby town named twizel
what’s with the new zealand one-lane narrow bridges?
surely, they’re not that poor for two lanes, right?

day 19: 3 Jan 2025

drove to lake wanaka
planned for roy’s peak
but it was already late
instead, strolled along the wanaka shores

day 20: 4 Jan 2025

off we go to queenstown,
set out on a hike.
traps everywhere to kill
rabbits, possums, and more
that are extincitng local wingless prey
all brought by the brits

day 21: 5 Jan 2025

went to milford sound,
was expecting heavy rainfall and hoping to spot kea
sigh, its a clear day and no kea
but no complaints

non-human intelligence,
like that from portia spider
or clever kea,
fascinates me.

day 22: 6 Jan 2025

fifty kilometers south of queenstown
a picteresque small town called glenarochy
swimming in glacier-cold water,
hopping rocks
a fun day, not that other days aren’t fun
added to keep this stanza feels complete.