I was already weary as I rounded the roundabout in my best Mitsubishi Diamante. My intention was to park like a perfect oblong between the white lines of your asphalt. But my rubber wheels had a different idea. I don’t think you noticed but I noticed you. Tall, magnificent, yellow: Pak’NSave. I took great care as I crossed the car park. I was not so easily shipwrecked by the KFC on the corner. Nor by the hamburger horizon of McDonalds. Tonight, my thoughts were on you, Pak’nSave. Tonight, I was in charge of cooking.

I’ve accomplished something monumental by finishing my first Grande Green Tea Latte. I had to work through slurps and sips and scoops of cream. I pushed as the sugar smashed against my brain. I squashed the internal rebellion of doubt that arose from my teenage anti-consumerist politics. I’m in my 30’s now and it’s a revelation to find joy in something that once made my stomach twist.

Me and my girlfriend had been driving the backroads since early in the AM and we hadn’t packed any snacks. No sandwiches. No chips. No nothing. Just pure hunger driving us across the country. We finally stopped in Te Awamutu. My girlfriend wanted a Strawberry Matcha from Starbucks. But I told her, babes, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore, how about Burger Fuel?

I had only been cruising the supermarket aisles for about half an hour on a Wednesday, when wham! I looked out the window and saw someone messing with my ride. I left my trolly lingering by the chillers and ran. There was a parking ticket on my windscreen. I picked it up and felt that unique blend of bile, annoyance and anger. I was dreading the damage.

I wanted to watch the sunrise with a coffee in my hand. I was galloping towards the first place that was open. My Starbucks girlfriend was still sleeping. This was a solo expedition and honestly, I was looking forward to a straight up long black. The sky clouded over and the rain started. It is what it is, no golden beams for me this morning.

I was walking through the backstreets of Raglan with my Starbucks girlfriend. It was late and the moon was almost full but there was enough silvery light to not get scared of the dark. We had been hotfooting it along the water, trying to keep ahead of the rain.