LBD, Mr Daniel Jacka, had a recent quick trip to the uk before returning back to New Zealand, Russ caught up with him via email to see what’s going on in his life right now. (Reposted with new photos! We may also have some news soon involving LBD and Dan K. We’ll keep you posted…)

Hey LBD, where are you right now whilst writing this? I’m at my desk at work. Staying late to answer these questions ‘cos now i’m out of the hostel i don’t have access to free internet anywhere else. It’s pretty quiet but there are still a couple of grafters here. I’m watching people play cricket out the window.

How was visiting home at Christmas? It was a mixture of being really excited to see everybody again, and wanting to get back to NZ as fast as possible! My life in NZ had just gone from pretty great to decidedly awesome thanks to Juliet, and so of course it was tough to be away from her. But seeing everyone at home was so fun. Spending Christmas with my family, New Years with Peacock & Alex and Gaz and the Southsea lot, the fantastic meal Gonz and Meg put on, catching up with my buddy Rob, skating with Gonz, Russ, Sandy, Veran and Steve – it was ace man. And rounded off perfectly by being booted out of a spot by the fuzz. The only bummer is that i never caught up with Wig.

So you’re back in Welly, with a proper place to live, is it starting to feel like home now? No not yet. It’s getting there. I don’t feel that England is ‘home’ anymore either. So i’m kinda lost in the middle! As i learn more about NZ history and culture, and get to know more people, it starts to feel more like home. I still haven’t seen much of the country. We’re going up to Hawke’s Bay this weekend and i’m so looking forward to that. You know how you think ‘England’ and you quickly have a map, almost subconciously, of population densities, culture variances, etc. – skate spots even – from places you’ve been across the country? i can’t do that with NZ at the moment because i’ve seen so little. So i don’t have that grounding yet. But i’ll get it.

How’s the weather? Right now it’s lovely outside. Bit windy maybe. But that’s Wellington. The nights are getting colder though. The seasons are changing …

PJ wants to know “where’s the updates gone on RAS”? Hey PJ bro! Missing our manual sessions buddy. Boy do i have a spot for you … umm, anyway it boils down to not having easy internet access anymore. I can’t log into my blog at work – i get blocked – so can’t update from here. And i can’t be arsed to go to an internet cafe. But if i have something really good i’ll put it on. I’m thinking i’ll get some pics of the new park on there soon.

So you’ve got yourself a job, where and what is it you do? Ok, I work for the foundation for research, science & technology as an investment assistant. What the hell does that mean eh? Basically first is a government agency with a huge pot of money to spend on science projects that are going to benefit New Zealand economically. We invest in public and private sector companies doing groovy and sexy science stuff like biotechnology and nanotechnology, digital movie effects, whizzy IT stuff, etc. Loads of stuff. We employ lots of very capable science people to work with clients to develop their ideas and get their project to a fundable state. Me, I support those very capable science people in the office by collating info, analysing data, building web pages, designing IT systems, etc. It’s great most of the time. I never had a job that was so rewarding in terms of working for something worthwhile and being able to make a difference. Plus without exception all the people here are lovely. But I have to say that because i need my contract extended.

Last time you skated and where? Well last time was yesterday afternoon but it was just an hour at the new park. Not really a proper skate ‘cos it was full of kids and parents. Before that I was down the brewery a couple of nights midweek working on them frontside 5-0s yo. (100% 360 flip success rate – tried two, made two. oh happy days. but then I couldn’t try another one in case I broke it). And before that was last weekend with Dan K, Bernie, Dave and Olly skating this ridiculous spot that PJ would love – actually everybody would love. It’s a 20ft manual pad, 2ft wide, starting 1ft high, ending 2ft high, two steps up at the ‘on’ end, whippy little roll-in at the ‘off’ end. Joke!

Whats the scene like in Welly? Any rippers? Oh god yeah. Everyone seems to be born able to skate blocks. There’s loads of people here who skate for transportation ‘cos it’s actually feasible in the city where roads are smooth. And you get loads of crusty longboarders in the hills. Underground rippers pop up on a Sunday afternoon to tear it up and then disappear for a few months. And then there are the proper locals and the yoof, who are all so damn good. If you want my pick i’ll go for Bernie, who can quietly destroy anything; Jade, who has got the raddest style – very Justin Carline-esque; and young buck Harry, who’s a proper skate rat, very friendly, delightfully eccentric, capable of kickflip backside nosebluntslides, and gave very funny answers in his Manual Magazine ‘Good As’ interview.

Has the Brewery spot gone yet? It’s still there, just. All the blocks round the edge have gone, which is a huge loss. Though someone built a box with one side banked and that’s been good fun. And there’s a little girder flat bar. And flatland for miles. But i think it’s going to be ‘developed’ by the city council so we may yet have to mourn her. But there will always be the waterfront flatland, hopefully a wooden block or two, and now the park too.

Any thoughts on “Into the Fall”, anyone’s part you’re looking forward to seeing? Um, it’s weird not really knowing what’s been going on. I’m intrigued enough just wondering who’s going to have footage. I wanna see everybody’s parts. I am anticipating full sections from Russ, Gonz, Sandy, Ben, Steve, Dave Underwood and a Nick Jensen-esque part from Vezcakes.

What are your future plans? I’m applying for NZ residency. I have had my ‘expression of interest’ accepted and have been invited to apply, so now I have to get together police records and medicals and all that gubbins. Hopefully will be all sorted by mid-June, which is when my working holiday visa runs out. Me and Ju are planning to go to the south island in May so I can see the other half of the country, and to dear ol’ blighty in summer 2007, so she can see you lot and the ‘hidden treasure’ that is the county of Essex! After that? I don’t know. I like it here man. I feel like I’ve found somewhere I can happily live. So maybe I’ll just do that eh? I might do some more studying. I want to invite you all over here to stay with us. Maybe iI’ll get a project going. Build something cool. Be with my girl. Learn with her. Live with her. And skate. Then skate some more. Visit India again. What about Egypt? Write some words. Draw some pictures. Learn to make music. There’s loads of things to do…

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