My ride out of MIQ was late. He does suffer from being terminally tardy so I was not crestfallen. It was an exercise in feeling awkward, standing outside the hotel I will never return to. I now have 3x hotels in New Zealand struck of my register of places to stay.

I am a product of the ’70s and the north. It was quite common as a child to be left in the car whilst my parents were at social gatherings. When you have a small horizon you get to know it very well. The immediate becomes very intimate and comforting. 

My hotel stays have become the same. Every little part of the hotel room is known well. Things noticed in a professional capacity and also on a cosmetic level.

Loitering uncomfortably outside I was struck by how quiet things are. That is not to say there was not an absence of sound. But there was an absence of vibration. The sound of HVAC. I first noticed this when I was waiting for my bus after landing in New Zealand but could not put my ears on it. I had had 3x months of HVAC and temperature-controlled rooms.

When this is removed, it’s a little like having been to a concert and suffering from tinnitus. You know something is missing and wonder what it is. Having spent 30 minutes outside desperately trying to look like I was supposed to be there. I had my Eureka moment.

Thank you, Richard. If you had not been late I would not have realised this. I suffer from being perpetually early. How many revelations have I cut short?