i was staying in mt wellington, south-east auckland.
i walked about 2km around panmure basin, a kind of tidal lake formed in an old volcanic crater and connected to the tamaki river.
on the other side of the basin, i crossed the road and walked up basin view lane, past a tab betting centre, a laundromat, bike shop, and shoe shop. the main street here contained a lot of groceries owned by people from the indian subcontinent, plenty of cheap clothing shops, numerous takeaway shops, many of them chinese.
one fish-&-chip - type shop had a blackboard out the front advertising "2x hamburgers $3".
there was a kebab shop, another with a closed front door (enter via lane at rear) named 'east city girls massage'; there were banks and an electrical store, and a rather seedy pub with many screens showing horse racing & the like.
the local population seemed predominantly polynesian & asian.
there was a muscial instrument store too. in the front window were assorted brass instruments and violins. in the corner opf the front window, farthest from the door, the was a faded, near-life-sized cardboard cut-out of paul stanley. the only electric guitar in the front window was black; it looked a little like an imitation of a gibson sg10 (a-la angus young) except that the lower side (lower when played right-handed) was slightly more cut away, or cut in same shape but a little further down the fret board (to enable fancy hammer-ons & pull-offs on the 23rd fret perhaps). there was a silver triangular scratchboard and a silver 5-pointed star in a circle.
there was a small yellow cardboard square woven between various strings around the 2nd & 3rd frets. on it was written in black nikko pen:
"PAUL STANLEY
$399.oo"

i didn't buy it ..... i bought a bbq pork & salad roll at the asian butcher's shop around the corner.
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