The Quiet Life

2011-02-28T21:04:00.003+13:00

Those pesky gays

2011-02-24T20:41:00.007+13:00

It all becomes clear....

All the death and destruction occurring in Christchurch right now is actually due to rampant hedonism according to the website christchurchquake.net which, it's reported, is registered to an address in Utah, USA.

Whoever they are the owner/s of this site sure appear to have some issues with New Zealand culture. Here's a delightful sample -

"The families of NZ soldiers serving in Afghanistan should be asking, "Is it worth your sons', your husbands', your uncles', and your cousins' lives - to have them risking everything, just because a couple of NZ's top lesbians were blackmailed over their lesbian "threesome" with a butch American lesbian in Washington?" Yeah, that is how NZ's foreign policy was really decided! It wasn't national or strategic interests."

News from the shaky isles

2011-02-23T10:44:00.006+13:00

It feels surreal that the beautiful city of Christchurch (about 1,300 kilometres south of me) has taken another hammering only five months after the last massive quake. This time the effect is much worse even though this quake was smaller - there's loss of life because it happened at lunchtime on a working day and the epicentre was very close to the city and only 5 kilometres deep. Aftershocks are happening every few minutes, some of them quite significant so more damage is occurring all the time. It must be terrifying; I have experienced earthquakes but nothing like this.

Please spare a thought for the rescue effort that is ongoing.

I posted a while back when I was visiting Christchurch, see here for a photo of the central city Anglican cathedral as it looked then. See link here for a current view or here for today's shots of around the city centre.

The power of nature is mind boggling.

Is it just me?

2010-11-01T21:11:00.000+13:00

I'm scared of the air bag inside my steering wheel.

I've heard people say that if you have your thumbs on the bit of plastic that is the air bag cover in the centre of the wheel, and the bag is activated, it can seriously break your thumbs. It really worries me that I'm going to get more hurt by the bag activating than I might be from the actual crash.

Is it just me?

I wanna be a billionaire

2010-10-29T23:03:00.001+13:00

...so freakin' bad

I don't really aspire to billionaire status but as I start to look for some cute summer sandals, I just wish that the bottom end of the market wasn't my only viable option.

Plenty more fabulous stuff where these came from on the wonderfully comprehensive fashion site fashionstylehive.com

Check out some of these beauties.

Christian Louboutin

Givenchy

Dolce and Gabbana

Jimmy Choo

We have a situation...

2010-10-28T10:38:00.005+13:00

The Girl Effect: The Clock is Ticking

Check out this video above. It's an important message and we can all make a difference. The particular organisation I support is about empowering adolescent girls who live in Kibera.

Click here to go to my September 2009 post about the Kibera slum.

Friday flowers

2010-10-08T13:53:00.000+13:00

Check out this fantastic bonsai azalea by Phillippe Massard.

The beautiful pink and white blooms and their sheer profusion makes me sigh with wonder. There's another pretty rhododendron and lots of incredible bonsai trees at this great site bonsai4me.com if you're interested.

I've been dabbling in a small way with bonsai for years (with very mixed results) but I'd love to get in to it properly. There's something about miniature things that just rocks my boat - perhaps it reminds me of running my doll house with military precision as a girl or maybe it's the empowerment that comes with feeling like a giant.

Whatever it is, bonsai fascinates me.

Is it just me?

2010-10-06T16:58:00.000+13:00

I absolutely love driving for the first time on a brand new road. Actually I continue to really enjoy driving on them until they lose their 'newness'.

Is it just me?

Nudist fundamentalism

2010-09-24T09:03:00.010+12:00

At Cap d'Agde on the Languedoc coast of France, there's a war brewing.

The Village Naturiste was established in the small town 40 years ago and now the 'ordinary' nudists have had enough and they want the hedonist bunch run out of town. They've been complaining for years that Cap d'Agde's once-sedate nudist quarter has been disfigured by the influx of 'libertine' partner-swapping clubs and raunchy hotels.

A flurry of arson attacks on sex clubs two years ago was blamed on low-level terrorism by nudist fundamentalists.

At this week's Cap d'Agde council meeting, the protests took a more peaceful form. Old-fashioned naturists complained that they, and their children, were being confronted with "voyeurist" and "exhibitionist" behaviour, including sexual acts in public. Worse, they suggested, the "deviant" newcomers sometimes walked about in their clothes and mocked the "real" nudists.

The town mayor said "I refuse to make value judgments on the sexual habits of other people. I can't put a policeman behind all 40,000 nudists." He also pointed out that by-laws had been passed recently to ban minors from the raunchier establishments.

Full story here.

I don't think I've ever heard the legislative process to ban minors from sex establishments sound like going above and beyond the call of duty.

Marvellous mosiac

2010-09-21T20:07:00.000+12:00

Spotted this letter box when I was out and about.

I love it so just had to stop and snap a couple of pics to share.

Is it just me?

2010-09-12T13:39:00.000+12:00

As I drive everyday I try and memorise details about cars I see, things like make, model, colour, registration, just in case the cops need help to solve a crime and I can help them crack the case with my superhuman observation skills. I do the same with conspicuous people.

Is it just me?

The land of the setting sun

2010-09-11T22:16:00.004+12:00

Government records show that Japan is one of the world's fastest-ageing societies. One in five Japanese (28 million people) is aged 65 or more. According to local body registers more than 270,000 Japanese are aged 100 years and over. Of these 77,000 are over 120 years old and a grand total of 884 are at least 150 years old.

Amazing. I wonder if there really is something to eating whale meat.

The Ministry of Justice has recently completed a survey and has been unable to locate the whereabouts of 230,000 of these most senior citizens. The figures have fuelled fears that families might be deliberately hiding the deaths of elderly relatives in order to claim their pensions.

In August the police discovered the mummified corpse of Sogen Kato, who at 111 was listed as Tokyo's oldest man, in his family home 32 years after his death. This finding prompted the nationwide survey to check the validity of local records and the survey revealed that antiquated methods of record-keeping are still in use in smaller towns and villages across the country.

Wikipedia records Japanese women as having the longest life expectancy of anyone on earth, an incredible 86.1 years and an overall life expectancy for all Japanese of an impressive 82.6 years. Now perhaps we know why.

The full story can be found here.

Hey peeps

2010-09-04T14:54:00.015+12:00

Thought I'd pop in to say quick gidday to anyone who bothers to stop by here and to have a quick lurk around some of my favourite blogs.

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News in brief: Yours truly turned 45 a couple of weeks ago, took it hard I must confess. Much consumption of strong drink and funny smelling cigarettes was required that day/week (well it's ongoing actually). Speaking of ageing, life is cruel you know, I used to ingest chemicals to blur the lines of reality, now, all I have to do is take off my glasses.

On the topic of cigarettes (a while back I acknowledge, stay with me people), I passed my 2 year smokefree milestone - yayyy for me!

On a more serious note I nearly lost another sister a couple of months back but thankfully she survived the ravages of a terrifying affliction called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Thank the gods that medical treatment is top-knotch (and free) here.

Currently getting my head around the fact that I will soon no longer have school age offspring; the boy finishes high school in a couple of months then on to university next year - this is good and bad; great that he's miraculously not a drop out (statistically speaking 'they' tell me he should be a dole-bludging crackhead having been raised in the evil environs of south Auckland by a cash strapped single parent), not so great that I'm inching ever more quickly towards decrepitude (please forgive the age related whinyness; the birthday is still raw).

I did almost manage to get away for a couple of weeks to South Pacific island (Fiji to be specific), the plan was to up the vitamin D quota over the long, dreary, wet NZ winter but finances just wouldn't allow it. Booked it all but had to cancel when a big unexpected bill arrived. I just know there'll be swim up bars and margaritas in heaven ahhhh. Not actually sure why I included that 'non news' in my news update - obviously not a lot of real news to share. Sad.

That's about it for now folks, oh yeah nearly forgot, big fucking earthquake down country in the early hours of this morning, mucho property damage I hear though thankfully no loss of life.

Spring has sprung here in the land of the kiwi (and various other flightless birds) and there are smiles to be seen about town again - onwards and upwards. Love Lou.

PS Sorry about the surfeit of parentheses (an indicator of poor education so I'm told), I just can't fight it. Ohhh that reminds me yet again - I got my diploma (remember the one that I bitched on about for a year?), big double yayyy for me. Not a real flash diploma you understand - but an accomplishment by my standards.

EDIT: PPS Not a good day for tourists in NZ, I hear that a small sightseeing plane has crashed and burned with none of the 9 passengers and crew surviving.

Great movie montages

2010-05-06T19:31:00.001+12:00

I re-watched Rocky 2 the other night for about the tenth time and was wholeheartedly enjoying the training montage as always. I know it’s silly but I love the way it builds in intensity. If I remember rightly the one in Rocky 4 is pretty great too – that’s the one in the snow in Russia.

A great movie montage is an invigorating thing, especially in a sports movie, and it got me thinking about other great movie montages.

Here’s another classic.

…and here’s a heart warming one from the wonderful Slumdog Millionaire. These kids are so adorable. I loved this movie.

What are your favourites?

Friday flowers

2010-04-09T19:48:00.001+12:00

I went to a wedding ceremony in a local park last weekend and thought of my blog when I saw the autumn colours on this tree. Unfortunately my basic little camera didn’t do the vibrant yellow justice but I trust you get the idea.

Autumn here is quite wet usually so this bride and groom were very brave counting on a dry day – I’m very pleased to report they got it and the sun even made its way out for most of the ceremony too.

I know it’s not exactly flowers Punch but I hope this works for you.

Bone chilling

2010-04-03T15:21:00.001+13:00

This is one of the scariest pictures I’ve ever seen.

Teenage Chechen Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova and her late husband Umalat Magomedov.

See the story at guardian.co.uk

Off the boil

2010-02-15T21:12:00.001+13:00

I’m going through an extended quiet spell – would you believe I have nothing to say? No energy to say it more like.

After 10 or 11 hours at work everyday and another hour or 2 of study after dinner, my concentration lasts only long enough to check Facebook before I collapse into my bed.

Things will settle down soon, either that or a nervous breakdown will come first. Hope everyone is well. I’ll check back in when I can.

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Desperate times?

2010-01-30T10:56:00.001+13:00

A 19-year-old Kiwi university student is offering up her virginity by tender to the highest bidder on a newly started NZ auction website.

Under the heading "Relationship For Sale" in the personal section, "Unigirl" is putting herself on the block and offering up her innocence on the I Need website which is run by two Waikato men.

See the ad in a new window here.

Unigirl says she is attractive and desperate for money to pay ongoing university fees. She says she is fit, healthy, with a trim physique and has "no medical conditions of any nature".

Who knows whether the ad is genuine or whether it’s some kind of stunt by the website owners but if it’s real I hope she’s factored in that as prostitution is legal here in NZ the IRD would no doubt expect their tax cut out of anything she makes.

Sad? Just plain dumb? Either way, surely an interest free student loan would be far simpler?

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AWOL

2010-01-28T21:15:00.001+13:00

I’ve had a load of stuff going on and have been incredibly slack about posting here and about visiting my regular haunts. Work is chaos, I’m doing 12 hour days plus I’ve had a log jam of assignments to plough through - I’m a terrible student and I had let myself fall behind. Rory starts his final year of high school tomorrow so we’ve had to get ourselves organised for that as well.

Don’t worry too much though ma peeps, we’ve got a lovely long weekend coming up so that’ll give me some breathing space. Soon I’ll be back posting inanities again for your reading ~~torture~~ pleasure.

*EDIT* Just noticed by counter widget in my sidebar; I’m new again!

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No sense nonsense

2010-01-24T11:24:00.001+13:00

My hateful vacuum cleaner decided to stop working for me this morning. The ‘bag full’ light is staying on which indicates to me that there is some kind of blockage somewhere. The bag is most definitely NOT full, the filter is clean and there’s no visible clump of debris anywhere screwing up the works.

It wasn’t sucking though. And my carpet was decidedly unclean. And I have friends coming for lunch. Sigh.

I took a deep breath to stave off the desire to throw the horrible thing across the room and instead I performed some rudimentary diagnostics. I ascertained that it is the hose causing the problem; there’s suction into the machine with the hose off and therefore logic tells me the problem is the hose. I ran another hose (the garden one actually) through the vacuum hose to dislodge whatever offending material was stuck in there but…nothing; there is no blockage.

Arrgghh!

By now I was feeling increasingly frustrated and though I should have been preparing lunch, I loaded the contraption into the wagon and headed to the local vacuum cleaner ‘experts’ who have confirmed my diagnosis. The problem is the hose. We hooked up my vacuum with their hose and it sucks like (insert whichever grubby euphemism works for you) so they checked my hose for a blockage using their industrial sized sucker/blower machine but…nothing.

Again.

They’ve ordered me a new hose and were kind enough to give me a loaner until the new hose arrives at the end of the week, but I’m still completely mystified – a hose is surely a piece of corrugated plastic wrapped around air; what the f**k can actually go wrong with that? Is there something technical about hoses that I don’t know?

Anyway.

I have now vacuumed the house with the little loaner machine and it did a pretty good job I must say. I have made the salads for lunch and put a pitcher of margarita in the refrigerator to chill. I’m about to start skewering the marinated chicken and vegetable kebabs for the barbecue and am hoping that the rest of the day will go to plan. I still need to squeeze in a shower before my guests arrive in an hour so I better get moving.

What have you got planned for Sunday in your house?

Knocked down at half time

2010-01-23T19:25:00.001+13:00

The young Australian sailor Jessica Watson is 100 days and 11,000 nautical miles into her attempt to be the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe non-stop, solo and unassisted.

In the last 24 hours she has experienced her first severe weather of the journey in the southern Atlantic. During the night Jessica and her yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, weathered four knockdowns during an eight hour storm after being hit by a series of rogue waves up to ten metres high whipped up by hurricane force winds. A knockdown is where the mast goes below horizontal and into the sea.

Here’s the story on her website and here’s her blog if you’re interested in learning more about Jessica and her amazing adventure. Whether or not you agree that a 16 year old should be undertaking such a dangerous voyage, it certainly does make for a fascinating tale. Jessica is a young woman of extraordinary competence and mettle. She writes well and her blog updates are enjoyable and informative. Cool photos too.

Rory and I wish her the very, very best of luck for the second half of her journey. We hope the winds are fair from now on and the sun is warm and that her little boat stays safe and sound.

Click to view and enlarge Jessica’s GPS tracking in a new window.

Friday flowers

2010-01-22T20:35:00.001+13:00

Jacaranda trees are in full bloom right now and on every street the beautiful lavender flower can be seen.

Lost in translation

2010-01-20T18:07:00.001+13:00

Check out heaps more at the hilarious engrish.com. Click each to open and enlarge in a new window.

Two for Tuesday

2010-01-19T10:34:00.001+13:00

I) Did you know

…that if you are buried in Singapore it’s a temporary situation only? The law states that after 15 years your remains must be disinterred and either cremated or re-buried in a smaller individual plot.

So much for resting in peace.

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II) Cottage envy

Doagh Island, Donegal, Ireland overlooking Trawbreaga Bay

Chatting over the fence

2010-01-18T12:24:00.001+13:00

I was just sitting outside in the sun on a lounger and ‘chatting’ with a friend from England on MSN when I saw my new neighbour over the fence. I yelled out a friendly ‘hi’ and was surprised to see him scuttle away without replying.

Now there’s a chance he thought I was a cougar on the hunt who’d spied prey separated from the herd but more likely I think it’s about a new social situation; one in which we so easily communicate electronically with people on other continents but not so easily with someone who lives next door. Have you heard the one about not being able to get in touch with your grandmother because she’s not on Facebook? It makes me wonder what we might be missing out on, surely it must affect our sense of community – or does it? I know I feel a sense of belonging with the volunteer organisation I work with – does that count? Have our communities just moved away from suburbia? Is the workplace perhaps our new community?

OK the neighbour is outside again – looks like he’s planning to do some gardening. I will post this now and at the risk of freaking him out completely, I am going to go and stand at the fence and introduce myself. Horrors.

Hacked

2010-01-18T11:42:00.001+13:00

“A hacker is being blamed for the display of a two-minute pornographic video on an electronic billboard in downtown Moscow that usually screens advertising clips.”

“Drivers in downtown Moscow squinted in disbelief as an electronic highway billboard blazed a two-minute pornographic video instead of its regular advertising features.”

Associated Press, Jan 15.

It would be enough to make anyone's drive home from work a bit more interesting. Don’t worry about checking YouTube, I already have (as a public service of course) and I can confirm that all videos of the billboard malfunction have already been removed.

Making a difference

2010-01-15T14:49:00.001+13:00

Here’s my contribution towards Lori’s latest writer’s challenge. The subject matter this time around is;

Teachers Who’ve Made a Difference

I imagine that when a person decides to become a school teacher it’s a conscious choice, a vocation even, certainly not a career decision made lightly. We all know the difference that a good or bad teacher can make to an impressionable mind and I like to think that even the worst teacher started out with the best of intentions.

Saying that, my very first teacher in New Zealand was a shocker. I get that my five and a half year old brain might not be the most reliable source of information but the memories have stuck with me now for nearly 40 years and that must attest to some veracity. Her name was Sister I* and she was 70 if she was a day. She got her kicks having the whole class make fun of my Irish accent. I recall being made to stand up on my desk and say the alphabet over and over and getting a whack with a ruler whenever a hint of accent crept in to my pronunciation. I didn’t tell my parents until many years later why my accent disappeared so quickly when we came back to NZ.

I was a good student as a child. I worked hard, desperate for the validation that good grades brought. I was lucky too I guess that I was an all rounder as a kid; I was athletic – good at almost any sport I tried – and I found school work unproblematic on the whole. That combination ensured primary and intermediate school was a relatively easy ride – lots of friends and mostly indulgent teachers. I had lots of male teachers in those formative years and I still believe that generally speaking men make the best teachers – less structured, more going with the flow. No offence intended to any female teachers who might be reading.

My favourite teacher from that period was the wonderful Mr A. By the time I knew him he was an old man and a widower. He was a fabulous teacher; he was unhurried; patient and kind and for the first time I truly understood that I was entitled to my own opinion. He made us laugh every single day but taught us to challenge what we read and heard; it was my first exposure to critical thinking.

Then I went to high school and everything changed.

To be fair, it wasn’t the fault of my teachers that things started to go wrong. In fact Mr B tried very hard to keep me engaged in the learning process but by the time I hit 15, I was failing his class (maths) and barely passing anything else. I then started skipping class until I was missing most lessons every day.

Somehow though I continued to scrape through with barely acceptable grades until my senior year at school when I was unexpectedly captivated by climatology and the hydrological cycle as shared by Ms M in geography class. She inspired me and suddenly I was attending all my classes again and actually rediscovering the joy of learning. She was an older woman who appreciated that at our age we had a choice about whether we went to school each day or not. She infused every class with visual aids to help communicate the subject. She’d travelled widely and had collected a vast library of photographs to help illustrate her point and she was all for laughter and fun and games in her classroom. Above all others, Ms M was the teacher who re-energised me with the wonder of learning. I’m eternally grateful as to this day I have never lost that joy.

*Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Back again

2010-01-15T14:19:00.001+13:00

Home again after another few days away. I’ve got sunburned yesterday (again) so I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself – I was being so careful with sun block but being in and out of the sea all day means it washes off so quick.

I’ll only inflict a couple of photos on you this time…

This was the view from my room, about 20 steps to the sand.

I took this yesterday mid afternoon. Gorgeous day, deserted beach.

Me hiding behind a big tree.

Our place

2010-01-13T10:23:00.001+13:00

Our national museum Te Papa (translates as ‘Our place’) is a fantastic place to hang out if you’re ever in Wellington. Rory and I spent another day there just before Christmas as we were keen on seeing the latest Pompeii exhibition. It was a great day as usual, we’re inevitably inspired and excited by what we see there.

Click on logo to open website in new window

I see today in the news that a new boss of Te Papa has been appointed to replace Dr Seddon Bennington who died a few months ago of hypothermia while hiking in the Tararua ranges. The new chap is a Welshman, Michael Houlihan who is currently the head of Amgueddfa Cymru, a seven-museum group in Wales. He’s due here around mid year to take up the job. I hope he’s not a hiker.

An ever popular fixture at Te Papa is the colossal squid which was inadvertently caught in a trawlers net in the Ross Sea in 2008. The fishermen had the foresight to freeze the dead squid so they could bring it back in one piece. Apparently a colossal squid is way bigger than a giant squid – this one weighs 495 kilograms (1100 lbs). This photo shows the squid being defrosted for the first time a year ago. The marine biologist and squid expert on the right is a guy I went to school with, Steve O’Shea.

Two for Tuesday

2010-01-12T09:33:00.001+13:00

I) This day in history

- 12 January 1908 the first long distance radio transmission is sent from the Eiffel tower in Paris

- 12 January 1915 the US House of Representatives again rejects women’s suffrage (remedied in 1920)

- 12 January 1917 the Indian spiritualist Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is born (died 2008)

Information and photo from Wikipedia.

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II) The Joy of Summer

I was just talking to my girlfriend who lives in the Australian bush, north west of Melbourne in the state of Victoria. Yesterday the temperature at her place was a breathtaking 44^oC (or 112^oF to you ‘merican readers). They’re on extreme bushfire watch again already this year but thankfully Cath has decided that she’s not going to hang around if the local fire risk gets too high – she’s evacuating. See my photo below of her place in the bush taken in winter 2008.

In Auckland we consider it a scorcher of a day if the temperature hits 30^oC though it can get much hotter on the east coast of the central North Island and the central South Island. 30^oC is plenty hot enough for me as I very much favour a mild temperate climate. The average Auckland summer day is a high of about 25^oC but it was recently reported that the years 2000 – 2009 have been the warmest on average since record keeping began here. I’m off again tomorrow for another couple of nights away on the Coromandel peninsula; this is getting to be a habit. A friend invited me to stay with her at her holiday place right on the beach in Whitianga (pronounced ‘fit e ung a’) so I’m taking off early tomorrow morning for the 2 hour drive and will be back Friday or Saturday. We’re planning some fishing and some sailing and no doubt some more lying on the beach and swimming. I’m in the middle of another good book too which I hope to finish.

Have fun at work y’all.

Protesting yet again

2010-01-11T12:11:00.001+13:00

I’m getting picked up any minute by a friend (actually he’s late) to go and add my voice to a protest today outside the office of the Consulate General of Japan.

Any guesses what the issue is?

No points for working out it’s whaling on the agenda yet again. It’s a protest against the illegal slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary and the inaction of Japanese and New Zealand Governments to intervene and shut down the massacre.

A petition calling for a firm and diplomatic solution to whaling from both the New Zealand government and Japanese authorities will be presented to a representative of the Japanese Consul. At least the Australian government has been vocal about the recent carry on in Antarctica while my own government has been strangely quiet.

Photo from ataac.org

Fun times

2010-01-09T20:33:00.001+13:00

I’m home after a few days away with friends. My clean bed and shower were calling me after a couple of nights of sleeping fairly rough. It’s been fun; we’ve been swimming every day and had lots of laughs. We’ve had more cocktails and more sun than is healthy but my new 2010 mantra commits me to living life to the full.

See my earlier post here for a map of the peninsula if interested.

I drew the short straw and we took my car. We drove to Tapu on Wednesday and then further up the west coast on Thursday to reach Coromandel township. On Friday we crossed the hills to get to the eastern side of the peninsula to visit Kennedy Bay and then to Whangapoua where we spent another two days exploring, swimming, sunbathing and creating sand sculptures.

We arrived back in Auckland earlier this evening and when I got home I took a 20 minute shower, made a decent coffee and put on a load of washing. Only then did I feel civilised enough to have a look at the photos I took over the last few days. My lack of photographic know how and my basic little camera do not do these interesting places proper justice but here are a few snaps anyway.

Tapu beach through Pohutukawa trees. Late afternoon.

Waikawau bay on a chilly and blustery morning.

Rural mailboxes with a church and tiny graveyard in the background.

Derelict house next to the Coromandel pub where we had lunch.

Papa-Aroha sunset.

Climbing up the gravel road towards the east and looking back west.

Half way up and looking east. At the top we were above the clouds.

The estuary at Kennedy Bay.

A corrugated iron kiwi palace.

Whangapoua beach where we got sunburned yesterday.

Chums beach. Almost completely deserted.

This piece of artwork was made by a Coromandel local and bought by me earlier today. They’re pokeko (a flightless NZ bird) and I knew it would look great hanging on my fence.

Can’t get rid of me

2010-01-09T15:00:00.001+13:00

Just so you didn’t miss me too much while I was away for a few days, I programmed this to publish on Saturday. If you’re reading it then I guess it worked.

I have posted about my favourite poem here previously (a year ago I think) but here it is again for anyone else who might be a fan. This poem instantly transports me to a fragrant summer’s afternoon; to a calm, more contented place, to simpler times. I guess you could say it’s my happy place. My blog is named after this poem.

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The Quiet Life

Happy the man whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest who can inconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night, study and ease
Together mixt, sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)

Haystacks by Claude Monet

Road trip

2010-01-06T10:57:00.001+13:00

Later today I’m off with three girlfriends on a road trip for a few days. We’re heading to the Coromandel peninsula to get some sun, swim from the beautiful beaches and party into the night.

We have a rough plan and a couple of tentative motel bookings but basically we’ll be playing it by ear. We’ll head up the west coast of the peninsula where the most beautiful and secluded beaches are.

Sunscreen Towel/swimsuitToiletries and makeup

Sleeping bag and pillow (just in case)

Cute dress and high heels for going out at night

Phone and charger, iPod and charger, camera and charger

Money

Chilly bin loaded with ice and wine and water and fruit

Manicure and pedicure booked and oops look at the time, better go now before I miss my appointment.

Catch you all in a couple of days. Be good.

Two for Tuesday

2010-01-05T10:18:00.001+13:00

I) Housekeeping

Visitors may notice some changes at The Quiet Life. I been trying to modernise and redecorate my wee place in the sun though I can’t be bothered going as far as finding and installing a new template. Sorry.

I have re-added the Feedjit tool and will shortly try and figure out how to take my own IP address out of the equation.

I was also looking for a good world clock, I used to have one but now I can’t find it so as a consolation prize I have added a clock to let y’all know what time it is here in NZ when you visit TQL.

I spotted a cool link to previous posts thingee over at Bob’s place so though I’d hijack that idea as well. I see it’s pretty good at finding previous posts that are along the same lines which is cool.

I am slightly worried that all this stuff will slow down my page loading so please let me know if it’s a pain and I’ll trim it down. It’s mostly wank value anyway and knowing me, will likely only lead to an over interest in who’s coming and going and NOT leaving comments. Be warned.

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II) Cottage envy

I bookmarked this picture jammed pack full of cottages that Vole posted about on the weekend. This is a tiny street in a village called Bridgnorth in Shropshire, England. Can you imagine living here? No doubt there’d be a quaint and cosy 500 year old pub just around the bend* with a huge open fire and exposed beams. Lovely. *Right next to the laundromat.

The Reader

2010-01-04T22:59:00.001+13:00

I’ve been watching a few movies recently but nothing worth recommending until this one. It’s provocative and disturbing and profound. Tissues are required.

**NO SPOILERS**

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Released in 2008 and directed by Stephen Daldry via Miramax Films. From the critically acclaimed 1995 book by Bernhard Schlink and produced by Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, both of whom died before the movie was released.

The movie stars Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz, newcomer David Kross as Michael Berg and Ralph Fiennes as the older Michael.

The story starts in Berlin more than a decade after the Second World War ends. Hanna and Michael meet and commence a love affair that surprises, delights and disturbs. Hanna is the controlling older woman and she dictates the summer long relationship before one day leaving unexpectedly. Michael is devastated and carries the effect with him until they cross paths again in shocking circumstances many years later.

The storyline tackles the tough themes of communication, of guilt and of reconciliation and of coming to terms with the past.

The cinematography is gritty, the direction is sensitive though unsentimental but the flashback format took me a little while to settle in to. The performances are superb especially Kate Winslet who won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress for this film. Stephen Daldry was nominated for the Best Director Oscar and the movie was nominated for Best Picture but lost out to Slumdog Millionaire.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a movie that provokes thought. Oh, and I really do mean it about the tissues, I cried absolute buckets.

While we’re at it

2010-01-04T13:46:00.001+13:00

Over the last couple of days both the gentlemanly scholar known to his nearest and dearest as The Plashing Vole and the intellectually formidable (and still inexplicably single) Intelliwench have ranted about incorrect usage of the humble apostrophe. All well and good (and as I admitted sheepishly on the wench’s site, I have been known to get the fussy little bugger wrong on occasion) but I have a blunter (or should that be more blunt?) axe to grind.

Who’s heard or read something like these recently?

I would of made breakfast if I could of gotten out of bed
I should of known better that to of asked you

It’s one thing hearing these words come out of someone’s mouth but seeing it written down makes the offence so much more inexcusable. It’s the difference between careless and clueless.

Spending five minutes reading comments on YouTube affects me like fingernails dragged down a blackboard. I advocate the return of public flogging for such blatant crimes against grammar and don’t even get me started on the they’re/their/there issue.

Now before I sign off can I make one point clear? This post does not give anyone licence to henceforth critique the grammar in my posts. I’m not one of your students Vole - I’m a giver not a taker.

Keepin’ it real

2010-01-04T13:14:00.001+13:00

I love Facebook. I was a late starter to such things. I’d been a member of www.oldfriends.co.nz for years which is a site that reconnects friends via schools they’ve attended but I finally decided to drag myself into the 21st century and try out Facebook and Twitter when I quit smoking in June 2008 and was desperately seeking a diversion.

Facebook has worked for me. I’m not into the games thankfully as I see friend after friend acquiesce to the addiction that is Farmville and/or Cafe world. I’m also not out to collect hundreds of friends – it’s just about being in contact with people who I like and who I want to maintain a relationship with despite us all being scattered around the world. It’s about sharing photos and news with everyone and getting to know better the half of my extended family who are in Ireland. I think at the moment I have around 55 ‘friends’ which is more than enough for me to manage. I keep Facebook and blogging quite separate (with 2 exceptions) as I don’t want to lose the freedom of my relatively anonymous blogging and I want Facebook to be about maintaining real life relationships.

Anyway, finally getting to the point of the post…

An old friend from school messaged me on FB from Massachusetts where she has lived for the last 20 years with her American husband and their children. I say an old ‘friend’ when in fact we weren’t that close at all – acquaintances would probably be more accurate though we did share many classes at high school. In the last few days we’ve (private) messaged back and forth and she turns out to be one of the most fabulous people I know. We have shared more in these few days than I have with most of my closest friends in years. We’ve browsed each others photos and commented on holidays, homes and children. We talked earnestly about our relationships (or lack thereof on my part), our hopes, our dreams and our fears.

I have a wonderful new friend who I already cherish and Facebook made it possible. Thank you Mark Zuckerberg.

…this lonely view

2010-01-03T20:44:00.001+13:00

I have had the laziest Sunday in history. It’s been an overcast and cooler day so it seemed the perfect time to take a break from summer and lounge around inside for the day.

I have surfed the web, caught up on news, published a couple of posts, watched some TV and finished a book I started (re-reading) a few days ago. The book is great so here’s a quick review for anyone looking for something easy to read. Scar Tissue was released in October 2004 by Hyperion and authored by Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers vocalist and songwriter Anthony Kiedis shares his personal experiences in a first-person, chronological narrative of his life from childhood through to today.

Anthony has lived a breathtaking life. He started doing drugs with his father at the kitchen table from 12 years old and at around the same time his dad ‘loaned’ him his girlfriend so Anthony could lose his virginity. Scar Tissue recounts the fascinating and tragic story of Kiedis’ life and the history of the RHCP. His tale of heroin addiction, love, fame and making music lurches the reader from one crisis to the next and gives us an often shocking insight into lives almost crippled by drug dependency. I read this and can’t believe how RHCP made a success of music making for 20 years and still continue to survive and grow today.

A superb read for anyone who enjoys autobiographical non-fiction; a simply fantastic read for RHCP fans.

Count your blessings

2010-01-03T13:15:00.001+13:00

I just finished reading the story of American Roey Rosenblith who was a passenger on the almost ill fated Northwest Airlines flight 253 to Detroit. It’s a chilling recount of confusion, lack of information and eventual realisation. It’s well worth the longish read if you haven’t done so already.

Huffington Post 27 Dec 2009

Keeping our heads above water

2010-01-03T11:55:00.001+13:00

New Zealand has shocking drowning statistics every summer. Kiwis (and our visitors) are far too casual when swimming from our highly tidal beaches with swift currents and fearsome rips.

Piha, west coast black sand beach, north Auckland. Photo from Wikipedia.

Water Safety New Zealand states that on average 119 people drown in New Zealand waters every year. Only road crashes kill more people accidently. There is a chilling physiological explanation of the drowning process there too if anyone has a morbid curiosity.

All major beaches in New Zealand are patrolled by surf lifesavers through summer but on any given day you’ll see most people swimming well away from the patrolled areas – I think it’s got something to do with the fact that we don’t like being told what to do. The lifesavers do an admirable job of keeping an eye on the whole beach and mostly they’re successful but they’re fighting an uphill battle; we New Zealanders think we’re indestructible because we grew up swimming in the sea.

In the last two days a grandfather and a father have drowned in two separate incidents when they were trying (successfully) to save young children swimming with them. In both cases some foresight about the conditions might easily have prevented them getting into trouble. A teen also drowned jumping from a waterfall.Photo from throng.co.nz

What’s really sad is that our visitors die too. Our beaches are beautiful and look harmless so people just run into the water at the closest spot to their towels and umbrella rather than checking out where the rips are. I was pleased to see yesterday when I was at Piha beach that there were lifesavers handing out pamphlets in different languages explaining about currents and rips and what swimmers should look for before choosing where to swim.

New Zealand beaches are safe as long as we’re all sensible, know what to look for, supervise our kids PROPERLY (always use flippers with boogie boards) and stay out of the water after drinking. With little children always head to the safer east coast Auckland beaches. Maraetai, east coast inner harbour, Auckland (15 minutes drive east from my place)

EDIT: I just did some research and found that Australia’s latest figures (the year to June 2009) make our figures look even worse. Australia lost 302 people to drowning in that year when of course their population is more than 5 times ours (4m here vs 21m there).

I also note that another person (35 year old male) is missing and now presumed drowned from Piha at about the time I was publishing this post yesterday.

My name is Scout

2010-01-03T09:47:00.001+13:00

DuPree and Bob did this surprisingly interesting internet quiz about what book matches your personality. It appears I am as below which is pretty cool seeing as I love this story -

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighbourhood using dubious means to protect you, but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

The most dangerous place on earth?

2010-01-02T18:41:00.001+13:00

Earlier today in Lakki Marwat city in northwest Pakistan a suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed vehicle into a crowd of people watching a sports game, killing at least 75 people and wounding hundreds of others.

According to the news report I just watched, residents of the city have recently formed a militia force to try and drive the militants out of their city and I understand that the Pakistani army also continues to wage an ongoing offensive against the Taleban in the same area. Looks like these efforts may have provoked the numerous reprisals that have already killed more than 500 people in the last 2 months.

I’m obviously no expert on the Pakistan situation and I certainly don’t wish to minimise the terrible loss of life happening there already but don’t this lot have a nuclear arsenal? I worry about the ability of the fragile Pakistani government to keep their nukes secure in the face of an advancing Taliban. It’s scary stuff.

Friday flowers

2010-01-01T21:44:00.001+13:00

This is the pretty pink flower of our native manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium).

The manuka is our most common native tree. It grows to 4 metres tall relatively quickly and provides a perfect habitat for other slower growing native trees to germinate and grow underneath. The manuka has proved integral in regenerating native New Zealand bush in areas which were deforested by European settlers on arrival here 150 years ago. Wind blown manuka trees

It’s a similar looking tree to the Australian tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) but is a different species with some very different medicinal properties. Manuka oil has excellent antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial activities. The honey resulting from manuka nectar is pretty special as well.

Resolutions? Not this year…

2009-12-31T11:00:00.001+13:00

It’s December 31 and I’ve been thinking about a resolution for the new year. I read this quote somewhere earlier this year and it’s stuck with me so I’ve decided that my one and only new commitment to myself for the coming year is to try and live by the following mantra.

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Life is not a journey to the grave with the goal of arriving safely in a prettily preserved body, but rather, to skid in sideways in a shower of gravel - thoroughly used, utterly exhausted and loudly proclaiming 'Fuck me, that was BRILLIANT!'

Author unknown

‘twas the day after Christmas

2009-12-26T18:03:00.001+13:00

What are you up to on Boxing Day?

I can’t help but wonder how many of you are passing the day today in the same way that am; nursing a hangover of yesterday’s excess of extended family or food or alcohol or, as in my case, all of the above.

Boxing Day in New Zealand is a public holiday so excepting those poor souls in the business of retail, the rest of us get to lay about and try to shelter from the heat. We can eat leftovers all day and maybe venture out late afternoon for a walk or a dip in the ocean.

Does everyone even call today Boxing Day? I understand it’s called that because historically in England today was the day the ‘poor boxes’ were opened and the proceeds distributed to the needy, but, as per my usual disclaimer, I could of course have this wrong.

Anyway my point is that I reckon that Boxing Day is the poor cousin of Christmas Day. It’s the recovery day. It’s sad really; it’s the plain younger sister; it’s the day that’s doomed forever to be the day after the day before.

Today I’ve decided that this must change.

I for one am standing up and declaring my newly recognised regard for Boxing Day. It’s a day that doesn’t expect too much from us; it costs nothing to celebrate; there’s no fuss, no god bothering; no stupid hats; no over-rich food; no decorating requirements and it has way better movies on TV than Christmas Day does. Boxing Day is absolutely everything I want in a holiday and I regret taking it for granted in past years. Who’s with me?

Enjoy your Boxing Day everyone, relax and catch your breath after the madness that is Christmas.

I’m off now to take the dog for a walk at the beach; I may even have a swim.

Christmas eve and all is well

2009-12-24T13:30:00.001+13:00

I’m sitting on my little patio sipping a delicious pomegranate cocktail and munching on fresh cherries while waiting for some friends to arrive for Christmas eve drinks (and a barbecue later).

It’s a clear blue sky day and it’s getting a bit warmer as the afternoon progresses. Even though it doesn’t get horribly hot in NZ, we do have very thin ozone which equals a killer sun. This reminds me I better go slap on some sunscreen and get the sun umbrella out before I start to ~~grow a melanoma~~ glow.

Have a merry Christmas all. Stay safe and enjoy your loved ones if you’re lucky enough to be spending time with them this season. Stay warm if it’s cold where you are and stay cool if it’s warm.

I’ll catch all of my lovely bloggy friends after Christmas and remember; you can’t make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

Louise

I dropped Rory off here to Westhaven Marina earlier today where his dad’s boat is moored so they can go sailing for the day. The sea breeze was lovely and I almost wished I could tag along.

Mellow sounds

2009-12-22T00:04:00.001+13:00

Dub? Reggae? Soul? I have no idea what to call it but I like it. To me Fat Freddy is the sound of the kiwi summer.

As It Is in Heaven

2009-12-20T23:20:00.001+13:00

No spoilers.

I just finished watching the brilliant 2004 Swedish (subtitled) film As It Is in Heaven. It’s directed by Kay Pollak and stars Michael Nyqvist and Frida Hallgren. I first saw the film not long after it was released in 2004 – it was a huge hit here in NZ and ran for 52 weeks.

The story centres around Daniel Daréus (played by Nyqvist) who is a renowned international conductor whose life aspiration is to create music that will open people's hearts. Ill health forces him to retire to the home of his early childhood in the far north of Sweden, to the village where he endured a terrible childhood of bullying. There he reluctantly agrees to help with the church choir.

This is a beautiful film and I highly recommend it. Sometimes, inspiration is where you least expect to find it…

Don’t panic

2009-12-20T17:53:00.001+13:00

This situation has to be close to one of my most worst nightmares; trapped inside a train, inside a tunnel, all night, UNDER the freezing English channel. See guardian.co.uk for the full story.

Yesterday nearly 2000 travellers were stranded for up to 15 hours after four Eurostar trains broke down between France and England. Many suffered panic attacks or fainted as they waited for help.

Eurostar management said the problem was caused by the contrast between extremely cold temperatures on the railways and a comparatively warm tunnel. A Eurostar train. Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images

This situation just couldn’t arise here in New Zealand. For a start there’s nowhere to get to via tunnel; Australia is more than 2,200 kilometres away and secondly; even if there was another country close, all our trains are so old and crappy that no-one in their right mind would actually try and travel that far.

Missing the point

2009-12-19T10:46:00.001+13:00

A local progressive Anglican church here in Auckland posts a billboard each Christmas to provoke debate about modern Christianity.

This years billboard, as below, was designed to make the point that many Christians and church leaders do not believe in the literal virgin birth, and didn't believe that was the true meaning of Christmas. They’re critiquing the outmoded idea of a male god impregnating Mary and the literalism of the virgin birth.Since the billboard went up a few days back, the more traditionalist god squad around the city have repeatedly painted over it and now an ‘elderly lady’ has apparently been so incensed that she’s slashed it with a carving knife. Archdeacon Cardy of ‘St Matthews in the City’ has now accepted defeat and has removed the billboard as he was worried someone was going to get hurt.

It’s distressing that increasingly some things can’t be openly debated with clear heads.

Friday flowers

2009-12-18T19:33:00.001+13:00

Bougainvillea climbers are in full bloom right now and fences and walls around my town are beautifully adorned with a stunning shock of scarlet. Bougainvillea is a native of South America and the brightly coloured ‘flowers’ are actually papery bracts which surround the tiny white flowers of the plant. This one is climbing up the side of my neighbours house but this photo doesn’t do it justice – it’s the most fantastic colour you can imagine.

Another decade down

2009-12-14T07:50:00.001+13:00

I know that purists will say that the decade isn’t over until the end of 2010 but it’s my blog and I say now’s the right time for a review of the first decade of the 21st century.

Here are some of the highlights according to Louise.

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2000: I started the year in between jobs but with definite prospects so no real concerns. I had a 7 year old son, no man (some things never change) and I had my eye on a house that I coveted for my very first ownership experience. At one stage that year Rory got airlifted off his dad’s yacht after getting hit in the head by the boom – scary stuff, he didn’t know anyone for hours afterwards. The year ended with me and Rory settled into the new house, a promotion at work, a boyfriend of sorts and a brand new nephew. A perplexing choice (in my opinion) was made made by the American electorate but it was a very good year all in all.

2001: My best friend moved to Australia and the boyfriend became an ex. Horrible happenings in the US. The only bright side was that a lovely puppy, later named Bonnie, was born and adopted by yours truly. I quit smoking that year and lasted 8 months before falling off the wagon. Rory racked up over 40,000 kilometres in flights between Auckland and his dad’s place in Perth, Western Australia. I went nowhere.

2002: Met another cheating jerk. Swore off men forever.

2003: Menopause. At 37 years old. Rory turned 10 and to celebrate his dad took him to Africa to explore for 3 months. I cried myself to sleep every night from missing him though the grief did great things for my career as I worked 15 hours a day and earned another promotion. The US declared war on Iraq – I remember something about WMD? My older sister was very ill but thankfully recovered fully. I got away briefly at the end of the year to spend time (and money) with my friend in Victoria, Australia.

2004: Got to Thailand again this year – one of my very fave places to escape the kiwi winter. Also got in another visit to Victoria. Another nephew born – that made four but still no nieces. Everything else was bad that year - horrible happenings, this time in Spain and atrocities continued in Darfur. And then that catastrophic tsunami on Boxing Day to finish the year.

2005: Finally quit chewing my nails to mark my 40th birthday. Katrina struck. It was 10 years since we lost my sister so we had a party to remember her by. Rory spent Christmas snowboarding in Japan with his dad – it was my first Christmas without him and it was hard.

2006: Rory started high school. Saddam Hussein was hanged and Steve Irwin got stabbed by a stingray. Crikey.

2007: Sinn Fein and the DUP hammered out an agreement for a power-sharing government in northern Ireland. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Rory’s dad moved back to NZ and for the first time ever we did the every second weekend part time dad thing – I started to remember what a real social life was like. I drank too much.

2008: Quit smoking again (18 months now and still going strong). Got addicted to Facebook. The Kiwis won the Rugby League World Cup and the hottest tennis player ever, Rafael Nadal, is ranked #1. Somali entrepreneurs found their niche in the piracy business. I met a man with real potential until the day he slammed Rory against a wall for looking at him sideways. Got a couple of long weekends away in Australia. Started new role managing projects at work and commuting to Wellington city twice a week. Rory had a tumour removed from inside his jaw – it was benign. I spent most of the year exhausted. Bought new house and moved in just before Christmas. Whew, what a year!

2009: Started the year with a new pastime – blogging. Met lots of wonderful new friends. There were terrible bushfires in Victoria so I went to console my friend. Witnessed a terrible car accident. Started reading about Tao Buddhism. Centre-right government elected in NZ for the first time in many years. I bought a lovely new car. A never ending cycle of study. Rory turned 16 and attended his first school ball, my mum and dad both turned 70, dad retired finally and my youngest nephew started school – still no nieces, have given up on that ever happening now.

…and here we are nearly at the very end of 2009. That was my decade in brief; how about sharing yours?

Happy Christmas everyone.

Grinch

2009-12-12T09:37:00.001+13:00

I just can’t seem to summon any enthusiasm at all about Christmas this year. It’s the 12th today and not one decoration is up; no tree, no window dressings, no wreath on the door. Thankfully I have at least done my Christmas shopping.

My health problems are getting me down and to add to the general misery work is so freakin’ busy and I now need to be away on Monday and Tuesday again but I have this huge presentation to deliver on Thursday as part of my study and I haven’t even finished it yet – eeeeeeeeeeeek!!

I’m barely keeping panic at bay.

I wasted a whole day off work yesterday when I should have been working on my presentation. We had our Christmas work function on Thursday night and I drank far too many margaritas and consequently had a very sore head. I didn’t do anything except sleep and feel sorry for myself all day yesterday. The work do was great though; dinner and drag cabaret – heaps of fun.

It’s my sister-in-laws 40th birthday party tonight but there’ll be no drinking for me so I’m dedicating Sunday (tomorrow) to be a study day. A good productive day should help me feel a bit more in control.

Sorry for being a whiney Grinch.

Quick check in

2009-12-09T21:35:00.001+13:00

Been zipping around the country for work in the last couple of days (Palmerston North, Christchurch) so have barely had a minute to call my own. Once or twice I managed to log on with hotel internet for a few minutes but then I’m so tired I practically fall asleep on the keyboard. Heading home to Auckland tomorrow.

Until then here’s another great Venn diagram by Jessica Hagy. Check out more at thisisindexed.com

Aww shucks Kyle

2009-12-07T09:25:00.001+13:00

It’s award time again folks and I’m delighted and flattered to accept this award bestowed on me by Kyle from Out Left.

Kyle is a creative type who lives and works in stunning New Hampshire with his partner Stan. He and Stan are passionate about their 19th century home and beautiful gardens of which we occasionally get to see photos. Kyle is also a movie buff and provides great reviews for those of us who need a bit of guidance.

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Apparently I am supposed to share 5 things that I enjoy before passing this award on to more worthy recipients.

Friends: There’s nothing I like more than settling down in comfy chairs for a good catch up with a friend. It’s even better when we can relax over a chilled and fruity Sauvignon Blanc.

Food: Be it Middle Eastern or Italian or Thai or Greek or Indian – you name it I love it. The more flavoursome the better.

Learning: I undertake some formal learning every year and right now I should be working on a presentation that I’ll deliver on the 17th as part of my current objective which is a diploma in Public Sector Leadership. I’m nearly half way through this now after working on it part time for the last 6 months.

Coffee: Love it, can’t live without it.

Books: I’m afraid to say I’m not intelligentsia; for me it’s about a great story that’s not a chore to read. My favourite authors are Margaret Attwood, Sebastian Faulks and Wally Lamb.

And now to the fun part. I’ve made lots of new friends blogging but here are some of my favourite gals. Always great for a laugh are…

At the next two sites I do more lurking than commenting due to the intimidation factor, but whether they know it or not I always read and greatly enjoy their wit and intelligence.

Intelliwench at Post-Raphaelite Sisterhood
PENolan at Menopausal Stoners

Thanks to you all for brightening my days. I’ll pop a comment on your latest post to let you know about this. Sorry to those of you who don’t want such awards – do with it what you will.

Saturday feature

2009-12-05T16:02:00.001+13:00

I watched a movie with a friend earlier today and I’m left with the effects. I feel slightly stunned.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 film directed by Mark Herman and based on the novel by John Boyne.

The movie is set in Germany during World War Two. Eight year old Bruno, his sister Gretel and their parents move for their father’s new job as a commandant of a Jewish concentration camp. Bruno doesn’t understand the situation and with tragic consequences he befriends a Jewish boy of his own age who’s living inside the camp.

It’s a breathtaking film about innocence and awakening, about trust, about realisation and about humanity. Highly recommended.

Speed demon

2009-12-02T20:51:00.001+13:00

Just came across this video on YouTube of my younger brother indulging his reckless pursuit of adrenaline. He bought this toy a year or so back and though it’s not a top fueler, it apparently provides plenty of excitement. I’m told it’s a 560 cubic inch big block that runs on methanol with an 871 supercharger. I think he’s gotten it as quick as 350 kph (just over 200 mph) which sounds pretty damn quick to me.

Two for Tuesday

2009-12-02T06:37:00.001+13:00

I) New Zealand joins the space race

On 30 November New Zealand's first space rocket was successfully launched. See the NZ Herald story of the same day. The 6-metre-long craft reached speeds of up to Mach 5, flying 120km into the air, before splashing down in the sea.

Company Director Mark Rocket, technical director Peter Beck and senior engineer Nikhil Raghu from Rocket Lab.

I just love that the guy has obviously changed his name to ‘Rocket’. That’s dedication for you. The white coats sure make it all look more momentous too – good thinking guys. It feels great to be at cutting edge of science like this – watch out NASA, here we come.

Photo by Rachel Glucina.

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II) Cottage envy

A beautiful cottage by the sea in Maine, US. Photo by Tom O'Donnell

Does it matter?

2009-11-29T14:28:00.001+13:00

More and more bullshit news every day about the questionable climate change science is getting to me. As Moko said from his virtual sandbox the other day;

“These clowns can't see the ocean for the waves.”

Are we polluting our planet? Is this a good thing? What are the chances we can go on doing this forever? Are we creating a healthier environment for our grandchildren and their grandchildren?

I don’t give a shit that some say the science looks dodgy, all I know is that you don’t wait until you figure out how the fire started before you put it out.

Wake up world.

Our livelihood right now is far less important than the next generations being able to breathe and drink fresh clean water.

It’s irresponsible that we’re not doing something significant to limit our impact on this planet – whether the science shows it yet or not.

What a night

2009-11-28T13:23:00.001+13:00

It was a beautiful late spring evening with a clear blue sky and just a touch of chill in the air after sunset. No matter though as we were rocking and we’d have been warm even if it was snowing.

From the opening Daughter at 8pm through to a rocking cover of Neil Young's Rockin' In the Free World at 10.35pm, it was a fantastic Pearl Jam experience. Photo taken last night by Dean Purcell.

Over two and half hours of sublime performance and it sure didn’t hurt that Eddie Vedder is still hot hot hot!!

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EDIT: Yet another belated Friday flowers

Something a little different today.

I came across this lamp online at Barbara Gail Lamps. I love it. Iris are my favourite flower and I’m seriously considering placing an order. This would look so cute in my little sun room where I sit and read.

Noooooooooo

2009-11-26T21:47:00.001+13:00

An Australian tourist accidentally smuggled a poisonous cane toad into Queenstown inside the hiking boots in her bag last week.

New Zealand Herald article here.

The disgusting critter was discovered after hopping out of the Cairns woman's bag when she stopped by Ultimate Hikes shop ahead of the walk on the Milford Track.

Somehow our Ministry of Ag & Fish officers at Auckland airport missed it. WTF? Please TRY HARDER people. Yuck!

Photo from news.mongabay.com and courtesy of FrogWatch, an Australian environmental group that wants to kill all cane toads. Click on the picture for the full July 2008 story.

Giving thanks

2009-11-26T19:35:00.003+13:00

Happy Thanksgiving day to all the ‘merican folks who might happen across this here blog.

Have a great day, eat drink and be merry (and thankful of course).

Two for Tuesday

2009-11-24T13:54:00.001+13:00

I) Up in smoke

From the NZ Herald this morning.

New Plymouth mother of three Zarah Murphy has an unusual methodology when it comes to growing her houseplant of choice.

It court yesterday where she’s facing charges of cultivating cannabis, she talked of how she’d put up posters of big healthy heading plants around the walls of her growing room as ‘role models’ for her own 20 plants. She also carefully chose a varied selection of classical music for the plants enjoyment.

Even Judge Allan Roberts said the converted room was a "pretty good effort" in which to grow the plants. He then sentenced her to 250 hours of community service.

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II) Cottage envy

I found this adorable stone cottage on the UK Channel 4 website in a story by Kevin McCloud about restoring old properties. I love the duck pond and can just imagine how peaceful it is there.

625 comments

2009-11-22T10:56:00.001+13:00

I mentioned in a post the other day about young Australian Jessica Watson and the website and blog chronicling her attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the globe. She’s 16 and the voyage is 38,000 kilometres (23,000 nautical miles) in some of the most ferocious seas on the globe.

Photo by Jessica Watson

It’s a hugely popular blog and she gets around 250 – 300 comments each day as people wish her the best. Well, Jessica crossed the equator the other day and she posted an update on her blog to let everyone know – she got 625 comments on the post. That’s right, 625 comments. That is mind blowing, apparently it’s the most read blog in Australia right now, and for good reason. She’s seems like a lovely kid who’s doing something incredibly brave and plus she’s a great writer. Her updates are a pleasure to read.

The website is http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/

Her blog http://youngestround.blogspot.com/

Her course and current location is recorded here http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/the-voyage

I understand she’s now passed Kiribati and will soon be turning around and heading back under the equator to round Cape Horn (southern tip of South America). Although she’s circumnavigating the globe in the southern oceans, in order to break the record she must cross the equator at least once so that’s what she has been doing since she left Sydney in October.

Check it out. It’s a fascinating read.

Friday flowers

2009-11-21T21:22:00.001+13:00

Sorry for the belated Friday flowers publication.

Our Pohutukawa tree (aka the New Zealand Christmas tree) is just starting to bloom so I’ve been on the look out for a nice one to show you. The Pohutukawa grows along the west coast so when I took Bonnie for a walk at the beach today I looked out for a tree in good bloom to show you. Unfortunately I didn’t end up with a good shot so I’m sharing a professional pic by photographer David Wall. The Pohutukawa tree grows up to a about 25 metres high and 15 meters wide. It’s a gnarly tree with twisting branches that often reach out rather than up and their low boughs can provide an excellent place to lie in the shade for a nap after a summer swim and barbecue.

I’ll repost a of photo of Pohutukawa that I took earlier this year in winter before they were blooming so you can see the shape I’m talking about. I took this shot on Great Barrier island in August. They’d be looking awesome right now covered in red blooms.

Addiction

2009-11-19T20:12:00.001+13:00

A few weeks back Bob from I Should Be Laughing mentioned that Carlos was addicted to spider solitaire. I think Bob said that Carlos called it spidey. I thought I would check it out as I’m always on the look out for another time waster.

Big mistake.

Fast forward to today and I must face the sad and awful truth that I am now fully addicted to spidey just like Carlos.

I recently graduated to intermediate level (with two suits) and am barely managing to maintain a 40% success rate. It’s completely infuriating and I plainly don’t have the patience for the game but I just can’t stop.

As if I don’t have quite enough addiction in my life *sigh*

Two for Tuesday

2009-11-17T22:00:00.001+13:00

I) Topiary tendril

Photo lifted from yepyep.gibbs12.com

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II) Cottage envy

Rock cottage is in a hill outside Wolverley, Worcestershire, England. It is one of 50 'built' in the area in the late 18th century. The place was apparently for sale in 2007 and a metro.co.uk article states the vendor was hoping to get £25,000 at the time even factoring in the lack of plumbing and electricity.

I’m not positive that ‘envy’ is quite the right term for today’s pic but it’s certainly an interesting pad.

Football fever

2009-11-15T16:59:00.001+13:00

Rory Fallon (in white) headers the winning goal

For the first time since Spain in 1982 the New Zealand football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals by beating Bahrain last night in Wellington. The final score was 1-0.

Football doesn’t have a high profile here in NZ where it’s all about rugby, so it’s great that the sport will benefit from the increased exposure. Lots more kiwi kids play football over the last few years but when they reach a certain age the boys tend to swap to rugby so comparatively few players reach the top levels unfortunately.

26 countries have qualified in 6 zones for the 2010 finals so far, while another 5 places are still to be finalised.

Europe: England, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Serbia and Spain
Africa: South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria
North America, Central America and Caribbean: United States, Honduras and Mexico
South America: Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Paraguay
Asia: Australia, Japan, Korea (North), Korea (South)
Oceania: New Zealand

The first games kick off in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2010. Realistically we understand we’re minnows especially against the Euro teams and the big South American teams so we’ll no doubt be out after the first round but it’s just fun even getting there for us - who knows though what could happen?

Photographs by Getty Images

*EDIT* I just had a browse though a BBC forum regarding the New Zealand qualification. Some commenters there don’t share our joy.

Friday flowers and movie review

2009-11-13T17:46:00.001+13:00

I don’t have much of a garden here at my new little place. The house was brand new when I moved in at the end of last year and the grounds were pure dirt. I still haven’t done a lot with the grounds though I do finally have good grass coverage.

My last home had a huge yard and a well established garden that I’d put a lot of work into over the years so it’s been hard starting from scratch. I have planted a few rhododendrons and other things but they have a way to go before they mature properly. About all that is really starting to look good are my patio pots so I thought I’d share a couple of pictures from my own ‘garden’ this week.

Rory is a fuchsia fan so he’s responsible for caring for those – he has a few different varieties in pots, all of which are doing beautifully. I love roses especially old fashioned ones; this one here is white though I can’t remember the name. There are lots of buds this year after a particularly successful pruning in late August. I look forward to the multitude of blooms over the next few weeks.

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*Added later at 10:05pm Friday 13 Nov.

Lori’s writing challenge

Lori over at Family Trees May Contain Nuts has issued a challenge for us to write about our favourite movie. Here goes Lori, I apologise in advance that I’m not much of a writer.

The Shawshank Redemption

Directed by Frank Darabont and from the short story by Stephen King, the 1994 film stars Morgan Freeman as Red and Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne.

**SPOILER ALERT** If you’re one of the few remaining people on the planet who haven’t seen this movie and you intend watching it one day, read no further. Do watch the movie though; it’s great.

Andy is a successful banker in the 1940s when he is convicted of the vicious murder of his wife and her lover. Andy maintains his innocence but is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine. On arrival he meets Red who is a long term prisoner. Red befriends Andy and teaches him the tricks to survival.

Andy’s financial nous is noticed by the prison’s warden who needs help to launder his ill-gotten earnings off the backs of the prison inmates. Andy creates a false identity to protect the warden and proceeds to act as the warden’s accountant for the next two decades. In return he gets to properly stock the prison library and help inmates achieve high school equivalency.

When a new prisoner comes to Shawshank, It comes to light that Andy really is innocent of the murder of his wife and her lover but the warden won’t risk losing his highly effective money man and so he buries the information and brutally disposes of the new inmate.

Over this twenty year period, we later learn that Andy has been painstakingly tunnelling from his cell using a tiny rock hammer and hiding the resulting hole behind a Rita Hayworth poster on the wall. One dark and stormy night Andy successfully makes a break for it. He quickly accesses the wardens illicit fortune with the false identity he created for the purpose and he heads to a small town in Mexico which he’s told Red about earlier.

It’s a few years later that Red is finally granted parole after more that 40 years inside Shawshank. He makes his way to meet Andy in Mexico and an emotional reunion follows.

The recurring themes in the movie are forgiveness, salvation and hope. Andy never loses hope in himself or in others; he does good where possible and manages to maintain his integrity throughput his imprisonment. Conversely another character in the film is a man named Brooks, who still lacks liberty even after being released as a very old man. Sadly Brooks only finds his release in suicide.

I highly recommend this thought provoking and intelligent movie. Great story, great casting, great cinematography.

Two for Tuesday

2009-11-10T06:03:00.001+13:00

I) Twenty eight years ago today

It was 10 November 1981 and it was my first school ball. My friends and I weren’t officially old enough to be there (we were in year 11 and the ball was really for seniors - year 12 and 13 students) but we’d all cunningly started dating seniors in the weeks leading up to the ball so we’d get to go. We felt so grown up.

Don’t you just love the fashions and the hair styles?

I’m in both these photos with my friends - the one in black with the delightful perm in case you couldn’t work it out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

II) Cottage envy

A quaint and beautiful Derbyshire cottage with a shingle roof and a limestone garden wall. I love the cottage garden.

Photo by UG Gardner.

Sunday fun

2009-11-09T06:27:00.001+13:00

I had a great Sunday afternoon with my nephew Dillon yesterday; we visited a friend of mine who has horses and got to spend a couple of hours on horseback. Here’s Dillon on a beautiful chestnut hunter named Ralph, being lead around until he got comfortable enough to give it a go on his own. My friend also has the cutest wee miniature horse named Napoleon Dynamite. Very fitting name as he’s quite a handful. Am getting in to the shower shortly to get ready for work and am walking like a bow legged cowboy. Am way out of practice with this horse riding lark. Was great fun though.

Nature not good enough?

2009-11-07T09:50:00.001+13:00

I was at a florist first thing this morning getting a bouquet put together to drop in to a friend who needed cheering up.

I chose coloured Callas lilies as they are in season here and there was the most beautiful selection available of plums and vibrant pinks. Anyway the florist did her thing and THE most gorgeous bunch of flowers was the result. It looked like sculpture if that makes any sense, with the perfectly smooth elegant funnels in their pastel shades of pale pink through to the deepest purple. They were enough to lift anyone's day.

And then she did something that blew my mind; she started shaking gold glitter all over the bouquet. She stopped quickly when she heard my gasp and asked did I not want glitter “….to make them look extra pretty?”

An interesting discussion ensued with particular reference to the phrase ‘gilding the lily’ which I felt was particularly fitting seeing as we were actually discussing a bunch of lilies. The end result of the conversation was that she started again.

I didn’t have my camera with me unfortunately to record the proceedings but suffice it to say that the elegant lilies I delivered to my friend were delightfully au natural and most certainly beautiful enough sans glitter.

Friday flowers

2009-11-06T15:23:00.001+13:00

Photographer unknown

These are not my photos though I sincerely hope that one day in my life I might get to witness first hand a scene like this. I am an avid rhododendron fan and I imagine this place is breathtaking.

The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. There are over 1000 species which include the varieties known as azaleas. Photographer unknown

These incredible photos are from a Danish garden website called Kelleriisgården but I couldn’t find the photographers name to give credit. Beautiful.

Bon Voyage

2009-11-05T18:05:00.001+13:00

I’m enjoying watching the progress and reading the daily posts of young Australian adventurer Jessica Watson who is attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world. She’s 16.

Check out her website here http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/ and her blog here http://www.youngestround.blogspot.com/

There was considerable controversy about whether the voyage was a good idea but that’s now moot so I just hope she stays safe and doesn’t encounter anything she can’t cope with. She’s gotten as far as Tonga to date and is making reasonable time.

I wish her the very best of luck. She’s very brave.

Self Portrait taken 29 October at sea.

Even more about me

2009-11-05T14:09:00.001+13:00

I nicked this from Daniels blog over at The Pursuit of What Matters to Me. Thanks Daniel. Feel free to join in anyone who wants to.

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1. Do you have any tertiary qualification?
Yes I have. I also continue to struggle along with study – it’s a never ending process.

2. What was the amount of your last electric bill?
NZ$63 for a months worth of power. Not sure how this compares but this is considered a very modest bill here especially as I don’t have gas as well – I’m tight as all hell with regards power usage.

3. Do you have life insurance?
Yes (single mother and all that).

4. How many hours per week do you work?
Around 45-50.

5. Have you ever attended a Toastmasters event?
No.

6. Favourite place to attend Happy Hour?
Nowhere these days. Occasionally I meet a girlfriend after work for a wine but that is few and far between these days.

7. How far is your commute to work each day?
When I am working in Auckland my travel is only 15 minutes each way but on the once or twice weekly days working in our capital city, Wellington, the commute is about 2 hours each way – yuck!!!

8. What time do you get up every morning for work?
We’re up at around 6am to get to Rory’s school bus at 7.10am. I then head straight to work so am there by 7.30am most days.

9. What is your definition of sleeping in late?
On a Saturday I can sleep and then doze until almost midday if there’s nothing I have to get up for.

10. Do you check your cholesterol on a yearly basis?
Yes along with all the other checks that are deemed necessary.

11. How large was your first cell phone?
Not that big as I was fairly late to the cell phone game. Only flash businessmen or ‘out and about’ types like trades or sales people, had the bricks here in NZ. My first cell phone was in the 2G era, it was a Nokia that I got in about 1995 or 1996 I think.

12. Does your employer provide good health insurance?
No, that’s not something employers do here as we have a public health service that covers all New Zealanders. It’s not that great but it’s free.

13. Did you use the Internet to write a research paper?
When I was at university there was no such thing as the internet, well as far as I was aware of anyway.

14. Have you attended a High School reunion?
Yes. Had a few laughs but I think I’ll leave it there. Anyone I still like I am in contact with anyway so no further need.

15. How many jobs have you held in your career?
I have had about 10 jobs over the years.

16. Have you ever been fired or laid off from a job?
No.

17. What is your favourite drink?
Jim Beam and Zero Coke in a tall glass with lots of ice. Yummmmm.

18. What’s the most expensive bottle of wine that you’ve bought?
Not much. I buy inexpensive wine – I don’t have a snobby palate.

19. Have you been divorced?
Nope.

20. How old were you when you stopped getting ID-ed for alcohol?
In my early 20s if I remember rightly.

21. Favourite casino?
None. Hate the places, they reek of desperation.

22. Are you happier now than you were in high school?
Yes and No. High school was great carefree fun but now is cool too.

23. Did you ever have a Hypercolor shirt?
Yes I had a yellow/green one though I didn’t wear it much. It always seemed a bit weird wearing a shirt that clearly showed that you were hottest under your arms and boobs.

24. Do you remember when Michael Jackson was black and was attracted to older people?
I remember him as black, yes.

25. Do you remember when MTV actually played music videos?
No we didn’t have MTV in NZ until after it had gone to shit.

26. Have you had a will made?
Yes, within a month of Rory being born. Updated twice since then.

27. What music was in your cd/cassette player when you were 16?
It was a cassette player and it was Patti Smith, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and Simon and Garfunkel.

28. Favourite fancy/upscale restaurant?
Don’t have one. My favourite eateries are cheap and cheerful local Thai places.

29. Where were you when you found out about 9-11?
My clock radio went off at around 6.00am as usual on the morning of 12 September but the morning DJ crew I wake to each day were talking about something serious instead of the usual joking around. I got up and turned on the TV and was horrified.

30. Do you have any children yet?
Yes, one.

Still on the run

2009-11-04T20:50:00.001+13:00

You may recall my post of 6 months ago about the young couple who did a runner after the bank inadvertently credited their bank account with too much money. See the original post here called On the Run. Well 6 months have passed and they’re still at large.

Leo Gao, Kara Hurring and their young daughter Leena fled to Hong Kong in early May after Westpac, an Australian owned bank, credited Mr Gao's account with a NZ$10 million overdraft when he had asked for just $100,000. The bank immediately recovered most of the money but $3.8m is still outstanding.

The NZ Herald reports;

Two months ago Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Colby, of Rotorua police, said a "mutual-assistance" request to the Chinese government was being worked through. Mr Colby denied the delay was frustrating or embarrassing for NZ police.

Co-operation between China and NZ is obviously a slow process over such matters.

Go Kylie

2009-11-03T15:08:00.001+13:00

It’s been announced today that Kylie Minogue has won the Best Ever Celebrity Viral Ad award, after netting over 350 million hits on YouTube of the 2001 banned ad for Agent Provocateur.

If you’ve never seen the video consider yourself warned, this is practically porn. Funny ad though and damn girl she looks good.

Top 10 Best Ever Celebrity Viral Ads according to GoViral:

1. Agent Provocateur - Kylie Minogue
2. Nike Crossbar Challenge - Ronaldinho
3. Yes We Can - Obama Song
4. Nike Car Jump - Kobe Bryant
5. T-Mobile Life's for Sharing - Pink
6. "I'm f***ing Matt Damon" - Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon
7. EA Games - Tiger Woods
8. Chanel No.5 - Nicole Kidman
9. Samsung - Ozzy Osbourne
10. Apple Mac - Ellen Feiss

Two for Tuesday

2009-11-03T06:07:00.001+13:00

I) If the internet was no more

This pic is from a Photoshop contest series on CRACKED.com. Check it out, many of them are very clever.

This picture created by RexLess.

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II) Cottage envy

I think this is the very first American cottage that has caught my eye. This one is in Eastham, Massachusetts and I think it’s adorable. It’s operating as a bed and breakfast.

Still going strong after 19 years

2009-11-01T15:11:00.001+13:00

I’m getting really psyched to be seeing Pearl Jam again later this month. This is the first single from their new album Backspacer which I’m loving. Double click to go to YouTube to watch it there as I can’t embed it here in my post.

You must be kidding

2009-10-31T20:29:00.001+13:00

The Watford Borough Council in England has banned parents from supervising their children in public playgrounds, because they have not undergone criminal record checks.Only council-vetted "play rangers" are now allowed to monitor youngsters in two adventure play areas in Watford while parents must watch from outside a perimeter fence. The Watford Borough Council policy has been attacked as insulting and a disgrace by furious relatives who say they are being labelled as potential paedophiles.

Read the full story here: www.telegraph.co.uk

Onwards and upwards

2009-10-31T14:12:00.001+13:00

I’ve been feeling really ‘bleh’ the last few months.

It wasn’t anything I could put my finger on; just fatigued, feeling a bit blue as well as inexplicably piling on weight. Actually it some ways it was rather reminiscent of the Glandular Fever I got as a teenager. My doctor just kept saying it was about working full time in a stressful role, being a single mother and running a household alongside juggling my study towards a Diploma in Business, but as of yesterday I have a concrete answer.

It’s kind of weird but it’s a huge relief to finally understand that my thyroid gland has stopped functioning well (aka Hypothyroidism). Apparently it’s a reasonably common condition (up to 3% of the population is affected) but it is often overlooked.

Today I have started taking replacement thyroxine, probably for the rest of my life, but I am feeling very hopeful of a huge change in my outlook.

Friday flowers

2009-10-30T17:41:00.001+13:00

I spotted this the other day and it thought it showed an interesting contrast; the presumably self sown but still formal and elegant pale lavender Iris existing happily alongside our wild and raggedy native Toi Toi grass. The Toi Toi (pronounced toy toy) plume can grow up to 3 metres tall.

Two for Tuesday

2009-10-27T17:18:00.001+13:00

I) Antipodean Flora

This is the New Zealand tree fern which we call Ponga. The new unfurling frond is called a koru.

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II) Cottage Envy

This basic kiwi bach is at Waikauri Bay just north of Auckland. Cute.

Thank the gods for lazy carpenters

2009-10-25T09:40:00.001+13:00

It’s a long weekend here in New Zealand, it’s our Labour weekend and we have Monday off.

The origins of our Labour Day are traced back to the eight-hour working day movement that arose in our very newly founded colony in 1840, primarily because of carpenter Samuel Parnell's refusal to work more than eight hours a day. He encouraged other tradesmen to also only work for eight hours a day and, in October 1840, a workers' meeting passed a resolution supporting the idea.

Because it’s our first long weekend in 4 months and it’s spring, everyone goes mental trying to get out of town. Last night the news was full of traffic jams north and south of Auckland yesterday. The standing joke (among Australians particularly) is that the closest we get to a traffic jam here in NZ is fighting our way through sheep on the roads though of course we do actually have real traffic jams as well.

To demonstrate my point, here’s a cool photo taken by a chap by the name of Murray Douglas which shows traffic in Auckland.

Anyway I’m very pleased to be back online without being at Rory’s mercy. Especially pleased that my warranty covered a new hard drive so it cost me nothing. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do which I will endeavour to make a start on later today. Right now I’ll finish watching the Kiwi-Kangaroo rugby league test which is underway in England. We’re in the final quarter now and the Kiwis are ahead – go the mighty Kiwis!

*EDIT* The game was a draw :-(

Sob

2009-10-20T18:33:00.001+13:00

Missing you all terribly :-(

Being kept very busy with my new second job - a night shift job in 'customer service' (service being the operative word and for some reason all my customers are named John) to make some money to buy a new puter. Let me remind y'all that I am no oil painting so at this rate I might have enough for a bottom of the range notebook by July 2014. Plus it's hell on the hips.

Kidding of course.

Still waiting to hear about warranty but me thinks the delay is not a good sign. Might have to prepare to shell out the bucks yet again so it could be a few weeks until I scrape together some cash and get back on line proper.

Can hardly believe that I am accumulating new followers during my 'sabbatical' - obviously you've not got high expectations but I heartily welcome you anyway. Rest assured I'll be back compulsively oversharing every aspect of my tiny little life within the shortest timeframe possible.

Love to all. Be careful out there. Lou

Hi all

2009-10-13T16:59:00.005+13:00

Thanks for all your kind words on my previous post and it's now Tuesday evening and yes I am feeling quite a bit better. Still having some trouble sleeping but nothing too major.

My biggest problem right now is that I fried my notebook and this is the first opportunity I have had to commandeer Rory's lenovo and check in here. Excess Skyping (you know who you are) me thinks. I hate Rory's 'puter so I can't wait to hear whether the warranty will cover mine or whether I have to shell out money for a new one - this latter option would be problematic seeing as I have no money after blowing it all on my new vehicle.

Rory has graciously 'allowed' me access for an hour, so after posting this I'll have a quick scan of blogs to catch up a wee bit before I check my personal email etc and use up my quota of time. This is weird posting via blogger rather than through Windows Live Writer as I normally would but there's no time to set that up here today.

I'll be back as soon as circumstances allow - anyone wanting to donate to my new laptop fund should email me for my bank account (kidding obviously).

Later all, hugs, Lou

Friday flowers

2009-10-09T18:30:00.001+13:00

Bluebells at my brothers place

It’s Friday evening now so that means that somehow I have survived the week. I’m still hurting but not taking any painkillers because they were upsetting my stomach. I had another short day at work today so was home by 4pm, got most of the light chores done and am now kicking back for an exciting night of Friday TV. Bummer there’s not any Project Runway on right now - Australian Idol doesn’t quite measure up.

Have a great Friday everyone. Stay safe.

Arrrgggh

2009-10-07T14:36:00.001+13:00

I haven’t slept in 2 days.

I was hoping to be much better today and because I didn’t want to bore you, my reader, any more than necessary, I avoided mentioning to you the fall I had on Monday.

Now though it’s reached the point where my compulsion for oversharing dictates I must do so.

On Monday evening I fell. I bruised and sprained the intercostal muscles between the ribs on my left side. It hurts. The analgesic I was first prescribed made me vomit repeatedly so I’m now taking a new one which appears to be working though I still haven’t found a way to lie down AND continue to breathe.

I spent last night standing and/or pacing watching movies most of the night. I’m so tired it is health hazardous to come anywhere near me. I only lasted the morning at work before my team begged me to go home, a request to which I ungraciously acquiesced.

I’m going to try lying down again now – wish me luck.

Two for Tuesday

2009-10-06T07:19:00.001+13:00

I) Spring weather update

We are experiencing really weird spring weather downunder this year.

There’s been lots of rain as per usual but surprisingly it is still snowing in the central plateau about 300kms south of Auckland and this means it is cold. Unseasonally cold. Normally by now our temperature would be climbing to reach at least 17 or 18 Celsius during the day but yesterday it only got as high as 8 all day (about 45 Fahrenheit I think). Brrrrrrrr.

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II) Cottage envy

In honour of the tsunami victims of a week ago I thought I would post an island style cottage this week. The death toll from the tsunami stands at 149 in Samoa (including 17 vacationing New Zealanders), with another 31 in American Samoa and 9 in Tonga.

I think this painting more likely depicts a scene from the Caribbean but the roof has a slightly Samoan ‘fale’ feel about it. It is a work by the very talented West Indian, come Australian painter David D’Aguiar. Click on the pic to go to his website.

Mind boggling

2009-10-04T21:08:00.001+13:00

Check out this 3D sidewalk art created by Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner. Some they did together others individually.

Click on the links or the pics to check out their websites for more truly extraordinary street art - it seems almost impossible that it’s only 2 dimensional.

More hip marketing from Microsoft

2009-10-03T19:47:00.001+13:00

Has anyone been watching the ‘party’ marketing plan for Windows 7 which is due for launch later this month?

This instructional video is so bad I initially thought it must be a spoof but apparently not. It is long but you’ll get enough of the picture in the first minute or two so there’s no need to inflict the whole revoltingly perky thing on yourself. There’s a lot of talk of ‘activities’ and lots of over-acting.

Is it for real? Have any of you American bloggers who read here signed up to host a Windows 7 party? I see there’s free promotional material and gifts etc supplied to hosts. You too could have all your friends over and do activities with them until they beg for mercy.

Friday flowers

2009-10-02T18:00:00.001+13:00

And just like that it’s Friday evening again. I have a big night planned – a 70’s party. Yes that’s right, yet another 70’s party, this one sounds like it might be a rage. Here’s hoping.

My outfit is all sorted, I am going as a punk rocker – all leather and Union Jacks, safety pins, studded dog collar and ripped clothes. Even managed to dig out my old cherry red Docs from the ceiling space at mum and dad’s. I can hardly believe that I just spent $16 on some beautiful tights so that I can ladder them and generally skuzz them up plus a further $10 on black nail polish – I don’t remember anyone actually wearing black nail polish in the 70s (in NZ anyway) but what the heck.

Anyway down to Friday Flower business…

I saw this rhododendron in a front yard up the street a couple of weeks ago but just got around to stopping yesterday to take this pic. My procrastination means it’s now past its best unfortunately as we’ve had rain, lots of spring rain. Typical of me to bugger around.

They’re a particularly small flower. I have no idea of the variety.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Friday everyone.

Travelling light

2009-10-01T21:48:00.001+13:00

I’ve got a few days away coming up soon and it started me thinking about packing. I packed very badly going to Great Barrier Island a couple of weeks ago, I ended up bringing half my clothes home unworn and I don’t want to do that again.

This thinking reminded me about reading an article a few days ago in my local rag so I went hunting to find the following questions that were asked of a travel writer.

How about considering these questions yourself and sharing?

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1) Do you travel light or heavy?

I used to be able to travel light but as I’ve gotten older I seem to have lost that skill.

2) Cattle or first class?

First is my first choice but seeing as work pays for most of my travel that never happens. I’ve gotten upgraded to business a couple of times but never first class. One day maybe…

3) I can't travel without...

My iPod and my trusty Kathmandu toilet bag. A place for everything and everything in its place.

4) What's always in your hand luggage?

My reading glasses and a big fat book. I always make sure I have a book mark as well as I hate using just anything to mark my page.

5) Favourite or most exciting airport to land in?

Jean Batten Airport (Auckland) because that means I am home. Gawd that sounds lame so perhaps I’ll try Narita – there’s nothing like Japanese airports for hustle and bustle.

6) Most memorable trip?

In a good (relaxing) way: a few weeks relaxing on an isolated island in the Gulf of Thailand and experiencing all that the island had to offer

In a not so good way: Flying from Moscow to Mumbai on Aeroflot and finding that my seat wasn’t even attached to the floor of the plane – scary sh*t!

OK I know I cheated on that one.

7) Best packing tip?

Really consider what you’ll need – dual purpose clothing items and footwear are key to minimising the excess baggage charges.

Good vibes

2009-09-30T21:32:00.001+13:00

Two of my colleagues are sitting at home with their families right now waiting to hear that missing loved ones on the south coast of Upolu and in a northern Tongan island are okay. Or not okay as the case may be. It’s been a horrible day. Though New Zealand has been unaffected geographically, many Samoan and Tongan kiwis have friends or family back in the islands who’ve experienced property damage and worse.

Sending good vibes to all the Samoan, Tongan and Cook islands.

The Maharishi Guide to Zen

2009-09-29T20:15:00.001+13:00

The darkest hours come just before the dawn. So if you’re going to steal the neighbour’s milk and newspaper, that’s the time to do it.

Sex is like air. It only becomes really important when you aren’t getting any.

Do not walk behind me for I might not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone.

Generally speaking, you aren’t learning if your lips are moving.

Never forget that you are unique, like everybody else.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

Before you judge someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you judge them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

Some day we are the flies; some days we are the windscreens.

Don’t worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it

Author unknown

Two for Tuesday

2009-09-29T15:19:00.001+13:00

I) Funny gifs

Check out his website http://funevil.blogspot.com/ for cool and funny and cute pics with embed codes to decorate your blog if you so desire.

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II) Cottage envy

Another thatched cottage for rent this week. This time in Co Mayo in Ireland. See the website www.conorscottage.com for more pics though €420 a night, even in the high season, seems incredibly expensive. Does look lovely though.

March for Peace

2009-09-28T15:14:00.001+13:00

I mentioned in my post of yesterday that I would share what my sis and I got up to on Sunday morning before we visited the art gallery.

Click on the logo above to go to the New Zealand website.

You may have heard about the World March For Peace And Non-Violence which is starting in Wellington, NZ on October 2 and travelling around the globe for 90 days ending in the Andes Mountains in Argentina on January 2, 2010. The march is about raising awareness of how much better life could be if some of the international arms budget went toward improving people’s lives instead of for destruction. It is also about denouncing the dangerous world situation that is leading us frighteningly closer to nuclear war.

In Auckland yesterday morning, a precursor event was planned to help welcome the international contingent of marchers. The event kicked off in QEII square at 10am with a walk around the city’s peace heritage sites to be followed by a rally with music and speeches until mid afternoon. At one stage I was marching beside a famous Aucklander Lucy Lawless – she’s tall and friendly. She’s hot too, even without the Xena costume.

Though my sister and I weren’t sure what route was planned around the city, we knew we wanted to be involved but without staying for the whole thing (we care but just not enough to march all day). Thankfully just before lunch time the march was at Albert Park, a block away from the art gallery so we discretely slipped off to indulge in some Rita Angus.

Check out the international website for more information about the March for Peace. Join in if any events are close to you.

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I was chatting to an American friend the other night on the phone and I mentioned that New Zealand is an avowedly nuclear free zone. My friend hadn’t known this and was surprised – maybe there are others who weren’t aware of this?

It all started with the dastardly French who were testing their nukes in our backyard in the south Pacific. They conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests at Mururoa atoll between 1966 and 1974 before they moved underground for a further 147 tests until the early 90s. In a symbolic act of protest in 1973 the New Zealand government sent two navy frigates, HMNZS Canterbury and Otago, into the test zone area to disrupt the testing. Huge impromptu flotillas of what became known as peace yachts accompanied the frigates. These protests were supported by large contingents of environmental groups such as Greenpeace.

In 1985 in an act of retaliation for all the hassle over the years, French saboteurs entered NZ and blew up the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior which was berthed at an Auckland wharf. A man sleeping on board was killed.

We were horrified. This act of international terrorism served to galvanise the views of ordinary New Zealanders and resulted in the passing of the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act of 1987. All forms of nuclear generation were disallowed and nuclear powered or armed vessels were no longer permitted to enter our 22 kilometre (12 mile) zone.

Over the years it has certainly made for some very uncomfortable conversations with the US as their policy of neither confirming nor denying any vessel is nuclear powered and/or armed means that we disallow them all. It’s a weird situation and it puts us on the outer with our ‘friends’ though a referendum here a few years ago showed that for better or worse the large majority of kiwis want to keep the status quo. A nuclear free zone we remain after 22 years.

Culture and cappuccino

2009-09-27T21:32:00.001+13:00

My sister and I are both fans of painter Rita Angus and we decided today to check out the latest exhibition of her work at the Auckland City Art Gallery.

Rita Angus was a feminist and a pacifist and was one of this country's pioneer modern painters. She was prolific for over 40 years until she died in 1970. I particularly enjoy the oils she painted in her later years - here are four of my favourites.

Central Otago

Boats in the Bay

Fog, Hawkes Bay

View from Tinakori Road

I had been hoping to buy a lithograph of ‘Boats’ to have mounted for my bedroom wall but the $90.00 price tag was unfortunately out of my range. Instead we treated ourselves at the patisserie a few doors down – fabulous creamy cappuccino and delicious lemon tart.

It was a good part of a great day out, I hope your Sunday is as much fun.

**EDIT** I will post about what we got up to this morning, before the gallery, at some stage over the next couple of days.

Tales from the Tao

2009-09-26T08:43:00.001+12:00

Very late last night after posting here, I picked up a new book for a few minutes reading before lights out. I was quickly engrossed and read it start to finish.

About the Tao is an interesting website which explains the background to the book better than I can:

In ancient China, there was a very wise man named Lao Tzu who was the keeper of the imperial library. Lao Tzu saw the growing corruption of the government and decided to leave the city for a simpler life in the country. On his way, the guard at the city gates asked Lao Tzu to write out the essence of his understanding to benefit future generations. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, then left the city and was never heard of again.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, is one of the most influential books in history. It is the source of famous Chinese sayings such as;

“Those who know do not speak, those who speak, do not know”.

This book above is put together by Solala Towler and comprises about 30 of Lao Tzu’s tales. The stories introduce Taoist principles about many of the most basic human experiences – birth, death, loss, dignity.

The Tao was more a philosophy than a religion though when Buddhism came to China in the 5th century it became mixed up with the native Taoist traditions and became a unique form of Buddhism, called Chan, which later on travelled to Japan where it was taken up by the Samurai class, who laid it over their own bushido philosophy and named it Zen.

It’s a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.

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“Even a 1,000 mile journey starts with a single step” The Tao