Hanging with your people

We all belong to people.  We all have people who share our sense of humour, genes, values, gender or interests etc.  Being with people who are like us is warm and relatively easy.  Today I had a fantastic example of being with your people which made me very happy.  This may sound odd but I thought you might enjoy it.  I am an extrovert, extreme maybe.  That means I get all my energy from the world.  I love being with people, it doesn't mean I am super outgoing or particularly loud (although not all will agree).

Today three extroverts jumped in a car to go to a meeting. One (me) was changing out of her bike gear in the back seat as she was running late (head wind).  While doing this, she was also enjoying a very lively conversation and debate about how we were going to get to our destination.  No mean feat in this city.  At the same time we were having conversations about the price of beer and London prices in ChCh.  The two in the front are English so we launch into a whole lot of stuff.  We were also wittily  making up abuse to hurl at the woman in the green Suzuki and the old chap in the slow silver car. 

Eventually we ran a red light by mistake after waiting for a train as well as forgetting who was supposed to give way.  It was a very noisy, lively and hilarious ride.  We were all very happy talking at once, pointing in all directions, making smart comments and laughing a lot.  We didn't have to worry about being quiet, pausing to let others join in, worry about taking offense or making a mistake.  Just bloody good fun.  Thanks extroverts for showing yourselves and for being you.

LUXCity

There is a very nice habit forming whereby people who don't live here do nice things for us.  Some people find it annoying because they want their homes fixed and will not have a bar of anything good until the very last house is back to normal.  Some of us is broken houses on shitty streets in sad neighbourhoods embrace teh good at every opportunity and are very grateful to the lovely people who take a moment to help make life a little better.  Life is not that great if you live here and have no city and all of the above shittiness.

So, when 300 architecture students from universities in NZ decided to make us an event in the city, on a bunch of rocky empty sites that once housed buildings we just went for it.  What a fantastic event and many of us were very happy to be there doing something interesting in a place of despair.  THANK YOU.

We went early and left as the many thousands crowded in but we had such an awesome time seeing friends and connecting with bars and cafes who were on trestle tables in the rubble selling their wares.  I took some very average photos but there are some stunners floating around in cyber space so you could check them out if you were of a mind to.

Experimental balloon lights...not sure they worked out as intended but great anyway.

The music was very LOUD here and that is what dancing looks like in our house

Alex, Jonty, Nic, Pete, Oliver, Joseph and me

Shadow play

Sola Rosa - Dux Live

My new favourite band. And I love them so much. Took my friend Anne along to see them and she was a Sola Rosa virgin but totally rocked it out. This photo is an all rights reserved Sola Rosa owned so don't use it. My first gig and the new Dux Live and it was fantastic. It is all about the music and the dancing. It is small and funky with no airs or graces. If this is what we can do after an earthquake I say bring it on. My fear of big new and boring is being dispelled but I am still a bit wary. Can't wait to go back, it reminds me of the fun we used to have in the olden days.

Willowbank

There are often silver linings to be found when you live in an earthquake zone and you are often looking for them during the drudgery of getting about.  Yesterday I had one of those linings.  Being able to work flexibility meant that I got to go to Willowbank Wildlife Park with Nicholas.  At the age of eight, this was the first time we had done this together.  He has been several times but not with me.  Aside from that lovely mother son bonding moment I got to escape earthquake stuff for a couple of hours as well as see some very cool NZ natives. I almost shed a tear when I got a hand space away from a gorgeous little kiwi with not a pane of glass in site.  Loved it

 Come to think of it there were lots of introduced species there too which are a bit more approachable and cute

 Soft wallaby

 Scruffy and nosey Llamas

 Nat and Nic trying to get the kea to take the bait

Unplugged

We have just spent a fantastic week at our beloved Totaranui.  The weather was gorgeous and there were no cellphones, radios, television, lights or computers.  The most important thing to worry about was the weather, tides, and how to plan our activities around them, whether her it be snorkeling, rock clambering, boating, swimming, bush walking or lying around reading.  Didn't get a lot of reading done but oh well.  It was just the break I needed to restore my equilibrium. I am hoping this will improve my attitude and energy levels. Today I am back home and washing up a storm, scrubbing chilly bins, grocery shopping and generally getting sorted and loving it! Thank you holiday gods for giving me the sun, sea and summer we all needed.

I

 Nic and new mate Liam

 Friends passing by in their new boat plus Jane's unexpected family visit.  A lovely day at Mutton Cove.

 Camp food...bananas, chocolate and marshmallows in the embers...yeah

 Ella and Nic

 Fare-welling friends after lovely lunch at our campsite

 Windy walk out to our boat in the Awaroa Inlet as the warm tide come in. 

Cap'n Jonty

colour my world

I feel great this week after a days of fun, friends and sun.  Heading to the Your Home and Garden/Dulux event on a 31 degree night was just gorgeous.  Alex and I went to Hinton's vineyard and enjoyed a glass or two of wine and lovely nibbly things.  On top of that we got to meet the Dulux chic and the lovely Sarah Kerr interior designer and very excitingly Denise L'Estrange-Corbett from World fashion label.  It was just great indulging in fashion, interior fabrics, design and colour.  Very uplifting.

Today I had the very great pleasure of joining Nic and his class on a visit to the beautiful Issac Theatre Royal to see Royal NZ Ballet's latest Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker.  It was baking hot and I did have parental bus duties to perform but I was as mesmerized as the children with their interpretation of the ballet.  Stunning and beautiful with some real originality especially in the set and lighting.  The kids from Nic's class were fantastic.

Continuing the theme of colour and creativity Karen and I indulged ourselves in a repeat viewing of 'The September Issue'  It was great sitting there with a chic talking about the clothes and the people and just indulging in all that fashion.  Grace Coddington is my new hero and Anna Wintour is just plain fascinating.

Add this to a double episode of Project Runway AND a stunning new resin bracelet I bought at my hair dressers on Wednesday night and I have had a great visual delight of a week.  I wish every week was this rich with colour.

This is too good not to share

Wow how times have changed.  Long gone is the angst and self discovery of our 20's, here is our reality and it is kinda funny.  I know you will all find something to chuckle about reading these.  Shared with me by my friend Alex.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing annoys more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
7. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
8. Bad decisions make good stories.
9. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.