Dizz Down Under

Flying By

Hmm, Lent has arrived seemingly without warning.  The fact that it is mid Feb is overwhelming.  My new job has been full on.  After 4 years in my comfort zone, I am so far out of it now that it isn’t funny!  This week I have slept for 3 nights running which feels miraculous and demonstrates the stress that I am experiencing.  On one hand this is a learning curve and I knew it would be tough for at least 9 months, on the other hand at 2 months in I am led to considering whether this is worth it.  I’ll leave that thought there for now.  James’ work continues to consume him and there are highs and lows for him as well.

 

Outside work, I have change Swim School to the awesome DGSS where a number of friends also swim.  The downside is the 6am start the upsides are that I am done by 7am and the teaching is awesome.  I am also being diligent in the exercise arena with a renewed commitment to the gym and yoga.  To some extent this is to physically tyre me out, but it is also about all the other good things that come with this, and I am enjoying it all.

 

Other exciting New Year events have included time with James’ parents (in Auckland and Kohukohu), visit from my cousin Alex and friends Peter & Liz, much progress on the house extension – including funky new chairs, and a 40^th Birthday party at Artisan for Ang.

 

So life continues apace, I feel like it will be Christmas again before I know it – which is too scary. 

 

Hope to post more frequently soon!!!

Waxing Lyrical

Where did 2009 go, and to some extent the last 10 years.  I know that they have been an amazing adventure that I never dreamed possible, and that makes me wonder what the next 10 will hold.  The end of last year was a whirlwind, with the potential of losing my job, which turned into a promotion, which will definitely push me out of my comfort zone and lead to more pressure for the next 12 months.  So here we are.

James and I definitely needed the break we have had over Christmas, and I really wish that it wasn't over yet.  The weekend before Christmas we celebrated James' birthday - firstly with his office party (they got him a lovely cake) and then with an Indian at our favourite new restaurant in Titirangi - Masala - with the Wroes.  It was lovely to catch up with them and spend a summer evening in the Fringes of Heaven.

On Wed 23 December we headed to work, feeling it would be a miracle to get to the other end of the day, and in the end we didn't leave Auckland till almost 5pm, but the traffic was fabulous and we were in Rotorua for about 8.30pm.  We headed to the Pig & Whistle and had a couple of pints of cider (something that NZ has discovered in force over the last few months).  I was tipsy as we rolled into bed.  

On Christmas Eve we meandered down to Gisborne and checked into our apartment - it all felt very grown up.  We wandered over to the Campsite to find Bruce and Denise and the rest of the gang arrived.  We didn't know them all, but it was lovely to spend Xmas day with 14 people in 30 degree sunny weather on campsite which felt like being in France.  

I couldn't believe I was swimming in the sea with Moko the dolphin on Christmas day, but there I was.  The next few days in Gisborne were wonderful, time on the beach, in the sea, with friends, tasting wine and relaxing.  Such a wonderful way to farewell the Clarkes as they head off to Melbourne.  

The trip north around the East Coast was stunning.  We had a lovely night in Hicks Bay with homemade burgers and wine from Tolaga Bay.

Much of our time in the East Cape Wineries was a little depressing as the tale of Pernod Riccard unfolded.  Montana Wines sold out to PR a couple of years ago and this year they dropped most of their growers in Gisborne, and the story goes like this.  They want to protect their Jacobs Creek sparkling (which is rubbish) and in the UK Lindauer was becoming more popular (a $ or so more expensive).  Most of the grapes come from Gisborne so they dropped the growers!!!  An additional pressure came from Marlborough and the Sav Blanc glut of 2008 and the only thing those grapes are good for is the new Sav Lindauer Bubbles - which is really nice, and will probably be really popular in the UK and take over from Jacobs Creek (which is rubbish - did I mention that???).  It all puts me in a moral quandry on what to drink????  Other than clearly not Jacobs Creek - protecting a brand which is not as popular is stupid in my mind, but then I guess another batch of growers would be wiped out - just not in NZ.

From Hicks Bay we took a long day to drive back to sunny Auckland and we have spent the last week at home.  This time as been wonderful to just sort out life, and we are nearly there.  Time to look at the living room today.  James has been busy doing stuff on the veranda and the extension is in full swing.

Then back to work, and this time will become a distant memory all too soon.  Penny and Mike arrive soon which will be lovely, then Peter and Liz.  We hope to get to Melbourne in April and Argentina in August.

My prayer for this year is that we will live life simply, that work will not rule my life, that I will find a rhythm and pace to this new job.  I'd like to stay fit and healthy, and spend time with my husband and good friends.  To 2010!!!

Quick Update

I have been a little quiet for a while because it has been all change at work, and it has been tough and draining.  However, the process is over now, but has resulted in a big new job for me - Group HR Manager.  So on the one hand it is very exciting, but on the other it is terrifying.  Being realistic it is going to be all consuming for about the next 12 months, as I form a new team, try to maintain BAU, support a huge amount of change and improve systems and processes.  So I am losing sleep over it already and I don't officially start till Monday.  

Last weekend we celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary, which was topped off by getting the new job.  We headed south to Queenstown for the weekend and had a fabulous time.  We took a day in the Dart Valley, taking a jet boat up, paddling back down in a funyak and then ended with a 4WD trip home!  We went wine tasting in Cromwell and Gibbston, we wined and dined, luged and gondallered.  

So now it will be heads down till Xmas, next weekend I will compete in the Russell to Paihia Swim and on the 23 December we will head to Gisborne for another break.

We have also started to have the final bit of the house in Oratia built - a new laundry and knocking the kitchen through into a new living space with lots of indoor outdoor flow.

So I am back out of my comfort zone work wise, and we are continuing with the many projects that life throws at us.  Loving it, still can't believe it's been 6 years, what a great adventure and it looks set to continue for some time to come!!!

Hampton Jones, Rowan and the Beeb

Just after James left the house today the phone rang, as I picked it up I realised it was going to be him ringing me because the World Service had just run an advert for Hampton Jones!!  Not quite international fame, as it is the World Service in NZ, but still very exciting.  Hampton Jones are also now a World Service sponsor, so occasionally at the start of the hour there will be the follpwing announcement:

"The next hour of programmes is brought to you by Hampton Jones"

Great work boys!!

A little later on my way to work one of my favourite World Service programmes "One Planet" aired another interview with Rowan.  He is clearly a popular person for them to interview at the moment.  The angle was around how well or not we are looking after God's creation.  I don't think the answer to that question will come as a surprise to anyone and he did talk about what the Anglican church is trying to do around reducing it's carbon foot print on a parish level - I have to say it was news to me that there is some form of plan around this, but it was good to know.

I was more intrigued and personally encouraged about his comments surrounding population growth and control, given the predictions that the global population will be unsustainable by 2050.  He spoke well about the controversy around population control in relation to the Chinese approach and inappropriate criticism of the 3rd world comments on birth control.  Then he spoke a little about needing to find different ways to encourage population control.  This is one of the areas on a personal level which I find the church doesn't always handle well, I have been criticised in the past for expressing that I may not want kids, because it is "part of being a Christian".  However, one of my responses genuinely is "why would I bring another life into the world when right now the signs are that within my lifetime the world won't be able to sustain itself?".  It's a tough thought, this issue is in the mix for me when I consider kids, it would seem selfish to me.

The only point where I didn't think Rowan came off well was around the Anglican investment mix, whether it is ethical and environmentally friendly.  Given the wealth of the Anglican church the figures quoted were to be expected, and Rowan did talk about the fact that changing the investment mix can't happen overnight, and isn't always made the priority it should be by the church.  So come on, make the change, get on with it - this is an area where the church can make a difference.

Ok, time for a weekend, including a wedding.  My work is more than a little rocky right now and next week could be a tough one.  So any passing prayers would be appreciated - otherwise I might have consider ordination ... totally joking!!

Off to Hobbiton

This weekend sees our annual trip to Hobbiton (Matamata to Kiwi's) and I am excited.  On the way down we will have our annual catch up with the Montys in Hamilton, so it is time for dinner at Palate - yum!  It is always a scary meal in many ways as we consider the previous 12 months and the events which have made a mark on our lives.  It is the beginning of a time of reflection.

This year St Paul's camp has Mike Pilavachi as the speaker so I am hoping for some challenging teaching, as well as some time as church to relax and play. 

James and I plan to spend Saturday afternoon in the hot pools we discovered last year, I hope the recent rain hasn't made them too cool.  We will also make a trip to the Kaimai Cheese chop - yum! 

The next few months look busy and I feel we are in the run up to Christmas already.  I guess spring is back and the time for activity has arrived.  I am not sure I have got the right balance of rest incorporated in the plan - so I am looking for time for this too.

Anyway, back soon!

Tsunami Warning

Well, I guess NZ Civil Defense should give themselves a pat on the back.  After significant abuse last year for a Tsunami Warning they did nothing about - they didn't need to but lots of N Hemisphere relatives call Kiwi's to warn them of the warning in the middle of the night here - CD realised we are now truly a Global population.  Today they have demonstrated that they are good at managing the Tsunami risk following the quake in Samoa.

I still find it strange that I live somewhere where we need a very active Civil Defence organisation and that the threat of a natural disaster seems much more real.  I was in a meeting this morning with the wife of a Samoan chief whose village was closest to the quake and was probably struck by the Tsunami - up close and personal and strange. 

Go Civil Defence NZ, and my prayers are with the people of the Pacific who have been affected.

Being a Carer - hmmm

So this week with work, now that I work in Health, I was shouted a ticket to a Carers conference.  So I managed to miss the stuff on colostomy but I was there to listen to stuff on employing carers, i.e. how can employers maximise the talents these people have.  I was suitably challenged.  From a professional point of view there is probably so much more most organisations could be doing to assist in this area - and BT's HR GM spoke well on this.  There is a small part of me that does want to say though that in my mind these changes shouldn't be at the expense of the non-carers, and I think that BT would achieve this.  Personally I also found it challenging, partly because of my approach to non-carers not being impacted.  I am a non-carer in the technical definition of the term.  To some extent this is my choice, and I believe enough of my taxes assist others in this area - some of whom I personally believe should have chosen otherwise anyway.  However, in this seminar there were situations where I sat that there thinking that is not my responsibility, but should it be.  I am still pondering that one.

The weekend has been lovely, James surprised me with a new destination for date night on Friday night - Mollies in Herne Bay was lovely, great atmosphere, great food, great night.  Saturday saw yoga, introvert time, wine tasting new releases (Matua and West Brooke) and then fish & chips with a DVD.  Today we hosted Sunday Roast - and we had our first BBQ Coq au Can, and we ate on the deck - summer is back!!!  

This week James is away on work quite bit - grumph, but work should be a little calmer.  Fingers crossed.

Something Understood

I sit with an uneasy tension being "Anglican", I am in the sense that this was my upbringing, and I am not in the sense that my faith is much bigger than the denomination and I associate more closely with the Vineyard.  I am in that I currently attend an Anglican church, and I am not in that there are many parts of the "Anglican Church" that I can not and do not agree with.  On the other hand James and I know that this is where many of our friends sit, and also that many at our church are not aware that a) it is Anglican or b) what that means anyway.  So essentially on the whole it is ok, and sometimes it is amusing.  Recently I felt like I kinda understood that my journey had to be as it has been for me to be at this church and be involved in it fully.  So that has given me some peace.

One of the things I struggle with is "Rowan" and I also know that I am not alone here.  On my journey to work this morning the BBC World Service (my refuge) had "Something Understood" and an interview with "Rowan", I groaned silently, but given that the subject was prayer I figured this wasn't controversial and to continue to listen.  A couple of things I gleaned were that the title of this programme comes from a George Herbert poem on prayer - a particular favourite of Rowans - which explained quite alot to me and made me think.  Secondly, he talked about making space at the start of the day to ground the day in prayer - and to begin with breathing deeply from the pit of your stomach.  I particularly liked this as this is how I approach the breathing exercises at yoga - I started yoga just over 12 months ago, petrified that it was "dodgy" and "unholy" and yet it is where I meet God frequently.  I guess that thankfully my class doesn't have a "spiritual" content, so I can use it for this.  Finally, Rowan talked about how people often talk about the absence of God in prayer, and how he then suggests that it is actually the absence of them in prayer ... something here resonated.  I will keep holding that up, I think that there is more to glean here. 

Maybe I should be more graceful with Rowan too, he is clearly a holy man.

We spent the weekend in the Far North, a lovely retreat, with time to breath and relax, time on the harbour, and time by the fire (I suspect the last one for the year, as it really is too warm now).

On to the week ahead.

Dela Soul

Back to life, back to reality .... it's been a while I know!  But I am back and on form .... well getting there.  The Ocean Swim Season starts in less than 2 months and I feel like I am permanently aching as I ramp up the exercise in preparation for new challenges.  This year I am signed up for some running events as well as swims, including the Stroke and Stride Duathlon Series ... yes I am mad and no I will not be a serious competitor in the field.  So my week seems to revolve around work, exercise, sleep, and somewhere at the end of this keeping on top of life and seeing friends.  LOVING IT! 

We have been spending a lot of time in the Far North which has been just wonderful, and we are even getting the garden - which we know nothing about - under control. 

Some highlights in the last few weeks have included:

Dinner at OTG

Dinner at Empress Gardens with Martin

Getting the 9km run from our house more and more under control

Taking the cats to the Far North

Taking a 4.5 month booking on the Oratia Cottage - from a lovely young couple

Beautiful clear spring days in Auckland

Cluster Time in the Park

Meals in the Waterline Cafe

I could go on, but should get back to work .... then swim ... then sleep ... then do it all again!!!

The Return of Empress Gardens

Last week James discovered that after a year of closure the BEST chinese in Auckland - and the only one that knows how to Peking Duck had re-opened.  Nervously we placed an order, worried that in some way it might have changed and may disappoint.  GREAT NEWS THE DUCK IS BACK!!!!  Right now I could go there every day.

Friday night saw a Sky Tower, Orbit Restaurant meal - thanks to Tracey, Dino and Lucy for a great meal - we know you loved it too. 

Sadly on Saturday we said goodbye to our visitors and then I had some true ISTJ time regaining control of life. 

The Kiwiana Party at the Clarkes on Saturday to farwell Bruce to Melbourne was a lot of fun - esp the slightly drunk version of Liz, who couldn't direct us home!!!

Sunday involved church, Sunday Roast with the team and washing!

We are in need of a holiday with less than 3 weeks to go I can't wait.

Between now and then we have the NZ Film Festival which starts for us this evening with the Bader Meinhoff Complex followed by Mexican - I think this might be our first date night for some time.

This weekend aims to be quiet and the exercise regime is being implemented.