It's Christmas
Sunday December 27, 2015
The last month of work has been pretty manic, with builds of all our games going out on various platforms and systems all at once. In our last week, we had our annual game jam, which was pretty manic, but the end result was a quality set of very impressive games from all teams.
Social wise, there's been a lot happening too. There was Campbell and Linda's wedding, we got some kittens delivered to the office thanks to Uber, we went out to Cape Palliser for a miniroad trip, there was the 80's Party IV and Jordan's 30th, and we had a week-long set of Christmas events to round out the end of the year.
Last Saturday, six of us began our roadtrip up to Auckland via Owhango, where we stayed the night. On Sunday, we headed to Tauranga for some white water rafting down the Wairoa River, only open 26 days a year due to it being controlled by a hydroelectric dam. However, due to some problems with the booking system, we had to be rebooked for 1.30pm instead of 11.30am, so we went up to Mount Maunganui for a squizz at the beach. I've never actually been there before, but the sand and water were fantastic and inviting. Eventually we returned to our white water rafting meeting point and geared up for an exhilarating ride down two Grade V waterfalls. It was an amazing experience and one to be remembered for a long time!
I didn't really make any plans with people before I arrived in Auckland, but as was expected, my calendar started filling up very quickly. On Monday, I was pretty tired from the roadtrip, so spent most of the time at home. On Tuesday, I met Mat and Will in town for lunch at Ortolanas and we got some take away Milse too. I went to the cat cafe on Queens St with Reagan and Erica, then met Mana out in East Tamaki for Korean BBQ. On Wednesday, I met up with all the Wellington crew for dinner at Kushi, dessert at Giapo and drinks at the Belgian Beer Cafe, before going for a quick drive down Franklin Road - and by quick, I mean a very slow paced crawl from all the traffic. On Thursday, I was at my sister's house catching with my nephews and then off to Tatsumi with my parents for an amazing eight course degustation.
Friday was Christmas, and that was double dinner at my sister's and then a family friend's house nearby. On Boxing Day, I was at Long Bay Beach with my schoolmates, and a good old traditional Kiwi barbeque at Mat's, and today I've been hanging with the guys from KCC. There's been mafia, Love Letter and Dota, and it's been pretty full on!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:11am on Sunday December 27, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 
Return to Makara
Monday March 11, 2013
It feels like summer\'s definitely on its last legs. While today is cold from the southerlies and dull, grey and overcast like only a Monday could be, yesterday was magnificently warm and sunny.
I took a chance. Yesterday was the southern hemisphere\'s last chance at seeing Comet Panstarrs in the sky. I knew it would be very low in the horizon and we still might not be able to see it through the twilight brilliance, but I recruited a crew and we bundled a picnic dinner in my car and headed back to Makara.
We went up Opau Bay Road to check out the wind turbine farm first. The area boasts some fantastic westward views of the South Island and the vast sea beyond. If you head out on the Short Turbine Walk, you\'ll walk past a lone turbine standing guard over the ridge between Opau Bay and Makara Beach. From here, you can look back at the turbine farm and get a sense of their majesty; a true representation of how technology and nature can be harmonious. There\'s not much else to do at that side and the gates close at 6pm during summer, so we headed off. One day we might return when it\'s really windy to see what it\'s like...
Down at Makara, there were plenty of other beachgoers taking advantage of the great weather. We unloaded our food and began our walk on the track to embattlements. We arrived with good time, and after dinner, Jordan guarded base camp and read his book while Mitchell, Chloe and I went for a quick explore around the hill. We found a lot of sheep poop.
Sunset was at 7.50pm yesterday, and in amongst the self-photographs, we watched as the sun dipped behind the mountains of the South Island. The glow of dusk began to illuminate the hills around us, but this soon gave way as the first star of the night, Sirius, became visible. Looking to the west, the horizon was still too bright to see any signs of Panstarrs. By now, several more stars were appearing in the night sky - Orion and Taurus in the north with Jupiter, the Southern Cross out to the east above the aura of Wellington\'s light pollution, and the dim fuzziness of the Milky Way becoming more prominent as time passed.
And then came...our first shooting star of the night!
Oh the magic of shooting stars.
We saw another two during our time there. It would have been around 9.30pm when we decided to call it a night and we began the drive back to Wellington. Much to Jordan\'s bemusement, a wild possum appeared in the middle of the road and I stopped the car so he could try and photograph it. It looked him timidly, and then scurried off along the ditch by the road. He tried to follow it, but it eventually clambered up the hill to safety, away from the intrusive paparazzi lens.
What a nice way to spend a Sunday.
Posted by Jeremy at 12:34am on Monday March 11, 2013 :: 0 comments ::
How do I summer
Saturday December 29, 2012
For the first time since I arrived in Auckland, it has been brilliantly sunny. I took advantage of the great weather by doing some laundry, naturally, and within a few hours all my clothes were dry! It's amazing!
I did more than just laundry though, a bunch of us went out to Karekare Beach, near Piha, just to chill in the sun. Though some dark ominous clouds rolled over around 3pm, they were nothing more than extra sunshade and the conditions remained warm and pleasant.
Just got back from an epic Korean BBQ place out on the shore called Arirang with my friends from CompSci. So much news to catch up on... no one ever keeps me informed :(! There was a huge amount of food and I was blown away by how cheap it all was as well. I tried freshwater snails for the first time, as well as cold noodles, and was spoiled for choice with the multitude of delectable side dishes. Nothing in Wellington comes close to the quality AND quantity at this place. Huge thanks to Laura for sorting everything out and cooking all the meat for us.
Yesterday I caught up with some ex-colleagues - Vaughan and Roy - as well as Alan, who had driven my car up to Auckland from Wellington via Taupo. We played a few games of pool and had a great meal at Erawan Thai on Jervois Rd. It was a little weird seeing my car up here when I didn't drive it up... after dinner we went our separate ways and I ended up at Ben's house for some board games (and Spaceteam!) until 1am. Citadels is slowly becoming a favourite of the group!
On Thursday I went for yum cha with my sister and her family. Nephew is still as adorable as ever, and was well behaved at the restaurant. It's so good to go with my sister because I get to eat things that my friends don't normally eat, like tofu and tau fu fa. I spent the afternoon just catching up with them, and then playing with my nephew after his nap. I feel so proud to be his uncle!
And finally on Wednesday, I went into town to check out Boxing Day sales. Yeah, it's not really like me at all. Queen St was full of people (lots of Asians lololol) looking for bargains; peering into some of the small shops, they're crammed packed with people who can barely move around, such is the utter madness of these Boxing Day sales. As for myself, I purchased a few items from the Warehouse: some bedsheets, new shoes, some socks.... nothing really that exciting. I remember walking around thinking about how much I hate shopping and that I can finally say I did the Boxing Day thing and that the amount I save doesn't feel like it justifies the chaos I experience in the shopping malls. Never again.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:21am on Saturday December 29, 2012 :: 0 comments ::