Wellington 150
Sunday July 26, 2015
It's been 150 years since Wellington became the capital of New Zealand, and in celebration, there have been several events around town celebrating government and Parliament. Parliament House was lit up with several projected images, much like how the War Memorial was done for Anzac Day, and under the clear skies of Wellington, we listened to the Kiwi tunes of Dave Dobbyn - so poignant was the moment he sang Welcome Home. I absolutely love the imagery that this particular lyric holds:
There's a woman with her hands trembling - "Haere Mai"
And she sings with a mountain's memory - "Haere Mai"
There's a cloud the full length of these isles
Just playing chase with the sun
And it's black and it's white and it's wild
All the colours are one
Standing with the half moon and Southern Cross clearly visible in the sky, with hundreds of other Wellingtonians and New Zealanders on the lawn of Parliament - where we gave women the right to vote, where we stood strong against nuclear policies and where we recognised equality for same-sex marriages - it was hard not to tear up and be proud of the country. Though there are still issues that divide the country, it was good to celebrate what we have achieved and what we hope to achieve in the next 150 years.
I was with Loic, Tim, Mana and Mike, and after Dave had finished his set on stage, we sang Happy Birthday and then left the ground of Parliament, slightly disappointed at the lack of cake. We ended up at KFC because of Hot n Spicy, then Espressoholic for dessert, and then JJ Murphy's to meet up with Kiel, who had been drawing there. We saw Victoria there too, whose boyfriend was part of the live entertainment for the night.
Today has been pretty manic for me, I need to sort out my life due to a very short notice trip to the US! This project I'm on has been codenamed "Enchanted Fixer", from Nic's cryptonym generator. Can't say too much about what I'm working on, but it's an opportunity I can't pass up. It does mean I will miss the ski trip next week though, which is a bit sad, but with a stunning weather forecast of 25C to 35C and sunshine every day, I'm not too disappointed.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:11am on Sunday July 26, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 
Geminids
Monday December 15, 2014
Yesterday was truly a glorious summer's day. I gathered Mana, Will and Phil up for some KFC down by Oriental Parade and then took them around various beaches - "I didn't realise Wellington had beaches" and "I've never left town" were some of the exclamations I heard while driving. I was so impressed by the weather that I convinced them to stay up late and accompany me to Owhiro Bay so that we could catch a glimpse of the Geminids Meteor Shower which peaked in intensity last night.
Insufficiently equipped with our hoodies and a picnic blanket, we set up right by the carpark heading to Red Rocks on the stony beach and within minutes of lying down, a magnificent trail of light and smoke streaked across the sky majestically. Over the next hour, we saw several more meteors streaming across the skies, each as exciting as the last, but it was the cold that stopped us from staying too long. We said goodbye to the other crazy people who had joined us and headed home, satisfied with the amazing astronomical display we'd just seen.
Posted by Jeremy at 8:31am on Monday December 15, 2014 :: 0 comments ::