Next to Godliness

My house is spotless; spiderwebs that once wouldn't have raised my ire have been banished and my bathrooms smell ever so slightly of chlorine bleach.

My parents arrived last night.

After surveying all this "clean" in front of me I've decided that I need to invite people to stay more often.

Requests for catch-ups have already arrived on my cellphone. It appears my folks are in demand, and by association myself included (well hopefully) :-)

I'm taking a long weekend; there is much swanning around Auckland to be done, and so little time.

Mona Lisa Outcomes

This song has skirted around the edges of my subconscious for some time now.

Until you've seen this trashcan dream come true
You stand at the edge while people run you through
And I thank the Lord there's people out there like you
I thank the Lord there's people out there like you

I miss you NFG.

It's simple

I feel the need for a perfect beach
on a perfect day; not too hot or cold.
With a constant cooling ocean breeze
we jibe and tack amongst the kelp and driftwood
in search of something we had all along.

Rock Stars for a Day

At the end of the my eighth year at school I was awarded a Merit Award in Engineering.

You might think that such an award would do wonders for an awkward thirteen year old. You would be correct, but it was also a curse of sorts. You see - one had to collect the award in front of a full school assembly of 1200 students and board members.

I vividly recall the stairs leading to the stage; the trip wires and claymore mines to trap those who dared step in the wrong spot. I recall the practices for the junior students, so they wouldn't fall and ruin the look of the whole prize giving event. Such was their faith in us.

No matter how hard they instructed there was always someone who failed the test; someone who didn't follow the teachers instruction to the letter, someone who walked a little too quickly, or didn't watch where they were stepping and caught the wire. Many people died during the Taieri High School ceremonies over the years.... or so it seemed...

I believe it was fair to say that after that initial experience, I shunned any possibility of overachieving again during my school years - which was a pity, as I really could have done much better.

When I moved onto my career in Telecommunications I gravitated to working with the most intelligent technician in the group. He didn't suffer fools, which was unfortunate, as I was quite foolish in those days. I did, however, survive the process to become "adequate" by my "Sensei's" opinion - which actually meant I was immanently employable when my employer decided we were both no longer required.

I've grown in my current job - my second real job - in some ways it has taken time to step out of the shadow of my origins, and with a little help from a brilliant manager, given a voice that is finally heard.

A lifetime away from booby trapped stage stairs, today my name was called and a walked up the stage in front of my peers. The trip wires were gone, replaced by spotlights and television cameras. I shook the hand of my GM and CEO, and along with others, thanked for going the extra mile.

I'd like to say the horrors of the past were gone, and with them the fear of success; but upon reflection I've come to realise all those events have only contributed to the mosaic that is my life.

For better or worse I am who I am...

OK there were a few Bacardi's as well :)

Money

There are levels, and there are levels. I admit on most days that I can play a guitar well enough to get by, but when I see a guitarist playing a left handed guitar with strings upside down, and it sounds this good, I wonder if I shouldn't face reality and just give it all up.

I mean - hard as it is to find someone to teach you to play left handed, imagine taking that one step further to play all your chords upside down as well. No-one teaches that.

Look at the guy with the red guitar, and witness something unique. His name is Doyle Bramhall.

Beautiful World

I threw this on a cd last week, and heard it for the first time on my way to work....

It's a simple little song that doesnt take itself so seriously; a lesson we could all learn on occasion. :)



I'm not sure Youtube will do this justice: the song is sublime, and so me right now :)

Chocolately peace

Things must have been bad today - in the middle of a meeting I made an excuse, and left to fill a water bottle.

Once outside I seriously contemplated not going back.

In what must have been a weak moment I grabbed a Snickers bar out of the vending machine while I waited for my water bottle to fill.

So ashamed am I :)

I know; it's my cross to bear, but i keep reminding myself that that chocolate bar saved some lives today, even if the warmongers in that meeting had no idea whatsoever.

I Need your Lovin'

Brilliant version from 2004 :

Dreams

I don't have many dreams of what the future may bring, but recently I have had a desire to retire near the sea.
I love walking on the beach, watching the waves meet the shore, no matter what weather.

Inside, behind my double glazing, and open fire, I'd love an open plan home with mezzanine floors from bedrooms above, creating the antithesis of living in a home where every room is closed to the one before.

I love the grandeur of vertical spires, and horizontal adjuncts that serve little purpose but to frame a desire; a desire to make something beautiful as well as functional.

This house has always moved me, and although my budget may not extend to this exactly :) , the ideas that went into its design, still live on in my heart.

OK - It was me

Richard Hammond - Telecom's new ad man

Now it's over, and the stress levels have dropped, I feel strangely weak - like I've just recovered from a nasty bug.

Telecom management (basically a pact of soul-less arseholes), have fessed up and admitted they "made a mistake" (not that they'd actually say that in so many words).

Having them call me and my fellow workmates incompetent was hard to take, as were their calculated mis-truths in the media. Make no mistake, we were right, and they were wrong.

How can I be certain ? I know this because "I" was a part of the team that discovered the problem...

While they're sitting on their nice leather chairs, icing their bruised crotches... I wonder if they ponder who the hell trained those bloody Vodafone Engineers that finally made them listen to the truth of the situation....

The irony is .... they trained us themselves ... It turns out most of us are ex-Telecom.

I really hoped over the last seven years they'd changed; that they'd finally turned a corner - but lifting the polished veneer, you can still expose the infection that breeds unchecked, and you sadly realise they really haven't changed at all.

So Telecom ...

No more stress working night and day to prove you wrong, when you wouldn't admit it yourself .
No more sleepless nights wondering what truth you would distort next.
No more selling myself short...

Tonight I'll sleep like a baby :)

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Vodafone goes to court alleging Telecom network interference

5:57PM Friday May 01, 2009

Vodafone is off to court to protest at Telecom's new XT mobile network, in the belief it is the source of interference on the Vodafone network.

....

Vodafone said it had begun the legal action following a significant rise in the number of customer complaints about interference on its network.

Testing showed serious interference to Vodafone's network caused by Telecom's network, which was still under construction.

and then finally after the dust settled

Vodafone says call quality will improve now Telecom 3G fight over

4:15PM Thursday May 07, 2009

Related links:

• Telecom delays XT launch after Vodafone settlement

Vodafone says its customers should notice improved call quality after sorting out its scrap with Telecom over the latter's new mobile phone network.

Vodafone yesterday sought an injunction to stop Telecom rolling out its new XT network on May 13, claiming its transmitters were causing interference to the Vodafone network.

But the parties reached an agreement last night which will see Telecom extending its programme installing filters to its new transmitters while putting back the network launch until late May.

Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners said the agreement was good news for its phone users, who he said had reported call quality problems since Telecom began testing its new transmitters early this year.

Double negativity update

Normal service will resume when the only time not spent at home does not revolve around sleeping and showering.

I suspect - maybe Wednesday night I can elaborate, and "Yes" I am still sworn to secrecy...

But I'm still young on the inside!

I'm constantly having to remind myself I've grown up.

Today I had to wear formal attire to work for a high profile meeting. I looked about the room and felt so out of place; at least until I realised that so many people were looking to me for some answers.

I cant say too much yet, but huge things are afoot - at least a half a billion of them. All this while the tall poppy eradicator ambles ever so purposely in my direction.

We Kiwi's are our own worst nightmares - we need to accept it's OK to step up, and take charge when we need to - it's doesn't always mean we're full of ourselves....

Affirmations don't always do the trick 'tho - that inner monologue takes a lot of sating...

The Waiting

Pearl Jam's been slipping in under the radar of late. It might be the reissue of Ten, but Jeremy and Even Flow have been on my mind a lot lately.

Thoughts arrive like butterflies......indeed..

I was searching for a good version of The Waiting. I was looking for the Live Aid version - the version that started me on that whole Tom Petty phase - then I found this...

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

New drug blues

Our office email is down; actually for two days now...

Except mine - mine works. Fate's fickle finger allows some of us at work to communicate - knowing who you can communicate with however, is a question best not pondered.

In the meantime I send emails with some trepidation. I must admit a certain thrill - living in a world where your thoughts and instructions may never meet their destination. Like some Pony Express rider being taken out by a bullet as he rides between stops, I wonder; will the mail get through?

That aside, the worst thing is the lack of incoming mail. I've never been so bored, so lacking in the daily distraction: I've been so focused it's killing me.
Tasks that would have spanned days can now be addressed in hours. Uninterrupted I am slowly going mad - it's like working on a construction line that has no end....

When I walked out of the office on my way to lunch, I started humming that old crappy song "I Wanna New drug" by Huey Lewis and the News. Hours later I realized I should really think about taking up nicotine patches.

I've never been a smoker. I hate the thought of drawing smoke into my insanely pink lungs, but nicotine patches - well they cant be carcinogenic - right?
Those smokers - they walk away from their desks all the time - sometimes in pairs even! They get to go outside - they chat and laugh. They really know how to live this "work life".

So tomorrow maybe me and some of the guys will go on the patches. Don't worry, the irony hasn't escaped me entirely; work hands them out to the smokers for free :)

Left field music

Try to ignore the hair - yeah, I know - it's kinda hard.



I love watching the dynamics between the couples, wondering what the back stories are.
Some appear pretty damn hostile :)

And as for this next clip; well, as Joss Weedon once wrote "You cant take the book of my life and just jump into the middle".

A better ending

The letter I was writing a couple of posts back was nearing completion when a text arrived.
The message I couldn't see myself delivering as an email, was better explained in person; engineered by fate, tinged with a little sadness.
The positive thing; this meeting with destiny, regardless of outcome, was the best way to end a chapter in the book of our lives.

Sorry to be so cryptic, but I cant be more specific without permission :)

This just in...

Esplanade: St Clair, Dunedin

1) There is a God - nothing specific as of yet, except to say that he (or she) has a developed sense of the ironic and a good handle on fate.

2) I have found that a fresh sea breeze is as invigorating as a pair of heated gym shoes. I am now looking for the ever elusive "third thing" to complete the trifecta.

3) I should give up on photographing landscapes - I am seriously shit at them; probably because they almost always leave me cold..

More on this as it comes to hand......

A two quarter life crisis

I've been writing a note in my head most days since.
I'm trying to get it down right; it's not something you can re-do when (or if) it goes wrong.
I often have revelations when I wake in the early hours; the sound of my humidifier dripping water in its tray lifting my consciousness. Still, you're reluctant to write anything down: a fear of the nonsensical and saccharine meeting the cold light of day and its reality.

When Meg Ryan romantic comedies no longer cut the mustard you wonder if ;
a) the last vestige of romanticism left has evaporated from your psyche,
b) you've just grown up somewhat or
c) you're just too old for this shit.

Regardless, it will be written, and it will be done.

The most important things to leave; no doubt, two clear possible outcomes, and pleasant memories for the salad days.

P.S. Everything is fine :)

When bad grammar and nudity collide

I find it odd that even though I probably have a slightly more appealing torso, I cant bring myself to display it in the company of my friends at a pool party, let alone 20,000 people at a Rugby League game....like this striking gent.


I guess in this dog eat dog world of "you either got it or you don't"...

I simply don't (got it).

A lighter interlude

Even though summer has almost left us, the days are mild and the sun still warms my shoulders on my way to lunch. It's days like these I'm reminded it's OK to like a sunny song that puts a spring in your step, even if they have a "best by date".