Myopic Vision

As someone who will be among the first in the world to ring in the New Year, I thought I'd take this opportunity to post a greeting to you all. I'm going to borrow the words sent to me by my friend Candida Mulrain. I wish that love, peace and joy be yours in full measure. May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had, forget your home address! In simple words... May 2010 be the one best years of your life!!! Happy New Year TO YOU ALL. PS: Incidently if you are at all interested in knowing which points on the globe are the first to greet New Year, then the list is as below: 1st - Kiritimati (Kiribati - Christmas Islands) 2nd - Chatham Island (New Zealand) 3rd ...

Summer finally arrived on Saturday December 5 but not without keeping it's arrival a surprise. The day before (December 4) was dull, windy, extremely wet and freezing. So on Saturday when the sun finally made it's grand appearance I decided to seize the moment and go out to greet the sun, but not before throwing all of my linen into the washing machine. Sadly they stayed soaking in the machine from 10am to 6:45pm due to a massive power outage in my area. On the flip side, they were spotless when they finally came out.

It's the 3rd of December down under in beautiful Aeotearoa. Officially it is the 3rd day of summer. It should be warm, sunny and promising. Instead we are faced with days that are dull, gloomy, cool, wet and windy. It seems like someone forgot to remind the sun to come out and play. If this clearly visible sign of global warming, is not a wake up call for immediate action to tackle climate change, then we ought to bid adieu to the simple things we hold dear. Because let's face it we've abused the planet so much that we've almost lost the right to enjoy it.

I'm a reluctant patient. I only ever go to the doctor when I'm in dire need. But recently in an effort to avoid a potential risk to my EAR (I have in the past almost damaged my ear drum with a cold) I took my self over to see the GP. A quick check of the mildly inflamed ear and a couple of other checks later and I was pointed in the direction of some blood tests. Apparently my heart was racing wildly. This was abnormal because neither George Clooney nor Brad Pitt was in the vicinity. It turns out that I have an HYPERACTIVE THYROID which is impacting on my heart and causing it to beat a lot faster than normal. But the good news is that this is a completely manageable condition and I've been put on some thyroid medication and another set of magic pills to help my heat rate slow down. I guess it was a timely coincidence that let me to the doctors. Now that I'm on my HAPPY PILLS.......I'm behaving loonier than ever. AND MY POOR EAR.......well that's been complete...

We had a fire at work in the wee hours of yesterday morning. It was big and the damage was considerably large. Thankfully no one was in the building at the time. Needless to say it was a huge shock but we all banded together really well. Our emergency contingency plan kicked in and was carried out so seamlessly that even the fire department investigators commented on how impressed they were with us. I am filled with admiration for the entire team - those who took charge in leading from the start as well as those who worked silently behind the scenes. We just drew strength from each other, worked well as a cohesive unit. We are now almost back to normal, very tired but still smiling and determined to move forward and provide our clients with the best possible service we can render. Our people are our biggest assest. I suppose that's what makes us as good as we are. We understand, we care and we deliver against all odds.

I’ve never been a great fan of reality television stars. In fact I find some of these pseudo manufactured celebrities quite annoying. But my views aside, they seem to have ingratiated themselves so deeply into popular culture that they become newsworthy in a truly global sense. You cannot pick up a newspaper or a magazine and not find information on some of these personalities these days. So it was hardly surprising when Jade Goody made the evening television news here in New Zealand. To ordinary Kiwis, the infamous and sometimes controversial former Big Brother contestant means nothing. But to the British public she seems almost iconic. Love her or hate her, you have to feel a bit sorry for the girl. The news that she has terminal cancer is sad. The simple fact that a young, single mum with two little boys is dying has got to pull on the heartstrings of anyone with a heart. My first impression of Jade Goody when I lived in London was that she was pointless, appeared almost irritatingl...

I'm holidaying with my family in the very lovely picturesque town of Mt. Maunganui. The Mt. situated on Tauranga Harbour’s eastern entrance, is also called Mauao by the Maori. According to Maori legend,the hill was a pononga [slave] to a mountain called Otanewainuku. The pononga was in love with a hill called Puwhena, but she had already fallen for his captor. In despair, the nameless hill decided to drown himself and he called upon the fairy people [Patupaiarehe] to assist with his endeavour. The fairies began dragging him toward the sea, however, these nocturnal imps lost track of time, and as they neared the ocean, the rising sun signalled their disappearance. The nameless one was left in the very place where he still stands, and became known as Mauao, which means “caught by the dawn.” Today, Mauao still faces day’s first light; as do many who walk his 3.4-km base, which passes by remote beaches and rocky cliffs. Sea lions and whales are often seen in this area and it remains a ...