Glen Eden Gladiators

Thievery Corporation - Wires and Watch Towers

This is resonating for me at present - the chains of Babylon are all in our mind

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How can the wicked smile while the world is burning
How can they turn their eyes and walk away
How can the blue bloods hide, while brothers killing brothers
Why do they divide I and I for diamonds and gold

The dreams of children they float to the sky
And wires and watchtowers can’t bring their demise
Tell me why oh why are we so blind
The treasures of love lay buried inside
Tell me why oh why do we deny
The chains of Babylon are all in our mind

The murderers clouds can’t keep the sun from shining
The wind of Jah will scatter them away
The murderers clouds can’t keep the sun from shining
Jah will scatter he who has no shame

The dreams of children they float to the sky
And wires and watchtowers can’t bring their demise
Tell me why oh why are we so blind
The treasures of love lay buried inside
Tell me why oh why do we deny
The chains of Babylon are all in our mind

Tell me why oh why are we so blind
The treasures of love lay buried inside
Tell me why oh why do we deny
The chains of Babylon are all in our mind

World Cup Tickets

We were successful in the ballot for tickets - Eden Park Pack for me and Alex


Fri Sep 9 New Zealand v Tonga (Plus opening ceremony, I think)
Sat Sep 17 Australia v Ireland
Sat Sep 24 New Zealand v France
Sun Sep 25 Fiji v Samoa
Sat Oct 1 England v Scotland
and
3rd / 4th Place Game

Exciting!

Me and the World Cup

Alex will be 12 on 21 April

A couple of Poems

This is about riding my bike up to the top of the Piha Hill - I like the rhyming in this !

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Its a long slow pull
Up the Piha Hill
As this old bike of mine
Travels up the incline

My thigh muscles start to burn
And my tummy is a-churn
As I struggle my way
Up the hill this day

My breath comes quick
And my brow is slick
With sweat thats wet
And I'm not there yet

I will reach the top
Then I can stop
This pushing of the cranks will end
Just past this bend
And that will be a God-send
At the top of the Piha Hill.

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And here's a deeper one from Mimiwhangata

++++++++++++++++++++

I've been beaming
like the sun in our sky
Smiling
Like the heavens have opened
Rain falls
From above, to the ground
Which is gasping, dry

I've been seeming
To look into my heart
Soul talks in soft colours
Smiling
At my ego, which drives
Fears, loathings, and the macho
From my love to the child
which is grasping, cry

I've been bleeding
like the colours of the day
long tears of hope
Smiling
As my eyes water
the withered flowers that survive
In the temple of my soul.

2010 March's on

The end of March already....

This month we had another great camping holiday at Tawhranui, 5 days of sun (and sadly chilly south westers) with surfing, massive surf (swell from the cyclones up in the pacific arrived) snorkelling and other beach activity, 7 families all up, with the kids ranging from 4 - 15 years. Lots of card games (Whist Nominations) at night, building a real tradition around that.

I have also started 4 days a week working for the Auckland Transition Agency, located at Ak City Council building. I am on the Policy and Plans workstream, and so me and 3 others are busy assessing the many and various policys and plans from 8 Council, and working towards packaging them as part of the work programme for the new Council. Exciting stuff!, plus some organisation design as well.

Alex has been busy surfing, and soccer practices have started for the winter season. We have started to look at colleges for him more seriously now. He has decided to stop drumming, and is picking up basketball in term 2. He is now 5 foot 4, and continues to grow - might get past 6 feet!. His braces are going well, and his teeth are discernably moving which is amazing to see.

Jac continues on her merry way, another year at Activate and teaching literacy has started. She has enrolled for a creative writing short course, so we will see what comes from that.

Alex Skirfing at Mimi

Alex surfing at Mimiwhangata January 2010

This is Alex in small surf at Mimiwhangata

Mas 2009 and beyond

Alex swimming at the Gle Esk Water fall - chilly!

Jac, Alex, Chris, Robin, Lydia, and Carline Xmas Day

Hiya

Xmas was a laid back affair, we didn't make it to Franklin Road this year, but I think the opportunity will present again...

Alex slept in till 8.30, when is a sign of the budding teen, and then santa's sack opened to lots of fun and laughs... We went to see Robyn in Whangaparoa, and had a swim at Manly with Chris, Lydia and Carline, and then back to Piha for dindins with Paula, Clare and Quinn, and a look at the Dagg Sea Scrolls (Fred Dagg DVD), which the adults liked but the kids didn't really get...Alex got a digital camera (that Paula won at the Library confernece), plus about 7 to the power of 2 other things...

Boxing day brunch at Doris and Darryl;s, a lovel;y morning with a few bubbles along the way, and then Jac and Alex attended the Tisch family gathering (#2), while I chilled at Paula's hse, mello. Went to see 3D Avatar, amazing, but the 3D glasses made my eyes hurt...

I went back to work for 2 days, very quiet, then we had New year's eve at Doris and Darryl's, watched the flare go up, come down, and set the whole hillside on fire - amazing, scarey, and I got to bed about 3 am. Slow day on 1 Jan as a result. So all in all, a quiet but nice time with friends and family.

So what for 2010 ? The Super City looms, Alex year 8, and so change is on the horizon.

TV shows

Hign Chaparel
Bonanza
Hong Kong Phooey
Chips
Six Million Dollar Man
Space 1999
Spot on
Dallas
The Sweeney
The Professionals
The Avengers
Flintstones
The Jetsons
Dads Army
Sapphire and Steel
Dr Who
Survivors
The Goodies
Ready To Roll
Its Academic

What else ?

Images from 2nd half of Hols

Some Images

Holiday by the Numbers

The South Island Trip was as follows:

4,612 kilometres
850 dollars for a new clutch
90 stones brought back to home
28 Days Eryn away
25 Days Jacqui and Alex away
19 rides on the Luge at Queenstown
10 towns stayed in
10 days Grayson travelled with us
7 visits to the Hot Pools (Hamner, Franz Joesf, Tekapo, Queenstown)
6 games of Minigolf (Wellington, Hamner, Greymouth, Wanaka, Queenstown, Tekapo)
5 hours spent at Shanty Town
4 skateboard parks
4 hot chocolates every 7 days for the boys
3 galaxies viewed at Mt John obstervatory
3 times the snow fell (Hamner, Wanaka, Tekapo)
2 bags of lollies brought (Hokitika, Cromwell)
2 glaciers visited
2 games of car cricket between Eryn and Alex (each won one)
1 Maze
1 jet boat ride on lake Wakatipu
1 day trip to Castle Hill, Mt Cook, Okarito, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Omarama, Twizel, Christchurch
1 traffic infringement notice for "cutting the corner" sigh.

Too many to number - games of SkipBo, times that "Minutes to Midnight" by Linkin Park was played in the Car, incredible views, snowballs,

Oh yeah!

Well its been ages, so here goes...

Winter has been chilly, and we've done our usual "do the basics" approach to life, keeping warm and not over extending ourselves.

Alex's 2nd term at Glen Eden went well, a good report came home. His soccer team has struggled this year, lacking strike power up front (Alex has played a lot of goalie and defence), so not many wins. His drumming continues, and he has signed up for something called "Kiwi Hoops", an introductory thing to basketball (if he gets in to the limited spaces available). We have seen Transformers and Harry potter 6 in the last couple of weeks, which he enjoyed. He's already a quarter of the way through his intermediate years (time flies...). Alex has joined our family tipping comp (Jimungo thing), and is coming first equal with Adrian at the mo!

Jac has finished her Masters, and got a A- in her last paper (hurray!!!!!). so she is returning to earth and looking forward to graduation in August. We plan to take the support crew out for dinner (all the people who helped her over the last 2.5 years).

The Supercity thing still brews at work, I am taking the opportunity (provided at work for free) to do some career counselling, and that is bearing fruit.

Planning for our month long trip to the South Island is well advanced, with a route pretty much decided upon - Wgtn, Kaikoura, Hamner Springs, Chch, Arthurs Pass, Glaciers, Haast, Queenstown area, then back to Chch. Looking forward to staying with Age and with Keef and Becky in Chch. Top 10 holiday parks, here we come !

Alex is 11

Here he is on the climbing wall at Clip and Climb, one of his Birthday events. The sleep over established a new record, still chatter at 3.00am in the morning, after 4 movies had been watched. Alex had a sleep in the afternoon, which is also unprecedented...

Poems - Get off the Concrete

At the recent Get off the Concrete, I did a poetry workshop.
The first exercise was to look into another Man's eye for 5 minutes, while he did the same, and then write for 5 minutes, without talking. I paired up with Shannon, a great guy who I have done service teams with, and this is what came...

Above the eyes lie
The lines of frown.
The wonderous colour
permeates the eyeballs.
I can see myself
through your colours and the way you soften.
Joy seen

Truth is let in through
the windows in your head.

I feel the past etched on your forehead
I see the man within
truth truth truth
Allowed an expression

Blinking, the voice of the eyes close
ever so slight
Lubricating the path of messages to the heart
pumping pumping pumping
blood

Flickers back and forth
truth in movement, energy shifting
from one eye to another
No sound, but birds sing there


Then we had to reflect on the poem we had written for 5 minutes, and write for another 5 minutes, this is what came...


Man Man Man kind
Soft green
Heart beats in one big chest
A treasure trove
of love, love, love

What of love, I see you say
I hear a voice seeking
Oneness, truth
Ones truth

Take the path,
breathe into it

"Playcentre" Camp - 10th annual

Greg and I clashing in the chess arena, Shawn thinking hard in the back ground

camping

Tawharanui Regional Park

4 great days with Jacqui, Darryl, Doris, Mike and Rob, plus Alex, Bodhi, Shane, Jade, Genmma and Samara. Perfect calm days, hot sun, good surf for the grommets, plus fishing on Mike's boat (snapper for dinner!), and the kids loving zooming along on the biscuit (round thing dragged behind the speedboat). Also several people had a go at "skirfing" - water skiing on a surfboard, Alex did well by standing up, zooming along and getting outside the boat's wake. This was our second camping endeavour this summer, which we loved. This was also our the sixth annual camping at Tawahanui (me and Doris had a count-back!), so much easy, relaxed friendship is a joy.

Tawhranui - beaching it and paddling in