Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Black, gold

Published
by
Robyn
on September 22, 2008
in Events and Technology
. 2 Comments

I have a new cellphone. It is one of those newfangled cellphones that has an extra piece of string or a special carrier pigeon that connects it to the interwebs (I do not understand modern technology). Vodafone now has some decent pricing plans for cellphone interwebs, so I have no excuse not to use it. But this has been both a bonus and a burden.

For example, if I’m walking down Courtenay Place and I think, “Wot was that line from Clue that Mrs White says about the flames?”, I can just whip out my phone and google it and quickly find the answer.

However, it also means that having the net at my fingertips sucks me out of the now and focuses my attention on the little black rectangle in my hand. It’s like the monolith from “2001″, but instead of evolving me to a new plane of enlightenment, it tells me trivia facts about Romania (Romania’s parliament building is the largest building in Europe!)

I was thinking about how cellphones are used these days. I rarely use mine for voice calls any more. In fact, my cellphone rang for a first time a few days ago and I didn’t know which button to press to answer it so I missed the call. Oh, such a modern dilemma!

But I would like to note that when my cellphone rings,it rings.

BONUS FEATURE: The Rugby

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Isn’t it awesome that the Wellington Lions won the Ranfurly Shield after a 26-year dry spell, mate!” Well, um, prior to a couple of days ago, I didn’t even know that there was a sports team called the Wellington Lions.

So with this in mind, I have wisely left the commentary on this topic to my mum, who filed this report from Wellington airport, the day after the win:

We got to the airport quite early and had just settled down to wait for the plane when there was an announcement, “I am proud to announce that the Air New Zealand flight from Auckland will be arriving shortly.” (Proud, I thought, that’s a bit odd)

Then there was a lot of yahoo-ing and yelling from a group of middle-aged Koru Club ladies up the other end of the room who were watching the plane come in. Of course the plane had the victorious Lions on board.

On the tarmac there were two fire trucks in position and when the plane taxied to the terminal it was generously sprayed with water, most of which was blown the other way anyway. Also there were a lot of workers in yellow vests on the tarmac waving flags and yellow and black scarves. Oh, how I wished I’d kept my old school scarf!

We didn’t go down to join in the rabble. We heard some kids doing a haka and there was a lot of cheering and clapping. The Koro Club ladies (and their cellphone cameras) had disappeared to join in the fun. It was all on the TV news last night, anyway.

Coco loco

Published
by
Robyn
on September 15, 2008
in Places
. 0 Comments

I have returned from New Caledonia. It was choice.

My top three things:

  1. Revisting the Tjibaou Centre.
  2. The coconut yoghurt I found at the supermarche.
  3. Discovering the ruins of the old Club Med.

I’ll write more later, but until then, please entertain yourself with a selection of photos:

(Or if you’re feeling a bit masochistic, you could look at all 184 photos I took there.)

Pack your bags

Published
by
Robyn
on September 8, 2008
in Places
. 1 Comment

I have been preparing for my impending tropical island fun-in-the-sun holiday in New Caledonia in a number of ways.

I purchased Fodor’s Guide to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific (1979) at the Book Fair for $2. It has a little section on New Caledonia, which notes “the air is full of tangos and stirring marches”, you may see “ferry crowded with outer islanders in a dazzle of gay muumuus” and Anse Vata beach is “where topless French and Australian beauties expose their assets with delicious nonchalance”. This is where I’m staying!!!! Woo-hoo - naked Australians!!! (?)

I also decided to get with the new millennium and buy the latest Lonely Planet guide, which also includes Vanuatu. I have now concluded that I should have actually gone to Vanuatu because a) the weird John Frum cargo cult, celebrating 50 years of waiting for the man in the steel bird who will bring Lucky Strikes and Glen Miller LPs to the village, and b) the bislama pidgin. I can’t be bothered brushing up on my high-school French, but I would happily learn to say things like “Hamas I blong wan naet?” (”How much I belong one night?” or “How much is it per night?”). Though I have memorised this phrase en francais, “Donnez-moi le vin et le fromage.” Awesome.

My holiday will also involve a very brief visit to Auckland - just a brief stopover before my flight to NC. I was thinking about going earlier in the day, but somehow I’m don’t feel quite ready to go back to central Auckland just yet. I wonder why.

The weather today in Wellington has been cold and grey and rainy, which is excellent. Hopefully this will mean that when I touch down at Tontouta airport, the warm tropical weather will seem all that extra bit more appealing.

And I’m trying to figure out what to do about the sun. See, I don’t like the sun. I burn easily. It’s much easier for me to have all-over pale than take one of the two choices on offer to Pakehas who want darker skin - zebra stripes from tanning or that orange hue of fake tan. So I’m going to try to not get any sun, but it might be hard.

Hopefully I can find some sort of cafe de internet thing when I’m there. Cos I’ll tell you what - I can’t do relaxing holidays. If I go somewhere, I must explore.