The Blog-A-Day Project

The Pixies as well

2010-03-12T14:35:00.002+13:00

Wow, it's going to be one heck of a musical weekend, Anna and I just scored tickets to The Pixies.

That means over two nights I'll see The Pixies and Lady Gaga. Talk about exciting!!

Today's my last real day of freedom. On Monday I start my new job. That's a little sad, but welcome because I really am starting to get bored (even though I've spent the last three days picking up freelance work).

Hurrah!

Lady Gaga. Fuck yes!!

2010-03-11T08:45:00.003+13:00

I just got a phone call to tell me I've won tickets to Lady Gaga thanks to NZGirl.

I'm stoked.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Lady Gaga - in fact apart from what I've seen on the telly or heard on the radio or online, I don't really know anything about her.

But obviously I know that she's one of the biggest names around in the world of pop right now. I know that she's completely outrageous and I know that pop concerts go either one of two ways - they are amazing spectacular spectacles filled with costumes and dancing and lights and fireworks, or they are messes who can't dance and lipsync.

I do not think Lady Gaga is going to fit into the second category.

I've been saying for months that if I got free tickets, I would go, but I wouldn't pay for them - the fact is that unless I really love a band, my budget just doesn't stretch to Vector Arena. Thankfully, I did win tickets and now I'm going with my flatmate Caine on Saturday night.

Should be a fab night!!

My own private Garden of Eden

2010-03-10T12:25:00.000+13:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to a garden center and bought some plants, dirt and pots. I began my own little garden.

A couple of days ago I found a disused recycling bin, filled it with dirt and today I added some more plants to my balcony garden.

I am now growing my own coffee, rocket, lettuce, corriander, oregano, parsley, chives, rosemary and silverbeet.

We're now a couple of weeks along and not only is everything still alive, it's even growing.

Satisfaction win.

On the hunt - again

2010-03-09T12:09:00.002+13:00

Once again I find myself in the position of needing to find a flatmate.

Since I've been in this flat I've gone through four flatmates. The first moved in at the same time as me and moved out for a cheaper place, the second we kicked out because he couldn't/refused to pay his rent, the third is heading overseas at the end of the month (and the fourth is still living here).

We have someone - this time sourced via social media - coming over to have a look tomorrow and boy, I really hope she likes it. I really hate having to go through the process of searching via TradeMe. It's hardly worked out for me in the past.

I really do like the idea of finding a random via social networks though - whether they be actual social networks of friends or online social networks - there's something comforting in the fact that you know someone who knows someone who's looking for a flat that kind of reassures you that they're not a freak and they'll pay their rent.

Finger's crossed!

Best and worst: the money edition

2010-03-08T09:32:00.000+13:00

The worst thing about today was having to deal with my bank who haven't give me a straight answer for a week. After complaining, things got put right, but it's still not in my favour.

The best thing about today is that my father is the most awesome person on the planet, and now I don't need the bank.

Unemployment is definitely starting to lose it's charm - particularly on my bank balance. Thank God I'm starting the new job next week!!

Best and worst: the drunken edition

2010-03-07T20:02:00.001+13:00

The best thing about today was discovering Bang! Bang! Eche! at the bFM Summer Series. It was my first experience of these guys and they ROCKED!

The worst thing about today was the disappointing show from The Mint Chicks at the bFM Summer Series. Maybe I'm getting old, that just sounded like crazy noise. The last time I saw them (performing She's A Mod at the Vodafone Music Awards) was much better.

I'm a little drunk right now. I've started my day with coffee and the Sunday Star-Times and then wandered down to Albert Park to enjoy live music and wine in the sun. It's been a good day.

Le Sud

2010-03-06T18:33:00.004+13:00

When Auckland Theatre Company put out their 2010 program late last year, two plays particularly stood out for me. The first was Cabaret - performed in a Salon Perdu Spiegeltent and starring a former classmate of mine to be done at the end of the year, the second was Le Sud, a satirical play based on the premise of what would happen if the French ruled the South Island, while the English ruled the North.

I managed to get to Le Sud today and had a great time. While there wasn't all that much of a plot (the play centers around a set of diplomatic talks between the French Sud Island and the English North, bought about due to the South suddenly doubling the price of power for the North Island overnight) the jokes were absolute gold. Not much has escaped playwright Dave Armstrong's fierce pen. He takes swipes at the All Blacks, every single political party, MMP, socialism, the Treaty of Waitangi, Maoridom, the French, nuclear-free New Zealand... even Wattie's tomato sauce doesn't get away.

Everything we hold dear as Kiwi's has the piss taken out of it, and it works - the audience was in stitches from beginning to end - even throughout the extended opening scene which is pretty much entirely in French.

So what did I really think? Well, I thought it was hilarious and a great way to spend an afternoon. The jokes were completely accessible to anyone with a mild interest in current events - but I think it was funnier for those of us who actually do follow the somewhat ridiculous world of national and local politics.

The cast were all brilliant but the stand out for me was George Henare as Tama Te Tonga, Le Sud's Minister of Native Affairs - who wheels and deals in a wide variety of ventures on the side. Henare's best moment, however, was during the powhiri as he kept extracting more and more money from the French government for his services, and the proceeding waiata - a rendition of Poi E (complete with the robot dance), soon scrapped for a round of Fara Jaka by the three French representatives - which had us all in stitches.

As per my last ATC production review for Oliver!, I was again blown away by the set. This time, rather than the revolving awesomeness of that set, we were presented with a beautiful French-inspired meeting room in which the play's talks take place. On walking into the theatre, the audience gazes at this beautiful set complete with Edith Piaf playing while we wait for the show to begin. Before the play even starts, the audience are feeling very French.

Finally, I need to mention the plays costumes, which come from a range of local designers including Adrienne Winkelmann and Working Style. The best one, however, is absolutely the beautiful Trelise Cooper piece worn by Miriama McDowell. I can't find a decent photo of it online, but if you watch the video below, containing footage from the show, you'll see what I mean.

The production, unfortunately, comes to a close tonight - but with over 9,800 people through the doors to see it, it has officially beaten ATC's previous award-winning hit, The Pohutukawa Tree, as their most popular production. Next up on ATC's dance card is The Importance of Being Earnest, which opens at the Maidment on 11 March, and promises to be a must see as director Colin McColl has promised a modernised version of Oscar Wilde's classic play incorporating influences from Lady Gaga to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles.

Related Links:

Auckland Theatre Company

ATC Green Room Blog

And so the boredom sets in

2010-03-05T21:01:00.003+13:00

I really don't have much to write about today.

I've still got one more week on this unemployment thing and actually, it's starting to get old. I'd quite like to go back to work now.

I'm really glad I actually have a job to get to but I'm kinda wishing that would hurry up and start. I'm getting bored, I want something to do.

COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES!!!!

2010-03-04T12:45:00.003+13:00

Yesterday I spent a few hours baking cookies - lots and lots of cookies.

Want to make my spectacular cookies? The recipes are below.

The first lot are Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies which Spinneretta put me onto. The recipe is taken from allrecipes.com.

The second lot are my special chocolate cookies. They're always well received and I usually times the recipe by four - and it's rare that they make it a week in any flat I've ever lived in.

Best, Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cup Butter, melted

1 cup Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 cup White Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 Egg Yolk

2 cups Chocolate Chips

Sift flour, baking soda and salt
In another container, cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in vanilla and eggs until light and creamy.
Mix dry ingredients into wet until just blended. Add chocolate chips, stir.
Drop dough 1/4 cup (for BIG cookies) or 1 tablespoon (for medium cookies) at a time onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. If making BIG cookies, space 8cm apart, if making medium cookies, space 3cm apart.
Bake for 15 minutes for BIG cookies, 10 for medium cookies at 165 degrees celcius until edges are lightly toasted. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to cooling rack

Kat's Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g Butter

1c Sugar

1 Egg

1 1/2 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

2 tablespoons Cocoa

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Add egg and beat well
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa into mixture and mix (in the video I put them into a separate container then mixed into the wet ingredients separately. I also find that at this stage, once it's solid enough to handle, it's easier to just knead it all together)
Add chocolate chips. I usually don't measure these and instead just keep adding them until it won't handle any more.
Roll into a long snake about 2cm wide, cut into 1cm pieces and roll into balls.
Place on greased oven tray and press lightly with a fork to flatten.
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 5-7 minutes for soft cookies or 8-12 minutes for crunchy cookies.

Music Video Awesomeness

2010-03-03T14:28:00.002+13:00

I love music videos. A good music video is often enough to get me to fall in love with a band. OK Go are one of those bands who put out amazing videos every single time.

Anyone who knows OK Go knows they specialise in awesome videos. From the first moment I saw their break away viral video for A Million Ways done in a backyard and spawning thousands of copycat videos all over YouTube, I knew I loved them. Witness the awesomeness of a Matrix-style fight done by four dudes in suits to a catchy song.

The followed up A Million Ways with the slightly less awesome but still very cool Invincible, in which the band dragged items - including a water cooler, a bed, a giant jar of olives and a white drum kit - into a room... then blow them up.

The next song was the one everybody knows - Here it Goes Again done on treadmills. That's three awesome videos, all with basic premises but which all make you stop and go 'wow!' Not only that, but OK Go have catchy songs. Songs which you like more because you can't help but love the videos.

But wait! There's more. There's also the brilliant Do What You Want which features a marching band, a hoola hoop artist, salsa dancers, people riding segways, skate boarders and people on pogo sticks - all in a room, dressed in the same pattern as the backing wall paper and carpet. No faces, no skin - even their props are covered in the stuff.

No other band I've ever seen have quite done for the music video what OK Go does. While their earlier videos (pre 2007) are usually quite average, everything after 2007 is pure gold. The exception to this rule is C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips which is pretty clearly the early run up to A Million Ways.

After Do What You Want, they took a bit of a break, but came back with WTF? which plays on the same kind of effect as the bouncing cards at the end of Solitaire (you know those ones that you keep waiting to fill the whole screen?)

Want to know how they put that piece of colourful spectacular together? Check out the making of video. OK Go are pretty brilliant for their YouTube presence - they show how they make the videos, and vlog. They are clearly pretty aware of how to use the viral video to increase sales. Like most viral video attempts, not everything works - today was the first time I'd discovered WTF, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. The making of is definitely worth checking out.

Today, OK Go released their newest creation for This Too Shall Pass and let's just say it's taken off. I've seen it plastered everywhere this morning and it's only been online for 18 hours. Check it out below.

Much like WTF?, the band have created a making of video for this one, spread over four parts. You can check them out here: part one, part two, part three, part four.

What you mightn't realise is that they regularly put out two versions of a video. Check out the other version of Do What You Want. They've also got a second version of This Too Shall Pass, which will probably make you laugh out loud.

The thing is, OK Go are the masters of the single-take music video. A Million Ways, Here it Goes Again and both versions of This Too Shall Pass are all done in a single take. Simply amazing.

And THAT, dear boys and girls, is why I like OK Go. It's not their music (though I like that too), it's their music videos, which always put a smile on my face.

Biding time: Day eight

2010-03-02T15:08:00.003+13:00

After yesterday's post I got to go swimming. It's the second time I've been swimming this Summer which is a bit pathetic but it was so nice! Anna and I went to Cheltenham Beach on the Shore. The water looked a little choppy when we got there, but once we got in we were quite pleasantly surprised by the nice warm temperature. Given the crazy heat of yesterday it was a great way to cool off.

After swimming, we ended up getting Burger King and sitting down to eat it at Takapuna Beach, watching the waves and the surfers. It was a great way to round out what had been a fairly blah day.

Today, however, has been pretty productive. Caine, my flatmate, had the day off work so after waking up and having coffee, we decided we'd go get some lunch, some groceries, and I floated the idea of perhaps visiting a garden center as well.

You see, our balcony has had a collection of empty pots sitting on it for a while now and over the weekend our other flatmate had managed to add to it with some drunken shenanigans. I'm not much of a green fingers but I thought that some herbs and maybe some lettuce or something might provide something interesting on our balcony, plus in the long run maybe even save us some money, so today I organised a little garden.

We now have two kinds of lettuce, rocket, rosemary, chives, parsley, oregano and coriander growing as well as my favourite - coffee!

Hopefully they won't die.

Biding time: Day seven

2010-03-01T15:48:00.002+13:00

It's a paperwork day today. I'm finally ridding myself of all those niggly little jobs I've been meaning to do, like spending time on hold to talk to my insurance company, the bank, the IRD...

I've spent quite a lot of time on hold today.

But, I've now made the applications, changed addresses, added and subtracted relevant things to all the bits and pieces I've needed to. There's still some organisation to go, but the wheels are moving at least and that's a start.

I've also sat down and sorted out the flat bills and expenses. It turns out the Flatmate from Hell owes me around $170, which is more than I thought. I'd get excited about the money, but it's pretty hard to when I know I'm not going to be seeing it for quite a while, if at all.

And then there's the whole looking for a flatmate thing. The third flatmate is moving out to go on his OE at the end of the month and we need to find someone to replace him.

Yup, more hunting for a flatmate, good fun.

I just keep telling myself that by mid-April all of this will be over and I'll finally be able to get back to a normal life...

Biding time: Day six

2010-02-28T08:56:00.001+13:00

The best thing about today was the awesome dinner at GPK with Anna. Yum!

The worst thing about today was the super-full feeling after the awesome dinner.

I like the weekends. Even when I'm not working they're super-awesome.

Biding time: Day five

2010-02-27T22:58:00.003+13:00

The best thing about today was sleeping in past 9am - hooray for the weekend!

The worst thing about today was the crappy kebab I had for dinner.

There is currently a foot right beside my head. It's a little distracting.

Biding time: Day four

2010-02-26T18:22:00.002+13:00

A lazy one today.

I've managed to check my PO Box - which is something I haven't done in a week or so. I used to do it every day because it was directly opposite work, now I'm starting to wonder if it's actually necessary. Might be time to finally give it up!

I also managed to clean out the storage cupboard and the garage. I got sick of my clothes getting covered in sand and fluff - it really is about time that place got a sweep. Done now though which only leaves the windows, the vacuuming and the fridge left to attack in my storm of cleaning the flat, but I've decided they can wait until next week.

Other than that I've watched a few episodes of Man Men and have officially caught up on my RSS feed. There's still two weeks to go and I'm running out of things to do - any ideas gratefully accepted!!

Biding time: Day three

2010-02-25T14:33:00.003+13:00

Another day managing to get up by 9am. To be honest I thought that would be the hardest thing about this whole holiday but it's proving fairly easy which is nice.

I cleaned, put things away, did some ironing... It's mostly been a very relaxed day. But then Cate called to ask if I'd like to take part in a TV3 interview about Chatroulette.

Now, anyone who's used Chatroulette will know it goes mostly like this...

Dick

Vag

Group of people drinking

Dick

Teddybear

Dick

Sign of a guy looking for tits/vag

Vag

Dick

Teenager

Vag

Tits

Group of people drinking

Dick...

...and so it goes on. That's exactly what I was being interviewed about - my experience and what I came across when I logged onto the site.

From my previous experience with these things, most of what I said will probably end up on the cutting room floor - if I make it into the story at all - but hey, if you have 3 weeks of nothing, you may as well fill it with every interesting opportunities that turn up - and a news appearance definitely falls into that category!

Biding time: Day two

2010-02-24T20:18:00.005+13:00

Ah, today getting out of bed was hard. Short of the motivation to avoid becoming a bum, it's hard to get out of bed without a job to rush off to. Nevertheless it was still a 9am wake up - it just took me a little longer to get moving today.

Once I was moving however it was onto more of those little jobs I've been needing to take care of and then I found myself wondering what on Earth I was going to do to occupy my afternoon.

So I got in touch with Cate. For some reason, going to MOTAT sounded like a good plan so that's where we headed.

Now, I haven't been to MOTAT since my third form trip in 1996, so it's been a while, but I can kind of see why - that place is in rather desperate need of an overhaul. It's pretty clear that some money needs to be invested - there was no consistency, exhibits seemed over crowded with stuff and information and it looked like things had just been added to the walls over the years, rather than some thought put into the whole process.

It didn't really feel like there was any flow to the layout either. Perhaps if we were on a tour we'd find it more enjoyable - it was certainly cool to see old police cars and see the evolution of communication - not to mention getting lost in the mirror maze - but overall the place just reeked of under investment.

Overall, fun, but I probably won't be going back for another 14 years...

After MOTAT, we were desperate for a nice cold drink (the tea rooms at MOTAT had closed...) and I had the idea to head out to The Falls - being in West Auckland, I figured it was a bit of a golden opportunity - so after a quick stop at Cate's, that's where we went for chunky fries, glasses of happiness and a chat with Alan, the owner of the restaurant.

It was a really nice way to spend an afternoon. I think I'm going to have to think of some more interesting places to go though - housework is only going to last for so long!!

Biding time: Day one

2010-02-22T13:33:00.004+13:00

Sleeping in is not something I'm really planning to do on my three week break. While it would be really nice to slip into my natural sleep pattern of going to bed at 2-3 and sleeping til 11-12, it's not going to be all that conducive to work when I do have to go back, so even on my 3 week break I'm getting up at 9 - which, granted, is later than usual, but I don't think it's too bad.

Today I woke up pretty early. Earlier than I would have if I had work. I had had a mosquito in my room and the little bugger had bitten me all over and I'd been scratching in my sleep, eventually just waking up full stop.

I watched Sunrise for a while, then decided that I needed to start moving and getting on with things - starting with cleaning the house.

There have been heaps of little things that have been irritating me for a while and one thing I've been looking forward to is sorting all those things out. Today I started with the kitchen and the bathroom - both of which are now sparkling.

I am supposed to go to a BBQ tonight but I don't think that's really going to happen, you see I'm now quite aware of just how limited my funds are, and when I'm likely to get any more - and how much that's likely to be.

The fact is, it's going to be a lean couple of months and the BBQ is BYO and in Avondale, which means buying food and wine, plus taking a bus there and a cab back. Some quick maths tells me this BBQ is going to cost me at least $40, which is OK if I have a job, but when I don't...

Let's just say I'm quickly being made aware of where all my money goes.

So instead I hung out at home, had a nap, baked cookies, cleaned out the cupboards and (just to prove how much of a legend I really am) am now making a bacon and egg pie.

So far, my break from work, is rocking.

A bum no longer

2010-02-22T12:12:00.002+13:00

I'm a big believer that the right things come to your life at the right time. Every major intersection in my life has been met with things going my way. Perhaps I'm just a lucky person, perhaps my lack of conventional ambition means that I'm more inclined to look at the opportunities that come my way rather than dismiss them.

Whatever, it remains that two hours into my first official day unemployed, I have a job.

A job that comes with a decent payrise over the last one AND a company car. Good excuse to finally get that restricted license under my belt.

I say I don't have conventional ambition because I really don't. To me, ambition is knowing where you want to end up and striving to constantly get that one more step toward your final goal. It's having a drive. It's knowing exactly why you get up each day and it's making sure that in nearly everything you do, you're heading in that direction.

Which isn't something I have. It's something I admire, but ultimately I don't have that stickability. I can't put the blinkers on and blindly strive toward a goal like that. Hell, if I'm totally honest, I can't even think of a goal which would get me that worked up.

In fact, my goal setting ability works nothing like that. It works like this: I have a set of things I would like to achieve in my life and I have a set of values or morals by which I live my life. I don't judge those around me and I take (or at least consider) every opportunity put to me.

I don't want to be a bum, and I want each step I take in life to move me forward - I'm just not moving in any particular direction.

It's led to some interesting experiences and has allowed me to keep my options very wide. In looking for a new job, I had many areas into which I could cast my net. I went wide and far. I looked at every interesting thing I could and, as usual, it paid off.

I live my life with an ethos of acceptance. If I get rejected from a job I shrug my shoulders and move to the next one - it neither offends me or gets me down. Even while I was at my most scared and stressed out, no rejection I received was viewed as a personal insult. I have complete faith that things will always work out for the best (even if it does terrify me from time to time) - whether you call that luck, a fairy godmother or God, that's up to you - I call it the life I am lucky enough to have been blessed with.

So, now I have three weeks up my sleeve with which to tackle the bits and pieces I've been putting off for a while and also to just do the simple things like have coffee in the park or see a movie during the day.

And of course, I'll be blogging it all, so you'll get to live my three weeks as a quasi-unemployed bum with me.

Still unemployed

2010-02-21T22:44:00.003+13:00

The best thing about today is that I didn't have to go to the Mobil, but I still got delivered Kapiti Icecream, Coke Zero and Mallowpuffs.

The worst thing about today is that my zero key is all sticky and needs to be pressed really hard to work. Yes, that's the worst thing. Today's been pretty excellent.

My new flatmate Caine went and picked up our dinner last night. He's a good flatmate, we like him. He can stay. (He also pays rent. Bonus.)

Best and worst: the unemployed edition

2010-02-20T20:06:00.003+13:00

The best thing about today was the 3 hour nap I had this afternoon.

The worst thing about today was being bugged to get the most insane configuration of liquids (real Coke, blue Powerade, carbonated water and V) first thing this morning.

Today is my first day of unemployment. With luck, this stint will be nice and short but enjoyable.

I don't care that you bought a cow on Farmville, you freak

2010-02-19T10:55:00.004+13:00

OK, so I'm just going to assume everyone in the world uses Facebook. Much like Google, it's just taken over the world.

I'm also going to assume that everyone has someone they once went to primary school/a conference/camp when they were 17 with who like to play Farmville/Fishville/Mafia Wars/Bejewelled (my personal favourite) or whatever.

Firstly, can I just say, if you are one of those people, don't spam your wall with that crap. I don't care that you play it - it's your life you're spending harvesting imaginary crops for imaginary profit to expand your imaginary farm - but I don't care what your farm/restaurant/aquarium/pet shop/whore house looks like (actually, I might care about the last one, sounds like a fun game, does Whoreville/Prostitute City exist yet?) We're on Facebook to catch up with those people we like, to see status updates and photos and get invited to cool events we never would have known about previously. We just do not care about your lost sheep, sorry.

The good news is, if you're like me and you hate that crap, you can get rid of it!

I've gone through my feed and below is a nice step-by-step of how to remove those annoying applications you hate. When you hide something, you hide it forever. You can undo it later via Preferences but really? Why would you want to?

So here is one application I haven't yet hidden from my news feed. Something about Crazies. I don't need to know much to know I don't care, so what do I do?

Hover your mouse over the awful application. You see that 'Hide' button that just appeared? Yeah, click it.

Now, I know you're probably thinking you'd like to hide your friend for spamming you, and you can if you'd really like to - he/she will never know - but do that after you've done this - click that Hide [Stupid Application Name] - this means that all those other friends buying milkshakes in imaginary restaurants or losing pigs or hoolahooping with Tallulah in Hawaii won't spam you either. In fact, you'll never see anything from that application again.

Instead you can become a fan of not being on fire, like that photo of your friend dancing on a table at a skeezy club on Saturday or comment to your heart's content about a friend's new job or baby.

Ah Facebook, how were we ever irrelevant and inane without you?

Gin Wigmore at The Bruce Mason Center

2010-02-18T00:21:00.003+13:00

Last night Cate and I went to see Gin Wigmore at the Bruce Mason Center.

All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't pay for my ticket, because otherwise I'd be asking for my money back.

I often start these whiny posts by stating clearly that the artist was not at fault, and once again I find myself in that position.

Gin herself was beautiful, funny, engaging and a total pro. Her performance was spot on and she was accompanied by an awesome band.

It's just a shame that either the sound tech was totally retarded or the venue was so bad that we couldn't really hear much but gurgled noise.

The problem with Gin is that she has a voice which demands a very talented sound tech. I like Gin, and I like her sound, but the top notes need to be more understated and the bottoms need to be boosted - and that does not mean turning the sound up to full bore.

I really wish I could say I had enjoyed that concert more. I wish I didn't feel so bad about it, because I kinda feel like I'm complaining a lot about gigs at the moment when - in actual fact - I just have standards when it comes to shows - I don't even feel like they're that high. I just want to be able to hear the music and the lyrics, and not feel like my ears are going to bleed due to massive volume, which was only amplified when Gin really let lose (something she should be able to do - as I said, the woman is amazing).

Forgetting about the sound for a minute, Gin's little interlude making fun of Air New Zealand's use of her song Under My Skin was a crack up. She insisted that if the plane is going down, we're all fucked, so why are we playing such a happy wee song? Bless her, she's right.

Overall, I would see Gin again, but I have serious doubts about seeing another concert at the Bruce Mason Center... which sucks, because Vampire Weekend are playing there in April and I'd love to see them too.

Why not play at The Powerstation people? It's a million times better (and bonus, it doesn't require a trip over the Harbour Bridge).

Chairman of the Bored

2010-02-17T15:07:00.003+13:00

It's getting close to my last day at my current job and it really cannot come soon enough for me.

In my 18 months here I've learned a system inside out and I'm effectively the first stop - for staff, contractors and clients alike - for support. If I don't know it, chances are it's a technical issue. I've written manuals which people don't read, I've come up with innovative ways of getting concepts through to people, I've run training sessions, done presentations....

But I'm pretty much at the end of my rope. There are opportunities ahead of me which allow me to learn, to grow and to move forward. There are things ahead of me that I am genuinely excited about and right now, I feel like a bird that wants to fly free whose wings are totally clipped.

Because I like to learn, I like to constantly find things out and apply new knowledge. Repeatedly giving the same knowledge to the same people just isn't my thing. It's boring, it's annoying and it leaves me with absolutely zero job satisfaction.

Given how excited I am by the proposal I'm writing, and how desperately I want to sink my teeth into that project, and how utterly, totally, completely bored I am here... clearly I have made the right decision in leaving.

It's possible I am being stupid and selfish being unhappy at my job and wanting to move on but you know what? I am young, I have no dependents and (fairly) low debt. I have the cash to support myself for a while and at least 3 job prospects in the works.

I'd rather be happy than secure and bored.

Precious

2010-02-16T21:34:00.004+13:00

Life is precious. Love is precious. Education and friends are precious. Family and having people to care for and encourage you are precious.

Tonight I went and saw the film Precious. It's hard to write about such a deep and affecting film without feeling like you're letting it down - nothing I can say can ever hope to reflect the deep and troubling dramas that Precious has experienced.

The thing about this film that really got to me was the absolute transformation Precious goes through. She starts as a girl - so fully aware of the world and all it's dark sides, yet so completely unaware of all the good things those of us who are luckier in our circumstances take for granted.

Like her mother. Her mother's self-obsession and apparent total loathing of Precious automatically puts the audience into the girl's corner. We can see that this girl has never heard a word of encouragement from anyone and that her life - and we want her to succeed. We want to see her rise above that.

Throughout the movie we see her encouraged to grow. She makes new friends and meets people who, like the audience, want her to win in life. She takes on the challenges and we see her time and time again rise from the ashes and keep going. By the end of the film she is a young woman and transforming - I can't say transformed because there is clearly so much more to her story than what we see in the two hours we are in our cinema seats for - into someone of worth, someone whose story we want to know and want to share with others.

Of course, everybody has their motivations, and one of the most heartbreaking moments for me was listening to Precious' mother explain why life had worked out the way it had for her daughter.

The movie is first of all heart breaking, but also inspiring and - what the critics might not tell you - funny.

I was engaged from the first moments of the film and not once did I wonder when it was going to end (Twitter has all but killed my attention span, so this in itself was an achievement).

Technically, the film was shot beautifully and it's rare you find a cast so well put together and, well... humble - just try to recognise Mariah Carey when she makes her appearance - the cast bow to the content and let the story do the work, they are merely the tools through which it flows. It's not often you find a film that lacks egos in the same way as this.

Beautiful, thought provoking and humbling.

Five Gopher Guys - go see this film.