9 Great Walks

Earlier this year my work made a partnership to sponsor the Department of Conservation, and to encourage people from NZ and around the world to come and see the 9 great walks of NZ (one of which is a river canoe trip). So we starting getting lots of emails through work about the things that were going on and this competition that they had planned to bring 4 people from overseas to come and see NZ. It got me curious and looking at the different walks that were available. One I had already done last year without realizing it was one of the “Great Walks” the Abel Tasman coastal walk not far from Nelson, at the top of the South Island. Earlier this year I did the Tongariro Crossing which I had thought was one of the walks but its not (the Tongariro Northern Circuit is, which is about 3 or 4 days and includes parts of the Tongariro crossing – part of which is now closed due to volcanic eruptions) and then a few weeks ago I did the Routeburn Track, which is near Queenstown, 32kms over 3 days. I travelled by myself, which my family thought was crazy, and I was quite slow compared to the daily time estimates, but it wasn’t a competition and I had a great time. I met lots of cool people and I got there in the end (although the bus had to wait a few minutes for me as I had lots of hold ups and issues on the last day with torrential rain and near hypothermia). My next planned walk is in March, to do the Milford Track. I’ve heard lots of good things about it, and I’m really looking forward to it. I have yet to buy a back pack (I hired one for my last walk) but I think it will be great.

Wellington

I arrived in Wellington on Tuesday, its now Thursday and I will be heading home this afternoon. Its so lovely to get away, but its nice to go home as well. The first day I went traipsing all around Zealandia wildlife sanctuary, it was a beautiful sunny day (unusual for this part of the country). I saw tuatara, fish, tui, kaka's, kakariki parrots, bellbirds, hihi, wetas (uck!) and a multitude of other creatures (pied shags, ducks, some kind of quail or pheasant, and the supremely endangered takahe, a relative of the pukeko I believe, but bigger.) Word was that the takahe were extinct until a small colony was discovered high up in the mountains in the south island, so you never know, someone could discover a moa in there one day. (Moa being another extinct NZ bird) wouldn't that be interesting, apparently they used to grow up to 12ft tall. What else have I done? Yesterday I went to the wellington zoo, its a cute small place, bit of an uphill climb but lovely. Couldn't really see the cheetah -just the top of his head and his tail as he flicked it and the top of the lions back but everything else was there - chimps, baboons, dingo, african hunting dogs, otters - they were cute and chattery I've never heard them talk before they kept coming up and saying stuff to me. In the afternoon I walked out along Oriental parade that was great as well.

The Sanctity of Marriage

I believe that marriage should be, as it always has been, and should remain, between one man and one woman. In NZ a bill to redefine marriage has recently passed its first reading, which if it passes will allow two men or two women to be legally married. It was a landslide vote in the affirmative. I disagree with it. Even if it does become law, that doesn’t mean that its right. Marriage has been defined the same way for thousands of years, and I see no reason why a minority group should be allowed to redefine it just because they can scream louder than others. They’ve already taken perfectly lovely words like rainbow and hero and reshaped them according to their own specifications. Would I be allowed to start taking words from the English language and reshaping them according to the dictates of my own conscience? No. But they scream “persecution” and “hate” and “homophobe” towards anybody who disagrees with their views. What comes after redefinition of such an important word: gay adoption, polygamy, polyamory, marrying your relatives, incest? Where do you draw the line? If I were a Christian pastor and I refused to marry a gay couple because their stance disagreed with my own beliefs and what the Bible says, I would then be breaking the human rights act for discriminating against them. I can think highly of gay people but still not believe that they should be allowed to change such an important and sacred word to me as marriage. My parents were married, their parents were married, and it goes on back past where I can’t find any recorded information. From that marriage union came me. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24 Marriage: One man, one woman, one flesh. Sacred and important, and not to be defined any other way.

Solo

So 90% of the time, I feel perfectly fine, happy and content with being single, with having no significant other in my life. Yet it is that other 10%, that threatens to turn my world upside down. It’s the time in the early evening, when I get home from work, feeling like I want to unload a burden, or vent, or just summarize the days events out loud to somebody, and nobody is there. I guess using flatmates as a convenient sounding board has always been what worked for me. But at the moment she is in a serious relationship, and super busy at work on top of that, we pass like ships in the night on a regular basis. Tonight I got home from a nice musical evening to a quiet house, no lights on, no tv blaring, no music playing and sat on the couch with my herbal tea and it all hit me at once. The solitude. The quiet. The aloneness. Not even birds chirping or feral cats squabbling outside to distract me from the humm of the refrigerator and the otherwise complete loneliness of my evening. I feel as though each time I develop a great travelling friendship with someone, where we hang out all the time and go on weekend road trips, and generally have a blast, they are always gradually swallowed up by that large monster known as dating, courtship and marriage. Would I like to be swallowed up by such a monster? Hard to say, having heard so many horror stories about becoming so engaged to members of the opposite sex. My last two solo girl mates are currently in somewhat serious dating relationships, and although I am very happy for both of them, I find it hard to be happy for me. Some people love and crave solitude, I only like it during the day, then I can get things done. But when you don’t even have a fat cat nudging your ankles to distract you from the silence, from what currently feels like an empty existence, the internal tears come crashing down, making me want to wallow in depression, and eat ice cream. Tomorrow the sun will rise, and all will feel perfectly right with the world, and I will embrace the day with a light heart. But for tonight, this is how I feel – as though everyone else is venturing off to far distant shores, and I am here, by myself, the last one, alone.

Plant based Diets

I've been thinking about changing my eating habits for ages now, my problem is just doing it. Its not that I lack motivation, its that I lack discipline. I realized the other day is that one of my biggest hurdles to changing is worrying about what other people think. Its not something that I should worry about - after all, my own health is my own responsibility, but I hate getting lectured. Whenever I've mentioned to anyone in my family or friends circle that I'm thinking about moving to a plant based diet (no meat, no dairy, no eggs) I tend to get shouted down by people who think they are right. I'm not saying everyone should move to a plant based diet, but even people who I thought would support me, don't. Its an interesting conundrum. Do I listen to the masses telling me I shouldn't do it? Or should I follow my own gut instinct that I should? I really want to do it in secret and not tell anyone, but eventually it would come out, when I was at someones house saying no to eating what they offer me. I thought I would start today and try it for two months - I think thats adequate time to see if it works for me. But we'll see.

Puppy Size

Cute story that was emailed to me 'Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,' the mother told the volunteer. 'What is it she keeps asking for?' the volunteer asked. 'Puppy size!' replied the mother 'Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for..' 'I know.... We have seen most of them,' the mom said in frustration... Just then Danielle came walking into the office 'Well, did you find one?' asked her mom. 'No, not this time,' Danielle said with sadness in her voice. 'Can we come back on the weekend?' The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed 'You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply,' the volunteer said. Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. 'Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend,' she said. Over the next few days both Mom and Dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. 'It's this weekend or we're not looking any more,' Dad finally said in frustration. 'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size, either,' Mom added. Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning . By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look.. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, 'Sorry, but you're not the one.' It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. 'Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!' She screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!' 'But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said. 'No not size... The sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,' she said. 'Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!' The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both. 'Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,' she said. Then, holding the puppy up close to her face, she said, 'Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!' Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day… They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. 'Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take Our breath away.' I hope your life is filled with Sighs!!! Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life is too short and friends are too few. Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't. I Appreciate You!!

Feeling grotty

Have had a cold/flu for the last few days. I hate feeling like rubbish, headache, fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose. It has given me a lot more thinking time, while sitting around at home, since I can't go to work or anywhere else for that matter. I did have a crazy cleaning spree yesterday in my room, since I was completely bored at home. So at least my room is looking better for it. Today I had nose bleeds, and my drivers side wing mirror came off on top of everything else, I was feeling even worse. Plus I feel overheated even though I've been told my forehead feels cold. My brain is quite foggy on top of everything else. I really want to go do the Lake Waikaremoana Great walk this year, but I don't want to go by myself, and I haven't managed to find someone to go with me. My aunty said she might, but she hurt her ankle when we did the Tongariro Crossing earlier this year so that might not be a goer. Speaking of which, I'm so glad I already did that walk, given that its now closed due to volcanic activity earlier this month. My main goal at the moment is to improve my fitness - once I get over this cold that is.

Road trip

I've been on holiday this week, which has been a much needed break. Shift work is draining, some time out is really needful to recuperate. According to my workmates I don't have enough of a life to actually merit needing to rest but whatever, my life is my own. Why should I feel guilty because you have children and I don't? Getting to catch up with friends and travel round the north island has been massively draining, but awesome. So grateful to dad for fixing up some issues with my car so I could be on my way. I love road trips. I would love them better if I had some friends to keep me company, but most of my single friends are now dating, good on them. So i took the next best option and road tripped to visit friends that I hadn't caught up with in a while. Home tomorrow. I'm sad my holiday is nearly over, but glad while it lasted.

Remembering

Well, its been ages since I wrote anything on here, and I can't even claim lack of internet access as an excuse. Go through phases of not feeling like writing, and feeling like writing. Last week I was horribly sick. The several weeks before that I've been going through a very reflective remembering phase. I was creating some digital photo books online of the last 7 or so years of my life, and in order to remember what I had actually been doing during that time I went back through and read a bunch of my old journals. Strange to find out the different ways that I had been thinking about life in general and the way that it differs to how I feel now. Even stranger is reading about people I interacted with, who I can barely remember now. Just goes to show that we don't always remember the things we think we're going to remember later on. What i have realized, is that the years that are easier to remember are the years when i had emotional upheavals, such as falling for someone, or getting my heart broken, my best friends leaving me to go get married and so on. Reading back on how I felt at that time & having all those emotions come back has been quite heart wrenching. It has put me in a mood to not write very much. I also am gutted about all the photos I lost when my hard drive crashed last year. The better part of 3yrs photos, all gone, just like that. I went on facebook to see if i could retrieve some, discovering very quickly that of all my friends, I am the recorder of information. Half the photos on their facebook pages, are ones that I put there. So pretty much, if I don't have it, nobody does. I'm just going to have to not worry about it.

Sugar Free

Today is my 9th day without sugar. It has been the hardest most tempting thing to break my resolution, especially with people at work handing me chocolate and lollies, but surprisingly the benefits of not eating sugar are so far outweighing the deliciousness of what I could be enjoying.

The first night it was like my body was going through withdrawals, I felt sick and nauseous like I was going to pass out, ended up sleeping at Mums coz I didn’t feel like I could drive home safely. The next day I felt so much better. I had more energy and I had a really good sleep (compared to the insomnia I had been experiencing for the last month or so). The good sleeps continued, until the fourth night when I had a couple of bread rolls just before bed. Kept waking up through the night and was exhausted at work the next day.

On the fifth day I tried some sushi. Within twenty minutes of having it I felt like I was going to crash out at the wheel. Not a good sign. I guess white rice is going to be added to my no go list. So my plan was to cut out sugar the first week, bread/pasta/rice the second week and potatoes the third week. Not sure about potatoes though, I had some last night and they didn’t make me tired at all. But maybe I should cut everything out, temporarily at least, so then I can experiment with them later and see what affects me in a negative sense.

I am amazed at the negative impact sugar has had on me. I wasn’t aware of all the highs and lows I was going through on a daily basis until they stopped. I would have something, feel good, the sugar would leave my system, I would feel tired and need more and crave more sugar, and so the cycle continued. Feeling really good right now though.

Hot Air Balloons

This morning I went to the Hamilton Lake to watch the hot air balloons going up. Couldn't get a park nearby, so ended up going for a nice relaxing walk around the lake just as the balloons were beginning to be inflated. My favourites were the kiwi and the kangaroo. They went up at about the same time. It was a lovely start to the weekend.

Observing children

It was my nephews 4th birthday a few days ago. It makes me feel old. He doesn't look that much older, but he is definately getting smarter. Its so funny seeing a kid that could only give you a yes or no answer not long ago, now coming out with full sentences and saying astonishing things.

Hes very eagerly awaiting the soon to be arrival of his little brother (he did initially say it was a girl but they had the scan recently, and its a boy). I don't think he realizes his brother won't be able to play with him for at least a couple of years - he'll be at school making new friends, and his brother will be at home demolishing his stuff. Hilarious. I don't think anyone wants to upset his anticipation by mentioning any of this to him, I certainly don't.

I just really like seeing the stages of his progression and observing him learning new things. And now I wonder, maybe thats how God feels about us? Delighting when we learn new things or good things happen to us, and feeling for us when we fall down.

Art Journalling

Have found a new hobby and am really loving it. Art or visual journalling. Its been a long time since I got my hands dirty with paint and I am surprised how much I am enjoying it. Found a couple of library books about it, plus a random comment from a girl at church and thats what got me started. Have pulled apart a spiral bound blank scrapbook and am going over it. I just like mixing the colours and smearing them on the page and seeing how it looks. Collaging, stamping, using up all my old scrapbooking and craft stuff that has been sitting in storage for the last several years. Mostly i just like the part about writing down my thoughts on paper along with photos and pictures. Its very therapeutic.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

I just finished this book, written by Bill Bryson on the recommendation of a friend. At first I didn't like it, with end of the world scenarios of being hit by meteors, or blown up by volcanoes. However, by the end of the book, the sensation I have been left with is one of gratitude. Grateful to be alive, thinking and doing well. Even though I disagree with some things he writes about, I still enjoyed this book very much.

He explains very well in summary form many of the principles of science and different scientific fields and theories. The stories behind the "facts" are revealed in some cases to be quite hilarious. There are anecdotes, dramas and disagreements, people who discovered things but never got credit for it, scientists ripping each others ideas to shreds. In some cases the truth of science is little more than one persons interpretation, or a best guess at a point in time, or "what we think we know," ideas which may potentially be over written by future analysis or discovery of another person.

He reveals the personalities, background, foibles and quirks of the scientists whose learnings developed our understanding of the world around us, which is so much better than just cold hard information.

I found the book intriguing and highly enjoyable (which is why it was overdue at the library - I couldn't give it up until I had finished it). I like its attempt to make science accessible to the layperson (in that respect it reminds me of the DVD "What the Bleep do we know" about Quantum Physics).

Courier Problems

Last week I ordered a 10kg box of stonefruit from an orchard near Palmerston North. I wondered where it had got to when it didn't arrive by Monday morning so I emailed the orchard. The girl I was dealing with, who has been great, said it was sent on Thursday for overnight delivery and it should have arrived Friday. I was so confused. Just as I was responding to her - I wonder where its gotten to? my neighbour to the side knocked on the door and there was my box. She was really nice about it, she'd just found it on her doorstep. She said "It does look a bit worse for wear."

And it did. The box lid was open (possibly she grabbed it by the top and it accidentally came undone) and half the fruit was rotten and moldy or next to moldy fruit and therefore contaminated. It stunk. One of the peaches was half eaten. I was horrified. I spent the next half hour pulling out the fruit I was going to bin and freezing most of what was left (to stop it going off before I could eat it).

I made a yummy dark purple plum smoothie out of some of it and taste tested a couple of items which were so divinely delicious that I really think I ought to buy direct from orchards from now on. Theres such a difference in taste between food at a supermarket or even fruit and veg store and buying from a local producer. I think thats why the popularity of farmers markets.

I wasn't going to do anything about it but the next time I checked my email the orchard had written asking when it was received because it should have arrived friday.

I went on the PBTrace courier website and put in my trace number - the fruit was picked up thursday 5pm, arrived in hamilton 10:20am on friday, sat somewhere for the whole weekend, and was delivered (to the wrong house) at 1:30pm on the monday. Then when my neighbour got home a couple of hours later she brought it over to me. I can't believe they would just dump a perishable item for the whole weekend when they had all day friday to deliver it out to the correct address.

I vented and texted a couple of friends and family members, then in the end I emailed the orchard. It wasn't their fault at all, but i was disappointed in the courier and I told them so.

I just received an email apologizing for the condition of the fruit (even though it wasn't the orchards fault) and offering to send a replacement batch - which offer i am completely delighted with, and I've just sent an email to say yes and thank you. She said they have repeatedly told the courier company that the items must be delivered overnight as they are perishable - but obviously the company is not listening at all. What a bunch of idiots.

So that was a good result from a bad situation.

Spillages and Breakages

Today I accidentally dropped a whole big jar of Jaffas and got to see all the glass shards splatter across the floor, sending the jaffas scurrying in all directions under chairs, tables and all over the carpet. This was in the VIP lounge at work just as people were starting to enter. I felt so dumb. It took forever to scoop them all up, especially as they had a tendency to run away again just as they were being collected. My workmate was so nice about it, but I felt really bad.

It wasn't the first thing today I dropped or broke. It started after shopping this morning when I was grabbing my things out of my sisters car to go put them in mine. Somehow the grocery bag hooked on something in her car and snagged and when I went to pull it the bottom fell out and spilled my recently purchased food items (luckily nothing perishable) all over the road.

Not long before that I was in the public toilet at the library trying to use the liquid soap dispenser. I couldn't figure out how there was a full bag of soap in there but none of it was coming out. I thought if i made a small tear in the bag it would start working, however my "small tear" inadvertently became a "large rip" and before I knew it all that soap was spilling out of the bag into the sink and down the drain. I felt bad that I was the only one who got any use out of the soap, what a waste.

So yes, by the time I killed the jaffas, I was used to being a klutz, it almost seemed like a normal and natural thing to have happen. I was so gross and sweaty and tired from walking around all day that it just seemed like one more bad thing wouldn't matter that much.

Coz after that it didn't improve - we were short staffed, had several delays in our arriving flights, which meant flights tomorrow delayed, spending a few hours ringing people to give them the bad news that their flights tomorrow are delayed or cancelled, as well as a number of bags that never showed up off the flight, all made for a very interesting evening.

To my friends

The one who challenged me and forced me to stop silently accepting the opinions of others
The one who brought to my attention that I had issues which I never was aware of before
The one who demanded things of me, by unnerving me, annoying me and getting in my face and my life, even when I tried not to notice
The one who pushed me to try new things and consider ideas that I never would have thought of otherwise
The one who confronted me, argued with me, teased me
The one who made me laugh with clever uses of words, accents and mocking
The one who told me I was smart, intelligent, funny & pretty, and made me believe it
The one who helped me, looked out for me, cared about me
The one who fed me when I was sick, listened to me when I was down, calmed me when I was feeling overwhelmed
The one who created a space where it felt safe for me to share my feelings
The one who loved me & took a piece of my heart in return

“Friendships a treasure to keep and to hold
A shade in the desert a fire in the cold
Man with his myriad woes and cares
Can carry them bravely when friendship shares
Whoever you are, I wish this for you
May you have a true friend and to him be true.”
Anon

Rarotonga

Went to Rarotonga for 5 nights last week - it was beautiful! I'm so glad I went. Despite my workmates warning that it was cyclone season, and the rainy weather forecast just before we left, we had the best weather while we were there! (My aunty and I). We had one morning where it was a little bit drizzly and cloudy, but every other day was sunny, hot and blue sky everywhere.

We stayed at the Edgewater Resort, which turned out much better than the online reviews had led me to believe. Someone I know had some things stolen from their room while they were there - apparently all the hotels are having troubles at the moment with staff thievery, so we made sure to keep all our passports and spare cash in our in-room safe whenever we went out.

We did a lagoon cruise, a 4wd drive safari tour, and Te Vara Nui night show/village tour and dinner. We also spent a night at Trader Jacks bar/restaurant in town and at Cocoputt mini golf. I loved it. I loved the food. Tropical fruit and coconut every morning, fruit smoothies and snack food for lunch, mocktails in the afternoon.

My favourite mocktail was at Te Vara Nui, it was made of chocolate, peanut butter, milk and cream. I decided to attempt to recreate it when I got home. I bought the ingredients but I haven't tried it yet. The coconut cream smoothies were also delicious, probably very fattening but so good. Cafe Jireh by the airport made the best one, peach coconut, we had one just before we left.

They have one public waterfall, Wigmores, which is lovely but unfortunately overridden with mozzies. We got the bus around which was convenient and cheap but if I went again I'd definately get a scooter so I can stop wherever I want whenever I want.

I never knew how closely linked Raro maori was with NZ maori, the language is so similar, they say vaka where we say waka and they say "Are" where we would say "Whare". We were shown a place called the departure point, where the NZ waka are said to have left from, they now have a commemorative plaque there to remember the 7, including Tainui (my one).

I had to buy a couple of sarongs after more than one lesson on several different ways to tie one which was awesome and informative. We also learnt how to climb a coconut tree, how to husk and open a coconut, and how to make coconut cream (yum!) and its good for your skin.

The $55 departure tax was a bit of a sting in the tail, apparently the old terminal was much nicer (so said a canadian lady we met who has visited Rarotonga about 30 times) but that would be my only complaint.

My aunty now wants us to plan another trip back so she can plan a visit to Aitutaki. I'm not that fussed about Aitutaki, but i wouldn't mind going back to do some more snorkeling, which I came to love while I was there.

Adele : Someone like you

Fell in love with this song on the plane ride to Rarotonga. Here are the lyrics:

"Someone Like You"
I heard that you're settled down
That you found a girl and you're married now.
I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you.

Old friend, why are you so shy?
Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light.

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead, "
Yeah

You know how the time flies
Only yesterday was the time of our lives
We were born and raised
In a summer haze
Bound by the surprise of our glory days

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I'd hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."
Yeah

Nothing compares
No worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes
They are memories made.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."

Goals for 2012

My first goal of the year was to read some classic novels rather than the dodgy rubbish I have been coming across lately. So the first one I read was Persuasion by Jane Austen. I had never heard of the book nor seen the movie, so I read it and really enjoyed it. In some things I found myself identifying with the main character, Anne Elliott. After that my flatmate and I went hunting for the dvd and bought it. The guy who plays the male lead is gorgeous. The second book I've read is called "What Katy did" by Susan M. Coolidge. Its quite a moralistic book about how to deal with trials but I did really like some of the thoughts that the author put into it. The next book I'm planning to read is the Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, which I read when I was a kid. I was in Coromandel the other day and found a second hand store which had quite a few books I hadn't read in years so I ended up buying a heap of them. Good stuff.

Recap

Just went back through my blog posts of the last 3yrs or so which was quite interesting to me, and it amazes me how much I talked about food and detoxing over that time.

I have been feeling quite good in general since summer started properly (over the last 2wks) and the sun has been out. I've gotten burnt a few times and been to the beach a few times, just in little short spurts, its been great.

Have had a pedometer on my hip since October, have been aiming for 10,000 steps per day, some days I make it, some I don't. Some days I've made 20,000 steps. The saturday before last I went to do the Tongariro crossing with my aunty and friend. We got a quarter of the way up before we had to turn back due to gale force winds and my aunty hurting her ankle. And to be truthful, I think I would have had hypothermia if i had continued since it had been raining all morning and my back was soaked. I would like to go back another time and finish the walk properly though.

Spur of the Moment Voyages

Last week I decided on my last day of work before my days off to go away on a trip all by myself. I don't usually like to do this because I tend to worry that things will go wrong and I won't enjoy myself, but I had the best time. It was awesome. The weather was perfect, the beaches were golden, the water was a lovely turquoise colour and I had an amazing time. I didn't socialize much at all, I wasn't really in the mood. It was a great introspective time, time to ponder and reflect on different things, while driving and stopping. I went to Tairua, climbed up Paku Hill and saw the stunning view from the top. Then I went swimming at Hahei which I'd never been to, but it was great, my favourite part. It was like heaven. I'd wished to stay there longer but i was anxious to get to cathedral cove which I hadn't been to since I was a kid. It was really tricky finding a park but once I did I was off taking photos and swimming, and pretending like I hadn't seen the sign warning of rockfall danger, do not go under this archway.

That night I stayed in Whitianga at a very cute hostel. The next day I went around the coast to coromandel, stopping in Whangapoua on the way. Walked around the rocks over into New Chums Beach which was empty when I arrived but was soon packed out. Spent a hour body surfing and was exhausted when I got out. It was a lovely beach, reminded me of the Abel Tasman.

Headed around to Coromandel Town to have hot fish and chips and go looking for my ancestors brothers headstone at the nearby cemetery but no luck on that one, so headed back home, happy and content.

How the Bestsellers killed the Classics

The following words are not mine, I received them in an email, but they did have a strong impact on me over the last couple of weeks. They are by Victoria Boutenko a russian lady heavily involved in the raw food movement and expounder of green smoothies for health. After reading what she had to say on the subject I made a new years resolution to try and read one classic novel per month this year. Will see how I go with that.

The discovery of what I am about to share with you began when I decided to buy some classic stories adapted for children for my two cute grandchildren, Nic and Lily. When I was six, my father read me an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe with beautiful illustrations, White Fang, Gulliver’s Travels, Huckleberry Finn, Alice in Wonderland, and Hans Christian Andersen, as well as Russian children’s classics by Tolstoy, Pushkin, and many others. I grew up in a poor family under a communist government. Reading classical books struck the highest chord in me and kept tuning my spirit to kindness, honesty, courage and a life of creativity. I can easily say that I owe the best in me to the books I read during childhood.

Naturally, I wanted to read these books to my precious grandchildren. That is when I found out that there are very few good children’s books available in this country and they are very hard to find. Most books in stores are cute and fun, but there are almost zero books with depth adapted for young children. Check for yourself- Go to amazon.com and look at the top one hundred bestsellers in children’s books. The majority of these books are aimed to become popular by any means. For example, many of these books are adventures, detective stories, and mystery stories—addicting to read but lack depth. I think it is fine for children to read these books, but only in combination with the other kind of books, namely classical books. Classic books teach human virtues, discuss psychology on a personal level, especially in today’s world where our direct communication with other humans is so limited due to our many hours of watching TV and playing video games.

According to Merriam Webster, a classic is “a work of enduring excellence”. Wikipedia defines classic as “something with a timeless quality.”

You may say that maybe some of today’s adventure books will become classics eventually. I believe that very few of them could possibly last that long considering that the bestselling list changes daily. The authors are competing to become bestsellers, pushing yesterday’s most popular reads down below.

According to Merriam Webster, a bestseller is a book “whose sales are among the highest of its class.”

Do we really consciously choose “higher sales” over “enduring excellence?”

What makes a book a classic is the supreme honesty of the author. I believe that inside we are all very similar, so when we read a book written with honesty we can recognize our own feelings and emotions and thoughts. By reading such books, we learn important things about ourselves. We learn that we are good, kind individuals, as well as that other people are also good and kind, except sometimes confused. We learn that there is not even one person in the world who intends to hurt others consciously. I believe that such books are fundamentally important for children and young adults, to help them develop into strong, kind beings.

When I went to school in Russia, we were required to read world classics, including great American classics by Theodore Dreiser, Rockwell Kent, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Mayne Reid, James Fenimore Cooper, William Faulkner, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jack London, O. Henry, Mark Twain and others. I would love to see my grandchildren become friends with these books’ characters and cry when the book is over. I observe that in the case of books we are manipulated to accept what is advertised to us, instead of the best. Our culture of brainwash marketing keeps dictating for us to eat fast food instead of whole foods, to drink soda instead of pure water, to wear synthetic clothes instead of natural fibers, to listen to the hits instead of good music, to watch violence on TV instead of walking in nature, and so on.

One of my favorite books when I was a little girl was Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. In that book the author describes the “Fool Land” where nobody has to work or make any effort, but they could eat, drink, ride carousels and have unlimited fun. When people hear about the Fool Land, nobody can resist, and everyone goes there. However, after they spend a certain time in this land they grow donkey ears and later turn into donkeys. Then they are converted into slaves and do nothing but hard work. In a way, that Fool Land represents the society where everything is portrayed for us by advertising. It’s so easy to believe that whatever is promised is real, however, later we might find ourselves trapped in credit card debt, sickness and despair.

How can we find the way out of Fool Land? I believe it will be a battle for everyone in their personal life. However, we can equip our children with wisdom, kindness and courage by exposing them to the best people in human history, who wrote the classical books that moved the hearts of generations.