VirtuousNess

Feeling extreemely virtuous, I cleared out my 'present box' (the one with all the things I buy on the spur of the moment, thinking 'that'll make a good present' and never find the right person for), jewelry case and unwanted gift store.  I even rifled through all my stuff in storage (once again) to come up with a whole load of stuff that i could GIVE AWAY! 

Yes, the blinding realisation came that there are all sorts of things that I don't need/want and can't sell but are in perfectly good/new order, and would make excellent presents for others.  Including some of my once-treasured Monopoly collection - NO, REALLY - it turns out I don't need 30+ games of monopoly,  who knew!  None of the rare ones, of course, ahem, ahem, but hey, there's loads of kids who don't have monopoly, who could use it much better than me.  So, looking at the pile I've created I'm feeling pretty good about my generosity this Christmas, and ignoring entirely the fact that I don't have all the presents for the family sorted yet.  Still, I am two shopping bags of presents closer to the being the Christmas fairy.

Have a Happy Christmas all you budding entrepreneurs!

the tiger awakes

I guess I should take it as a compliment - I got called a cougar tonight.  At the petrol station a bunch of loud teeny-somethings called out "Hey cougar!  in the purple".  I guess it means the days at the gym are paying off - but also made me feel old!

I love to cook!

I have just been to see Julie & Julia.  I LOVED it! 

It inspired me, made me think 'what am i doing with my life?', all the things that the hollywood boffins would expect.  Anyone who knows me already knows that I love cooking.  Certainly way more than the changes in parliamentary power, which is what is distracting me on the TV right now!

It is certainly very cool that someone can start a blog and come from obscurity doing something they love, to be what they want to be.  But more than that, I can't help but identify with Julia Child when she went to that all-hallowed cooking school in gay Paris that she was doing something she loved, and doing it with gusto.  I have certainly thought about it in the past (doing a full-time cookery course), and then I think to myself "there's no point because I don't want a career as a Chef" - but as a good friend of mine once said - Do it for the love of it, not for the rightness or wrongness of it!

I am not proposing to drop everything and return to college!  I think for the short term, an invite to friends to come and have dinner, and continue experimenting in the kitchen, but you never know what could be coming around the corner.  Live my life so that i don't regret that I never did something - that's what I want out of me.  That's all you can really ask for.

the good fruit

I saw this pear and had to buy it because I thought it was beautiful.  The leaf is whole and gives it a rustic note because of the colour.  The tones seem to compliment each other and I just liked it.

waterfront man

Yes, it's been a while - sue me!  I went down to the waterfront today after work.  The weather was fantastic this afternoon, so on the drive home I decided to take advantage of it and get outside.  The waterfront in wellington is so beautiful in the spring evening sunshine.  I took my camera and just as the sun was setting I took a whole load of photos of a statue near the marina.  The light was great, but my camera wasn't!  Most of the shots were fuzzy.  But I managed to get this cool one of the hands of the man who is straining into the wind.  sometimes it's the little details that stand out.  Sometimes the evening, the feel, the light is just so calming.  I love Wellington!

Appreciation

I can't think of anything nicer than coming back to your desk, or house, or room, and finding a little note from someone.  So thankyou to the little fairy who left this on my computer on friday.  I'm glad that some people are absolutely loving having Phoenix, the application, working for them!

Phoenix flies

I was at my desk yesterday and the curtains were drawn, when I looked up and saw the little phoenix on the top of my monitor, against them - just the right combination of colours.  Amazing how something small can make you feel happy.

The phoenix's were created by my friend Alan who is, let's face it, obsessed with origami.  Thanks Alan, appreciate the time and effort that went into creating 70 of them for go-live.