It shows that we really are a bunch of sad puppies here when the first thing we all dive for and fight over, after the days' papers and post get delivered, is not the world news, not the cheesy gossip section of the local rag, but the weekly 'Warehouse' catalogue. It's the equivalent of going nuts over an Argos catalogue with all it's bargins, or being overwhelmed by the goodies in 'Rajani's' (Eastville Trading Estate). I think it's an expat thing - Helen has an eastern European friend who displays the same obsession. Most of their house is kitted out from the Warehouse so I think it also displays a little of the Ikea syndrom that most of us in the UK all know and love.

Kiwi Guide
Kibbled = coarsely ground, as in kibbled wheat.
Noticed this 'kibbled thing' on the back of bread packets. Strange the things you read when waiting for your toast to cook!

I like this - Don't Link to Us! - the public ridicule of companies who try to impose absurd rules about who can link to their sites and how. Guess they just don't get it eh. What makes me giggle is the money they probably spend on advertizing, and here they are quibbling about promotion that's free. Perhaps it because they're not always complimentary, like this site, but marketing agencies are always telling us that "any publicity is good publicity..."

It's been a busy week - sold my first piece of jewellery in a shop in Pukekohe, wrote an article for KnowledgeBoard, and Tmet Media got their first client.

Managed to spend an afternoon/evening in Auckland City [online photos] with Helen. It's a beautiful city, in a modern way and comparable to Bristol in that the actual centre is very small. Dominating everything is the Skytower. From a distance it resembles a huge whale-sized hypodermic needle, and from underneath it reminds me of the spaceship towers in the closing scenes of Men in Black. For a bit of sillyness check out 101 uses for the Skytower.

Last night we all trapsed round to Cathy's for a girly aromatherapy party. Turns out we all knew more than the lady trying to sell us stuff!

Kiwi Guide
Tight speedo swimming trucks = dick stickers
The men who wear them = undiemen

Don't ask how this snippet of Kiwi colloquialism cropped up in conversation. Get 7 or so girls in a room and eventually one or two of them get around to lowering the conversation...

Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors - his books make escapism sheer bliss. Anyway I found this thought-provoking article this evening while wandering around the net this evening, looking for articles on knowledge mangement, online communities and blogging. I always have been easily distracted!

Have a peek at 'Entrenched Technology, from The Culture. The reason I've mentioned it here was not so much for the article, though I found it interesting, more for the comments made by 'riptalon', e.g. "The greatest evils in society are caused by too many people unquestioningly following orders, rather than too many people who don't." There's a lot there to go away and think about!

I've got my first commission in today for a bracelet!

www.jesus.com: his quest for a special woman to love. Here you can bathe with Jesus, get a credit card with his image, and find out that he loves to frequently and willfully experiment in the kitchen!

You see the site. You know it's a piss-take. You notice that it's American, and then you begin to wonder. It might, just might be serious...?

I miss being a city girl. Don't get me wrong, I love the wide-open spaces of the country, the feeling of freedom and fresh air, but I miss having my world on my doorstep. The cinema, the shops, the pubs, all within walking distance; café and bar culture; lazy Sunday afternoons in the company of friends; not making it home from work till late because you and your colleagues got distracted by beer and conversation; changing the route you take on your way out somewhere just to say hello to someone you miss; and people. I miss people watching, it's such a fascinating past-time which can be either enlightening or horrifying depending on what you observe.

I guess what I'm learning, living out here with the cows and the magpies, is that I'm a social bunny at heart. Yes I enjoy my own space and solitude, but I enjoy it more when I'm surrounded by people - sitting in a café drinking coffee, reading the Economist, and quietly watching the world go by.