rachel.blog

Category: Auckland

  • Creepers against climate change

    I’m feeling a bit disheartened. There were not very many people at the Auckland climate march. Maybe a few hundred? I feel a bit disappointed about this. Don’t people care? It feels a bit like that right now. Perhaps I’m just down because it’s the end of a week with lots of disappointing news. The people […]

  • Congratulations to John Key

    New Zealand’s centre-right National party won by a landslide last night granting a third term to John Key. This is apparently an unprecedented result because often support starts to wane for a leader by the third term but he has more support now than in the previous election. I did not vote for him. I […]

  • What’s a country?

    We’re planning to attend the people’s climate march in Auckland tomorrow despite having lots of other things to do like an open home to prepare for. I told the kids about it this afternoon and Daniel’s response was: “How long will it take? Will I still get some Minecraft mods tomorrow?” 🙂 The recent Scottish referendum […]

  • Auckland WordCamp and “The Smell”

    I went to my very first WordCamp yesterday at Auckland’s AUT and it was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day: all the speakers were terrific, the people were incredibly friendly, and I learnt lots. It was a great turn-out with around 130 people all up. I think my talk went reasonably well. The only […]

  • WordCamp Auckland 2014

    I’m giving a talk at Auckland WordCamp later this month. Matt Mullenweg volunteered me for this when he was in Auckland recently. We were talking with the Auckland WordPress group and they expressed interest in having someone talk to them about Jetpack. So Matt said I would do it. To which I replied, “Yes, of […]

  • God loves carparks

    A church on the North Shore of Auckland is building a sparkling new church hall with a cafe. The new building is coming along nicely and will provide services for both English- and Mandarin-speaking congregations as well as hosting large funerals and weddings. You’d think the church and its community would be very excited about […]

  • Auckland, Minecraft, and dolphins

    Auckland, Minecraft, and dolphins

    I never thought I’d be so pleased to see Auckland but I was very happy when my plane landed here yesterday. I had a really great time in Hawaii but Elizabeth struggled while I was away and so I struggled as a result. Daniel was fine though. He thinks my new job is wonderful because […]

  • Life before kids…or not

    My mother-in-law is currently staying with us so Ben and I took advantage of her offer to babysit and go out for dinner child-free. This is the first time we’ve done this in more than seven years. I kid you not. We went to Takapuna and left early so that we could walk along the beach before […]

  • Browns Bay, Auckland

    Today we took Dad to Browns Bay, a beach suburb on Auckland’s North Shore. Once upon a time it was a summer holiday destination for Aucklanders wanting to get away from the city, but as the city expanded geographically, it engulfed this pocket and turned it into another suburb of Auckland. Now it’s very popular […]

  • Auckland’s Sky Tower

    I thought I should give Dad a break from doing chores around our house so today we took him to the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower, a 328m structure in central Auckland. It took two years and nine months to build and cost NZ$85 million. There are some impressive views from the top, a couple of […]

  • Cycling in Auckland part 2

    Cycling on the footpath sucks. It really does. I’ve just returned from cycling Elizabeth to kindergarten and I’ve started cycling on the road for parts of the trip now. In fact, when I’m on my own cycling home I use the road almost the whole way. Why? Because the footpath is difficult to navigate. It’s […]

  • Cycling in Auckland

    Today is a great day. For the first time ever, I was a commuter cyclist in Auckland. I finally overcame my fear and cycled Elizabeth to kindergarten, a round trip of about 8km. It was hot! But it was a good ride, easier than I was expecting and no lives were lost. Auckland is very hilly […]

  • Roads, traffic and Braess’s paradox

    I understand that we all have differing ideas about what we find beautiful and pleasing to the eye, but is there anyone who would choose the first photograph below over the second? The two photos are before and after pics from the Cheonggyecheon Stream restoration project in Seoul, South Korea. The concrete highways were built […]

  • LOOK: a pic of me in a bikini!

    Don’t be daft! As if I’d post a photograph of myself in a bikini on the web for all to see. I just wanted to see how many perverts there are out there and whether my stats increase with this title. We did go to the beach today though – to Takapuna beach – where […]

  • Phones calls, traffic, the bridge and beards

    Daniel, who is 7 years old, got his first phone call the other day. I answered the phone and heard a young boy politely introduce himself and then ask to speak to Daniel. Completely stunned, I handed the phone to Daniel who was just as surprised as I was and then I heard them discuss […]

  • I have an announcement to make

    I have great news which I’m finally allowed to blog about. Some of you may have observed that in the last week or so my mood has improved. But then, maybe this isn’t so noticeable. I’m not sure. Anyway, here’s my news: I am delighted to report that we have a ticket out of the […]

  • First bike ride in Auckland

    I rode my bicycle today for the first time since arriving back in Auckland. Here is my Auckland bicycle: It was very strange riding a regular bicycle again. It’s not true what they say, that you never forget how to ride a bike, because I was very wobbly and unsure of myself. The handlebars are […]

  • I am a fraud!

    This evening I officially became a New Zealand citizen. I know what you’re thinking: she hates the place, why would she apply for citizenship? Yes, it’s all true. I don’t want to live here and yet I applied and was granted New Zealand citizenship so this is why I am a fraud. But I have […]

  • Running

    I am hobbling around like an 80-year-old today. The reason for this is that I’ve started running. I hate running but it’s exercise and I no longer have Busby for that. But because I am not used to running I have sore muscles. My calves are sore, my hamstrings are sore and my thighs are […]

  • An open letter to Gerry Brownlee

    We will be leaving the UK at the end of this month and so I have started to think about what my life will be like back in Auckland. The biggest change will be the shift from a commuter-cycling lifestyle here over to a car-dependent one in Auckland. But does it have to be this […]