Sunday, May 08, 2005

Funky Welly

God, I love my kids, Miss R and Little Miss R. Their individual nature and innocent observations of the world about them amaze and delight Mrs R and me.

I love my wife too. Regular visitors to this Blog will know that she is a cool person with a great chunk of common sense and the person that keeps me sane.

I also love Wellington. It has to be the greatest little city on the planet filled with neat people, great cafes and soooo much to do. Despite the hellish last 3 years since we got here, I cannot imagine living anywhere else. Anyone who has read our terrible story and who is put off from living here, you have misunderstood. There is nowhere else I would rather live, and nowhere else I would want to bring up my kids.

Disasters are not the result of one-off events; they are simply a collection of unrelated little cock-ups that when taken in isolation are irrelevant. Whether it be a car accident or shutting a door on your foot, there are usually 3 or so factors that conspire to bring about the catastrophe, each one leading into the next. With us, it was being in a Real Estate Office at the wrong time, meeting two guys we wish we'd never met, and the rest, as they say, is history. We only lost money, and there is more to life than that. We still have a family and are more fortunate than others.

Wellington is a city mostly packed full of great people and I have been fortunate to bump into more good ones than bad ones. Honest. Some are just nice people and some have achieved incredible things. It never ceases to amaze me how such a small country produces such talent that competes with the world in so many ways (although the upcoming Lions Tour might challenge that a bit!).

Take, for example, the diminutive Melissa Moon. You often see her floating above the pavement as she flys along the waterfront or up some ridiculous hill about town. She is an amazing athlete and has achieved so much yet is so straightforward and content. Another is a guy called Duane Kale who is a normal bloke but an inspiration to so many. I doubt many of you will have heard of him but he has 6 Olympic medals from the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, four of them gold and he is about as matter-of-fact as you could imagine. I am in awe of such people that lead and inspire.

Ordinary people, extraordinary achievements.
Ordinary Wellingtonians, extraordinary Kiwis.

I am hopeful that my girls will one day look upon the view below and say, "Wow, what a city. I am proud to be a Kiwi and proud to be a Wellingtonian".

Meanwhile, I am content to be a new Kiwi and still grappling with my team selection for June. By the next World Cup, I will have made the transition I am sure. If not, there could be some serious trouble in this house and I am outnumbered 3 to 1; even the great Jonah would want to avoid that battle.

12 comments:

  1. Bet the view ain't looking like that today...

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  3. You ain't wrong!
    I could be done under the trades descriptions act...
    All we see today is the mist on the inside as the water runs down the glass. Can't work out why double glazing is not big here!

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  4. Lovely. I haven't had half so much crap thrown at me since I've been here and I moan much more.

    But, as we know, on our death bed we don't think:
    God, I'm glad I brought that house (whatever)
    We think:
    God, I'm lucky to have been loved.

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  5. cm: You are as wise as you are funny. Interesting that you have moved here from the UK and lived in Africa. 'tis a small world as I was born in the UK, grew up in Nairobi and Malawi, lived near Brighton (Miss R was born in Worthing). Mrs R and I might just have walked past you on the sea front or ASDA!

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  6. Don't ber too sure about the 'transistion' from Lions supporter to All Black. I've been here (or this side of the world at least) for coming up to 10 years and whilst I am avid AB supporter I still find it hard to cheer them on when they play Wales.

    Anyone beating England is always to be applauded.

    So for the Lions ... well, it's English run so it's the AB's all the way for me :-)

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  7. Small world huh?
    My best to you and yours.

    PS: Not wise (hyserical laughter) sometimes funny..

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  8. PS (shallow comment)

    I went to Waitrose - I had money then...

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  9. Ahh, what I wouldn't give for a Waitrose off the Lower Hutt Road. Just next to a nice Ikea would be handy too.

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  10. I think I still have about 400 little candles somewhere - not sure when the hell I'll use them but at 9.99 you never know....

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  11. Oh, Wellington... *SIGH*

    One day I'm going to live there again.

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