Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I get knocked down but I get up again

If you didn't already know, I am a committee member of the Central Division of the Child Cancer Foundation (remember the Lexi campaign?). I am an anomaly there, as both of my girls are healthy and have never suffered from cancer, whereas most (but not all) of the other committee members have been through some terrible experiences and are giving back time and effort to helping others.

Some of the people I have met have lost children and some have children who will forever live with the scars of this terrible disease. Some are out the other side but all are affected forever. It has made me appreciate my family and life and has opened my eyes to the great courage of children and of the power of positive attitude. I have met some truly remarkable yet staggeringly normal people - I am not sure how I would live my life should one of my children ever become so ill but these people offer friendship and hope to families going through such horrors and they give of their time and experiences with no question.

I ended up on the committee through a willingness to help and through a friendship with a man who lost a daughter many many years ago. His openness and joy at remembering his daughters short but full life inspired me. He taught me that you shouldn't ignore death and pretend that a loved one never existed but to remember them often and with love and to cherish those memories. The pain never goes away but the recollections enable you to hang onto the good things and to celebrate that persons life. That is love.

There is a fund raising event at Midland Park this Thursday lunchtime (1st Dec). It is called FunRazor and involves people simply having their heads shaved for sponsorship. A small act yet it is a poignant link to the poor kids that enter the circus of chemo and drug treatments. I am not a supporter of street collections but it is a necessary part of any charity to get in the faces of the public - like any business, you have to be seen to survive and this charity is one that ranks highly on my list of worthwhile causes. I know where the money goes and how careful they are with it (I should 'cause I chair the Finance Sub-Committee where every penny is counted and accounted for) and I know first hand how the funds help others in so many ways.

We have a wonderful lady here called Marg who is the Family Support Councillor. She works incredibly hard and is always ready to give; she recently sent me this link to a blog called Shannons' Leg - he is a young guy here in Welly who is writing a blog about his leg, chemo and what is going on in his head as he battles. Have a read and say Hi. This guy's been knocked down, but not only is he up again, he's real pissed and he's fighting! That is life met full on and death has no place here.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Normal Service Will Resume Shortly

It is 10:00pm and I have just sat down with a cup of tea. I have been working flat out these last two weeks and I have just stopped for the night, ready for 7:00am tomorrow, when the circus of life begins again. I have neglected my family but things will be back to normal by next weekend. Mrs R and the Rlettes are off to Nelson this weekend for a nice break with the Grandparents and some guaranteed sunshine. They will have a nice break away from the terse and moody Mr R and they deserve a holiday.....

Sunday, November 13, 2005

What is it about feet?

Ever since I posted that piece about Hooters coming to New Zealand, my web stats have gone crazy. I am constantly amazed by the things that people are looking for. Most of the searches are for "Hooters Outfits", but a close second is "Hooters Pantyhose". Weird, here are the rest of the top searches, in order:

hooters girls' feet - They must be very special tootsies
hooters girl feet - very
hooters girls pantyhose feet - very special
hooters girl pantyhose - tootsies
hooters birthday cake - nipple anyone?
pantyhose for hooters restaurant - would have to be a big pair to fit a whole restaurant

ms. hooters 2005 - Oh, the honour.
hooters employee of the month - You make your Daddy proud, Ricki-Lee. Who's your Daddy?
hooters employee handbook - Ah, a positive hit as the post was called this exact name
rate a hooter girl - why?
hooters, girl of the month march 2005 - Very specific, me thinks it was she that was searching

guys in hooters outfits - Ewww, don't try this at home kids
girls of hooters, showing pantyhose - OooKkkay.

do hooters girls take test - My favourite.

Some people are very specific in what they are after. I present the "I've just gotta know" list:

ballet tights slippers sex, how - what size slippers?
how many people work in the car salesman field - None of them, boom boom
silver spandex kylie minogue - Grrrrrr, yummy
pantyhose sex business - Is there one? Wow.
butt bunnies - Watership Down?
how to get your wife to wear pantyhose - Try asking, pal.
what makes a sewage smell come out of your drains - I believe, and I could be wrong but stay with me, that it is the sewage, down your drains
daisy dukes with pantyhose - Good idea, might try this one myself
sex sells defense - Really?


I expect this list will only add fuel to the fire!

Sunday, November 06, 2005

My kingdom for a chair...

Found it! At last, after much searching I have found the perfect chair. There were a few false starts, and a lot of polite "no thanks" as many different sales people tried to steer me into their idea of the perfect chair, but today, Eureka.

A work colleague suggest 5thAvenue but I looked on-line and couldn't see anything that did it for me. Nonetheless, she is famous for her ability to shop and pick style (ask alan, who was introduced to this by the same person) and so I ventured in and there it was.

There are many things you want from a chair. Comfort is of course one, but you don't want to sacrifice style for the sake of softness. The trick is finding both - I sat in many chairs that looked great but just didn't cut it in the butt hugging stakes. I tried loungers, big armchairs, sofas, strange hybrid chair bed things, but nothing had captivated me. Yet here in front of me was a range of stunning looking loungers but the big question was would they be as comfortable as they looked?

I tried the first one. Nice.

I tried the second one. Oooh baby.

I tried the third one. Hallelujah, I heard angels as my butt was hugged by quality leather (not something that happens everyday.....) The Stressless range from Ekornes - those clever Norwegians - the Mayfair or Dream chairs, nice.

The downside? A price tag of over $3,500.....Still you only live once and so my Trademe account is about to pop its cherry. Roll-up roll-up, one kidney for sale, hardly used.....

Oooh, Ahhhhhh


November 2005 125
Originally uploaded by Mr Reasonable.

What a great night we had. The main fireworks were great but what made it for us was the hundreds of mini-displays all over the waterfront from Te Papa right around to the point. The whole of Mount Vic was ablaze and it was impossible to know where the next barrage was going to be.

The highlight of the night? It has to be the dozens of boats that raced across the calm waters of the harbour once everything was over. It was full dark again and all that you could see were the navigation lights as they powered their way from Welly across to Eastbourne or Petone.