Thursday, January 31, 2008

100% PURE NZ

My daily commute takes me through Victoria Station. Down at the platform on the Victoria underground line I now see 2 large advertising screens playing video footage of New Zealand. For me its a little slice of home in a big dirty grey city. Ahhhhh!!! Click on the title above to see why Kiwis are sooo proud of our country and why I love it soo much!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

OBAMA '08

Well the race is really hotting up! I am loving the contest and interest created by this years US election and it is seemingly getting more Americans interested in voting. To summarize some of my opinions I would say:
1. All the Republican candidates are what you would expect a Hollywood depiction of the American President to look like--not real but good actors and I would seriously hope none of them become the leader of the most powerful nation in the world.
2. The more Hillary Clinton speaks the less she convinces me she could rule the nation let alone deal with foreign affairs (not to mention the gender issues she would face trying to be taken seriously in places such as the Middle East where females are under complete subjugation)
3. The more Bill Clinton speaks the more he makes himself and his wife look desperate to be back in power. He also seems to make her look weak and unable to be the leader she needs to be.
4. The more Obama speaks the more you see something special. This might just be the time that come 2016 both American citizens and many others around the world could be saying we wish he could stay on for a 3rd term.
So if you are a US citizen then do the research and see why you shouldn't vote Obama!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Online at home again!

Yep today I finally got internet hooked up. Nothing is simple in this country! Business systems seem to be the cause of most of the problems. I tried to pay my phone bill online but no thats not possible, not only could I not pay it from my bank account online but I also couldn't pay it on the phone networks website even tho it said I could. Customer Services assured me it wouldnt work and she didnt know why it said online that I could! In fact paying for things seems to always be a hassle. So many places won't take card unless you spend over 5 GBP and some places just dont take card at all. They are still very reliant on cash and cheques are still widely in use it seems. On Friday our boiler quit working meaning no heat in the house and no hot water either! The earliest an engineer can get here to fix it is Tuesday!! You would think they have after hours call outs esp. in Winter but no. So we are all rugged up in our freezing cold house and will have to find somewhere for a shower before Tuesday! Went to a soccer game today with a local club. I could get a game with them next week. They don't train however so I may keep hunting for a club that trains. I would love to get involved with a semi-pro club as it seems that most others dont take training very seriously at this stage in the season. Have found a beach volleyball venue in Brighton and they want coaches so have asked me to come down and see them. They are even hosting the World Under 21 Champs in September. Meanwhile back in NZ, Anna improved again on the NZ Pro Tour with a 17th and 3 13th placings. Check her out here!