Lotto Week

Well I'm just an hour out of Invercargill (Gore) and I forget my phone leaving it in the first car I get a ride from. Then I leave my jacket in the coat check at the club because they claim not to have my bag ...... luckily the guy I hitched a ride with turned out to live just round the corner and the club was open for cleaning (or was it the bar manager's lunch?) Sunday afternoon?

Sooo..... I'm still losing stuff but at least my lucks improved and that's why I'm getting a Lotto ticket this week.

I'm off

K, all well I'm off today, hitching to Dunedin, will be in Christchurch Monday night and Picton by Thursday night, will figure the rest of the details out on the way.

Changing blog

You may notice the format of my blog has changed e.g. there's these annoying purple, rotating bullet points in the right hand panel. Don't worry I'm just playing around with the format and it will get prettier with time (tho I'm really not an artist!). If you have any ideas for replacement bullet points just email them to me (jpeg or gif files) , I'd be very grateful.

Also, I've added game (3rd panel down, right sidebar) to help wile away those office hours. Really it's kinda fun, just click on the six coloured buttons and try and get the whole box to go the same colour. ...You'll see how it works. If not I'll add Pacman (add your vote in the comments).

Finally, I'm also adding my hero of day, Jimmy Carter, the only prominent U.S political figure brave enough to say in America what the rest of the world already knows about the occupation of the Palestinians . He's recently published a book called "Peace not Apartheid". He's also one of the few (maybe only) U.S presidents that has contributed (overall) to peace in the Middle-East when he negotiated a treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Perfect weather for a warm, flat pint in a cozy pub

Hope everyone is surviving the terrible weather in the UK. Remember it's all downhill from here it'll be spring before you know it .... and if I'm lucky there'll be some summer here.

Catch ups (Waitangi Day in Wellington)

Hey all, will be moving around for the next few weeks. My plans are below, if your in the region and want to catch up for a beer then please get in touch. I've already arranged to catch up with a few in Wellington but the more the merrier. Cheers Dan

• Now - Jan 26 :Invercargill
• 26 Jan - 28 Jan :Dunedin (Planning maybe a picnic and night out Sat)
• 29 Jan - 1 Feb :Hitching etc up to Picton
• 2nd Feb - 6 Feb :Wellington (going to One Love concert on 6 Feb)
• 7 Feb - onwards :Arriving in Christchurch and will start looking for a flat

Regonal Delicacies

There are many good things about being home Jimmy's is one!

My old workmates make the Tabloids!

I'm only marginally interested in workplace gossip but when my old co-workers make the pages of one of London's most widely read newspapers, it kinda catches your eye.

You see this afternoon I received a parcel of copies of the Metro (free on the tube) and The Sun (ye ol traditional Tabloid) from my good friends Gav and Anna (Thanks Guys!!) . For the uninitiated London produces 3 good newspapers The Times, The Guardian and The Independent the rest are of a more easy reading variety providing a trashy distraction while trying to ignore the crazy people on the tube or waiting on your order at the local greasy spoon. On a more practical note these publications also provide casual non-political conversation topics to share with friends, co-workers and strangers of all backgrounds after you've finished discussing the weather.

So I'm flicking through the Metro and low and behold, on page 20 of a Friday edition is an article on two of my old co-workers! The article in brief is: guy suggests marriage to girl, girl celebrates returning to guys couch to sleep, guy comes in later with 3rd party whom he attempts to seduce, on not receiving an apology girl sends an email to 24 of her nearest and dearest. Clearly, the email was well written because it managed to circulate not only Westminster but also City Hall and the House of Commons.

Surprisingly, apart from the obvious lessons, i.e don't cheat and don't email in anger (although I guess Tamsin won't be completely disappointed in the result), there is another lesson on critical reading of the media. Because of course this is hardly news at all not even for the Metro. The truth is that Westminster Parking is a favorite target for the Metro (and "Evening Standard" owned by the same people) and the baddy in the article used to work in PR for Parking and so, I'm guessing was not their favorite person.

.... Still one of those days you wish you were in the office (or the Metro's office), now I miss London.

NYE and secular lent

Yah it's a New Year. Here's a picture of my brother, me and the friendly security guard on NYE. This has got to be bouncers at their best.

Random highlights of 2006: My brother got engaged, my mate Clint got engaged, The Green Wing

NYE Resolution: Never been one for New Years resolutions and this year is no different. Instead I'm recognizing NY's resolutions for what they are, a period of time where you give up something you enjoy (and which is possibly not good for you) for a finite period of time... A kind of lent for non-catholics. So I'm giving up coffee.... for awhile , well at least while there's only tea in the house.

NYE and secular lent

Yah it's a New Year. Here's a picture of my brother, me and the friendly security guard on NYE. This has got to be bouncers at their best.

Random highlights of 2006: My brother got engaged, my mate Clint got engaged, The Green Wing

NYE Resolution: Never been one for New Years resolutions and this year is no different. Instead I'm recognizing NY's resolutions for what they are, a period of time where you give up something you enjoy (and which is possibly not good for you) for a finite period of time... A kind of lent for non-catholics. So I'm giving up coffee.... for awhile , well at least while there's only tea in the house.