There seems to be no end to high-publicity sporting events. Right now I’d say for most of you this would currently mean March Madness. Down here no one knows or cares about the NCAA tournament, but the Commonwealth Games have just started so that’s taking over where the Olympics left off (not that the kiwis seemed too interested in the winter games either). And then there’s cricket, which runs in the summer here and is still going on, or so I glean from the occasional news report. But even that’s a distant second to, of course, rugby.
This is a one sport country from what I can tell. People schedule their weekends around upcoming rugby matches, the media blasts ads for matches constantly, and the in-depth sports news seems nearly devoted to rugby. I’ve been watching the games and find them reasonably entertaining, as did I cricket. In the Commonwealth Games they play Rugby Sevens which is the same game with half the guys and crammed into less than 20 minutes. I watched the finals last night and to no one’s surprise the Kiwis won gold. Actually, the commentators tried to create surprise, because despite NZ being ranked #1 they somehow were portrayed as going to Melbourne as underdogs, eeking out a win. It was weird. And since TVNZ just picks up the Aussie feed as-is, there was outrage that the post-win Haka (a Maori war dance that NZ Rugby annexed) wasn’t aired. It’s a pretty cool dance but I’ve already seen it 5000 times since I’ve been here so I wasn’t too put out. Then came arguments why Rugby Sevens should be in the Olympics. Enough already! Yes NZ kicks ass at rugby, yes it’s popular here, but exporting it beyond the League of Nations Who Care About Rubgy seems futile. I heard NZ beat Japan roughly 150-0 once. Fun!! Watching the Dream Team was fun once too, until the last Olympics when it was more fun to root against their arrogance.
There is one international forum that continues to sting the Kiwis: The Rugby World Cup. They haven’t won since the first contest in 1987 (ouch!). This despite doing well against the same core strong rugby nations in all the other international tournaments. (For a taste of what the Olympics would be like, take a look at some of the World Cup scores between the strong vs. other: NZ-Tonga 91-7, England-Uruguay 111-13, NZ-Italy 101-3.)
What I’m most interested in now: that I still have 187 points possible in my March Madness bracket.
I finally got around to getting a Flickr Pro account and have uploaded a couple of picture sets. Check out the home page, or jump directly to Akaroa or Marlborough/Nelson sets. I only wish I had enough time to photograph and upload the 2GB/month limit Flickr allows 🙂 Enjoy.
In the last few weeks Angela made it back from India fine, our stuff arrived here, and we’ve been juggling work and homemaking. Aside from being busy, there hasn’t been a lot of terribly interesting NZ material to report. That changed after our 4-day weekend to Nelson which I’ll write up soon, complete with photographs. In short it was a great trip. Stay tuned…
Christchurch has rightfully earned the title, “The Garden City”. In addition to its exceptional botanic gardens, the city has abundant parks and is dotted with decorative flower beds. Private lots are also much more floral than your average American yard. These photos were taken while driving (slowly) around our neighborhood.
If you like The Beatles “Abbey Road” and/or flawless juggling, don’t miss this.
I don’t mind reasonable taxes, and I don’t mind taxes that influence responsible behavior. Taxes on cigarettes are good, a gas tax is good, and a waste tax is good. In Christchurch, the recycling is free and comprehensive as it should be, but an added incentive is the mandatory use of special Christchurch City Council garbage bags for general waste. The bags are available everywhere but are clearly marked as official and do cost much more than you’d normally pay for a few mils of plastic. I received an allotment from the landlord (by law), but beyond those I have to pay. These are not big bags and quickly fill up, but it hasn’t been a problem with the liberal recycling program. Whereas I used to fill a large Rubbermaid container weekly in Peoria, I now generate about 1/4 of that amount in trash, and the rest is recycled. The reason isn’t necessarily because of the cost of garbage bags, but nonetheless I think the structure of this program is set up just right. Contrast it with Peoria where I can generate as much trash as I want but have to pay a special fee if I want to participate in recycling! I did pay that fee, but I was in the minority. On trash day in Peoria you’d see the occasional green bin out by the curb, whereas here every house has plenty out for recycling. I think it’s just plain better.
It may still be Friday in the US, but in Chennai it’s Saturday so please wish Angela a happy 30th birthday!
I spoke to her this morning and it sounds like the trip is going great. You can fill her email with eCards, and don’t forget to bug her to post some photos of India on the blog. I know she’s going on a sightseeing trip to a temple today so there should be plenty to share!
Getting used to driving on the left side of the road does not take long. For the first few days I was on high alert and the most attentive driver on the road. I was worried that I’d be in trouble after getting a little too comfortable, but to my surprise my habits have slowly just shifted over to left side driving.
But one odd rule with NZ driving that is much more difficult to get accustomed to is a backwards give-way rule. Translated into right-side convention, this rule states that when making any right turn, you have to give way to oncoming traffic turning left. At first I had all sort of problems with this and was either cutting people off or waiting unnecessarily. Then for a moment I though maybe there was some sound logic to it all, since it made both left and right turners wait on one stream of traffic. But now I’ve decided what most Kiwis have: this is a bad rule. First of all it is inefficient, and second it forces the one turning right to check their rear mirror to see if they can turn (since through traffic might block the one who’d otherwise have right of way). I’ve heard that NZ is the only country that still has this rule on the books, but there are plans to do away with it. Until then beware… if you visit and drive in NZ this is the one that will get you!
Finally, please forgive yesterday’s excessively whiny post. It was a bad day.
The blog has been silent because there’s little to report. After I arrived back in NZ, Angela and I had a brief chat, lunch, and I saw her off to India for three weeks. She made it there fine and reports that the hotel and office are quite nice. But this is all very depressing really, and by the time she returns we’ll have spent 3 of the last 10 weeks together. I’m actually glad that austerity measures might limit travel…
Solo once again, I do one of three things: work, sleep, watch movies. The bad news is that work is slowly taking over unchecked with Angela away, but the good news is that I found a decent cinema in town. Recent viewings:
My other source of amusement is the rampant can’t-take-a-jokeism spawned from some not particularly interesting cartoons. Even distant New Zealand doesn’t want to be left out of the club and
expressed worries at the highest levels about a possible dairy, wool and meat embargo by offended countries. I say, good for (or ‘good on’ around here) Christchurch’s The Press for printing the stupid things and giving me one more paragraph in an otherwise bland blog!
There seems to be no end to high-publicity sporting events. Right now I’d say for most of you this would currently mean March Madness. Down here no one knows or cares about the NCAA tournament, but the Commonwealth Games have just started so that’s taking over where the Olympics left off (not that the kiwis seemed too interested in the winter games either). And then there’s cricket, which runs in the summer here and is still going on, or so I glean from the occasional news report. But even that’s a distant second to, of course, rugby.
