Posts by Jackie Clark
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Marsden, Wgtn 77-80; Rangitoto, Ak 81. We definitely called it wagging, and I never did it - ever - primarily because I was at boarding school, and all my friends were boarders so even if we wanted to wag, we would have had nowhere to go, really. I loved school, and I didn't mind doing what I was told, because I always did so with an edge. Words like "intransigent" and "talks too much" featured hugely in my school reports. My father was furious, and tried to tell me that I shouldn't be so stubborn, and nothing good would come of it. I loved school anyway. I also loved being away from my parents - much as I loved them, I recognised early on that I wasn't going to be the most pliant of teenagers, and so familial relations were much happier when they only got me in small doses. And old matrons are pretty easy to get around, when you know how. Rangi was cool because we had a great common room, away from the rest of the school, where we could spend free time, and not a teacher to be seen. Too, too easy.
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Danielle, I now feel immensely guilty that you would have gone to Kylie in a heartbeat - because, to be frank, I admired her showpersonship, and the spectacle was fabulous but really, most of the music was techno and very, very loud. I danced, a bit. I sat, quite a lot. I tapped my foot and nodded my head. But I didn't know many of the songs. My friend, on the other hand, who said she wasn't a big fan, knew most of the words and was on her feet most of the night. So I discovered one thing, last night. That concerts, in general, are only outrageously successful, on a personal level, if you KNOW MOST OF THE SONGS. That having been said, I may very well have been the only one there who didn't. The crowd was delerious with love for her. And she, for them. Oh, and the food at Soul was divine. As usual.
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I'm not a fan or anything, but I can tell she knows how to put on a good show and if someone had given me tickets, I'd be there.
Well exactly. My dear friend wanted us to go to Stevie Wonder (she's paying) and that didn't happen - so Kylie tonight it is. Like you said, not a great fan, but as Danielle says....
Frocks! Costumes! Back-up dancers! 'Love at First Sight' (an underappreciated song of beauty)! Bopping! Spectacle!
A shame it's a school night and all, but we'll survive.
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<imagine this said in a daleky voice> Ignore Ignore Ignore
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I'm inclined to think the desire to belong, socially, is core instinctual stuff.
Well, it's all about connectedness, isn't it, this life of ours? And finding your peeps.
My fear is of the rejection I'l suffer if people discover how mangled I am within my fully functioning apparently sound and 'normal' exterior.
You'd be surprised, or maybe not, at how many internally mangled people there are around, Steven. That's the problem with the word "normal", as I see it. Everyone rushing around trying to be something they're not by trying to fit in to what they percieve is the norm.
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alas, I forget how scared most people are of being different, let alone in a way worthy of note, and how important it is to fit in. Not to mention how our popular culture teaches us to catastrophise and demonise anything out of the ordinary.
I first heard you talk, Philip, quite a number of years ago when I was at (the then) ACE training to be a kindergarten teacher. I believe you had a friend who was a tutor in ECE. Anyway, I seem to remember that you talked of the common room for "special needs" students at your school, and the advantages and disadvantages of such a place, and you talked about the politics of the "disabled". You were funny, engaging, articulate, and, best of all, acerbic. And you impressed me greatly. I had always thought of myself as being egalitarian, but you made me question that. Because, it turns out, as long as a person could communicate with me verbally, I was fine. However, if a person was nonverbal in their communication, and if that communication took some time, I was a lot less willing to engage. There was a guy in the cafe at ACE, one day, having difficuty with his drink. I stopped to help him, and he wanted to talk. He used a speech board. And I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Since then, I've taught many children, some of whom were clients of GSE, some of Ohomairangi - and I thought alot about that guy at ACE who only wanted to talk. Made me a better teacher, that's for sure. So thanks, Philip. In the ECE world, there's a lot of talk of being reflective practitioners, and you certainly were a part of me taking stock of a few of my attitudes.
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One of the things I most enjoy about your writing, David, is how evocatively you do so. Mind you, with Bob the Baby in tow, you do have some excellent material!
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Haydn, you just wrote a very long post about mens' clothes. Just thought you should know.
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Congratulations, Emma, on your Civil Universe. It was my wedding anniversary the other day - 16 years. I hadn't wanted to get married, really. My mother always advised against it, and everyone in my family just lived together, so it was considered rather quaint at the time. We didn't have any fluff or frills, just a nice party on a sunny day, so I am glad for that. I am gladder, however, that all these years later I love him far more than when I married him. And that's the point, I guess. Whether it's marriage, civil union, or a de facto relationship - it's nice to love the one you're with.
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I have not an original thought in my head on this lovely day, so I nominate roflnui because it beautifully transects our indigenous language and internet speak. I like Ranapian, because it is so accurate. (It should denote vast and singular passion for a subject, as well). All the other words are international, and seeing as after the rest of the world explodes itself, we'll be the ones to survive, I think all entries should be local. May I also suggest that someone remove the phrase "brain drain" from our lexicon. People leaving their home country for "greener" pastures is not something that happens only in NZ, and quite frankly, I'm sick of the MSM bringing up this old chestnut year after year after year. It's lazy and pointless.