Just when it was almost late again...

LOCAL NEWS Another National MP has resigned, an electorate one, forcing a by-election. This guy was offered a job he couldn’t refuse. The party should have to pay for the cost of replacement. Barack Obama is in New Zealand. We never get rock stars until they are past it has-beens. The first man (Mrs Jacinda) is now a Guide Dogs ambassador. Apparently some employers are hiring only non-smokers. I don’t blame them. You may not be able to ask, but non-smokers often say so on their CV anyway. It was Pasifika on Saturday, so it rained, but it actually stopped pretty quickly. Then it rained again. The Tuvalu stage show had zero people watching it and five swans not even watching the stage. A police search and rescue training exercise resulted in them finding a body, seems the training worked better than expected. A motel owner is in trouble for his sign which also says “Welcome to Turangi” and gives directions. The directions are correct and it’s in an appropriate place on the edge of Turangi (not Picton). Jacinda met Ed Sheeran. He’s been doing concerts. Jacinda met Lulu, a guide dog puppy we know, in Pt Chev, as did Mrs Jacinda. Lulu didn’t even come see us. A very big chunk of road washed out on state highway 1 in the far north, the good thing was it was very far north, beyond Kaitaia, so the impact is reasonably limited. The gap in the road was 5 metres deep and maybe 10 metres long, even the Dukes of Hazzard couldn’t jump that. WORLD NEWS A study has decided that self-employed people are happier and more engaged, despite working longer hours and having less job security. No surprises, except I call bullshit on the job security question. They avoid being the victim of corporate reorganisation and politics. Someone reckoned a million pounds of rat meat is being sold in the US as boneless chicken wings. Chicken wings are not even meat. It’s kind of funny, and very reminiscent of the story in King Rat. William Shatner turned 87 this week. Some Islamic guy went silly with a gun in a French supermarket. It didn’t end well. So there was some fuss about facebook and privacy and data and so on, people rage quit, etc. It’s not like I put my bank account number on there, I don’t even have my birthday. MY SAD LIFE The teachers had a stop work meeting on Tuesday, so I picked the brats up from school. We started work on a lego version of the Saturn V rocket, which I just happened to have lying around (an accident with a mouse and a credit card). Of course I had to show the twins photos of the real one I saw in Houston, which was in 2012, which seems like a long time ago now. Hannah had a minor power emergency on Wednesday morning, which was readily sorted, Diana dropped some replacement units off. Then I had a money emergency (left my wallet in the wrong magic pants) so I had to borrow money from Hannah so I could coffee. We met another working guide dog this week, recently placed with a local Point Chev resident, his name is Loyal and he is from the same litter as Leo and Lily. Maddie had a big Thursday with the other guide dog puppies. There were 12 black labs and the three golden retrievers. It was mayhem, Then on Friday I took Maddie to Spark for Guide Dog fundraising, we were ferried with two Spark people up to Airedale St, and we went through about six floors in two buildings, including the floors where two of the teams I work with are based, which was nice. I reckon Maddie got patted by well over a hundred people, and she was pretty much knackered by the time we got home about 1:30pm. Koos had his birthday on Saturday. We saw him for a damp dinner then he went to a damp concert with a guy from work. Anna returned home on Friday I think after swanning off on the east coast of the US, and it hadn’t gone all Lord of the Flies with Jono in charge back at base (so I lost money on that bet). We saw Rory again on Saturday, with Hannah J, he got Diana a new phone. It seems to be going okay but selecting a suitable ringtone is problematic. No Bambi walk this week, he’s been in Melbourne for the F1. I am on a quest today to find a place for cubs to sleep for him, it’s a long story. Sammy did a competition in the weekend and got a number of reds and greens. Sarah didn’t say what the competition was actually in, so in my head it was for yak yodelling. I also have no idea what green or red means, and given Sammy told me that green means stop and red means go, if you are eating a tomato, I am basically bereft of all clues. I really should have asked for clarification this morning when I bumped in to them. We popped in to see the Goodins at the beta-house and we wandered down the road for an early lunch on Sunday morning, beforehand we did Big King with Maddie and it was exceedingly pleasant and quite quiet due to the earlier rain. Some confused Mormons where there trying to recruit, dyslexics I think, it’s a dog park, not a god park. Hannah and Allister popped in last night and had dinner with us, as did Koos. I have now done la Francais for 30 days in a row. I sometimes listen to French audio in the car, aussi. I think it is best to describe my progress as steady and modest. I tried to watch a movie in Francais without English subtitles and it was hopeless, I am a very long way off that, and uncertain I will ever be close. I will try to find French movies with English subtitles but even that could be a struggle. Easter this weekend means a relaxing of beach rules for dogs and daylight saving ends. Could be tricky with the dog sleeps. Check out http://retrolens.nz for a look at old aerial photos of New Zealand, it’s pretty cool. Anyway, now seems like a good time to hit send.