This morning I was casually scrolling through FB, as I do most mornings, and my feed was filled with posts by folks who’d lost their spouses (which isn’t unusual, since I’m in two FB groups for LGBTQ+ widows/widowers). And then I ran across the song in the video above*. “King of the Road” by Roger Miller was once one of Nigel’s go-to karaoke songs at family parties, and in my head I “saw” him singing it.
However, none of that was triggering for me. I’m well used to seeing FB posts from widows/widowers, and my memories of Nigel singing that song also make me remember why he eventually stopped singing it: The bridge is difficult to sing (LYRICS), and a bit annoyingly so. He eventually gave it up largely because of that.
Five years ago, my reactions could well have been very different—no, they definitely would’ve been different. Now, it’s all just part of me, all mooshed together, combined with everything else I am. That’s because of time.
The lesson for me is that all experiences in life, good and bad, are temporary, so we should enjoy the good ones as much as we can, and with all our might, and know that eventually the bad ones won’t hurt as as much as they did at the time. Good and bad, everything, becomes part of the totality of who we are, and with grief in particular, we grow around it and with it, not away from it, and what was once a source of searing pain can become a source of comfort—and strength.
I’m better in every possible way because of my life with Nigel, and he and the life we shared are still a source of strength for me. Sure, sometimes I feel sad, and sometimes thinking about my loss brings tears, something I expect will be true for the rest of my life. But most of the time it just makes me glad to have loved someone and been loved by him enough to sometimes feel sad about losing him—and that now, far more often than not, that gladness makes me smile and even feel happy, not sad.
Seeing others share their pain reminds me of all that, and so does a very specific reminder of something about Nigel at family karaoke. Five years ago, this song could’ve made me cry at the memory of Nigel always singing it. Now, I’m more likely to remember how that bridge frustrated him. Because, for me, remembering the totality of who a lost loved one was is always better than remembering only the pain of having lost them. Time, you see, eventually becomes our ally.
*The YouTube video up top is very similar to the version I saw on Facebook, especially the fact that the original audio was replaced with, it seems, the album version so it had better audio. I had my doubts about whether this video will remain on YouTube long term, which is why I almost didn’t include it. However, it’s at least a moving video (for now?) and that I decided that makes it worthy of sharing.
This post is based on what I posted on my personal Facebook this morning, with a few modifications, including links within the post, and finding a different video to include.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Good things, too
When this year began, I knew it would be challenging for me because of several significant anniversaries over the year. However, not all of them have been negative, and today is one of the better ones.
Five years ago today, my contract to purchase my house went unconditional , and that meant that I’d officially bought the house. That was eleven and a half weeks after Nigel died, and even then it was obvious it was the most important step in building whatever my life would become.
Some things changed before settlement, when I got the keys, starting with the date. Originally, settlement was to be on January 24, which was the anniversary of the civil union ceremony in 2009. Because the house was newly built, the settlement date was originally set to allow time for Hamilton City Council to do the final inspection and issue what’s called a “code compliance certificate” (CCC), which means everything complies with code. The CCC must be issued before a house can be sold.
The CCC came in a little earlier than expected, so I asked to move up the settlement date, and the builder agreed. To be honest, I didn’t need to get into the house earlier, I wanted to.
I was impatient to get to Hamilton to be around family, and getting the house earlier gave me time to get it ready: I had a heat pump installed in my bedroom and data cabling throughout the house. I also met with the company that did the window coverings, something I knew would take several weeks. I got the keys on January 10, 2021.
A couple weeks earlier, I contacted a moving company to move me to Hamilton, and with a professional house staging company to stage the house to help sell it. The move out was on my birthday, and the move in was the following day. And that was the point where my Hamilton adventure began.
Meanwhile, the house I’d moved out of sold some weeks later, and I signed the paperwork to complete the sale on March 19. Settlement for that house was the next day, March 20—six months to the day since Nigel died. The following Wednesday, New Zealand went under the first Covid lockdown, and the very reason I moved to Hamilton—to be able to get together with family—was taken away from me. I wasn’t actually upset about that, though, because that first Lockdown was new and interesting, and, anyway, I had plenty to do around the house.
Next month, then, will mark five years that I’ve been living in this house. And that’s a significant and good one, too. Good things happen all the time, too, after all.
Five years ago today, my contract to purchase my house went unconditional , and that meant that I’d officially bought the house. That was eleven and a half weeks after Nigel died, and even then it was obvious it was the most important step in building whatever my life would become.
Some things changed before settlement, when I got the keys, starting with the date. Originally, settlement was to be on January 24, which was the anniversary of the civil union ceremony in 2009. Because the house was newly built, the settlement date was originally set to allow time for Hamilton City Council to do the final inspection and issue what’s called a “code compliance certificate” (CCC), which means everything complies with code. The CCC must be issued before a house can be sold.
The CCC came in a little earlier than expected, so I asked to move up the settlement date, and the builder agreed. To be honest, I didn’t need to get into the house earlier, I wanted to.
I was impatient to get to Hamilton to be around family, and getting the house earlier gave me time to get it ready: I had a heat pump installed in my bedroom and data cabling throughout the house. I also met with the company that did the window coverings, something I knew would take several weeks. I got the keys on January 10, 2021.
A couple weeks earlier, I contacted a moving company to move me to Hamilton, and with a professional house staging company to stage the house to help sell it. The move out was on my birthday, and the move in was the following day. And that was the point where my Hamilton adventure began.
Meanwhile, the house I’d moved out of sold some weeks later, and I signed the paperwork to complete the sale on March 19. Settlement for that house was the next day, March 20—six months to the day since Nigel died. The following Wednesday, New Zealand went under the first Covid lockdown, and the very reason I moved to Hamilton—to be able to get together with family—was taken away from me. I wasn’t actually upset about that, though, because that first Lockdown was new and interesting, and, anyway, I had plenty to do around the house.
Next month, then, will mark five years that I’ve been living in this house. And that’s a significant and good one, too. Good things happen all the time, too, after all.
Monday, December 09, 2024
Dipping into snack knowledge
On Wednesday of last week, one of my errands was to pick up some things from the Woolworths supermarket near The Base, something I mentioned in a post a couple days later. As I was making my way through the shop, I noticed the display in the photo above. I shared the photo on my personal Facebook once I got home and sarcastically wrote, “Does this Woolworths have enough Kiwi Onion Dip ingredients to last until Christmas? [Of course not!] 😁”.
This was essentially a joke for my fellow Kiwis because we all know how “Kiwi Onion Dip” is often a staple at family gatherings, especially at Christmas. And, we also know that supermarkets often run out before Christmas. Obviously my American friends and whānau weren’t in on the joke, though they had little trouble with my joking comment, “I love how some customer left a random bag of chips on the display, like a real-life 'serving suggestion' photo.”
This issue was, as so often happens, cultural differences, but the discussions in the comments over the following couple days ended up leading me to educate myself about something I thought I knew well: Kiwi Onion Dip.
The dip was created by Rosemary Dempsey sometime in the 1950s or 60s in Nestle’s Test Kitchen in New Zealand. They wanted to combine Nestle products to boost sales, and both of the main ingredients were just those sorts of products. The OG recipe is on Nestle’s Maggi website, but it’s only got three ingredients: One 250ml can of Nestle Reduced Cream combined with one packet of Maggi Onion Soup mix, and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and put in the fridge to set (even the night before the party).
My variation on the dip is to use white vinegar (around one teaspoon) because it has no real flavour of its own, but still helps reduce the fatty feel like the lemon juice does. I got the idea from the Maggi soup packet itself, which suggests using lemon juice or vinegar. I also add a bit of garlic powder (just because) and a little bit of sugar because the dip, particularly when combined with potato chips, can be very salty, and the sugar helps that a bit.
That sets the stage, but the discussion also included mentions of Americans’ French Onion Dip, and exactly how fatty the reduced cream is.
The dip Americans call French Onion Dip, and basically uses dehydrated French onion soup mix (where the name comes from) mixed with sour cream. Developed by Lipton, it was original known as “Lipton California Dip”. The two main ingredients, though, are a creamy refrigerated dairy product combined with the dry soup mix, which is what makes it so similar to Kiwi Onion Dip. But that’s really all the similarity there is.
Sour cream is a chilled dairy product, while reduced cream is a manufactured product that can be kept at room temperature (what the supermarket industry calls “shelf stable”, though that name isn’t really used in New Zealand). The two soup mixes are quite different, too.
Because of the differences in the ingredients, French Onion Dip and Kiwi Onion Dip don’t taste very similar, which is probably no surprise. I can attest to that having made both dips in their respective homelands.
As we discussed these dips more, I began to wonder about fat content, so I looked it up: Reduced cream (sometimes apparently called “light cream” in the USA) has the same amount of fat by weight (around 21%) as sour cream sold in New Zealand. However, reduced cream has around 38% less fat than actual thickened cream (overseas, actual thickened cream is called heavy cream or heavy whipping cream). Butter in New Zealand is around 81% fat, give or take, by weight.
The nutritional profiles of the two dry soup mixes will vary depending on what soup mix is used, but it’s probably safe to assume they’re high in sodium (the New Zealand versions are). But, then, “chip and dip” is supposed to be a treat, not a main part of anyone’s diet.
The Nestle brand of reduced cream is made in Mexico (a fact I’d forgotten), and so is the Woolworths own-brand version. The Woolworths version is slightly higher in fat than the Nestle version, and the two name-brand sour creams made in New Zealand have a similarly slight difference in fat content. Maggi’s Onion Soup mix is “proudly blended in New Zealand from local and imported ingredients”. Whenever I see that sort of statement on a supermarket product, I always assume that the product is mainly overseas ingredients, with perhaps only the packaging made in New Zealand. It’s hard not to be cynical about corporations these days.
There are some name-brand refrigerated onion dips in New Zealand, but none of them are similar to either the American dip or the New Zealand one. There’s an imported refrigerated “French onion” dip made in Australia, which is at a higher price point than most NZ-made refrigerated dips.
At this point, I realised that my dip into snack food isn’t over quite yet.
Nestle’s Maggi brand includes a “French Onion Soup” mix, and the back of the packet uses the same instructions for making it into dip as for our traditional Kiwi Onion Dip. However, I’m curious how that soup mix combined with sour cream would taste, so this summer I intend to make some to find out. Will it be like what I used to make when I lived in the USA? Or, will it be a bowl of yuck? Stay tuned.
Right now, though, you’ll have to excuse me. For some reason, I’m quite hungry.
Important Note: The names of brands/products/companies listed in this post are all registered trademarks, and are used here for purposes of description and clarity. No company or entity provided any support or payment for this blog post, and all products were purchased by me at normal consumer prices. So, the opinions I expressed are my own genuinely held opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of manufacturers, retailers, or any known human being, alive or dead, real or corporate. Just so we’re clear.
Sunday, December 08, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 18
This week forty years ago, on December 8, 1984, a new song went to Number One, and became the penultimate chart topper of the year. That new Number One was ”Out of Touch” (video above) by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates (generally known colloquially as “Hall and Oates”, though the duo preferred the long name). The song—the duo’s last Number One in the USA—was the lead single from their twelfth studio album, Big Bam Boom. The song, which would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for two weeks, was also the duo’s fourteenth consecutive Top 40 hit in the since 1980.
This song was, of course, played on the radio a lot back in the day, so I know it well enough. However, I don’t think I ever bought any of their music directly, just on compilation CDs. There’s no particular reason for that, except that in the mid-1980s, money was often tight, and so, I only bought music that I loved, and while I liked their most of their hits well enough, it’s probably fair to say that I didn’t love their music, or, at least, not enough to buy any when I had to prioritise my purchases.
I only vaguely remembered the music video for “Out of Touch”. Maybe it was edited for TV? It’s a perfectly solid music video for the time, and one of the sort that people can merely listen to rather than watch. As so many were in those days.
Clearly, I wasn’t exactly a super-fan of the group, but neither did I hate their music. I quite liked some of their songs, wasn’t keen on others, and was indifferent to other songs. Not for the first time. Even so, I was kind of sad to find out that the two had a huge falling out last year when Oates sued Hall over selling publishing rights. They both announced that they’d never perform together again, and I’ve read that they won’t even speak to each other. Still, they’re not the first pop music act to fall apart spectacularly, and they’re unlikely to be the last.
”Out of Touch” reached Number 11 in Australia, 4 in Canada (Gold), 27 in New Zealand, 48 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Dance Club Songs” charts, and was also Number 3 on Cash Box. It didn’t receive any certification in the USA.
The album Big Bam Boom reached Number 20 in Australia, 12 in Canada (2x Platinum), 12 in New Zealand, 28 in the UK (Silver), and 5 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
The post on the final Number One of 1984 will be published on December 22, though there’s likely to be a finale post a day or two later.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024
This song was, of course, played on the radio a lot back in the day, so I know it well enough. However, I don’t think I ever bought any of their music directly, just on compilation CDs. There’s no particular reason for that, except that in the mid-1980s, money was often tight, and so, I only bought music that I loved, and while I liked their most of their hits well enough, it’s probably fair to say that I didn’t love their music, or, at least, not enough to buy any when I had to prioritise my purchases.
I only vaguely remembered the music video for “Out of Touch”. Maybe it was edited for TV? It’s a perfectly solid music video for the time, and one of the sort that people can merely listen to rather than watch. As so many were in those days.
Clearly, I wasn’t exactly a super-fan of the group, but neither did I hate their music. I quite liked some of their songs, wasn’t keen on others, and was indifferent to other songs. Not for the first time. Even so, I was kind of sad to find out that the two had a huge falling out last year when Oates sued Hall over selling publishing rights. They both announced that they’d never perform together again, and I’ve read that they won’t even speak to each other. Still, they’re not the first pop music act to fall apart spectacularly, and they’re unlikely to be the last.
”Out of Touch” reached Number 11 in Australia, 4 in Canada (Gold), 27 in New Zealand, 48 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Dance Club Songs” charts, and was also Number 3 on Cash Box. It didn’t receive any certification in the USA.
The album Big Bam Boom reached Number 20 in Australia, 12 in Canada (2x Platinum), 12 in New Zealand, 28 in the UK (Silver), and 5 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
The post on the final Number One of 1984 will be published on December 22, though there’s likely to be a finale post a day or two later.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024
Saturday, December 07, 2024
2024 New Zealand Christmas TV Ads
New Zealand's Christmas TV advertising has been a bit odd this year. The first one I saw (Number 1 below) was aired on or about October 25—around a week before Halloween. That sort of early start to Christmas TV ads isn’t unusual—for example, the first ad I saw last year also started airing before Halloween. I still think that’s far too early for any Christmas ads, however, the economy’s been horrible, so I expected an avalanche of Christmas ads—and then nothing happened.
Other ads started (very) slowly popping up, but there have been very few ads specifically for Christmas, and several that are (more or less…) haven’t been uploaded to YouTube, at least not yet. The key thing is that the ads must be on the company’s official website, because I learned when I made 2022’s playlist that ads that aren’t posted to official YouTube Channels are more likely be deleted (that happened to ad number 7 that year). However, even official videos can be removed or made private (as happened to Number 2 on last year’s playlist). Whenever an ad is removed/unlisted, I have to remove it from the playlist or the playback of the playlist will stop when it gets to that point, which I think is pretty dumb, actually. In any case, I just delete the removed ad from the playlist and it plays normally—and I don’t get the big black “Video unavailable” box where a video once was, as happened frequently when I used to post individual ads. Sure, playlists are a bit more work, and sometimes, like this year, posting a playlist may be delayed while I wait for ads to be posted on official YouTube channels (if they are…), but despite all that, I still think it’s the best option.
As always, I compiled this year’s Christmas ad playlist in the order that I first saw the ads on TV, and if any of the other ads posted later on, I’ll add them to the playlist and the descriptions below. And, of course, if any are deleted, I’ll update the playlist and this post.
The criteria: Ads must must be airing on New Zealand television (not merely online or on social media or whatever). Second, they have to be New Zealand companies, or companies that are connected to New Zealand. This is because international ads might be seen in many countries, though our ads aren’t necessarily seen elsewhere. Finally, as I said, the ads must be on an official YouTube Channel, not one belonging to third parties.
A warning: Just like in past years, the annotations below include spoilers, which I mention in case you want to watch the videos first. All that out of the way, here’s a bit more about the videos, all of which are, as I said, in the order I first saw them on TV:
1. “Give a Gift That Unleashes Theirs | Spark Christmas 2024” – Spark NZ. This ad is for Spark NZ, one of the largest mobile phone (etc…) companies in New Zealand. When I first saw this ad around October 25 (!), I didn’t realise it was a Christmas ad. I was making dinner, and that's a time I don’t pay close attention to ads if I see them at all: Many nights I only hear ads because I’m busy in the kitchen. I suppose I should’ve realised what it was right away, since the first scene has a woman wrapping a present, but the surreal animation (which reminded me of the work of artist Peter Max) kind of threw me off—until I actually paid attention to the ad. This ad is much more subtle than other Christmas ads from the company, but I kind of like the laid-back vibe. [Full disclosure: At the moment, I’m a Spark NZ customer.]
2. “New World Christmas 2024 - 30” – New World. This ad is one of my two favourite Christmas ads this year. New World is owned by one of two supermarket companies in New Zealand, and the only one that’s New Zealand-owned (each store is individually owned, and together they’re part of a cooperative). This year’s ad is part of their “find your wonderful” series of ads, and I think it hits all the right emotions for Christmas, and is a truly heartwarming ad. I think it works especially well because it’s not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate. It creates subtle positive vibes about New World without smacking viewers in the face with “Buy! Buy! Buy!” messaging, and this year's approach is actually more likely to make viewers feel good about shopping there because who doesn’t want to feel a connection with our loved ones? A very well done ad.
A bit of trivia: The theme song used ad series (that’s played in the background in part of the ad), is sung by a young woman who actually worked at New World and was picked when the company was looking for a singer to record the song. [Full disclosure: I shop at both New World and Australian-owned Woolworths.]
3. “Feels like Christmas at Woolworths” – Woolworths NZ. This is an ad for Australian-owned supermarket chain Woolworths (formerly called Countdown in New Zealand, but since rebranded to match the branding in Australia). This ad is part of their “Fresh food feeling” series of ads, many of which highlight New Zealand farm-grown produce sold by Woolworths, and the centring of this ad on a farm is in keeping with that, as is the shot of a Woolworths truck leaving the farm. However, the down-home wholesome family farm feeling is a slight departure for the company’s ads—and I think it’s extremely well done. The ad is cute, reinforces the other ads in the series, and in particular the “Fresh food feeling” message. Most import for a Christmas ad, it has an actual connection to the holiday, one that’s appropriate for the business Countdown is in. What I said about New World’s Christmas ad (Second on this year’s list), is equally true about this ad, that it’s “not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate.” All of which is why this is my other favourite for this year. [Full disclosure: I shop at both Woolworths and New Zealand-owned New World.]
A bit of trivia: The central North Island town of Ohakune is known colloquially as “the carrot capital of New Zealand”, and the town features a giant carrot, which, the Wikipedia article on the town says, “is reputedly the world's largest model carrot”. When I think of carrots, I really do associate them with Ohakune.
4. “Let the Magic Find You This Christmas #AirNZXmas” – Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand starts their Christmas TV advertising a little later than many others (usually somewhere around the beginning of December), and that’s fine with me! This year’s ad is more focused on the airline as an airline than some other years have been, and I think the surreal magic taking place aboard the plane is, well, magical—as a good Christmas should be. I bet “certain people” will be saying “Bah! Humbug!” when they see the Christmas ornament emblazoned with “Meri Kirihimete”, but one can hope that their grinchy hearts might grow three sizes (metaphorically speaking) that day, and that they can, ya know, get over it.
This isn’t exactly trivia, but a bit of a fact check for other kinds of “certain people”. The kid's seat back screen shows that the magical flight is from San Francisco to Auckland, and the date of arrival is listed as “Dec 26”, which is why the mother says to the son, “I promise we won’t miss Christmas next year,” and the flight attendant sees the sad boy, and the cabin crew launches into magic making—with all of them waiting until it officially becomes December 25 on board, meaning the plane took off on December 24. So, they lost a day? YES! It happened to me: When I flew to New Zealand to live, I took off on October 31, 1995 and arrived on November 2, 1995—I had NO November 1, 1995 (something I wrote about back in 2012). So, while the ad depicts a magical trip, that doesn’t include magically altering time. However, people doubting that the passengers would ever all be asleep at the same time do have a point—it’s magic!
Some possible trivia: In the past, Air New Zealand always used actual employees in ads and safety videos. I don’t know if that’s true for this ad, but I think it’s kind of nice to think it might be. [Full disclosure: I personally prefer to fly Air New Zealand over any other airline.]
Update – December 22, 2024: I found a couple more ads that started airing, or the videos only became available, after the original post. They are:
5. “All I want for Christmas...” – Mitre 10 New Zealand. Mitre 10 New Zealand is a chain of New Zealand-owned home improvement and hardware big box stores, and this particular ad is part of their “With you all the way” series of ads and instructional and “How To” videos. It’s appeared on both TV and on YouTube, though on TV they’re also running ads from their 2022 Christmas ad series [see also Number 6 on my 2022 Christmas ad playlist].
6. “Where you'll find everything Christmas.” – The Warehouse. This ad is part of a series of ads NZ's discount retailer The Warehouse began running a few weeks ago. To me, the series is weird: They each show a family doing autotuned singing of new lyrics to Lou Bega’s 1999 global Number One hit, “Mambo No. 5 (A Little bit of…)” [WATCH/LISTEN to the original] as they shop in store, filling the trolley to overflowing. To me, the first ad in the series [WATCH/LISTEN the 60 second version] is closest to Bega's original, but when I first saw that ad, it was definitely a "WTF?" moment for me. I'm used to it now, I suppose (and the backing track is undeniably catchy), so, maybe in that sense it works? In any case, it takes my award for New Zealand's Oddest Christmas Ad of 2024. [Full disclosure: I sometimes shop at The Warehouse].
As always, there are more NZ Christmas ads I’ve seen on TV, but they're not on the companies’ official YouTube Channels. For example, Michael Hill Jeweller has been running very brief ads (10 seconds), but I've mainly seen them on YouTube videos. The common theme is people in older high rise apartment buildings in some Northern Hemisphere city giving each other jewellery for Christmas as it snows outside. Most retailers’ ads this year are just generic promotions for specific products on special, the kind of ad they might run for any special promotion tied to any holiday. If any of those ads were online, they might create a dilemma for me, because they’re not Christmas ads as such. Maybe I need to tighten my criteria?
At any rate, these are the only ads available at the moment, though if more NZ Christmas TV ads do become available on an official YouTube Channel I’ll (probably?) add the videos to the Playlist and annotations to this post, and then post an announcement on the blog that the playlist is updated. However, you can also follow the direct link the YouTube Playlist if you’d rather skip my comments, or even just to share the playlist.
In any event. Merry watching-mas!
Other ads started (very) slowly popping up, but there have been very few ads specifically for Christmas, and several that are (more or less…) haven’t been uploaded to YouTube, at least not yet. The key thing is that the ads must be on the company’s official website, because I learned when I made 2022’s playlist that ads that aren’t posted to official YouTube Channels are more likely be deleted (that happened to ad number 7 that year). However, even official videos can be removed or made private (as happened to Number 2 on last year’s playlist). Whenever an ad is removed/unlisted, I have to remove it from the playlist or the playback of the playlist will stop when it gets to that point, which I think is pretty dumb, actually. In any case, I just delete the removed ad from the playlist and it plays normally—and I don’t get the big black “Video unavailable” box where a video once was, as happened frequently when I used to post individual ads. Sure, playlists are a bit more work, and sometimes, like this year, posting a playlist may be delayed while I wait for ads to be posted on official YouTube channels (if they are…), but despite all that, I still think it’s the best option.
As always, I compiled this year’s Christmas ad playlist in the order that I first saw the ads on TV, and if any of the other ads posted later on, I’ll add them to the playlist and the descriptions below. And, of course, if any are deleted, I’ll update the playlist and this post.
The criteria: Ads must must be airing on New Zealand television (not merely online or on social media or whatever). Second, they have to be New Zealand companies, or companies that are connected to New Zealand. This is because international ads might be seen in many countries, though our ads aren’t necessarily seen elsewhere. Finally, as I said, the ads must be on an official YouTube Channel, not one belonging to third parties.
A warning: Just like in past years, the annotations below include spoilers, which I mention in case you want to watch the videos first. All that out of the way, here’s a bit more about the videos, all of which are, as I said, in the order I first saw them on TV:
1. “Give a Gift That Unleashes Theirs | Spark Christmas 2024” – Spark NZ. This ad is for Spark NZ, one of the largest mobile phone (etc…) companies in New Zealand. When I first saw this ad around October 25 (!), I didn’t realise it was a Christmas ad. I was making dinner, and that's a time I don’t pay close attention to ads if I see them at all: Many nights I only hear ads because I’m busy in the kitchen. I suppose I should’ve realised what it was right away, since the first scene has a woman wrapping a present, but the surreal animation (which reminded me of the work of artist Peter Max) kind of threw me off—until I actually paid attention to the ad. This ad is much more subtle than other Christmas ads from the company, but I kind of like the laid-back vibe. [Full disclosure: At the moment, I’m a Spark NZ customer.]
2. “New World Christmas 2024 - 30” – New World. This ad is one of my two favourite Christmas ads this year. New World is owned by one of two supermarket companies in New Zealand, and the only one that’s New Zealand-owned (each store is individually owned, and together they’re part of a cooperative). This year’s ad is part of their “find your wonderful” series of ads, and I think it hits all the right emotions for Christmas, and is a truly heartwarming ad. I think it works especially well because it’s not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate. It creates subtle positive vibes about New World without smacking viewers in the face with “Buy! Buy! Buy!” messaging, and this year's approach is actually more likely to make viewers feel good about shopping there because who doesn’t want to feel a connection with our loved ones? A very well done ad.
A bit of trivia: The theme song used ad series (that’s played in the background in part of the ad), is sung by a young woman who actually worked at New World and was picked when the company was looking for a singer to record the song. [Full disclosure: I shop at both New World and Australian-owned Woolworths.]
3. “Feels like Christmas at Woolworths” – Woolworths NZ. This is an ad for Australian-owned supermarket chain Woolworths (formerly called Countdown in New Zealand, but since rebranded to match the branding in Australia). This ad is part of their “Fresh food feeling” series of ads, many of which highlight New Zealand farm-grown produce sold by Woolworths, and the centring of this ad on a farm is in keeping with that, as is the shot of a Woolworths truck leaving the farm. However, the down-home wholesome family farm feeling is a slight departure for the company’s ads—and I think it’s extremely well done. The ad is cute, reinforces the other ads in the series, and in particular the “Fresh food feeling” message. Most import for a Christmas ad, it has an actual connection to the holiday, one that’s appropriate for the business Countdown is in. What I said about New World’s Christmas ad (Second on this year’s list), is equally true about this ad, that it’s “not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate.” All of which is why this is my other favourite for this year. [Full disclosure: I shop at both Woolworths and New Zealand-owned New World.]
A bit of trivia: The central North Island town of Ohakune is known colloquially as “the carrot capital of New Zealand”, and the town features a giant carrot, which, the Wikipedia article on the town says, “is reputedly the world's largest model carrot”. When I think of carrots, I really do associate them with Ohakune.
4. “Let the Magic Find You This Christmas #AirNZXmas” – Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand starts their Christmas TV advertising a little later than many others (usually somewhere around the beginning of December), and that’s fine with me! This year’s ad is more focused on the airline as an airline than some other years have been, and I think the surreal magic taking place aboard the plane is, well, magical—as a good Christmas should be. I bet “certain people” will be saying “Bah! Humbug!” when they see the Christmas ornament emblazoned with “Meri Kirihimete”, but one can hope that their grinchy hearts might grow three sizes (metaphorically speaking) that day, and that they can, ya know, get over it.
This isn’t exactly trivia, but a bit of a fact check for other kinds of “certain people”. The kid's seat back screen shows that the magical flight is from San Francisco to Auckland, and the date of arrival is listed as “Dec 26”, which is why the mother says to the son, “I promise we won’t miss Christmas next year,” and the flight attendant sees the sad boy, and the cabin crew launches into magic making—with all of them waiting until it officially becomes December 25 on board, meaning the plane took off on December 24. So, they lost a day? YES! It happened to me: When I flew to New Zealand to live, I took off on October 31, 1995 and arrived on November 2, 1995—I had NO November 1, 1995 (something I wrote about back in 2012). So, while the ad depicts a magical trip, that doesn’t include magically altering time. However, people doubting that the passengers would ever all be asleep at the same time do have a point—it’s magic!
Some possible trivia: In the past, Air New Zealand always used actual employees in ads and safety videos. I don’t know if that’s true for this ad, but I think it’s kind of nice to think it might be. [Full disclosure: I personally prefer to fly Air New Zealand over any other airline.]
Update – December 22, 2024: I found a couple more ads that started airing, or the videos only became available, after the original post. They are:
5. “All I want for Christmas...” – Mitre 10 New Zealand. Mitre 10 New Zealand is a chain of New Zealand-owned home improvement and hardware big box stores, and this particular ad is part of their “With you all the way” series of ads and instructional and “How To” videos. It’s appeared on both TV and on YouTube, though on TV they’re also running ads from their 2022 Christmas ad series [see also Number 6 on my 2022 Christmas ad playlist].
6. “Where you'll find everything Christmas.” – The Warehouse. This ad is part of a series of ads NZ's discount retailer The Warehouse began running a few weeks ago. To me, the series is weird: They each show a family doing autotuned singing of new lyrics to Lou Bega’s 1999 global Number One hit, “Mambo No. 5 (A Little bit of…)” [WATCH/LISTEN to the original] as they shop in store, filling the trolley to overflowing. To me, the first ad in the series [WATCH/LISTEN the 60 second version] is closest to Bega's original, but when I first saw that ad, it was definitely a "WTF?" moment for me. I'm used to it now, I suppose (and the backing track is undeniably catchy), so, maybe in that sense it works? In any case, it takes my award for New Zealand's Oddest Christmas Ad of 2024. [Full disclosure: I sometimes shop at The Warehouse].
🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻
As always, there are more NZ Christmas ads I’ve seen on TV, but they're not on the companies’ official YouTube Channels. For example, Michael Hill Jeweller has been running very brief ads (10 seconds), but I've mainly seen them on YouTube videos. The common theme is people in older high rise apartment buildings in some Northern Hemisphere city giving each other jewellery for Christmas as it snows outside. Most retailers’ ads this year are just generic promotions for specific products on special, the kind of ad they might run for any special promotion tied to any holiday. If any of those ads were online, they might create a dilemma for me, because they’re not Christmas ads as such. Maybe I need to tighten my criteria?
At any rate, these are the only ads available at the moment, though if more NZ Christmas TV ads do become available on an official YouTube Channel I’ll (probably?) add the videos to the Playlist and annotations to this post, and then post an announcement on the blog that the playlist is updated. However, you can also follow the direct link the YouTube Playlist if you’d rather skip my comments, or even just to share the playlist.
In any event. Merry watching-mas!
Friday, December 06, 2024
AmeriNZ Podcast episode 415 is now available
The five most recent episodes of the podcast are listed on the sidebar on the right side of this blog.
Crazy busy crazy week
I mowed my lawns on Tuesday, something I mentioned wanting to do in my post about mowing this past Saturday. It went better than the mowing expedition I talked about in that post, if for no other reason than the fact that I got it all done in one day.
After I was done, I posted about all this on my personal Facebook and included some of what I said in my blog post. On Facebook, I talked about hiring a service to take care of the front lawn (the only part the neighbours can see), and I also said, “Feeling like I might die—literally—while mowing isn’t something I want to continue to experience.” I also added:
I’ve known for a while now that this decision was rapidly approaching, and I knew it’d feel like defeat, and it does. I hate that my life is increasingly being dominated by thoughts about what I can’t do anymore, what I shouldn’t do, and what will soon be in one of those categories. When Nigel died, I said that I felt like it aged me ten years, and I’m beginning to think that was literally true.Since I wrote that, I have, of course, been thinking about it. I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m giving up too easily, that my problem is more that I’m unfit than it is I’m getting older. That could also explain some of my ongoing issues with feeling tired. Put another way, I feel like maybe I haven’t done all I can do to improve my physical state, and that’s making things harder than they “should” be at my age.
On the other hand, as I also said this past Tuesday on Facebook,
When I was mowing the back lawn just now (after the battery was recharged), I thought, “If I was given months or a year to live, would I insist on mowing the lawn?” Obviously, the answer was, “hell no!” (though said more profanely…). I’m keenly aware that none of us knows when our days will run out, so to hell with stubbornly carrying on with mowing when it makes me feel so physically awful at least once every two weeks. I’ve got far better things to spend my time and energy on.That’s definitely all true, too. What I said Saturday was exactly the crux of the issue: “This period in my aging has been confusing as hell, and trying to work out what I can or should do myself, and what I should pay others to do for me, has been exhausting.” In so very many ways, too.
At any rate, the main reason the mowing itself went better was that the weeds’ flower stalks were much shorter than a week and a half earlier. The two photos up top shows the some of those stalks, the left photo was right after I mowed part of the lawn. I also got the rest the edges in the back done while the mower battery recharged, and I should’ve done the edges out front, too, but, yeah, no. I skipped it this time which means I’ll have to do them next time. On the other hand, with summer weather seeming to settle in, it’s possible that the lawn will slow down and dry out now.
On Wednesday, I ran errands: I went to The Base and got a haircut, popped into The Warehouse to pick up a few things, and even got petrol on my way home. What I didn’t know until today, though, was that I did those three exact things exactly one year earlier, and Facebook “Memories” let me know that. I said recently on Facebook that those FB “Memories” show me how often my life repeats itself, though this time it was an almost exact match. Maybe we really are living inside a computer simulation or game?
There were two things that were different and notable—well, I think so, anyway. The first is that I also went to the supermarket, which I doubt I did last year because at the time I was trying a delivery service subscription. The other is that when I went to get petrol I got an extra two cents off per litre because I loaded my Super Gold Card into the App, which I use so I can pay at the pump, and not have to go into the shop. I began doing that in the Covid days, but now I enjoy the speed and convenience. Wednesday is a day when they offer a six cents per litre for anyone signed up for the scheme, and I got two cents per litre more.
On Wednesday, I paid at $2.527 per litre, which is US$5.71366169 per US gallon. Approximately. My discounts brought the cost down to around $2.48 per litre, and my saving amounted to a huge $4.98—which won’t buy a whole lot these days. Still, a penny saved is a penny earned, and all that.
Apart from that, I’ve been doing a lot of household chores over the past couple day (three loads of washing washed and dried today, among other routine stuff). I have a lot of other stuff to catch up on, including this blog among other things.
Right now, though, I have something else I want to get done. Stay tuned. [I was vaguely hinting, because I hadn't done it yet, but a new podcast episode is now available]
Monday, December 02, 2024
Preparing for the new blogging year
One of the easiest ways to see that this has been a difficult year for me is to look at how much I produced for this blog and my podcast, and that can be summed up by the simple phrase, “very little”. November ended up in a three-way tie for my least productive months of 2024, but unlike the other two, I at least know what was behind the lack of output in November: The disastrous US election. I just didn’t feel like doing anything even remotely creative for at least the first two weeks after the disaster, and for the past week or so I’ve been busy in an entirely ordinary way.
My posts right before and after the US elections were both in my Weekend Diversion: 1984 series, but I wrote both of them right before they were published—I didn’t write them in advance, and, in fact, I think only one or two in the entire series were. It would be another week and a half before I’d post again, and that was the call for questions in this year’s Ask Arthur series, also written right before publication—around a week later than I wanted to publish it.
My last two posts in November were also delayed, though only by days. In fact, the only reason they got published at all was that I wanted to make sure that November wasn’t the least-productive month of the year. Motivation is motivation, I suppose.
So now it’s December and, including this post, so far I’ve managed an average of one post per day! That amuses me because when I thought about the rest of this year, I realised that I only needed 22 posts over 31 days to ensure that 2024 isn’t my worst-ever year for blogging. I know only too well how what in the past I would have always seen as an achievable target is now something that can easily evaporate. So… who knows?
Here’s what I do know: The Weekend Diversion: 1984 series has two more posts, so that takes the total needed down to 20. I’ve already published the first of three other posts I’d planned for this month, and if I publish the other two of the three, that leaves 17 posts needed. This year’s “Ask Arthur” series will take up some of those (I don’t know how many yet), and there are a whole bunch of unfinished posts I’ve been wanting to do this year, so I think I’m (possibly unrealistically) optimistic that over the next 29 days I can achieve that remaining goal of 17 posts I hadn’t specifically planned for.
All of which leads to an inevitable question: Why do I care at all? I’ve certainly asked myself that question a lot this year, especially when there were so often many days between posts. The first reason is that overall, I still enjoy it, despite everything, and because it’s my only writing outlet, something that matters to me (and I’ve noticed I’ve become a bit rusty due to lack of practice).
There’s another reason it matters to me, though, one that, once again, relates to the US election disaster. One of the main features of that disaster was how shockingly awful the legacy news media was in covering the campaign. That’s a big topic in itself, obviously, but I think it’s important that people who can should call out the inevitable bad and anti-democracy behaviour of the incoming regime. There was a time when my posts on politics were by far my most-read, and while I’m absolutely not suggesting I’m some sort of sage or oracle—or even any good at discussing politics—I nevertheless have a platform of sorts, and maybe it’s time for me to use it again to speak my truth. That may not be useful to anyone, anywhere, but if it helps even one person feel for one moment that they’re not alone in being alarmed by the incoming regime, then that’s enough.
There’s quite a lot I still want to talk about, and that’s the biggest reason of all that I care about my productivity (and, of course, pretty much all of this is also relevant to my audio podcast, too, something that’s been neglected even more than this blog). What all of this really means is that in 2025 this blog will probably be more like it used to be: Still about lots of things, but also different from what it has been in that I’ll again talk about political topics, too.
Much as I do try to think about what a reader might get out of my small efforts here, the fact is that it's what I think about this blog that matters the most. I think that if I keep that in mind, it’ll be a good place to begin building a new version of what I once loved so much about this whole project. Like I said at the end of my first-ever blog post: “So pour yourself a cuppa, relax, and let’s see where this leads.” Yeah, that—once again.
Sunday, December 01, 2024
Welcome to our Summer
I last talked about meteorological v. astronomical seasons in September, at the start of Spring. I said:
I suppose I should restate that I couldn’t possibly care less which date one chooses for the start of seasons—meteorological or astronomical—however, I’ll continue to use the meteorological dates because the first of the relevant month is always the first, whereas solstices and equinoxes change dates and times with every visit… [snip] I think most of us find remembering the first of the relevant month is pretty easy to do, and since the weather is so variable until well into each season, picking either date is equally valid if a change in the weather is what we think of (or maybe hope for) at the start of a season: We have pretty much the same chance to be thrilled or disappointed.It doesn’t matter at all what date people choose to mark as the start of seasons—except when it does, and that’s all about us personally. I loathe winter, with its shorter, darker, wetter, and colder days, the exact opposite of summer (obviously). In summer, I get plenty of free electricity to use, and the excess power I produce reduces the amount I pay to buy electricity. In winter, I generate less, and so, pay more, by midwinter, a lot more.
Life isn’t about money and costs alone, of course, but both are things we have to deal with, and they often unfairly constrain us. The bigger issue for most of us is what we might call quality of life: How does daily life feel? I always feel better and, well, brighter in the longer, warmer days of summer than I do in shorter, colder days of winter. Spring and Autumn are often mixed bags because the seasons are.
So, while the timing of the start of summer doesn’t really matter, many of us nevertheless notice the seasonal changes in weather, and we probably associate the start of seasons with particular dates. For me, it’s definitely the meteorological dates which are usually closer to when the weather is noticeably different (to me, the solstices and equinoxes seem to arrive well after the weather has started to change). Even for me, though, there’s a lot more to it than the date.
This has been a very difficult year for me, and I welcome the warmer, brighter, longer days because I know from a lifetime’s experience that I thrive in summer—and I really need that right now. While I may not care what date others choose for the start of seasons, I need summer right now, so it’s fortunate that I embrace meteorological seasons. And, that money I save over summer is another nice thing about the season. In fact, since summer in Hamilton is often hot and dry, that could mean less frequent lawn mowing this summer, and that'd be nice, too.
There’s no way of knowing what sort of summer we’ll have, though NIWA is predicting warmer than average says for all of New Zealand. NIWA meteorologist Chris Brandolino told RNZ’s Morning Report that "Overall, the theme will be that we'll see warm days will outweigh the cool days, and warm will certainly be a theme over the next three months." NIWA also expects a La Niña weather pattern to develop later in the summer.
In any summer, tropical cyclones are a potential threat, and back in October, NIWA said that “tropical cyclone activity for the coming season indicates normal to below normal activity”, but also that they were expecting “normal or elevated activity” for northern New Zealand. Most years, we don’t get a direct hit from tropical cyclones, just the remnants, if anything, but sometimes those remnants can be almost as bad as a cyclone. The normal tropical cyclone season runs from November through April, but they can occur out of season.
I’m hoping for a normal summer—warm, dry days with plenty of sunshine, and no cyclones. But, really, the weather will be whatever it’ll be. It’ll be summer, regardless.
The graphic up top is what I posted on my personal Facebook Page today.
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Lost in the weeds
There was a lot of rainy weather after my most recent mowing, and that was bad for a couple reasons. First, as always, it delayed the mowing because I needed the lawns to dry out a bit—and then it would rain again. At the same time, warmer temperatures, when combined with that rain, caused the weeds to run amok.
It’s not unusual for that to happen this time of year—it’s actually what Spring is like an a normal year. This time of year, then, the lawns are filled with the flower spikes from the weeds, and the leaves of the weeds grow more quickly, too, making the whole lawn thicker, from the machine’s perspective, than it actually is.
So, a week ago Friday I went out to start using the line trimmer on the edges out front (because it’s what everyone sees). That was fairly uneventful. The mowing, however, went slowly because the lawn was still pretty damp, and because I often had to go back and forth over some patches to be able to cut off the flower spikes at ground level (also not unusual for this time of year).
That was difficult, but the front lawn is also a gentle slope from the house down to the footpath, and at the side, it’s even a little steeper. As I was finishing up, on that steeper side, I was absolutely miserable: Tired, sweaty, and totally over it. I thought, yet again, about getting a service to mow the front lawn so I don’t have to deal with it—and that, in turn, led me to think about how these days I think about all the things that I no longer seem to be able to cope with doing by myself, and how that seems to have picked up speed since I turned 65.
I knew there wasn’t much battery left in the mower after it struggled out front, so I only mowed a very little bit of the side yard. I also did some of the edges—until the line trimmer’s filament rand out. That, I decided, was a good place to pause.
I sat down to rest and cool off, and to let the mower battery cool enough to recharge it. Unfortunately, I realised too late that I’d forgotten to do that, and there wasn’t enough time to charge it and mow the back, and that meant I’d have to finish on Saturday.
The next day, Saturday, despite totally not feeling it, I went out to do the back lawn, starting with the edges. First, I opened the spool because I couldn’t feed new line into it, and found out that the old line had someone gotten stuck, and some was still wrapped around the head. I cleaned it out, fed in the new line, and began trimming.
I hadn’t gotten very far when the line trimmer stopped: The battery was dead. I went and grabbed another one, but the trimmer wouldn’t go, so I checked the power level (the manufaturer calls it a "fuel gauge") and found out it was empty: I hadn’t recharged it the last time I used the line trimmer because I put it were recharged batteries go. Oops.
I decided to start mowing, anyway, and got a lot of the lawn done—until the battery was again fully drained without the mowing being done. The problem is that the back lawn, which is mostly weeds, grows much faster and thicker than the front lawn does, and so, the mower had to work much harder than at other times of year.
I thought I’d finish mowing on the next mostly sunny day, which was projected to be Monday or Tuesday, and for a very personal reason: I like to avoid making any noise on Sundays. My rationale is that people who work Monday through Friday generally do noisy outside chores on Saturday, not Sunday. Maybe they like the idea of one quiet weekend day, too? At any rate, I normally avoid making noise outside on Sundays unless I have no choice.
This time, I thought that I’d better not count on good weather the following week, so I did go out and finish the mowing on Sunday, something that only took maybe 20 minutes (at most) to do. It turned out I definitely made the right choice: Parts of Monday and Tuesday had rain.
My plan was do the lawns again after about a week—basically, now—to try and get it under control before the next big blooming of the weeds. Today has been a rainy day, and tomorrow is expected to be one, too. Monday through Wednesday are expected to have at least some sun, so they look like my best shot, earlier than I’d normally do them, but later than I’d have liked. I’ve noticed some flower spikes are already pushing up,
That mowing adventure was unusually arduous, but my thinking around it was not unusual. I’ve spoken before about how often I’ve thought about hiring a service to mow out front, but they only use petrol-powered equipment, and mine a use batteries recharged with electricity from the sun. Giving up feels like going backward.
At the same time, part of the problem is that I now only have one battery, so I usually can’t mow both lawns on one day. Worse, my current battery is probably nearing the end of its life (the warranty is only for three years), and when it dies, a new battery will cost me between $379 and $579 (today, around US$221 to US$338) for a new one (depending on the capacity—which basically means how long it’ll go before it runs out of charge). Is it really worth buying a new battery, or should I just give it all up at that point?
This gets back to the things that I no longer seem to be able to cope with doing. Mowing is my major form of physical exercise, and, I always told myself, that’s precisely why I find it so difficult to do: I’m not fit enough. But, what if this is at least related to my aging body, or even just that aging is making things harder regardless of my fitness level?
Yesterday, the company that installed my ventilation system sent a technician to change the filters, something they do every two years. Last time, I found non-branded filters of a similar spec that cost less than half the price of what it cost me to have the company do it. However, that would mean going up in the attic to do it, something I think is a terrible idea, not just because I’m getting older, but also because I live alone, and if I fell through the ceiling, no one would be here to help me. To be fair, the company also checks to make sure everything including airflow rates are within specification, so it’s more than just changing a filter. Even so, 20 years ago I’d absolutely have gone up there to do it myself.
All up, this period in my aging has been confusing as hell, and trying to work out what I can or should do myself, and what I should pay others to do for me, has been exhausting. Whether it’s mowing my lawns or changing filters in the attic, the first step is to be sure of my own realistic and sensible limits, something thats not always easy to do
Last week, I had unexpectedly fraught and lengthy mowing adventures. There are likely to be many pivot points over the next five and ten years, times where I’ll have to accept my limitations beginning to exceed, or, at least, restrict, my abilities for doing things myself.
There’s one more thing I know for certain: All of this is exponentially more difficult because Nigel’s not here to figure all this out with. On the other hand, if this really is the beginning of my physical decline, then I’m kind of glad he didn’t have to see it, because I know how hard that would’ve been on him.
No wonder I’m lost in the weeds.
The photo up top is of Leo in the weeds this past Sunday, November 24, just before I began to finish the mowing. By the time this mowing adventure began the previous Friday, the weed stalks out back were at twice his height (more in some places). I took this photo kneeling on the ground, so the view is basically at flower height.
Simpler blogging times
Google explains a “pageview” and how it compares to a “unique pageview” this way:
A pageview is defined as a view of a page on your site that is being tracked by the Analytics tracking code. If a user clicks reload after reaching the page, this is counted as an additional pageview. If a user navigates to a different page and then returns to the original page, a second pageview is recorded as well.The huh?! factor in such descriptions is largely why I eventually stopped paying any attention to the “metrics” for any of my sites. I never fully understood what they were talking about, but, more importantly, I realised it had no relationship to what I was doing: The whole point of my blog was to write about whatever I wanted to, not what the “metrics” suggested would bring eyes to the page. All of which is also probably why this blog only ever achieved a relatively small audience.
A unique pageview… aggregates pageviews that are generated by the same user during the same session. A unique pageview represents the number of sessions during which that page was viewed one or more times.
Nowadays, old-timey blogs like mine are relics. There are many successful descendants on places like Substack, often available only by paid subscription. I won’t be doing a subscription thing like that because it would require way too much of a commitment that I’m clearly not up to at the moment—that and subscription fees are potentially taxable in two countries, so what’s the point? Actually, all of that’s arguably true for my audio-only podcast, too, except that paid subscriptions for them aren’t as common as it is for the descendants of blogs like mine.
Everything’s changed since then (including my commitment to blogging), but at this point in November 2012, achieveing 150,000 pageviews was still a big deal. Twelve years later, my old-timey blog’s current total page views (also since 2006) is 3,439,541 (at the time I wrote this). I may not care about such “metrics” like I did a dozen years ago, but I still like big numbers—especially when they become bigger numbers. That much is still the same.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Let the annual inquisition begin for 2024
The “Ask Arthur” series of posts is a chance for people to ask me nearly anything, and I try to answer whatever I’m asked. I’ve never had a question about a topic that was “off limits”, however, I’ve always said that if I couldn’t answer a question for any reason, I’d say so. It turned out that I've never had a question that I wouldn’t answer. It also turned out that I haven’t yet met a topic I don’t have an opinion on. Who’d have guessed that?
Last year I answered my own question: “Yes, who could or would have guessed that there doesn’t seem to be any topic on which I don’t have an opinion?” In fairness, having opinions is pretty much a top requirement for any blogger, otherwise there wouldn’t be much point. Still, it seems to help if I mention the kinds of things people typically ask me. In past years, I’ve been sent questions about me, my personal history, about life in New Zealand (mine or in general), or perhaps more specifically about being an expat. Questions about my opinion on topics or events in the news, including politics, have also featured in the past. The possibilities really do seem to be endless.
Still, I’m sure that there will come a time when there won’t be any questions. Written blogs aren’t anywhere near as popular as they were in the early years of my own blogging, and my commitment to the work has wavered (and, yes, I’m good at stating the bloody obvious). What this really means is that I’m quite relaxed about whether I get any questions or not. Everything changes, and nothing lasts forever, after all,
However, there may well be questions this year. To ask one, simply leave a comment on this post (anonymous comments are allowed). Or, you can email me your question (and you can even tell me to keep your name secret, although, why not pick a nom du question?). You can also ask questions on the AmeriNZ Facebook page, however, please keep in mind that all Facebook Pages are public, just like this blog, and anyone can read what you wrote. If you want to avoid being public, the best solution is to email me, or you can also send me a private message through the AmeriNZ Facebook Page.
Finally, being the gracious
So, over to you: Ask your question whatever way works best for you, and I’ll do my best to answer. And if you don’t want to ask anything, don't worry: We’re still good.
All posts in this series will be tagged “AAA-25”. All previous posts from every “Ask Arthur” series are tagged, appropriately enough, ”Ask Arthur”.
Previously:
What do you want to know? (December 2012)
Ask Arthur (July 2013)
Ask Arthur – Again (December 2013)
Ask Arthur Again, again (December 2014)
Ask Arthur yet again (July 2015)
It’s that time again (December 2015)
It’s ‘Ask Arthur’ time again (December 2016)
Let the 2017 asking begin (November 2017)
Let the 2018 asking begin (November 2018)
There was no “Ask Arthur” series in 2019.
Sure, why not ask again? (December 2020)
Yes, ask again (November 2021)
AAA 2022: A decade-long inquisition (November 2022)
Let the annual inquisition begin (November 2023)
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17
On November 17, 1984, a new song went to Number One, and it was one of my favourites of the year. This week 40 years ago, ”Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (video above) by English pop duo Wham! went to Number One. The song—the duo’s first Number One in the USA—was the lead single from their second album, Make It Big, and it would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for three weeks.
I don’t know when, precisely, I first became aware of Wham!, but it was probably through a video. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in the mid-1980s, “video bars”, that is, bars that played music videos, were quite popular, and there were several gay bars in Chicago that featured them. It could be that the reason I saw the video for their single ”Club Tropicana” was because of the success of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, since that song the album it was on marked the beginning of their success in the USA.
Regardless of what the timeline actually was, I distinctly remember going to a long gone video bar called “Take One” with one of my childhood friends, and that video was played. I loved that video, not the least because the band’s lead singer, George Michael, was definitely my type at the time, and I thought he was hot (for the record, I was around four years older than him, though I didn’t know that at the time). That bar played several videos that have stuck in my mind for decades, also including We Close Our Eyes by another English pop duo, Go West, mainly because at the time I thought their video was visually interesting. There were plenty of others that seared themselves into my brain, too, but it was those two songs most of all.
The music video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was directed by Andy Morahan, and was a very energetic performance video. What I remember most about it to this day are clothes. First, the “Choose Life” t-shirts (designed by English fashion designer Katharine Hamnett). By the mid-1980s, that slogan was being adopted by US anti-abortion activists, and even in 1984 it was kind of confronting—in fact, I briefly wondered if the Wham! were righwingers, which is hilarious to me now, of course, especially because of the US-centric assumptions about what the shirt's words meant. The second memorable clothing was at a little more than a minute into the video when their outfits suddenly changed, and George’s shorts! I’m pretty sure I swooned.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t have the chance to have crushes on pop stars, because they would’ve been male. Even so, I remember that in the 1960s, when I was probably too young to realise the significance (or danger…) of it, I thought that Davy Jones of The Monkees was really cute—when he was in his early 20s, actually—though my age wasn't even in double digits yet. He was probably my first celebrity crush.
I think that George Michael was among my first celebrity crushes after I came out, and since then I’ve certainly appreciated the beauty of famous men (singers, actors, etc), but it was all innocent. In the 1980s, I formed my first relationships, none of which lasted very long until 1984 (though even that one only lasted around four years). So, for me, crushing on George Michael and others was all just part of me figuring out who I was was. I had no idea back then that figuring out would be a lifelong process—nor that pop music would always be the backing track to my story. George Michael and Wham! were definitely part of that soundtrack. Skimpy shorts were always optional, though.
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” reached Number One in Australia (2x Platinum), 2 in Canada (Platinum), 2 in New Zealand, Number One in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and was also Number One on Cash Box, and on the “Contemporary Hit Radio” chart from Radio & Records. It was certified Platinum in the USA.
The album Make It Big reached Number One in Australia (Platinum), Canada (6x Platinum), New Zealand (Platinum), in the UK (4x Platinum), and on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 6x Platinum in the USA.
Back on December 8 with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
I don’t know when, precisely, I first became aware of Wham!, but it was probably through a video. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in the mid-1980s, “video bars”, that is, bars that played music videos, were quite popular, and there were several gay bars in Chicago that featured them. It could be that the reason I saw the video for their single ”Club Tropicana” was because of the success of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, since that song the album it was on marked the beginning of their success in the USA.
Regardless of what the timeline actually was, I distinctly remember going to a long gone video bar called “Take One” with one of my childhood friends, and that video was played. I loved that video, not the least because the band’s lead singer, George Michael, was definitely my type at the time, and I thought he was hot (for the record, I was around four years older than him, though I didn’t know that at the time). That bar played several videos that have stuck in my mind for decades, also including We Close Our Eyes by another English pop duo, Go West, mainly because at the time I thought their video was visually interesting. There were plenty of others that seared themselves into my brain, too, but it was those two songs most of all.
The music video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was directed by Andy Morahan, and was a very energetic performance video. What I remember most about it to this day are clothes. First, the “Choose Life” t-shirts (designed by English fashion designer Katharine Hamnett). By the mid-1980s, that slogan was being adopted by US anti-abortion activists, and even in 1984 it was kind of confronting—in fact, I briefly wondered if the Wham! were righwingers, which is hilarious to me now, of course, especially because of the US-centric assumptions about what the shirt's words meant. The second memorable clothing was at a little more than a minute into the video when their outfits suddenly changed, and George’s shorts! I’m pretty sure I swooned.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t have the chance to have crushes on pop stars, because they would’ve been male. Even so, I remember that in the 1960s, when I was probably too young to realise the significance (or danger…) of it, I thought that Davy Jones of The Monkees was really cute—when he was in his early 20s, actually—though my age wasn't even in double digits yet. He was probably my first celebrity crush.
I think that George Michael was among my first celebrity crushes after I came out, and since then I’ve certainly appreciated the beauty of famous men (singers, actors, etc), but it was all innocent. In the 1980s, I formed my first relationships, none of which lasted very long until 1984 (though even that one only lasted around four years). So, for me, crushing on George Michael and others was all just part of me figuring out who I was was. I had no idea back then that figuring out would be a lifelong process—nor that pop music would always be the backing track to my story. George Michael and Wham! were definitely part of that soundtrack. Skimpy shorts were always optional, though.
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” reached Number One in Australia (2x Platinum), 2 in Canada (Platinum), 2 in New Zealand, Number One in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and was also Number One on Cash Box, and on the “Contemporary Hit Radio” chart from Radio & Records. It was certified Platinum in the USA.
The album Make It Big reached Number One in Australia (Platinum), Canada (6x Platinum), New Zealand (Platinum), in the UK (4x Platinum), and on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 6x Platinum in the USA.
Back on December 8 with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Sunday, November 03, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16
A new song went to Number One on November 3, 1984: ”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” by Trinidadian-British singer Billy Ocean. The song was the lead single from Ocean’s fifth studio album, Suddenly, and it would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for two weeks. The song won Ocean the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, making him the first British artist to win in that category.
What I didn’t know until I researched this post is that the song was originally released in the UK in May 1984 as "European Queen (No More Love on the Run)", but the song didn’t succeed. According to the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above), people at the record company suggested it be re-recorded for different parts of the world, and there were also two other versions "African Queen" and the hit, "Caribbean Queen".
”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” was released in the USA in August 1984, and some ten weeks later it hit Number One. Ocean said about it:
I was kind of indifferent to this song in 1984. I thought it was bouncy and catchy, but it just didn’t manage to catch me. I certainly didn’t DISlike it, it just wasn’t one of my favourites from that era. C’est la vie, and all that. Nigel liked Billy Ocean’s music generally much more than I did; our pop music tastes didn’t align all the time—just most of the time.
”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” reached Number 2 in Australia, 8 in Canada (Gold), Number One in New Zealand (Gold), 6 in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Hot Black Singles”, and “Hot Dance Club Play” charts, and was also Number 2 on Cash Box. It was certified Gold in the USA.
The album Suddenly reached Number 13 in Australia, 14 in Canada (3x Platinum), 35 in New Zealand, 9 in the UK (Gold), and Number 9 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” and 3 on the Billboard “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” charts. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
Back in two weeks with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
What I didn’t know until I researched this post is that the song was originally released in the UK in May 1984 as "European Queen (No More Love on the Run)", but the song didn’t succeed. According to the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above), people at the record company suggested it be re-recorded for different parts of the world, and there were also two other versions "African Queen" and the hit, "Caribbean Queen".
”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” was released in the USA in August 1984, and some ten weeks later it hit Number One. Ocean said about it:
The song was released in Europe as "European Queen" and nobody was interested in it. When we changed the name to "Caribbean Queen" and released it in the U.S., it took off and started snowballing and they started playing it in Europe. I guess it had more appeal as "Caribbean Queen" because Europe conjures up a vision of rain and snow and cold, but Caribbean sounds like sunshine and blue skies. It's much more exotic.I probably saw the video at the time, though I apparently didn’t pay much attention to it, because when I watched it for this post I realised that I didn’t remember much about it. The song, however, I remember very well. It may have been Number One for only two weeks, but it was a popular song for much longer than that. I had the song on a Time-Life compilation disc for 1984, and I may actually have heard the song more when listening to that.
I was kind of indifferent to this song in 1984. I thought it was bouncy and catchy, but it just didn’t manage to catch me. I certainly didn’t DISlike it, it just wasn’t one of my favourites from that era. C’est la vie, and all that. Nigel liked Billy Ocean’s music generally much more than I did; our pop music tastes didn’t align all the time—just most of the time.
”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” reached Number 2 in Australia, 8 in Canada (Gold), Number One in New Zealand (Gold), 6 in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Hot Black Singles”, and “Hot Dance Club Play” charts, and was also Number 2 on Cash Box. It was certified Gold in the USA.
The album Suddenly reached Number 13 in Australia, 14 in Canada (3x Platinum), 35 in New Zealand, 9 in the UK (Gold), and Number 9 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” and 3 on the Billboard “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” charts. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
Back in two weeks with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Shoe and tell
In general, I’m a kind of “waste not, want not” kind of guy, but even I have my limits. I bought those shoes while we were loving on Auckland’s North Shore, and they were my everyday shoes for many years (though I had some others, too, and I had shoes that I wore for outside work back then, too).
After Nigel died and I started looking at houses in Hamilton, I wore those shoes to the open homes because they were easy to slip off and back on. That was a good idea because most Kiwis don’t wear shoes inside someone else’s house, and never a home that’s being shown by real estate agents, including home open homes. In fact, if a house attracts a lot of folks to the open home, there can be a crowd of shoes outside the front door. However, even by that time, the shoes were showing signs of wearing out.
When I moved into my house, I at first kept wearing the outside shoes I’d been wearing for a few years, but their rubber soles cracked through, and there was no way to fix them. At the same time, the signs of wear on my open home shoes had accelerated (once it starts…), and they became my new outside shoes, especially because in those Lockdown Days I didn’t have a lot of options.
A brief digression: What I call “outside shoes” are just ordinary shoes that are wearing out that I wear for gardening, mowing the lawns, and other work outside (and yes, I’m aware that shoes I wear out in public are also technically “outside shoes”, but my shoes, my rules, mkay?). I also have “inside shoes”, which are inexpensive shoes that are bit more robust and, well, shoelike than slippers are. I never wear those outside (except, maybe to check the letterbox).
The thing is, anyone with dogs has to contend with gifts left on the lawn, ones that may be invisible until they leap out underfoot while we walk across our lawns. Having outside shoes means if such an event happens, I won’t track the gift remnants into my house because the shoes don’t go inside except for the garage. Also, and somewhat miraculously, I manage to avoid stepping on the gifts; perhaps I have an invisible force field?
As those outside shoes continued slowly deteriorating, I made efforts to extend their life: I re-glued the back of the sole of one shoe twice, and then it peeled off a third time. By then the rubber soles had a hole worn through to the harder rubber underneath, the padding at the back had popped free as the stitching at the heels failed, and the stitching along the upper was opening up in places. At the end, the heal of one shoe was flapping as I pushed the mower around. It was time for them to leave, and they went out in the rubbish collection a couple weeks ago, immediately after I took the photo above, and that was right after I finished the mowing that week.
I forgot about that until I went to get them to mow the front lawns Wednesday of last week. I wore them, anyway, but the back of the sole was flapping around just like the now-gone former outside shoes did. Wednesday night I re-glued the sole and they were perfect when I mowed the back lawn on the next day.
I know that my current outside shoes, already showing signs of wear, won’t last forever, and I may not even have the opportunity to make any further repairs before it’s time to put them in the rubbish, too. However, what this tale underscores is that I do what I can to repair and even make do rather than always buying something new. So much of what we buy, even “good” brands, is designed to have a short useful life, and I do what I can to upset corporations’ plans.
In this case, the now-gone outside shoes were ones that other people would have thrown away long before I did—though this isn’t a competition. Many people don’t have the time, skills, resources, whatever, to do what I do, and I probably won’t be able to do it forever. But right now, I do what I can to extend the usable life of the products I buy, and that includes repairing what I can repair, reusing or repurposing perfectly good things I already have (and donating what I no longer have a use for). This is part of the values that Nigel and I shared, namely, to live as sustainably as possible—though he would’ve thrown out those shoes much more quickly than I did (our values were aligned, but not entirely identical…).
I still buy new stuff, of course, though not a much as I once did (us pensioners have a strong incentive to live frugally so that we don’t have to live austerely). I’m not part of any sort of “no buy” movement, but simply the stop-and-think movement. Do I need that that new thing, or do I already have something that will serve the purpose? Can that old thing be repaired or refreshed, as needed, or is it too far gone? And all that aside, is the new thing I want something that I really want, regardless of the answers to the other two questions? Because if so, I’ll buy the new thing—I’m just human, and neither a monk nor a radical.
Everyone needs to decide for themselves how to live their lives and how to put their values into action. This shoe story is really about how I go about doing that. Old shoes can tell us a lot about a person, apparently.
Saturday, November 02, 2024
Twenty-nine years later
November 2 has been a VERY significant anniversary since 1995, because that was the day I arrived in New Zealand to live, and because Nigel and I began our life together that day, and so, as I’ve said many times, it’s what we thought of as our anniversary—until we gained more. Nigel is gone, but I’m still here, and in New Zealand, and the two meanings of November 2 will always be connected for me.
When I recently talked about the eleventh anniversary of our marriage, I said that, just like having an eleventh anniversary, the fact that today is the 29th anniversary of my arrival is “seemingly irrelevant”, and also that 30 “just sounds more significant, even though it’s merely one year later.” Does the fact that perhaps it sounds more significant mean that one celebrates the 30th anniversary of being in a place? What about in 2031 when the number of years I’ve lived in New Zealand will equal the total number of years I lived in the USA? Or, does it become even more more significant the following year when the number of years I’ve lived in New Zealand will be greater than the number of my years living in the USA? For the record, I’ll be 72 and 73 in those two years—assuming, of course.
Obviously, Nigel was the entire reason I came to this country, and so, the fact that I arrived took a backseat to the fact that we began our life together on that day. Both were very big deals, but it really was a case of the sum being greater than the parts.
Nowadays, this anniversary, and its powerful memories, is more about me and my life without Nigel, and that’s something I’ve been talking about more often in these anniversary posts. For example, in last year’s November 2 post, I mentioned Facebook “Memories” from the previous year, and they were about a couple projects I apparently didn’t talk about here. Aas I said in that post:
I have no idea what my life will be like next year, except for the fact it’ll mark my 30th anniversary in New Zealand. I can easily imagine the cheeky sarcasm—and endearing warmness—that Nigel would pack into comments about such a large number. But he didn’t even get to be here for the 24th, let alone the 25th or beyond, so I can just barely imagine what he’d say a year from now—assuming, of course. I’d like to think that somewhere there’s a plane of existence in which that 30th anniversary would make Nigel smile. Whether that exists or not, I’ll have to smile enough for both of us—this year, next, and every other I’m fortunate to experience.
Even as I rebuild myself and my life, everything about this date is, and will remain, directly connected with Nigel. I’m so very glad it is, too.
Happy main anniversary, sweetheart.
Previously:
Twenty-eight years later (2023)
Twenty-seven years later (2022)
Twenty-six years later (2021)
Twenty-five years later (2020)
Twenty four Years (2019)
Posts from happier years:
Twenty Three Years Together (2018)
Twenty Two Years Together (2017)
Twenty One Years Together (2016)
Twenty Years Together (2015)
Surreal 19th Expataversary (2014)
Eighteen (2013)
The day that really mattered (2012)
Sweet sixteen (2011)
Fifteen (2010)
Fourteen (2009)
Lucky 13: Expataversary and more (2008)
Twelfth Anniversary (2007)
Eleven Years an Expat (2006)
Related:
Ex, but not ex- – A 2006 post about being an expat
Changing policies and lives – A 2011 post about becoming a permanent resident
12 years a citizen – A 2014 post about becoming a NZ citizen
Obviously, Nigel was the entire reason I came to this country, and so, the fact that I arrived took a backseat to the fact that we began our life together on that day. Both were very big deals, but it really was a case of the sum being greater than the parts.
Nowadays, this anniversary, and its powerful memories, is more about me and my life without Nigel, and that’s something I’ve been talking about more often in these anniversary posts. For example, in last year’s November 2 post, I mentioned Facebook “Memories” from the previous year, and they were about a couple projects I apparently didn’t talk about here. Aas I said in that post:
I mention all that because my life now is slow and ordinary, and sometimes it feels that little or nothing has changed from the previous year. This is my current reality, and it’s so very different from… 2018 [because that] was the last November 2 anniversary Nigel and got to spend together. I don’t even remember if we did anything special for that day, but our 23rd anniversary of living together wasn’t exactly a notable date at the time, and we just assumed we’d have many, many more anniversaries to spend together.Those same Facebook “Memories” popped up again this year, of course, and that was especially relevant because I mowed the back lawn yesterday, and,yet again, tried to figure out what to do with the now severely overgrown bank along one side of the yard—and I came up with a new plan. This, too, is common sort of thing for me now that I no longer have Nigel to talk about such things with. All of this underscores how this November 2 anniversary now is mainly about my life, along with the powerful memories and emotions attached to November 2. I'm here in New Zealand because of Nigel, and everything I now am is a direct result of that—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I have no idea what my life will be like next year, except for the fact it’ll mark my 30th anniversary in New Zealand. I can easily imagine the cheeky sarcasm—and endearing warmness—that Nigel would pack into comments about such a large number. But he didn’t even get to be here for the 24th, let alone the 25th or beyond, so I can just barely imagine what he’d say a year from now—assuming, of course. I’d like to think that somewhere there’s a plane of existence in which that 30th anniversary would make Nigel smile. Whether that exists or not, I’ll have to smile enough for both of us—this year, next, and every other I’m fortunate to experience.
Even as I rebuild myself and my life, everything about this date is, and will remain, directly connected with Nigel. I’m so very glad it is, too.
Happy main anniversary, sweetheart.
Previously:
Twenty-eight years later (2023)
Twenty-seven years later (2022)
Twenty-six years later (2021)
Twenty-five years later (2020)
Twenty four Years (2019)
Posts from happier years:
Twenty Three Years Together (2018)
Twenty Two Years Together (2017)
Twenty One Years Together (2016)
Twenty Years Together (2015)
Surreal 19th Expataversary (2014)
Eighteen (2013)
The day that really mattered (2012)
Sweet sixteen (2011)
Fifteen (2010)
Fourteen (2009)
Lucky 13: Expataversary and more (2008)
Twelfth Anniversary (2007)
Eleven Years an Expat (2006)
Related:
Ex, but not ex- – A 2006 post about being an expat
Changing policies and lives – A 2011 post about becoming a permanent resident
12 years a citizen – A 2014 post about becoming a NZ citizen
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