Wellington
Wellington was my home for the last 2 and half years. I arrived (from Dunedin) in somewhat pitiful circumstances with no furniture and no friends. A relationship ended. I found my weird horrible new flatmates together in the bath upon arriving home from my new job at Zebo's. Stuff got better. A friend gave me a (creaky single) bed. I stole some milk crates from the dairy next door and installed them into my room as clothes storage. The horrible flatmates moved out, I scored the premium room and some lovely new friends moved in. (We had our fair share of fuckwits though - that darned gimp room.) One of my flatmates gave me his double bed. My professional legal studies course began, and soon I had my admission and graduation from Otago. I fell in love with a band. Two bands. Bought a suit. Found a proper job. Went to all the gigs. Made some awesome friends. And so on.
Wellington, you've provided a wonderful place for me to live and call home, where I could comfortably walk from home to work and find everything I needed in between. Musically you've given me everything I wanted, apart from the odd snobby international tour and the occasional out-of-town festival. You're not far from my dad in Wanganui, although I could have taken advantage of that a little more.
I'm now going to seamlessly integrate a meme from MirarmarMike..
1: Where do you go when the rain/sun comes?
Rain: Stay at home. Rainy weekends are perfect for a Pride & Prejudice marathon. Junk food and pyjamas compulsory.
Sunny: Mt Victoria. There is a particular glade near the top that I love to sit at; otherwise there’s a spot at Charles Plimmer Reserve at the top of Majoribanks St that I visit often on summer evenings. If there’s a car available, Scorching Bay is where it’s at.
2: What's your favourite view?
The view from Jimmy’s place is pretty cool. The view from Mike's in Brooklyn (close to the wind turbine) is even better.
3: The thing that annoys you the most about Wellington?
The by-pass, and the fact that it’s taking forever to finish Waitangi Park.
4: How do you handle the wind?
With gritted teeth, and thoughts of renewable energy.
5: Most famous Wellingtonian you know?
Various musicians.
6: The thing that people say about Wellington that really gets you angry?
That the bypass is a good idea.
7: Where does Wellington end for you?
The end of Lambton Quay.
8: If Wellington were a famous person, who would it be?
Um.. this is a hard one! Probably someone a little bohemian..
9: What do you feel/think when you return to Wellington?
When I was little and we visited Wellington I always loved coming through the Ngauranga Gorge and round the bend, where the view of the city and harbour opens up. Nowadays I often think of the Black Seeds’ song Almost Home. "I see the lights on the harbour... almost home."
10: Best quote about Wellington?
"I live at the edge of the Universe, like everybody else," - Bill Manhire
I'd also like to mention that my favourite place to eat is Roti Chenai on Victoria St. Although their lunch special recently rose in price from $5.50 to $6, it's still great value and tastes so incredibly good. If you like Malaysian curries, this is it, and their roti is second to none.
I miss you already Wellington, but hang in there - I'll be seeing you before long.
Now I'm finding my place in Auckland, waiting for the day when I can say, "Wow, I really landed on my feet!" It could be tomorrow. I really wanted to segue neatly into the topic of virgin blog entries, but it isn't coming out right, so just take a look here: Miss Hag's thoughts.
Wellington, you've provided a wonderful place for me to live and call home, where I could comfortably walk from home to work and find everything I needed in between. Musically you've given me everything I wanted, apart from the odd snobby international tour and the occasional out-of-town festival. You're not far from my dad in Wanganui, although I could have taken advantage of that a little more.
I'm now going to seamlessly integrate a meme from MirarmarMike..
1: Where do you go when the rain/sun comes?Rain: Stay at home. Rainy weekends are perfect for a Pride & Prejudice marathon. Junk food and pyjamas compulsory.
Sunny: Mt Victoria. There is a particular glade near the top that I love to sit at; otherwise there’s a spot at Charles Plimmer Reserve at the top of Majoribanks St that I visit often on summer evenings. If there’s a car available, Scorching Bay is where it’s at.
2: What's your favourite view?
The view from Jimmy’s place is pretty cool. The view from Mike's in Brooklyn (close to the wind turbine) is even better.
3: The thing that annoys you the most about Wellington?
The by-pass, and the fact that it’s taking forever to finish Waitangi Park.
4: How do you handle the wind?
With gritted teeth, and thoughts of renewable energy.
5: Most famous Wellingtonian you know?
Various musicians.
6: The thing that people say about Wellington that really gets you angry?
That the bypass is a good idea.
7: Where does Wellington end for you?
The end of Lambton Quay.
8: If Wellington were a famous person, who would it be?
Um.. this is a hard one! Probably someone a little bohemian..
9: What do you feel/think when you return to Wellington?
When I was little and we visited Wellington I always loved coming through the Ngauranga Gorge and round the bend, where the view of the city and harbour opens up. Nowadays I often think of the Black Seeds’ song Almost Home. "I see the lights on the harbour... almost home."
10: Best quote about Wellington?
"I live at the edge of the Universe, like everybody else," - Bill Manhire
I'd also like to mention that my favourite place to eat is Roti Chenai on Victoria St. Although their lunch special recently rose in price from $5.50 to $6, it's still great value and tastes so incredibly good. If you like Malaysian curries, this is it, and their roti is second to none.
I miss you already Wellington, but hang in there - I'll be seeing you before long.
Now I'm finding my place in Auckland, waiting for the day when I can say, "Wow, I really landed on my feet!" It could be tomorrow. I really wanted to segue neatly into the topic of virgin blog entries, but it isn't coming out right, so just take a look here: Miss Hag's thoughts.
posted by Jessie at 00:08
10 comments
10 Comments:
Nice Jess.
Take care, we hardly know you, but we miss you already.
Miss you heaps already Jess! Wish you were here to keep me amused while I waste away my days off work and on ACC, ah well, myself and Wellington look forward to seeing you in a few weeks. I've been practising writing with my left hand, hard work I tell ya!
Sigh, miss you too, and wish we'd got together more often. I want my kids to know their youngest and coolest aunty...they could learn lots from you. Love you Jesso!
I hope your sojourn in Auckland is more successful than mine was - I spent three years there without ever getting that "this is my town" feeling that Dunedin has always evoked in me.
Just wish you hadn't rubbed it in, about the complete absence of any Malaysian food down here. :) It is my all time favourite food, to the point that I flew to Penang for a week, just so I could eat properly. Hmmm, I might have to have a special stopover in Christchurch next week to find some.
Between living the "wild life" your first week in Auckland (wow, the Phoenix Foundation and SJD in one room!) and missing Wellington, it seems like you've got a lot going on.
Sounds like you make friends easily and Auckland'll soon be another place you'll have at your command. Maybe in a few years, Melbourne? Europe again?
BTW, Roti Chenai is one of my favorite places to eat, too! Wellington is my favorite city. Being an older country mouse, it's just the perfect scale and pace. I like Melbourne, too, but it's too big and the bands aren't as good.
Because of you, I'll wear my I Love Te Aro and get Matt to wear his Bypass My Ass t-shirts tomorrow.
Arghhhhhhh! I love Roti Chenai, it can't be beat. Curses, I'll be thinking about it for the rest of the day now.
I have to say we managed to eat at Roti Chenai approximately 20 times when we were home. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
Darling, thank you for the linkage. That is very kind of you.
I would venture to say that you landed on your feet quite some time ago. And now, you are testing out your wings.
Great meme! ;)
Miss Marisol: By all means take the meme and fill it in :-)
I echo Llew's comment (at top) - have a blast in Auckland.
(it's MiramarMike here - forgotten my log in!)
Thanks everyone - just thought I'd point out that it's 2 weeks later, and I've landed on my feet; did you see the triple back flip with half twist?! :)
And again with the revision: now it's close to two years later. I'm soon to leave - but I can only smile when I read, waiting for the day when I can say, "Wow, I really landed on my feet!" It could be tomorrow.
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