movember

Well, “Movember” is drawing to a close. I don’t think anyone is NZ can possibly be unaware of what Movember is by now, but if so then check out http://www.movember.com/nz. It’s great to see prostate cancer getting a higher profile. After all, breast cancer and skin cancer both get a ton of press time, but an awful lot of people aren’t even aware of what prostate cancer is.

All the worthiness aside, though, one thing this past month has proved is that the mighty mo really isn’t a look for everyone. Honestly, have you ever seen such a sad lot of wanna-be-Magnum-PI’s?? The thing that has amazed me most is the number of guys who, after a month of trying, still only have the smallest wee bum-fluff mo.

One colleague of The Boy’s (who shall remain nameless) came to work one day with a mo that looked suspiciously darker and fuller than it had the day before. On closer inspection, they discovered that he had tired of being teased about only having weeny peach fuzz, and had used mascara to beef it up a bit…

Anyway – well done to all the guys who participated. Quite aside from raising money and awareness, you’ve also provided no small amount of amusement to the rest of us!

neighbours

Neighbours are funny things, aren’t they? I’m not really used to having neighbours that you do more than nod hello to as you pass on the street – I haven’t really been “buddies” with neighbours since I was a child. In fact, the last neighbours I had were an old pair of alcoholics, who must have single-handedly kept the local liquor store in business. They liked to have nasty arguments at the top of their lungs, smoked like chimneys (which doesn’t seem to have weakened their lungs any, given the volumes they could achieve) and regularly set off the smoke alarms with their cooking.

So you can see how I’d find it a little odd getting used to neighbours who not only seem quite normal, but who are actually friendly. To give you an idea, they brought us a cake when we moved in. Seriously! A very yummy strawberry cheesecake, in fact. And knocked on the door last night to invite us over for a quiet beer.

They seem like a lovely couple, though – about our age with a young baby. And, funnily enough, it turns out we know some of the same people – never mind 6 degrees of separation, New Zealand is more like two or three.

So there you go – a new experience for pj-now-in-the-suburbs: friendly neighbours.

relapse

The Boy has had a bit of a computeritis and internetitis relapse in the last few weeks. Just when he’d been getting a little better, too.

It started when we were out appliance shopping, of all things. The store we were in had a massive game section, which I didn’t realise. I foolishly suggested he occupy himself with something else while I looked at washers and dryers, since he has the attention span of a two year old about such things. Anyway, he found the game section…

After I’d sorted the appliances and organised delivery, it was time to leave. He wanted to buy a computer game first. These things aren’t cheap, and we’d just spent a fortune on whiteware, so I wasn’t really keen for him to do that. The resemblance to a two year old reared it’s head again and, one big tantrum later, we left the store with Civilisation IV (kind of an ironic choice, considering the behaviour).

He was just starting to surface from spending 95% of his at-home-and-awake time playing that (the other 5% being spent eating) when his new broadband connection finally came through. Yup, he’s been almost impossible to drag away from the internet ever since.

I know that it’ll taper off eventually (until the next big thing comes along, anyway), and I know I should be happy that he is happy, but I’m afraid I really just find it annoying.

Has a cure for computeritis or internetitis been discovered since I last asked? If so, please let me know!

invasion…

Not to sound like a girly wuss or anything, but one thing I am finding hard to adjust to again is insects.

We had a bit of an ant invasion over the weekend – the local ant colony apparently decided it didn’t like the stormy weather outside and decided to come on in. Fortunately they didn’t find the pantry (touch wood), but they did find the rubbish bin and spread themselves far and wide through the kitchen and dining areas, with a few hardy front-runners making a foray into the living room.

A can of Raid and a quick trip to buy ant bait later, we seem to have it pretty much under control. It’s just another one of the “features” (as opposed to the benefits…) of living in a villa, I guess, but I’ve always been a bit of a girl when it comes to creepy-crawlies.


ps – happy birthday dad!

suburbia…

Yes, we’re well and truly moved – PJ is now officially a suburbanite. I do still get my daily dose of the city at work, though, so I haven’t gone entirely over to the dark side.

We’ve been there 3 weeks tomorrow. It seems both longer and shorter than that, which I know doesn’t really make sense. Still, I never claimed to make sense.

In the three weeks, we’ve had multiple barbeques, unpacked the majority of the boxes, bought a few sets of drawers and abandoned the idea of taking the bus to work. We’ve also bought a washing machine & dryer, which seems like a very grown-up thing to do (my mum was a bit horrified when I said that – I think she thinks that someone my age shouldn’t find appliance ownership scary).

One thing I’ve realised is that I’ve been well and truly spoiled over the last few years by the excellent insulation that modern apartments have – I’d forgotten how cold villas can be. We’re definitely going to have to invest in an amazing heater (or three) before winter.