Wellington photo-day

"It's true you can't live here by chance. You have to do and be, not simply watch- or even describe. This is the city of action, the world headquarters of the verb."

Well I'd like to have another afternoon in Wellington to take some more, as I had limited time, but here are my favourites from my "Wellington photo day", March 11th 2009. (Blogger has auto-cropped their appearance on the blog, for space. Bummer.)

Model at the Hello Kitty makeup display for MAC, Kirkcaldie and Stain's.

Wellington Buses.

Lambton Quay.

Civic Square.

Cuba Mall.

I could go on all night! You'll just have to look at them all yourself now, won't you.

♥

Kat

Dear Wellington, I love you.

20 things to do before leaving your home town..

When I originally thought about writing this post, I had no real ideas. Well, maybe two or three, but definitely no heart-wrenching sentimental tasks to complete before I leave.

And I have a confession: I'm really not that stressed about the recession. I'm generally someone who tries to be ridiculously-optimistic all the time and has a lot of faith in things working out, but well. Then Wellington icons started closing down. First Dorothy's shut its doors, and now Espressoholic. And the latter isn't even having financial issues.

So it got me thinking. What's my favourite place in the world, really? I mean, I'm obsessed with New York. It's been top of the list forever. But what about Welly? Do I take it for granted? And yeah, I really do.

Wellington's a fantastic town. Forget the wind. The places, the people, the beautiful harbour.. I'm proud to be from Wellington. And I am truly sad to be leaving Wellington for an indefinite period. 2 years? 1 year? forever? let's hope not. 

So I have compiled a list, with some help, of things that I really want to do before I leave this city. In no particular order.. (and edited as I complete..)

1. Spend a day somewhere in the Wairarapa. Well, not exactly Wellington. But it's in the region! Check!

2. Museum day! Te Papa, National Gallery, the New Dowse etc.

3. Kaffee Eis, Espressoholic, Fidel's, Midnight Espresso.. Best cafes/treats around. Check on Espressoholic, sad sad sad.

4. Spend one (or two) day(s) photographing Wellington. Check on one day!

5. See a film at the Embassy. Check! Though I'll go again.

6. Spend some time in Cuba Mall people-watching and watching the Bucket Fountain. Check! Love to repeat if I can.

7. Mt Victoria lookout. Maybe take a picnic, take photos, day or night.

8. Ride the cable car.

9. Walk around the waterfront.

10. Karaoke night with friends at a booked room at Taste of Korea. Check! And it was rad.

11. Night out on the town! Good old Wellington nightlife, crappy though it may be sometimes.

12. One last Kiwi BBQ with friends.

13. Matterhorn, Mighty Mighty, Kitty's, Alice. My favourite (Kitty's for nostalgic reasons) bars in Welly.

14. Do the Vertical Bungy or the pedal cars around Oriental Bay.

15. Visit the Weta Cave, Miramar.

16. Lambton Quay: Kirks, Old Bank Arcade, lazy Wellington window-shopping.

17. Have lunch at the Beehive! Check! Thanks, Sarah-Rose!

18. Sushi from Midland Sushi, hang out in the park.

19. Days Bay - icecream, walking, or just sitting by the water.

20. Sit in Wellington and just enjoy it all moving around you.

What a town. Wellington photo post to come (or you can check em all out: here).

xx

Kat

Less than 30 days...

I get an exciting piece of mail and share some thoughts on the move and my progress towards it.



♥

Kat

Stopped caring!

Recorded vlog pieces with the bad sound. Damnit, I just want this to continue.

Update soon!

Help!

I have vlogging issues and need some advice from those in the know.

1. If I use Windows Movie Maker, it crashes. Dunno why. Have tried all sorts of codec fixes.

2. If I use my web-camera to record the vlog, I have to either wear my headset mic or use a free-standing mic that reacts with my laptop's power supply so it constantly buzzes. And the video quality is crap.

3. If I use my fancy-ass camera, for some reason when I put the file in Windows Movie Maker the sound distorts and I sound like I have a massive lisp. Picture quality is great.

4. If I use my mother's laptop, it has a built-in camera and mic, the quality is really good, but when I capture it captures me for some reason at double-time and then the picture freezes while the sound continues.

I've spent all day trying to vlog. I'm going to have to record video only and then record sound as a voice-over. Naff, but currently the only way.. any tips on how to fix any of these problems?

Minus Six

While you're waiting for a more interesting post and the vlog, here is this week's list of To-Do's..

Call Vodafone - I know my account is for longer than my leaving date, so I need to investigate how much it costs to get out of it, and whether it's cheaper to just let it run its course, or quit early.

Doctor/optometrist - Prescriptions, tests, check-ups, oh my.

Finish editing vlog - I expect this weekend. Even with cold, I can do it all from bed.

Anyhoo. Work time.

Still writing and editing..

...just bogged down with a head cold. Update this weekend.

xx

Kat

Kat in Edinburgh

New feature! how exciting.

♥

Kat

Minus Eight

In the aviation industry, we like to talk about things in minus. How many minutes until departure, like the "T-minus" countdown of a space shuttle. At -20 we board a jet to Auckland, at -15, a Q300 to Napier.

I'm now at just under 8 weeks before I move to the UK. I still have many things to do before I leave, of course, but I'm trying to focus on just a few things per week so that I'm not too overwhelmed. This week's tasks are:

See my agent - Oh yeah. She doesn't know I'm moving. Oops.

See STA Travel - Setting up my bank account and NIN number appointment are pretty crucial from this side. The horror stories of attempting to do it from within the UK have put me off that idea entirely.

Lists of "must-dos" in Wellington - Next post? 20 things I want to do before I leave. Suggestions are also welcome!

8 weeks is of course 56 days (well less now). Seems long yet so very very quick! Time is flying by.

...And of course there's all these 4am shifts making me all floopy.

♥

Kat