News flash – government spending is up. Way, way up. All the government departments are trying to spend their annual budgets before the financial end-of-year deadline of June 30th. Freelancers and contractors stick around town, despite the ghastly June weather. Between projects wrapping up “for the 30th” and shell games involving fungible advance invoicing, this […]
Entries from June 30th, 2010
If a budget falls in the forest and nobody spends it…
June 30th, 2010 Comments Off on If a budget falls in the forest and nobody spends it…
Tags: government
Our Scum
June 28th, 2010 1 Comment
Will has spent the rainy Saturday at his best mate Wayne’s place. They only left the garage for bathroom breaks. Between replacing the engine of a secondhand 4 x 4 (Will spotted and handed over tools) and dissecting the All Whites’ football performance, time has flown. The 4 x 4, with the key in the […]
Tags: beer · social mores · wayne · will
Qui Audet Adipiscitur
June 25th, 2010 1 Comment
With FIFA World Cup games airing in the deeps of the night and the early morning, the question at Winona’s office this week, is, who is going to win? Who is going to be brave and daring enough…to call in sick on Friday after the 2 AM game, New Zealand versus Paraguay? Winona breezes in […]
Happy Midwinter…Thing…Can We Make It Matariki Now?
June 21st, 2010 1 Comment
You can tell there’s something up. All the shops are having sales. There’s increased social buzz around town. Museums and bars are having special events. There are even holiday decorations. Something is giving the soggy winter air of Wellington a bit of sparkle. Isn’t it a pity that nobody can agree exactly what it is? […]
Tags: social mores · weather · Wellington
It Only Happened The Once
June 18th, 2010 2 Comments
Winona has taken to stopping by Wazzer’s bar on Friday evening after work. Will meets her there, more and more often trailed by some of his workmates, who like the hipness-by-proxy of a place where they “know†a bartender. With all the part-time staff not at her office on Friday, and her bosses distracted by […]
Tags: glbt-queer · romance · wazzer · winona
IAWL Likes…Crowdsourcing a Scandal
June 16th, 2010 5 Comments
In response to the recent MPs-charging-personal-items-to-their-credit-cards scandal, a website is enlisting all of us to review MPs’ credit card receipts. And we are replying. I saw this when it first went up yesterday: 18 hours later, over 50% of the available receipts have been reviewed. Utterly fascinating.
Tags: government · social mores
Hutt Chub
June 14th, 2010 Comments Off on Hutt Chub
It’s harder to stay skinny in the Hutt. As in all suburbs everywhere, this is due to driving replacing walking. Kapiti Coast denizens are not so deeply afflicted because they are always going for long beach walks. Now that her sister Winona is back, staying slim as she gets around Wellington on foot, Helena Hutt […]
Tags: blokes · helena · hutt valley
An Actual Conversation
June 11th, 2010 1 Comment
Willow and Winona meet up for lunch at one of the many unremarkable cafes on the Terrace. Willow is a little twitchy. She showed up in her usual winter Friday outfit, corduroys, a Polarfleece, a knitted hat, to find Winona crisply glam in a red trench coat, of all things. She’s been wondering for a […]
Rug Up, Mate: Wellington Storm Wear Strategies
June 9th, 2010 2 Comments
How long has it been raining for? Three weeks? Four? Welcome to the Wellington winter, with its lashing mix of rain and cold winds direct from Antarctica. Someday, genetic engineering will create the perfect human for the Wellington environment. Along with a third limb to hold a coffee cup or commuting bags, they will have […]
Tags: social mores · style · weather
Not A Jolly Holiday
June 7th, 2010 Comments Off on Not A Jolly Holiday
Wazzer is bracing herself for tonight. Queen’s Birthday. A public holiday. The bar where she’s the night manager is open, levying a 15% surcharge. The slightly plumper paycheck she will receive does not compensate for the resulting annoyance. Customers will be few and crabby. Tips, in short supply at this time of year without tourists, […]
Tags: real estate · wazzer · willow