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Entries from January 31st, 2011

The Other Big “0”

January 31st, 2011 Comments Off on The Other Big “0”

On Wellington Anniversary Day, Willow is relaxing in her breakfast nook, enjoying the unique sensation of reading the Dominion Post on her netbook, instead of at her desk at work. A small glass pot of flower jasmine tea is unfurling/brewing on the table, and a happy cat is nestled up beside her.  The serenity doesn’t […]

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Good Riddance

January 28th, 2011 Comments Off on Good Riddance

“Mate. Mate! Mate! Calm down!” Will isn’t sure who he’s addressing. Six hours ago, as Ulrika wept, he felt like a hero for saying that he’d help Ulrika tell her now-ex-lover, Wayland, to move out of Ulrika’s flat. He’s in the middle of the hundred-decibel negotiations now, thinking that maybe he got asked along to […]

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“For There Is No Friend Like A Sister”

January 26th, 2011 Comments Off on “For There Is No Friend Like A Sister”

It’s midnight. Winona has just finished pacing, unburdening herself to her sister Karin, about how it feels to walk in on your partner with another woman’s face in his lap. The day has been so long and peculiar that it barely registers that she is now in a foundry-cum-studio on the outskirts of Waikanae, talking […]

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Pocket-Sized Surprises

January 24th, 2011 1 Comment

Winona nurses a perry cider and peeks around the garden of the Flat of Legend with interest. In daylight, this flat of flats retains its charm. Its small courtyard garden is hemmed with exuberant roses and dahlias, mismatched, charmingly worn chairs, and mismatched charming barbecue guests. No “snarlers” on the grill here: they have brought […]

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That Guy She Knows

January 19th, 2011 Comments Off on That Guy She Knows

“Is Wazzer here?” Winona croaks. She’s at the bar where, a month ago, she and Will and Ulrika were all hanging out, and where everything turned to custard. After fleeing her own flat, she realized that, in the middle of the day, she could call either her  mother or Wazzer. And she wasn’t at the […]

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The Nice Thing About Living Downtown Is You Can Go Home At Lunch

January 17th, 2011 2 Comments

Will failed to mop up Ulrika’s tears in the cafe. She had a long, tangled story about going to Kaitaia with her boyfriend Wayland, getting shouted at when no-one was around to admire how smooth Wayland was, the Christmas awkwardness,  overhearing Wayland telling a cousin about hoping to move to Europe on Ulrika’s passport. Their […]

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The Salt Mines

January 12th, 2011 1 Comment

Around town, from register to register, cubicle to cubicle, the workers are back and the moan goes up. “Too good to last…back to the salt mines…did you have a nice Christmas?” The last question has derailed quite a few conversations around town, as Will has just learned. Back at the office, he has, all innocence […]

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Week of Legends 3: It Goes Both Ways

January 10th, 2011 Comments Off on Week of Legends 3: It Goes Both Ways

A few weeks ago here at IAWL we commented on the rise of burlesque in our fair city. This new-again performance art comes with its own complications in a small city where most people know each other, and many of them work in public service. So, in some of the offices around town, there are […]

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Week of Legends 2: Notorious C.E.O.

January 5th, 2011 1 Comment

There aren’t a lot of rakes and flirts in Wellington. The few that we do have stand out and tend to be remembered. So it was with The Notorious C.E.O, the charismatic head of one of Wellington’s largest organizations. The Notorious C.E.O. was married. But he didn’t let that stop him. Posterity does not record […]

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Week of Legends 1: You Know What Would Be Good Right Now? A Curry And A Pint

January 1st, 2011 Comments Off on Week of Legends 1: You Know What Would Be Good Right Now? A Curry And A Pint

It’s going to be a lazy, hazy summer week here in Wellington. We’re at the part of “the Christmas break” when we’re free from the chains of Crimbo, when the New Year’s hangovers have faded, when we can really relax. Even if you’re back at work on the 5th, heh, we all know what that […]

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