photos and other things…
Not much time for words today. Just a shot off the camera from a work trip to Sachie’s Kitchen in Aucklands CBD.
Just squeezing in, as technically I was there with my old team after changing roles, we had a great afternoon leaning how to and then cooking a variety of tasty dishes.
The staff were friendly, helpful and entertaining. A great place to visit for a group, work team or other gabble of people.
Check them out if your local: www.sachieskitchen.com
Lego. I don’t know about some of you out there, but lego was a massive part of my younger childhood. The endless creations, mixed with a child’s imagination makes lego a toy that can span for hours at a time, and for years.
Every now and then when I stroll through a toy store and see the lego section, I’m ever impressed with its ability to both remain lego at its core design, yet also fit into so many different themes and genre’s from ‘city life’ to ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Batman’.
I think its also one of those collections that stands the course of time and can be handed down through the generations. I don’t know where my large (from a kids memory) collection went. Perhaps it was passed onto another family, or is stored in a box somewhere back at the family home.
Todays image was shot on the GRD IV and slightly desaturated in Gimp.
Growing up as a youngster, the corner dairy was a staple Kiwi classic. Before the growth of massive supermarkets, and petrol stations that stock all but the kitchen sink, the old corner dairy was the place to go for some supplies or milk (assuming you didn’t have the milk man deliver it to your door in glass bottles…why did the glass bottles ever stop!?).
Gradually over the years I have seen a massive reduction in these little stores. Culturally, at least in the big city of Auckland, its always been interested to look at ownership of these small businesses. When very young, they were generally western owned around my local area. As I passed through school, your typical Indian businessman/woman/family seemed to have brought up a good number of them. Now its often more the Chinese families. Living accommodation directly behind the counter, its always interested me in the fact that these businesses are simply a way of life. Open 7 days a week, long hours, often family owned and run…never a day off! – I admire their brute dedication.
Back when I was little New Zealand still had 1 and 2 cent coins (10 cents is now the smallest). Before the concern of germs (well, not really before), dairy’s would have glass displays of 1 and 2 cent lollies. 20 cents in hand,kids would choose those 10 or 20 candy treats, the dairy owner picking them out with their fingers that had touched who knows what else all day long. Ice blocks and ice cream in summer. Milkshakes, chips and fizzy drinks like leed…oh the memories.
Whilst many corner stores are still open all over the country, it must be a hard life. Many buy their products from supermarkets and hence have to charge high prices in store. Competing with large supermarket chains, also in every suburb, must be tough. Still the best place to go for an ice cream in summer though!
“Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
‘digital paintbrush’ converted in Photoshop CS5.
…or perhaps back to the dark side?
Last week I made a bit of an impulse buy on a cheap mountain bike on sale. I have been riding fixed gear solely for about three years now, and single speed for about another three…so I’m a bit uncertain about my purchase…Gears!
What it came down to is my desire to do some more cycling to work once the weather clears up, and also to open up the opportunity to cycle a little more off road (I do a bit on the fixie, but its not ideal). Our new home is in a fairly hilly area, my fixed gear cycle is not really geared for big hills- and if I gear it to get up the hills, I’ll be peddling too fast on the flat…
I don’t think I’m quite ready to sell the fixie yet, but I guess time will tell. The beautiful elegance of a single speed is the simplicity of them – things almost never go wrong, and when they do its only one or two possible things. In saying this, there is nothing overly complicated about the 18 speed either. Whatever way you look at it, bikes are great simple machines where we can use our own engine to get from A to B.
Can I adapt back to riding gears? will I keep my fixie as a second?…time will tell 🙂
MikeHawkey.com 