The business of buskers

Wellington has quite a numb3r of street performers plying their trade around the city, mainly at Cuba Street.

I frequent this street almost every day. I've used the word "almost" because it has become one of the two paths that I take for my daily commute to and from work - a <1km walk. The example itinerary is as follows:

Home -> Bargain Rental Car junction -> Start of Cuba Street: Wellington Fish Market -> Peaches Sex Shop -> Traffic light crossing -> Floriditas -> Amcal Pharmacy Construction -> Bucket Fountain (the one that Mr. Frodo peed in) -> Another traffic crossing and the end of Cuba Street -> Mr Bun Bakery -> Work

Back to the topic of buskers.

Office Space

Here are some pictures of my present work place, including some bonus pictures of a Friday Project Eat 'n Drink session.

I'll start with the first thing I stare at the moment I get to the office:


A decent setup, nothing really to shout about here. It's pretty much a regular Corporate Jungle over these parts.

Right hand rule

Guess who I met again today.

Michael the taxi driver.

Maybe it's no coincidence as he has a few favourite waiting spots that I visit often, one of which is at the front of my office, the corner of Manners and Taranaki Street.

I spared a few minutes chatting with him (was on the way to a lunchtime haircut), and the conversation somehow arrived to the topic of driving in NZ. Mike then tells me about the Right hand rule.

Right hand rule? Use your right hand while driving?

Nope. Lemme try to explain based on my understanding and without using any diagram whatsover:

Right hand rule is a traffic law practiced in a situation where two cars from opposite directions approach a common turning. The driver of the car which is making a right turn gets the right of way, ahead of the other person who is making the left turn (and therefore closer to the turning). This rule was enacted 20 years ago according to Mike.

NZ happens to be the only country using this baffling rule. So if you don't understand what I was blabbering about upstairs, here's an explanation from the NZ AA website.

Clearly, the website does a better job (and includes any interesting discussion of the dilemma faced by NZ drivers)

Just so you know :)

Wellington Weekends 101

First of all, Wellington in my opinion has got to be one of the safest capital cities in the world. I've not been to a lot of big cities around the world, but from the looks of it, Welly has not shown any signs of being dangerous. Maybe that's why a lot of people call this country boring - I've not had my pulse racing except when I'm hitting my stride at the gym. A night stroll at a dark alley is not so intimidating (not that I encourage it).

Maybe that's why drama and controversy thrives in this world we live in, whether in real-life, reality shows, work-life, family gatherings, etc. So is boring a good thing? In this particular situation I think so haha :)

No drama or controversy at my end but perhaps a little too much rambling :P

Barclays Premier League 2010/2011!!

Ooooow yeah! The Premier League is finally back and I'm sure it's just gonna get better than last season. After that horrendous World Cup and subsequent post-World Cup hangover, I have been eagerly anticipating the return of fast-flowing football littered with end-to-end stuff.

I'm pretty glad that the apartment that I'm staying at has Sky TV which includes the Sky sports channels, unfortunately the timings are insomnia inducing in New Zealand.

Just to give you an idea of the schedule:

Saturday night crossing over to Sunday morning:
11.45pm - 1.30am Tottenham vs Man City (live)
2.00am - 3.45am Aston Villa vs West Ham (live)
4.30am - 6.15am Chelsea vs West Brom (live)
6.00am - 8.00am Blackburn vs Everton (delayed)
8.00am - 10am Wigan vs Blackpool (delayed)

Monday morning:
3.00am - 4.45am Liverpool vs Arsenal (live)

Tuesday morning:
7.00am - 8.45am Manchester United vs Newcastle United (live)

The Big Pluses are that most of the games are shown (may improve my fantasy football scouting skills) and that I won't lose sleep watching Man Utd's first game of the season. And it's just in time before I leave for work (8.55am)

Looking forward to it!!

Sighting at the Coffee Club

Just so you know.


It's One-up for Moms out there, but I'm highly indifferent about it. Just haven't had many picture-taking opportunities of late...

Two sides of a coin

Initially fascinated by the shapes, sizes and designs of New Zealand currency, I took photos of some of them and then kept it away in the dark recesses of my netbook. So I dug it up and posted it with the purpose of educating the fascinated:

A new chapter in Windy Welly

Note to all and to self:

I have certainly been busy settling into my new home and in the midst of it all, have concluded that one must have youth (or the spirit of youth) and a reasonable amount of physical & mental strength to go through relocating to a new country. Now I can understand why the older generation would choose to settle down and be less ambitious, for the sake of peace and stability. By peace I mean comfort & routine, and by stability, the absence of uncertainty.

I’d really hate to be a pessimist, but it’s just human nature to spot the defects (that’s why we have games like “Spot the difference” and not “What are the similarities between A and B?”). So let me present to you - the negative experiences of my new chapter so far:

1. Wellington showed its intolerable side today – torrential rain (light relentless jabs compared to the heavy flooding blows in Malaysia) and fierce winds that beat you around in whatever direction it pleases. Umbrellas are useless here. Leaning was a necessary tactic to combat the winds here!

2. Meanwhile, the drivers here are pretty unforgiving and can be quite aggressive. This caught me by surprise – they’ll try to run you down when the pedestrian lights stop flashing and you’re almost done crossing the walk. Still, they would lose to a fistfight with Msian drivers by a knockout.


I’d have to say however, that overall, it’s been fantastic experience living in this city so far! Plenty of new things to see and my senses are being invigorated by the fresh air of a foreign land. More travelling will come in the coming weeks and months, nevertheless I’m glad to be able to settle down and take a breather at least for the next 3-4 months.

Good night!