I believe your thoughts on this depend very much on your opinion of what human nature is, and how highly you prioritise what’s best for you as an individual over what’s best for a country.

I think that when you start debating benefits and who gets what of the tax dollar, it is very difficult to hold the discussion about what the most unlucky in our society should get when you honestly have no comprehension of how far removed their life is from yours. Isn’t there a saying about imagining yourself being born at the bottom of the heap and wondering if you would still hold firm to your beliefs? It would be better for me to pay less tax (especially the $70 I have to pay in late fines for filing my GST return on Monday instead of Wednesday), but I think I would rather other people have that money.

I now realise though, that when you have a system with loopholes, most people exploit them. But I don’t put that down to human nature, I put it down to culture.

I liked John Key’s response to the drama about MPs taking their partners on trips: It’s not illegal but be aware this is an open government, your actions will be made public and you have to be prepared to defend them.

I wonder if we took that attitude across a range of other things, and I don’t mean the traditional ‘dole bludger’ argument. I think it would be fascinating what changes you’d see to the way people acted if it was up for the scrutiny of others. Totally impossible (unless there is a web 3.0 that sorts it out).

I know someone who has claimed he will stay on the dole until the government addresses climate change. This makes my blood boil, but I imagine he’s 100% convinced he’s not only doing what’s best for himself, but what’s best for the country. I find it both fascinating and totally confusing how we are all so unique we can have such different views on the same thing. Is it human nature to convince yourself that despite evidence to the contrary that you are a good person doing good deeds?

So how do we solve the problem of making the world/New Zealand a better place to be? Is that actually what we want or do we want to make it a better place for our individual selves? Is making it better for one group, always making it worse for another? I wonder, deep down how much we even care about that other group. There is still huge and unjustified poverty, yet I have money in my bank account that I spend on clothes instead of feeding those people. I don’t even justify it, I just conveniently avoid confronting myself too much. I wonder if that should be borderline criminal. It would be if those people were on my doorstep.

I had a conversation with a smart guy the other day about our most pressing issue. I said the environment, he said ‘you wouldn’t say that if you were going to lose your job tomorrow.’ Is STILL thinking that in the big picture, I’d still vote the environment, uncaring, or is it pragmatically caring or is it just some idealistic rubbish that can’t possibly be fixed in a functioning society as we know it?

Sometimes I’m just grateful that my opinion doesn’t count too high. There is a lot of pressure on the people making these decisions, and it’s much easier commenting from afar than being the guy standing there with a pen, signing a new law. I don’t think I have the stamina, this is the sort of state I get myself into when I think about who I’m going to vote for in a couple of years time…

This could well be true, I don’t know the stats on how much value us small businesses add to the economy in proportion to our size. Maybe we don’t add that much when being dwarfed by the larger companies amongst us? Are we sort of a waste of time?

This isn’t a rant, I just heard that the Business Advisor position at Grow Wellington has been significantly reduced. To me it seems a shame. I feel like Ruth and Marie-Claire before her have offered a HUGE amount of value to my business and that the funding I have applied for through these wonderful people will be paid off at least threefold in terms of increased revenue (and a lot of this export revenue)

I’m sure many small businesses are in the same boat, but maybe we just have grand visions of ourselves and when you multiply a $5k investment, over a lot of small companies, the council would be better off to combine that funding and invest it in a larger company?

I’d be interested to know, because i thought there was definitely room in Wellington for one person to be dedicated to helping grow small companies OUTSIDE the official incubators etc?

I totally understand there is a higher risk of growing small companies that are reliant on investment rather than earnings (we have all met ‘entrepreneurs’ who have never run a company that can break even on its own), but I think, while I was easily able to survive without funding, the boost that funding gave me to get business advice was incredibly valuable.

Rowan Simpson’s post on weight loss made me think. He is 100% right. The fundamentals of how any of us end up lazy, fat bums is simple: It’s too hard to start and to turn a negative feedback cycle into a positive one.

A few things I have learned in the past couple of months:

• Think lifestyle change NOT boom and bust When Amy and I first got a PT we specifically said “don’t push us”. If we are in this for the long term, I didn’t actually care if we made bare minimum progress for months, the impressive part was actually getting into a routine where exercise became part of our day. If he set me up with a four day a week schedule initially, I would have quit. 2 weeks ago we demanded one.
• Get your confidence I used to be quite sporty, I came from an uber sporty family, but somewhere along the lines, I lost my sport confidence. I feel slow and unfit all the time and I was always the slowest, I always COULDN’T do stuff. However, in the past few months, Amy and I have powered through milestones and we have plenty more to achieve. The more we achieve, the more motivated we become. My theory is “you don’t have to be good. if you want to run 10kms, it doesn’t matter if it takes 2 hours, just do it. Next time you can do it faster.”
• Change your activities This is a toughie for someone who’s idea of a good time virtually always involved wine. BUT last Sunday morning you would have found Amy and I on the treadmills catching up about our weekend. We, as a group have also started to discuss sunday tramps and are all registering for the run swim series and beyond. If you are having fun while exercising, it actually doesn’t feel that bad.

What follows on from all this is a desire to eat better, push yourself further and actually (gasp) start to look forward to achieving something by exercising.

So several months in, I feel better (despite the constant cold) and am starting to wonder if we really have turned over a new leaf!

I would say Graeme is very laid back and while in comparison I’m uptight, I still think (Ronan shut up) that I’m at the low end of the scale. However both of us have recently tried to attempt to ‘change’ and be more confrontational/assertive. I think the results have proven to be quite funny and I know I definitely find myself feeling more angry, just because when you are dealing with idiots, you have to actually think about them, and that’s frustrating! But I HATE being angry. It ruins your life.

Alan Platt (who I highly recommend as a business mentor, has always said that you can’t be who you aren’t and if you’re not the kind of person to be staunch/scary/aggressive, DON’T DO IT, it simply wont work.

Which leaves the challenge. How to be a ‘nice’ non-aggressive person and not be a pushover?

My response has always just been to get idiots out of my life, but at some point, i suppose, it’s wise to learn how to actually deal with them?

But it has made me appreciate when good ideas and projects should be supported and Patrick Shepard, a fabulous and incredibly talented Scot who can basically claim to be a Kiwi now if he wants, is in the process of implementing one. This is what he is up to:

“It’s called the Good Karma Project and it sees myself and a friend heading to Thailand, near the Burmese Border, to volunteer with a charity called Children on the Edge. For six weeks, we will work with Burmese refugee children, teaching them photography, writing, and art. At the same time back home, we will commission Kiwi artists to create works of art based on the stories, photos and artwork of the children. This work (along with the children’s) will be exhibited and sold in Wellington next year at a kick-ass exhibition. All proceeds raised from the event will be sent straight back to the children to provide crucial welfare aid and supplies.

The Good Karma Edition of Exposure Lifestyles will showcase the trip, the children, and similar creative advocacy work being done across New Zealand. There will also be a documentary made and screened at the exhibition opening.

We need your help:

1. Donate: “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.” Check out our donation suggestions below. Every bit pushes the project forward!
2. Share: Please forward this email on to anyone you think might be interested in this project. Knowledge is power people.
3. Other projects: If you know of other advocacy projects going on in New Zealand, we’d love to feature them in the Good Karma Edition! Check out this example for the types of projects we’re talking about, King Kapisi and Teremoana Rapley are working as ambassadors for these guys: http://www.tinytoonescambodia.com/

DONATION DIET

We realise it’s a recession and we understand that sometimes it’s hard to give a little elsewhere when you’re struggling to make ends meet. That’s why we thought we could suggest some ‘donation diets’ where you sacrifice a few of the creature comforts you’re used to for just one week. We will be forever grateful!

The $10 Donation Diet

INSTEAD OF: Catching the bus every day to and from work when you live near the CBD. ESTIMATED COST = $10

HOW ABOUT: Setting off 20 mins earlier and wandering along Queens Wharf to and from home. You’re sure to happily bump into someone on the way home that you’ve wanted to catch up with. ESTIMATED COST = Priceless.

GOOD KARMA DONATION: $10

The $30 Donation Diet

INSTEAD OF: Dinner for two at that nearby restaurant ordering Tortellini and Lamb Shanks plus a bottle of wine to share. ESTIMATED COST = $61 dollars

HOW ABOUT: Takeaway pizzas and a six pack of Pilsners to share under the setting sun on Oriental Parade. ESTIMATED COST = $31

GOOD KARMA DONATION: $30

The $40 Donation Diet

INSTEAD OF: Getting wasted at a local restaurant/bar and buying those rounds of drinks nobody needs at 3am. ESTIMATED COST = $68

HOW ABOUT: Bring back the house party that weekend, cook cheerios and nuggets and consume a sophisticated dozen+ and legitimately dance on the tables. ESTIMATED COST = $28

GOOD KARMA DONATION: $40

An ENORMOUS thank you to all those who have already given a little! Check out our Give A Little site to donate by credit card and spread the Good Karma love. If you’re not a fan of the plastic or would like to donate a larger amount, please email me back and we can tell you other methods.

The decision was hers, she just decided not to get up one day. Stopped eating, drinking and moving. When mum finally gave up hope and told us, we had two hours to say goodbye before the vets came and for the first time in years she could fully relax her painful arthritic muscles.

One thing that I didn’t expect was the sheer grief. Saying goodbye was one of the most tragic and lovely things I have ever experienced. It is so difficult, even when you have no real choice, to part with something that you just don’t want to go. On the other hand, to be there with her in her final moments, knowing she was happy, calm and finished with this world, it felt like the best final gift we could give.

One lesson dogs teach completely is unconditional love and selflessness. You can’t beat the feeling of happiness when a dog is overwhelmed with joy, simply because you got home, or the comfort of knowing that while they are there you are never alone. It’s something us humans sorely lack.

Bye pup, you will be badly missed.

Yes that’s right. While everyone else was cosy and warm, I was wearing my new running leggings and a singlet in the freezing cold weather, while running 6kms, then jumping in the pool to follow it up with a 600 meter swim.

That’s like the most exercise I’ve EVER done in a row. And at some points I couldn’t even see because there was so much rain in my eyes.

(I just overtook that lady ont he hill because I was terrified Sarah would beat me if i didn’t)

As per usual, we won the biggest support crew award, with team Ferguson stationed around the track.

Coach Bruce made sure Nadine (our professional athlete) was aware that she was only coming second and needed to speed up, Cheerleader Rosemary convinced us halfway up the hill that we were nearly there and Scary Sarah was on our doorsteps in the morning to ensure that we did, indeed get out of bed.

We are all super proud of ourselves. Most of you already know that because I have rung you individually to get your praise.

The sad side of living in a small country, is we are all so intertwined, and as a Pacific Island nation, we are very close to our neighbours.

It is so hard to keep your thoughts far from the agony that the people of Samoa are experiencing, and their families and friends around the world and in New Zealand. I’ve written before that places like Givealittle are making it easy to lend a hand, but we all know that money will only go so far in healing the wounds.

In the week following the Tsunami, we’ve listened to personal accounts of miracles (the baby found alone on a beach, alive, hours after the tsunami hit), the tragedy’s (people who fell on the run to the hills, and were swept away in front of their families) and then reports of more earthquakes around the world… The latest in Vanuatu just a couple of hours ago.

New Zealand has also had to deal with a gun man on the loose in the Hawkes bay, and now a little 2 year old girl who went missing a couple of days ago, and it is now suspect was taken from her home. I cannot begin to understand what her parents are going through and it is awful to think that someone in this wonderful country knows where this poor little girl is and isn’t letting on. NZ seems just too small to hide a child, too close to have no one notice when someone does it and in too much pain already to have this added to our woes.

So many New Zealanders this week are experiencing their own personal nightmares. I am so lucky to not have a personal link to any of this past week’s events, but my heart goes out to everyone who hasn’t been so fortunate.

It seems odd to me, someone who is used to the constraints of designing to a computer screen (which are now becoming smaller with widespread use of mobile devices), that trained professionals seem to either not bother with small spaces or don’t know HOW to deal with them.

Yes small places are hard, but it seems like in some entire buildings, no one has bothered to even TRY.

What’s the deal?

Started reading Passive Aggressive Notes and found that my frown was turning upside down.

There is nothing funnier to a grumpy, downhearted me than other angry people getting their points across through passive aggressive notes.