Rangitoto Island Hauraki Gulf New Zealand 

The volcano on my doorstep….

When I first visited Auckland, some fifty years ago, I was absolutely blown away and astonished at the sight of a volcano rearing up out of the Hauraki Gulf. This is the site of the City of Auckland.  The volcano is called Rantitoto, which erupted out of the sea quite suddenly about 600 years ago.  Luckily for us Aucklanders, it is dormant, at the moment. It’s visible from anywhere around the harbour and from most high points of the city.  Much as I love Auckland, at the first sign of smoke coming from the volcano, I am off!!! Those high points, may or may not be, volcanoes as well!!! Some definitely are.  There are said to be quite a few volcanoes dotted around Auckland. However, they all appear to be quietly sleeping. Maybe this why New Zealand is such a quiet place. Shssss!! Don’t wake the giants.  Talk about living dangerously.  Also, I couldn’t believe that practically the whole of this magnificent waterfront was taken up with tatty container wharves and concrete silos, full of who knows what.

However, now Auckland is quite a different place. Gone are the small store front shops which once lined the main thoroughfare. Queen Street, where the only tall building in Auckland was the 20 storey Air New Zealand building, built in 1972. Here’s a comment I found from Auckland Libraries:

1 January 1972 The small whirlwinds which are occurring near the top of the Ferry Buildings are apparently being caused by the Air New Zealand building disturbing the air flow. How’s that?

My, my, what a difference now. High rise apartments, fancy hotels, rejuvenated waterfront , flash shops. And Auckland City has to be one of the cleanest cities in the world, green trees, pleasantly wide footpaths, and diligent sweeper uppers. Lucky me.

Am I becoming illuminated .…..

I subscribe to a programme called Lumosity. This is a series of brain games which I use to sharpen my brain, as the cutting edge dulls with age. I wish I could take it to the equivalent of  knife sharpener’s, but no such luck yet this early in the 21^st century. I not only use this brain training regime to keep my thinking clear and focussed, but I can always tell from my scores how my brain is performing at any one time. Sometimes, my scores drop alarmingly, and that just confirms what I am feeling, low.  But, equally, sometimes my scores even out or get a bit better, and I can see that my health is improving.  I don’t do much physical exercise, I consider just walking around the house is enough. But when it comes to brainpower, I say “Thank you Lumosity!”

Phoney funny phone calls

 Am I too old for pranking…..

Not when my targets are those pesky pirates of the telephone.  No, they don’t threaten my life, but they do threaten my money.  Once upon a time, back in the day, you could answer your telephone with confidence, not so today.  Okay, so I don’t get many phone calls these days, but when the phone rings there is generally somebody on board that I want to speak to or need to speak to. But not always the case!!  On many occasions, I am greeted with a phony enquiry into my health, and a try at prying my identify from me   However, it is said that laughter is the best  medicine, and so here are some pranks I play on these villains, when I use their calls as a major source of entertainment. 

Firstly, when they ask " Am I speaking with so and so?". I always rebound with "Who is calling?"  This seems to throw them a little bit off balance and they don't get to ask me how I am, as if they cared!!

 So, here are some of my ways of dealing with these jackals trying to consume any part of my virtual life that they can get their virtual fangs into.

When I am feeling bright, I go into my "Italian" mode.  I speak to them in my limited and, no doubt, broken Italian.  After they get sick of my heavily accented "Do you speak Italian?" routine and my chatting, they generally give up, and I don't get calls for a while from this centre.

 Then, there are the calls allegedly from Microsoft. "Can I speak to the owner of the computer? There is something wrong with it". At this, my answer is that the owner is dead. This generally elicits a moment of silence and expressions of sympathy. However, one cheeky chappie had the gall to ask me who had the computer now, so I told him I had buried it with my husband. End of story. No more calls at the moment

The easiest one is to just ask the person to hold the line, and then put the phone down for five minutes or so. This generally gives them the message.

So, don't be angry, get even and have a laugh on them.

When prosperity comes, do not use all of it. Confucius

Having money troubles?  Read “The Richest Man in Babylon”. Save 10 percent from the top of your net income  and you will never be broke……

Some years ago, when I was into self-help books, mainly business, I came across this little gem of a book written by George Glason, who wrote it in the 1920’s.  This book has been in publication ever since the first printing.   It has been updated, and I haven’t read the new version, but I can most certainly recommend this as the most useful money management book I have ever read.  It seems simple and is written in parables, but, what dynamite suggestions!!

The secret to this 10 percent savings plan is that you squirrel money away for yourself, and don’t make any announcements about it. This is your money to do with what you want without having to discuss it or ask permission to spend it.  My late sister, who only had her pension, was talking to me one day and I made this suggestion to her. She immediately put it into place, and she told me she actually had some money of her own for the first time in her life, and had gone from zero to $2000 in a very short time.

So, give it a go, you have nothing to lose and a whole lot of money to gain.

"What can a book written in the 1920s tell modern investors about their finances? A whole lot if it's George Clason's delightful set of parables that explain the basics of money. This is a great gift for a graduate or anyone who seems baffled by the world of finance and a wonderful, refreshing read for even the most experienced investor." -Los Angeles Times

My eyes aren’t what they used to be, they used to be my ears….

Only kidding!  Today I am the proud possessor of two new pairs of glasses. They have had special lenses put in them to help me with the double vision I have been plagued with for many months.  This has not been the Year of the Tiger, but the Year of the Eye for me.  I would like you to know  that, if your vision is becoming impaired, then have it checked out. This may not be something you have to live with in your old age.   With the cataracts removed from both eyes, my sight improved mightily, but after a while a film grew over the implanted lenses and this was removed with the deft touch of a laser. And about six months ago, I was the recipient of a human corneal cell transplant in my right eye.  This is quite complicated surgery, as you might imagine, but now, as the eye slowly heals, I can see again. Ah, the wonders of modern science.

Thought for the day........

“Behind every smile there's teeth.”
― Confucius

Wrong path, right direction……

As I think about my past life, I have come to the conclusion that if I had not carried out each and every mistake, wrong doing, miscalculation, or just plain stupidity and lack of judgement, then I couldn’t have possibly arrived at my current destination. One step in a different direction would have thrown me into a new tributary of the river of life.  How do I feel about that?  Luckily for me, I am in a happy place.  I see my family every day, my health is reasonable at the moment, and I want for nothing.  So instead of looking backwards into the sludge of the errors of my way, I now live minute by minute and “I’m lovin’ it”!!!!!