News from Nelson - September 2012 #2

Hi everyone,

Wow, nearly another month has passed, and here I am talking to you all again.

Our sympathies go out to Janet, Robert and the boys as Janet’s mum died recently, after a relatively short illness. Janet had just been down in Nelson & we had all had a catch up, so it was rather shocking – though somewhat expected – to get the message about her Mum so soon.

The pool table is still proving great entertainment: largely because Jan is rehearsing so much at present for Les Mis, there is not much time for anything longer. 

We seem to have had weekends based around the weather of late: we have had lots of fine weeks and wet weekends. However, last Sunday we managed to have a session sorting out the gorse as the rain stopped for a couple of days. Got some good weather-oriented photos though!

I got my Masters research proposal in, and was told that it was one of the best my supervisor had ever received (which was very kind of him). I had a very productive day at Auckland Uni, meeting all sorts of people and asking millions of questions. I even had time to get a book out of the library for Jan. I caught up with Tessa and we had Japanese at Kabuki Teppanyaki restaurant at the Stamford; I met her friend Lisa who seems really nice.

On Thursday I delivered a Leadership diversity lecture at the AUT Manukau campus. Wow, that is the most fantastic campus! It is like being in a park!

This weekend Jan is playing in a Les Mis performance both days, so I will get on with some housework and study. I also have a good chunk of marking to do, with the study break coming up, there will be a bit more time for doing all those ‘nice to do’ things like cleaning :-(

Life is pretty full of Les Mis at the moment.

I will be up in Welly briefly in a couple of weeks (Oct 13-14) for Sunday - Monday meetings, which is the weekend that Camila comes to stay. Jan will get her safely installed, though I don’t know how he is going to find time to do some required furniture repairs. I might need to get Michael Bender onto the job and take the pressure off him.

Dogs are well, though both Coco and Fliss took themselves off for an unsupervised walk today. I caught up with Fliss down past the winery, heading determinedly along the road to our bottom gate. She is so deaf she couldn’t even hear the car, but got in the car sheepishly enough when I tooted RIGHT behind her.

Barb has been the US having a tiki-tour, and hopefully she will catch us up on how she enjoyed that now she is back.

Jan & I are both in Welly from 7-9 December (next Exec meeting) so any ideas for catch-ups would be great. 

Andreas, Katrin & Christian will be with us for Christmas and maybe New Year in Nelson. Flights are booked, should be loads of fun, and we are really looking forward to it!

Happy birthdays to Andrew R, Ana Silvia WHO IS TWENTY ONE, KT, Aunt Uta, Robert dB, Jenny L, Bertie, Guy, Barb, Kelly A, Erica, Julie T & Tracey M! 

Right – better start my marking  :-D

Jan Kuwilsky & Sam Young

News from Nelson – September 2012

Hi all,

We hope you are all fit & well, whether it is autumn or spring where you are.

Our pool is improving: Jan & I played three games on Saturday night before we went to bed, and the games are going much faster now. Jan won two and I won one; though I was only one ball off the pace on both the games Jan won. 

We had Robbie, Janet, Fergus & Mac here last weekend. We stayed up far too late, watched lots of films, played lots of pool and ate too much! In other words, we had lots of fun, and hope to do it again soon.

I have nearly got my research proposal for my Masters knocked into shape, being currently lost in the world of ontology and epistemology. I am up in Auckland on the 19^th of this month to meet with a load of people at Auckland Uni, and will catch up with Tessa for Japanese at the Stamford. I am doing a lecture on Leadership diversity at AUT in Manukau on the 20^th, on my way back to the airport, which will be interesting.

Jan & I had a lovely dinner out at Hopgoods for his birthday. I bought him a new viola case (when I was in Welly a couple of weeks ago for an Exec meeting) and got Camila’s folks to send some guava paste from Brazil (Beto & Célia also sent Jan some lovely peanut lollies that he likes - paçoquitas). Tina & Jeremy got shoes & socks for a child in poverty (what a great idea!) and we got a handmade card from Otto & Lara. My folks bought him a Mitre 10 voucher, Midori & handmade hazelnut chocolates, Kathleen & Frits got him Monopoly: the chocolate version :-)

Jan had a family & friends birthday lunch at Lambretta's – it was great to catch up with everyone, and the sun was kinda-sorta out too. Then he went off to rehearse with the NSO and I went to Kathleen & Frits’ place to mark.

We went to Lake Rotoiti a few weeks ago and presented “what happened on the North Island Tour” to the next intake of exchange students. They are a great crew and we should have a really good time next year on the tour as well.

We also caught up with Hui Ping & Mae at Bill & Cornishes’ place a few weeks ago, along with Murray & Julie. It was a lovely night with LOT of lovely pizza, which Hui Ping made for us all. Wonderful. Hui Ping went skiing, so had her dream stop in Nelson. 

Speaking of skiing, Camila has been, and probably now has the show bug as badly as Ana Silvia had it. Unfortunate that the snow has almost gone now; but I think overnight there has been a bit (it is chilly enough this morning to light the fire again).

Tina & Jeremy hosted me brilliantly in Welly a couple of weeks ago, and not only did we have a birthday party for Uta with Hartmut on Friday night, but I spent time with Otto & Lara watching Mr Bean on Saturday night. A great weekend.

Interesting sunrise recently with a halo around the sun... very thin cloud about.

 

Jan & I are both in Welly from 7-9 December (next Exec meeting) so we will be in touch to try & catch up with as many Welly people as we can then. 

Andreas, Katrin & Christian will be with us for Christmas and maybe New Year in Nelson. Flights are booked, should be loads of fun, and we are really looking forward to it!

Happy birthdays to Otto, Bob, Warren, Doug , Helen, Andreas, Leigh, Max & Karen, DJ, Tony G, Andrew and Ana Silvia! 

Right – better finish my marking. All the best :-D

Jan Kuwilsky & Sam Young

Do Be Do Be Do

Hi guys,
I am reading Richard Precht's first philosophy book, "Who Am I? And if so, How Many?" which Jan's Aunt Uta recommended to me. It is proving a very entertaining read. I particularly like Precht's quote from a plaque on a Greek Taverna wall, which said

"To be is to do - Socrates

"To do is to be - Sartre

"Do Be Do Be Do - Sinatra" (Precht, 2011, p. 247).

Precht takes this to mean that life is not so simple as Socrates' view that being is the same as doing, nor Satre's that doing means we are; but that our lives are a constant iterative creation of doing and becoming, doing and becoming; that we can invent who we become.

I like that :-)