Bits
and pieces
Wednesday 19 July 2000
In the supermarket today I was in the cat-food isle. This older lady was there, peering down at the rows of canned cat-food. She looked up at me and said, "they don't have the Ocean Bounty, it's the only one my cat likes." I murmured sympathetically to her that that could cause real problems in the household. She asked me what our cats liked. I told it has always been the chicken-based food — the Chicken and Salmon, the Chunky Chicken, the Chicken and Rabbit — but that lately I'd been trying to introduce some of the Beef and Lamb dishes to the menu, with, by and large, a surprising degree of success. She looked again at the rows of cat-food. So, she asked, "is there one you could recommend for me?" I told the Chicken and Salmon was a house favourite and that she could do a lot worse than trying that. She thanked me and selected a can of Chicken and Salmon.
I was attending a function last night at Government House. As you do. I was struck by how deferential and outmoded the whole thing seemed. The Governor-general is the Queen's representative in New Zealand. This is the Queen of England. The Governor-general is the Head of State for New Zealand, the person the Prime Minister goes too to form a Government. And he's (or she) merely a representative of a Monarch of a foreign country. The whole set-up makes me cringe. It smacks of outdated colonialism. And the Governor-general and his wife are introduced as “His Excellency” and “Her Ladyship”, as though they are better than anyone else. I've nothing against them as people. But the position? Ridiculous in the 21st century.
I had a second interview for that job last night also. I haven't been offered anything, but they seemed to be interested in offering me some contract work and seeing how that goes. I think they're a little unsure how to place me as I'm not from a design and/or computer background. I think they see some contract work as a way of seeing how I might fit in, work out. I sent them an e-mail today giving my hourly rate — a figure plucked from the air! I'm hoping something might come from it. If nothing else it would be some extra work and a new experience.
Tomorrow's a Daddy day. I'm taking a renewed delight in these days with Matthew. They may or may not last, but each one's something special. Each one is a privilege and a delight.