KiwiGal: Love being a New Zealander; love living in France (except for the administration, and policemen, and expensive insurance, and strikes, and....). I used to write a lot of poetry, mostly thoughts on bits of paper that I promptly lost, but some have survived.
I've always written novels instead of letters - heart on sleeve/running commentary stuff. My friends tell me constantly I should write a book (or ten). I have started.. but life keeps getting in the way - like surviving day to day!
It's Christmas; my poems to and about my daughter will explain why it's a hard time.
The trick to Life is keeping your boat pointed downstream; and live in the Now, finding the best in what is there. The greatest tragedy is to have the experience and miss the meaning.
I asked my daughter where my Xmas present was this year; because of her I went looking online for a NZ woman who wrote a book of poetry dedicated to her daughter.. and eventually found my way here and am pretty sure that this is my present. I don't know the meaning of that yet, but I'm expecting a jewel to appear out of the wrapping. I have to stay alert to meanings these days; I'm the only one with the mouth - but I still hear her voice...
    arnie47: One of my favorite movies of all times was a New Zealand movie. I watch it at least once a month. It's called ONCE WE WERE WARRIORS. That and SECRETS AND LIES rank right up there in my book. -
    arnie47: ONCE WERE WARRIORS not WE WERE -
    Keronica: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR THIRD PLACE WIN!!!!!!!! :) -
    KiwiGal: Thank you Keronica. I'm sorry - I don't usually check here .. you can see how much it's used! I still haven't seen the results myself, but not too fussed, except I'd like to know who won.. I still don't know my way around this site well enough! -
    KiwiGal: Hi Arnie - that's a pretty violent movie! Jake the Mus was actually a near-neighbour - and massage client of mine - a pussycat in real life! The title comes from a book title - it is also a highly-literary way of saying 'once these people were a bunch of bloodthirsty warriors who lived and died by attacking other Maori tribes; now they spend a lot of time attacking women and children if statistics are anything to go by, and belonging to gangs whilst living on the Dole (unemployment) or drug money, bleating that History owes them, even though the biggest bleaters have less than one-third Maori blood ..... THAT'S what it means!

    You might also enjoy another couple of old movies: Smash Palace (1980) and Broken English (1995+). Both show fabulous areas of NZ and the diverse ethnicities that mix and merge in our tiny nation. -
    Lise Deangelo: Hi Heidi, I hope your internet is up and running soon. Congrats on winning the favourite singer contest...I was rooting for you. Arohanui :) Lise
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    Tom C. Adams: Heidi, I am watching your allblacks pummel Canada. Ease up, will you?
    Tom C. Adams -
    Lise Deangelo: Kei hea koe, e kare? ( Where are you, friend?) -
    KiwiGal: I'm so sorry for the silence! I've had 5 weeks of regular power cuts while incompetent (and tardy) electricians re-wired the house. I have only just come back on after 2 weeks of no phone, Internet or TV after a series of cuts fried my Livebox. As usual, it took time to get a technician out to the backblocks. Hopefully all is fixed now. Having said that, I'm not in the habit of checking my Page - I'll do it more often in future... -
    KiwiGal: Hey everyone; I spent about an hour writing my thanks and comments to all those who reviewed me... then my hand slipped and bumped something - and everything disappeared!
    So I aplogise for the delay and will get going once more. They were bloody good ones too -
    Lise Deangelo: Slipped and bumped something?? Hey sweetie, have you heard from Tom.C? I was away for a while when Mum visited...and now his account's gone... -
    Lise Deangelo: Hi Sweetie, it's General Election time in Kiwiland...did you vote? -
    KiwiGal: Oh, Lise - I keep forgetting to check this page .. I don't do Facebook or Twitter etc. and so am not. No re Tom - he's reviewed my work up to the last couple. We don't really talk except through our reviews.
    And no, I didn't vote; haven't found out how to from here - but anyway, Key didn't need my help (although I would have voted Peters to stir the pot, and Greens). -
    Lise Deangelo: Oh, there you are! Love your new photo. Tres jolie. I don't facebook etc either. It's Green for me, against the family, but I'm tough :) -
    I am Cat: Hey you! Yoooo rook mahvelous! That pic is just adorable!

    mwah! -
    KiwiGal: Hi Girls. Once again I'm behind in reading!! Thank you for your compliments. I have no idea how that photo got there. I had given up on it - it refused to appear.. and there it is, a few days later. Battling strong winds (lived on a hill), but a rare one of me smiling. My arm's not long enough to take a full-length one, hehe.
    Strange things happening at the moment - my daughter may be playing with me .. it's Xmas, nearly (that's a big So What from me...) XX -
    KiwiGal: I'm on the move again. Job's disintegrated. A sham.. like them. Don't know where I'll end up and whether I'll have easy access to the Internet and FS. It's me and my Turtle (van) again. Ah well, makes life interesting - while I'm alive.... -
    KiwiGal: I've fallen on my feet! Guardian for a chateau at the foot of Cordes-sur-ciel (little fortress village). Fantastic. Small farm with it - horses, dogs and cats.

    I LOVE the area. Nice couple (she's so soft and kind). Can't wait to explore the area and meet locals. I may even be inspired to write something....
    Only problem is - poor Internet/telephone reception. This may ameliorate in the future but for now I may be much more incommunicado than I'd like. I can come back to my girlfriend's place from time to time to use my computer - there'll just be longer pauses between drinks...
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