social torture

See...I told you the geeks...I mean smart people would know.

Thank you

Geeks are people who are REALLY into their hobbies, but can masquerade as normal people.

Unfortunately I am a nerd. There is no hope of a nerd passing as a normal person.

Hello

Crime wise.. it's ok here.. it's always had an underground extensive drug culture and prostitution happening out of sight, but not the raiding and gang violence so much.

we've been having problems in Aucks Im wondering how much longer will be here for as theres so much waste and rubbish being produced ppl just dont really care anymore. Its becoming toxic. Its due for a big cleanup soon. Were you in the chch earthquake?
Im thinking it may be like Pompei if rangitoto blows. It's supposedly dormant...but those who live here never really believe that.

Yeah, in 2011 I was in the middle of town at the Cathedral Square. I was with other staff supporting over 100 people who have intellectual disabilities.

The floor starting moving like a surfboard and there was rumbling and crashing. I was at the bottom of a four storey building. I was about to take a group of 5 out to swimming and at the top of the one of clients having a manic episode.. the earthquake hit.

The building beside us was glass and was shattering over the road beside us. We had an evacuation point behind our building that was covered in rubble. We evacuated to the nearby park, then to Hagley Park where it was raining and we had to get a tarpulin under cover. We got into large tents there. Then we were evacuated to Burnside High School and stayed over night. My family didn't know where I was cos my cell phone was out of charge and the service was choked up.

One of the staff managed to get every one's key contacts and contact people over time so the next morning I could get picked up by my brother.

My bro was at a medical conference. I think he stayed in Hagley park too. I was working at the library when it happened and we saw it on the tv, I txted my brother are you in chch? He was but assured me he was ok and caught the next flight out. It was a big shock but the first one was a bit of a miracle that everyone survived as they were safe in their beds.

aucks is reaching capacity remember we were behind with longer lockdowns during pandemic. Its still going round. A lot of older schools are not fit for purpose anymore and we have big leaky building problems. Motorways are always clogged during rush hour, and nothing is being done to stop imports of cars though people now realise electric vehicles are only really good as buggies and lime scooters. However when it rains which it so often does, oil slicks and stormwater overflows are polluting the harbour.
Its more likely a volcanic eruption here than an earthquake. Or landslides and floods thanks to development. The beaches are not so clean anymore, and many tourists dont respect the place.
I paint a not so pretty picture, on a good day its fine though

apart from the scabies epidemic in south Auckland.
We're just thankful our rates havent gone sky high. Our mayor though...we should pray for him. He's outspoken. Oh and election year. Though I dont usually talk about politics but every three years we're like whos it gonna be. After all those 'rain events' that flooded the people down stream from me. Its scary driving in a car wen there's flash flooding. Last month we planted more natives beside the river.

Today I got hailed on driving down a hill near the creek. I couldnt stop as was going down the hill. Psalm 91 helps! Thank you Lord

Planting natives? I work at the city council plant nursery here. We get bulk amounts of plants ready for the river, roadside and parks.

Do you also work in the botanic garden?
I would have liked to work at the auckland one but its too far away from where I live.
A neighbour of mine sourced and grew a thousand natives plants for our riverside planting. Then we have community planting day every year ...so far done 3 years. The natives need to be specific to the area though, what natives do you grow?
we have kauri dieback here thanks to phytophera. There was a rahui on bushwalks that I think its lifted now. Here its cabbage trees and flax and kowhai mainly because its a bit of an estuary area. We have lots of pukeko and makutu

I'm doing flax at the moment... Digging it up, washing it, cutting it and potting it.

In spring and summer we will be doing poa cita and Hebe among other little plants. We plant the flax and little ones small. We lay them down in grids and they get picked up the next winter time

you up early
lol
I want to learn flax weaving have one in my backyard though it hasnt flowered yet. Its harakeke the big swamp one not the mountain one. Kowhai are out here and the tuis love them, I would love more kowhai around out area such a beautiful tree
Also tree fuschia and pohutakawa
Im not sure what can grow that far south, Aucks is zone 9 so it would be too cold for many of the natives we grow up here down in chch. Can you grow kakabeak, clematis and chatham island forget-me-not?
what kind of hebes do you grow?

Yeah I had a sore stomach ready to get up at 4 am. Tried to sleep after getting up.. couldn't.. so up now

Anyway, the Flax im potting is Phormium Tenax.. dunno if that is Harakeke.. I think it is. It's got long orange roots and quite tough. We can grow forget-me-nots.. but I don't think they are Chatam Island ones. Not sure about the kakabeak and clematis.

I'm a labourer.. I don't do the propegating and seeding.. so don't select what plants to plant. I'm doing the digging, washing, cutting and potting. I'm trying to learn the native trees at the moment from the work library.

you have a work library? I need a library job!
Andrew Crowes books are good.
Harakeke is the maori name for flax. I am hoping to get down the South Island again, thinking of Nelson or Marlborough where there is sun. What is the soil like in your area? Here its clay and mud lol
I have forget-me nots in my garden but could never grow the chatham island ones. tHey need special conditions
I was thinking how I need to get into the garden again now we have a fine day up here

I need to get to the South Island again, or anywhere out of aucks.
Can you pray for those making their escape. Or maybe if enough people leave, aucks will be livable again.

socially, its babylon
some parts are like sodom and gomorrah. Though where to go, or what to do, I have no idea.

a lot of people hate aucklanders and call us jafas.

Sure I can pray for you all. I've got a friend in Auckland who owns the law firm Chan & Co. In Greendale. He is from Hong Kong but been in NZ since he was 10. Grew up in CHCH.. studied here then went to Auckland . I've been to Auckland a number of times to see him. I found Auckland to be a nice city with the harbour there and good bays nearby...but spend so much time just driving to get to places.

Chch... nothing is really far away. Drive for 40 minutes and you are mostly out of CHCH.

But yeah.. the problem with CHCH is like I said with the drug culture and prostitution..altho you don't really see it.

Nelson and Marlborough would be ideal for Aucklanders. Still got the good weather but not as busy as CHCH. A couple of my cousins live in Nelson and my dad grew up there.

Marlborough garden tour - have you been on that?