andrewnicol.net

Empty | Winter Blues

Met, know and have heard of bundles of people, lately who are not themselves. Thy feel flat, down and maybe a little bit empty. Much of it I’m sure is the winter blues.
 
Well, if you are one of those people I have a solution. At this time of year the playgrounds are practically empty. No kids, particularly during the day.
 
So head down to the park, why not take a friend. Then forget that you’re meant to ‘behave’ like a grown up and jump on a swing.
 
Swing.
 
Breathe.
 
Smile.
 
Laugh.  
 
It will be the wackiest thing you have done in ages, but I guarantee some of the winter emptiness will disappear.

329|365 Colours

Picture a day without colour
No colour in buildings or things we wear
No colour in paint for art to smear
No colour in the sun or sky above
No colour in stuff we love
Picture a day without colour
And rejoice that today
However grey
Is filled with colour!

[329|365 – I love how colourful schools have become]

327|365 Learning

This whole school and education thing seems to work. Jayden basically start school in June and has progressed from reading one work, his name, to reading little books. He is really proud of his achievements and I’m really proud of him.

In the initial stages of learning something new we make huge progress, really quickly. As time progresses’ learning gets harder, more complex and takes more discipline. Then it requires huge amounts of brainpower, and before long most adults quit learning altogether.

Maybe it’s time to return to the basics of learning. Find something new, something completely different and explore it. To make huge progress really quickly. To enjoy learning again.

326|365 Spring is almost here

I love spring because the days are growing longer.
I love spring because the rain will eventually clear.
I love spring because of the vivid colours.
I love spring because of the new growth.
Spring is almost here because the birds have returned to our trees and our first trees are in blossom.
Bring on spring I say.

325 | 365 Good Events

The good.trust is well on its way to building its first clean.water well!

Last week was a big week for the trust. 

Jim celebrated his birthday raised $3,200 and Luke Thompson started recording a song called ‘water’ that he has gifted to the trust to sell and raise funds for clean.water.

Follow the good.trust

www.good.org.nz

www.facebook.com/goodtrust

www.twitter.com/goodnz

365 Project | Days 319 to 324

319 | 365 Torch Lighting
Every night at 6pm there was a torch lighting ceremony. 

320 | 365 - Tree of Life
The girls climb the Fijian Tree of Life. Talia is pictured up a coconut tree.


321 | 365 Path of Fire
Took this photo using a 15 second shutter speed. It is a photo of the torch bearer walking past our room towards the main area of the resort.

322 | 365 South Sea Island
Took the kids on a half day trip called "Finding Nemo" to south sea island. One very small island, and yet half a day was not long enough.


323 | 365 Last Sunset
Picture of the kids doing random poses as the sun sets on our last day in Fiji.

324 | 365 Boarding call
Making our way out to the plane to fly back to Auckland. Notice the kids all have jeans on in preparation for the New Zealand cold weather.

318 | 365 Visit to Wailea Settlement, Suva, Fiji

This is Aneil. When my family and I met him in his 6ft x 8ft corrugated tin house with a curtain for a door, he looked unwell. Naively I asked him if he was really sick, he responded “No, no I am just really tired as I haven’t eaten in 4 days”.

I admit that I was caught off guard by his answer. I would feel and look unwell if I hadn’t eaten in 4 days. Hours earlier we had a beautiful breakfast in our resort in Nadi, then drove to Suva, now we sat in the slum house of a man who hasn’t eaten in 4 days.

As I sat with him all I could think of was the verses in James that say, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough."

Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” I will write more on Fiji in a later more detailed post.
 

Project 365 - Days 311 to 317

311 | 365 Home made clothes
Karina has been hard at work making dress for herself and the girls before we head to Fiji. What a very talented and creative wife I have!



312 | 365 Dinner with the Grandparents
Dinner with Keith and Leonie. Youngest snuggle up on the floor and watch the cartoon network. My grandparents never had sky TV and the cartoon network. 



313 | 365 Pedestrian Crossing
On Holiday and the best I could come up with was a late afternoon photo of the pedestrian crossing.



314 | 365 Homework
"When I was growing up we had to research countless books to study". My kids have Wifi, Laptops and the internet. Jealous, I'm sure I would have been a heaps better student if I grew up now.



315 | 365 Packing
Suitcases packed, ready to get the family up at 3:45am to get going.



316 | 365 Fun in the Sun
Arrived in Nadi (29 degrees) and off to the Resort to check in and have a swin.



317 | 365 My Beautiful Girls
Karina and the girls (who are wearing the dresses Karina made them), while we wait for the Bula bus.

Project 365 - Days 304 to 310

304 | 365 - Express
Intresting that Express Goods trains need to slow to 70. Whats the point of them being express?



305 |365 Creative gatherings
Reminded creatively at Church about how our messiness and sin are forgiven, burnt up becuase of what Jesus has done for us.



306 | 365 Connected
Amazing how connected, electronically, our world is. 



307 | 365 Upside Down
Took this photo in the reflection of a puddle just as I left work. Turned it upside down for effect.



308 | 365 Parent teacher interviews
Three perfromance reviews, oops I mean Parent Teacher interviews in 45 mins. They all wemt really well.



309 | 365 Boycott 
Sometimes at the height of the BP oli spill, I thought I should stop buying petrol from them in protest. Like many times, I thought it was a good idea, but the convenience and habit meant I did nothing.



310 | 365 Last Day
Last day at work, left at 7:20pm, before 3 weeks leave. First time in 7 years I am having 3 weeks uninterupted leave.

303 |365 Pumice have partnered with the Good Trust

Pumice Bistro and Café will be undertaking a trial of clean.water donations for the Good Trust this week.
 
Had the privilege of sharing with the team at Pumice about the challenge that 1 in 8 people in the world experience every single day just to fetch dirty unhealthy water, and about how $2 can provide clean water for a person for 2 years.
 
If your in Hamilton from Monday this week and feel like dinner, lunch or coffee then head to Pumice and support clean.water and the good.trust while you are there.
 
Good Trust www.good.org.nz 
Pumice www.pumice.net.nz 

302 |365 Rainy Nights

Some people, like me, love rainy nights, love the sound of rain on the roof while being enclosed and protected by the warmth of a house. Some people I have met on the other hand, don’t like rainy nights; they bring back bad memories and cause concern.
 
It never ceases to amaze me as to how influential the past is to our lives. How seemingly small things to one person, are big things to others. How things of enjoyment to some, are things of pain to others.
 
It’s easy to assume everyone likes the rainy nights, just because I do.
 
It’s easy to assume everyone likes … just because I do.
 
Not true.

301 |365 Puzzle

puz·zle (pŭz'əl)
v. puz·zled , puz·zling , puz·zles

• To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter (verb. Tr)
• To be perplexed. (verb. Intr)
• Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling. (noun)

Hey – They just wrote a definition of my life, I am both puzzling and puzzled.
 
But then aren’t we all.

300 |365 Te Rapa Dairy Factory moves closer to city

Every year they move the Te Rapa dairy factory on the outskirts of Hamilton closer to the city. It’s a huge undertaking I know, and I never actually see how they do it, but the diary factory is now right on the city boundary.

When I first moved to Hamilton it would take ages to get to the dairy factory from Te Rapa, but now Te Rapa and the dairy factory are stones throw away from each other, rather than kilometres.

Around the same time that I moved to Hamilton, a property developer friend of mine said that cities in New Zealand grow to the north. Almost 15 years later he was proved very correct, the urban growth of Hamilton has all been to the North, and Te Rapa stretches further than ever towards the dairy factory.

Finally, this is one of those on the way home, must take a photo shots. A bit disappointing that my 300th photo was of the Te Rapa Dairy Factory, but that’s the way the 365 project rolls I guess.

299 |365 Clouds on the Ground

Most fog that we get in the Waikato is Radiation Fog. This means as the fog or clouds lift they generally reveal a beautiful crisp day. On Monday the as the fog eventually lifted it produced a rainy damp and dull day. From memory this is frontal fog (could be wrong).

I don’t like frontal fog.

298 | 365 The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago

An old chinese proverb says “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now”. Case in point, the tree that Kyla is climbing is 11 years old and would be unclimbable if it was two. But I think that this proverb has implications to more than just trees. The best time to do a lot of things was in the past ... the next best time is now.

The best time to get healthy was in the past ... the next best time is now.

The best time to reconcile with someone was in the past ... the next best time is now.

The best time to input into your kids lives was in the past ... the next best time is now.

You get the idea.

297 | 365 Buying Clothes

My wardrobe. There are clothes that hang around within its depths that that may well predate Noah, but certainly are old enough to have lost whatever distant connection to fashion they may have had.
 
I am about to be burdened again with the chore of buying new clothes (it’s a male thing).
 
Burdened by the looking.
 
Burdened by the choices.
 
Burdened by the cost.
 
Burdened by the realisation that I will spend more on clothes, than a person in the developing world may well earn in a year.
 
But once those burdens have past. As they quickly will. I will enjoy wearing new clothes, despite the fact that in years to come they will again be worthless.

296 |365 Twenty-One

It’s Stass’ birthday today. Happy birthday!!
 
She’s twenty-one! Not twenty-one again, but twenty-one for the first and only time. How cool is that!
 
My dilemma with people turning twenty-one is that I can remember what I was doing in 1989 and it confirms that my life is extinguishing, in a positive way, at a rate that is more rapid than I originally thought. It’s positive because each day I get to learn, to love and quite possibly even grow in wisdom.
 
So with all this newfound wisdom that in reality comes from a deep pool of craziness, I offer this thought to Stass or anyone else that would care to listen (not than any of you asked). Here it is:
 
You never get yesterday back. Each day we have a choice to either consume or invest our time. Sadly if we don’t choose to invest time, it will get consumed.

295 |365 Productive Travel

Since implementing GTD last year, I have learnt to make my travel more effective and productive. The key to effective travel is actually spending time planning and prepping days or sometimes weeks out.
 
Some things I do to improve my travel time are

• Have reading with me, if I get downtime, it’s a great fall back and I catch up while flying.
• Have pod casts downloaded for travel in the car.
• Book solid days of meetings in advance.
• Prepare agendas and key outcomes of meetings while travelling.

And then sometimes, travel time just needs to be used to process and make decisions.
 
The result of effective planning was two very productive days of travel into four of our branches.

Took this photo on the way home to Hamilton.

294 |365 Stop the car

I love how my team put up with my somewhat eccentric 365 photo project habits. Driving into Wellington after a fleeting trip to Christchurch and Wendy graciously stops the car so that I can get my photo of the day.
 
I couldn’t miss it. I mean how often do you get to Wellington with no wind, a beautiful day and all in the middle of winter.
 
It’s worth capturing, if not just to prove to future generations that it actually is possible.

293 |365 Cold warmth

You know it’s cold when the river is warmer than the air around it. Another beautiful Waikato morning, yes I’m back by the “pleasant” river, but it was worth stopping on the way to work to get my photo of the day.

292 |365 Dreaming of the ocean

So there I sit on a crisp clear winters day, eating lunch and watching the river flow soothingly by.
 
As pleasant as the river is, all I can do is dream of being by the ocean, where I can taste the air. Where water is clean. Where the sights stretch beyond the riverbank and on to the horizon.

291 |365 Sunday Lunch

Was at the Furlong’s on their life-slave block (oops meant life-style block) for an awesome Sunday lunch. We helped eat the corned beef. His name was Murray, one of the … ex … animals.

This is a shot of Tom’s soon-to-be dinner or lunch on the paddock next door.

290 |365 Icy

Burr. Was told it was -2.8 degrees Celsius, which is about as cold as it gets in Hamilton. Love frosty winters mornings because of the beautiful clear fresh days that follow.
 
Invigorating!

289 |365 You spin me right round ...

Why is it that when we were kids we could spin round and round and round, get dizzy and stumble around for fun.
 
As adults we don’t spin anymore. Is it because our old aging failing bodies can’t handle it, or simply because we have forgotten how to do crazy, weird and fun things?

288 | 365 A new day and summer is coming

The days are slowly getting longer again and the sun is rising earlier. Summer here we come...

287 |365 Clouds

I’m a cloud guy. I love them. Love looking up and admiring the shapes and contrasts. Love reading them to determine what the weather is doing. Love thinking of flying amongst them.
 
Clouds. Amazing.

286 |365 An hour out

This will sound weird to some people but last week I planned to take an hour out. A full hour with no note book or cellphone or laptop, so while I was in Tauranga headed to Leisure Island (which because of the high tide was actually an island).
 
Took time to watch and breath and think. Was amazed by the rip the surfers were catching out to the wave break that moved fasted than I walked. Then further amazed by the guy, pictured here, who climbed out on the rocks with his board, waited for a big wave and jumped in.
 
An hour out, no people, no connection, just me and my thoughts. If you’re super busy, give it a try.

285 |365 With a click of the fingers.

This is Simon from Agora. When I walk in he often clicks his fingers, two or three times, 3 seconds apart. Strange I know, except that it has a meaning, he’s reminding me that I have things to do for the good.trust. He’s reminding me that when I delay, kids continue you die.
 
One every three seconds, while I continue to do my day job, drink my coffee or even write this post.
 
Things are moving forward on for the good.trust just not at the speed I would like. But with every click of his fingers I am reminded of the priority.

284 | 365 Free Rent

We have had this birdhouse for 4 years, have had it in 3 different locations, have put food out for prospective owners, and absolutely no takers.
 
Not one bird has been interested in making their home here. Nests in the tree, yes. Nests in a nice sheltered birdhouse. No.
 
If a bird doesn’t take the offer soon, might have to put it on the ground and see if any rats are interested in moving in.
 
Any suggestions?

283 | 365 Koru

Not sure what type of plant this is from but the girls liked them, so took the shot.

282 | 365 Meals

I think having meals together in each other’s homes is dramatically undervalued. Over the years I have come to love having people at our place for meals. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out for dinner, but at home we, our guests included, tend to relax more, talk more openly, and be more authentic.
 
Had Francis and Delwyn for dinner. They are an awesome couple we are blessed to call friends.

281 | 365 Travel

Back from Wellington before dark for a change and took this photo of a Beech 1900D on the tarmac at Hamilton Airport.

280 | 365 Post No Bills

Ironically I was walking to a meeting with our lawyers and saw this sign.

I thought about showing them and telling them not to post me a bill.

Wishful thinking...

279 | 365 Charities

Headed off the the Waikato Stadium for the Charities Commission Forum.

Learnt a lot and have lots of action points and questions for the four charities I am involved in.

278 |365 Energy

Energy amazes me.

Take coal or gas and set fire to it (energy), convert that energy to electricity (energy), turn on a switch at home and the heater comes on (energy).

In the industrialised world, using unsustainable fuels were the norm. Then they built huge power stations like this one at Huntly. After all you need energy to make energy.

Nowadays we have more and more clean options like wind or geothermal, which is even more amazing.

On cold winters days like today’s. I am really thankful for modern energy.

277 | 365 Family Night

We have family night (meeting) on Sunday nights.

As you can see from the photo the kids are 100% engaged the whole time and really enjoy the interaction and discussion that we have.

276 |365 Experiential Learning

Kyla's class (Room 23 at Rototuna Primary) have with the encouragement of their teacher become quite the social entrepreneurs. They went busking on Saturday and did a car wash on Wednesday all to raise money for help “save NZs native wildlife.”

Very cool learning for them across a whole range of areas from team work, to organisation, to volunteering.

Well to Miss Kateley. Awesome initiative.

275 |365 - Confidence

Took J to his first school disco. He was eally shy and he reminded me of me. It was really interesting to watch him slowly build in confidence over the course of the night.

I was thinking about how confidence often comes from experience. The more you do something, the more you push into areas that are hard, the better you get at things.

I would describe myself as a very shy person, socially at least. Over the years I have pushed myself to meet new people, to ask questions and as time has gone on I built in confidence.

Realised that I will need to teach J some of these skills as it took me way to long to discover them.

274 |365 Christchurch Airport

Flew Air NZ, Hamilton to Christchurch return today. I love flexible flights and Koru club.

273 |365 Banana's

Sometimes we completely forget that we import simple things like banana’s. We purchase them with very little thought to the origin or the people who produce them.

We say we care about things like poverty or the environment, but its mainly lip service. Actually purchasing only products that make a difference for the causes we believe in. Well that’s another story.

272 |365 Things that annoy our wifes

This is Luke. He is the winner of the ‘Best Practical’ at the Hitachi Asia Pacific Technician Competition.

This is Luke’s ‘look’. The one that reminds Laura just how luck she is to be married to him.

:-)

271 |365 Model Employee?

This is Puss in boots and one of my kids stuffed toys. You squeeze it and it says statements like
“No problemo boss”
“I thought you just said we were done doin things the stupid way”
“You have engaged my valuable services”
And appropriate for the day of the photo “I hate Mondays”

270 |365 Big or small we move 'em all

What else is there to say?

269 |365 Abnormal and Non Standard

It’s late in the afternoon on Saturday and I head outside to hunt down the photo of the day. I chat to some of my neighbours who are washing cars and preparing for the next days travel, ‘normal things’. Then I head over and start taking photo’s of a tree because I like it’s lines and it reminds me its winter.
 
Compared to the normal things I am decidedly abnormal, nonstandard and strange. But then aren’t we all. Each one of us is created completely unique. Not one of us is normal or standard.
 
It is easy to forget that each person you meet is unique.
 
Each one has different strengths, desires, pasts and presents that make them who they are.
 
Our goals should be to value the uniqueness of individuals rather then try and make everyone normal.

268 |365 Overnight Fog

Had a super productive day on Friday, albeit an early start.

Clearing my inbox, is like clearing fog. It brings a crisp fresh feeling that makes me more productive and better leader.

267 |365 Motherhood

Michelle’s leaving, after almost 5 years at agoge to be a mum! Go Mich, enjoy the new season of life, you'll be an awesome mum!

266 |365 A night at the library.

Went to watch Talia and schoolmates at the Rototuna Primary School production. Really well done!

265 |365 Transformers

Nick tries to figure out a schizophrenic toy, first its a man, then a jet, then a man again.

264 |365 Design and Builds

If ever there was a great example of businesses not being able to predict the future it would be this one. In this photo, I was at a meeting at Link-up Paint Supplies, but when it was first built it was made to be a courier depot for CourierPost. I happened to be the Operations Manager at the time.
 
The inherent problem with ‘design and build’ developments is they can take a number of years to design and build them. In this time business can change significantly. In CourierPost’s case it grew significantly from the time they said yes to the time they moved in, and it was too small before they moved.
 
I’ve experienced the same thing at Agoge. From both businesses I’ve learned that moving into existing buildings can reduce the risk of getting it wrong, but there is always trade offs.

263 |365 Pegs

Simple in design. Functional in use. Cheap to produce and meets the users requirements.
 
My experience with IT projects over the years is that they generally lack these basic requirements. We could learn a lot from pegs.