Praise God I now have somewhere to live in Auckland! Completely out of character for me, I haven’t even seen the place (left a flatmate to describe it, I hope it’s good)! Move in date is unsure yet, but probably around the 11th of Feb. It’s in the Kingsland area, so easy to catch a bus to uni, and I can walk to the office where I’ll be working once a week!

Thanks for your prayers!

Update: Move in date is the 11th!

Pre-post Side Note: I was going to title this post something along the lines of “The True Cost of Meetings”, but then realised that wouldn’t do it justice. I then thought something like “Counting Blessings” might work, but it occurred to me that this could sound boring, meaning people wouldn’t read it…. alas, now you’re left with the title I ended up choosing…

There really is no catchy way to say this: At approximately 10am this morning, in the fast lane of the Southern Motorway into Auckland, carnage happened. The guy in the car in front of me slowed down suddenly, meaning I came to a screeching halt to avoid hitting him. Unfortunately, the guy behind me also came to a screeching halt, the halt part of that event provided by the rear of my car! …Subsequently causing my car to be pushed into the car in front.

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt… well, except for my poor car. Chances of survival: minimum (still waiting for the insurance assessor to call, but it doesn’t look good). The good news is that I don’t have to pay the excess on the insurance, because I’m not at fault.

Please pray for the three of us involved that there would be speedy recovery from any whiplash (I’m feeling it, so I’m sure they are too). Please also pray for the other two guys that they don’t get too stressed out by the ordeal! (Especially the guy who is legally at fault; thankfully he did have insurance though). Please also pray that if I have to find a new car, I can find the right one quickly! (I don’t know when I’m going to have time? How do I finish support raising without a car?)

Oh yes, that other thing. Both car accidents I’ve now been involved in were on the way to staff meetings… I knew staff meetings had hidden costs!

McDonald’s here in NZ recently came out with a new burger called “Name It Burger”, with which they held a competition to name the burger, funnily enough. I think they need to work on the titles of their existing burgers before worrying about new ones…

The picture you see is a standard cheeseburger; whoever made it decided that onion goes best on the outside of the bun. Eh?

After many years of using the express lane at the supermarket (heck, I remember the days before express lanes…) I’ve developed what I like to call “the express lane economy.” The express lane economy is simple:

1. If the express lane has a maximum limit of 12 items, it’s OK to go through with 13, or occasionally 14 items, if it’s not obvious that you have more than 12 items, or if there is no one behind you. This first rule is based on perception; if the person behind you perceives that you are cheating the system, then you probably are.
2. It’s also OK to go through the express lane with 13 or 14 items if several of the items you have are the same. For example, should you have two loaves of bread, then these really only count as one item. This is especially true if you’re the benefactor of a 2-for-1 deal or something similar. If the supermarket is quiet (no one behind you) then using this rule in combination with the above, for a total of no more than 15 items is OK.
3. You’re allowed through the express lane with more than 15 items only if invited through by the checkout operator. This occasionally happens when that checkout lane is being opened just as you arrive at the checkout section. In this case, peering longingly toward the exit may help your cause. Don’t push your luck too much though.
4. Check for hidden delays in checkout queues, for example an item needing a price-check, or someone waiting for replacement goods for something damaged. Seeing the non-express lane beside you move twice as fast easily adds tension to your already frantic afternoon.
5. Sometimes when you get to the checkout section, you realise you forgot something. Often it’s worth sacrificing going to get that one extra item, so that you won’t loose use of the express lane. This is especially true if the supermarket is very busy, as taking two minutes to go and get that item could well add 10 minutes to the time you’ll be waiting in line.
6. If there’s a parent with a crying baby behind you in the checkout isle, you should let them go first.
7. If you’re in a normal, non-express lane, and someone with only one or two items arrives in line behind you (while you have a trolley-full), let them go first. It’s polite, and they’d probably do the same for you.
8. When the supermarket is busy, changing lanes after you’ve been standing in line for more than 60 seconds rarely leads to a quicker exit from the supermarket. This is true for no other reason than Murphy’s Law (which needs no explaining I’m sure).

Some would question why it’s OK to go through the express lane with slightly more items than the advertised limit. The answer is obvious: the system has been designed to be circumvented! For example, you know those little chocolate bars and drinks that you’re tempted with as you go through the checkout? (Commonly known as the temptation isle. I joke not; a supermarket manager told me) Well, what if you already have 12 items, but then you add one of these? Does that not make 13 items? But in reality, the supermarket wanted you to do that; it’s good for their business!

So, next time you visit your supermarket, know how to work the system. You’ll realise it’s designed for that purpose.

Quite literally. Right before the New Year, I saw a Wordpress update was available, and decided to install it. All went well until I went to delete the old files that were no longer needed. And then I typed something ever so slightly wrong into the command line… an extra asterisk ensured that the contents of the public_html/ directory on my website disappeared.

After a restored backup, everything should be back to normal. I would have wished you a happy new year before now, but without a working blog that wasn’t really possible. Anyway, happy new year!