It’s my blog and I’ll emote if I want to … emote if I want to …
A random title for a rather random day.
Tonight I went to my first Marton Community Meeting and became a member. I may have made an impression by the end of the meeting but I’m not convinced that it was an entirely positive one. :D
My intention was to be quiet, observe and learn – but my mouth engaged more than I expected, though hopefully the brain along with it! I am excited to be participating in the community more though, and I am interested in finding out how local government works (or doesn’t) for the members of the community. More importantly though, I was overjoyed at the news the next meeting’s venue will be somewhere warm! I can’t recall the last time I shivered my way through a meeting (though it at least covered up any nervous shaking I might have had!)
When I got home I realised I was dreading having to give a potted bio of who I am before they co-opted me onto the committee. Luckily that wasn’t requested though I’m left wondering what they think they know about me. :D
But enough self-obsessing!
Sam and I went, on our first proper organised educational fieldtrip, to the Canaan Honey Farm. The owners were lovely people and Sam conducted herself well. It occurred to me that in a school setting with the wrong teacher she might actually be able to coast her way through a day without the teacher picking up on her specific needs. She happily sat on the mat with the other children and chorused the answers to questions with them. Until you listened closely, and realised that she was just mimicing their vocal sounds and not saying any particular word – in the same way you can mumble your way through a song. She really enjoyed herself though and I know she did pick up some of the information, which I’m certain will come out in the next few days. And if it does take her a few days before she mentions some of the facts we were presented with, that may be another aspect of her Autism as it took her a few days to process (without any discussion) that she was once a baby and was born and not purchased!
I was really impressed too that she took herself off to a quiet spot in the room when she got overwhelmed with the noise/people/constant movement, with zero fuss and then returned to the situation when she was ready. I wanted to squeeze her I was so proud!
Third and final topic before I jump back into the raffle-ticket fray (I’m up to the cutting stage; the perforating stage went really well – except for one mishap) and that is I made an attempt at the latest Weekly Photography Challenge. With a twist though as I was too much of a wuss (it being rainy and cold) to leave the protection of our vehicle, and so I took some shots sitting in the truck whilst parked on the main street of Wanganui. I wasn’t particularly happy with the results unsurprisingly. Sitting still is definitely a handicap I didn’t need. Nevertheless, I did make an attempt and I will probably have another go before submitting a photo to the challenge.
Ooh, actually, I’ve just looked at them onscreen and they look so much better than they did on the LCD screen. Still not brilliant though. The images I was trying to capture needed more zoom than I had for tighter photos and I’m not convinced they really fit the criteria of a street scene, though I guess I could say I looked above the street level – above the parapets so to speak for my inspiration. Here’s the best two out of the bunch:
I like the incongruity of a building built in 1875 sandwiched between a building reminiscent of the Art Deco period and the building on the left which frankly defies description on a main street. (Click on the image for a closer look – the cladding has to be seen to be believed!)
This photo isn’t the best I’ve ever taken and yes, that is a bit of my car at the top. It was taken with my Kodak camera which has a better zoom as a comparison shot to the one I took with the Canon. However, I liked the mock-ancient look to the building with the (and let’s see if I remember my architectural terms correctly) pilasters and pediment, and that it’s got a touch of the modern with the bright splashes of colour taking it from what would otherwise be ho-hum.
