strange things happen in Wellington

Having never before lived in a 'real' city (Toledo doesn't count, I wasn't really in Hong Kong proper, and I can't speak for Columbus since I don't remember it much), I can't say for sure whether it's something peculiar to Wellington or whether this happens all over, but whimsically strange things happen here. You're walking down the street and suddenly you see a statue or some public art you never saw before (this is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not, tastes differing as they do). You glance down at your feet and notice that there's a suitably mysterious quote engraved in the rock. You walk through the 'town square' and there's a festival on, or people doing hip hop dancing, or, my personal favorite, giant unexplained (unexplainable?) pigs depicted on the bricks beneath your feet in masking tape. It's just a fun city.

I was reminded of this yesterday when, just as I came up to Lambton Quay, the main street of the financial/governmental/upscale-shopping district, at least 50 cyclists whizzed by at high speeds. I came all the way out onto the sidewalk just in time to watch the whole pack zoom back in the other direction and realized with some surprise that there was a full fledged race going -they had blocked off the entire street and the cyclists were racing up and down it (with a police motorcycle in front and everything). It probably loses something in the telling, but it was kind of surreal at the time, especially as I had heard nothing about anything of the sort happening.

Anyway, things are still good here. I'm planning on joining the tramping, vegetarian cooking, and jujitsu clubs, finding a job, and maintaining all my commitments from last year. I have a feeling I'm going to be busier than I've ever been in my life -I'm not quite sure I know how to be busy, so this will be a challenge. In any case, you'll get to hear all about how it goes. Aren't you lucky?

I tried ju jitsu out for the first time on Sunday and really enjoyed it. First thing after a bit of warm-up, the instructor basically said "ok, now find a partner and wrestle." It was kind of a "you want us to do what?" sort of moment. Anyway, then we got in to the actual training. Jitsu is a martial art that involves a lot of using your opponent's strength against him, and it's supposed to be actually useful for self-defense.

Sorry no new pictures this time around.

p.s. the paean to gumboots was a song extolling the virtues of gumboots (otherwise known as Wellington boots, big rubber boots, etc.). The chorus goes:

If it weren't for your gumboots, where would ya be?
You'd be in the hospital or infirmary
'coz you would have a dose of the 'flu, or even pleurisy
If ya didn't have yer feet in yer gumboots.

full lyrics: http://journals.jevon.org/music/Fred_Dagg_-_The_Gumboot_Song