Post-Bureaucratic

"Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible"

There are days where I despair of ever achieving the simplest things in life. 2 years of fighting (successfully) the Auckland DHB and the Ministry of Health over $6,000 (oh and my rights as a NZ citizen] convinced me that we are the most overregulated and least sensible country on this earth.

Today this was confirmed in a myriad of small ways.

WOF#1

4 years ago a small triangular window in a rear car door was smashed by car thieves. I patched it up with duct tape and its been sweet ever since. Passed 7-8 warrants. Until today. The conversation went something like this:

"It's failed the warrant on the small window"
"Why?"
"Well, it doesn't meet the standard"
"What does the standard require?"
"That it has the approved glassmark on it"
"Well, yes, thats if it has glass in it. Why does it have to have glass?"
"Its a safety issue"
"So, whats the safety issue?"
"Well its like if your bumper is hanging off someone could catch themselves on it, so it needs to be fixed"
"But this is a window, not a bumper, whats the safety issue?"
"Its the law"
"So why did you and every other WOF place give me a warrant these past years?"
"I don't know why they would do that. Who gave you your last warrant?"
"You did"
"I'll check our records"
"So what does it say?"
"We gave you the last WOF"

At this point a former version of me offered a next sentence:

"So you have a choice: either you give me the WOF or I report you for giving me the last one."

Unfortunately the comment was censored before it got from brain to lips and I left without my warrant.

WOF #2

Hours later with car #2 now going through its paces.

"It failed the WOF"
"On what?"
"The SRS light won't go off"
"Is that a problem?"
"Its a safety issue"
"Whats the safety issue?"
"Its to do with the airbag"
"Is there something wrong with the airbag?"
"No"
"It doesn't seem to have deployed does it?"
"No"
"How much?"
"$780"
"To turn a light off?"

So we have 2 cars, no WOFs. For $780 thats 4 fines. I'm thinking of having WOF's every 6 months, failing it on the light but having everything else fixed so at least I can say, "its a safe care, but for this very dangerous light!"

IRD #1

Finally, I went to get an IRD number for Ryleigh. I carefully checked the requirements. One piece of ID from list A. One from list B. Birth Certificate and Drivers License. I even have photocopies as well. I head into the Post Shop.

"ID?"
"Here we go - Birth Certificate and Drivers License"
"You'll need a second ID for yourself?"
"Hang on, its one from List A and one from List B right?"
"Yes, sir"
"And I have one from list A and one from List B correct?"
"Yes"
"And thats whats required right?"
"You need 2 from List A."
"But it doesn't say that does it?"
"You need 2 from list A" [translation: you are right but I am being perverse today]

I left without the IRD number because like an idiot I don't carry my passport around with me in my own country.

Anyways, I settled for going home and spanking my children...oh crap, I forgot.

AB Team Named

It took me all day to find out the AB team, as I was out and about and always just missing the sports news. So here it is, alongside the differences from [my team] selected a couple of weeks back:

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Andrew Hore
3. Neemia Tialata
4. Brad Thorn
5. Isaac Ross
6. Kieran Read [Liam Messum]
7. Adam Thompson [Richie McCaw] - comes off the bench to cover McCaw's injury
8. Liam Messam - I had Liam at 6 with Kaino at 8 - with Kaino injured the excellent Read comes in at 6 and Messum shifts to 8
9. Jimmy Cowan [Piri Weepu] - my 2 halfbacks swap places
10. Stephen Donald
11. Joe Rokocoko
12. Ma’a Nonu
13. Isaia Toeava [Richard Kahui] with Kahui injured the versatile Toeva gets a chance at centre - he has international experience in this position and won't let us down - if he plays well, can he make this position his own when Smith is fit?
14. Rudi Wulf [Isaia Toeva]- comes in to cover Toeva's shift to centre but I have to say he wasn't on my bench - he does have a better kick defence than Masaga
15. Mils Muliaina (c)

16. John Afoa
17. Keven Mealamu
18. Bryn Evans [Kevin O’Neill] - the most surprised rugby player in NZ
19. Tanerau Latimer [Adam Thompson] comes onto the bench to cover Thompson moving to the starting lineup
20. Piri Weepu [Jimmy Cowan] I guess they see Piri as the impacy guy
21. Luke McAllister
22. Corey Jane [Lelia Masaga] clearly they rate Wulf ahead of Masaga, but Wulf wouldn't have made my bench as he is not an impact player - Corey Jane won't let anyone down.

Not a bad lineup really. A good blend of experience and newbies - of course any team without McCaw, Carter and Williams is not going to be there. But when you look at it - we have 4 out of our first string tight 5 with a rookie of some potential locking the scrum with his Super 14 partner. Our loosies are good players and frankly I think its a good blend of flair, solidity and bloody mindedness! Donald has stepped up this Super 14 and is head and shoulders above the other 1st V's in NZ. The rest of the backline is either first choice or experienced contenders.

For me, the points of interest are:

• How will Thompson go? I rate him (being a former loosie myself)
• Could Nonu and Toeva be the surprise package? With Nonu's strength and step with Toeva's speed and swerve - if they can get it right on defence it could be interesting
• How will McAllister go and will he replace Nonu or Donald?
  

Two Heavyweight Comebacks

It warms my heart on a cold winter's day to learn that Georgie Pie may be making a comeback! I long remember post Sunday service Georgie Pie debrief sessions discussing deep and meaningful truths...Well MacDonalds say they're interested...what will it be? MacGeorgie?

Speaking of comebacks, John Hopoate is facing former heavyweight champ Oliver McCall in a boxing bout this week. While McCall wasn't a great champion, he will surely be a test for a newcomer like Hopoate. That said, Hopoate probably has the better track record with ring work...

Arrived!

Ryleigh Jeanne Carys Jones arrived on 18 May @ 2.26am weighing 9lb 9 ounces. All well.

Rhys meets his newest little sister:

Raegan finally has someone smaller than her:

I sense trouble in the future:

Still Waiting

My wife woke me at 6.15am this morning and said, "Shall we have this baby today?" Contractions seemed to be progressing and it looked like we'd have another 17th of the month baby. Many hours later, we're still waiting. Maybe tonight/tomorrow. Frustrating. Still with Raegan keeping me awake till 3.15am and work all covered today, I was able to sleep in anticipation of a long night tonight.

Iron Man

For most of this year I have had a nagging feeling that this year will be a year of transition. Not just because a 3rd child will join us. Nor because there are obvious and "immediate" changes afoot at cessioncommunity. But more that there is a new season coming and that somehow involves a change for me. I am slowly grasping the implications of these changes and the imperatives for this new season. I am kind of amazed at what I'm discovering in me - not so much "me" per se, but more that God might be into some audacious things that I have not given myself permission to speak aloud.

Which is not really the point of this post! The point is this:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17)

I am finding this to be a very true principle for me in the process. And even in the past week there's been an acceleration. For some months now I've been processing this unease with my ministerial supervisor which has been good. Also talking about some things at cession that seem key to me with original cession collaborator Melissa. This overflowed in a conversation with a new friend more recently. Then this past week a random conversation with someone who I had kinda assumed was "just passing through" my life really lit something up in me. There was another conversation with another person that got me answering some questions I was asked - it got me speaking out loud some of these things gestating in me. I read this post and recognised the raw hunger for knowing God's purposes that was flowing in me. Then yet another conversation this morning with a very wise and learned friend stimulated me to start putting some stuff down on paper.

I'm sure I'm still duller than I need to be. But sharper for the voices that speak life into me.

I Blog Therefore I am

There has been just a little pressure for me to start blogging properly (as if my recentish long post on the super 14 didn't mean anything - actually it didn't with my round of predictions not even making it past round 1). Actually, the pressure comes from the last remaining vestiges of the blogging community I spawned in a frenzy of blogging procreation. Yes I was the first...But if you check all the links around the place you'll see they no longer update. Maybe the continuing bloggers just want some company? Add to that another interesting insight - I was fortunate to be an admin on the cession Lent blog (and not just because it meant I could log in as cessionite and comment on someone's blog once...) and therefore got to see the hit stats. The reality: very little sustained interest from the local church. Now maybe the topic was boring for most, but on the whole, I thought the blog was worth a read and was generally encouraging of a person's Lent journey. My point is this: if no one is writing and no one is reading, why blog?

This blog originally started as a means of communication with friends supporting the cession church plant. Over time it became a way of sharing my odd thoughts about things as well as family news and personal introspection. Some of these things, I now do in other ways - for example, I have a personal superviser for ministry which probably draws away some of the written processing, I am a radio star for 3 mins a week where I have to be current and deep, I have 2 kids instead of 1. But most of all I am part of a vibrant, growing church where I get to connect on a daily basis with real people living real lives and sometimes the blogging thing just doesn't fit into that lifestyle, nor does the world of ideas seem so important in the context of simply being with people who I might be able to help.

On the other hand, I still enjoy reading blogs and follow the current ones. Many of them have a clear purpose and seem to engage others as well as bring meaning to the author. I still have thoughts that are bloggable and maybe even interesting. And I still blog. Occasionally.

So, a little experiment! If you are reading this drop me a comment so I know you read it. Tell me why you bothered and if you are a blogger, why you bother. I really want to know!

The Run To the Super 14 Playoffs

With 4 rounds to go, 4 Kiwi teams won on the weekend, with the 5th only losing to a fellow Kiwi team. The slow starting NZ teams are now well in the hunt with the Chiefs in a historic table topping position. Currently the Chiefs, Sharks, Bulls and Hurricanes are in the top 4 with the bottom 2 of those teams having the tougher run home.

So, I've been thinking: who will make it and who will miss out. With my Virtual Super 14 season in tatters (thanks to the very suspect Jimungo interface and the odd forgetfulness :)) I thought I'd put my energy into a top 4 prediction. To be fair, its anyone's as the race turns on some critical fixtures that will be make or break.

The first of these is next week - Blues v Chiefs - the stellar performing Chiefs meet the flagging Bulls - soundly spanked in NZ, they redeemed themselves against the dearly departed Waratahs, only to hit the bye on their return to SA. Theyt may be pleased about that after a sapping tour, but NZ teams traditionally perform better in week 2 in SA. So look to the Chiefs to be too good in taking a 3 try win.

The following week in round 12 is a real humdinger - Hurricanes v Blues - its almost too hard to call. I'm picking the Canes to benefit from home advantage for a close win with the Blues picking up a bonus point. Some delicious match ups all over the park - Nonu v Toeava; David Smith v Joe R and some good battles ahead in the loosies as well as the front row.

In a horror run home for the Canes they meet the Chiefs the following week. While the Chiefs may struggle after 3 weeks in SA, you'd have to pick them injuries permitting. A make or break game for the Canes almost certainly.

In the final week, 2 match ups, probably only one is a genuine game of the round and that is Sharks v Bulls. The Sharks to win and the Bulls to drop out of the top 4. As a Blues fan the Blues v Crusaders game will be a great way to end the season and will likely determine whether the Blues scrape in to the top 4. I'm picking the Blues but the Crusaders young guns are improving, just too late to make the top 4 themselves?

So the top 4? Well here it is:

Chiefs
Sharks
Hurricanes
Blues

But, if I get it all right to the last round and the Blues lose to the Crusaders, the Crusaders will go through. And if the Canes lose to the Blues they'll be right on the edge as well. So watch for those 2 games in particular. I'm picking the Bulls to sink from sight - to make it they're going to have to beat teams 1 and 2 in the run home - a daunting task. I'm also not picking NSW to win another game - they may yet surprise. All this to say there is every chance we'll have 2 teams in the finals and possibly 3 - now I wouldn't have picked that in the early rounds!

Sad

It saddened me to watch Bailey Kurariki lash out at the media last week. And today he has been charged with assault. Sad? Isn't this guy a scum of the earth crim who should be behind bars forever? He's acting like it. The question is: is he acting like it, because he's being treated like it?

At the time of his release I wrote to 2 newspapers who were sensationalising aspects of his release on parole imploring them to stop the scrutiny and irresponsible reporting. Kurariki had by all accounts made some good progress in prison and was in good shape to give it a real go.

Kim Workman has been reported today on the issues:

Rethinking Crime and Punishment director Kim Workman said yesterday that the last two years of Kurariki's sentence in the Maori Focus Unit at Hawkes Bay Prison had given him a nurturing, supportive environment.

Mr Workman said Kurariki left prison "full of hope and with clear goals for the future", but the intense parole supervision he faced was undoing the good work.

"The lack of consistency between the prison and parole regimes was a recipe for failure."

Mr Workman said international research showed intensive parole supervision was more ineffective than boot camps and "scared straight" programmes.

Food for thought. Garth McVicar will be happy though - harass these guys enough and they will end up back in prison where they can rebuild their hope safe behind walls.

Community is not the Goal

So I had one of those "so what" moments this week reading Leadership Weekly. I used to like Leadership Weekly a lot and mostly I still do, but every so often they come up with these odd trying-to-be-sensationalist headlines or articles. Like when REVEAL was released by Willow Creek. Before you knew it, Willow Creek was repenting of everything they'd ever done!

Same goes with the latest interview with Jon Trott, Jesus People USA. Trott makes the salient but obvious point that the pursuit of community can become its own goal. The point is that when community becomes its own goal it stops being community and become something else - something inward focused. An inwardly focused community is oxymoronic - in fact so is an outwardly focused community, because if its not outwardly focused its not community.

So what leads Leadership Weekly to take this self-apparent truth and trumpet it as the headline as if this veteran of incarnational ministry is rejecting community? I don't know, but it sure annoyed me! Actually, I do know and it annoys me how so much money goes into media that is US-based and simply recycles the sectarian politics that hamstrings the body of Christ in that country.

The goal by the way is: transformed lives.

Busy

I saw an ad that was very effective today. It has this woman who is transported from her office setting to go "walkabout" - she moves from becoming "Kate Middleton, Executive VP of etc etc" to "Kate". All through this process of a holiday. It was nicely done. Happy to go to Australia if anyone wants to shout me there!

It's a great commentary though on what advertisers think will sell. Discover yourself. Get unbusy. Interesting messages to be sending.

A friend recently reported a comment to me from a high ranking person in the Baptist church to the effect that they have never known people within churches to be so time poor as they are right now. Another commentary on busyness.

So right now I am busy. In a fruitful kind of way. Mostly. One or 2 areas I have bitten off a bit more than I can chew. I don't mind being busy in pursuit of something good.

But I am very grateful for the Sabbath I keep on a Monday. I am very grateful for the season of lent and the way cessioncommunity is resourcing this journey. It makes a difference for me. I am enjoying the Lent musings of our secret lent blogger and seeing much of my journey mirrored there. I am grateful for the oases along the way.

Nah Mate

In a continuation kinda sorta of the post on Ka Mate - to add to the confusion of middle new zild - the saffers don't want the Maori rugby team to tour?

They did that once before when they stopped the AB's bringing any Maori in 1956 (and we agreed to our shame). By 1967 NZ was prepared to take a stand - we cancelled the tour when Maori were banned again. It's vaguely amusing and offensive that in 1971 Maori were allowed to tour but it took them being named as "honorary whites" for that to happen. On the other hand, some would say this tour played a small role in highlighting racial issues, especially when the black population came out in force to support the AB's.

And so out of the woodwork come the usual crazies, unable to distinguish between the apartheid selections of the former SA regime and the celebration of indigenous identity that is the Maori team.

The delicious irony, of course, is that the current Japie team IS selected using racial criteria! It used to be called positive discrimination - I think its called affirmative action these days. So, you've got at least 4 different situations in play here, each with a nuanced rationale:

• The All Black team - open to all New Zealanders including (controversially) some Pacific Island players who qualify for our multicultural team by residency (thus denying these players to their country of birth);
• The current South African team selected in part using affirmative action policies to advance the development of black and coloured rugby players, one imagines to the point where the policies are no longer required;
• The former South African team selected using the apartheid principle and thus barring people from a national team;
• The Maori team which operates as a third tier team and is selected from indigenous Maori as a celebration of ethnic identity.

When you can't play for your national team on the basis of your race that's called racial discrimination. When you have other (non national) teams selected from a community of interest that's called ethnic diversity. When you deny someone a legitimate expression of their cultural and ethnic diversity, I'm pretty sure there's a word for it...

Cyber Punk Rules

"Through this evening's tide of faces unregistered, unrecognised, amid hurrying black shoes, furled umbrellas, the crowd descending like a single organism into the station's airless heart, came Shinya Yamazaki, his notebook clasped beneath his arm like the egg case of some modest but moderately successful marine species..."

All Tomorrow's Parties - William Gibson - the open sentence...

Ta Mate

So with all the recent discussions on royalties for Ka Mate - the haka made world-famous by the All Blacks(!) - imagine my surprise when I discovered the ultimate in haka ambassadorship! This is no barechested kiwi dancing on the grave of some overseas sporting team, nor the slightly happy rendition commonly associated with overseas weddings. No. This was something special: a teddy bear who does the ka mate haka. Spotted in Sylvia Park.

Maybe there really is something to this royalties thing?

The Face of a Cheat

Is there any doubt watching the replays that Brad Haddin knew that it was his glove rather than the ball that removed the bails from behind Neil Broom? Certainly not in the mind of Daniel Vettori!

"I think you saw from Haddin's reaction that he knew something was wrong so he probably should have made more noise about it," Vettori said.

And he's 100% right. Haddin pulls back from the wickets with his gloves after the bails have toppled as if to demonstrate he was no where near it and then is strangely muted and late in his appeal. There's a clear moment of decision: do I appeal or not? He does. And that makes him a cheat.

So when Ponting says, "I think he'd better make sure he's 100 percent right before he comes out and makes those sort of statements. It's a bit much, he's basically claiming (Haddin's) a cheat, isn't he? That's a bit strong unless they're 100 percent certain." Yup we're 100% on this one Ricky.

He's done it before. In India he threw one of his wicket keeping gloves to stop the ball. Its also against the rules. That time he got caught and the team was fned 5 runs.

Remember the last Aussie wicket keeping great? Adam Gilchrist was his name. And he'd walk every time he got a nick. Not this guy. The only thing that will stop this becoming as notorious as the underarm incident? We won. A privilege to be the team that inflicted the 4th straight loss at home on this Aussie team. The record is 5...4 to play - can we keep the dominance going?

Q. Who is Australia's newest cheating superstar?

A. OOH, I know, I know, pick me!