A few observations

A few things we're noticing around here, and some other random photos of the things in our new neighbourhood (<-- note the added U. That's assimilation, baby.) First, there seems to be an excess of shops using the word "world" in their name. We have seen a few of them, and they always make us giggle. For instance:

There's also a Bean Bag World, but we haven't had much use for that place yet...

Gareth thinks it's kind of like America's habit of adding 'o-rama' to the name of a store, but that pretty much stopped in 1955. Maybe it's the same idea.

Also, the word "lifestyle" seems to be thrown around a lot, and we haven't quite grasped its full meaning yet. It's always used as an adjective, but what quality it's describing is not always clear. Sometimes it seems you can just take out "lifestyle" and replace it with "expensive" to get the meaning. For example,




(Note the BMW parked out front...)

But there are also "lifestyle blocks" for sale, which are parcels of rural land that you can buy to farm. Perhaps the life of a shepherd is the ultimate lifestyle? Check out this website for more information on how you can get your very own New Zealand lifestyle block.

There's also "lifestyle clothing," advertised by this company, which calls itself a "lifestyle brand" and offers "a range of yachting-themed casual and active clothing." Right.

Finally, a few photos from the city center, just because I went for a walk today, it was sunny, and I had my camera...

The chalice on cathedral square, erected to mark the turn of the millenium.

The Cathedral. In front of it, a man on a unicycle who was giving rides to kids on his shoulders and juggling at the same time. If this man were in America, the kid's parent probably would have had to sign a 5-page waiver. No waivers here.

and pedestrian malls...