27 March 2010

For Earth Hour 2010...

we had a candle-lit dinner,




Jo-Lo and I played hide and seek,
we watched the overcast sky gradually clear up and the stars and the moon shone brightly

and we talked about life in the province when electricity was still not a crucial part of everyday life, about how people would gather in the veranda after dinner and tell scary stories or riddles (bugtungan), and of old songs.

26 March 2010

Race Relations Unity Day with fund drive for Mayda Clarin's family



You are all invited to a day of celebration and cultural networking this coming Saturday, 27 March 2010 at the Johnsonville Community Hall.

Schedule of activities:

9:00 AM
Fair opens to public (Crafts/novelty/used and white elephant items on sale; variety of food choices on sale; face painting; henna tattoo;reflexology demo; rides and cotton candy booth, etc...)

9:15 AM
Yoga : Breathing Exercises

9:30 AM
Free Tai Chi class (please wear comfortable clothing)

10:30 AM
Ati-Atihan Tribal Dance, Youth Band

11:00 AM
Multicultural Show (Time slots subject to change)
Filipino Community Choir
Indonesian Dance - Welcome Dance
Tai Chi Exhibition
Opening Remarks: Ian McKinnon, Deputy Mayor
Filipino Community Choir
Bollywood Dance
Filipiniana Dance: Salakot
Muslim Dance
Himig Kawayan: Angklung
Pakistani Song
Bolivian Dance : Tinkus
Bollywood Song

INTERMISSION; Kasagip Trust for Mayda

Guest of Honor : Hon. Peter Dunne, MP
YOGA Demonstration
Ati-atihan Tribal Dance
Youth Band


1:30 PM
Cultural Parade (wearing National Costume)
Closing Remarks


A fund drive will also be done during this event to help out the beleaguered family of Mayda Clarin. Mayda was a nurse in the Philippines and worked here as a carer at Upper Hutt. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and was confined at the Wellington Hospital. She passed away about a week ago. With a visitor’s visa issued by the immigration, the grieving husband with the three small kids has no other means of livelihood. With our support in this distressing time, we know we can help him cope the very rough journey. I personally appeal to you all please give generously. Any form of help means so much for them.

There will be a box to be placed at the venue where you can drop any amount you can to help the family. You may also deposit your donation at:

Kasagip Charitable Trust
Kiwi Bank
38-9009-0649421- 03

Ref. Mayda

Or contact Allan Gierran at +6427-2062560

24 March 2010

Apprentice New Zealand's episode fail

I normally don't write about TV shows other than those that feature food or tech, but yesterday's Apprentice New Zealand was somewhat a disappointment. In the first instance, the teams were tasked to create a tour of Auckland in 24 hours and fill a 40-seater bus. And the tour starts mid-morning. You will therefore need the day beforehand to plan the package, price it, and market it. Quite a gargantuan task, and I had my doubts about achieving success in such a venture. This is not like the Subway challenge where you simply create a sandwich and market it in stores that already have selling track records. But a bus tour? What are the odds of getting someone off the streets to hop into a bus and take a tour on impulse?

One of the guys though thought of this idea of getting a hotel concierge to sell some of the tickets. Which could have been a huge success had the concierge actually marketed the tickets.

And so the two teams failed to fill the bus, until the game changed and they offered the trip for free. It's a failed venture from the start. To make matters worse, I did not like the mode of questioning of the advisors to Mr Serepisos. They were questioning the leadership of Paul Natac (the Project Manager of the team who lost) due to the venture that failed, inspite of his teammates saying he did well as ther leader. I found myself imagining that if I were being questioned that way, I'd tell them to ask the person who thought up of that ridiculous challenge in the first place.

And then, what gets to me is that Paul Natac was called a coward because he offered himself up to be fired. What he did was in fact a brave thing because he was standing up to the mistakes the team made. In an environment where finger-pointing is the norm (which the Apprentice series seems to be a breeding ground of), Paul Natac said he's the Project Manager, he made decisions, and he's owning up to the failure of the venture. No pointing fingers to anybody else. That, in my book, is no cowardice. And as he had mentioned, integrity is more important to him. Those words were worth a great deal more than winning.

16 March 2010

Trikathon

My son had their Kindy's annual Trikathon, a fund-raising event that's also loads of fun! Actually Jo-Lo only has a skateboard which he rarely uses because he currently finds it difficult to balance and we did not intend for him to join the trikathon. We'd just be in the sidelines cheering his classmates. But two days before that, my wife said Jo-Lo should join and so we bought him a scooter and helmet. He practiced for a couple of hours the day before the event, and before we knew it, there he was in the middle of the festivities!

Off they go!

They did ten laps, which we thought everybody wouldn't be able to accomplish but they just kept going, and going, and going, and going...
Finally they stopped in the middle of the field and got their certificates and goody bags!
Jo-Lo watching the afternoon session Kindy cycle their way through the loop.

Enjoying the day with his best friend


Back at the Kindy, there were lucky dips, dig the sand for treasure, raffle, sausage sizzles...

... dancing...
... ice cream! ...
and a clown to wrap up the day's festivities.
It was a fun day, and Jo-Lo immensely enjoys using his scooter.


09 March 2010

Earth Hour is on 27 March 2010



Show your support and turn off your lights for one hour, Earth Hour, at 8.30pm on Saturday 27th March 2010.

Learn more about Earth Hour and activities you may participate in for your region in our world at the Earth Hour website.

03 March 2010

New ethnic poster design competition

Enter our new poster design competition – and win the chance to indulge your taste for fabulous food with a $200 Moore Wilson voucher. Your poster will also be used to promote the Ethnic Forum in May.

How to enter
The competition is open to everyone over 18 in Wellington ’s ethnic community.

Theme
Your poster theme must reflect the concept of the Ethnic Forum, which offers opportunities for ethnic communities and the Council to share ideas and information, including ways of improving the lives of ethnic communities in our city.

Points to note
- Your poster must be A3 size, in portrait layout and full colour

- Artwork and photography must be original

- Designs can be submitted either digitally or in hard copy

- The poster must use the following wording:
May 2010 Ethnic Forum
Draft Annual Plan
Tuesday 4 May 2010, 5.30-7.30pm
Icon, Te Papa, 55 Cable Street , Wellington


The winning poster design will be announced by 26 March and will be printed as a promotional poster for the Ethnic Forum in May.

For more information, phone 499 4444 or email alice.hang@wcc.govt.nz

Closing date – 5pm, Friday 19 March 2010


Competition guidelines and rules
1. The poster competition is open to anyone over 18 in the ethnic communities living in Wellington . An ethnic community is defined as: anyone who identifies themselves with a culture and or heritage different than the mainstream, but not including Maori and Pacific people.

2. Entrants may submit only one design.

3. Leave a space on the lower right corner measuring 10cm (width) x 5cm (height) as a plain area for WCC logo use.

4. Posters must be A3 size, in portrait layout, full colour and artwork and photography must be original.

5. If submitted digitally, designs should be in high resolution (save as jpg; psd or pdf file) and should be 200 dpi minimum.

6. To be considered for the competition, design submissions must be received at Wellington City Council by 5pm Friday 19 March 2010.

7. Please include an email cover letter with your name, ethnicity, mailing address, email address and phone number.

8. Posters must use the following wording:
May 2010 Ethnic Forum
Draft Annual Plan
Tuesday 4 May 2010, 5.30-7.30pm
Icon, Te Papa, 55 Cable Street , Wellington

9. Send entries to:
Trudy Jenkins
trudy.jenkins@ wcc.govt. nz
City Communities and Grants
Wellington City Council
101 Wakefield Street

Submissions will not be returned.


Judging Criteria
- The winning poster design will be rated by a panel of three judges appointed by Wellington City Council. The winner will be announced by 26 March 2010.

- The winning poster design will effectively communicate the Ethnic Forum’s title and theme from a distance and will draw the viewer in for a closer look. The winning poster will also reflect the close relationship between the Council and the ethnic communities

Award Agreement
The winning poster design submission and subsequent final poster design becomes the property of Wellington City Council, which reserves the right to revise or modify the design in any way it deems appropriate. The designer will be given credit in all use of the poster. The designer may continue to use their winning image as part of their CV and professional portfolio materials.



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