AdrianParker.com
Can I Touch Your Feet?
The strangest pre-dive gear-up encounter
That was when it got weird
He looked up at me, crouching in the dirt, oddly calm, his hands plucking at my shoelaces, becoming more urgent, and as his eyes locked on mine he asked - "can I touch your feet?"
Read more...Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers @ San Fran, Wellington
Teen Jesus glorify San Fran in first Wellington show
Aussie rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers played their last Glory tour date at San Fran in Wellington.
Read more...Last Ever Last Ever
My brief career as a bootleg kingpin, and Wellington's finest rock band's last ever show
Bootleg Empire
In the late 80s, my best friend and I ran a bootleg concert tape business from our bedrooms. Bootleg concert tapes are unofficial recordings of live concerts, traded without any revenue going to the band.
We told our parents it was a grey area of copyright law. (It really wasn't).
Read more...Tangalooma Wrecks
Diving Tangalooma Wrecks, off Moreton Island, Brisbane Australia
The upside of fully remote
I was working fully remote for an Australian company Octopus Deploy, and once in a while they'd bring teams together someplace for a taste of co-location, and you could take a personal day before or after if you wanted.
Which sounds to me like a golden invitation to go diving!
Read more...Shihad @ Meow Nui, Wellington
Shihad's last ever show
Shihad's last ever show, in front of an adoring hometown crowd.
Read more...My Favourite Part of My Last Vacation
Reflecting on my favourite day from my last holiday, and why that is
Read more...How to make a Wine Cork Notice Board
Tidy up those bits of paper and feel good about wine consumption with this easy DIY craft project
How to make a Wine Cork Notice Board
I'm not generally regarded as an arts and crafts type of person. Arts, perhaps, especially the musical kind; and crafty, sure, I can identify with that; but put the two words together and generally thats's enough to make me run for the hills.
However I've been collecting wine corks for seemingly forever, and the last couple of years I've been assiduously putting off this project, until last weekend when I said to myself, you know what, get it done. And so I did.
I'm amazed it turned out so well, so the least I could do is share with you how easy it is to do for yourself.
Read more...You're Already Not Dating Her
All you have to lose is the knowledge you never tried
The Wisdom of Dave Navarro
You may be familiar already with the music of Jane's Addiction. I discovered them early in my love affair with rock music. Fronted by enigmatic singer Perry Farrell, featuring the creative percussion of Stephen Perkins, the spacious, melodic bass of Eric Avery, and soaring above it all, the epic guitar stylings of Dave Navarro.
Dave Navarro isn't just an intensely gifted musician though. He is so much more. Not least, a philosopher of life.
Let me explain.
Read more...Cognitive Reframing
Choosing how you think is choosing how you feel
Small and lost and confused
We pulled up outside the flat. Mum made parking the car look harder than usual, she was preoccupied with something, anxious. Perhaps I was eight? There or thereabouts.
I felt small and lost and confused. Something wasn't right with Mum, I wasn't in school, we were outside this strange place, struggling to parallel park, and all I really remember is feeling a long way out of place.
I didn't know that Mum was visiting the hospital.
Later, I knew, but not then.
You didn't give kids context back then.
Read more...Generosity is a Customer Experience Superpower
Moments of unexpected generosity lie at the core of exceptional customer experience
We cancelled your credit card
The email from my bank began nicely enough but went downhill quickly.
We've cancelled your credit card due to an unauthorised card not present transaction in Los Angeles
.
Not unreasonable, given I live 10,800 kilometres away and haven't visited LA in a decade. It definitely wasn't me trying a quick $10 spend at the local 7-11 and my bank rightfully knew it. I couldn't fault their reasoning.
Unwelcome news though, given it meant both living within our cash reserves for a spell, and remembering to change the card details for all those things that end up charging us once every whenever. Netflix, life insurance, all the various subscriptions you managed to forget, well at least until the late payment notice comes.
Read more...That's the ten most recent. There are 8 posts and 12 gigs in all.