http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/474015 Our country is not so small that our voice is not heard among the world powers
Our reach is far and wide in the world, our actions are local and grassroots based
As New Zealander's we have the capacity to impact the world.]]> Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:55:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/474015 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/353447
That's right.

Liver, as in I break down the alcohol of the world and make it into something of an awesome life.

Go figure. I don't make sense to myself either. :P

- Rerenga]]> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:41:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/353447 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/342939
I feel a different feeling to what I had felt when I came back from Nepal. I don't feel as if I have to look far to find the changes in me that have occurred. I can't quite describe what those changes are exactly, but I feel them - they've taken place - and I've grown from the person I was before the Ship, to who I am now.

Being back home is a surreal experience in itself. It's as if I jumped off a bullet train and onto solid, unmoving ground, and my mind is reeling from the impact. And as each day pass, it's like another blanket of reality dulling my bright memories of SWY. I don't like to think that my clear visions of days spent on the Nippon Maru are being blurred, but we have to move forward right? It doesn't bode well to dwell on the past...

So I'll just have to plan for another bright future. :)

Here's to traveling more of the world and moving to Wellington.

- Rerenga

EDIT: Wow. Interesting comments people, but ones that aren't necessarily any of my business or anyone else's really. Have responded to the first one and will leave it at that shall we? :) *delete*]]> Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:12:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/342939 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/314137
I feel like I'm being pulled from all directions and when I venture down a path I come face to face with an obstacle. I clear it, only to be pulled again in another different direction and next thing I know I'm on a different path faced with another obstacle. Depending on my attention span and focus, the pulling sensation comes and goes and takes me as it pleases. It feels like I'm constantly having to have a bazooka at the ready to blast away the barriers so I can move forward. But even that is proving to be a challenge.

What way is forward?

When every direction I'm pulled towards and every path I turn to is a path I need to take but they lead away from each other and are each filled with numerous obstacles.

Is the way forward really a step in front of me? Or is it just an illusion and really, I'm only stuck in the one place with things coming at me. I'm not being pulled towards anything, only things are coming at me...the way I face is the only thing I have control over...or is it? All areas of my life are heading towards the center on the verge of imploding in on itself and I can't run anywhere.

I'm trying to survive here. I've got so many things to do that it's a luxury just to be able to type this all down. A luxury that has now expired.

- R]]> Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:42:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/314137 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/299991
Then it hit me. I'm an idiot. I just thought "why don't I just ask myself as someone who's 'my own age' and currently in 'my position' eh?"

Indeed.

So the drama of a Saturday meeting is hardly worth mentioning - as of this moment - but the turnout was astounding! And maybe it's an overstatement but the margin of error makes it that much closer! XD

Aaaaaaah, I need a Lift Plus but I'm craving for a Pinto or Cool Change.

- R]]> Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:58:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/299991 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/293667
I always had this thing about face paint. The thought of putting paint on my face to the point of being unrecognisable really did my head in as a kid. I can now identify what it was that I didn't like about it and it was because I didn't like the idea of people seeing me as something I wasn't, getting pre-conceived ideas of who I am. It unnerved me to think people would have expectations of me because of the way I looked or was, expectations I wouldn't be able to uphold when the paint came off.

I think that's partly why I have this thing about make-up as well. I don't wear it. I can count on one hand the times I've worn any sort of make-up product. This excludes nail polish and lip gloss (transparent yo). I didn't want people to get used to seeing me all 'dolled up', for them to think that that was me. (Not to mention I'd be too lazy to keep that up anyway. Hah!)

Tis' a phobia of sorts ne?

Ah well. I'm aware of it and can now get over it.

- Rerenga]]> Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:11:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/293667 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/275415 ]]> Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:28:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/275415 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/266969
I'm currently in competition with the universe. I'm setting tasks for myself everyday to complete. If I complete them by the end of the day, I get a point. If I don't, the universe gets a point. It's seriously silly. I'm winning at the moment although at times I think to cheat and change the tasks only for the other little voice in my head to pull me up on it. Hah! Such is the way of having integrity and valuing it as an essential quality.

Valuing. That looks strange to my eye. Value. Valuing. Tis' ugly looking. XD

Ah. Yes, I'm trying to motivate myself. I'm going on automatic again and I don't like it. That's the reason for this silly wager. Don't ask me when it'll finish. It'll finish when it does and I'll win it. Kon.

- Rerenga

PS Nodame is weird. Weeeeeeeeeeeeird. It's catching ne? Oh gawd no. Please no. -_-
PPS Meloncholy. Interesting word. Meloncholic. That should be a drink name. Give me a Meloncholic shot yo.]]> Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:08:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/266969 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/248131
For the past week or so we've been having connection troubles first with our internet going down, then our whole network collapsed. It was frustrating. I suffered from internet withdrawals.
I don't think I've completely recovered either. The sight of a 'Server Cannot be Found' page sends me into spasms of horror, just the thought of one makes my mouth go dry. Luckily it's only happened twice since we've re-connected and I was able to deal to it.

I'm joking about the after affects of course, but it was a really disconcerting time. Felt so disconnect with the rest of the world. o_O Gotta wonder what we'd do without the internet...imagine if there was global crash. Scary.

So anyway, got it back last week and now working on a single laptop which needs to be re-worked into the network. It doesn't seem to want to though. Not recognizing it's own IP Address. I think it's having an identity crisis.

Poor Tawera.

- Rerenga]]> Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:53:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/248131 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/242941
I genuinely want to know your answer to this. Insight into the feeling of hate and what it means to a person. You in this instance.

See, I find it hard to hate a person. I can get annoyed at someone, frustrated and angry, but I don't blame them for me getting upset about something they did or reacting to how they are - or at least I like to think I don't...hah! I take it as something *I* control...I recognize the feelings I feel for a person isn't necessarily reflective of the way they are or *who* they are as a person...only what I perceive them to be...so I don't feel justified in hating *them* when who I think they are is only the outer shell of their being. How can I hate someone I don't know?

Maybe I'm kidding myself with that way of thinking. It's pretty idealistic seeing as I reckon you can't possibly *fully* know a person anyway.

But...that's my reasoning and what I try to keep reminding myself so that I work harder at getting to know someone. It's practically ingrained in genetic strand.

I can remember a time when I've hated some people, but that was way back in the days of primary school. And I can't remember exactly when I started to "condition" myself for my reasoning on not hating people...but I know that it was just someone telling me that hate and love are at the extreme ends of the scale. You can't go any lower than hate; you can't go any higher than love.

Hate is the ABSOLUTE. Hate. The End. Close the door, lock it and throw away the key, pull the gate down, turn the sign around, stop time, kill it and be done with it.

To me, to hate someone is to kill them (figuratively of course). When you hate a person, they're dead to you.

Pretty extreme eh?

I'm not saying that I'm right. Or wrong for that matter. I'm just saying that this is my meaning of hate and believing it helps me to be a person who...cares about people? Hmmm. No, not "care" exactly, but...it helps me to be considerate of others, responsible for my own reactions and able to dictate how I deal with whatever comes up as opposed to letting myself blame others for the way I act and feel.

----

This was my previous though anyway which I now refute to some extent...

The part where I say I don't know how a person can hate another...I've just remembered what it was like.]]> Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:08:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/242941 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/240197
Today's been an interesting day. This time today last year I was in New Plymouth waiting for the rest of my whanau to arrive at the funeral parlour.

This morning last year I was waking up at 11am-ish and rushing to ICU.

Tonight last year I would be at the marae with the rest of my whanau bawling my eyes out.

I'm just counting down the hours like it was only yesterday.

Hurt much? Not so much as I thought it would. But still hurt.

Tis' life. Tis' death.

- R]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:12:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/240197 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/237259
Ko au me taku kotahi kei te tari i tenei wa, kei wahi kee nga tokorua, panui pukapuka ai ki nga tamariki. He mea whakanui i te wiki nei (ano, i wareware katoa au!). Kaore he korero kee atu i te tera.

Meh.

Nga mihi nui o te wiki nei!

- Rerenga]]> Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:20:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/237259 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/235909
No, let me re-phrase that.

I feel like I'm trapped in a robot.

That's better.

I can feel myself under the cold metal screaming to get out.

I don't like this place I'm in.

Can you tell?

But my robot doesn't know who it's dealing with.

I feel sympathy towards it when I think of how I'm going to crush it's metal plates.

I will destroy it.

I will be free.

- Rerenga]]> Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:55:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/235909 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/233969
Hah. Now my mind finds it ironic how the colour for the countries visited is in green. Go visit countries to make them green! Pollute the air with C02 emissions to make it green!

I'm going insane. Awesome. I've been away for far too long to let this mood go to waste. :)

- Rerenga]]> Wed, 18 Jul 2007 22:57:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/233969 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/233967
I started receding from all the online forums I belong to...here, Bebo, MySpace, Blogger, The Long Song, and URGE just to name a few. Not too sure why. Bored? Scared? Just had nothing to say?

Yeah, just had nothing to say.

Or I didn't feel like saying much else. Call me a fake and I'll feel better.

This is all about feeling better people! Yay!

Speaking about feeling better, my mates have gotten me into JPop. That makes me feel better. I've never known any other genre of music to be so bubbly-happy. Oh my gosh. Give me Arashi any day. Any other day, give me 'Planetarium' and 'Flavour of Life'. And if any of those makes you think 'hey...there's a connection here...' then you're right! Along with JPop, I'm now hooked into...Hana Yori Dango Liiiiiive Acccction Seeeeeries! [Applause resumes] Yes, yes. I can't believe I'm so into it either. I should string my friends up to dry for fangirling all over it in the first place...

I watched all of Season 1 on Thursday and Friday, and have seen the first episode of Season 2. I really really want to finish it all so I won't have to think about it any more, but as you can imagine, my computer has been streaming at a trickle which is NOT GOOD.

So I'm laying off it for a while - I have will power, I do - and am just waiting on the repercussions of my actions...any day now, any day...]]> Wed, 18 Jul 2007 22:30:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/233967 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/218565
I have missed much haven't I?

Hmmm.

- Rerenga]]> Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:11:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/218565 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/195005
The latest tigblog entries for NZ are showing old posts...and only two at that. Also the Current Contest is showing in another language...but maybe that's meant to be.

I don't know. But just wondering why our site seems to have a glitch or two.

- Rerenga]]> Wed, 02 May 2007 00:44:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/195005 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/183283
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=115769

I think there's going to be a bit of favouritism happening there now in
regards to the Maori population...quite possibly I'd say. Will have to see
how much of a coverage this will get throughout the all the iwi.

I can't get over that. That's just highly amusing.

- Rerenga

]]> Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:05:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/183283 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/175725 breather is actually an effective way of being aware of the present, your
surroundings, you and your state of mind.

And it makes me laugh when I'm actually doing something that was forwarded
to me via email...a forward that was finally worth it! That cracks me up and
that makes me happy. So it works! Life is good.

-------

Summer holidays are faded memories and now we are approaching the fourth
month of the year and winter is next......Depressing? Not if you breathe
right!!

How to stay mindful at work (and anywhere else in fact)

1. Before getting out of bed each morning - think about your breathing as u
take 5 deep breaths in and out. Then think positive thoughts to create the
right attitude to face the day

2. When travelling to work - think about your body walking, standing,
waiting, driving - take 5 deep breaths in and out. Keep your mind
clear - exclude anxiety, concerns

3. At work, notice any body tightness. Then breathe in and as you breathe
out let go of the tension - which could be in say neck, shoulders, jaw,
lower back. Take 5 deep breaths in and out, then get up and stretch

4. Take a one minute pause every 20-30 minutes to change your mental focus.
Yes, only one minute! Change your gaze from close work to distance by
looking out of the window. Stop thinking about work for 60 seconds - take 5
deep breaths in and out

5. Use workplace cues to tune in on yourself eg phone ringing, waiting for
a meeting to start - take 5 deep breaths in and out

6. Take your work breaks! Change posture, get out in the fresh air and
natural light, drink filtered water, walk, enjoy your lunch food - take
5 deep breaths in and out

7. Take occasional moments to think about your posture - walking, standing,
sitting and be aware of your surroundings - take 5 deep breaths in and out

8. Bring awareness to listening and talking - tune in, dont rush, focus.
Notice how your mind and body feel - take 5 deep breaths in and out

9. At day's end, be aware of the transition between leaving work and
arriving home. Take 5 minutes at home for adjustment including 5 deep
breaths in and out

10. Before sleeping, take 5 deep mindful breaths, releasing all "day
thoughts" as u breathe out and relax into a well-earned and comfortable
sleep

Remember - you only need to take a group of 5 deep mindful breaths
occasionally throughout the day to give yourself a wonderful sense of
wellbeing. How hard is that!?
-------

See? Not bad hmm? Funny how it's something you know to do and that you
should do but only until you do do it you find that it is actually worth
doing.

Dang.

- Rerenga

]]> Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:56:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/175725 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/175579 are present and that affect us as a country and as youth. What is it that we
want for our country? What we think we need and want are different but which
one has more control? Our relationships with each other also...


]]> Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:48:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/175579 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/167509 intimidating as his first 'challenge'.

I've only got time to post it (via my email) before I gotta go!

This is from Claude who posted it in the Long Song:

"20 March 07 - When I attended the SOS as a media rep, I suggested to the
Youth Voice that it consider forming itself into an organisation so others
could join in. That seemed too big a step, with the result that postings now
wonder if the energy is lost, fading away. It is and it will. It is a
natural process of how humans work. If you want to keep something going, you
must organise it, so as individuals move on pursuing their own gains, the
organisation brings in new people to keep it alive and thriving.

But while this is the state of the Youth Voice, in the bigger world, many
things are happening right now - some out of balance. It seems every
politician in NZ saw Al Gore's film and now has become green - we must do
something about global warming.

The worry here is how the focus on global warming is the same sort of
unidirectional thinking that got us into the mess in the first place. Plant
trees and we save the world, switch to biofuel and we save the world, buy a
Prius and we save the world. If tomorrow we halted all 20th century CO2
emissions, we would still have huge problems facing us. If you read the RMA
or the Local Government Act, they talk about Social, Economic, Cultural and
Environmental wellbeing, not just cutting greenhouse gasses.

I've just spent two months researching investments in biofuel, and am
astounded by the amount of misinformation being promulgated by people who
should know better. Corn produces 18 gallons of biofuel per acre and uses 8
gallons of diesel to make it. In contrast Algae produces 15,000 gallons per
acre, and it grows faster if CO2 is pumped in. On a sunny day it will
consume 80% of the CO2, down to 50% at night. So why don't we pump CO2 from
Huntley or Golden Bay Cement works into algae ponds? Because the guys who
invented the process are struggling to find investments to take it to the
next stage. In contrast, in the USA, the Corn Lobby has been told that the
farm subsidies enacted by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 may actually be
ended in 2008. So they got a US$1.50 per gallon subsidy for corn ethenol.
Politics not performance.

It's called the Tapeworm Economy. A tapeworm emits a chemical that makes you
want to eat things that are good for the tapeworm and bad for you. In the
tapeworm economy powerful interested exert control on media, government,
academia, science and a host of other key influencers to do things that are
good for them, but bad for humanity.

At this point, the Tapeworm economy sees that global warming can be
profitable. And we may see some real improvements come out of it, although
we will also see an awful lot of wealth conversion. I found the most active
place for biofuel in the USA is in Texas, home of GW and Big Oil. Hmm. As I
looked further, I found some young people with really good ideas, top in the
field, and I also found lots of cynical old dinosaurs trying to cash in.

Youth Voice here in NZ was the most dynamic group I had ever seen focused on
the future of earth and her humans. Unlike the wooly bear groups in the US,
Youth Voice brought together young people who we can expect will actually do
something effective. Do not underestimate the power that was there for a
week.

However, for it to become effective, it needs to adopt the 15
characteristics of a biological organism, which I will quote from Dr.
Elisabet Sahtouris:

1. Self-creation (autopoiesis)
2. Complexity (diversity of parts)
3. Embeddedness in larger holons and dependence on them (holarchy)
4. Self-reflexivity (autognosis--self-knowledge)
5. Self-regulation/maintenance (autonomics)
6. Response ability--to internal and external stress or other change
7. Input/output exchange of matter/energy/information with other holons
8. Transformation of matter/energy/information
9. Empowerment/employment of all component parts
10. Communications among all parts
11. Coordination of parts and functions
12. Balance of Interests negotiated among parts, whole, and embedding
holarchy
13. Reciprocity of parts in mutual contribution and assistance
14. Conservation of what works well
15. Creative change of what does not work well

Until you do the first, the others are not possible. So I put it to you.

Do you wish to create Youth Voice as a living organism?"

Eugh. I reeeeeeeeally gotta get back into things in regards to Youth Voice
and the Long Song. Jeez. Really gotta put some thinking into how we're going
to survive and thrive...

- Rerenga

]]> Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:36:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/167509 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/167201 Falling, mists are rising
On and on waterfall
Water lapping on the shore
Skipping stones across
Ripples, above and under

Tranquil movement
Rushing sound
A dilapidated building
Fathomless eyes

Crystal grains crunching
Under feet
Slowing time
Stillness
Peace!

]]> Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:55:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/167201 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/166733 I'm confused by which season we should be in by now due to the fact that it's not overly hot right now and it's not got that Autumn-y feel in the air yet.

Although we did have a bit of a cold snap yesterday...but I think that was more Winter than Autumn showing it's face in the Eight Season in One Day day.

It was scary a couple of days ago though. The wind, the rain, the ominous dark clouds with the thunder claps and blasts accompanied by the blinding lightining. Yeah. The lights kept flickering too, not the fast flickering either, but the second long flickering where it seems like the actual-powers-that-be-were-fighting-for-dominance-over-the-lightbulbs kind of flickering. We even saw the blue of electricity snapping from the bulbs.
Needless to say we pulled everything in the house from all the plug sockets and got candles and torches ready. We kept the lights on though.
Must not have been that scared after all huh?

But yeah, weather-wise what a weird week.

And that ends this post of perpetual plight...of attempts at astonishingly atrocious alliteration also.

- Rerenga]]> Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:22:00 EDT http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/166733 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/165279 Who'd of thought?

Now I feel like a radical youth.

- Rerenga

]]> Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:17:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/165279 http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/165149
I arrived back home from Nepal on Thursday and spent most of the weekend immersing myself back into a strange yet familiar society. Tried catching up on some much needed sleep over the past few nights but I'm finding it a challenge getting re-acquainted to the timezone.
I'm home yet it has a different 'feel' to what I was expecting, to what I was used to also. Strange yet familiar. It has lost some meaning for me too, I'm not sure in what way, but it hasn't got as much as a hold on me as before.
I'm listening to Western music for the first time since coming back...!

My time in Nepal was amazing, unreal, unnerving, AWESOME! I'm still trying to get over what it was exactly for me.

The culture shock on the first day was near overwhelming. Never before had I ever experienced what I was going through that day, and I was both relishing and fighting it. By the end of that one day - which just so happened to be one of their big celebration days - we had already been through a 'helpful' mob of Nepali men at the airport looking for tips; a drunken 'rollercoaster-like' ride in a micro-micro-van taxi through the bumpy, potholed, one laned streets of Kathmandu lined with people, rubbish, people, kids, animals, motorbikes, more vehicles and people; kids holding up ropes to stop vehicles from passing for money; first black-out while trying to use the internet in a cyber-cafe; beggars - old ladies, mothers with babies, men, old men, kids - asking for money; getting out of a micro-micro-van taxi because it 'bumped' into another micro-micro-van ('talking' between the drivers ensued...) and having to walk a km or so to where we were staying; threading through a gathering of people in the dark while the King drove past in a convoy of dark cars - there was a bit of tension in the air due to the 'popularity' of the King with his people at this time.
All of that and throw in the differences of countries, society, environment, cultures and language and you basically have a general idea of what we experienced on the first day.

But hey. We survived.

And that night while walking away from the people who were gathered in the dark streets, the predicaments and events of the day ran through my mind and I found myself thinking that this has been one helluva time and it's only been one day in Kathmandu! From then on I was happy. Something clicked for me and I had resolved my personal inner conflicts due to the culture shock and got over it. The prospect of having similar eventful days for the rest of the days we were there for - I couldn't help but laugh! Come what may I was determined to learn as much as I could, meet as many people as I could, experience everything and anything that Nepal had to offer and have a great time. So I did.

Now here I am sitting at my computer. The journey ended a few days ago but the ripples are still going. I'm not sure how long they will last or what sort of an impact they will have, but my GOSH! Good times.

- Rerenga

PS I forgot to mention: I miss NEPAL!]]> Sun, 04 Mar 2007 16:22:00 EST http://Rerenga.tigblog.org/post/165149