My schedule is to leave by 6.30 for the 7.35 departure with Jetstar who like you there half an hour early. So a little before 6.30 I am switching on the stair light to make my way down the 69 stairs, quite relaxed, the same stairs the Maori men nearly fell down yesteday when they picked up, and subsequently dropped, my large armchair which I am finally relinquishing, having not really used it in the past ten months of residence at number 42. This leaves less to remove from the 'Tiger Room' when I pass it on to the new tenant, who, I sincerely hope, will be the Texan lawyer I have just emailed with an offer too good to refuse! Housemate F likes him a lot, as his mother is from Springfield Massachusetts, as is hers, so there is a bond there already. He does not sound at all like a Texan, although his Dad from Dallas curiously drives the same BMW Z3 as I do. So there is another link. His fiancee is from Orange Free State in South Africa and visits him every few weeks from her workplace in Hamilton, where he frequents the other weekends. She may be the one who finally decides where he is to move. He would be ideal so I am courting him mercilessly. His name is Patrick by the way, with a brother called Michael. Enough of the coincidences already!
So I am at the airport at exactly six thirty eight, car parked in my new-found very convenient spot on some spare land near the airport entry. Others have beaten me to it but there are still a few spaces for the smart and frugal traveller. About five minutes later and I am in the lounge, too early even for the security check, but all is good, I am obeying my rule of 'early makes easy', and that I am. Now through security I am awaiting the call for my flight which I am told, is going to be ten minutes late anyway. I feel I must not be smug about this impeccable arrival, as each departure, and trip, is different and fraught with unknown eventualities. But so far, so good, I have negotiated a near-perfect deparure scheme with my car waiting close by for my eight pm return tonight.
The waiting lounge is now filling up, with no seats left, another reason for arriving early!
Early morn bustle at Wellington Airport...
Now for The Board Meeting...
The 'smug' traveller...not!
Meet-up with Pam and her friend Trish
Now am in a very deserted Auckland Airport. The day has disappeared very quickly and it was full to bursting, with meetings, decision making, and a measured criticism (not unexpected) of me - all this including a light and lovely lunch served and prepared by our Maori friend in Auckland who is a cook by profession.
This Body Positive Board Meeting was my first ever and it was indeed a salutary experience. Run by a few very professional men, mainly from the Auckland region, it was chock full of reports and planning for the next few months, and perhaps years. All to do with getting funding to survive, as that's what these NGOs are all about, survival on the private purse, especially for BP whose public funding is so paltry. The reverberations of my Candlelight speech reached well into the Board Rooms of the Auckland hierarchy it appeared, and some of what I said was not easily accepted, although the reprimand was gentle as no-one had warned me about the consequences of speaking my mind on a public platform. It is, indeed, a small and somewhat parochial society here, with big competition for the funding dollar and unfortunately not a lot of agreement among some of the bodies who are supposed to be working for the common good. I let it all pass over my head although I did proffer a humble apology to the meeting. After all was over I was taken to the upper echelons of BP to be given a short talk on how to behave in the future, all taken in good spirit. I somehow don't think I'll be invited to speak on that platform again.
Glad to be through that part of the day, I progress to the more pleasureable part of meeting up with dear P. and having some more to eat unfortunately, as in that respect she is the real Jewish mama.
She has arranged a meeting also with her old flatmate T., whom I replaced in Wellington. T. is quite a Kiwi career woman and also very nice. P. generously as always, drives us both to the airport as T. is flying home to Gisbourne that afternoon. However it means I now have a two hour wait at this empty air terminal, from where I am, quite tired, penning this post. It has been a big day and I will ge glad to get home.
The take-home news from the meeting was essentially that the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne in four weeks is going to be big and exhausting, and I am going to have to take it very gently, or burn out quickly. Bill Clinton is a guest speaker amongst many other celebrities. Not really my cup of tea, but I have committed to go, and I will hopefully find some time to catch up with Melbourne friends while there. I will need to do a bit of pre-organising for that. Now just to get home to my Wellington bed.
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