TWO-MEKE

( TUMEKE is a word from the language of the native Mâori people of New Zealand. Literally translated to English it means "too much".  In the 20th century in New Zealand it came to be used as an exclamation of excitement, in a similar vein to the term "awesome".  "Tumeke" is now commonly used by youth of both the indigenous Mâori people and European immigrants.     "How are you feeling today?"      "Tumeke!"...   excerpt from the Urban Dictionary ).

The Fellowship grows...

The second part of the trilogy finds the “Fellowship of the Coconuts” having returned to the Great White North to continue their search...
Little knowing that soon, they would be joined by fellow seekers…  We pick-up the story back in the village…

Read on…

CAPTAIN MORGANNE

Hey family!!  Hope all of you guys are doing well in your own corners of the world!! Umm, I have a vague idea from when I last updated to what month I got up too, so I'll start with May to be safe…. Though there isn't really much to tell since I remember nothing. I do remember Having Minona over 3 times that month, but not much else. I think we also went on a hike that month too, but it might of been some other month…..
Mmm, going on to June….. Uh, don't remember anything from that month either except school, more school, school again, and Minona over while Kolina was in America. July was pretty much the same too. 

Te Ninja Onu

Ahh, I think in August it was the same routine, but I think we had a term break… no that was September…. After the party.

You now what, I'm gonna skip all the boring, very boring, trying-to-remember-what-the-heck-happened-during-those-months, so going on to September!! Month of celebrations!!! 

As you can guess, (since pretty much everyone was there,) the birthday was AWESOME!!!! And I'm not saying that just because Conner's my big teddy-bear. (Mwahahaha Conna!! Your not-so-secret secret is out!!! >:D) 

It started when Dad and Conner returned in August, (Yay!!) and we spent a week annoying them (well, I was,) and just being happy in general. Then our cousins from both sides of the family came and our "little" celebration grew to a full out party!!! Kind of…. Not really… It was only near Conner's 21st that we truly partied. Me and Tere were supposed to be going to school during the week everyone had arrived, but we didn't and spent almost all of our time with you guys, even staying with you at the hall and using Jacob and Alina as a teddy-bear. :D We spent a lot of our time swimming and playing rugby, if I remember correctly, and we even did a road rally!! I kind of got lost during the second challenge, and lost my shoe... A-heh. 

The rest of the road rally was pretty fun, but our team's little statue, (I can't spell the proper term,) didn't go that well and team Green didn't win. (Aww!! ;D) 
The birthday itself was pretty awesome, and I wanted to see more of it but me and Alina were outside because we had to hide our costumes from Conner. It didn't stop you guys from sneaking outside momentarily though. :D 

I was a little nervous at first when I was doing the item, but soon I was enjoying myself and Alina and I even got money!! ( I love you guys!!)  
The rest of the party was absolute awesomeness, (forgive my grammar) and one O my favourite parts was watching the others perform their items and present their gifts to Connor. I also enjoyed the speeches, and I have to admit that my one was pretty made up. (nervous laugh) 

I'm sad to say that after the night of the party, things got a little sad because everyone had started leaving. (Aww.) I wished you'd all stayed a bit longer, but I understand that you probably wanted to go back home. 
After you cuzzies left, our little family immediately noticed how quiet everything got, and we all missed you dearly. Still, there will be other visits, and I seriously can't wait to see you all again. 
Lot's of Luv from the worlds GREATEST SPEECH MAKER, 

Morganne. ;)

TERE

Well, May to September, a real turbulent time from what I recall, which is considerably more then my last post.

Around mid May, I introduced my mates to the world of Starcraft, and let me tell you when I say, that it quickly caught on like a house on fire that's been drenched in gasoline and filled with gunpowder. Those 2 devoured it to the point that they had mastered the game in the space of about 2 weeks, and after that, Starcraft became the only game that they played.

Some time around this point in the year, I went aboard the Picton Castle, a ship built in the style of the 1700's ships. What could possibly go wrong? The answer came to me in the form of what was most likely exorcised pants. There was one specific pair of pants I had, that every time I put them on, everything went wrong in the space of 3 seconds (Put it this way, the 1st time I put them on, I had very bad bowel movements for a week, 2nd time, I was surrounded by triggerfish.) Third time, the night was just long and tedious, and I was tense and paranoid the whole time. That sort of ruined the whole "relax-onboard-the-ship" idea. Fortunately, I was finally allowed to get rid of those %@#$& pants. 

Another event I recall was from school, my drama class's play production of Caucasian Chalk Circle. It was a very intricate, and very entertaining piece, and overall it was one of the better memories of this part of the year. An added zing to the play, was that out of all the characters in the play, mine were the only ones with accents (First I did an Eastern European nobleman, then an irate Irishmen, brain-damaged English soldier, followed by an angry semi-comatose American, and finally the Irish again.) I can't remember a funner night that involved work onstage in my life.

Also afterwards, Nick went on a trip to Ireland, and I intended to see him off at the airport, but when I got there, he either;
A: Already boarded.
B: Was stuck in the Men's room the whole time.
C: Transformed himself into a Chinese media businessman who supposedly was running an illegal trafficking operation concerning Aztec relics.

 It was most likely "A" though... Yep, pretty sure it was "A"

Anyways, I spent about 2 hours doing nothing, and after that, I decided to catch the bus home from town. When I got there though, guess who I see? That's right, it was CHRISTIAN BALE!! 

No actually, it was Alina. As we all know, she works at Kai Pizza, and on that particular day, it's current location intersected with my walk. Naturally, I decided to go visit. That ended up in me washing dishes for them, and the hot water pipe then released scalding water on me (it wasn't that large a spray, but hey, IT WAS BOILING WATER!! I COULD'VE RECEIVED VERY MINOR SKIN BURNS THAT MOST LIKELY WOULDN'T HAVE CAUSED ANY LASTING DAMAGE!!!)

What the!?!?

Life was somewhat boring after that. All I did was play Starcraft with Te Tuhi. Actually, 'play' is a strong word. It should really be, "getting-my-@$$-handed-to-me-by-a-rookie". But hey, he was learning at a ridiculous rate, and he would be challenging Koreans in a few months. That made the Nuclear bombardments, artillery barrages demolishing my resources, and invading armies blasting me clean off the map worthwhile. 
What else was sufficiently entertaining that happened in this time to be posted on this blog, hmmmm.... 


I vaguely recalled something from September, something about Connor? I know that the number 21 was involved somehow, and something about 30+ relatives coming over? I know that something happened.... oh wait, now I remember, it was September 8th! Now I remember why it was so important! It was Charlie Trotter's birthday!

Inuksuk building for ROAD RALLY

No, it was Connor's 21st  (But Charlie Trotter actually was born on September 8th), and that was one helluva blast. We had relatives from Dad's and Mum's sides of the family, and for the older members, it was seeing each other for the first time in years, but for the younger generations, it was a chance to meet new people, and to make new friends. 

I can't remember such a time of euphoria, there was so much, you could practically taste it. Everyone got along with each other, and all of us had a good time. It was during this time that I drew my infamous I Spy page. Why is it infamous? Because everyone one found it a real pain in the @$$ to complete. Everyone's who's tried had a migraine afterwards, and to be honest, it was hilarious to watch people trying to solve it, and get so close to it, but then get so far to the point they go "GYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" and then storm outside the room. 

Then of course, there was the actual birthday. September 8th. Aside from maybe Christmas 2008, I can't remember such bonding. I also can't remember such laughing, for our grandparents decided to recite 21 stories of Connor, and they were very entertaining (I think I asked Connor at one point, "Do you actually remember doing any of this?"). The other family members of course presented there own piece, and all of them were very good. 

Near the end, anyone who wanted to say something to everyone could say so. I remember a line I stated that night; "I thought to myself, 'What could possibly go wrong?' Thanks to Connor, I found out." 

The 21st. I can't remember having more fun than these golden days...

ALINA

It was starting to quiet down by this time, and I was going mad. My days off work at Kai Pizza were idle again, and my days on work were becoming inconsistent and unpredictable, as things do with a struggling mobile business. I salvaged my remaining sanity and took initiative, and began looking for other work. 

I found two more jobs about the same time, in May: one was at the airport, at a little cafe in the Departure Lounge (I was on breakfast shifts, which starts at five or six in the morning), Reefside Rarotonga; the other was waitressing at another cafe, Mum's personal favourite (and mine), the Saltwater Cafe. 

It took some shuffling and juggling between the three, but suddenly I was working every day, for at least six hours, and on some days I was working two jobs. My spare time was for sleep, except for over the weekends, when I had more shifts and they were longer. It was challenging, and it was paying, and I stuck with it for about a month. 
Ultimately, though, I went mad again, but for the opposite reason: I was exhausting myself. I decided to drop Reefside, because I was on minimum wage and hours (NZ$6.50/hr, maximum of eight hours a week), and factoring uniform, security and airport ID costs, I ended up paying more for the job than earning from it. A difficult decision, I'm sure, but I did profit from the extra sleep :) and it made little difference, because I was still working seven days, I just had more time to focus on the other two jobs.

        It was around this time that our boss Nikki Hill had returned from an overseas stay in New Zealand, and with a flick of her magic pizza fairy wand she rocked Kai Pizza back on its feet. Gone were the days of "excuse me, have you seen my job? i seem to have misplaced it," or "don't mind me, I'm just waiting for my work to show up on time." The days of last-minute relievers, frantic errands and stock calls, and empty hours were no more. And so did cease the days of confusion and delay, and so on. It was definitely exciting at times, but you learn to not put your wages on adventure. I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to last with the business, but Nikki managed to turn it back around to the flexible-yet-organised system I had originally signed up for. Happy days are here again! Our team had dwindled down to our prep lady Metua, the colourful Jaikib, the fabulous John, me, who's just the coolest ha ha, and Captain Nikki, who was optimistically driving our little truck toward big plans :)

      Saltwater Cafe was a small, individual business; once I joined the team, it had a maximum of seven staff, and three of the them were the family owners, Sue, Stephen, and their daughter Melissa. We were small, but we ran well; it was organised, friendly, educational, and steady, not to mention the best wages I'd come across in Raro. I learned a great deal about hospitality, both in customer service and social skills from Sue and Mel at the front, but also about cooking and kitchen tips from Cina, our wonderful wonderful cook (having put that, I better be in your good books for sure now Cina! hee hee!) I also enjoyed the family atmosphere; being up front, I usually worked with the mother-daughter team of Sue and Mel, and then stepfather Sir Stephen on Sundays (say that ten times fast), but my favourite weekly entertainment was at the back, The Tyson and Cina Show, starring Tyson the kitchen hand and Cina the cook, featuring Ura the helpful on Sundays (oh the poor thing! hee hee!) Because I was on the floor most often, I often missed the highlights of their bickering and conjured drama, but I don't think I've gone a week without laughing. Saltwater Cafe is, without question, the best job I've had, and likely the best one I will have at this rate, for a long time to come. The dining is dangerously delightful, the people are perfectly pleasurable, and my alliteration is altogether a bit antidisestablishmentarianism (my vocab is running out). I always would recommend the hell out of Saltwater to family and friends, but even more so because this time I would literally profit from it! It was increasingly important for our family to know the what's-what when it came to going out and about the island, because pretty soon a great deal of them would be here...

        Connor's turning 21! Ermagarrrsh, he is so old now, and now we must celebrate it? We certainly pulled out all the stops on this one; there was family to fly over, accommodations to settle, food to prepare, airports to shuttle to, items to choreograph, costumes to tailor, beds to make, children to entertain, parents to hide from children, cakes to bake, beaches to visit, driving licenses to test for, and takeaways to order.

This is just the dummed-down version of one the most fantastic weeks anybody in the George family can expect to experience. It was exciting to have so much family from all over the Pacific suddenly together in the same village. You could have breakfast with your cousins from Kiwiland, walk across the road to greet your Canadian grandparents, then continue to the pub and drink with your Aussie-bums. 
The simplicity was delicious, and it was unusual yet gratifying to see everybody, from both sides of the family, get along so well. I honestly don't think a week or two was long enough, but that's about how much we could afford. 

Drat everybody having jobs and schools to go back to-- couldn't you all just live here?! 
Of the times that Connor's come home to visit, this was the best one. Amid all the running around to get stuff done, Connor told me that he was glad to properly catch up with some rellies, for the first time in years actually. Nothing like our impromptu reunions to remind us that, really, we are freakin' awesome, and we've got the coolest family there is ha ha.


        My mates from work were disappointed that they didn't get to meet as much of my family as they would have liked (hey, I was too), but nobody went unnoticed: everybody agreed that our own Kai Pizzas were the best pizzas around (post that on Trip Advisor!), and a fair share of my mum's family made their visits to Saltwater Cafe. We joked around that we had enough family members to book out the entire restaurant… and then we were sorely tempted to try it. Oh, how expensive that would have been. Save it for when we are fabulously wealthy, I suppose. After all, the cafe's not going anywhere in a hurry, right?

CONNOR

And so begins another installment of: Rambling With Connor, the part of the blog where Connor provides generic anecdotes about past going-ons and such-like thingamadoos.

Bridging the gap between the previous blog up until the coming of Fall this year, all that occupied that interim was a smattering of unexciting work stories. A hydro test here, a handful of punchlists there, a helping of crude humor and a small number of critical lifts can concisely summarize the majority of my activities as an apprenticed pipefitter. So to spare your ears - or perhaps more accurately your eyes, as you can't actually read with your ears- I'll skim over the meat and potatoes of the topic and skip straight to dessert:..

 The 21st.

Well, strictly speaking, I guess it was my 21st. But, eh, details. Anyway, my parents were rather insistent that I return home for a celebration of some sort, and I readily obliged. Any excuse to arrive in a tropical paradise for a month of familial shenanigans and hearty food sits well with me. So,it was in this fashion I found myself once again on the humble, and rather beautiful, island of Rarotonga, once again riling up trouble where there ought not be with any one of my three siblings, and generally having a good laugh. 

Merriment was to be counterbalanced with a copious helping of rampant frazzlement, as me and the immediate family found ourselves operating as an ad-hoc 24 hour shuttle service for the arriving extended family. And extended family, my good readers, we have aplenty. Uncle Tere, Aunty Naama, Aunty Tara, Uncle Joe, Uncle John, Aunty Ngarui, Uncle Joseph, Aunty Celia, cousins Jacob, Shaaman, Tarena - (inhales) - Maria, Madhu, Stephen, Enua, Jessica, Ngarui, Phoenix, Tiaho, and more! 

For a limited time only (while food supplies last)! To make a short story long, we had an abundance of blood relations running amok the island, and it was enough that not even a number of oblivious tourist-type bystanders were not spared.
Now, it would stand to reason that at this juncture I would discuss all that the family and I got up to. Alas, I'll be opting out of the majority of it. Because quite simply, there is just so much to type, and so little space to discuss it all in. So I implore you to forgive this rudimentary summary.
A substantial amount of time was dedicated to the beach, either in sobriety or... in a slightly pickled state. Kayaking, reef diving, lollygagging, snorkeling, coconut tossing, goggle swiping, sun bathing, sun burning, beachside rugby, and take aways made for a memorable number of visits to the lagoons. In the manner of more organized merry-making, Mum arranged for the present cousins a Road Rally of sorts. Details may be referred to in Alina's upcoming cinematic documentary of the event. 

And as for the 21st itself? 

The single-most memorable family reunion I've ever enjoyed. 

Papa Mike Tavioni

I was presented with a hand crafted spear by my Uncle Mike as a coming-of-age gift, a Toy Story cake by my siblings and cousins, a phenomenal dance performance by my sisters, a spectacular tivaevae by my aunties, a dozen other presents besides, and an opportunity to put my Mum on the spot. Heheheheh. Don't criticize me too much now, she got three awards and a box of Advil out of it for her troubles.

Proud Mum

Well, anyway, I've exposited a tremendous amount, and I will be wrapping this up in a conclusive-like manner to prevent myself from expositing further. So I bid all a good day, and expect I will see you all in a timely fashion next time on Rambling With Connor. 

Next Blog: The Rambling With Connor Christmas Special!

Temaeu

So, the busyness continued from April to September with it peaking at the beginning of September for Connor’s 21st.  Some of the things of note prior the 21st were:

• Attending the wedding reception for Dan Moreland, Dan being the Captain of the Picton Castle.
• Going to the first Film Raro and watching the short films, all of which were filmed and produced on Rarotonga.
• Going on to another of the vessels in my fleet, Lady Moana, which is a cargo / passenger vessel that operates in the Cook Islands.  One of the girls I work with, Maria Guadalupe Harreguy, was doing a follow-up survey and suggested I come along so I can see some of the things that are looked for when annual surveys are done.
• Celebrating a good friend’s birthday at Tamarind House.  When Hillary Clinton was attending the 2012 Pacific Forum, this was the dining establishment she frequented the most.
• I worked Saturday mornings from 22nd June to 23rd August at a little hut, The Flying Fish, which sells a wide variety of things.  The owner of the hut is also the head librarian at the library I volunteer at, and I also worked there last year for 6 weeks.
• My Daelim semi-automatic bike was stolen from our carport a week after I paid it off.  I had unfortunately left the keys in it and someone took advantage of that.  I have since found out that  Daelim’s are one of the most commonly stolen models.  Three months later and still no news.
• Designing and sewing a small tivaevae inspired tapestry, (still to be completed).  Alina and Morganne put in many, many hours of sewing on this.
• Going to see the Laughing Samoans, live.  They are a comedic duo from N.Z.  who I find really funny.  The kids came as well so it was another family night out at the National Auditorium.

Ina arrived on 22nd August and the final preparations for the 21st started.  Connor arrived on the 26th, much to his siblings’ (and Mum’s), delight.

Connor’s 21st was an amazing event in that we were fortunate enough to have 32 guests  attend from overseas.  There were 3 from Canada, 12 from the Davis whanau in N.Z.,  11 from the George anau in N.Z. and 4 from Australia.  Connor’s god-mother, Letitia  Ardern and her husband also came over from N.Z.  There was also about an equal number of local friends and family, so a fair size coming of age party for Mr Connor.
With so many overseas guests coming, there was much arranging needed for accommodation and transportation.  Ina has explained a little about that...

Because there were two sides of the family that had not spent time together, I organized a Round Raro Road Rally.  Ngaio was roped in to be the photographer and filmographer of this event, our cousin Celia was the score keeper and my brother-in-law, Shailesh was the lucky chauffeur.  We had hired a 15 seater van and used this to haul all the kids around.  Ngaio and I were on a bike and Alina drove Celia.  Lucky, lucky Shailesh was with 12 young people.  It ended up taking us 6 hours to get around Raro and complete 13 various challenges.  When we got back to Betela Hall, the two teams had to do two different presentations and then there was the award ceremony.  Each competitor on the winning team received a trophy, which had lovingly been created by Aunty Ngarui, Uncle Joe, Uncle Johnson, Mum, Dad, Ngaio and I.  

The day before the 21st was spent rushing around completing last minute jobs and baking.  Saturday morning, Alina used her artistic skills to great effect and we decorated Connor’s cake.  She did a fantastic job and thank goodness to the foresight of my sister and buying me the BIG box of fondant.  Most of it ended up being used.

Connor had requested that his 21st be held by a beach and I was able to rent another hall in Arorangi, that is on the beach in Rutaki.  We also hired the local youth to do the catering for the 21st and they provided a wonderful meal.  Tere, Ina and a good friend, Mii Taokia, were the band.  Mii’s wife, Karlene, also provided all the salads and fruit platters.  The cousins had decorated the hall the day before and a friend from Aroa Beachside Inn, Rangi Kelly, added the “Island” touch with greenery.  The theme for the decorating was “Toy Story goes Tropo”.  I’m not sure if it worked, but all the colours were complimentary at least.

There were many, many speeches and items and it was a wonderful time.  Morganne and Alina performed a dance to a song that was performed by Te Manu boys, back in the day.  Connor surprised us all with a Rarotongan Academy Award ceremony for me.  My 3 Oscars sit on my desk at work.  Tere, (our Tere), gave one of the best speeches of the evening.  That was mind-blowing as he was so eloquent and easy to understand.  Alina spoke well and Morganne giggled her way through her speech, with everyone giggling along and laughing with her.  One of the other requests that Connor had was that there was to be no alcohol at his 21st.  This made the speeches even more special as no one needed artificial support to stand up and speak from the heart.  After everything was cleaned up, it was kick back time back at our place.  That finished about 8 am and then Ina, Connor and I went to church as Connor had assured various church elders on two different occasions that he would attend.  It seemed like a very long service that morning.  

There was still a lot of visiting to do after the 21st itself.  I spent an afternoon with Aunty Ngarui and Mum at the Hidden Gardens in Titikaveka.  Ngaio and I had a rather long bike ride around the Island, with many, many stops for talking and rehydrating.  Dad, Uncle Johnson and Uncle Joe had hired bikes the day before so the challenge was laid down by them.  If they could pedal their way around the island, surely we could to.  The next day, our cousin Celia’s girls, Ngarui and Phoenix, rode around the Island.  That night, after the farewell dinner at Betela, the three generations told their epic stories to two impartial judges, Mum and Aunty Ngarui, to see who was the best.  Turns out, we were all equally winners, (although, really, it was Ngaio and I!)

Well, this brings me to the end of the 21st.  It is pretty full on down here but I am still loving it.  I think of all of our friends and family often and am so sorry that I do not email of FB at all.  I find it really hard to look at a computer at home as I spend so much time on one at work.  This is not a good excuse and again, my apologies.  

My thoughts are with you all...  Ka kite for now.

Ina

After the visit home, I flew back to Canada in May where we were busy with Completions/Turnover for the KT-DEP Project at Kearl Lake North of Fort McMurray.  
June came and went, July was our “anniversary”… Tania and I have been married for 22 years but we first met 25 years ago on July 22.  Not much to say about August except it was time for me to head back to Raro.  During the past year we had been planning for Connors 21st which was actually the 1st week in Sept but I’m going to include it here…

The Polynesian Culture basically developed from small groups of people isolated on islands, having to work together for survival and the good of the community.  This is why the “KOPU TANGATA” or extended family is so important and family ties are strong.
When a 21st birthday is pending, its an occasion for the Kopu Tangata and we usually have a big celebration for it… especially if it’s the eldest child.  They can range up to 400-500 guests when all is said and done so, it can be a pretty hectic and crazy time…  (Not us though thank God!)  There are all sorts of food, presentations and speeches but as with most “Island Do’s”, it’s a golden opportunity for us to come together and meet each other again, reminisce and share… 

We were lucky as we ended up having a less than 80 guests although still enough to make for a hectic and crazy time.   They came from Canada, New Zealand and Australia so we tried to keep the logistics as simple as possible for everyone.
Accommodations for most were MARAE style!  A Marae is a meeting place/house and the area immediately around it which can also be used to provide a communal living space for visiting groups.  Back in the day, it was a sacred place where important communal activities took place.  It is without doubt, the cheapest way to go and for Tania’s NZ family and mine, the style they are most used to.  
We put everyone up with the BETELA TAPERE (a local area within the greater village of ARORANGI) at the old meeting house.  It has shower stalls and kitchen facilities.  They also provided foamies, pillows and bedding, and we supplied the all-important orientation information!

• Directions to the beach (walk across the road)
• Directions to the local Bars (walk across the road but stop before the beach)
• Directions to the Stores (walk along the road, any direction take your pick)
• Public transport (stand on road and wave at first bus you see, there are only two routes really depending on which side of the road your on, one’s called “CLOCKWISE” the other is called “ANTI-CLOCKWISE” its not the same bus, proud to say we have at least 2 buses!!)

The families were given a TUROU (welcoming and a dinner) by the group from BETELA and given the freedom of the TAPERE.  The situation is win/win all around as we get cheap accommodation for most of our guests and all monies go towards the up-keep of the meeting house and funding community initiatives.  We were happy to know our monies went towards fundraising for the local GIRL GUIDES trip overseas to NZ / AUS

With Marae style, the biggest concern is always how everyone would get along together!  Most of my family, had never met Temaeu’s family before so Temaeu & I had our fingers crossed as it can be stressful… We know the bonds that tie us together, but those bonds had never been tested, so it was with a little nervousness, we left our guests alone.  


As it turned out, we had little to fear because as sometimes happens, the children took the lead in the following days.  Each looking out for the other so that parents could take a break on the beach or “dog-piling” each other at unexpected times.   Temaeu also organized a “Road Rally” which involved an activity hunt around the entire island involving everyone which was a huge success.   All this and more contributed to the kinship everyone felt so that by the time it came to the parting of ways, there were some sad faces due to the new mates they were leaving, and hurried plans for “hooking up” in NZ…  There were so many little moments that contributed towards the whole event that I hope the stories before this have given you a feel for what a wonderful time it was.

For me, it was basically one long crazy drawn out blur but was absolutely one of the best times with family that I've ever had the privilege of experiencing…  Temaeu & I are truly thankful for everyone who made the effort to be there and those who helped us pull it all together... Dave & Letitia Ardern and Mi'i & Karlene Taokia come to mind...

One of the highlights was watching Tere (my son) get up and deliver an off-the-cuff speech that blew everyone away!!  He can be quiet and introverted but he delivered the speech like a professional   

Another huge highlight and the one I enjoyed the most was when my daughters performed a traditional “URA” or dance for their brother.  They had spent some months practicing under the guidance of ELAINE TUREPU-GUKISAVA, one of Temaeu’s work-friends who had also won “Dancer of the Year” in the past so they were in very good hands.  

They were born & raised in Canada with zero experience of this part of their ancestry.  One of the reasons for moving here, was so that my children might learn some of their culture and it was obvious to me that in the past two years, my daughters have embraced their Cook Island heritage firmly and it showed in their performance…

I’ve always believed in the old adage; 

“How do you know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you come from?”   

As parents we try to give our children the best life has to offer...  and to prepare them so that when the time comes, they have the tools and knowledge to chart their own course in life...

In the end it’s a journey they travel on their own and we can only hope to show them life's possibilities with the paths that others have traveled, and the choices made...  

and to give safe harbour if they need respite from life’s storms... and I think,  most importantly... 

If they should lose their way, to remind them of who they are and where they come from…


See y'all at Christmas...

...and Thank You All for making Connors 21st a memorable one!

THE LORD OF THE COCONUTS

Well, firstly… apologies for the tardiness of this blog… Somehow, we all had good intentions of posting something earlier but time just seems to slip away on you and NEK MINIT… here we are, end of October!

So, by way of catch-up… here’s the plan, we thought we would break 2013 up into 3 parts, so that means....TRILOGY!!! (hell, everyone else is doing it!!)

• EPISODE 1 – THE LORD OF THE COCONUTS, Jan to Apr.

• EPISDOE 2 – TWO-MEKE, May to Aug.

• EPISODE 3 – RETURN OF THE KING (ARI’I) Sep to Dec.

Thus, the title for this blog entry!

EPISODE 1.

A long time ago, (well, not that long ago… beginning of the year actually) in a village far, far away (that parts true!) called ARORANGI, there lived 3 siblings ALINA, TERE and CAPTAIN MORGANNE and their Mother.  Their eldest sibling CONNOR and their father are far to the North in search of COCONUTS… These are their Chronicles… read on.

CAPTAIN MORGANNES STORY

Hey family!  I know it's been a really long time since I've last updated anything on this, but I'll try and do my best to remember everything that happened from January to April!

Aboard Picton Castle

Ok!…… Um, that actually might be a little harder than I thought, but whatever! I shall make this as interesting as possible! :) 
January was fun, since dad came home for a bit and we got to hang out with him again and play with our new toys, but it passed sooner than we thought and sure enough, dad was back in Canada and we'd be going back to school. Me and Tere weren't overly ecstatic about that, but Alina was enjoying herself because she'd graduated and didn't have to go to school anymore! Hooray! Well, 'hooray' for her, that is. :D I'm sure we did something else that month, but it keeps running off before I can remember!! Argh!!

Anyways, I'll move on to February before you get bored with this. Heh heh. 

Confession time, when I went back to school in February, I admit I was a little depressed because I heard that one of my friends, Kolina, was going to be going to a different school from me and Minona (My other friend.)  We could still visit her on weekends and that, and I would still be able to see Minona at school, but our "Triumphant Trio" wasn't as 'Triumphant' with just two people. It was more like a "Depressed Duo", or maybe it was just me who was depressed… 
Well, it turned out that we had no reason to be all depressed because Kolina  only went to a different school for a week, and when she arrived she was welcomed with big hugs from me and Minona, and the news that I was becoming Head Girl on the third week of school! 
The two of them thought that was pretty cool, (I think,) but I thought it was a little ridiculous because the only reason I was picked was because none of the other girls wanted to be it and everyone thought it would be funny if I was one of the school leaders. (Ouch.)  So, for the first few weeks of school after I was elected Head Girl, I wasn't very "amused" with the arrangement, but it wasn't long before I stopped struggling and just went with the flow. It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, and now I'm actually enjoying my post as Arorangi School's Head Girl. 

3rd Overall

That's February, so now I'll head into March. 
Surprisingly, March was an uneventful month, and I don't really remember much besides me and Tere's birthdays. For my one, I invited all three of my friends to come over for a slumber party, and we all had a good time. On Tere's, we went to Trader Jacks since we planned to do some big thing for him, but Tere had a massive head-ache and I had the flu….again. So, for his birthday, the only one who was really having any fun was mum, which is kinda weird now that I think about it. :) Unfortunately, that's pretty much the extent of my memory for that month, and all I can remember beside that is doing a lot of drawing, but I always do a lot of drawing, so never mind. 

Hmm, looks like I've only got one month left. So what'd I do in April…? 
Mmmmm, I definitely remember doing something that was really cool and fun, but I can't remember what!!!! I think that was when me and Tere went on a hike with Minona up this really cool mountain….
I remember that occasion very clearly. I was bored at home, and one day Minona suggested that we went for a walk on one of her favorite trails to pass the time. I thought that was a really good idea, and Tere even came with us. On the way up the mountain however, the two of us got so tired that we nearly collapsed in sheer exhaustion right then and there. Ok, strike that. I did collapse from exhaustion, and it was more than once, unfortunately. And that was just on the way UP. On the way down, it was way worse.
Minona and Tere had more experience mountain climbing than I did, so they managed to have a controlled descent without too much difficulty while I was stuck barreling down at full speed with no clue as what I was supposed to do!
 It didn't really help either that I kept slipping or falling over on my face every 10 minutes. Every time I think about that, I always think of how the other two would've had so much fun watching me stumble my way through the undergrowth, but the only part they didn't enjoy was telling me to stop falling down with all the food. :D
Anyways, I'd love to keep updating and letting everyone know what's been happening, but that's pretty much all I can remember from those 4 months. So, I hope you've all enjoyed this, and I can't wait to see every one again. 

Lots Of Love, Morganne

TERE’S STORY

Well, I don't recall that much of January, just lots of blurry memories of going to school and even blurrier memories of possibly passing out during school. February wasn't that much different, just bleary memories. (But I vaguely recall seeing an opera duet at one point.)

Tere studying

March on the other hand, I actually vaguely remember. First off, it was my birthday, and I decided to have a night to remember, and boy did I get it. I woke up with a minor head-cold, then it got worse, and then we went to a bar, and given the circumstances, I'm surprised that I didn't keel over or anything to that effect. Turns out one of my cousins also got married on the same day, and from what I've heard, I wasn't the only one who had a hangover.
I think it was also around March, that I got moved up a year in school. I wasn't learning anything at all before, so they moved me up to year 11, and that panned out pretty well. For one thing, I now have 2 friends, Nick and Te Tuhi, for another, I actually do subjects I like, and I actually enjoy some of the lessons.

Around April, Nick introduced me to the universe of Warhammer 40'000 (40K for short), and simply put, it is the biggest, coolest, and most enticing thing I've seen. I've read quite a bit on it, and I've decided that the Chaos Marines are my favourite (They're simply former Imperial soldiers that defected and swore to drown the universe in eternal Chaos). Te Tuhi also picked up on it, and he likes the Necrons (Undead robots that look like human skeletons). Needless to say, I'm plotting to build my own 40K army for intergalactic domination.

ALINA’S STORY

The first few months of this year were pretty cruisy for me in some ways. Unless you're going to uni, a fresh school leaver does not have a lot on their plate. My only job was part-time, in the evenings at Alberto's Restaurant. I guess the idle hours were driving me a little nuts, and I was sick of my job, so I started reading the classifieds. Mum spotted a vacancy at Kai Pizza, which is a relatively new, independent business. The hours, wages, and management were all good starts, and I discovered that the work was better in several different ways. Kai Pizza is, basically, a travelling food truck; the unit is made up of a mobile woodfire oven and fridge, so pizzas are made fresh on site. The unit drives to different locations throughout the week, and has a home base in our village, Arorangi. The job incorporates different skills: food prep, self-management, customer service, assembling the unit, handling the fire, etc. However, I discovered these weren't hard to learn and it didn't take me long to fit into the crew (after five months or less I was able enough to manage the shop alone, not that it should be necessary).

KAI PIZZA at the Harbour

I was still working my previous job when I joined the team, and I juggled the two for a little while. It was manageable, and it meant extra cash. It did not last for very long, and soon I quit Alberto's (really, resignation was long past overdue. I made a white lie that it was too difficult managing two jobs--har har!). 

This was around the same time that our good friend Garry came to Raro… that is, the South Pacific's very own Cyclone Garry, which was a Category One and hanging around the Cook Islands. Garry was a bit of a bully, as he sent us winds and rain, fiddled with our traffic and power, and gave us a wee bit of a fright… when we heard about the Category One, locals were estimating it would amp up to maybe Three by the time it came to Raro. Kai Pizza had closed for the week; on the day we tried, it barely made a kilometre before getting blown off the road and nearly flooded in. By the end of that week, it was confirmed; Garry was going to hit the island. Also by then we had packed down pretty well, all stocked up and ready to hide in my room, which was the most secure part of the house other than the bathroom (it got pretty cozy!). That night we could hardly sleep, the rain drummed so hard and the wind screamed so loud, and we were feeling somewhere between nervous and frightened. Still, I don't know who could have been prepared for the shock that greeted us in the morning…
The day was clear. The sun was shining. There was no wind. Birds were actually singing. What-the-HELL! Garry you should be ashamed of yourself. Damn you.

GARRY ON!!

Suffice to say, it didn't take long for us to move on from that. It's fortunate for us that the worst we walked away with was wet clothes and a lame story. After "Trader Zac's" and "Garry On", I guess we Cookies can start a collection of silly stories in the Pacific. And a good thing too, I was in need of some conversation starters pretty soon: it was this year that our cousin Stephen was getting married, as well as an unveiling for some of my mum's whanau. Last year, we had been successful in flying all six of us to Aucks for my cousin Jason's wedding, but sadly we couldn't afford the same representation this year. The good news is that the one representative for Team Raro was ME! It was my first time flying alone to a different country (I've flown alone before, and to different countries, but not at the same time you see), which was exciting for me and most likely a worry for my parents. Rest assured I had a blast; it's always good to catch up with the kuzzies, and knowing I'll always have somewhere to go once I land. 

In some ways it was like a business trip. Because it was just me on "the team", I had certain duties, shall we say. The unveiling was for our aunty Mihi and uncle Albert, who were Mum's dad's younger siblings. The whanau was gathering at the marae, and there was much to do. There were relatives to greet and to feed, meetings and blessings to attend, and of course, the actual unveiling ceremony. I played some small parts, being the sole representative of my pops KB; I removed a layer from aunty Mihi's headstone with our Grand-uncle Karamea, and I was asked to reveal and read uncle Albert's plaque for everyone. Considering impromptu public speaking is not what I call a skill of mine, and based on the positive reception from the others, I think I handled that one okay. The ceremony was quite sweet, and a bit sad, but well worth the time and effort. 

Of course, there was part two to take care of: the kaikai! Well-known facts: a whanau gathering is no small crowd, and feeding a Maori is no small order. But, that being said, there was no small amount of helping hands. Aunty Celia's girls and I made quite the kitchen crew, and I'm proud to say that we did our elders proud that afternoon, and that kitchen hand experience I so dreaded proved very useful. We were exhausted, but determined to keep burning until the marae was as clean as we found it. All in all, I feel I did a fair job as the face of Teams KB and Raro.

Of course, Team Raro did not finish there. There was still Stephen's wedding, and as soon as I was back in Auckland there was stuff to get done. Being a Cook Island anau, the Georges were preparing an item which Stephen totally did not know about, and he was completely surprised on the day (actually we did a pretty decent job of hiding, and I think he was expecting something anyway). There were three parts to our item: first we would embarrass him with Disney love songs, then we would dance to the song "Tapea", and finish with a round-the-world, which got the wedding party and random guest members involved. To be honest, not all of us cousins are quite as committed to traditional dance as your typical Kuki kid, but we gave it our best shot. Relatively speaking, there weren't many Pasifika in the crowd, so the culture dance was refreshing and distinctive, and did we impress a memory or two. Well, more than a few to share for sure…

Tapea

There was one little-known "memory" of the wedding that very few people know about, and that is the story of the cake. Stephen's sister Enua was assigned with delivering the package, and because I was free at the time I tagged along to help. Unfortunately, Enua was a bit fuzzy on the location of the bakery, and I, being the foreigner, could be of no help with bearings. Oh dear. We did our best with the directions we were given, but somehow ended up in a nameless beauty salon (the look on that lady's face when we said we were after a cake…!). So, what were we to do? Ask for a recap of directions? It was, after all, THE day. If it wasn't crunch time already, it certainly was by now. We only had a few hours to find the bakery, safely deliver the cake to the reception, and make it back to the church in time, so this was no time to be lost. So, awkward much. It took some mucking about, but we did find the proper address of the bakery (and we kicked ourselves, because when we dug out our customer details, the address was printed at the top of the page). The gentleman at the bakery explained that there was to be a bit of a wait for our cake, as they were very busy that day with events, and it would have been better for us if we could have arrived earlier (and here we kicked ourselves some more, because that was the time that we spent getting lost…!). He was very patient with us, and even gave us cheesecake samples while we waited (that, friends, is quality service). They even helped us pack it in the car, and off we went with Enua trying to drive quickly and smoothly, which is quite tricky, and me in the back seat, trying to hold the cake steady. 

We didn't have time to make it to the reception and back by now, so we decided to sneak it into the church and rush it away after the ceremony. This plan might have been much more effective if we hadn't been spotted by the bridal party. Oh dear, AWKWARD MUCH. We pretended not to notice and shook them off our path. When we arrived at the church we smuggled it into the kitchen, hid it on top of the stove because the fridge and tables weren't big enough, and gave ourselves a pat on the back. Nobody suspected a thing (in our minds)! When it finally arrived at reception, the catering staff wondered what took so long (ah hush you). Most importantly, the bride and groom never found out, at least not until their honeymoon…

Some further excitement for us was about to get started, because now we had company coming to us. First was none other than the newlyweds Mr and Mrs Rule! They chose sunny Rarotonga as their honeymoon destination (can't think why), and so it was our unspoken duty to hit them with the best of Cook Island hospitality. For the first week they stayed at a resort in Muri (the very same Muri where Grampa and his infamous business took place) and explored the island tourist-style. For the second week they came to our place, where Morganne and I sacrificed my bedroom and we had a chance to really visit. I was back at work and the kids had school, but we made the best of our time. I made sure that, before they left, Stephen and Jessica each got a chance to have a proper island-style motorbike ride, because according to their stories about their first week, their early experiences did not go "properly". But, that is another story for another time…

CONNORS STORY

It has come to my attention that my involvement with the family blog has been sparse... Here, we use the word "sparse" in lieu of "negligent to the point of oblivious". However, at the very, very gentle prodding of my dad, I was coaxed into adding my own personal installment in the George's personal chronicle of events and lively-like activities. Having said that, I apologize for a superfluous use of vernacular, as it is my only means of flavoring an otherwise bland documentation of personal toil. Ahem. So, uh, here we go.

January was spent engrossing myself in the island culture of Rarotonga, as I enjoyed the closing days of my vacation with family. Island culture is a wonderful, yet arduous experience. One tends to underestimate the effort involved in enduring exhaustive hours spent basking on sandy shores in the blazing heat, or the gruelling effort of sampling every form of island cuisine, ranging from the entirely traditional island doughnut to the surprisingly decadent raw fish and coconut cream. 


Even the agonizing walks along the island amidst rolling hills and sweeping tropical canopies will leave you breathless..... Um, from the walking. Not from the scenery. Which is beautiful.... It's um... Yeeeah. It's a hard go, that's to be sure.
Yup, she was a rough trip, true enough. But that's why we spend time with family; for those brief moments of tranquility, or those intervals of unspoken understanding and empathy..... Ahh... Yup. You quickly forget what that's like when you embroil yourself in a George household. Aheh.

In all fairness  I will accept full responsibility for that (Mum undoubtedly would reaffirm my accountability regardless of my claims anyway). The mundane never altogether suited me. Not insofar as my most dearest of siblings were concerned, anyway. Life is meant to be celebrated, as they say. So why not celebrate it by reveling in having survived a day with their eldest brother? A half dozen well-intentioned scuffles and kerfuffles later a responsible adult tended to intervene (not pointing fingers. Mum.), and our little cycle of life continued on.

Perhaps that came off as a nostalgic soiree down memory lane. Fairly said, it was. Their was a comfortable level of chaos in my day at home that I grew fond of. Nothing sinister, but enough to keep us kids on our toes, and Mums hands to her temples (Haha... Sorry Mum). And it's that genial manner of discord I grew to miss, for as soon as my trip was done, I had myself catapulted into the ravenous maw of an entirely separate beast. This metaphorical beast is one we all are well familiar with. It is that abhorrent abomination that we know as....... Work.

Now I could wax most loquaciously regarding my innumerous escapades at work, and a substantial majority would be flecked with colorful profanity to enunciate a point. However, because of having already exceeded my daily usage of verbosity, and also because of censorship reasons, I will not. Succinctly, work was as much an ordeal as it was an experience, a reality you all are well familiar with.
New construction, hydro testing, reinstatement, and pneumatic pressure tests occupied my time whilst in the mod yards for CH2M Hill Industrial. However, the job was a temporary stop as I sought employment opportunities in the oilfields further in the north of Alberta (home to eternal cold and general lunacy). So needless to say, I leapt at the opportunity to join URS Flint Industrial constructing a well-pad, as the bureaucratic nature of the offices of CH2M Hill had begun to impede the working atmosphere of the workers.

Flint was, for lack of a more appropriate definition, a fiasco. However, there are silver linings behind every cloud. What the work lacked in general organization and availability of necessary materials, it more than made up for in a quality crew of workers. I found myself in a tight-knit unit of some of the more skilled tradesmen. An atmosphere of geniality, camaraderie  and wry humor kept our group warm over the frigid months, and kept morale a little it higher than our corporate masters would have approved of. And it was in this manner, dear readers, that I concluded my March

TEMAEU'S STORY

The beginning of 2013 was busy and that seemed to set the tone for the year so far.  I was working at Aroa Beachside Inn for January and up until mid-February.  I received a phone call in January from the CEO of Maritime Cook Islands, Glenn Armstrong, who had been given my name as a good administrator.  (The woman who provided my name was Victoria Dearlove, who is the organizer of the Vaka Eiva event ( a week long paddling event).  I had volunteered for a couple of days in November, 2012 and guess I made an impression.)  Glenn wanted to know if I would be interested in working at Maritime Cook Islands as a position had opened up for someone with a strong administrative background.  Ideally, the person would also be somewhat familiar with the maritime world.  As I only had the administrative side, I wasn't holding out much hope of getting the job.  Much to everyone's surprise, I was the lucky candidate!  The hard part was providing 2 weeks notice at Aroa as I enjoyed working there and had made some good friends amongst my fellow co-workers.  I still visit Aroa and highly recommend both the accommodation and Shipwreck Bar to anyone who is visiting Raro.

Marumaru Atua.  One of our Ocean going Vaka (canoe)

I began work at MCI mid-February and it's a challenging position.  I am a Fleet Manager and look after approximately 72 vessels around the world.  My fleet consists of commercial yachts and anything under 1000GT, (except tugs, barges and fishing boats).  So, I have a range from a 2 man submersible and its' mother ship to Picton Castle, (which is a Tall Ship) to patrol vessels around South Africa, to commercial yachts that trade in the Mediterranean and the traditional voyaging Vaka.  Essentially, I look after the registration and trading certificates and other documentation.  It is never boring and I have learned so much.  My head is often very full feeling by the end of the week.  Because it administrative, I feel that it is a better fit for me than being in hospitality.  It's also a Monday to Friday job, 8 - 4:30, with public holidays off.  This provides more opportunities to spend with the kids, (which can be a double edged blade).

Picton Castle in Port

In March, I joined a triathalon team with a co-worker and a friend of hers.  I started training for the race two weeks before and our cyclist had a practice ride on the morning of the race.  So.......(ahem) lots of training!  Our team was the "Three Krazy Mums" (T - Tania, K - Katherine and M - Moe).  Morganne even designed our team logo.  I think there were over twenty teams.  The swim was 400m, the bike ride was 16 km and the run was 4 km.  I started off near the back of the swimmers but was able to work my up so I finished closer to the leaders.  Our cyclist was amazing and our runner, Moe, realized that we were in this to compete so she ran.  We placed second and were just 47 seconds behind the 1st placed team!  We are thinking that we should be able to improve as we could do more pre-race training next year!

Triathlon, Island Style

April was the month of visitors. Our nephew, Stephen Rule and his bride, Jess,  came over to Raro for their honeymoon.  They spent the first week on the east side of the island and their second week with us.  During their last weekend, it was the corporate vaka races, and MCI had a team.  The kids, Stephen and Jess came to support.  For our first race, we almost had Stephen paddling with us as we thought we were a person down.  We raced three times and ended up being too slow for the semi finals and too fast for the slow finals.  It was still a lot of fun and again, we reckon we can only improve as we didn't practice as a team until the first race.  Ina came home on the day Stephen and Jess were flying back to NZ so he was able to catch up with them for a bit.  Ina's brother Tere flew in that night so Stephen and Jess were there to greet him and he was there to farewell them.  Ina was only home for about 3 weeks and the first two weeks were spent with his brother, Tere.  Lots of laughter, lots of music, lots of visiting and just chilling as brothers do.  They went over to Atiu and took our Tere with them.  Tere is the first of the kids to go over.  Ina had about a week after Tere, (his brother) flew home and we started listing what would need to be done for Connor's 21st.  It wasn't nearly enough time and then he was gone again

INA'S STORY

TAUNGARORO beach, ATIU

The New Year started off great for us… everyone made it back for Christmas and it was a good time had by all.  Connors plan is to always be home for Christmas, at least for the foreseeable future so this was his first time coming back from overseas.
Christmas and New Years was pretty awesome as time with family always is but the “Ghost of Christmas Future” showed his ugly face again i.e. WORK so I headed back up to Kearl Lake, Ft McMurray again…oh yay…  Bit of a shock to the system… from Cooks - to - Kearl but that was to be expected… there’s not much else I can say about work, so I’ll jump ahead to my return in April

TE-MANU BRO'S

Well the big news for me was that my brother had decided he would like to return to the Islands too at some point so, that meant flying over from Australia to sort out a piece of land for him to build on…  I was pretty excited to hear that news, we lined it up so that we would both be in RARO at the same time and from there, we would go to ATIU

The trip over was pretty cool, I decided to take my youngest son Teremataiapo with me as he hadn’t been before.  He was the first of our children to go there.  We had a few days over there to re-connect and, more importantly, start the all important process of claiming land for him to build on as I had done previously…  We had the family meeting which went well.  No issues at all really other than having to deal with the land-court bureaucracy when he got back to RARO!!

MATAI beach, ATIU

We also ended up at the TUMUNU, which is an island word meaning “BUSH BEER” club… home brew in most other languages… the funny thing is that I remember quite clearly arriving there… but have no memory at all of leaving, or arriving back at our bungalow, or how the rental truck ended back at the bungalow too… one of the great mysteries of life!  It was a great trip in the sense that my brother got his meeting done and started the ball rolling on his land…

Well, that’s pretty much the end of EPISODE 1, THE LORD OF THE COCONUTS... 

Here’s a “trailer” for EPISODE 2, TWO-MEKE… I haven’t tried inserting videos in the blog before so hope this works!

See you all end of November!