Friday...

On Friday, I spent a good part of bed recovering from the week and my completely miserable head cold. 

 This mostly involved laying in bed reading Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemna.  This is a fantastic book.  I urge you all to read it.  The middle section is particularly interesting to me.

I will have to take some time to really think about it as well as other similar things floating around in my brain. Maybe someday soon I'll be ready to post something semi-coherent about it here - and maybe even half spelled right!

We also went to pick up our ABC posters and I began working on my next poster - my presentation for the conference in Boston.  A similar work mode....  

.. no major progress yet, but at least I've sorted out a way to use my home printer to print the final project. It wouldn't look as nice as the other $150 print jobs at the conference, but I need to start being realisitc with myself:)

We also went out Friday night to the Embassy Theatre. There is a lovely cafe / classy bar there.


The couches are super comfy and there was a lovely jazz band called the Vipers.

I couldn't get over the girl playing the piano. She was not only also singing, but also playing the bass line with her bar feet on the organ pedals!

There was some nice dancing to be had too.

We finished the evening with some amazing gelato...

wow!

aBc has left the building...

Phew... we somehow managed to complete our project.  Traveler was a godsend I must say. I had to go to Auckland this Monday for business, and long before I had heard of the aBc competition I had booked my flight for Sunday so I'd have some time to enjoy Auckland.  

So I ended up leaving him with a huge number of files and this mess to look at...


... I definetely think I have a mess work style.  I do best when I can lay everything out to touch and see.  Friends kept asking how I could sleep next to all this, but it was actually reassuring to know it was all right there while I was working on it. Trav may have differing thoughts on this I'm sure.

I'm sure he also was a touch jealous that while I was up in Auckland, I had the chance to ride around with a tow pilot at a local gliding club.



Meanwhile, Traveler completely stepped to the plate and not only polished the layout but raced around Monday to get the aBc comtest posters printed and submitted - all with 10 mintues to spare.  I swear I have one of the most amazing, dedicated, and supportive husbands ever.  

Here are is an early draft of what we submitted



The other entries' posters will be on display this weekend and I can't wait to see everyone's ideas. I hear that over 60 people submitted ideas from all over the world.  

And even if I missed out on the last minute hard work of the project, the gods must have been watching, because my flight was delayed a few hours due to a pilot accidently dropping a small object in the flight deck, which grounded the plane until found.  I tried to relax with my book and watch the Auckland tarmac. The lovely light made it interesting. As did the baggage man who was riding his beach cruiser around the planes - too bad my camera battery died before I could take that shot

aBc competition part 2

Hi everyone,

No time for postings or much adventures because I'm spending all my time thinking about the aBc competition. I have one week to solidify my ideas and create an elegant way to present them on to A1 posters.  Click >here< to learn about the genius world of A sized paper we are missing out on in the States.  

So in lieu of a post, here are some things floating around in my head.  I also encourage anyone to post comments (the little button down at the bottom - you should be able to post anonymously) or email me with comments about what they do and don't like about the public transport systems they've encountered in life.  

What makes a great airport ground transport system?
What's good /bad about aeriel trams?
Has any one riden a detachable gondola (say up at whistler)?
What is the Portland Streetcar like?

Or really anything that can help me get working on this design problem.  

Okay and here are some randomn images in my brain related to this project....

Competition...

Well I've just registered to enter a competition that is way over my head, but I'm still very fired up about it.  The goal is to come up with a solution to getting people from wellington airport, past a huge hill, around a crazy sports field, and to the city in a way that looks to the future. I am a transit geek at heart so this really appeals to me. Particularly since I am still moving slow from this horrid flu.

I'm teaming up with Traveler and my friend Holly to see if we can come up with any good ideas. One thing I'm considering is an aeriel tram or other high flying acts.

I would love to hear from people about their experiences with the Portland tram - what makes it good / bad?  I also am curious about any positive 'bubble' chairlift experieinces.  More generally, what would you say makes for a great airport to city experience in your travels...  I think the PDX/MAX is pretty darn cool myself.  Feel free to eleaborate using portland or any other cities - Quotes would help me in the competition!