I’ve been fortunate to have run or walk over the Auckland Harbour Bridge quite a few times. If you complete five of either the Marathon or Half Marathon in the Auckland Marathon you can become a “Roadster” with your own permanent number. I got mine quite a few years ago when I was running marathons, and although I stopped running back in 2016, I still get to use the number (and the creds that go with it!), for a walk of the half marathon.
I’d last done it in January 2022 which was technically the 2021 event, delayed from the Covid Lockdown. Once again it was on my own this time. A little over 3 hours, stopping only briefly for shoelaces and a toilet stop, for some reason it didn’t feel too hard actually (the days after were another story – see below). We know that athletes (I mean real ones, not Sunday strollers like me) step up on the day and create results at big occasions they couldn’t do in training. Maybe it’s the stopping at lights, or just the general lack of vibe, but I really struggle to get my walking pace below 10 mins/km.
But halfway into the “half” I’m sitting below nine. Somehow. I’m still not really sure how, but there’s definitely something for me about stepping up on the day, no actual pressure, focussing, and micro competitions with those around me (including slow runners!). Then realising that I was heading for a personal walking best of the half there was no stopping me.
No, I didn’t retain the sub 9 minutes for all the distance (see below), but it felt great.
I’m honestly happier than I look!
Part of my journey to be able to finish a semi-decent Sunday walk has been post 2020 surgery on my leg and then getting a involved in Sarcoma support through the Sarcoma Foundation NZ, so I’m looking forward to another (much shorter) Sunday walk at Round the Bays in March. You should think about coming along if you’re in Tamaki Makaurau.
About that blister: I put some heavy bandaids on on bits of my feet, but missed the ball of my right foot! Ouch! But it’s nearly right, although taping and soft shoes have been required.
Everyone smiles after an event like this. And 007 has asked to be in my next post on Friday.
Relax, flow, edge, some pain, enjoy. All the leadership you need on a Sunday Walk.
Have you ever tried to have a house built to live it? Don’t! Well maybe.
Anyway, not without some serious reflection on it. I signed up to buy my little bit of paradise in the countryside in mid-2017 and took possession in 2018. I didn’t intend to build straightaway – in fact I wanted to sell my existing home first – which I did at the end of 2019. Concept drawings were done quite early, and looking at them now, they were quite close to what I ended up with. But not before I went all Grand Designs and had an enormous house – far too big for me – designed and priced. The pricing helped to bring a dose of reality and it was back to the original drawings. Modernist, capturing the schoolhouse that once stood on the sight, and looking out to the coast in the distance. Construction started three years ago today.
Concept to drawings that are able to be priced and then get through a Consenting process was a new world for me. Aside from ensuring a guest toilet and laundry were included not much changed in the concept to the ultimate design. Have you heard that Council is quite particular in granting consent? I had, but actually, my experience was that they are rules-based and when the drawings didn’t meet the rules, they pointed it out. That took ages. Pricing was challenging but eventually I was introduced to a project manager who had found a good builder – well sort of – he was actually a project manager himself, but on inspecting his other efforts and speaking to a client he got the tick. Most important thing I did at this stage? Had the contract reviewed by a deals person. Saved me a lot of grief (and money), but more on that later.
In amongst this I grew a tumour in my leg so things got put on hold for a bit. Everyone expressed sympathy (unlucky bugger they thought!) and committed to see the thing through, especially in my limping, crutches state. But the tumour provided clarity: if not now, when?
A building consent was issued. I was still hobbling a bit, but it was up to the land and sit around it for an afternoon, with some pegs and rope to actually look at the position. It didn’t feel right. And it wasn’t. Looking back at the original drawing and a penned outline I’d done on a scrap of paper using my phone compass the building had been swivelled away from the view. Not sure even now how that happened. But it did and it meant a new building consent and waiting until two weeks before the Auckland lockdown of August 2021 to start. Of course no one knew that the six week lockdown was coming, but it was a justifiable excuse for not meeting the December 2021 deadline for practical completion.
Small detail – you should have a ground survey done before building, especially on a hill. Stepping out from the veranda onto ground level pavers turned out to be a two metre drop. More plans and an expensive deck.
If you don’t want to lose money if it all goes wrong, don’t let the builder claim for construction items not on site. If you do, you’re their banker and holding a lot of risk. The value of that contract review can’t be understated. On the only two occasions I relented and permitted payment for items off-site, it went wrong, but fortunately it was at a stage where it didn’t have significant financial implications. First time were the windows – I agreed to pay the 50% deposit for their manufacture on the basis that I could take them over if there was an insolvency event. However, after payment was made the builder didn’t order them at all, rather they held the deposit and in the end the delay caused many other delays – timing is everything and something project managers know – or should know. The second time was a payment for electronics I had selected from a supplier. Fully paid to the builder, so they could be picked up. Eight weeks later the ominous email “Hi Stephen, are you actually wanting this gear, we’ve not received payment”. An administrative error I was told.
More detailed design was required on the way for various enhancements and clarifications.
Quite a few things got forgotten – a handrail for the stairs – even the Council Inspector missed it, but Mum didn’t on her first visit! Drainage according to plans, and plans with drainage that grappled with the actual land levels. Getting a building consent for the large deck! And weird stuff happened – some guttering came off during Cyclone Gabrielle and it was quickly established that it was due to the wrong clips. Builder’s response: “The shop said they’d be ok!” and “Claim insurance”.
Some things were a more sinister – subcontractors asking me to be paid. Ouch. A review of claims and payments over the first 6 or 7 months (by which time it was supposed to be long finished), uncovered errors in the claims meaning I had paid $40k more than I should have. More administrative errors.
Practical completion in November 2022, which was really “non-completion but here’s a form”, was pushed through to enable me to use the new house for a special birthday celebration. A couple of weeks later I had to bail to allow scaffolding to be installed in the entrance way so painting could be completed.
At the three year mark today since the commencement of construction it’s almost done. I’ve been living there off and on and two projects remain – a small capping on top of an external wall, and my gate entrance way, both underway this month (I hope).
There’s been some nastiness too. After the Cyclone Gabrielle damage, completion stalled, and the implications that subcontractors hadn’t been paid started to play out. I was said to be the cause of that. One went bust and I’ve had to redo some substantial works as a result, and the builder went into liquidation too. There’s been letters demanding additional payments and replies that have carefully explained the reality, but I still exist in “will they have a crack again” zone.
I just finished Sam Neil’s autobiography Did I ever tell you this?, written during his cancer treatment and he expresses the satisfaction of building something special, that’s there for good. I get that, and despite it all, I’m really happy I did it, and dare I say it, I’d do it again. Seems a waste of experience to not use it!
Stephen
*Skyfall reflects the view out over the Tasman, especially at sunset. And I’m a big James Bond fan!
In endeavours to obtain a Code Compliance Certificate for my house, men spent time in January under my deck reshaping the ground and applying hard fill to comply with the requirements of the Building Consent. It was a week of those 28 degree days, full sun, and not a lot of breeze. All I could do was supply them with water and a few Coke Zeros, although they looked like a hit of sugar might not have been a bad thing with the heat and exertion.
I felt slightly guilty asking that the soil removed was placed some distance away near my burn pile. But I was paying by the hour I told myself as I supplied more fluids!
During that same week I had some students via Student Job Search (SJS), clearing grass and weeds and further developing my small bush walk. When I purchased the site where I recently built I hadn’t realised that an area of bush, north of what appeared to be the boundary fence, was in fact part of the property. It was overgrown with bramble, but on investigation I could see that it contained a number of choice natives – flax, cabbage, Nikau, Totara, along with Manuka and Coprosma.
I had an extended break over summer – refresh leave which was once called a sabbatical – most of which I spent at my rural property. A notebook I keep of activity on the property lists 25 mini projects under the heading “Summer 23-24 – SJS Tasks” including estimated and actual time involved. Learning: most things took two to three times as long as estimated. For example “1. Clear around Septic Tank” the estimate was two people for 2 hours. Actual time two people, 8 hours. I got stuck in too, both before the students started, during, and after. The during bit was the best. Energetic young men, mostly half my age, who seemed to be able to just keep on going forever, making progress that I could only dream of on my own. Keeping time records of projects was very instructive for future maintenance. It also brought home some home truths. How did I take six hours to lay five railway sleepers to create a small path?! Amateur with a spirit level.
Back in 2020 when I had portion of my right quadricep cut out I was told I wouldn’t ever walk up the local Maunga without assistance. That was proven to be incorrect, but I haven’t felt the same strength – nothing in particular – just not as strong as I once was.
Labouring helped a lot. It hurt, but it hurt less as the days and weeks went on and after a while I realised I was feeling stronger again. More confident to lift, move, dig. With that brings freedom of choice and confidence that a larger rural property is manageable without having to pay for everything to be done.
Building and retaining muscle is incredibly important as we get older and in world where mental resilience and fitness is emphasised it’s been a big learning for me. A true sabbatical and if you need a tree planted, I could be your guy!
The reward of having my own native walk has been big. I find myself in there all the time – transplanting baby Totara, weeding by hand, clipping to keep the path clear and just really enjoying my very own forest walk.
It’s a year ago today that a state of emergency was declared for Cyclone Gabrielle. I wasn’t unscathed but relatively speaking got off lightly. As I type I can see a large Manuka tree in my bush, that was cut off at about the 8 metre mark in the storms.
Get Strong.
Stephen
Notes:
There are over 90 species of Coprosma with over 50 found in New Zealand.
I lost some big Manuka trees in Cyclone Gabrielle which finally got removed and converted into firewood, and a batch of several dozen self-seeded baby trees have taken their place.
The walk is part of a planned work around my 4ha and my big plan is to extend the walk to neighbouring properties if I can
The 25 projects aren’t all done yet, but there’s others too, some I have managed on my own
I’ve got more to say about the students another day too – they were amazing
Coming to the end of The Obstacle is the Way I was surprised when the author announced that I was now a philosopher in Stoicism. Although the title of the book is perhaps an obvious clue as to what follows, I hadn’t framed my approach this way. But I found much of the book confirmatory of the usefulness of the concepts of stoicism – especially in a world of disruption (i.e. always!).
The challenging client? Covid anxiety? A war? The intractable work issue? Passive behaviour that feels aggressive? Too many life admins outstanding? All of the above all at once? I try to monitor and notice my own reactions to life’s obstacles – does my heart rate increase, am I irritable, do I start doing detailed work and planning? To notice is to be present in the here and now.
I remember many moons ago working in the Auckland Central police watchhouse – where people who had been arrested were “processed” – until they were bailed or taken to court. As you might imagine, not all customers were particularly happy – many drunk, aggressive and abusive. But you had to search, photograph and fingerprint them, whether they liked it or not. In some respects, achieving the outcomes required behaviour that was the antithesis of the macho, forceful imagine of a uniform cop tackling an alcohol-infused melee. It required the ability to depersonalise the anger directed at you. It’s surprisingly difficult to fingerprint someone – hold their fingers over an inkpad, and roll each finger on the paper – all ten of them – if they don’t want it! I must have achieved a modicum of success as the senior sergeant asked me to stay on for a second six month tour because he said, I had the temperament. I declined, patrols were far more exciting.
But it must have been part of my journey of stoicism, which has really come to the fore these last couple of years, although I’ve never really framed it for myself that way. Perception, Action and Will make up the three disciplines of this book and underpinning it is turning every obstacle into an advantage. In business we might say “turning lemon into lemonade”, or “pivoting now”, but what we’re doing is turning the challenge, the obstacle or disadvantage into an opportunity.
Put another way, declining to be a victim despite the circumstances of apparent unfairness, avoiding catastrophising a situation – living in the present – the book says that unfortunately “We have to dive endlessly into what everything “means”, whether something is “fair” or not, whats “behind” this or that..”. Actually most of the time when something isn’t going our way, the person, or people that might be the perceived cause, are more than likely not particularly interested in us. Sad, but good too! It can put perspective into our lives.
Been “disrespected” at work? Who hasn’t been? (who hasn’t done it too?). Was the other person acting with intention? Possibly, but more than likely it was just a moment. So don’t worry. Feed off what they said and come back more powerful appearing more considered and patient as a result.
It’s a perfect day for stoicism. Rain is here after what feels like months of fine weather (unconscious bias of course – there’s been some!), and it’s got that cosy, rain on the roof feeling.
An opportunity to catch up on life admin, and even restart a blog!
Stephen
Headline Photograph: Stonehenge from a visit in 2015. The rocks were quite a bit smaller than I had imagined.
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