This is my first post for the lovely Aucklandista. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a reluctant Aucklander – the South Island still calls in my dreams even after five years here. I have an instrumental relationship with this city. Ours has always been a marriage of convenience – or perhaps an arranged affair. I came here to go to film school and never left. Apart from that what can I say? I have my own blog www.greylynnsinglesclub.blogspot.com, an ancient boyfriend (but, y’know, new to me, kind of like my most recent car purchase), improbably I produce extremely independent documentary, teach multimedia production, write poems and stories, and have a couple of website projects kicking around.
To further introduce myself I’ve been instructed to comment on what I love and hate about the city.
I’m an unoriginal hater – here’s a sample
The traffic. Still.
Ponsonby at night. A place where far too many people go clubbing without irony. It’s not that I have a technical objection to the suburb itself, or even the idea of rubbing up against moist strangers while paying for an overpriced hangover, and indeed I’ve indulged before – but let’s face it – the practice is patently hilarious, particularly for those of us over 30 who do, in fact know better, even if we pretend sometimes that we don’t.
Insipid dress sense. All other places in New Zealand have their own looks – messy, a little frayed around the edges, possibly a bit over-wrapped but at least distinctive. Auckland – you are a paean to label rip-offs, terrifyingly tight pants and shoes that regularly cause podiatrists and chiropractors to wake screaming in the night
I guess that brings me to the part where I have to dish up the love. In many ways a harder task
The weather – the tropics are sweatier and the South is colder. Auckland – go the happy medium.
The harbour – filled with pleasure craft, islands of imaginable size and serviced regularly by ferries, an escape from the traffic under what are likely to be fairly pleasant climatic conditions is only a 25 bucks and a cracker away.
That waft of something cosmopolitan. Despite the generally dull sartorial decisions made by its population, Auckland does exhibit an outward-lookingness – a sense of the infinitely possible and a break from what is parochial. This is most probably because such a large chunk of inhabitants aren’t from Auckland. However, I believe it may be the only place in New Zealand to lay genuine claim to this quality and I, for one, do appreciate it. Mwa.
There are lots of other things I have a casual affection for: Crummer Road – the quietest street in Grey Lynn, Ponsonby Video Ezy, Chocolate Boutique Café in Parnell, Cafe Cezanne, Albert Street’s Food Alley, The Big Day Out, an impressive selection of pub gigs, the Academy and Lido Cinemas, Borders, City Libraries, having four universities to choose from….I could go on. And maybe I will – but, next time.