Well if you are a regular reader of this irregular blog you will probably know that I work for a local cemetery, Karori Cemetery, that is. It’s one of New Zealand’s biggest cemeteries, about 100 acres in area (or 40 hectors in the metric system, to be pedantic) and has about 100,000 people buried in it. There are two chapels, three counting what is known as a mortuary chapel which was at one time frequented by the Orthodox Jewish community for services before funerals. This has become somewhat redundant as they mostly have services elsewhere before arriving at the cemetery.
The Small brick Chapel was built in 1909 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this November. As the name suggests it is not very big and only really caters to small groups such as the immediate family and friends while the main chapel is somewhat bigger and can easily hold a large crowd.
But enough of chapels and crematoriums, what I was originally going to tell you about is what sort of jobs I do there. Mainly I am involved in almost everything except doing cremations. My responsibilities range from general driving duties to interments and sometimes working at reception, taking bookings, attending enquires and showing people where this that and the other grave.
The cemetery is divided into various sections according to creed and religion. The largest of these sections is made up of Roman Catholic and Church of England, followed closely by public (Interdenominational). There are also sections for Chinese, Russian, Greek Orthodox, Orthodox Jewish and liberal Jewish. Scattered throughout the cemetery are graves for stillborn babies as well as infants (up to the age of three or four, restricted only by the size of the child) and a number of religious orders (Marist Fathers, Sisters of Mercy, the order of the society of Mary, etc.)
On the whole it is a fairly peaceful place to work, away from the hustle and bustle of suburbia & the Metropolitan chaos, as well as traffic. Surrounded by trees and bush it is a perfect place for people to walk their dogs and there are a number of dog walkers who have go to know us all well throughout the years. Most like to stop and chin wag along the way. It is always nice to meet new dogs and greet the ones who are familiar.
Like any job it has its good points and points that are not as joyful as one would hope them to be but still none the less part of the job anyhow. At first I suppose the work we do there takes a little getting use to and probably not everyone’s ideal way to make a living. Things such as disinterments (the process of exhuming caskets for one reason or another), picking up bio tissue for the mortuary (a contract that the cemetery has with a couple of local hospitals) and dealing with the bereaved are things that people are either cut out for or not. Some things no matter how long you do them are tough to deal with, these include attending funerals where the deceased has committed suicide or was a young child/infant or stillborn baby. Older people you can sort of understand as they have had a full life and the funeral seems to take on a more celebration of life motif.
Sometimes I head out to Makara Cemetery, which we also look after. It is more modern type of cemetery, that is to say the graves do not have the concrete surroundings. Most of it is lawn so it is a lot easier to maintain. This is also arrange in different sections (Roman Catholic, Interdenominational, Assyrian, Muslim, Serbian, Greek, Tung Jung, Pon Yee, Pooh Far Servicemen, Pacific Island, Orthodox Jewish and Progressive Jewish. There has also been a site established for Natural Burials (the article mentions that there have been three natural burials so far, but this has increased since the site was last updated, I think we're approaching our sixth or seventh and interest in it is still growing all the time).
This is also a peaceful place to work, perhaps more so than Karori, because of its rural settings. Sheep and cows graze in the pastures and horses have in the past been a frequent site. Several years ago a rooster wandered around, running up to the mourners whenever a service took place. Helped take the tension off I suppose. It’s no longer there though.
Well I suppose that’s really all I can squeeze into a blog entry without making it too big. I’ll write some more later.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Broadband etc
Well I’ve finally got Broadband up and running so I guess there is no excuse for procrastinating about the blogging. I signed up with Telecom.
Its present promotional feel good joining up with us deal offered a free modem as long as you signed up for a minimum of 12 months. Also they were offering half price broadband fees for the first three months (as long as you were a new customer). An offer too good to refuse-as the mafia would say.
Rang them up and chose a single PC modem which they sent but changed my mind and opted for a wireless modem instead, so I could use the internet anywhere in the house.
Because of the house having a monitored alarm Telecom said they would have to send out a technician to do some rewiring so that it would not like interfere with the alarm, or something, or whatever. (hope that is not too technical for you). I rang our alarm suppliers and told them that Telecom would be doing some work which required them to do an alarm test. Unfortunately they got the wrong info and sent a technician up who did the job Telecom was meant to do. Think it may have worked out cheaper than what Telecom was going to charge, but that is still to be seen. I rang Telecom back and told them not to bother sending out a technician as the work had already been done.
Had a little trouble trying to set everything up, wouldn’t except the account number, so I rang up a support person who talked me through a manual setup over the phone. Have to admit that the internet is heaps faster and it looks as though I will probably be able to get a lot more work done.
Big Brother is going to be over tomorrow for a nine day visit, so there will be plenty to blog about in the next week or so. Can’t take much time off work but there’ll be plenty of time to entertain him after work and also I’ve got next Thursday and Friday scheduled for annual leave. He leaves on the 10th of April, 10 days before I am due to start my holiday in Sydney. What with broadband and all I’m sure I will be able to put a lot more on my flicka sight, which is a might lacking at present.
On the tenpin bowling side of things my game is still off and scores are getting worse. Must be going through a bad slump. Never mind its only early in the year, plenty of time to improve. I hope.
Oh I almost forgot, a bit of an update on the recycling front, there is talk of keeping the green recycling bins after all, which is good news for the environment.
Well that’s about all I can think of for now. Blog you later Alligator.
Its present promotional feel good joining up with us deal offered a free modem as long as you signed up for a minimum of 12 months. Also they were offering half price broadband fees for the first three months (as long as you were a new customer). An offer too good to refuse-as the mafia would say.
Rang them up and chose a single PC modem which they sent but changed my mind and opted for a wireless modem instead, so I could use the internet anywhere in the house.
Because of the house having a monitored alarm Telecom said they would have to send out a technician to do some rewiring so that it would not like interfere with the alarm, or something, or whatever. (hope that is not too technical for you). I rang our alarm suppliers and told them that Telecom would be doing some work which required them to do an alarm test. Unfortunately they got the wrong info and sent a technician up who did the job Telecom was meant to do. Think it may have worked out cheaper than what Telecom was going to charge, but that is still to be seen. I rang Telecom back and told them not to bother sending out a technician as the work had already been done.
Had a little trouble trying to set everything up, wouldn’t except the account number, so I rang up a support person who talked me through a manual setup over the phone. Have to admit that the internet is heaps faster and it looks as though I will probably be able to get a lot more work done.
Big Brother is going to be over tomorrow for a nine day visit, so there will be plenty to blog about in the next week or so. Can’t take much time off work but there’ll be plenty of time to entertain him after work and also I’ve got next Thursday and Friday scheduled for annual leave. He leaves on the 10th of April, 10 days before I am due to start my holiday in Sydney. What with broadband and all I’m sure I will be able to put a lot more on my flicka sight, which is a might lacking at present.
On the tenpin bowling side of things my game is still off and scores are getting worse. Must be going through a bad slump. Never mind its only early in the year, plenty of time to improve. I hope.
Oh I almost forgot, a bit of an update on the recycling front, there is talk of keeping the green recycling bins after all, which is good news for the environment.
Well that’s about all I can think of for now. Blog you later Alligator.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Finally got a new one
Good news everybody, I have finally bought a new computer. Its a Toshiba L300/800 notebook (laptop). All up and running and is a lot better in all respects to the former slow stuffy old thing that was driving me crazy every time I tried to do anything harder than write an email. Though I can't really complain, I did get a lot of use out of it and managed to create some nifty stories, not to mention this blog which I created with it.
The new computer seems to have a bigger screen so one does not have to squint to see what's going on. Also allows a wider scope for working with programs that have lots of menus (like photoshop), which use to get in the way.
Next thing will be to set up Broadband then I'll beable to blog to my hearts content, well into the night without worrying about phone lines being tied up, etc.
Well I'd better get ready for ten pin bowling. See if I can match or beat last weeks scores.
The new computer seems to have a bigger screen so one does not have to squint to see what's going on. Also allows a wider scope for working with programs that have lots of menus (like photoshop), which use to get in the way.
Next thing will be to set up Broadband then I'll beable to blog to my hearts content, well into the night without worrying about phone lines being tied up, etc.
Well I'd better get ready for ten pin bowling. See if I can match or beat last weeks scores.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
trip all booked
Booked my flight for Sydney today. Departing Friday 20th March 2009 – Sunday 29th March 2009. Should give me plenty to blog about and spend a bit more quality time with Steve, Juliana, Ginger and Wiggley, Vincent and some rellies I haven’t seen since Adam was a boy
My endeavours to sort out a new computer for myself have proved somewhat fruitful and I have narrowed my options to a short list of three possibilities.
They are: Pavillion DV5110ax
Toshiba A300/M01
Sony Vaio Aw Series Notebook
At present I’m leaning toward the Toshiba because of its specs. Seems the best in its price range f or now. I’ll make the final decision next week and blog you all about it.
The only problem is that, like most modern Laptops, it does not take have a dial-up connection and only works on broadband, so I won’t be-able to use the Internet on it until I get broadband installed, which may take a couple of weeks, so I am told.
Never mind I can always use my present Laptop until I get sorted out. Or get Broadband connected before I buy it.
On the counter productive side of things, it has been proposed that Wellingtonians will lose their free recycling bin and instead be forced into buying special recycling bags instead.
Apparently there will be different bags for different articles of recycling (eg one for paper and another for bottles etc). Not sure how that is going to encourage everyone to keep recycling. I’m sure the powers that be have got it all sorted out though.
Also I had my first ten pin bowling game of the season for 2009 last Wednesday. Our team “Whatever” still has three people, though one pulled out because of work commitments and has been replaced by former team member who use to play with us a couple of years ago. Didn’t do too badly with the scores = 149, 151, 169 (156 average).
My endeavours to sort out a new computer for myself have proved somewhat fruitful and I have narrowed my options to a short list of three possibilities.
They are: Pavillion DV5110ax
Toshiba A300/M01
Sony Vaio Aw Series Notebook
At present I’m leaning toward the Toshiba because of its specs. Seems the best in its price range f or now. I’ll make the final decision next week and blog you all about it.
The only problem is that, like most modern Laptops, it does not take have a dial-up connection and only works on broadband, so I won’t be-able to use the Internet on it until I get broadband installed, which may take a couple of weeks, so I am told.
Never mind I can always use my present Laptop until I get sorted out. Or get Broadband connected before I buy it.
On the counter productive side of things, it has been proposed that Wellingtonians will lose their free recycling bin and instead be forced into buying special recycling bags instead.
Apparently there will be different bags for different articles of recycling (eg one for paper and another for bottles etc). Not sure how that is going to encourage everyone to keep recycling. I’m sure the powers that be have got it all sorted out though.
Also I had my first ten pin bowling game of the season for 2009 last Wednesday. Our team “Whatever” still has three people, though one pulled out because of work commitments and has been replaced by former team member who use to play with us a couple of years ago. Didn’t do too badly with the scores = 149, 151, 169 (156 average).
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