30 January 2006

Social retardation and open homes

Well, what an introspective yet still quite lovely weekend that turned out to be. The weather on Saturday. Stunning. So stunning that despite invitations to both a sun drenched Kelburn bbq and a sordid cbd rooftop do, I was motivated to seek company only with a bench in the sun on Oriental Parade, and my lovely wife. I sometimes wonder if I'm developing an allergy to real people. Still, no hangover on Sunday morning!

Sunday was 2 rides on the new bike (sorry Wand). And it was good.

And open homes. I think this blog could well move in focus (or should that be develop a focus) to chronicle the trawl through people's homes every Sunday afternoon. It really is a weird occurance. Maybe one day I'll write a movie script about it. It could be a tale of love, emotion, and real estate. People meeting each week at a raft of homes, gleaning each other's names from the sign-in sheet. Communicating through the calls from the agents that night, until the relationship turns sour when they discover they're both bidding for the same partly developed semi-detached Ngaio townhouse with internal access garage. It might have a happy ending when one gets it and the other somehow buys the other townhouse in the complex, and there would be a slow-motion seduction scene as they hang out their washing on the shared retractable clothes line in full view of the neighbours. A bit like that saucy toothpaste ad on tv.

Back to real life - we're caught in some sort of DIY vs. readymade paradox - this shy wee fellow requiring absolute renovation, and this rather bold Karori residence, requiring nothing more that moving in.

But the other treasures we have seen - the tiniest villa in the world in Brooklyn, populated by a small christian community that came with free planter boxes. Another Brooklyn option so bleak we didn't get out of the car. A fiesta of creative landscaping in Ngaio. And an inner city apartment with a stunning focal point created around the washing machine.

All a bit overwhelming really.

1 comment:

Martha Craig said...

Ahem, neither of them look like Petone to me.

I like the views from Highbury, but the work is daunting. We tried to buy a house up there last year (it was Just Paterson too). I love it.