It has been only a week since we were in New Plymouth as guests of Powerco for the opening of the ChargeNet/Powerco charge station.

I lived in Taranaki for a very short stint when I was 17 years old.  I didn’t appreciate just what a beautiful and wild place it was then, but I certainly do now.  It is a charming and welcoming place, and they host an brilliantly organised WOMAD event.  It was truly world class in every way I thought.

Because I was busy soaking up the hospitality and chatting with our hosts, I didn’t take as many pictures as I’d have liked to, but here’s a little taste of the ‘Naki.  A New Zealand treasure, and if you haven’t been for a while, I certainly would urge you to do so!

So this is a collection of pictures from one of the many walks I got to go on through this charming and welcoming West Coast city.

There was an electricity in the air as the WOMAD festival is the biggest event for the city, and perhaps the entire Taranaki region every year.  Our hosts Powerco were WONDERFUL!  We have been hosted around the globe and around New Zealand, and there’s something about New Plymouth (and also the whole South Island while I think of it, NP is on the North) that make me feel extra special and at ease when I am lucky enough to visit.  I can’t say what the magic it, perhaps it is that they are more sparsely populated or a bit more isolated than the major centres?  Whatever the reason, I adore the provinces.

I still haven’t sent a Thank You card to thank them for making us feel like rockstar VIPs, but I will, and I feel absolutely honoured to be working with all of them.  A great bunch of warm, clever, and diverse people.

So, after our practically perfect visit with Powerco, and a wonderful time at WOMAD, it was time to head back up the country and home to Auckland.

Unfortunately, when we packed up to leave, we noticed that the only key for the Tesla was missing.  Luckily, the car is remotely controlled by an app, and you can call to get the car unlocked remotely, as first thing in the morning, we managed to walk away from the car with the phone (and app) in the car.

Turns out, I had left the phone in a shop on Devon street called Emotions.  They kindly gave the key to my wonderful friend Anne, and she mailed it back up to me! WHEW!  Thank You Anne, and Thank You New Plymouth, and Thank You lovely little shops on Devon Street. Very pleased with how it all turned out.

A beautiful drive back to Auckland, here’s a small selection of photos.

So, to wrap up, if you are lucky enough to visit New Zealand, or luckier still and you call this paradise home, I sincerely implore you to make Taranaki a priority to visit soon.  It is a beautiful, warm, wild place, filled with wonderful kind people.

 

 

After years of lounging like a lizard in airports around the planet, I STILL get a bit excited about traveling.  Especially when it is for business, and that business is MY business.

Today started at 5:00am.  I had one of those broken sleeps where you wake with a start because you know you have something important happening early.  So I was up at 12:30am. 2:00am. 4:08. And then again at 5:00.

I kissed the kiddies at around 6:00am and headed out the door.

Not feeling super peppy at the moment.

When I got to the airport and was ushered briskly through Koru parking I was walking a few steps behind my COO Nick, and the Love of my life Grumpy, who were wearing their ChargeNet jackets.  We look really spiffy.  And I can’t wipe the smile off my face while I think about how lucky I am to be a part of this amazing company and the sustainablity and green tech movement in general.

As we strolled confidently swapping inappropriate jokes, I caught several backpackers and travellers through the corner of my eye.

I turned to Nick and said:

“You know, there’s a little part of me that pines for a life that I could lead that meant no work, just traveling from place to place and adventuring.  Or working on philanthropic fun stuff around the globe.  But then, I get to hang out with our partners, our community, our customers, and I get all warm and enthusiastic again.” Beamed I…

“Funny how you think something would be awesome, but sitting around totally sucks eh.  You two wouldn’t last five minutes without having a project on your plate.  You’d go even more mental than you already are if you weren’t busy all the time.”  Giggled Nick.

So now, I am settled in and on my second coffee of the morning.

We’re heading down to open the latest live fast charging station in Wellington.  I Love Wellington.  I Love heaps of people down there, and the coffee is always spot on, and the food is great, and people are smart, and the beer is cold, and there is no better place on the planet than Wellington on an admittedly all-too-rare, calm and sunny day.

I spend more time at airports than I ever could have foreseen as a lonely outcast growing up in rural Alberta.  And when I was that lonely outcast, airports symbolised a much yearned for escape and promise of adventure.  I was always better at making friends ANYWHERE aside from the place where I grew up.

So now, as a much happier adult than I ever was a child, I still get happy flip flops in my stomach when I walk into an airport.  I still feel anticipation and comfort knowing I will be seeing people I adore and doing things I Love to do, and then coming safely home to the comfort and chaos of my four children.

I Love the airport.  I won’t be afraid to step into airports, nor will I curb my enthusiasm for the trip to Europe and the USA to talk to dozens of EV influencers.

Saying that, it will be a bumpy ride heading into our nation’s capital this morning.

Not everything I write will be a masterpiece.

The fact that it might be sub-par, uninteresting or even worse completely unintelligible has left me paralysed.

I guess it can be called writers block.  I’d be more inclined to call it performance anxiety.

At any rate, it has been over a months since I gave this once consistently updated blog any Love.

In that month more has happened than would have happened over an entire year in a previous life (before the sustainability stuff grabbed me by the heart and head and took me and my entire family on the whirlwind adventure we are still firmly ensconced in).

I guess I just wanted to check in really quickly and say this:

There are times when a lot is happening, there are times when very little is going on.  Honour wherever you are and do not judge your own worth by the activities of people around you.

I’ve said it before and I will say it many times still I’m sure:  Comparison is the thief of Joy.

I can say that today because I’ve had aaaalllll my joy temporarily stolen comparing myself to others who struggle or excel.  Seriously, there’s no safe place in my hobbity head today, so I just thought I’d check in share my little rut.

I’ll go back to watching pingu with my sick son and hopefully I can steal a nap.  Napping/sleeping is my favourite thing when this kind of blues sneak in.

I hope wherever you are when you read this you can take a moment some really deep breaths to realise that you’re absolutely perfect.  That’s the truthiest thing you might read today. You. Are. Perfect.  You are perfectly you, and nobody will ever be as perfectly and uniquely you as you are right now and every moment.  And that’s pretty fantastic.

Okay, I am away.

Have a good day.

Hip hip hooray…