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Mundus Fundus

I drifted into the city with my daughter today. We hit a cafe for lunch - Atlas in Ponsonby. I enjoyed a bowl of linguine. It was delicious. The mushrooms were rich and perfectly offset the sweet saltiness of the parminsan. I flipped through Michael McHugh's magazine Mindfood and actually thought it was better than the launch issue (which irritated me for its proximity to Monocle/Vanity Fair/Marie Claire). I liked the apartment designed by Kiwi David Howell in Manhatten. He was a friend of my son's mother. It was nice to see he is doing so well. When I met him he had recently grauduated. I was irritated by the trumpeting of Kevin Roberts as a Kiwi. I suppose if I can he can (I was born in Scotland, arriving in the promised land with my parents as a kid, so technically I am a Scot… at the end of the day I'm with John Lennon and Samuel Johnson…patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel/imagine there's no countries…).

Zoe made classic faces to indicate her disgust at the very idea of eating mushrooms (a variation of the face she made when I asked if she'd like to try my spirulina drink). She sat with her new ipod phones in her ears. I think they might become permanent. I have loaded her shuffle up with Christina Aguilera and Avril Lavine and the like, samplings from my iTunes - don't ask me how I reconcile Howlin' Wolf and Cake with teeny confections…I can't. It's just pop culture and I like to know what is going on. It's my job.

My friend Catherine showed up with her son and we had coffee. She had invited me to join her at the Liam Finn concert at the Powerstation. I was on patrol with Zoe and no backup so I couldn't go. He put on a good show by all accounts. Still, can't always do everything. I had a nice time watching the Grand Finale of American Idol. Mostly Z listened to The VengaBoys - 'we're going to eat pizza'… It felt like telling her there is no Santa when I let her in on the fact that the lyric is 'We're going to Ibiza'. Wondered if I had opened Pandora's box by introducing her to Ibiza?

We meandered along to the Leatham Gallery on Jervois Road to see Martin Horspool's exhibiton of robots. They are very cool. The show looks like it has sold out. I saw Martin present at Pecha Kucha at Samoa House. Nice man. Very clever. Zoe wasn't impressed but she liked the goldfish pond behind the gallery. She was unimpressed when I told her the green shed had been my office back in the day. (I love it - spectacular view over St Mary's Bay, over the marina…loved it). Bumped into the talented James Mok, creative director of DraftFCB Auckland, had a chat. Looking foward to catching up again soon.

We shopped for a gift for Z's mum's birthday tomorrow. A nice picture frame.

A mundane day. But even mundus can be delightful when you take care to notice.

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