Time for an upgrade! Marriage Equality in New Zealand

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As you may have heard, the marriage equality bill passed in New Zealand last night, making us the 13th country to do so. Seeing there is 190+ countries in the world, I am proud of New Zealand for being amongst the first 10% of countries leading the way in equality. 

I can understand that it is difficult for those who have been brought up to believe this kind of love is wrong, just as any conditioning is hard to break. I myself was brought up to believe those very archaic views on love and the world, and it is hard to go against what you have always known. But in becoming more open minded you can begin to view the world with more understanding and compassion. At the end of the day we have to remember that it is simply just love. It does not harm anyone, rather enable those who have been excluded to be themselves, feel comfortable to love others as they chose and to have that love recognised just as anyone else. 

For those who have been holding out to get married, or who will have an 'upgrade' ceremony, you should book in now with Lady Fingers Letterpress to design your invites.

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Morgan and Arley-Rose run my favourite custom stationary business Lady Fingers Letterpress, which they started up because they struggled to get people to design invites to their wedding due to being gay. 

Now they give all kinds of couples the chance to have stunning wedding invitations no matter what their orientation. 

Just look at the beauties!

Cosmos is so in, and I love it!

This gold foil makes my heart warm

And the bright edging, what a way to pop.

Such simple yet classy typography.

They even do hand-addressing to add that personal touch. 

All invitation images via the Ladyfingers Letter Press website and their Facebook account (go and like it why don't you).

I am definitely talking to those lovely ladies if I ever have a big event to plan.

Read their story and printout their free marriage equality posters from their blog here.

What are your thoughts on the bill? 

x

The Subspecies - An introvert's life.

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I am part of that strange subspecies of mankind labelled The Introvert. My idea of attending a party is to find myself an inviting looking couch and park myself there for the remainder of the evening. (This usually works relatively well as most ‘normal’ humans rotate stations every ten minutes or so – ensuring I see or talk to a decent cross-section of attendees over the course of an evening).

Unlike those blessed with the art of conversation, when talking, my grey matter is working overtime attempting to scrape together potential conversational topics. The starting points are easy ‘How’s it going?’ ‘What’s new?’ ‘How is such and such?’ It’s once the easy questions have run out that things become more challenging. Then I have to start remembering. What is their name again? What do they do for a job? Was it this person that got married the other month? Nope. Can’t remember. So I can’t talk about that then.

Naturally, I start talking about myself – it’s the only way I feel I keep this conversation from taking a tragic nosedive. Only problem is I don’t really want to talk about myself. I struggle to articulate what I want to say. Frankly, the way I’m selling myself is worse than a used car salesman on a bad hair day. I default to the same old speech ‘I work’, ‘I study’, ‘I’m doing this crazy diet’, … and because I feel like a broken record I come across as uninteresting and perhaps even a little grumpy. I am of course aware of this, so start thinking about it while I’m talking and matters go from bad to worse. Don’t get me wrong, not all introverts are like this. But when you are introverted, shy and anxious all rolled into one, it makes for a very interesting evening. All I can say is thank god for smart phones.

Back to work – 10 step survival guide

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It can be tough going back to work after a long weekend. Those extra days off can equate to a daunting stack of work teetering precariously on the edge of your desk, like an avalanche silently waiting to happen. Relax. All is not lost. Here are a few things to remember to keep your spirits high.

1. Catch up. Everyone will have news from the long weekend to chat about, making for good staff morale and entertainment. (Unless of course, you work alone, and in that cause you should definitely call that friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with for weeks).

2. Keep the holiday going. Now that Easter is over the Easter eggs are really cheap. Grab a couple of little ones to keep you going through the toughest parts of the day. Also, have you seen this new chocolate advertisement featuring Audrey Hepburn? It's fantastic what technology can do isn't it?

Cadbury workers joining eggs together via.

3. Keep in mind; it’s a four-day week. No matter what you have to do at work, Friday is always going to come that little bit quicker. 

4. Make an excuse to go midweek shopping. That winter wardrobe won’t stock itself.

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5. Take time out to exercise. After all that chocolate you are sure to feel a little gluggy. A brisk walk around the block in your lunch break will give you back your stamina. 

6. Change things up. Whether it's rearranging your desk, switching radio stations, (bringing a horse inside?) or wearing a new outfit to work, it’s sure to put a spring in your step. 

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7. Plan a work do. The half-way mark is creeping up quickly, so why not suggest plans for a mid-winter staff do? This will give you all a chance to charge those batteries, bond, set some goals and see you through to the end of the year.

8. Keep Daylight Savings in mind. Next Monday you will get a whole extra hour to sleep in. Now that’s what I call a lazy week.

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9. Remember why you love your job. Write a list of all the things about your job that you love doing. 

10. And if all else fails, maybe it’s a good time to consider if you’re in the right job or not. Life is short, so you may as well be doing what you enjoy. Or maybe you just need a little time off to revitalize the senses - start planning and saving for your winter escape now. Australia perhaps? 

LIFE magazine pic via.

As for me, I’m on university holidays and only work a very French 15 hours per week. So lucky for you, I shall be spending a lot of my free time writing new articles for you. 

What are your tips for surviving the post-holiday work week?

Also, something to make you laugh.

x

Hello and welcome!

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Welcome to the Hello Lemming online magazine!
I like to chat about Lifestyle, Culture, Design, Opinion, Travel, Cuisine, Arts and Crafts.
Generally I like to celebrate life and what makes people awesome. If you've got something on your mind you'd like to profile or chat about, just let me know.

I use a mixture of my own pics and other really neat ones that I find on my travels. All pictures will be credited or linked to the original author and/or file respectfully. If you do not want the flattery of me showing off your picture -  feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to change it. But I will miss you (sniff).

To get the ball rolling today I have a selection of posts going up, (so the blog doesn't look so bare!) keep checking back to see what is happening. If you haven't already, bookmark this page, or even better add Hello Lemming to your RSS feed - I used to use Google Reader but it has shut down. I now recommend Feedly - it comes with a nice little app too!

If you are not sure what RSS is or why it's worth your time, never fear, I shall do a post on the joys of RSS very soon.

Enjoy!

x