Elissa - Part 2
“A lot of adults don't play."
"I was in the city for whatever, I think I was with a colleague. We had just been to the convention centre and we walked back to where we parked. There were some puddles, and instead of walking around, I jumped onto one of the blocks, and ‘boink, boink’ jumped over. She was like, ‘you jump on things and play on things, but most people don't do that’. I think it's why a lot of people get bored - forgetting how to play.
I started skating mid 2010-ish, right before the September quake. Because I'd been doing Aikido for so long, stopping Aikido and gravitating towards skating instead, that was quite a big thing for me. And then I started getting more into downhill.
My first skate trip was to Auckland. I linked up with some of the Auckland crew, and joined them on a trip to the Coromandel. There's also Longboard Girls Crew which has created a worldwide community of female skaters, so I linked up with one of the Aussie girls, Gemma, and joined her crew for my first overseas trip in 2014.
Since I started doing the Asia Pacific tour and all those races I would be away for roughly about a month every year, because I’d do a race in Australia for a week, and then maybe another event in a different place, the Philippines, occasionally China or Korea, or whatever. I've been to the Philippines heaps. It's cool because a lot of the guys there know me now, so I get treated as one of them, like part of the fam. I linked up more recently with the Malaysian skate crew, it's been really cool going back and experiencing Malaysia as an adult.
The female skate community is like that as well. If you do downhill skating or even longboard dancing, it's cool that when you find other people that do the same thing, you just instantly have this connection with them.
I decided to join the Euro Tour in 2019. God, I'm so glad I did that, who knew that COVID was gonna happen, right? The European Circuit is seen as the pinnacle, it has some of the most prestigious races worldwide and a well-established downhill skate scene. I remember when we camped off the side of the road in the Dolomites to skate. You skate at sunset, then you set up your camp as it gets dark. You wake up at dawn, skate, then when traffic starts to get too heavy, you pack up and you chill for the rest of the day.
As I've become a better skater I've become more confident, I feel it's helped me to really grow as a person. I think it's such a good thing for other people. I like teaching adults, because A) adults have a greater understanding and awareness of body movement, and B) It is that growth in confidence thing that I really love. When you unlock that and you see that spark, that's the most rewarding thing.
I feel like I'm in a really good place now. The older I get, the more I learn that I have to prioritize what I want to do, because there's so many things that interest me. It's boring to just be stationary.”
Elissa
part 2 of 2
The gift of giving …?
The author of “The Gift of the Magi” is O. Henry, a pseudonym for William Sydney Porter.
“The Gift of the Magi” is a poignant short story about a young couple, Jim and Della, who are deeply in love but financially struggling. With Christmas approaching and limited money, each decides to sacrifice their most prized possession to buy a meaningful gift for the other. Della sells her beautiful long hair to buy a platinum chain for Jim’s watch, while Jim sells his grandfather’s watch to buy a set of combs for Della’s hair. In the end, their love and sacrifice underscore the true spirit of giving during the holiday season.
🤔
I would say the story underscores the stupidity of Xmas gifts … after all, it is not YOUR birthday, so how about donating something to good causes and otherwise enjoying being together?
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What has a head but no brain?
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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