After the great success of Julian the German's Amazingly Awesome Auckland Adventure circa December 2011, my sister, Rebecca, asked if I would plan her an adventure for her birthday. And thus, Becky's Brilliant Birthday Adventure was born.
She knew that by asking for an adventure such as this, that she would need to be prepared for anything. By anything, I of course mean... anything. I started brain storming ideas when I was camping in Hahei (Ha-HEY!) and came up with some ideas, settling in the end of creating an adventure which used each letter of her name. I started and wrote out her name REBECCA HERBERT to help me on my way... nek minnit, Cath pointed out that Rebecca's name is in fact REBECCA GOURLAY. Whoops! How did I forget that small detail?!!
The brainstormed list was long, it was exciting and it was bursting at the seams with exciting tasks, but in the end I decided with what is to follow. Prepare yourself for a laugh, some of the video footage may well reduce you to tears - and you will wonder how on earth we managed to do some of the tasks without too much injury. I present to you, Becky's Brilliant Birthday Adventure, 2012.
R - RECITE one of the songs you sing to your babies, standing on the podium of the Ex Mayor statue outside the Town Hall on Queen Street.
Problem: We were behind time and far too tired after our 'rock moving' (see letter R of GOURLAY) that we didn't get quite as far as the Town Hall, but we did find a statue of Moses, randomly, through St. Kevin's arcade on Karangahape Road. Perfect. There weren't too many people around, much to Rebecca's delight, but there was a woman standing in a window overlooking where we were, having a gawk. Outstanding.
E - Have your EYEBROWS threaded.
For those of you who know my Piggy, as she is affectionately called, may (or may not...?) know that she typically has 'wild' brows. Takes after Dad in that way. She has hated them most her life and I know they have often caused her frustration as she is so perfectly groomed in every other way. I sorted it. Eyebrow threading. I have not had it done, but I have friends who swear by it, so it seemed like a good idea. It took her about 23 seconds to hate me (I am guessing) as the pain was not the most pleasant, but she did admit it was less painful than plucking. Faster too. The best part was when the Indian woman asked her when she last 'trimmed' her eyebrows. Rebecca said 'Uhhh... never??'. She was pleased with her new brows - and I think she looks even more gorgeous than before. And it only cost $10. #WINNING.
B - BREAK open a fortune cookie.
As luck would have it, mum was at home (apparently for two days!) busy in the kitchen preparing a South East Asian banquet (and I am not exaggerating when I say the word banquet... it was INSANE!) and had purchased some fortune cookies to go with the banquet... so we were able to wait until later in the day to do this task. Which was lucky, as some of the tasks took a wee but longer than we expected...! These were not just any fortune cookies, either. These were all flavoured and all had epic messages inside. I liked mine, which was "Make a difference this year" - good job I'm a teacher... I'll be striving for that one anyway! Rebecca's was... well... have a look for yourself :)
E - ESCAPE from somewhere Mission: Impossible style - with the theme tune playing, of course!
We managed to find an excellent location in an another arcade off Karangahape Road which was *perfect* for a Mission: Impossible escape. I was obviously filming this... but nearly lost it when Rebecca did something hilarious... you'll have to watch it though :P No Mission: Impossible escape would be complete without some sort of injury. Poor Piggy got a scratch.
C - Have lunch at CUCINA.
Cucina is hands-down my favourite restaurant in Auckland at the moment. The food is great, the service is great - and it is in Albany which makes it nice and close! Rebecca thought we were just having lunch at Cucina - she wasn't quite aware that I also had a CUPCAKE with a CANDLE which I handed to the waiter when I went up and ordered our food and drink. Rebecca had no idea of this. There was another table nearby and it was the woman's birthday - and the staff came and sang to her. Rebecca said "Oh! That would have been a good idea for letter A of GOURLAY!" Little did she know that her turn was coming!
C - CALL someone randomly from an old school phone box and sing *them* Happy Birthday.
Well, you know, we just ran out of time for this and had to go to Mum and Dad's for dinner. And then I promptly forgot about it. Once I was home after dinner I had a phonecall from my ICE contact (in case of emergency) and what did I hear on the other end, but my sister singing ME Happy Birthday. Tehe.
A - ASK someone to directions to somewhere of your choice.
As we walked through Kevin's arcade and found the statue of Moses where Rebecca could sing a song, Rebecca thought it would be quite funny to ask someone for directions to the Sky Tower, which was funny because you could SEE it from where we were standing. I set the camera going and *casually* (or not so casually) walked over to where Rebecca was standing to make it not so obvious that we were filming this event. Unfortunately you cannot really hear what is said, but it goes along the lines of "Hi, do you know how to actually get to the Sky Tower" to which the women responded with "It's kind of over there... if you walk through the park you come out, ah, somewhere, where is it again..." haha.
G - GET a tattoo.
Ok, ok. So she insisted that she was NOT getting a real tattoo... but I managed to convince her.
Tehe. Obviously it wasn't *actually* real. But it was worth a try.
O - OPEN a bag of chips without using your hands.
I'll be honest. I had visions of her opening a bag of chips, sitting on the floor and using her feet like hands. The image in my head was pretty damned funny. The *actual* image, was also pretty funny.
U - UNLOCK something to get your birthday present.
I was on a mission. The mission was to find something, anything, that would be able to be locked shut. This meant it either needed more than one zip, or needed some sort of loop that the zip could be locked to. I went out in search of this very thing, and found the BEST bag in the world EVER. It was all class, white with blue flowers and butterflies and flies and other such things. AND it had two zips... and a loop so that I could lock it all up. I ended up using a combination lock of mine as I couldn't find one anywhere that cost less than $10. I found some of her favourite treats; Nerds, in mini sized boxes, a box of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and a striped top (she loves her stripes!) and I wrapped everything individually before locking it all up. Epic. She's so cute she even used the bag for the day.
R - Write PIGGY'S in the ROCKS at One Tree Hill.
I've always wanted to do this. Like, really. I was most definitely *not* dressed for this task... silly me. We drove to the top of One Tree Hill (or 'No Tree Hill' as it is now called...) and parked the car. We went up to the obelisk and took advantage of the awesome view for some 'Piggy' photos.
After we had drunk in enough of the view, we made our way down to the basin where the rocks are. Exciting doesn't begin to describe my feelings about it...
We decided that we have Dad to thank for our amazing rock moving skills, being we spent many an hour outside at our house growing up shifting rocks from one place to another... so, thanks Dad. It took an hour, but the results were worth it... I wonder how long they will stay until someone moves them again?
L - Have LEMONY GOODNESS (as we fondly call Lemon Turnovers) from LA TROPEZIENNE)
We actually went to McDonald's for breakfast, making it there at 10.28am. For those who are in-the-know, McDonald's breakfast finishes at 10.30am. There was a woman in front of us who was having a go at the man behind the counter, because they had been serving everyone in the Drive Thru and neglecting to serve their in-house customers. Needless to say, I changed the plan and we went and replaced our LEMON CALIPPO ice-block (icy pole for anyone in the UK reading this haha!) with a Lemon Turnover. Amaze. An outstanding breakfast.
A - ASK someone to sing you Happy Birthday.
As we were making our way to Queen Street (which we didn't actually end up going to; see letter R of REBECCA) we found a busker. He had a slice of pizza and a guitar and was singing away to his hearts content...
Then I decided to break into some song in a local Asian Supermarket. There was a man in the same aisle as us who didn't even flinch at my rendition of Happy Birthday...
Y - YODEL in a public place.
We really wanted to do some yodeling for Julian the Germans Jaunt... but it wasn't to be. So I insisted that Becky did some this time around. And she was extraordinarily epic at it.
So there it is, Becky's Brilliant Birthday Adventure, 2012. We had the *most* fun day. We laughed, we ate and we were most certainly merry! I love you my Piggy, Happy Birthday, love your Piggy xoxoxo
Cheery bye :)
She knew that by asking for an adventure such as this, that she would need to be prepared for anything. By anything, I of course mean... anything. I started brain storming ideas when I was camping in Hahei (Ha-HEY!) and came up with some ideas, settling in the end of creating an adventure which used each letter of her name. I started and wrote out her name REBECCA HERBERT to help me on my way... nek minnit, Cath pointed out that Rebecca's name is in fact REBECCA GOURLAY. Whoops! How did I forget that small detail?!!
The brainstormed list was long, it was exciting and it was bursting at the seams with exciting tasks, but in the end I decided with what is to follow. Prepare yourself for a laugh, some of the video footage may well reduce you to tears - and you will wonder how on earth we managed to do some of the tasks without too much injury. I present to you, Becky's Brilliant Birthday Adventure, 2012.
R - RECITE one of the songs you sing to your babies, standing on the podium of the Ex Mayor statue outside the Town Hall on Queen Street.
Problem: We were behind time and far too tired after our 'rock moving' (see letter R of GOURLAY) that we didn't get quite as far as the Town Hall, but we did find a statue of Moses, randomly, through St. Kevin's arcade on Karangahape Road. Perfect. There weren't too many people around, much to Rebecca's delight, but there was a woman standing in a window overlooking where we were, having a gawk. Outstanding.
E - Have your EYEBROWS threaded.
For those of you who know my Piggy, as she is affectionately called, may (or may not...?) know that she typically has 'wild' brows. Takes after Dad in that way. She has hated them most her life and I know they have often caused her frustration as she is so perfectly groomed in every other way. I sorted it. Eyebrow threading. I have not had it done, but I have friends who swear by it, so it seemed like a good idea. It took her about 23 seconds to hate me (I am guessing) as the pain was not the most pleasant, but she did admit it was less painful than plucking. Faster too. The best part was when the Indian woman asked her when she last 'trimmed' her eyebrows. Rebecca said 'Uhhh... never??'. She was pleased with her new brows - and I think she looks even more gorgeous than before. And it only cost $10. #WINNING.
B - BREAK open a fortune cookie.
As luck would have it, mum was at home (apparently for two days!) busy in the kitchen preparing a South East Asian banquet (and I am not exaggerating when I say the word banquet... it was INSANE!) and had purchased some fortune cookies to go with the banquet... so we were able to wait until later in the day to do this task. Which was lucky, as some of the tasks took a wee but longer than we expected...! These were not just any fortune cookies, either. These were all flavoured and all had epic messages inside. I liked mine, which was "Make a difference this year" - good job I'm a teacher... I'll be striving for that one anyway! Rebecca's was... well... have a look for yourself :)
E - ESCAPE from somewhere Mission: Impossible style - with the theme tune playing, of course!
We managed to find an excellent location in an another arcade off Karangahape Road which was *perfect* for a Mission: Impossible escape. I was obviously filming this... but nearly lost it when Rebecca did something hilarious... you'll have to watch it though :P No Mission: Impossible escape would be complete without some sort of injury. Poor Piggy got a scratch.
C - Have lunch at CUCINA.
Cucina is hands-down my favourite restaurant in Auckland at the moment. The food is great, the service is great - and it is in Albany which makes it nice and close! Rebecca thought we were just having lunch at Cucina - she wasn't quite aware that I also had a CUPCAKE with a CANDLE which I handed to the waiter when I went up and ordered our food and drink. Rebecca had no idea of this. There was another table nearby and it was the woman's birthday - and the staff came and sang to her. Rebecca said "Oh! That would have been a good idea for letter A of GOURLAY!" Little did she know that her turn was coming!
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| Piggy's dining at Cucina :) |
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| Um. Wow. Nommy food! Proscuitto wrapped goats cheese and prawns and stuffed mushrooms. |
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| One of the staff singing Happy Birthday |
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| This is Karl. He's my fav waiter. |
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| Cupcake with a Candle at Cucina... a Piggy Candle too! |
Well, you know, we just ran out of time for this and had to go to Mum and Dad's for dinner. And then I promptly forgot about it. Once I was home after dinner I had a phonecall from my ICE contact (in case of emergency) and what did I hear on the other end, but my sister singing ME Happy Birthday. Tehe.
A - ASK someone to directions to somewhere of your choice.
As we walked through Kevin's arcade and found the statue of Moses where Rebecca could sing a song, Rebecca thought it would be quite funny to ask someone for directions to the Sky Tower, which was funny because you could SEE it from where we were standing. I set the camera going and *casually* (or not so casually) walked over to where Rebecca was standing to make it not so obvious that we were filming this event. Unfortunately you cannot really hear what is said, but it goes along the lines of "Hi, do you know how to actually get to the Sky Tower" to which the women responded with "It's kind of over there... if you walk through the park you come out, ah, somewhere, where is it again..." haha.
G - GET a tattoo.
Ok, ok. So she insisted that she was NOT getting a real tattoo... but I managed to convince her.
Tehe. Obviously it wasn't *actually* real. But it was worth a try.
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| But they're very pretty.... |
I'll be honest. I had visions of her opening a bag of chips, sitting on the floor and using her feet like hands. The image in my head was pretty damned funny. The *actual* image, was also pretty funny.
U - UNLOCK something to get your birthday present.
I was on a mission. The mission was to find something, anything, that would be able to be locked shut. This meant it either needed more than one zip, or needed some sort of loop that the zip could be locked to. I went out in search of this very thing, and found the BEST bag in the world EVER. It was all class, white with blue flowers and butterflies and flies and other such things. AND it had two zips... and a loop so that I could lock it all up. I ended up using a combination lock of mine as I couldn't find one anywhere that cost less than $10. I found some of her favourite treats; Nerds, in mini sized boxes, a box of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and a striped top (she loves her stripes!) and I wrapped everything individually before locking it all up. Epic. She's so cute she even used the bag for the day.
R - Write PIGGY'S in the ROCKS at One Tree Hill.
I've always wanted to do this. Like, really. I was most definitely *not* dressed for this task... silly me. We drove to the top of One Tree Hill (or 'No Tree Hill' as it is now called...) and parked the car. We went up to the obelisk and took advantage of the awesome view for some 'Piggy' photos.
After we had drunk in enough of the view, we made our way down to the basin where the rocks are. Exciting doesn't begin to describe my feelings about it...
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| We had to navigate trees... |
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| And 70 degree angled hills... eek! |
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| Sometimes it was a little slippery... and rather dangerous... |
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| And sometimes it was easier to just run down the hill (rolled my ankle!) |
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| There was lots of poo to dodge... |
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| But we managed to move allllll the rocks in about an hour. |
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| My camera only has two options for self-timer. 2 seconds. Or 10. Clearly 10 seconds was our only option, but it was quite some distance to run down the 70 degree hill to get there. I didn't quite make it this time... |
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| But Becky was AMAZING and practically flew down the hill, just in time :) |
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| Our handy-work - oooooh and ahhhhh! |
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| Awwwwww yeeeaaaaah! Mission: Accomplished! |
L - Have LEMONY GOODNESS (as we fondly call Lemon Turnovers) from LA TROPEZIENNE)
We actually went to McDonald's for breakfast, making it there at 10.28am. For those who are in-the-know, McDonald's breakfast finishes at 10.30am. There was a woman in front of us who was having a go at the man behind the counter, because they had been serving everyone in the Drive Thru and neglecting to serve their in-house customers. Needless to say, I changed the plan and we went and replaced our LEMON CALIPPO ice-block (icy pole for anyone in the UK reading this haha!) with a Lemon Turnover. Amaze. An outstanding breakfast.
As we were making our way to Queen Street (which we didn't actually end up going to; see letter R of REBECCA) we found a busker. He had a slice of pizza and a guitar and was singing away to his hearts content...
Then I decided to break into some song in a local Asian Supermarket. There was a man in the same aisle as us who didn't even flinch at my rendition of Happy Birthday...
Y - YODEL in a public place.
We really wanted to do some yodeling for Julian the Germans Jaunt... but it wasn't to be. So I insisted that Becky did some this time around. And she was extraordinarily epic at it.
So there it is, Becky's Brilliant Birthday Adventure, 2012. We had the *most* fun day. We laughed, we ate and we were most certainly merry! I love you my Piggy, Happy Birthday, love your Piggy xoxoxo
Cheery bye :)
