A Day Off

Today was the first time in 3 weeks that it did not rain at some point. 24 hours without any water falling on the ground. Of course, when that happens there's got to be a catch. Winter in NZ has two kinds of days. The first is the pissing down kind. The second is the super fine day. Today we had type 2. This starts off with frost and a freezing cold morning where you have to wear lots of clothes. By 9AM the frost has melted and everything is damp. Your car will be completely covered in this heavy condensation  and you can't see out of it without wiping the windows clear. By 11AM the sun is blasting down from a cloudless blue sky. If there's no breeze, it gets to be quite warm. Midday can bring temps of up to 20 degrees. So by now it's really uncomfortable and you have to shed some of those clothes. But if you have to go somewhere in the shade, say a mechanical workshop with a big concrete floor, you'll need that jacket again. The inside of your car will be 25 degrees so you'll be down to your T-shirt when you're in there. By 4PM it's cooling off again and as soon as the sun drops away the temperature plunges so you're back to multiple layers of clothes again. A lot of people say they love this weather, clear and crisp and bright. I think it's a royal pain in the ass. I hate the huge variations in temperature and all that messing around with coats and sweaters, on and off all the time. My ideal place would be 25 degrees all the time....day, night, summer, winter. Anyway, seeing as the sun was out I decided that it was far too good to be messing around with work. A few phone calls to some other people who were of the same opinion and we had a plan to go sailing on the harbour. 

 There wasn't much wind but we managed to find enough to get down to the harbour bridge. The water was flat calm and the visibility was unlimited. I like to sail under this bridge and look up at all the people in their cars participating in the ratrace. I'm sure they are looking back at us and thinking "look at those lucky bastards messing around on a yacht and drinking beer at 3.30 on a Thursday afternoon." The trip back was directly into a stunning sunset. Another great day in the motor industry!