NAVA PARAMAGURU - WHEELERS BOOK SHOP

If you have dropped into this large and comprehensive bookstore to buy a book, a card, a gift or a toy, you will have seen Nava behind the counter. He bought Wheelers at the beginning of May last year after a long career as a project manager/engineer in the oil and gas industry both here and in Malaysia, his home country. He transported his family here in 2007 to make sure his three children got a good education. In fact, his oldest boy is now studying computer science at AUT, while his sister is studying medicine in Romania (don’t ask)and the youngest has just applied to study bioengineering at the university here in Auckland.

The idea with buying Wheelers was to slide into retirement with a less stressful job. Not that being a business owner is stress free but it’s a different type of stress and he enjoys having to answer only to himself for his decisions. A bookshop in Remuera  brought together his desire to work in a crime-free area and his interest in books. He loves crime novels and is currently reading 11-22-69 by Stephen King. As he thought, Remuera has turned out to be a peaceful place to work and the people here are very supportive. In return he likes to support new authors with their first books. He recently accepted an autobiography called “Young Man Go South” written by a Remuera author, Hans Swier, and it is selling well.

When I asked him what his favourite movie was, he was embarrassed to say, The Hulk. He has watched both the television series and the movie. He enjoys the main character because of the humility he expresses despite his super powers. I suspect this humility is a part of Nava’s character as well, though I’m not sure about his having super powers.

Nava no longer makes New Year’s resolutions because they are too difficult to keep but he did keep one back in the year 2000. He decided to stop smoking despite having a 50-cigarette-a-day habit and stopped cold-turkey. He never had another. This shows the strength of character of this gentle man whose philosophy on life is to take one day at a time. “We are not permanent,” he says.

If you need a great book to read, do drop in at Wheelers at 395 Remuera Rd and say hi to Nava. He will happily help you with your purchase. Or you could go online and look the shop up here on the website, which is presently receiving a facelift: www.wheelersbooks.co.nz

We're on the front page of the NZ Herald!!

Take a look at today's NZ Herald - a great article about the shortage of housing including an interview and photo of us. We love it! Read the article here: Shortage of housing at 4-year high.

Amanda Evans – Kensington Hairdressing

Amanda’s grandfather was a barber and her mother worked in a hair salon, so it was natural that she cut and coloured her friends’ hair at school. But she was determined not to become a hairdresser. That was only for flaky girls.

After leaving school, she did chef work for six months but became disillusioned with her choice of job and one day she walked out, strode up the road to the hairdressing academy and destiny took over.

Since her training, she has been an educator for L’Oreal and technical manager for Sebastian Professional. She joined the team at Kensington Hairdressing as the manager just four months ago and loves working there. She is amazed at the sheer talent of the staff. They are 100% committed to every client looking their best, every time.

Amanda is particularly proud of the artwork in the shop – spectacular photographs of the work of the team. (See images.) She is also proud of her input into identifying ways to grow the salon. She is excited to see these being implemented.

On asking what Amanda likes about working in Remuera, she said, without too much hesitation, “the fish and chips from Remuera Fisheries”. It doesn’t help that she has to look at them all day as they are directly opposite. Browns, up the road, is definitely her regular fashion boost as she gets to check out the latest stock every morning when she grabs her coffee. And she enjoys Sanders Jewellers because everyone there is always smiling.

Although Amanda doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions, she does like to have a goal each year. This year she would like to complete the crossword on ‘Stuff.co.nz’ without using any of the hints!

Her philosophy on life is to treat others as you would like to be treated and to eat with your mouth closed. Wise words on both accounts.

To find out more about their salon, go to:  www.khb.co.nz

How to Decorate your Bathroom

I have owned various bathrooms in my time and know what I like and what I don’t like. That may not match your personal aesthetic but there are however some fundamentals which are worth looking at.

10 Do’s and Do not’s

1)    Don’t line your shower with travertine or any other similar pitted tile. Mould will grow rampantly in the small pit holes and, try as you may, it soon becomes irremovable because of the porous nature of the material. Maybe a dentist’s drilling tool might work but most of us don’t have access to one of those.

2)    Heated towel rails mean you don’t have to wash your towels every time you use them because the quick drying of your towel means it stays relatively bacteria free. If you are worried about the cost of having a towel rail heated 24/7, you can install a small gadget which turns it off every four hours for four hours and that saves half the bill.

3)    A good extraction fan is worth its weight in gold. It keeps the moisture levels low so less slimy growths can take hold and so you can see yourself in the mirror when applying makeup. It’s better to notice you have a mascara smudge on your nose while still in the bathroom. 

4)    Shiny floor tiles are a death-wish. Add even a teaspoon of water and you might as well put your skates on and do pirouettes - they may save you from falling flat on your back and cracking something on the way. Not a good look, especially if you have just stepped out of the shower.

5)    A good sized mirror is great when you are young and firm but the mirror should get smaller and smaller as you get older until you can see just your face. And do steer away from magnifying mirrors if you want to keep your self-esteem intact. Just saying. And on the note of mirrors, heated wiring behind it will stop it getting fogged up, which will prevent you seeing yourself altogether.

6)    Avoid at all costs those bathrooms with the shower as part of the main area – in other words no curtain, shower door or restraint of any kind. Only an architect can love those and he doesn’t have to use it. Keep the water where it should be – behind a well-sealed door or at the very least a full-length shower curtain. There’s nothing like sitting on a wet toilet seat to spoil your day.

7)    Adequate and convenient storage is a must. Free-standing designer basins are all very well but where do all your bits and bobs get put. They have to be close at hand and that means under the basin or right next door. A cupboard which slides out of the wall next to the basin or vanity works very well and can hold everything you need and more. Drawer organisers come in handy so that the tweezers you need urgently don’t slide to the back among the clips and cotton buds that inhabit the dark corners of bathroom storage. If you want to keep a clean-looking environment, then keep only your most-used creams etc. on view. Perhaps keep them on a silver tray or other beautiful dish, which is easy to lift so that the surface below can be cleaned.

8)    Good, flattering lighting is essential. Ban all of those down-lights which cast shadows onto the face and age you by a decade or more. Who could have dreamed up a worse soul-destroyer? Lighting beside the mirror is ideal and make sure it is bright enough to find an irritating lash in your eye, if necessary.

9)    Underfloor heating, while not obligatory, is certainly a bonus. Cold tiles underfoot on a cold morning start the day off on the wrong foot – so to speak. Together with a heated towel rail, this may be enough heating for the bathroom even if you don’t have central heating.

10) Make sure your windows are not see-through. Even if frosted or textured, most glass becomes at least partially see-through when the lights are on at night. Even if only a shadow can be seen, it is fairly easy to interpret what it is doing and that’s not really what you want in a bathroom. If your bathroom is overlooked by other houses, install an easily-cleanable blind of some sort which can be closed at night. Curtains are probably not a great idea because of the moisture which swirls about a bathroom – they will become mouldy in no time. And while we are speaking of what you are doing in a bathroom, it’s best to place the toilet out of sight of an opening door, just in case someone barges in. And it’s not a good look anyway to have a toilet the first thing you see when you enter – that’s just bad design.

Other than that, your imagination is your only limitation in creating your dream bathroom.

Millie Sampson - Maxwell Drycleaning

This week I have found out two remarkable things about Millie Sampson.

1)    She has worked at the drycleaners shop in Remuera for 25 years. For 18 of those it was NZ Drycleaners and for the last seven it has been Maxwells Drycleaning.

2)    Millie was a world class athlete, running the fastest marathon time in the world for women in 1964 and competing in several world championships in cross country running.

Millie came late to running and ran her first race on her 28^th birthday, which she won and then she kept winning.

She was the NZ cross country women’s champion in 1963, 1964 and 1965 before it was officially recognised as a race even though the women raced alongside the men at the same venue. But that was to change and she was officially the champion in 1966, 1968 and 1972. In 1967 she went off to the English Championships in England and came in third despite having fractured her foot during training. However, the injury was too severe for her to continue running and she missed out on the World Championships. But, at the 1969 World Championships (they were biannual) in Scotland, she won all the lead up races but fell sick with bronchitis and still managed to come in fifth. She also competed in the 1971 and 1973 World Championships in Spain and Belgium respectively but her foot was still troubling her and she decided after that to retire from running.

Millie was always passionate about sport. In fact, one of her school reports said that if Millie dedicated herself to her schoolwork with the same energy she gave to sports she would have excelled academically.

She didn’t only run. Through the 1950’s she played for the Auckland softball team and was in the Auckland basketball team for ten years during the 1960’s.

Millie has always loved working in Remuera and being in the middle of it all and has watched her customer’s children grow up and become clients themselves.

She is unmarried and has no children but enjoys her extended family and has heaps of friends so she is never bored or in need of company. She gave up on making New Year’s resolutions years ago and her philosophy on life is to live for today. Great advice indeed from a superb athlete and wonderful lady.

Strong Finish for Real Estate Sales in December 2011

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand has just released the statistics for December and it is looking positive for Auckland. We had 5,316 unconditional sales for the month, up 919 sales (+20.1%) compared to December last year. That is the best December result since 2007. Auckland also recorded its strongest December sales volumes since 2006.

The national median ‘days to sell’ remained steady at 35 days in December, and is a four day improvement on the 39 days recorded in December 2010. In Auckland it took an average of 31 days to sell.

REINZ Chief Executive Helen O’Sullivan said, “December has been a strong month for real estate sales in New Zealand, with this being the strongest level of transaction figures in December since 2007, and Auckland having its strongest December since 2006.”

The graph below makes interesting viewing and shows our slow climb back with a few bumps along the way.

Source REINZ News Release: www.reinz.co.nz

Blue Illusion – Pamela Landers

Blue Illusion opened in Remuera last April and what a wonderful addition it is to the great array of shops along the main road. This was the first of the chain to open with Botany, Milford and Riccarton following not far behind. The next one will be in Ponsonby.

Pamela Landers has been the manager in Remuera since it first opened and has helped establish the brand here in New Zealand. She is a soft beauty with a gentle manner but, I suspect, a strong core. Her husband died when her children were young and she brought up her three boys alone, moving them to New Zealand from South Africa four years ago. The eldest of her sons, Garth, is a barrister and solicitor in Kensington Swan's commercial department, the middle one is an economist while the youngest studies psychology at University. She was determined to bring them up as gentlemen and they still open car doors for women and stand up when a woman comes into the room. It’s heart warming to find such manners have not completely died out with the present generation.

Pamela was attracted to working for Blue Illusion because she loves to be surrounded by beautiful objects and knew she would find like-minded people in such a shop. In fact she says she has amazing customers and thoroughly enjoys meeting them. As much as she loves everything she sells, her favourite object at the moment is a lamp with a blown glass base (see photos).

Pamela lives up to her image and chooses to read romances in her spare time but enjoys the occasional suspense as well. Her favourite movie of all time is Blind Side with Sandra Bullock because her sons bought it for her, telling her that the Sandra Bullock character reminded them of her – tough but fair.

Pamela’s New Year’s resolution is to be careful with money because she needs it for travelling. Last year she went on holiday to Fiji and next on the agenda is Bali with Thailand after that.

Her philosophy on life is to do unto others as she would have them do unto her and to always give a smile. A smile has a ripple effect which can brighten the day of many people.

If you wish to see unique clothes with a French flavour or need to buy a special gift for someone, then do pop into Blue Illusion – it is a truly lovely shop and you will get great service.