Dorothie and I headed up to Auckland for the Cirque du Soleil show "Quidam". About 4 years ago John went and saw Saltimbanco with Richard Norton and was adamant that if ever cirque came to NZ we had to see it. Well in 2002 the played Aligrea in Auckland, so on John's advice we went and saw it. It was fantastic. Although not the same show that John and Richard saw it was still breath taking.

So naturally when I found out they were bringing Quidam to NZ I booked and we went this weekend. This is a big rant so I'll break it into the good and the bad. First the Bad!

Bad – Super shuttles! We had booked everything through Trips (see the good) and one of the things we booked were transfers with Super shuttles (last trip they were good) Well, we had the privilege of waiting in the van at the airport for 30 mins while our driver waited for more passengers. Not other booked passengers just casuals to fill the van. Our trip started with the driver running a stop sign and cutting off a 4x4 with a family in it (something he had to accelerate to do) and it’s all down hill from there. The driver (189 Thomas 74) should not be on the roads let alone driving in the transport industry. To top it off a 25-minute trip took 35 and cost us $2 less then the return 25 min taxi ride.

We also tried to book a shuttle to the show; I had to confirm this by phone at the hotel, as I couldn’t understand the driver. (“No speak the good England”) The trip to the show took 20 minutes and cost $45.00!!! (Different driver) The return taxi trip took 15 minutes (heavier traffic) and cost $19.00!! Verdict Super shuttles Blow!

Bad - Queen st. dirty smelly and not inviting, ate at a food court in the cinema complex – Dorothie got food poisoning! So she spent the whole of Sunday in bed very ill. Verdict - Queen st Blows!

Now, the good stuff.

Good – The Duxton! Friendly, accommodating, clean and unobtrusive!

Good – The show. Quidam was totally different from Aligrea in feel and performers. Our seats were 4 rows from the front and the view was fantastic. Several of the performances were outstanding, but the one that sticks in my mind the most is the strong partnership of Marie-Laure Mesnage & Tves Decoste. Unbelievable strength and symmetry. Words cannot describe the way these two methodically worked through their routine as if it were a walk in the park and not a display of balance, timing, flexibility and power, the like of which I have never seen before. They didn’t even break a sweat! Great show!

Good – Nathan Rarere – So, we book into the hotel. Then decide to head downtown for some shopping and food. We get into 1 of the 2 lifts and travel down 3 floors where the lift stops to pick up 2 people. Nathan and his partner Kelly (must be a model, she is hot).

As soon as I see him I’m blown away, I say hi, and he says, “ Geoff, how are you”.
I’ve met Nathan once! And he remembers me and what my name is??? Talk about making my year. Kelly says he still talks about the seminar and meeting Royce. So we chat for a bit and I try to impress on him how great the Sportzah! Piece was for BJJ NZ and GSW as well. It’s not till later that I realise that I didn’t give him my card or say half the things I wanted to. I did thank him and tell him that we owe him a lot for his publicity. (What are the chances of that, same city, same hotel, and same lift at that moment???)

Good – Trips. - Through the ASB Bank I’ve gained a ton of rewards points using the CC. So I converted them into flight and accommodation. Unfortunately I was so busy at the end of the year that I forgot to organise it all. I’ve had the tickets for 6months and knew we were going. So I finally got onto Trips and they sorted everything by Email in 2 days between Xmas and New Year. Legendary!

Fortunately the good totally outweighed the bad and the trip was well worth it. It does make me wonder now about Wellingtons transport providers.

I know at my work (Post Haste) there are some complete dicks with no personality or people skills and it makes me wonder how they interact with their clients or the general public. I’d hate to think that I was being judged by the service they provided, rather than the service I provide. One of the reasons I made a note of the shuttle drivers names, so I could specifically complain about them as individuals rather than the company as a whole.

Anyway thanks for reading see you at class. [/EndRant]