Kia ora, welcome to clipboard, an occasional newsletter about good shit in Tāmaki Makaurau by me, Reilly Hodson. Today, I return to my non-work laptop after a long hiatus to complain about the bad weather and shit vibes, and share some good things, too.
marea (we’ve lost dancing)
On Monday 30 January, I was supposed to be roasting in the sun, crying to Phoebe Bridgers, yelling along to Haim and getting tipsy on sugarfree RTDs with my nearest and dearest, back at Laneway for the first time since 2020, a lifetime ago. The weather had other plans.
In the scheme of the shitshow that was that weekend, missing out on a concert (for which I’ll be refunded, eventually…) doesn’t rank very highly, but it rocked me, and it sums up what has been, frankly, a pretty rubbish summer season here in Tāmaki Makaurau. I’ve got seasonal affective disorder roughly 6 months too early, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.
This is the first time I’ve opened my personal laptop in a good while, which has been the result of first a no-work-no-writing holiday over Christmas and New Years, then a stressful start to the work year, coupled with what is a overall sense of straight up bad vibes. The causes of those bad vibes for me include in no particular order:
The weather is bad
Everything is pretty expensive
Soon I might have to pay for my own Netflix subscription?
The beaches aren’t safe to swim in
Laneway happened in Australia and it’s showing up on my TikTok feed
The local and national governments don’t seem to be very ambitious for positive change
I have occasional existential angst about my career and future
People, governments and businesses continue to not take climate change seriously even though I learnt it as fact in year 3 and have been stressing about it since
I sold my car to be a good environmental citizen and then the public transport system went into meltdown
It’s all combining into just a general bad feeling, and one that hits that little bit harder for those of us who pinned all our hopes for our mental state on this being the perfect summer.
Anyway, if you too are feeling this way, I’m right there with you, and we’ll get through it all together.
As an aside, I have no idea what I want to do with this newsletter this year, so do let me know what you’d like to see on Instagram or in an email. Let’s do some links.
clips
This article from Stuff about an NZ dress “designer” reselling dresses from Shein at a massive markup and passing them off as his own is an indictment on the fashion industry, capitalism, and a great argument for real PR representation. I can’t imagine how a real independent designer who cuts patterns and manufactures their clothes would feel reading this.
My new favourite place for a drink in town after work is No. 7, which does $10 happy hour natural wines from 5pm-7pm. The vibes are great, and once the CRL opens (lol) it will be right on the doorstep of Karangahape Station.
If recent events have you wondering whether our council system is up to snuff, this article from Hayden Donnell in Metro will give you some backing for your anger at your next dinner party.
New York Magazine’s “New Rules” is pure group-chat, read-aloud-and-debate-over-a-drink fodder - no notes, great content
The recent weather is a perfect excuse to buy Gore-Tex Salomons, if you needed one.
The best reality TV show in the world, Celebrity Treasure Island, is back and better than ever on TVNZ+. Appointment viewing Monday-Wednesday.
That’s all for this issue of clipboard, thanks for reading! Apologies for the downbuzz but sometimes you need a lil catharsis before the links, ya know? As I say, I’m figuring out what to do with clipboard this year and have still not cracked it, so I welcome any Instagram DMs or emails.