For everyone outside of Auckland, this weekend sees a relative return to normalcy. Sunday brunch is an option again, as is getting out and about with friends and family. For those in Auckland however, it's another weekend at home. If you feel the monotony kicking in then check out some of these suggestions for new activities to try with your bubble.
Flow it out
Moving your body in lockdown is vital to your mental and physical wellbeing. It's your own essential work. And while it can seem harder to exercise under level 4 restrictions, it's also possible that with so many movement providers going online, this is an opportunity to try out something different that you otherwise may not have had easy access to. If you're looking to mix things up this week, check out Niki Loe on Instagram. She's a yoga and Pilates teacher, personal trainer, myofascial movement coach, registered naturopath, medical herbalist and nutritionist. She is offering her unique "Flow" classes over Zoom which she describes as "the core and alignment principles of Pilates, the strength and grace of yoga, and the freedom to move in a way that brings you to life". It's impossible not to have your spirits lifted by a class with Niki, she exudes a warmth and a joy for life that is just the kind of energy we all need right now.
Go to Niki's website for the full schedule of classes and to register. $15 per 60-minute class.
Streaming guide
Looking for some new lockdown viewing? Calum Henderson has pulled together a definitive list of what's hot right now.
From American Rust to Scenes From a Marriage - there's plenty of suggestions to keep you entertained.
Supercars Eseries
Is there a gamer in your bubble? Now they can put their skills to the test with the Auckland Supercars Eseries Wildcard Tournament. Budding esport racers can enter the qualifier round by completing their fastest lap time in the Auckland Supercars Eseries Wildcard Time Attack session. The top 10 racers will compete in the live final on September 23 and the Wildcard winner will go on to compete in the Cash Converters Supercars Eseries against professional motorsport drivers on September 29. Video game development is big business in Aotearoa so even if you're not a gamer yourself, why not tune into the live Eseries events and see what esport racing is all about.
Saturday and Sunday: compete in the qualifiers at the iracing website.
September 23, 8pm: Auckland Supercars Eseries Wildcard Tournament live broadcast on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7 Plus and Supercars Facebook, Twitch and YouTube pages. For more information head here.
Motat fun
Those of you condemned to another week of homeschooling can find some fun resources and activities on the Motat website. If you feel like little eyes are watching you at every moment of every day, then direct those budding spies to the neat code-breaking activities, where they can test their aptitude for cyber-espionage with five missions. Kids who like facts can take one of the quizzes and kids who love to get hands-on with activities can follow the easy instructions to make their own lava lamp, among other cool, and educational, craft activities.
There are online puzzles to complete, colourings to print out and at-home treasure hunts to do. Life locked down with little ones can be rough but it's possible one or more of these activities could buy you 10 minutes (or more) to have a cup of tea or answer an email.
Go to motat.fun
What to read
Trick Mirror, by Jia Tolentino
For Jia Tolentino, writing is a guide, a sometimes wending way to shed a kind of confusion that sits at odds with her temperament. As a writer, this makes her incredibly perceptive and equally inquisitive; as a reader, it makes her writing able to break your brain. In her debut essay collection, Trick Mirror, released in 2019, the journalist excavates everything from the internet and the economy of online attention to beauty, morality and her brief stint on a reality TV show as a teenager. When things feel uncertain, or fundamentally adrift, there's a comfort to joining Tolentino on her quest for clarity. The result is an illuminating, often funny, even searing ride through popular culture and its currents that shape us, with the elucidating direction, one feels, only Tolentino can provide.
Going West live
If previously you considered yourself too busy or exhausted to venture out to Titirangi for the Going West Festival, the silver lining of this lockdown is that you get to engage in some high quality literary korero from the comfort of your couch. First up, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman, is an hour of discussion and readings by Charlotte Grimshaw, Lana Lopesi, Alison Jones and Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, about their lives as young women and how our world views change as we age. The next online event, Queer Agendas, is facilitated by playwright Victor Rodger who will discuss what might be on the queer agenda in the 21st century with authors Mark Beehre and Jack Remiel Cottrell. Monday night's "Multi-Verse" features performance poets Angela Zhang, Simone Kaho, Takunda Muzondiwa, Kyla Manalili Dela Cruz in a dialogue about resistance with Aiwa Pooamorn and Gemishka Chetty, the co-creators of Go Home Curry Muncher. Nourish your mind with live and lively literary and cultural conversations this weekend.
Saturday, Sunday and Monday 7.30pm. Head to the website join. Free, however, donations are welcome.
What to wear
What the world needs now is love, sweet love. Designer Abby Melton, of label Lover Lover, was all set for her first NZ Fashion Week showing — and, well we all know what happened. While NZFW 2021 may be postponed, you can still support New Zealand designers. We heart these statement earrings by Lover Lover, designed and made in New Zealand.
The Lover Lover range is bright and bold — and so are their names, like the gorgeous green dazzling design called Madame Rach.
What to eat
If you've had enough of baking bread, scrolls, or whatever the latest lockdown food recipe trend is then here's something different for you. The humble egg. Eggs are such a useful, versatile and nutritious food and Annabel Langbein has shared some great ways to use them this weekend.
Check out some of her favourite egg recipes here.
Someday Stories
When a global pandemic has you pondering what the future looks like, the place to turn to for answers has to be our young people. Someday Stories is a series of digital short films made by budding young film-makers, aged 18-29, that span drama, documentary and mockumentary. This is the fifth series of films to come out of the Someday Stories creative development and mentoring platform and features six films, including the first Kapampangan (Filipino) and New Zealand cross-generational story and films about men's mental health, fracking, a fictitious internet troll agency and Aotearoa's natural environment. On Monday, He Takatapui Ahau will be released — an important story by takatapui (LGBTQIA+) creative Alesha Ahdar that explores the role of gender on the marae. The films are being released Mondays and Wednesdays for the month of September and are a brilliant way to find out just what is in the forefront of young minds today.
Mondays and Wednesdays in September, streaming on PlayStuff, RNZ, Maori Television On Demand, as well as the Someday Stories website, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.
