Gone too soon

I was about to launch into my second memoir 2001.

I then had to check my facebook briefly...you know how it goes.

A student at the College I teach at passed away today succumbing to the wrath of cancer. This was the third student death I have encountered during my career. The first two were suicides.

My memory of this student was positive. I remember him dressed as Scooby Doo at athletics day. While I never personally taught him, he used his illness in a positive way - to help others. There was never a point where he wanted sympathy. Instead, he campaigned to get funds to help others with cancer. This included the sale of Canteen bandanas at school (not normally allowed due to gang affiliations). All students got right in behind it and the school was a rainbow of colours for a week. He was on Good Morning for his cause. When it became known that there was nothing more that could be done, he still came to school, went to classes and continued on as normal as can be.

My last memory of him was at the leavers dinner last year, when the Principal thanked him for his strength, and his spirit. He lived his life to the fullest.

Life is precious. We must remember to live each day as if it was our last.

R.I.P David

Memoirs of the last decade....2000

Although there are arguements on when the new decade actually begins, I am taking the view that 2010 is the start of the 10's (does it then become teens in 2013?). For myself, a lot has happened in the last decade to shape me the way I am today so Im doing a concise memoir of each year with personal events as well as notable other events in the world.

The Year 2000

Do you remember this campaign??

The stress that the computers would not be able to deal with going from 1999 to 2000, and the campaign that followed where we had to have emergency supplies for 3 days. I remember my parents going to extremes of sorts, and am sure we would still have supplies today left over. I also remember my Dad getting cranky when I said to my friends to come on over if they were stuck - they should be more organised and look after themselves -oookkk. Y2K was a non event - nothing happened out of the ordinary and life went on.

For New Years I was in the Octagon with Frances, Fiona, and Dana (not sure if anyone else). I also remember walking to the waterfront in Dunedin and watching fireworks on the harbour, then waiting hours and hours outside Pak 'n' Save for a taxi with achy feet.

In 2000 I was in my last year of Uni. I had completed my BA in Anthropology in 1999, and was finishing my BSc in Zoology and discoved geography which I loved - especially Climatology. I finished the BSc, and applied for Teachers College all over the country - getting into every one. This involved me going to the North Island for the first time (Yes - I was 22). As I went to interviews in Wellington, Auckland, and Palmy with Davanea taking me everywhere. I saw the Sky City tower and watch the Matrix on the giant MAX screen.

In the world....

2000 was the Year of International Peace

Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia

A preliminary draft of the Human Genome Project was completed

There seems to have been a lot of plane crashes

Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics

George W Bush defeats Al Gore in one of the more dodgy elections I have seen, as Florida could not count their voting papers properly

New Zealander Alan MacDiarmid won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry (came from Masterton)