reminding myself ..

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

steamy sunday iv

Steamy Sundays for #31WriteNow would be incomplete without the steamy being that is Robbie Magasiva.  If you have a tendency to stalk like I do then like the Magasiva Broz on facebook.  Enough said.  Just look and enjoy.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

rising voices

I went to my first poetry slam Poetry Idol as part of the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival in May this year leaving me in awe of the inspiring talent that hit the stage.

In a little under 3 weeks New Zealand's biggest youth poetry slam will be taking place to see who will be the 3rd ever Rising Voices Poetry Slam winner!  Book your tickets and go!

For the skeptics and those who are new to spoken word, here is a taste of poetry slam with from Poetry Idol judge Selina Tusitala Marsh (as well as other poets by default of the video clip) and Zane Scarborough of the South Auckland Poets Collective and current Poetry Idol winner for the second consecutive year.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

fail friday

I fell asleep before I could muster enough strength to put fingers to keyboard and write a post even mildly interesting.  Too much energy expended on working incredibly hard followed by an evening of food and laughter with my Best.  To the Island guy who referred to us as Chocolate Latte while passing by, next time come up to us and talk.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

inspired by the factory story episode 4

If you take note of any of my tweets or know me in real life, you will know that I love food, food loves me and I am always on about being hungry.  Without a shadow of a doubt, my weakness is for anything remotely Samoan when it comes to men. food.  To make things even worse, I come from a family of food bests - my mum with sapasui, my cousin with keke pua'a and my aunties with pagipopo, pai fala .. anything baked really, leaving me with a penchant for fine Samoan cuisine - if there is such a thing!  But of all the Samoan cuisine I loved the most growing up, it was luau and ulu fresh off the plane via the umu.  As much as I am ever so delighted to receive a gift of taro chips these from anyone who has recently returned from Samoa, it does not affect my family in the same way luau and ulu once did in bringing my family together to hear the stories our travelers had brought with them from home and to share a meal around the same table, or in this case, crammed into some Aunty's lounge.  Those were the days!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

the bone bearer book launch

It was with great pleasure that I attended the book launch for Lani Wendt Young's much anticipated book The Bone Bearer - part 3 of the Telesā trilogy.  If you did not make it to the book launch then you certainly missed out!  The vibe was chilled, the smell of delicious Island treats alluring, the performances incredibly enjoyable,Yolande the MC hilarious, the crafts, clothing and jewellery beautiful and there was Lani doing fabulously with meeting all the people who lined up to say hello, have their books signed and photos taken.

I must confess, I did one of those school girl jumping squealy things in the privacy of my own home as I took my copy of The Bone Bearer out of my handbag for several reasons, but most of all, it was a celebration of Lani's journey and literary accomplishments thus far.  It has been amazing to see what I like to call the Telesā heat spreading, evolving, from what started as a single flame.  And I am ecstatic to finally read the story of Daniel and me according to Lani.

This is me - Leila 'Afakasi.

how is this for a welcome?

I was recently reacquainted with T-Mobile's Welcome Home advertisement featuring a few of my favourite tunes which I had completely forgotten about.  This video never fails to put a smile on my face or make me laugh out loud 1 minute and 56 seconds in.  Simply put, I think this video is AMAZING!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

i'm nearly out

Ideally the above picture would have been me today, only I barely slept last night, I had to be at the office earlier than usual this morning, my breakfast of one tall caffè macchiato did virtually nothing to stop me feeling like I had been hit by a train, work was a beehive of busy busy busy and I am just not that tanned!

There are many loves in my life and one of them is any kind of quality fruity moisturising lotion or body butter and PURE FIJI is one of my absolute favourite brands.  Coming home after a mental Monday at work to a nice shower followed by some PURE FIJI body butter makes for feeling amazing during the relax and unwind.

Sad to say I am nearly out of my body butter supply and I wish the stuff was not so damn expensive to buy here.  I cannot justify 46NZD for 235ml so it looks to me like I need to make some Fijian friends!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

steamy sunday iii

The steamy tattooed bodies of the Braxtons make watching Home and Away a breeze.  My favourite of the brothers is Darryl 'Brax' Braxton played by Steve Peackocke because he of course has a steamy body with tattoos (probably fake, but who cares!), he is a bad boy trying to go good and his character is one that commands respect.  I am most excited that Steve will be starring in Hercules: The Thracian Wars as Stephanos alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as Hercules.  The film is set to be released in July 2014.  Bring it!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.