So. Come November 29, Fiji’s getting Dailylight saving.

Hmmm. Not too sure what to make of this. There is much debate on the pros and cons of daylight saving, and how it will affect people’s everday living. Personally, I’m still trying to recall how it affected me back in the late 90s (when was the exact year?) when the government had implemented the same decree. I guess the fact that I can’t quite remember means that it didn’t really cause strife in my daily routine. Of course, I was in college, so aside from study hours being slightly skewed (who am I kidding, what study?), there wasn’t much cause for concern.

These days however, as part of the working force, the outlook may be different compared to my (relatively) easy going days as a college student. Getting up early in the morning means waking up to a strange skyline which (I assume for most people who get up early) by normal hours, should already have the slight tints of dawn. And then there’s the added confusion in the first few days after the magic flash fast forward date, where people will be late for dental appointments, AA meetings and after school beatings all because someone forgot to adjust their time. Factor in most people’s fondness for “Fiji Time”, and you’ve got deadlines that fail at their jobs and rather turn into simple notes in the email your boss sent you about that report you were meant to send 2 hours ago. The boss’s wrath however, will be pretty much on time.

So I’m curious. What do you people think of Fiji’s daylight saving move? Do you think we could benefit from this ‘spring forward’ both economically (Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto says, “more light, more tourists, more money!”)* as well as peace of mind (Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto says, “more light, less robbers, more happy!”)*? Or are you miffed that – holy crap I just came across an article stating that Daylight saving can affect your health and wellbeing. Hmph. I guess that’s a pretty big argument against the whole deal.

There’s a poll! Let us know whether or not you’re with this whole get up an hour early deal or not. And post in the comments if you feel the need to vent/troll/hate/spam.

However, both events cannot occur without one of them suffering a setback. Sacrifices must be made, sides must be taken, choices must be made. For it would be impossible to honour both, for they demand the utmost involvement, and cannot be for a second disregarded.

I speak of course, of Earth Hour and the Hong Kong Sevens.

Earth Hour is basically ‘turn – yo – lights – down – lo – to – give – mutha – nachure – a – chance’ hour. Sponsored by WWE WWF, from 8pm to 9pm on Saturday, anyone and everyone who has a soft spot for climate change, will turn off their lights to show that yes, we can change our planet for the better. Bear in mind though, that ‘turn off your lights for one hour’ does not mean ‘turn your whole house off’, thank goodness for that. Several of my friends have stated that, come Saturday night, they will be switching off their lights, and enjoy the world el naturel. I dare the local clubs to try and follow suit, since darkness + alcohol = mosh pit from hell…

And in the red corner, weighing in at a hefty USD$150,000 for its prize pool, is the nation’s pride and joy, where heroes are born and loses are taken out on the television, our beloved Hong Kong 7s weekend tournament. No other rugby event, save for the 7s world cup itself, has drawn as much attention, swears and tears as the HK 7s. Fiji has a special place in Hong Kong. It is there that our mighty serevi first made his mark, and Fiji became known as the rugby powerhouse that is is today. When it comes to sevens rugby and the weekend, all patriotic fijians and fijians-at-heart know what to do. Clear your schedule, load up on the grog, and make sure there’s a working television nearby. Because this weekend, nothing will satisfy our thirst for revenge other then the blood loss of every team that comes our way.

So whats the big deal about these two events clashing on the weekend?

Earth Hour is going to happen between 8pm to 9pm Saturday the 29th. The Hong Kong 7s runs for three days, all of the games starting in the evening. The overlap was painfully obvious. The choice was difficult.

Come Saturday night, where will I be? Infront of the television, baying for blood, beer bottle in one hand, my friend’s collar, who is cheering for the non-fiji team, in the other? Or will it be outside, the house behind me in darkness, the stars shining forth in their el naturel beauty, the silent crickets happily chirping away in the night?

Of course, the obvious answer would be to celebrate both at once, watching the sevens games in the dark, all the lights turned out. But any self respecting rugby fan will tell you, not a China’s chance of winning the cup in Hong Kong. Because in rugby, there will always be two types of people watching it. The ones who cheer for the local team, and the ones who don’t. And when the local team doesn’t make the cut, someone has to pay. With light, it is easier for you to point out the losers who weren’t cheering for the majority team, and ensure that justice is dealt swiftly and surely.

So lights out during the Hong Kong match was a no go for me. It was either hippie hour or lose your voice the next day come Saturday night. In a last ditch effort, I decided to rationalize, and compare the advantages of each of the events, in the hope that the facts produced will help me choose.

Earth Hour: You might get laid during Earth Hour.

I’d be wrong in assuming that people concerned with the environment and all things flowery and techno trance are hippies, but you have to admit, in these sort of gatherings, chances are, one in forty people will have a soft spot for the ‘make love, not war pollution’ thing, with a strong affirmation towards the ‘love‘ part. You never know.

Hong Kong Sevens: You might get into a brawl during the Finals after seeing Fiji lose.

Nothing gets the blood going like a good ol’ scrap during a rugby game. What did that guy just say about Ryder? Who is that falla cheering for again? Why is he giving me a bad look? Mai. Bring out the fists, and let physical superiority take charge. The ultimate male bonding activity besides bus stop gossiping and smoking weed.

Winner: Earth Hour

Earth Hour: Its for a good cause. The future of the world is in your hands.

Blackmail never sounded so good when the ‘its for a good cause’ card is played. Earth hour is all about getting people to think of caring for the environment more, and thinking less about that silly rugby game these simpletons are raving on about.

Hong Kong Sevens: Its for a good cause. We might actually beat New Zealand this time.

In Fiji, there are only two constants when it comes to intensely hating something. The New Zealand rugby team (both sevens and fifteens) and expensive taxi rides. Any game between Fiji and New Zealand is marked by extreme high blood pressure, shouting and hair tearing, and a considerable amount of alcohol consumed to dull the pain should we go down fighting. And thats been happening alot lately. Fingers will be crossed this weekend.

Winner: Hong Kong Sevens

Earth Hour: You’d be saving an hour’s worth of electricity

We’re all bargain hunters by nature. Nobody likes to pay the actual price of a product/service, and would, at times, go through extreme means in order to get a discount of a few cents. But you know what they say. A few cents today, a few dollars tomorrow. Which is why saving an hour’s worth of electricity come Saturday night seems slightly appealing. I’m not quite sure how much you’d be saving, but the key operative word here would be ‘saving’. And surely that must account for something

Hong Kong Sevens: You’d be cheering for Fiji. Period.

There’s this theory I read awhile ago that details something about the collective/psychological nature of multitudes of people doing something at the same time. Put it down as scientific bullshit, but somehow, deep down inside, I have this silly notion that if enough of Fiji cheered for their team during the games, if enough fans willed the country’s ambassadors on the field on, then, should Fiji lose, we know it wasn’t because we didn’t cheer for them hard enough…

Winner: Depends on how patriotic you are…

I was going to continue with debating the above, when I realized the obvious. Check the times, and see exactly what games fall between 8-9pm on Saturday night. Silly, yes I realize, but when your love for your country is called into question, you’d scramble eggs on your tummy Hot Shots style to convince anyone that you are that patriotic, let alone hammer out reasons why you’d support (insert worthy cause) for an hour.

Thankfully, the creatively named website Hong Kong Sevens has a schedule page, and after some annoying time zone conversions, the following results are as follows:

The highlighted yellow section is our now infamous 8-9pm evening earth hour slot, and as you can see, thankfully, the next Fiji game is at 9:50pm local standard nail biting time.

So all you hardcore face painting, earth loving, fiercely patriotic fans out there (and I take it there aren’t many of you), take heart in knowing that yes, both Earth Hour and the Hong Kong Sevens can be celebrated at the same time.

You can thank me by naming your kids after me.

It was roughly a year ago when my mate Keith badgered me to start a blog. Apparently I already had a sort of mini-blog going on at Deviant Art, but that was more of the usual ‘so I went to the store the other day’ sort of thing. Keith reckoned I needed to go proper, a blog endorsed by Blogger, and direct from Fiji. Of course, I didn’t see it that way, since there was one niggling question about the whole proposal.

My life wasn’t as exciting as I had thought it to be. I mean seriously, who the world over would want to read a blog about some bush dude all the way from some unknown country that they’ve never really heard about, save for a mention in The Truman Show.

It started slow, and as you can see from the archive list, Keith actually was the one who got things rolling.

Quite the Busy bee arn’t you?

It was by the 7th post that I managed to write something worth reading, even if it was lacking in the depth department. Starting out, we weren’t quite sure how this blog was going to turn out, let alone have a sense of direction, but suffice to say, we’ve found our voice.

99 posts and somewhat of a year later and here we are, and what a year it has been. Turns out Fiji is quite a happening place when it comes to quirkiness, and then some. From eating bats to Fiji’s first bloggers meet, people singing and dancing with pigs heads and even having a promotional campaign advert for an auckland mayor hopeful in the local papers

And to think that most non-locals think of Fiji as all palm beaches and ignorant half-naked natives and nothing else.

By golly we’re having fun!

The diagram below is our site statistics for the period from 21st July 2007 to the 4th February 2008. I didn’t start the stat counter till late July because I was an ass for not knowing these things. Consider things ‘known’ and duly noted.

		Page Loads	Unique Visitors	First Time Visitors	Returning Visitors
Total		7,857	4,397	2,883	1,514
Average		36	20	13	7

What was that spike in the page visit bar graph you might ask? That, my fellow readers, was the pole-hogging, brazilian-shining, eyebrow-raising post that garnered the most page views in this site’s short but volatile life. It is true what they say you know. Sex sells

“…and then you streeeeetch like so…”

Of course, stats are one thing. We’d like to hear what you have to say about this blog. What is your favourite post so far? Cast your vote on the right side of the screen, and if your choice isn’t listed, no problems, just drop a comment stating your favourite post and why it keeps you smiling/frowning/musing throughout the day.

What can you expect from here on out? It’s simple really.

Excluding the ‘faster’ part (hey, we’re still on Fiji-time ^_^), this new upcoming year we’re looking to expanding our horizons, conquer new grog conversations, improve the quality of life and find a cure for the common cold, neon lights not withstanding. Guest bloggers, events coverage and local product reviews are just some of the things you can look forward to from this blog, so if you haven’t already, press that adorable little ‘bookmark’ button and mark us under “Fiji, crazy, want moar.”

There’s plenty more from where that came from fer sure

Reminder: Our slogan competition still runs! Only two weeks left! Come up with a funky slogan for the blog and you could win an awesome t-shirt that’ll not only grant you the ability to withstand copious amounts of grog, but will also get you laid!

Or maybe you’ll just get the t-shirt.

1) Alcohol, and the effects there after…

2) Lovo, and the food that’s consumed there after…

image source: http://eecue.com Dave Bullock (eecue)

To be fair, both activities do go hand in hand, (massive generalization here, don’t send emails asking where I get my facts from, they are usually observed, not recorded) and are usually accomplished either one after the other, or at the same time, depending on how religious your father is. However, the closer you are to either the teenage years, or an alcoholic friend (whichever comes first), the more likely you, and everyone else around you is likely to indulge in the good ol’ happy juice.

image source: www.rayjeanne.com

Family get-togethers are almost always marked by a significant event, Christmas being the primary reason (though fundraising for a cause via the trusty bowl a.k.a. gunusede is another), and where there be families, there will be also food. Or lovo food to be exact. (ZOMG there’s a wikipedia entry!) The mainstay of all local family gatherings, lovo food generally spells death for countless pigs, chicken and healthy green dalo leaves everywhere, as the backyard hole is fired up once again, and the familiar smell of smoke and service station firewood permeates the senses, leaving behind a growling stomach and wishful thinking.

A small percentage really don’t bother with Christmas, considering it either a commercial ploy to get you to spend your hard earned cash, an excuse to stay home and catch up with the zzzzs, or simply an extra day to swipe the bowl. Whatever suits them to a T.

In the end, while our little poll may not be of Tebbutt quality, at the very least we are given a small peak as to how exactly do the cannibals here go about celebrating their Christmas. Of course, next on the local celebratory calendar – New Year.

Now that one’s guaranteed to be a cracker

Was there a Christmas where you actually didn’t do one of the above mentioned activities?