Surprise Day

Yesterday I met four other people with an interest in photography. You'd think that would only happen if you went to a place where others with the same hobby were expected to be, wouldn't you?

But no, yesterday I went to an Induction Programme for new staff where I work. One of those occasions when wou go expecting something and find something else altogether different. A bit like the time I went to the movies thinking the movie was about a World War II heroine and it turned out to be Poltergeist! Still don't know how I got that one wrong.

Mind you, I did learn a lot about the organisation yesterday, too. But during the very first activity, in a little "getting to know you" exercise we broke into groups of three and had to find something in common. Helen from Kaitaia (way, way up north) said "photography" and Kirsten and I whooped. So there we were - the beautiful young marketing manager, the middle aged administrator and the between aged lady with the teaching background with a common passion.

During the break while we three were chattering like a flock of magpies Ian, the safety man, managed to get our attention long enough to tell us of his interest in photography as well. And before the end of the day we'd found another enthusiast, a young programme manager.

We're going to meet up next time Helen is visiting from Kaitaia in a couple of weeks and talk about seeing if there are other camera buffs on campus who might like to form a casual club. Photography is taught as part of the Arts degree so obviously there is at least one knowledgable person there. We discovered there is a fantastic photography section in the library, too.

And Kirsten, upon hearing about our Friday shoot outs, rushed home and created her own blog. I expect she will be joining us this week. There's only one photo to be seen on her blog at the moment but I have a feeling it won't stay that way for long.

Welcome, Kirsten.