2007 here I come!!

Welcome back to my blog .... yeah I've been pretty slow at updating it, but 2007 is going to be a year of fun, adventure, and plenty of stuff to be documented :-)

Right now its horrendously late and I should be in bed, so ... nothing new there. haha. What's been happening lately? Well....

If you read my other blogs its been up and down. Been a sad time lately with the shock death of someone I've known since he was a kid. I haven't been friends with him during that time, but my brother was really good mates with him, and I had the pleasure of getting to know him a bit more in the last couple of years. So that's woken me up to a few things.

Aside from that its been a busy year so far. Starting with a great new years, followed by a 4 day trip which I technically think of as an extension of my new years. I'll post a bit of a blog about that once I have the photos to go with it. It was awesome!!

Some of you may or may not know that I started mountainbiking last july, after not being on a bike in 10 years ... well I was kinda thrown in the deep end but I loved it. I did my first race on the 4th february. Now when I say "race", let's bear in mind that I didn't train for it, nor am I that good at it yet, but my aim was to complete it. The race was 18.75km through the ups and downs of riverhead forest, and as you can tell I made it out alive, with many bruises though, hehe. I loved it. It's part of a 3 race series, I came 26th out of 44 people, and next time I'm hoping to get in the top 20 ... but I won't be gutted if I don't, I'll be happy if I finish cos this one is longer. I seem to have a bit of a thing for events this year, I like having a goal (although I'm really really slack at training with my work schedule!), I like the feeling of succeeding at something, and its a year of challenging myself.

Which leads me to my next bit of news...

I'm heading to the states in the beginning of June for 4-5 months ... spending 3 months at Frenchwoods festival of the arts as a stage manager. So I'll be basically in charge of keeping the shows running smoothly. These kids are amazing, 6-18 year olds with an awesome amount of talent. Check out the website: www.frenchwoods.com

So it'll be 3 months there and then travelling round the states a bit, that part is still unorganised, but hey gimme time, I only made a decision on it all a week ago! :-)

Alrighty, 1.20am, time for bed!! I promise I'll keep this up to date now :-)

life's lessons - c/- Andy Atkinson

It's funny how such a tragic event such as an unexpected death can really put everything into perspective. Whether you're the person's best friend, or they're someone you'd met years ago but gotten to know better in the last couple of years. It's amazing how someone can have such a huge impact on you, not only through their life, but also through their death.
Today I went to the funeral of Andy Atkinson ... a guy who lived against many obstacles, setbacks, illness, but lived a fuller life than most of us who are well and living a "normal" life. He impacted people wherever he went, and it was evident by the fact there were probably close to 1500 people at the funeral today. He'd battled illness with chrones disease since the age of 13, yet ironically it was a fun jump into a river off a bridge that took his life.
As it was mentioned at the funeral, he jumped into the air as the centre of attention and God reached out his hand to catch him. We might not understand why he had to go now, it doesn't seem right, or fair. It helps to know without a doubt where he has gone, and to know that at least someone (God) has the bigger picture. But it doesn't make it easier to get your head around the whole situation. A 22 year old who'd gotten his health back to a great level, had his latest business venture take off like a fire, and put a little bit.... no actually a lot.... of his personality and charisma into every situation. Andy shone not only as an entrepeneur, an adventure seeker, a true friend to those he was close to, a people lover, but most of all as a constant reflection of who God had created him to be. He loved God with all his heart, and even his diary entry the day before his death showed his hearts cry for people who needed his help and God's help. He had a heart after God's purpose for his life, and even through his illness at the lowest points, he showed strength in his faith which has been a lesson to all those around him. Any of us who weren't that close to him during the worst of his sickness heard many stories today of a young man who was so determined not to let his circumstances control who he was or how he lived. He pushed life to its limits, rather than allowing life to limit him, and he's an inspiration to us all.
It's been a wake up call to me today...I've already been thinking alot lately about not living a life of mediocrity, but today it became so much clearer. Andy reminded me, even through his funeral that God has so many plans for each of us, but we have to have our eyes in the right direction to see where we should be going. He showed me that nothing is impossible ... or at least that you can't say it is until you've given it a try. He wasn't afraid to try new things, in fact he lived his life on a constant of new inventions, ideas, friends, he never stopped doing what he loved. He loved anything that took him closer to people, and allowed him to impact their life and show them what was important in his life. His faith reminded me to check my own heart and my focus in life, to keep focussed on what's real to me, on what means the most to me, and the people around me. I don't doubt for a minute that Andy is with God now, with no pain or suffering from the symptoms of crones which would have come back at some stage. He's having the most awesome fun ever, where he can't hurt himself doing so, and can do as many flips as he wants!

Whatever Andy did he did it to reach people... he was infectious in the best of ways, and I have the utmost respect for him for that. He may be gone, but never forgotten, and has left many lessons in my heart through his life and his death, a lot more than what I've talked about here. I pray for his family, especially his twin brother Dave. I can't imagine the pain of losing someone so close. But I know God is watching over them all, and I know Andy's smiling down thinking how cool it was that his hearst got a police escort out of the church carpark today If you knew him you'd smile at that. If you knew him you'd smile even just at the thought of the person he was.

RIP Andy ... see you in eternity. I know you're up there partying in heaven, who though heaven could get any more fun, but now you're there it'll be awesome!! just wish you hadn't gone so soon.

Gone but not forgotten

Fun-loving mate lived life to the full
By ALICE TEGG - North Shore Times
Friday, 2 February 2007




FREE SPIRIT: Andrew Atkinson died when he failed to resurface after a jump from a bridge over the Waikato River.

Mourners at today's funeral for Takapuna man Andrew Atkinson will remember a guy who lived his life to its fullest. The 22-year-old died after back-flipping from the Narrow Bridge over the Waikato River on Sunday.

Mr Atkinson had travelled to Hamilton to attend the Parachute Christian music festival at Mystery Creek with a group of friends from the Christian City Church in Auckland.

With him was close friend Josh Coburn, who spoke to the North Shore Times on behalf of the family.

Mr Coburn described him as the most popular guy he had met, an entrepreneur who was always cracking jokes and having fun. "He was a real character, the sort that made him the life of the party."

Mr Atkinson grew up in Takapuna with his parents Peter and Johneen , and three other brothers, including his twin David. He was a former Takapuna Grammar student.

He was actively involved in the church as a youth leader and musician and had helped run the Primal youth programme for four years. Mr Coburn says the East Coast Bays programme, which Mr Atkinson helped run last year, attracted a large group of 14 to 18-year-olds who looked up to him. "He was somebody who made a lot of time for people and treated them like his peers."

Mr Atkinson had crohns disease, an inflammatory bowel condition, but his friend says he never let it get the better of him. The past two years had been especially tough but after several operations he had regained his strength this summer. In fact just before his death he had said he felt as strong as ever , Mr Coburn says. "He wasn't really someone who was dictated to by the consequences of that illness."

Soon after one operation he went snowboarding, much to the horror of concerned family members and friends. Mr Atkinson had always maintained it was his faith that got him through tough times, Mr Coburn says. He was also a keen kitesurfer, skateboarder and surfer. After school Mr Atkinson had dabbled in a variety of small business ventures and other jobs "just doing the things he loved", Mr Coburn says.

Today's funeral is at the Harbourside church on Esmonde Rd. Mr Coburn says the family expects a large crowd. Christian City Church held a memorial service yesterday to give his friends more of a chance to celebrate his life.

Mr Coburn says Mr Atkinson "took his camera around with him everywhere" and the memorial service featured his music, film clips and photos.