Lynne’s Update
Hi, I Have been working at AJs for four months now, during this time I have been enjoying getting to know everybody and learning how AJ’s runs.
Time at AJ’s has been flying by, the workroom has been bustling, with many people involved with work contracts from local businesses. It’s been an eyeopener to see how everybody (staff and clients) chip in and contribute to what needs to be done to get a job to completion. I often witness satisfied faces as people master jobs they haven’t done before (such as the recent Pro-Kiwi Jacket job) and do favourite jobs that they love (such as the paper for Orana Park and the Aucom job). As a new kid on the block it has been inspiring to witness the teamwork and camaraderie that occurs at AJs.
I feel lucky as I get to take the Wednesday walking group. Each Wednesday Matthew K, Nick F and Harley A and I set off for a dopamine enhancing walk to increase our fitness and hopefully catch some sunshine. In keeping with our fitness goal, we have a healthy option fruit morning tea (on colder/drizzly days we have opted for a hot chocolate). We go on a variety of different walks around Christchurch such as the Harry Elle Track, Travis Wetlands, Hagley Park, river walks, and city Street Walks. All the guys are great company Matthew usually leads the charge; he sets a cracking pace for the rest of us to follow. Harley and Nick like to speak to dog owners to encourage them to give their dogs a treat and thank road maintenance workers for all their hard work, often eliciting smiles and conversation and Nick is great company keeping us up to date with his latest holidays. When the weather has been too nasty to go for a walk, we have been able to go to Mega Air Trampoline Centre where we bounce, shoot hoops (good slam-dunks), play Dodgeball, and follow the leader. Matthew has demonstrated his foot juggling skills.
On Thursdays I take the TimeZone group. Chris and I go every week and each week we are joined by two others on a rotating cycle from Anthony, Georgia, Jack, Josh, Kyle and Nick T, Paul R and Simon. We try out a variety of cafés for morning tea and so far, the guys have indicated that they have enjoyed all of them. Recently we have tried cafes close to AJ’s such as the Daily Latte and Tea Room on Stanmore Road, and Under the Red Veranda. At Time Zone the aim is to have fun (and they definitely do !!!) as there are over 100 games to choose from and everybody approaches this differently, with some eager to try what’s new. Chris loves to play the racing games like Daytona and Mario Kart and The Big Sweet Candy Pusher, Jack loves the drumming game, Nick T enjoys shooting bottles, the new Nerf Arcade and NBA Hoops basketball, Georgia loves shooting the dinosaurs and driving games, Simon and Josh both enjoy shooting the dinosaurs with water guns and the 10-pin bowling game, Kyle and Paul R enjoy a variety of games preferring the classic arcade type games like down the clown and bean bag toss.
On Thursday afternoons I have supported the T-Ball team (the AJ team didn’t quite make it to the finals this year but they really enjoyed themselves anyway ) and more recently with the end of the T-Ball season we (10 players and 3 supporters ) have changed to Poly-bat and table tennis.
