The Failings of the Parliamentary System

19 September: Friday was a remarkably droll day. Kara and I woke up then went to the uni where we...researched. I finally found some fun primary source documents, though they are not really adequate to directly quote from for my thesis because they aren't in the original languages (French, Latin, German, blah). I also mostly finished editing section one of my book, which was a big accomplishment. My book has five major sections and this is tied for second longest (i.e., I have to sections shorter than it). This section also had some of the longest articles with the most sources; many of my later long articles are based more on map analysis than quoted sources. Really, that was about it.

20 September: Things started picking up pace on Saturday. We checked out two apartments, neither especially close.

.:.sigh.:. Sire Java, update. Why do these apps always updated while I'm typing? Seriously!

The first apartment showed significant signs of earthquake damage and the owners admitted that it had been cleared so no repairs were made. The second place was much nicer. Both were near malls, which is good, and the first was on the major bus route to the uni, which is better. Between viewings, we checked out a KFC—a real one, not a mall one—and I baffled them completely when I asked for a mashed potatoes without gravy. Yeah, they really like their gravy here and they looked at me like I was absolutely nutters. But in my defence, even if I liked gravy, I prefer to get maybe 20% gravy, 80% potatoes. They like to reverse those numbers. After the second showing, we went to a massive used book sale at the larger of the two horse race tracks here (yeah, there's two). The rest of the evening was spent watching Bates Motel.

21 September: Sunday proved just as successful. We met a gamer guy who has an apartment with a room to rent, so we're switching houses on Tuesday. The guy has a very large collection and is really laid back, so it will be a bit of a switch from our current homestay situation. After setting that all up, we went to the uni and watched my supervisor, Chris, give a lecture on the Canterbury Roll, a fifteenth century medieval scroll that shows the lineage of the Lancastrian kings back to Noah...more or less. And just before the lecture, we got a text telling us that apartment one, from Saturday, was ours if we wanted it. So we got that too. But we can't move in until mid-October so we'll still be at Sam's flat for three weeks or so. That pretty much ended the weekend with a resounding .:.SIGH.:. But a good .:.SIGH.:. at least.

Facts of Interestingnessnessness:

• Christchurch no longer has an elected body representing it locally. After the earthquakes in 2010-2011, the national government made static the government in the city, a status that has not changed in three years. Thus, Christchurch is only represented democratically in the national parliament.
• The national government also lacks any checks and balances. Thirty years ago, the upper house of parliament was abolished since most of its powers had been removed. The executive branch is headed by Queen Elizabeth II, but she has no actual power. The judicial branch is elected entirely by the unicameral parliament, with top-level appeals sent to London.
• Parliament is run by the National Party now, a sort of branch of the UK's Conservative Party. They control over 50% of the legislature. The Labour Party controls around 25% but has been declining in importance over the years. The Green, ACT, New Zealand First, Internet-Mana, Conservative, and Māori Parties all fill in the two major parties when coalitions are needed.