You know you’ve found a gem of a take-away place, when on a Friday night you’re willing to park your car on a random street and walk inside the RWC road-block to collect your Chicken and Cashews. That’s how much I love Fat Boy Thai on Sandringham road, just down the road from Eden Park. It’s awesome, and even if it’s gone from the catchy “Ten dollar Thai” to the significantly less catchy “Eleven dollar fifty Thai” it’s still awesome value.

Today’s Herald pull-out Viva names some of the best take-aways in Auckland, and it’s hardly an exhaustive list. I’m pleased it doesn’t have my friend Fat Boy though, that’s a little secret between you and me. Good to see awesome Dominion Road dumplings make the list though (http://www.dineout.co.nz/restaurant.php?rest=3852).

But since we don’t all live in Ponsonby or Mount Eden, what are some of your faves?

YWCA Auckland is celebrating their 125th year with a photography comptetition in partnership with The Aucklander, looking out for photos of what it means to be a woman in Auckland today.

YWCA is calling for “inspired and inspiring” photographs of women in Auckland, “empowered and embracing leadership in all roles in their lives”  - and we know there are tonnes of ‘em around here!

Details from the competition page:

Competition closes on November 25th at 5pm.

Winners – announced in The Aucklander on December 2nd – must be able attend a YWCA cocktail evening in Newmarket on Wednesday, December 1st.

All entries must be in jpeg format, at least 15x10cm and 300dpi, and must be emailed to:photo@theaucklander.co.nz

Categories and prizes* are:

Overall winner: Wins a Google Nexus One mobile phone and a two-hour tutorial with photographer Becky Nunes, combined worth $1500.

Public vote (one from all three categories): Wins Nokia E75, another high-end handset worth $900.

The three categories and prizes are: Portrait winner receives a Vodafone 845 smartphone worth $399; Youth (aged between 12 and 18) winner gets a Samsung digital photo frame in black (SPF-107H) 10″ screen, 1GB built-in memory, ultra slim, worth $244; and Creative Interpretation wins the latest Polaroid 300 and 1 pack of film worth $230.

* Phone prizes do not come with contracts.

Multiple Sclerosis is the most common of all the neurological disorders. It affects people of all ages and backgrounds, but commonly strikes between the ages of 20-40. Women are three times more likely than men to develop MS, and the prevalence is higher the further from the equator you live

I find these statistics particularly interesting because I’m 39, female, spent the first 19 years of my life in Dunedin and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis just under a year ago.

I’m not going to rattle on about my personal experience. If you’re interested I wrote about it in my personal blog ManikPixi. Rather I want to give kudos to the MS Society Auckland Region. This year has been difficult, but it would have been so much harder without the education, support and compassion I have had from them (and particularly my wonderful Field Worker).

Like any charity MS Auckland has to work hard to fund the good work that they do, and on Sunday 14th November you can don your walking shoes, take in the sights of Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour and support MS Auckland’s work by taking part in the Footloose Funwalk.

The event starts at 10am at the Waitemata Plaza on Customs Street, and participants can walk, run or wheel the 2.5km course around the Viaduct Harbour. The really fit (or lunatic) among you can even choose to make it a 5km course by going round twice! Entry fees are $15 for non MS Auckland Region members, $10 for MS Auckland Region members and $30 for a team (4+ individuals).

The Footloose Funwalk is kindly support by Auckland Sky City Community Trust and Auckland City Council. More information and registration is via the MS Auckland Region website.

One of this city’s finest citizens has called for poems about Auckland’s Mayor race. Naturally I obliged with more than 140 characters.

O Auckland my Auckland! Our fearful trip is done,

John Banks has weathered every rack, the prize he sought is won,

The port is (not) near, the bells I hear, the people all revolting,

While follow eyes the steady dollar, the World Cup grim and boring;

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck public transport lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

At the time of writing, Wikipedia defined a social network as “A social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called “nodes,” which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.”

Also, it would seem, Gelato.

Giapo sells Gelato. And, if I may say so, it’s epically good Gelato. They have a range of flavours which cannot be said to be exotic, but are definitely wide ranging, and are all delicious. But the tastiness of the flavours are not why I’m thinking about social networking while writing about frozen dairy desserts. That’s because Giapo is amazingly engaged with various social networking systems, and internet stuff in general. They have a Facebook Page. They’re on Twitter. They have a blog and no less than two different youtube channels. They have a Google Apps form for daily flavours. (Note: My favourite flavour is ‘Just For Girls”. Read into this what you will.) Holy shit. They may actually be leveraging this stuff more than any other company in New Zealand. Certainly more than any national or local government body, so far.

The net result of all this social networking is that you start to think of them less as a faceless corporate purveyor of frozen snacks, and more like a friend. A friend you might drop into when you’re in town, and then twitter about how utterly delicious their gelato is.

And you will.

Giapo is at 279 Queen Street, just up the road from the Civic.