Had a nice swim in the hotel pool on Monday morning. They have a decent fitness centre here. Will try to swim more as my schedule permits.
For dinner the whole group went to La Barca, which turned out to be a charming restaurant at an arts centre a little way out of the city. Nice to get away from the hustle.
Flew to Singapore on Sunday. Had a decent flight although I managed to reserve a seat near the back of the plane, which is not my favourite spot, but nevertheless it was ok. I watched Clooney in The Descendants. Loved seeing Hawaii as a place where people live, rather than a glamour spot. The flight was extremely bumpy as soon as we entered the tropics so we were thrown about a bit.
At the hotel I made my way straight to the training room and helped the team with prep, then had work drinks with our out-of-town guests, then headed to my room. The hotel had thoughtfully left a bowl of strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce which made for a nice dinner (I wasn't that hungry).
To the city early on Saturday morning for my weekend school for Marketing Management. I spent the whole day in the classroom and our lecturer went through the course topics -- I now have a good overview of the whole thing and also the assignment we are supposed to do. It's not as terrifying as I thought it might be.
Stopped at the gym and did a light but complete workout. I haven't been to the gym in ages, because I've been trying to swim more, but today we have foul weather (rain, wind, etc.) so the gym is a better option than the beach.
Went to Cam's on Friday after work. He ordered pizza and we chatted and then watched some of Dharma and Greg. I love that show. It's a bit old now but I like the San Francisco-ness of it.
Oh I managed to get to the beach for a swim -- good weather on Friday afternoon.
After work on Thursday, headed to Bondi but it was a bit cloudy/windy, so I wasn't greatly motivated to swim. I just walked from end to end.
Then to Erskineville for dinner with Andrew at Stir Crazy. Poor bean was stressed as Cityrail had failed several times to bring him from work to the inner west, lots of cancelled and delayed trains.
Went to Elizabeth Bay on Wednesday evening and picked up Cam, Dave and Conrad. Cam drove us to Redfern where we had a nice Japanese dinner. Huge plates of food!
Long day yesterday. Drove to work via the laundress, but she was not yet open. I haven't managed to iron my shirts in 3 weeks, so I thought it would be sensible to give up and take them to her. They're still in the back of the car right now.
After work I had my quarterly AHRI network event. We had a smaller crowd than usual but I think the intimacy worked well, after everyone got over their initial discomfort.
Couldn't sleep last night and tossed and turned until at least midnight, then had to rise at 4.30 for a 5.00 conference call. I'm feeling the aftermath right now.
I ate a whole packet of Arnott's Tee Vee Snacks Malt Sticks on Monday afternoon ... what can it mean? They were delicious, but no good for the waistline.
Saw my dentist on Monday morning. He says my teeth are looking, by which he means that my orthodontic work is going well.
Sunday -- Cam and I went to Bondi Beach for a swim. It being a Sunday, the beach was filled with nippers and their dads, then supplemented with local residents, backpackers and the obligatory pack of Chinese tourists (this time sporting lanyards). The water was good (high tide) though there was plenty of swell, which made swimming more of a challenge.
For lunch we went to Sugarloaf in Rose Bay as I wanted some form of eggs. Service was poor but food was great. Cam made cupcakes for afternoon tea and we devoured them.
Saturday -- dinked Cam on his scoot, to Marrickville, to go to Reverse Garbage and The Bower. A typical inner west scene greeted us: overgrown backyards, sun beating down, occasional jets coming low overhead to land at the airport, kids in white uniforms doing martial arts, and cicadas screeching in the trees. The trip down Parramatta Road was a bit stressful, with a car losing it's hub cap in front of us and falling in our path, and another driving completing missing us in her blind spot and almost knocking us over.
Also watched The Beginners at Cam's place. Sweet movie. Worth the effort. Cam made pho for dinner, exceedingly delicious.
Friday -- met Cam for breakfast at Bird and Bear at Elizabeth Bay Marina. Awesome setting. It was so Sydney, it hurt. Imagine: tip of wharf, blue skies and sunshine all around, high tide with water lapping the timbers of the wharf, dogs, Sydneysiders reading the Herald and drinking lattes. I had bashed eggs, which were boiled eggs with the shells removed, with tomato and avo. Incomparable.
At lunch I went to the beach to have a swim. Water was amazing ...
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Originally uploaded by ~¤Zayda¤~.
702 is doing a thing on Monopoly, in a Sydney fashion. Of course the fabulous Scottie is one of the famous tokens within the game. And that of course led very naturally to (via a few hyperlinks) to cute dog photos of Scotties ... found this amazing one: the dog, the eye highlighted by a ray of sun, the light and dark reflections on the fur. Great.
Yesterday I woke up early and did topic 2 of Ethics. I think the uni is trying to create rich learning experiences (instead of purely reading), so I had to:
Sat 3 Mar
Woke up early and set to my books. Read the first topic of Marketing Management and all the supplementary readings. Then had some breakfast, said our goodbyes and then off to the Old Bus Depot markets to meet Val and friend. Then on the road home.
We were hungry for lunch around Goulburn, so dropped into the town, and parked near Supercheap Auto, so I decided it was time to replace Barbra's wiper blades, since we were expecting heavy rain on the road. So we did that and then went to The Roses Cafe for lunch -- huge portions and a nice atmosphere. Then back on the road with another break at Pheasants Nest (I was feeling a bit tired) and then on into Sydney.
We did ponder going to Mardi Gras but decided against it, given the inclement weather. I would not have survived in the cold and the rain. Instead, we went with Conrad and Dave to Maggie's for dinner; they later went to the Parade while we went home.
Fri 2 Mar
Woke up early and jumped in the car to Canberra. Made good time and then spent the rest of the day working down there while the family went shopping. In the evening we went to China Inn, the family's favourite Chinese restaurant, to celebrate both Cam's mother's birthday (coming up) and Cam's father's birthday (a few weeks ago). At home we had cake (with candles) and then off to bed ...
Thu 1 Mar
To dinner with Ian, Rosie and Laura, mainly to thank me for the workshop that I did in January, but also to catch up. We found a nice Mexican place in Bondi Junction ... afterwards I went to Cam's place.
Wed 29 Feb
I might have mentioned that my department has been restructured so I will shortly have a new manager in Switzerland. I've met them several times and things look good so far. However with the new alignment, more global (i.e. early morning) calls have crept in my calendar. Wednesdays now start at 04.30, getting up and getting tea for a 05.00 call, followed by another immediately at 06.00. The afternoons are quite yawny as a result.
Mon 27 Feb
My scooter is now more than 5 years old, which in NSW means that I have to get a roadworthy test every year, known here as a 'pink slip'. I went off to Eastgate where they have an inspection station, and it only took half an hour, and the bike passed. It's very modern: they transmit the results electronically to the RTA (transport department) and then when I actually go to register (online) it's all magically done.
Sun 26 Feb
Good massage with Georgy, after doing lots of ocean swimming at Bondi. He says my shoulders feel different, slightly looser, with which I concur, though I also feel that different bits are now hurty. But overall they are looser.
Sat 25 Feb
Went to the auction for Unit 5 in my building, on Saturday. The auction never took place: no buyers registered. We heard later that there was a buyer who could not attend the auction, and the rumoured price was $650,000.
Later I had a long call with Gavin and we talked about all sorts of things. He's sounding well.
I'm having a really bad run with jet lag this week. Monday morning was fine (though I was awake at 3 am) but Monday afternoon and evening I felt really sick, couldn't concentrate and had to have a little lie down. Same today, though perhaps milder, I found it really hard to concentrate on spreadsheets after lunch. Anyway, I made it to the gym for some light walking and cycling but didn't feel in the mood for much more than that. I am hoping this will all pass soon enough, so I can get back to 'normal'.
Fri 17 and Sun 19 Feb
Time to go home ...
Stopped at Target and Kohl's to get some underwear for Cam and then made my way to the airport. Had a nice time at Terminal 2 in San Francisco. It's a new terminal and has a good selection of food outlets and lots of space. I sat at a window and watched planes take off and land.
Then to Los Angeles, where chaos ensued. There is an airside transfer bus, which runs every half hour, although one can walk from one terminal to another, with the downside that you have to go through security again. When I arrived, the bus was more than 25 minutes away, so I decided to walk and do security again.
At the international terminal I made my way to the lounge, to find it crowded with passengers. The international terminal is undergoing a massive expansion, but this means that there are almost no facilities airside, so the lounge is really the only place to be. I felt quite tired and worn out by this stage.
We boarded at the usual time and took off. This time I was on the A380 and was keen to see what it was like. The seats were okay but when the guy in front of me leaned back, the TV screen was 10 cm from my nose, so it was not as comfortable as I had imagined.
Nevertheless I had a bite or two from dinner and then fell asleep. I managed to sleep for extended stretches until the breakfast service started (which is quite good for me). For breakfas I chose the 'continental' option, which turned out to be raisin bran.
Upon landing, I made it through quite quickly and found Cam on the other side, then made it home. Put on some laundry and then collapsed -- not feeling very well, due to jet lag. Had a nap and big bottles of water to follow, to get me back into the land of the living.
Later I headed to Bondi Junction for a float and massage. The float went ok and I was really hoping to sleep but one has to have a mind free of thoughts, and that doesn't happen often. The massage was good but my shoulders were really crunchy and they hurt a lot, but overall it was worthwhile.
Then home to have dinner with Cam (a very small dinner mind you) and then to bed ... I felt out of my own body, to be honest, it was quite horrid. Feeling much better this morning ...
Thu 16 Feb
Last day of our meetings. We spent the morning in discussions and the afternoon in planning mode. Again we seem to have made good progress, and I wrote up a change/communication plan, but there is a lot to do.
In the evening I had a simple supermarket supper -- grilled chicken with some vegetables.
Oh, there's been saturation coverage of Whitney Houston's death on the telly in California. I did not think there was that much to tell, but every evening the show biz shows have more and more coverage of her death and her life.
Wed 15 Feb
Another day of meetings and experimenting with the system. Made some more good progress and I think the picture is clearer now about what we have to do.
In the evening we all went to dinner at Mistral, near campus. I decided to stick to the veggie option, as having too much rich food is one of those risks of business travel.
Tue 14 Feb
The first day of our meetings. Many old friends in the room and many new people to meet as well. We made some good progress getting our hands on the system and trying things out. But, I realised that this is fun (and comfortable) for some and not so fun for others ...
In the evening I had a meeting with my new boss (we're restructuring) and then dinner with the folks that were in the hotel.
Mon 13 Feb
Couldn't get going on Monday morning. Mainly an effect of jet lag. I made it over to the office and did a few things that were left over from the previous week. Headed home via the supermarket and found a nice chicken and pasta dinner to have.
Sun 12 Feb
Met up with Mark and Randy for lunch. We drove towards the coast at Half Moon Bay and went to Sam's Chowder House, a famous spot. I had some beautiful fish and Mark ended up having the lobster roll, the signature dish.
Randy and I ended up laughing at Starbucks, as I am always amazed at how detailed and intricate the orders are at Starbucks. Here are some photos.
Sat 18 Feb
Off to the airport ... managed to get there a bit early and was able to enjoy lunch with Cam.
Flight went ok, it was a 747 and I'd been given the front row of economy, with had plenty of leg room. I watched a few movies, slept a bit and then had some breakfast before landing in LA.
LA was a bit of a mess, as ever. Immigration took ages, getting out of Customs took ages, and then I walked over to Terminal 4 to wait for my next flight. I had a shower at the American Airlines lounge and then boarded the flight. It was over quickly and I was in San Francisco.
Picked up my rental car (didn't leave my driver licence at home this time!) and drove to the hotel, stopping at the supermarket on the way to get some supplies.
In the late afternoon I drove up to San Francisco to have a massage (very yogic and very good). Then over to Mario for dinner. We went to a simple Mexican place in the Mission and had a good time.
So, I've been waking up one hour earlier each day, to set my body clock forward to Pacific time. It helps to reduce the jet lag when I arrive in California. Yesterday I woke up at 3 am; today at 2 am. I've done the ironing and checked out the weather in San Francisco (chillier than I thought).
Oh I tried to check in for my Qantas flight but for some reason the system won't let me do it. So I have to go to the airport (chuh! hehe) and check in there.
Wed 8 Feb
Well, our trip in New Zealand was almost over ...
From Rotorua we checked out and drove north towards Auckland, passing through Tirau (for an early breakfast) and then Taupiri for a break, leg stretch, and yet another cup of tea.
I was a bit stressed getting into the airport as we were running a few minutes late and I didn't want to miss the cutoff for baggage, so we swiftly filled the car with petrol, dumped it at the rental car place, caught the shuttle to the terminal, and checked in.
After a sojourn in the Qantas Club to relax, Cam had a quick shop and bought a t-shirt and also scarves for himself and his mother. We'd looked a possum/merino/silk items up and down New Zealand, but of course he found exactly what he was after at the airport!
Flight home went smoothly. I was seated next to a Qantas long haul flight attendant, returning home from LA. I watched "Moneyball" while Cam watched "Come Fly With Me". Soon enough we were back in Sydney and back into the usual. The traffic in Sydney was quite a shock compared to New Zealand!
Tue 7 Feb
This was our big day in Rotorua, so we did all the top tourist spots!
First stop: the Agrodome. I'd heard about this place before and since I'd never seen a sheep being shorn, we had to go. The place was packed with tourists, with a large group of enthusiastic Koreans behind us and a Taiwanese group in front of us.
They do a very well-scripted show that covers sheep, dogs, dairy cows and much more. Of course the sheep come first.
From there, we headed to the Skyline gondolas. This is a lovely cable car ride up to the top of a hill, with good views over Rotorua. From the top you can do several luge rides, so we did one, although we noted they had an advanced track for more experienced riders.
Back to the bottom and we stopped for lunch and then pressed on to Te Puia, the New Zealand Maori National Arts and Crafts Institute. They have schools for carving and weaving and you can watch them work there. I liked the weaving school the most.
They also have a kiwi house (so we saw two more kiwis, making it a total of four on our trip) and a geyser, Pohutu.
We also booked in for the cultural experience. We had a traditional welcome to the marae, though I think most of the non-English speaking visitors didn't really get the serious significance of how one is invited onto a marae and what the protocol is. Inside the marae was decorated with painting and carving and weaving.
For the 'show', they did a number of dances and demonstrations, including a haka (though not the All Blacks one), poi and sticks. At the end they sang Pokarekare Ana, a famous Maori folk song, which I have on my mobile as a ring tone for Warren.
I liked the show and the time passed quickly, though I thought it was a bit Disney-fied. But then again, if you're displaying your culture and charging a fee for it, especially for non-English speakers, then it must by definition become Disney-fied, since you're only able to present a narrow portion of the culture to visitors, and then only with the narrowest of context, rather than understanding the full meaning and significance of all the words and actions. Personally if I had to do this again I would try my best to choose a time that did not have heaps of tour groups, since it ended up being a bit of an unruly scrum getting a seat, and this seemed disrespectful to the people and the marae.
For dinner that night, we went to Oppies, noted as "New Zealand's best fish and chip shop". They had a strange menu of what I call suburban Chinese food (you find this in Australia also: dumbed-down Chinese food to suit Western tastes), plus a regular fish and chip shop. Cam had the fish and I had fried rice, though on reflection, the fish was a better choice, since the fried rice was the suburban version, not the authentic version that I've seen in Hong Kong.
Mon 6 Feb
Well, it was Waitangi Day in NZ, so a public holiday for all. We decided to go shopping in Taupo and, with a stiff breeze blowing, I bought a warm possum/merino beanie. As we drove out of town we stopped at the lookout, and had a clear view of the volcanoes.
Then on to the Huka Falls where millions of litres of water have to pass through a narrow chasm.
A little further downstream, we stopped in at the Huka Prawn Park. They grow freshwater prawns here, but we declined the tour and just had a lovely prawn lunch at their restaurant.
Next stop: Orakei Korako. This a hidden valley with lots of geothermal activity, including steaming water oozing from the earth, geysers erupting, and boiling mud. This place had recommendations from Lonely Planet, and later, when we saw other geothermal fields, I came to realise that this one is probably the best. Highly recommended if you've never seen any geothermal activity and you want to take a peek.
From there we headed into Rotorua, to our motel with courtyard spa. Cam ran a spa and we had a bit of a bubble bath in the backyard. For dinner we headed to Rotorua's eat street and found a nice Indian place (but we ordered far too much food!)
Sun 5 Feb
This was the day of the big drive. Cam drove most of the way and did a brilliant job.
We decided to take State Highway 43, labelled as the "Forgotten World Highway", over to Taumaranui and then on to Taupo.
This highway turned out to be an extremely winding road (yes, I know I've mentioned plenty of others, but this was something particularly winding). As we left Stratford, the road twisted and turned, crossing four saddles along the way. The view was amazing and it felt as if we were going deeper and deeper into the remotest part of New Zealand.
For lunch we stopped at the Whangomomona Hotel, along with a dozen motorcyclists who had passed us earlier on the road. This is a small town of no more than 30, and the hotel is now famous as a stopping point along the road. It was a classic country pub, replete with rugby memorabilia, old photos of the town and the hotel itself, and lots of faded beer ads.
After our lunch we continued and the country became more remote and even wilder. The highlight of the drive, and also the highlight of the whole trip for me, was teh drive through Tangarakau Gorge. This portion of the road is not sealed, so it added to the wild/remote feeling.
The bush was in pristine original condition, lush with tree ferns, creepers, trees and shrubs. The gorge is very narrow with steep hills on both sides, so you get the feeling of being tucked away between the hills.
Eventually the gorge ended and the road became sealed again, and gave way to cleared land holding plenty of sheep and cows. We stopped in Taumaranui for tea, and then pressed on.
We joined State Highway 41 and turned off to Waituhi Lookout. From there we enjoyed amazing views to the south, to the volcanoes in the centre of New Zealand.
Finally we made it down off the plateau and on to the shore of Lake Taupo, and then on to our motel. We went to the hot springs adjoining our motel and I had a lovely time standing in the streams of hot water (41 deg C), loosening up my neck and shoulders.
Sat 4 Feb
From Otorohanga we headed down towards New Plymouth, for our 3 pm rendezvous with the rest of the wedding crowd. On the way we saw a sign for the Waitanguru Falls, so we turned off and headed down a very winding road to find the falls. It was incredibly lush and green and our first experience of remote native forest. The falls weren't that big but they were beautiful.
Then we pressed on, coming to the west coast and stopping at Mokau for lunch and then into New Plymouth.
Later, after a quick shower, we joined the wedding bus and made our way to the Barton Estate for Christoph and Joseph's wedding. Ian, Mattias and Jack joined us on the bus. We had canapés and cocktails ahead of the wedding and took in the expansive view over the city and out to the ocean.
The ceremony was lovely, though short, since it was a civil ceremony there was no hymn singing or anything like that. The celebrant took the couple through their paces and at the end they exchanged rings and kisses.
Then we took another break as they reconfigured the room to the dinner arrangement, while we had some more drinks and canapés on the terrace. The grooms had many photos taken in various locations around the estate.
Then, to dinner. Our hosts had placed us with Ian, Mattias and Jack and also Lynny (whom we discovered lived in Potts Point only a few blocks from Cam) and Gretchen (an Aucklander). The dinner was lovely too, followed by several speeches, the highlight being Christoph's young nephew, Jack, who blew us all away with his witty speech and his sheer energy and enthusiasm.
Then, cutting of the cake. We heard later that Joseph had ordered the cake in the USA and brought it over (very carefully I imagine). It was a black and silver affair, with the silver cake having a quilted appearance. Underneath, Joseph had ordered banana cake, lemon cake and chocolate cake, so there was a variety to tempt the tastebuds.
Christoph and Joseph opened the dancefloor with their favourite song (though I didn't make a note of what it was) and then we joined them. After some tea, more modern music was played and we had a boogie.
And then, before our carriage turned into a pumpkin, we headed home (though I have to admit that we were early departers). Christoph's father, JJ, was on our bus out, so we can say we managed to keep up with the father of the groom!
Fri 3 Feb
I did a work conference call in the morning and then we headed off, after a lovely breakfast prepared by Tim. We took the long and winding road down to Otorohanga, seeing many cows, the Mormon temple, and a few sheep. We headed to Waitomo Caves and did the tour. This is a magical experience, sitting in the dark, on a boat, floating along, with tiny pricks of biochemical light overhead, from glowworms.
After that we headed into town, had some lunch, and then went to the Kiwi House. This was okay, a bit grubby I thought. We did see two kiwis: one was foraging normally and the other was racing up and down on the same patch of ground, which I thought was a bit distressing. The park also had numerous birds and reptiles, so we wandered around and viewed those.
Then to our motel, where they'd allocated the very back room, down the hill. The outlook was simply of a pasture, with two cows, and the mini-play area for children with a swing and trampoline. Cam and I had a bit of trampoline session.
For dinner we ended up at the local club. (It's a small town and there weren't many options.)
Thurs 2 Feb
To Sydney Airport with Cam and then to Auckland. We watched "The Iron Lady" on the flight -- very good.
In Auckland I had a little stress as we could not find the car immediately, as the marking on the paperwork showing the car park location was a little ambiguous. But eventually we found the car and Cam drove down to Hamilton.
There, we found our accommodation and met our host, Tim. We drove into Hamilton to get some dinner and then back to bed.
Drove Arabella to work on Wednesday and then the buyer came to pick her up at 11. I left a bottle of red wine and a card on the passenger seat for him.
Had lunch with Ian, to catch up before we head over to NZ. And then later I picked up Cam from Elizabeth Bay, after he'd packed.
Oh, also had an executive committee meeting to appoint a new member. All in all it was a stressy day but soon I shall be on holiday.
Tuesday: had confirmation that the final amount for Arabella was approved, so it would be coming on Wednesday. Made an arrangement with the buyer to handover the car; and with a co-worker to give me a lift home ... all good.
Received a bunch of paperwork on Monday for Arabella's sale, and scanned all the documents and then sent them over to the lender. Later after work I went to N Bondi for a swim and then to Conrad and Dave's for dinner.
Woke up on Sunday and did some of the ironing and more of the laundry. Later we headed to carwash to wash Arabella, in preparation for a viewing by a buyer later in the morning. Then to Rushcutters Bay to see Colin and Richard for a quick brunch, then home for the viewing. We agreed to a sale and I dropped the buyers back at Bondi Junction Station. After a short nap and some more ironing, we headed to Dave and Conrad's place and then went out and had lunch at a local café. I was amazed by the billowing clouds coming in with the northeasterly breeze over Sydney Harbour -- our café had a lovely view of the clouds over the treeline. Then to Bondi Junction for my weekly massage. Cam's back was sore from the sleeping arrangements in Canberra, so I bought him a massage at the same time as mine. From massage we flopped home and I watched Antiques Roadshow (one of my favourites though not adored by Cam) and Cam made steamed veg for dinner.
Woke up on Saturday morning and Cam packaged up the last food that he had prepared, into neat freezer portions, for his mother. We drove off at about 10.15 am and made our way to Collector, where I've always wanted to stop. There's not much there, except a general store and a pub. We drove on and ended up at Berrima for lunch. I could not face the Scottish hamburger chain at Sutton Forest, so Berrima it was. We had a lovely lunch and then made our way home.
At home, we rapidly prepared apple tart with caramel sauce, and then headed to Kingsford to see Grant and Michael and Grant's niece, Melissa. We had lovely lamb burgers, and the apple tart, and then toddled home to bed.
On Friday morning I spent some time getting organised with work. Later I spoke to my boss and covered off the latest updates on my projects.
For lunch Cam made penne bolognese, always delicious. For dinner we decided to have fish, so I had the task of pan-frying it. Oh, Cam bought an airbed as the slim mattress he had slept on the previous evening was no good for his back.
After work we had a quick visit to Val to catch up ... Val and I did a comprehensive analysis of the Gingerella incident (PM loses her shoe when protesters storm the restaurant where she is hosting an Australia Day awards ceremony).
And we decided to stay one more night in Canberra. Late in the night, Cam started a chicken and tomato stew, so it could simmer away and then be ready in the morning.
Woke up at 6 and left for my place at 7, then on to Canberra at 8 am. We made good progress -- the roads were pretty quiet. Managed to get down there by 11.30 am with the obligatory stop at the Scottish hamburger chain in Sutton Forest.
At Joan's place we made prawn and mango salad with chili and lime dressing for lunch, then later went and did the supermarket shopping for the week with Roslyn. Back at home we watched some cricket and some tennis and Cam made sausage casserole for dinner, enjoyed by the whole family. In the evening we ended up watching Star Trek The Next Generation, which I remember from when I was a teenager. All these new digital channels have to broadcast something!
Back at work in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's quite noisy there now with the open plan arrangement.
After work on Wednesday headed to Cam's place. We decided at the last minute to head to Canberra for Australia Day to see Cam's mother.
