Learning

Thu last week
Woke up at 5.29 for a 5.30 alarm. That was good, wasn't it! See how jet lag works. Have been feeling really rotten in the afternoons, quite sick.

Fused

Wed last week
I woke up at 4.10 and my alarm was 4.30. Jet lag, huh? Did some calls and then went off to work later.

Suffering

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'.

Daks

Fri 17 and Sun 19 Feb

Time to go home ...

Stopped at Target and Kohl's to get some underwear for ♣ 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 ♣ 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 ♣ (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 ...

Fused 3

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.

Fused 2

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.

Fused

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.

Lag

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.

Half Moon Bay

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.

QF11

Sat 18 Feb

Off to the airport ... managed to get there a bit early and was able to enjoy lunch with ♣.

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.

Waking up early

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.

Auckland

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, ♣ 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 ♣ 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!

Rotorua 2

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. ♣ 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.

Rotorua

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. ♣ 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!)

Taupo

Sun 5 Feb

This was the day of the big drive. ♣ 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.

New Plymouth

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 ♣) 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!

Otorohanga

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.  ♣ 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.)

Aotearoa

Thurs 2 Feb

To Sydney Airport with ♣ 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 ♣ 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.

Farewell Arabella

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 ♣ 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.

Arabella 2

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.

Arabella

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.