:: chris*

This part of the story is called (double) happyness [sic]

2007-07-16T09:14:00.001+12:00

2007-05-10T23:31:00.001+12:00

Sail Away, Sail Away, Sail Away

2007-05-07T01:21:00.000+12:00

From the North to the South, Ebudae into Khartoum,
From the deep sea of Clouds to the island of the moon,
Carry me on the waves to the land I've never been,
Carry me on the waves to the lands I've never seen.

We can sail, we can sail... with the Orinoco flow
We can sail, we can sail...
Sail away, sail away, sail away.

Abandoned? There's no sign of 'em. Maybe it's time to pull up anchor, cut the ties, greet new shipmates. And... sail away, sail away, sail away.

When You're Having Fun, Time Just Flies

2007-04-08T19:49:00.000+12:00

Sometimes when you live in such a happening city like Melbourne, you just start taking things for granted. It's really quite embarrassing. For example, we hosted the Australian Grand Prix the other weekend. Thousands of people came from all over Australia and the world to see it. They had a slow parade of race cars going through town for everyone to see. Yet I did not see a single race car.

Or how about this one - Melbourne hosted the World Swimming Championships a few weeks ago. I didn't see a single race. Funnily enough, I was in Montreal when they hosted the last WSC two years ago. Notice a pattern here?

Right now, Miss Saigon is showing at the theatre. I was quite keen to see it. But living here, I'm a bit more complacent. More of an "I can do that some time" attitude, rather than a "let's go see it NOW" attitude. Same for The Phantom of the Opera, one of my favourites. I really should go and get tickets to that. One thing I DID manage to do, however, was pick up to tickets for King Lear, with Sir Ian McKellan. He's doing a mere 5 shows here in Australia, all in Melbourne. It was sold out in moments. Still, it's not until end of July/start of August. But to see Sir Ian performing Shakespeare live? That's something that I'm not likely to see any time soon!

But back to Melbourne being a great place to live. Take this Easter weekend, for example. I had no plans. None whatsoever. However, there was enough on for a spontaneous weekend of fun. On Good Friday I played a round of golf at a nice (but unusually hilly) course with my cousin and his girlfriend. Then met up with them again later that night for dinner in Federation Square, before watching Stephen K Amos (a British comedian) at the Capital Theatre. It so happens that right now Melbourne is hosting the Internation Melbourne Comedy Festival, the second largest comedy festival in the world. This goes on for a month or so - a lot of talent and a lot of laughs. Then yesterday, I caught the movie "300" with some Kiwi compatriots. We went for Guiness at an Irish pub after on Chapel Street, felt a bit peckish so went for a yum cha (at 11pm), then kicked on for coffee/dessert further down the street. Where there was a cute waitress who got a bit carried away in her explanation of what "whipped" meant. But that's another story :) And tonight, going out for dinner again having shot down to the Vic Markets to pick up a huge bag of prawns to throw on the barbie... It's all good.

And with all the golf I've been playing, I've finally ordered up a set of golf clubs. Having them sent in from the US where I'm getting ripped on the shipping - no ground delivery option, so it's airfreighted in. If there's an upside, I'll be getting the clubs within the next few days, hopefully in time for next weekend. Did a mix and match on the set - all Callaways - so picked up a set of BB irons 4-W including a 10'er, a SW, a BB driver and one of their Heavenwoods to pick up the slack from lack of a 3. Graphite shafts, nice and light. Come on, already!

The First 4+ Months

2007-04-08T15:51:00.000+12:00

As we now have the internet in our apartment, I thought I would post some extracts from an email I sent out some time ago about me moving to Melbourne and how I've found things so far...

Pre-arrival

Mid-last year, I was offered positions at the Melbourne offices of several law firms. I ended up choosing a role in the banking and finance team of one of the biggest law firms in Australia (and the world). This is quite exciting as it means for more international work and perhaps one day the chance for a secondment to another office. The firm was great in helping me make such a smooth transition, and so I arrived a week or so before the Melbourne Cup, along with the other 649 Kiwis who depart permanently for Australia every week.

Arrival

Work generously put me up in a hotel around the corner from work until I found a place to live. Quite fortunately, a couple of fellow Kiwis were looking for a flatmate to fill a gap after the previous one moved in with his girlfriend, so I was in the right place at the right time to slot in. I am living in a suburb called East Melbourne, which is the suburb directly adjacent to the central city grid. It's very small, maybe 4-5 blocks square, and a 2 minute walk from the MCG (the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which I believe is the largest sports stadium in the world). We're in an apartment, which is very generous in size - 3 dbr, 2 bathrooms, huge living room and kitchen, massive outdoor courtyard (we are on the ground floor). Funnily enough, it's also only marginally more than I was paying back in Wellington (which some of you may recall was an absolute bargain). It seems that the cost of living over here is reasonably comparable to NZ, although the wages are higher. Hurrah!

Getting Set Up

The location of where I live is very ideal - I have a tramstop literally metres from our front door which that runs straight through the city to work. I have, however, started walking and biking in to work. On the bike I can zip in in about 6-8 minutes, and a leisurely stroll takes about 25-30 minutes. The walk is absolutely gorgeous, as our apartment backs on to the Fitzroy Gardens, which then turns into the Treasury Gardens, which turns into the top of Collins Street. This end is known as "The Paris End" of Collins Street, which is one of the main shopping areas in the city. It has this name because it has gorgeous old buildings on a tree-lined avenue, and it's full of top designer brand stores (LV, Armani, Versace, Mont Blanc, Chanel, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, etc etc). It's a great (and relaxing) way to start the morning and finish the day.

I have only just managed to finish unpacking, despite haveing come over with no furniture at all. For a long time, the only thing in my room was my bed. My wardrobe didn't even have a pole to hang clothes on! Thanks to Ikea, my room is now fully furnished, having bought a couple of huge bookshelves for all of my books which I unpacked just the other day. For the Ikea fans out there, my room probably looks like it's from their catalogue, as I have purchased the following from them: all my bedding/linen, 2x bookshelves, 2x DVD shelves, 1x table, 2x lamps, 6x potplants, 1x set of drawers, 1x rug, 3x drawers for the wardrobe, 1x mirror and 54x coathangers. Because I don't have a car here, I have been doing small trips to Ikea every other weekend, and carting what I can home with my two hands. Originally I was planning to collect the bookshelves, pop them on the tram and trundle home, as Ikea is only a couple of k's away by tram. That plan fell through when I went to fetch and discovered that the shelves were 40kg each - so I had to use the delivery service!!

Incidently, it's very difficult to get the internet set up over here. We tried before Xmas, and it's supposed to be installed today, 2.5 months later. Ridiculous. Once it's up and running, hopefully I'll be able to be in touch a bit more, as work access to email is very very limited (time limits, etc). [Update: it took us somewhere in the region of 4 months to finally get set up - that's disgraceful].

Work

Work is going really well. I have a great team, very supportive and friendly, and we don't usually work silly hours. I think I have only had to be in at work one Saturday the time I have been here. As you may expect, I have been doing a lot of banking/finance work, and it is a nice change to be working for the banks (rather than the borrowers, as the lenders generally call the shots). I have been doing a mix of commercial work to keep things interesting too, and am getting into an area involving counter-terrorism. Certainly the work is at a different level both in terms of quanta and complexity, and I have enjoyed this. I also have an office (rather than a cubicle which is what I was stuck in at my old work), which is great - it's a decent size and there's acoustic privacy which is sometimes appropriate when having confidential conversations.
Getting admitted over here was a breeze, so I can now add the Victorian and Australian Federal jurisdictions as ones to which I am admitted. Funny that there are certificates for those, yet in NZ I don't recall receiving anything aside from a Court Order upon being admitted as a barrister and solicitor.

We also have a work cricket team which plays in an inter-law firm competition (about 20 firms play). We have advanced through to the finals after being undefeated from 5 games, and are playing for the "Bolton v Stone Trophy". Lawyers amongst my recipients may recall that this is the case in which the plaintiff sued after being hit by a 6 by the Cheetham 2nd XI. [Update: we were beaten by a handful of runs in the final, which was very disappointing].

Work also has a good "social conscience" in that it is very active with promoting pro bono work and has a number of specific programmes in place. I attend a legal clinic on a regular basis, and have found that to be something very different that makes a big difference to others. A legal clinic is where people who can't normally afford to see a lawyer can come to discuss various legal issues they may be facing. While I have no experience in criminal or family law, a lot of issues require common sense and so I am developing a new batch of skills. It is very satisfying, and I really enjoy doing this. It is a completely different world to what I am used to when I normally go to work.

Life

It's never too boring over here, and there's always plenty to do. I'm in the habit of visiting the Victoria Markets in the weekends for fresh food (fruit, vegies, smallgoods, meat, seafood, etc), which is always nice to cook up and try new recipes with. I'm slowly getting into routine, which is nice. I play touch rugby for a couple of hours on Sundays with other Kiwis and the occassional Pom and South African, and have managed to get in lots of golf. I shipped my bike over as well. Melbourne is a fantastic city for cycling in - there are plenty of dedicated bike lanes, it's reasonably flat, and most importantly, the traffic is far more tolerant than what I was accustomed to back in NZ, so I have been doing a lot more cycling. Weather has been beautiful - it's probably rained about 5 days in the whole time I have been here. The weather is regularly in the 30's, and I'm slowly acclimatising to it. I'm even getting a nice tan!

In the last few months there has been plenty on...

- The Melbourne Cup was in full swing as I arrived, and for a month there were people dressed up and it was a great atmosphere.
- Boxing Day Sales: I spent a small fortune at David Jones and Myer, along with the other ten thousand people out there looking for bargains.
- Boxing Day Ashes Test: Friends came over to visit and I had tickets to the Boxing Day Test, where we saw 12 wickets fall on the first day, including Shane Warne's 700th.
- Commonwealth Bank Cricket: watched several games at the G - an amazing cricket ground and a wonderful atmosphere. I was there when they banned the Mexican wave - rather, tried to - it didn't really work.
- Yarra Valley: some more friends came over and visited, and we went out to the Yarra Valley with the intention of visiting half a dozen vineyards. We didn't get beyond the first one…
- Open Air Cinema: one of our clients sponsors this http://www.stgeorgeopenair.com.au/, and so I got my first "corporate" invite to something here. It was a beautiful environment - a huge 3 storey cinema screen, the city lit up at night in the background, the Yarra River murmuring softly next to the seats.
- Microbreweries Showpiece: about 30 microbreweries show their wares in Federation Square - you pay $20 for 20 tickets, which entitles you to 20 (rather generous) tastings of different beers.
- Australian Open: the Rod Laver Arena is literally next to the MCG, so it was a 30 second bike ride away from home. I wandered down there a few times after work as there are after 5pm passes for around $20 in the early stages. I didn't, however, see the brawl that broke out…
- Australian Grand Prix: this is on in a fortnight's time, so with another mate popping over that weekend, we'll aim to catch it.
- Melbourne Victory: our soccer team won the minor premiership and the competition after downing Adelaide at the Telstra Dome (which is about 2 blocks from work).
- And coming up in June, the Socceroos are playing Argentina at the MCG, for which I have my ticket.
- And also in June, the All Blacks play the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup.
- The other weekend was Labour Weekend and Caulfield Cup Autumn Carnival Race Day action, so that was a big day at the races, a good chance to get dressed up (dressing up, horses, booze, a deadly combination)!
- We recently had Melbourne Fashion Festival, enough said!

513

2007-03-05T18:11:00.000+13:00

513 days ago a phone call changed my life. Today, finally, good news. Great news, the best news. Time for life to go on...

Hello Melbourne, Goodbye Wellington

2007-02-24T23:37:00.000+13:00

Today is the 4 month anniversary of me having arrived in the bustling metropolis of Melbourne. In fact, Melbourne consistently ranks as one of the best/most liveable cities in the world. Not exactly a difficult choice, confirmed by the fact that it feels like the last 4 months have just flown by.

So, how did it all happen? Simply put, I was offered a job that was too good to refuse. So I didn't. The profession I work in traditionally has movement, with experienced lawyers at the 2-5 year mark often moving overseas to bigger and brighter places. Australian lawyers, for example, head off to London, Dubai, Hong Kong, etc. Naturally, the drought sees lawyers having to be sourced elsewhere, especially in times of demand and economic growth like now. Recruiters and firms are poaching wherever they can. So against this backdrop, lawyers in large, national firms receive phone calls on a regular basis tempting them overseas. For me, I started getting calls in March last year, as frequently as every 2-3 weeks. Initially flattering, it quickly became tedious and disruptive. Many of the destinations sounded glamorous and exotic - Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Australia, Dubai - but were tempered by the fact that I simply didn't feel ready to move so far, so soon.

Then came one August Friday, which I distinctly remember as I was having a corporate team lunch and couldn't very well have the ensuing conversation within earshot! This time it was Melbourne, who had of course recently hosted the Commonwealth Games. The dreary Wellington winter, some ongoing frustration at work, and a personal issue or two all combined so that when I was asked "Have you ever thought about working in Melbourne?", I uttered the life-changing word "Yes".

The following Monday, I had three top tier Australian firms wanting interviews; by the end of the week, another four or five. The following week was full of interviews - both the phone and the video conference took some getting used to - and it was at the end of that week that a handful of firms decided they wished to progress matters and see me in person. So they flew me over, and within four or so weeks of that first phone call, I set foot on Australian soil for a week of interviews. And by the end of that week, I had letters of offer and a decision to make! I have never seen the wheels of bureaucracy move so fast.

The most difficult part of anything like this is to always resign. It was easily the hardest part of the process, but once it has been done it really does feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders. And so once that was done, I bided out my remaining time, packed my bags and made ready to leave the fair shores of New Zealand, like the other 649 Kiwis who leave every week for Australia (amazing, isn't it?).

And now here I am, in a brand new city, having a grand old time, doing work I really do enjoy, with a great team at a top firm, getting paid more and enjoying much much better weather. Isn't that how life should be? Well, almost...

In the Middle of the Night

2007-01-24T00:03:00.000+13:00

In the middle of the night
I go walking the corridor
From the photocopy room
Until my office door
I must be looking for something
Some file that I lost
But our firm's floor is wide
And it's too hard to cross

And even though I know the floor is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the floor
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what Ive been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go drafting in my sleep
Through a mountain of paper
To a destruction bin so deep
I'm a searcher for something
Taken out of the Corps Acts
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody transacts

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't wanna walk anymore
Hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I was billing in my sleep
Through stacks of timesheets
From the end of last week
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the (Law Society auditors, hahaha)
In the middle of the night

Lesson 1

2006-10-27T20:42:00.000+13:00

If you ever relocate to Melbourne, and bring your bike with you, and have it made up at a bike shop, and go and pick it up, and ride home with it, the worst place to wipe out is in the Bourke Street Mall, at 5.15pm on a Friday evening.

Let's just say, watch out for tram tracks when a pedestrian walks out in front of you.

At least I got applause.

Austraya Bound

2006-10-19T13:55:00.000+13:00

Bye bye New Zealand, it's been a great 25 years.
Hello Austraya...

Stories in Latin

2006-09-20T22:02:00.000+12:00

I love stories. And I love Latin. So this little posting tells stories using Latin phrases. The theme is from Cicero: "numquam se minus solum quam cum solus esset" - you are never so little alone as when you are alone. The first story is quite simple and has one theme. The second story has three themes to it, each phrase or quote labelled with a number to place it into its appropriate group.

Just for you, or you two, or even you three:

Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo: My conscience means more to me than all speech

Melius tarde, quam nunquam: Better late than never

Veritas vos liberabit: The truth will set you free

And for everyone - a three part story:

[1] Cum tacent, clamant: When they remain silent, they cry out

[1] Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent: Minor losses can be talked away; profound ones strike us dumb

[2] Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur: Even a god finds it hard to love and be wise at the same time

[2] Tempus fugit, non autem memoria: Time flies, but not memory

[3] Cursum perficio: My journey is over

Here's A Clue, For You All: Pay Attention, Will

2006-08-20T14:58:00.000+12:00

It was Miss scArLeT, two of them, quite separately, cuts he never saw coming from the front (Titus, I.i.354) and the back (Julius, III.i.77), in the office. And now he's all dead and gone.

Riddle Me This

2006-08-06T00:38:00.000+12:00

It does not beat, because it is broken. Forever.

2006-08-02T17:49:00.000+12:00

A Friend In Need

2006-08-01T22:48:00.000+12:00

It's funny how things in life you consider pillars can crumble, or at least aren't as strong as you might have first thought. It's funny how things aren't as perfect as they might seem. How the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side. How your perspective can change because of what you know and how things change in relativity.

I've got a friend called Mike. Mike has a hell of a lot more things going on that I would ever have guessed. He rang me up tonight. I think he just needed someone to talk to. The trouble is, I didn't know what I could possibly say back to him. I felt extraordinarily helpless.

You see, Mike's getting wound up at work. He works longer hours than I do at a big accounting firm. Up at the crack of dawn and all the way through to the small hours of the morning. I'd be surprised if he ever gets to see sunlight. Mike's pretty good at what he does; his problem is that he doesn't want to do it. Now I'm not one to know much about accounting, but apparently he is working in an area where he doesn't want to be. The poor guy is drowning in work. He has no life. He works in the weekends. He'd work in his sleep if he could. What a workaholic. I tell him he should play golf. After all, isn't that what all professionals need to master to really get ahead at work?

The problem is that there are more than just work issues going on for Mike. Because Mike has personal problems as well. Imagine someone you know well is dying. It must be the worst thing in the world, especially if you can't do anything about it. Because that's what Mike told me tonight. I was stunned. I can't imagine anything worse. Why it's tough for Mike is that it's not just one person. It's two. I could hear the sadness well up from him inside, and probably for the first time in my life I wished I had been by just to give him a hug or a pat on the shoulder. I wish he had told me sooner. A burden shared is a burden halved, in my opinion. He seemed so trapped and helpless. I don't know why he was telling me this; I'm sure he must have other close friends to talk to.

As it transpires, Mike has more personal issues. His love life is in critical condition. I tell you that I did not think anyone's could be worse than mine until he unfolded this all on me! Anyway, he's had a couple of run-ins lately, a couple of girls who he grew attached to, one of whom played some silly games with him and left the poor guy in a pretty confused state by the sounds of things to me. What a waste of time. I don't know why he bothered with the strumpet, but love is blind as they say. No sooner had he got over that one than he promptly fell for another girl who sounded much nicer. To cut a long story short (I learnt how to be longwinded from this guy), he thought they got on really well and by all accounts they actually did. But the girl just wanted to be friends and didn't want to lose him. And while he hurts he knows that there may be some truth to it. But the kicker is that he never did get to tell her or even float it all - it was all done through mutual friends and how the whole topic even got out there was unideal for everyone. So he really wants to talk to her to clear it all up at least for closure, but doesn't know what to say or how to say it. Now everyone has their weaknesses, but Mike's a pretty good guy and I reckon that any girl would be lucky to go out with him. I reckon that if he wasn't single he would definitely cut back his work hours for a start. He might even be free for a few drinks after work with me for the first time in goodness knows how long. So anyway, Mike's problem is that he doesn't really know what the problem is, save that he thinks this girl is fantastic, she partially reciprocates in that she likes him but not in the same way, and he doesn't know if that would ever change or whether his poor little heart is going to have another part chunked out of it for good. Goodness knows enough girls have had a hack at it over the years. Unlucky in love, I suppose.

Anyway, I suspect that why Mike called me up is because he was having trouble talking to some of his friends as well, the closer ones who he really trusted. And so this is what got me thinking that maybe the grass isn't greener on the other side. Mike has a load of acquaintances, and then a few very close friends in whom he confides practically everything. Good thing he isn't a lawyer. But it seems that his close friends have their own things to worry about. Friends who go distant on him, stop talking to him. Friends who have their own issues that they are struggling to deal with themselves. Friends who he wants to count on but now realises he can't because maybe they need him or because they have to fix themselves first. And he wants to help them because they are true blue friends to him, but whether they want him to or he actually can he doesn't know. So yet again, as with work, and his personal life, and his love life, he doesn't know what to do. And I don't know what he does about it. If anyone was ever in a pressure cooker right now, I think it would be him.

Well actually, it seems he does know what to do, kind of. Calling me. But I don't even know where to start. He overwhelmed me - I knew he worked long hours but that was about it. I suppose you peel back the layers and find that there is more. I don't know how he copes either. He talks sometimes but he doesn't really tell everything to everyone. I'm surprised I got the whole package. And for all that, I had nothing to say to help him. Or advise him. I felt pretty useless. There was just so much going on that I didn't know about and didn't know how to help him. So I blog. Because surely some of my more faithful readers might have some suggestions. I'm fresh out. And I thought I had issues of my own - damn!

Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun Blowout

2006-07-31T22:56:00.000+12:00

Mane en caso de que usted no pudiera notar, en caso de que usted no pudiera ver ésta es mi sangría del corazón antes de usted, éste es yo traga en mis rodillas que estos juegos absurdos me están rasgando aparte sus palabras thoughtless están rompiendo mi corazón usted está rompiendo mi corazón.

When the Math Ain't Workin'

2006-07-31T19:08:00.000+12:00

Now everyone who knows me well enough will know that I sometimes think too much, and further, I often make the fatal mistake of thinking with the wrong part - the head when it should be the heart, and the heart when it should be the head.

Let me put two algebraic equations to you:

Equation 1: [a + b + c + d + e] = f

Equation 2: [a + b + c + d + e] ≠ f

And now allow me to insert some (but not exhaustive) classical hypothetical definitions. Note that these definitions are merely examples, which may or may not necessarily apply.

a = propensity for copaceticity;
b = anticipation of current and future capital injection;
c = counterparty exigency;
d = consistent and appropriate execution of jocularity; and
e = a coruscatory disposition (collectively, "the Factors")
f = desired outcome

Now let us examine this framework more closely. Equation 1 is in itself a default setting, or the hypothesis. This is somewhat problematic, as it arrives at this position by virtue of the brain defaulting to the incorrect setting. Equation 1 is also characterised by its inherent self-focused nature.

Equation 2, however, is the equation in practice. The key difference between Equation 1 and Equation 2 is that in Equation 2, the desired outcome is not achieved. It is therefore an unsatisfactory result.

Ipso facto, prima facie, the Factors must be defective if the desired outcome is not achieved. Therein lies the quandry. As the Factors appear to be defective, then they must be corrected in order to for the desired outcome to be achieved.

Arguendo, the Factors are then examined by objective bystanders for the sole purpose of identifying defects. None of which are largely forthcoming. A fortiori, it appears that the defects in the Factors are thus so significant that they can not be rectified.

Quod erat demonstrandum that Equation 1 will never work, and therefore a desired outcome will never be reached by virtue of incurable defects. Therefore, Prometheus remains bound. Hush! For I hear their wings beat, and I feel them nearing again today.

Two Things

2006-07-31T00:23:00.000+12:00

1) I went skiing this weekend for the first time in a very long time. We used to ski every winter until the mountain we skiied on erupted (it is a dormant volcano for the most part). I've missed the snow. Took a few photos and have to work out how to get them off my phone now. Gorgeous clear blue skies, snow metres deep.

2) To flag in advance, I am in a bad mood.

Note: The above two points are unrelated.

Oh dear. The day before one of the biggest proj...

2006-07-26T23:37:00.000+12:00

Oh dear. The day before one of the biggest projects I've ever worked on is due to finish. Some goat causes a fire 5 floors below ours in some government department. The first we hear of it is when the fire alarms go off. At 10.00pm at night, you'd think it was just some tests. But no. It's a proper fire. And having climbed down a whole bunch of stairs and looking back up I could see a floor smoked out. Thank goodness there weren't any flames. So we stand outside, freezing and hungry, waiting to go back in. It didn't really get to happen, because the fire salvage crew turned up, along with 8 fire engines, so I headed off, planning at least to get something for dinner. Well. McDonalds was closed, and so was KFC. And my friend who owns a bar/restaurant had just shut his kitchen. What kind of city do I live in where government bureaucrats start fires, and there is no food at 11.00pm at night?

I'm starting to think there's something wrong with my life if I'm still at work that late, all I've had to eat today is some pizza (thanks Brent!). Maybe. I hardly ever blog any more and I'm way behind (think half a year plus) on emails. Time for another dreamless sleep, methinks.

How Not To Live (aka Days of Our Lives)

2006-07-23T21:00:00.000+12:00

6.00 am: Alarm goes off. Semi-wake up. Drift back to sleep.
7.00 am: Wake up in panic, thinking I am running late for work. Drift back to sleep.
7.55 am: Wake up in panic, realising that I am now going to be running slightly late for work.
8.00 am: Turn on iron, jump into shower, shave, brush teeth.
8.15 am: Pick shirt for the day and iron it, choose tie, pick a suit, get changed, run through morning ritual (moisturise, EDT, hair, etc).
8.30 am: Leave home, should be at work, so jump a bus or walk down to work.
8.45 am: Arrive at work, maybe crunch down a couple of Weet-bix (Weetbix kids are Kiwi Kids), check the news and run through emails.

9.00 am - 10.00 pm/12.00 am: Work (sometimes I even get lunch).

10.00 pm/12.00 am: Leave for home.
10.15 pm/12.15 am: Get home, lie down on bed, fall asleep around 1.00 am.

How to be a Perfect...

2006-07-07T00:36:00.000+12:00

OK, this is American-based, but I thought it still had its merits ;)

How to be a Perfect Chinese Parent (from the kid's perspective)

1. Be a little more lenient on the 7PM curfew.
2. Don't ask where the other point went when your child comes home with a 99 course grade on his/her report card.
3. Don't "ai-yoh" loudly at your kid's dress habits.
4. Don't blatantly hint about the merits of Hah-phoo (Harvard), Yale-uh (Yale), Stan-phoo (Stanford), and Emeh-I-Tee (MIT).
5. Don't reveal all the intimate details of your kid's life to the entire Chinese community.
6. Don't ask your child, "What are you going to do with you life" if he/she majors in a non-science field.
7. Don't give your son a bowl haircut or your daughter two acres of bangs.
8. Don't try to set your kid up on a date in anticipation of their poor taste or inept social skills.
9. Incorporate other phrases besides "Did you study yet?" into your daily conversations with your children.
10. Don't ask all your kid's friends over the age of 21 if they have a boy/girlfriend yet.

How to Be a Perfect Chinese Kid (from the parent's perspective)

1. Score 1600 on the SAT.
2. Play the violin or piano on the level of a concert performer.
3. Apply to and be accepted by 27 colleges.
4. Have three hobbies: studying, studying, and studying.
5. Go to a prestigious Ivy League university and win enough scholarship to pay for it.
6. Love classical music and detest talking on the telephone.
7. Become a Westinghouse, Presidential, and eventually a Rhodes Scholar.
8. Aspire to be a brain surgeon.
9. Marry a Chinese-American doctor and have perfect, successful children.
10. Love to hear stories about your parents' childhood...especially the one about walking 7 miles to school without shoes.

"A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else."

2006-07-05T21:42:00.000+12:00

This is a shout out to all my friends. You guys and gals rock - you know who you are, for the most :)

They're Changing Guards At Buckingham Palace

2006-06-27T23:33:00.000+12:00

It's 11.30pm NZT and I've just arrived home from work. One of my bosses will shortly be starting his day - he has lately been getting up and coming in to work at midnight.

An Executive Summary

2006-06-24T12:21:00.000+12:00

I find I sometimes go through blogging moods whereby I'll just blat something out, or I'll get sidetracked by life and just go weeks or months (!) without posting something up. Altogether rather erratic, really. And to top it off, I'll end up writing half my posts in some sort of veiled and abstract terms (the "moodier") posts or else I'll whip up some sort of factual account. Lately I've probably be doing more of the former, which interests me as it's like opening up another side of a blogger. Combine that with a need to self-censor for various reasons makes for some interesting (albeit oblique) posts at times. I digress.

ANZAC Day

I wrote a post some time ago concerning ANZAC Day. Unfortunately some people decided to read it the wrong way and turned a factual account into an emotive response. Play the ball, not the man, I say.

Phone Card

I finally got a phone card, and finally managed to catch up with some old friends. There was a slight problem when I got the time wrong in Canada and ended up calling someone around 4am. Whoops. Also, Mazzy claims she doesn't have a phone in Amsterdam. Sort it out already!

Flatmates

We lost our American flatmate, and got in a new one - an old friend from my Honours year at university. We now have a microwave, a coffee table and a second fridge.

Work Retreat

I've been on two so far this year - the first one to a place north of Wellington where there are a lot of vineyards and we got roaring drunk. I also got food poisoning. It wasn't fun. Especially after a few drinks. The other one was a bit more disappointing. Although it was held at a hotel that apparently has the only 5 star restaurant in Wellington, the fact that you could throw paper darts from our office to the venue made it seem unlike a retreat. And that was just not cool. However, we did book out a restaurant just for us and ripped through much vino. Notice a pattern here?

Martinborough

I went up to Martinborough (the vineyard place) with two friends for winetasting and learning more about wines. I think we must have visited a good 5-6 places. As driver, I was drinking in moderation. Next time we should take the train. We ended up with many bottles of wine, and formed the Marion Street Wine Appreciation Society. I will be attending to the drafting of its Constitution in due course. We also enjoyed a long lunch at a top vineyard and had a good chat. I wish we could do this more, as it's easily the best time I've had in a long time. We determined that it was things like this which are the reasons why we work.

Ribena

I've taken to drinking ribena - I used to love the stuff as a kid and now I have a nice bottle of concentrate. Delish!

Cold

The weather is freezing here - and I say this having spent three months living in Montreal during the middle of its winter. The winter here is colder in that there is a wind chill which cuts right through to the bone - more of a wet cold than a dry cold. And my jacket is still in Montreal - Anuj, I really need this back!

Jazz

I've recently developed a partiality to listening to live jazz at a bar nearby on Wednesday nights. There is nothing better than having good conversation in good company drinking good vino (notice a pattern here?) listening to good jazz on a Wednesday night, right in the middle of the working week.

Work

Work is rather interesting at the moment. Interesting in, shall we say, a number of ways.

Nature

I went to a birthday party for Alice's boss' 50th birthday, where they had booked out a bar and there were loads of people having fun listening to great music. In fact, the band was led by Don McGlashan, who was a member of the Muttonbirds many moons ago (classic NZ music). We drank and danced the night away. Much better than watching the Super 14 final...

Gym

I have just realised I am due out at the gym with Alan in 15 minutes, so off we go...

Have a great weekend, wherever you are.

A Mood to ReJoyce, Jimmy?

2006-06-12T22:22:00.000+12:00

Clickety-click.

So that’s probably the second to last full stop you’ll see in this blog tonight, maybe, depending, although I might just give up and find it too hard and just whack a big fat full stop in there what’s that song by the new something did the captain of the titanic cry Chicago something Mitsubishi ad ninety seven times driving by the place we met radicals, it’s radicals, I knew I knew it I’m sure I have it hurry up and open iTunes some day we’ll know type it in oh I have two versions of it maybe one we’ll know change channels the stupid tuning just isn’t working I really need to call up the landlord what’s his name Deryck what stupid way to spell a name I wonder why my flatmates are laughing outside man they’re noisy and the door’s shut and dammit they haven’t switched the light off like in my email and man Deryck has a huge car he must really eat it up in gas need to get the tv aeriel plug fixed up and oh that’s right I really need to get that fourth cooking element sorted out because it’s so hard to cook with only one big element and two small ones and man I’m full that curry was good lunch will be good tomorrow remember to take my lunch to work tomorrow and heat it up oh I’m playing soccer at work tomorrow so I’ll eat after didn’t Darren say that the soccer court was flooded today oh wait maybe it was Dean yeah it was Dean not Darren but there is soccer I better remember to take my gear shall I use my new runners no I better not because they’ll fall apart and that’s right did the captain of the titanic cry some day we’ll know if love can move a mountain someday we’ll know why I wasn’t meant for you oh Hugh Jackman on tv the girls seem to love him outside man my flatties are shrieking desperate housewives is on next I used to like it but now it doesn’t sound so appealing and then it’s grey’s anatomy that asian chick in that really annoys me, really winds me up I suppose it’s because she’s a really good actor and does it so well and that reminds me she’s in sideways which is a brilliant but quirky movie and why wouldn’t it work on Sunday that would have been the best way to finish off the whole day on Sunday so much wine good thing I was driving and didn’t drink much because that wouldn’t have been too good and man her eyes glittered in the sun and she had such a radiant smile click click diamonds are shiny and pretty how about that diamond encrusted Mercedes in the Sydney morning herald the other day tiffany’s has nice diamonds and I really need to go back there some time New York City library wide streets big buildings rain Mazzy lost her passport and bailed on us in starbucks at times square I wonder why they make you pay to read the new york times ow my neck is itchy oh work tomorrow john is back and I still have that title report to do and trace back the histories and that’s going to take forever I suppose at least I can bill for it but Neville wants it this week and I really need to track down Deborah and Christine is away until Wednesday who’s playing soccer oh that’s right Australia is playing Japan why is my glittering eyes oh what’s that ringing the phone ow it’s loud who’s bothering me some day we’ll know why Samson why am I such a crazy boy smiles I could die happy