As you may have guessed, I've not been writing here since my travels came to an end. This is a blog about wanderlust after all. I will summarize a bit of what's been going on since Japan, however. I flew back to Sydney and spent a few days there. It was cold in Sydney with winter falling over the southern hemisphere. I was glad to have my warm coat at my disposal. One of my close friends' sister from back home happened to be visiting the city when I was there and we connected and spent a rainy day together. That weekend I made my way back on the long flight to Canada.
Coming home was a bit of a shock to the system. I was happy to see my close friends and family again, no doubt, but the change in routine and the reality of not traveling anymore started to set in quickly enough and I was on quite a downer. I knew that actually living abroad would change things for me. That was part of the point of doing it. But I never knew I still had such a huge capacity for change after all the changes I've made in my life over the past 5 years or so. It just showed me that there is no limit to new experiences opening up your mind and broadening your horizons. The people I met while away were the real reasons behind this even more than the beautiful places I visited. One thought that permeated my mind while in Japan is that there are beautiful places in every corner of the world. People travel and say how beautiful this or that place is and how amazed they are at that beauty, but frankly, I've ceased to be surprised at such things. I'm not exactly unmoved by the places I visit, but I am now more than ever almost expecting to see wonderful things when I travel. And that's kind of cool. It emphasizes the fact that it's the people and the differences in culture and things that you learn about a place that are the aspects of travel and affect us and teach us the most. To be able to experience all of that amongst natural beauty is the bonus. At any rate, I can't say enough how lucky I have been for the experiences I've taken away in the time I was gone from my home. I have yet another new perspective on my own existence and I'm open to new ideas and experiences moving forward. It's made me even bolder, I think, to take some chances in life. And speaking of which...
I decided to take advantage of having some time off that I've actually never had in my life, and registered to take an intensive, 4-day per week, month-long French course. I wanted to just be immersed in the language and speaking it every day. I figured it would help me if I got interviews for bilingual positions. I can speak perfectly well, but I don't often get the chance to, so I can get a little rusty and trip over my words when I'm on the spot. I also got certified to teach spinning that month.
Since then I've moved out of my brother-in-law and sister's place into a house downtown (living downtown is so much more my pace!) with two roommates. It's working out well. I've got a part-time job at a health food store down here and teaching spinning once a week now. Still looking for something full-time and better paying in order to save some money and pay for the courses I took in July, but I've been so very grateful for all the free time here this summer. I've been busy, don't get me wrong, but it's been a totally different busy than I've ever known before.
I've been cycling a lot in the past month and a half (July wasn't the best for motivation on my part, nor for the weather). I'm madly in love with the bike at the moment, heading out about 6 days per week. I participated in a TTT at the end of August and had a lot of fun. I've actually done a faster TT before than what we did, but none of us had ridden together in echelon before (and most of the rest of my team had never done it at all), so there was a bit of getting comfortable with each other in the first lap of the race, then there was the fact that it was a tough course and some of us (ahem - moi) weren't in top shape at the time. Nevertheless, the point was to have fun and we did! We even got a second place medal!!! I've never had a medal in my life!! How cool is that????! I hope I'm around next spring for the next installation of this same race, as we plan to do it again and put our last result to shame. :)
I have plans for the near future that I'm working on, both travel and career related, but I will be keeping them all to myself until things are clearer and more concrete. In the meantime there likely won't be much activity here, but check in from time to time and we'll head off to another part of the world together soon! Thanks for reading and spending time virtually traveling with me. I'm glad I can share it. xo
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Exploring Japan
The evening of my last post I headed out with some new friends for dinner at an izakaya. These types of restaurants seem to be a good choice for me since there are many little dishes and I can usually find something veggie, while my friends can enjoy their meat. I was introduced to a type of sake called umeshu and have been onto it ever since. Afterwards, we wandered not far down the street and hopped into a karaoke establishment. The way you do karaoke in Japan is to hire out private rooms by the hour and you can get a flat rate with drinks included. Some even have food to order as well. Needless to say - drinks help lubricate everyone's sense of pride and by the end we were all shouting over each other really. It can deteriorate quickly - haha! But it was heaps of fun!!
Next day I headed off to Nikko for 2 nights. What an amazing little place. One of the highlights for me for sure! I stayed at a lodge run by some monks (not a temple though) and had a traditional Japanese vegetarian meal there that night, which was fantastic. No, there isn't a lot of vegetarianism in Japan outside of monasteries, so it was a struggle for me in many places. But more on that later. In Nikko there are a bunch of temples and shrines which have been listed under UNESCO's world heritage sites and they are well worth a visit - crowds or not. Here I got to see the surprisingly small, but original carving of the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys. I got lost a few times leaving the lodge and around the temple area, adding to my km's walked (about 20K that day - ouch!). My second night there I met a nice Finnish girl named Eeva and the next morning before I headed back to Tokyo the two of us headed out for another walk to an area near the river where there are two rows of Buddhas, which according to legend, if you count them in one direction, turn around and count in the other you will never get the same number. There were far too many of them to count so we didn't attempt it. I added at least another 8 km to my walking total that day and was happy to hop on the train and chill out for a couple of hours back to the big city.
Upon my return to Tokyo I reconnected with the friends I'd met before I left for Nikko and we had dinner at an okonomiyaki restaurant near the hostel after we'd sufficiently relaxed at a public bath house - my first onsen experience. The next day Dan arrived and together with a bunch of the other folks we met at the hostel we took in more of the city sights. Unfortunately it rained a fair bit, but we made the best of it. More izakaya dining and temples and bright neon lights and one big night out... Eeva had come to Tokyo later the same day as myself and she had met a friend of a friend earlier in her travels who lives here - a Japanese local, named Yu. He organized us all to go out on the town on the Saturday night with a couple of his friends, some more folks we'd met at the hostel, and some more from the hostel Eeva was staying at down the road from ours. We met up in Shibuya and ate at an izakaya on the 10th floor of a building which overlooked the famous intersection there. On a side note: the Japanese football (soccer) team was playing that night and they had it on at the izakaya - they won and qualified for the world cup! That was fun to experience. We took a free shuttle bus from Shibuya to another ward near Tokyo's Disney and spent the rest of the night and morning at a massive club called Ageha. Multiple floors and rooms with differing music and bars and even a little food area outside. The trains stop at midnight in Tokyo, so if you stay out you have to be within walking distance of your accommodation (highly unlikely), pay a small fortune on a cab ride (in the hundreds of dollars), or just stay out until the first morning train. We chose the latter and left the club at 5:30 AM. We literally danced the night away - had sore feet the next day!! Yu was such a great host! He took care of us all and got us into the restaurant and club and sorted everything out! It was a real treat to be shown around by a local!
Got back to the hostel, slept for 2 hours (sort of - was kinda difficult), and then spent the rest of Sunday in Harajuku taking in the sights. That's the day to go there and see Harajuku girls and the like. Quite the scene. That night we stayed at a capsule hotel, another random, interesting Japanese experience. My room looked just like the ones in the photos on the link I've provided. Wonder if it's the same one? Then we got up early Monday morning and caught the shinkansen to Fukuoka.
Traveling by train is the only way to travel in Japan, in my humble opinion. It is fantastic!!! It is exactly on time - to the second. It is comfortable, and clean, and FAST!!! Fukuoka was a nice enough city, but there wasn't a whole lot to do there. We got to eat at a traditional street-side stall called a yatai - which was cool. The one we ended up eating at had won some awards and the lady who ran it was really cool and made a special dish just for Dan. We sat with an older gentleman who chatted with us all evening, practicing his broken English and us with our phrase book trying our best. It was really fun! Some more ladies came and sat down at the end of the stall and offered for us to try some of their dishes and knew a bit of English so helped out when we stumbled with words.
The following day we headed off to Beppu - an onsen town. Here we stayed at a ryokan - a traditional Japanese inn. There is a lot of formality involved with a stay at an inn. When you arrive they have tea waiting for you (at this place it was in the room) on a table on tatami mats and cushions to sit around. Since this is an onsen town you can don your yukata (available in your room for you) and head out to the various hot springs. We went over to the famous Takegawara Onsen and I had a sand bath. Later, when we returned, the table was moved to the side of the room and the bed (called a futon) was all set out, along with water beside the tea service, which was cleaned up from earlier, to rehydrate after the onsen. The ryokan we stayed at had their own private onsens, so we booked our own time slots to enjoy two of the three they offered. One hour before dinner, and another just before heading off to bed. Three onsens in one day - whew! I was wiped out - slept like a baby!! We had dinner that night at an izakaya (obviously was becoming one of our favourite styles of Japanese cuisine) and started chatting with two men at the table next to ours. Again there were limited English and Japanese skills involved, but so much fun and they bought us some beer! Most people here are just so very friendly and welcoming. It has really made the experience!! We had opted not to have the traditional Japanese dinner at the ryokan due to the cost, but the following morning Dan was courageous enough to try a traditional Japanese breakfast - kudos to him... rice, fish, pickled things, tofu, miso soup, and many things that we did not recognize as food.
We left Beppu (in Kyushu) to head to the Kansai region to take in the sights of Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, etc... I will post on that tomorrow.
Next day I headed off to Nikko for 2 nights. What an amazing little place. One of the highlights for me for sure! I stayed at a lodge run by some monks (not a temple though) and had a traditional Japanese vegetarian meal there that night, which was fantastic. No, there isn't a lot of vegetarianism in Japan outside of monasteries, so it was a struggle for me in many places. But more on that later. In Nikko there are a bunch of temples and shrines which have been listed under UNESCO's world heritage sites and they are well worth a visit - crowds or not. Here I got to see the surprisingly small, but original carving of the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys. I got lost a few times leaving the lodge and around the temple area, adding to my km's walked (about 20K that day - ouch!). My second night there I met a nice Finnish girl named Eeva and the next morning before I headed back to Tokyo the two of us headed out for another walk to an area near the river where there are two rows of Buddhas, which according to legend, if you count them in one direction, turn around and count in the other you will never get the same number. There were far too many of them to count so we didn't attempt it. I added at least another 8 km to my walking total that day and was happy to hop on the train and chill out for a couple of hours back to the big city.
Upon my return to Tokyo I reconnected with the friends I'd met before I left for Nikko and we had dinner at an okonomiyaki restaurant near the hostel after we'd sufficiently relaxed at a public bath house - my first onsen experience. The next day Dan arrived and together with a bunch of the other folks we met at the hostel we took in more of the city sights. Unfortunately it rained a fair bit, but we made the best of it. More izakaya dining and temples and bright neon lights and one big night out... Eeva had come to Tokyo later the same day as myself and she had met a friend of a friend earlier in her travels who lives here - a Japanese local, named Yu. He organized us all to go out on the town on the Saturday night with a couple of his friends, some more folks we'd met at the hostel, and some more from the hostel Eeva was staying at down the road from ours. We met up in Shibuya and ate at an izakaya on the 10th floor of a building which overlooked the famous intersection there. On a side note: the Japanese football (soccer) team was playing that night and they had it on at the izakaya - they won and qualified for the world cup! That was fun to experience. We took a free shuttle bus from Shibuya to another ward near Tokyo's Disney and spent the rest of the night and morning at a massive club called Ageha. Multiple floors and rooms with differing music and bars and even a little food area outside. The trains stop at midnight in Tokyo, so if you stay out you have to be within walking distance of your accommodation (highly unlikely), pay a small fortune on a cab ride (in the hundreds of dollars), or just stay out until the first morning train. We chose the latter and left the club at 5:30 AM. We literally danced the night away - had sore feet the next day!! Yu was such a great host! He took care of us all and got us into the restaurant and club and sorted everything out! It was a real treat to be shown around by a local!
Got back to the hostel, slept for 2 hours (sort of - was kinda difficult), and then spent the rest of Sunday in Harajuku taking in the sights. That's the day to go there and see Harajuku girls and the like. Quite the scene. That night we stayed at a capsule hotel, another random, interesting Japanese experience. My room looked just like the ones in the photos on the link I've provided. Wonder if it's the same one? Then we got up early Monday morning and caught the shinkansen to Fukuoka.
Traveling by train is the only way to travel in Japan, in my humble opinion. It is fantastic!!! It is exactly on time - to the second. It is comfortable, and clean, and FAST!!! Fukuoka was a nice enough city, but there wasn't a whole lot to do there. We got to eat at a traditional street-side stall called a yatai - which was cool. The one we ended up eating at had won some awards and the lady who ran it was really cool and made a special dish just for Dan. We sat with an older gentleman who chatted with us all evening, practicing his broken English and us with our phrase book trying our best. It was really fun! Some more ladies came and sat down at the end of the stall and offered for us to try some of their dishes and knew a bit of English so helped out when we stumbled with words.
The following day we headed off to Beppu - an onsen town. Here we stayed at a ryokan - a traditional Japanese inn. There is a lot of formality involved with a stay at an inn. When you arrive they have tea waiting for you (at this place it was in the room) on a table on tatami mats and cushions to sit around. Since this is an onsen town you can don your yukata (available in your room for you) and head out to the various hot springs. We went over to the famous Takegawara Onsen and I had a sand bath. Later, when we returned, the table was moved to the side of the room and the bed (called a futon) was all set out, along with water beside the tea service, which was cleaned up from earlier, to rehydrate after the onsen. The ryokan we stayed at had their own private onsens, so we booked our own time slots to enjoy two of the three they offered. One hour before dinner, and another just before heading off to bed. Three onsens in one day - whew! I was wiped out - slept like a baby!! We had dinner that night at an izakaya (obviously was becoming one of our favourite styles of Japanese cuisine) and started chatting with two men at the table next to ours. Again there were limited English and Japanese skills involved, but so much fun and they bought us some beer! Most people here are just so very friendly and welcoming. It has really made the experience!! We had opted not to have the traditional Japanese dinner at the ryokan due to the cost, but the following morning Dan was courageous enough to try a traditional Japanese breakfast - kudos to him... rice, fish, pickled things, tofu, miso soup, and many things that we did not recognize as food.
We left Beppu (in Kyushu) to head to the Kansai region to take in the sights of Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, etc... I will post on that tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Smile of the Day
This has nothing to do with anything about travel or NZ, apart from the fact that it was while I had a visitor last month here that we started discussing The Muppets and then searched for them on You-Tube and watched a few sketches. Man! I LOVE the Muppets. So here is one that Andrew reminded me of via email today and I thought, 'hey, I should share this'. :)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
New Year, New Experiences
I've been lax on updating the blog the past couple of weeks so I do apologize. How bad of me - particularly when most of you are back at work and in need of a distraction from life in the cube farm. ;) I've been busy. Life is full. Things are good. So where to start?
Well, the Christmas holidays mark the start of summer down under and I'm feeling the vibe of the season a lot these days. Every time we have a nice day there are heaps of folks out at the beaches. I've been wearing singlets (kiwi word for tank-top) and jandals (kiwi word for flip-flops) a lot more. I even bought a pair of shorts over the holidays. I've been riding my bike a lot. I'm feeling really good on the bike these days. This was one of the goals associated with taking this time off and away from home. I had hoped that I could start to build some real strength and power on the bike on top of the base I have from the past 5 years of cycling. I think it's starting to come. The hills here are just killer. As Andrew experience when he visited, you really cannot imagine the hills (and the wind of Wello) until you are here. I don't think he truly believed what I'd told him about riding here. There are all varieties: short and steep, long with steep parts, long and gradual - you name it, you've got it. It's the best kind of cycling training I could hope for. And then you just throw in some good 40 kph headwinds every other day for good measure, and you find yourself thinking that relatively windless days and 6% grades are easy. Choosing this particular location to live has been fortuitous in many ways, but this one may be one of the more significant for me. I cannot wimp out and do a flat ride. It's just not possible. Even recovery rides include some form of climbing. So - I have become a little more confident in my abilities on the bike and hopefully this will continue to grow. One of the mechanics at the shop is an ex-Euro-pro and I finally got out and rode with him last week. Now he's keen to ride with me at least once, if not twice a week (as he says I need to do 2 really hard rides per week and he intends on pushing me hard). I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. Protege of an ex-pro? haha! Who knows.
Another great thing about Wello is that so many of my friends have been coming through to visit. I even just hosted a friend of a friend of a new friend. Haha! Yes. An American girl (and bike mechanic) on her way through to the south island on a solo bike trip - all of her gear on her bike. I picked her up at the airport on my bike and we rode into town around the bays together. She loved the intro to the city. At the same time I had another friend in town visiting (one of the first people I met when I arrived in NZ three months ago) and the three of us hung out the rest of the day and just had a blast. We even got video-taped sitting out at a cafe downtown for the city council's website advertisement for tourism here. Too funny. I'll let you know if we get our 30 seconds of fame or not. I have at least two more friends coming to town in the next few weeks. And I shouldn't forget to mention that I've been having a blast with my new kiwi friends and my flatmate. They've been introducing me to kiwiana every chance they get and they are simply very kind to me. We have decided to have a kiwiana-themed party at our flat later this month. Should be fun!
I'm happy to report that so much of what I have wanted from this experience is coming together. I'm taking a break from life as I knew it and finding the time to breathe. I'm learning more about the bike - in every sense (I even know the difference between a hard-tail and a full suspension MTB - haha!! Who woulda thunk it?). I'm immersed in a different culture than my own and having a ton of fun with it. I'm connecting with others and making heaps of new friends from many different countries. I'm carving out new opportunities for the future. And I continue to learn about myself and grow. What else can one hope to achieve?
Well, the Christmas holidays mark the start of summer down under and I'm feeling the vibe of the season a lot these days. Every time we have a nice day there are heaps of folks out at the beaches. I've been wearing singlets (kiwi word for tank-top) and jandals (kiwi word for flip-flops) a lot more. I even bought a pair of shorts over the holidays. I've been riding my bike a lot. I'm feeling really good on the bike these days. This was one of the goals associated with taking this time off and away from home. I had hoped that I could start to build some real strength and power on the bike on top of the base I have from the past 5 years of cycling. I think it's starting to come. The hills here are just killer. As Andrew experience when he visited, you really cannot imagine the hills (and the wind of Wello) until you are here. I don't think he truly believed what I'd told him about riding here. There are all varieties: short and steep, long with steep parts, long and gradual - you name it, you've got it. It's the best kind of cycling training I could hope for. And then you just throw in some good 40 kph headwinds every other day for good measure, and you find yourself thinking that relatively windless days and 6% grades are easy. Choosing this particular location to live has been fortuitous in many ways, but this one may be one of the more significant for me. I cannot wimp out and do a flat ride. It's just not possible. Even recovery rides include some form of climbing. So - I have become a little more confident in my abilities on the bike and hopefully this will continue to grow. One of the mechanics at the shop is an ex-Euro-pro and I finally got out and rode with him last week. Now he's keen to ride with me at least once, if not twice a week (as he says I need to do 2 really hard rides per week and he intends on pushing me hard). I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. Protege of an ex-pro? haha! Who knows.
Another great thing about Wello is that so many of my friends have been coming through to visit. I even just hosted a friend of a friend of a new friend. Haha! Yes. An American girl (and bike mechanic) on her way through to the south island on a solo bike trip - all of her gear on her bike. I picked her up at the airport on my bike and we rode into town around the bays together. She loved the intro to the city. At the same time I had another friend in town visiting (one of the first people I met when I arrived in NZ three months ago) and the three of us hung out the rest of the day and just had a blast. We even got video-taped sitting out at a cafe downtown for the city council's website advertisement for tourism here. Too funny. I'll let you know if we get our 30 seconds of fame or not. I have at least two more friends coming to town in the next few weeks. And I shouldn't forget to mention that I've been having a blast with my new kiwi friends and my flatmate. They've been introducing me to kiwiana every chance they get and they are simply very kind to me. We have decided to have a kiwiana-themed party at our flat later this month. Should be fun!
I'm happy to report that so much of what I have wanted from this experience is coming together. I'm taking a break from life as I knew it and finding the time to breathe. I'm learning more about the bike - in every sense (I even know the difference between a hard-tail and a full suspension MTB - haha!! Who woulda thunk it?). I'm immersed in a different culture than my own and having a ton of fun with it. I'm connecting with others and making heaps of new friends from many different countries. I'm carving out new opportunities for the future. And I continue to learn about myself and grow. What else can one hope to achieve?
Sunday, December 07, 2008
A Visitor
Having actually gotten down to a small semblance of routine and just experiencing living and working and riding my bike down under, I haven't had a lot to post about that I thought would be of interest. I hope you all got a kick out of the video clips in the last post though!
This morning I'm off to pick up likely my one and only Canadian visitor, Andrew. He will be arriving in about an hour's time and I'm super psyched to have a visitor from home with whom I can share some of this experience, as well, we will be heading off for a trip to explore some more of this country! So I'm going on vacation again! Woo-hoo!
By way of a quick update though (for those of you who aren't connected with me through other means and would like to hear more): I have been settling in well here in Wello. I really like where I'm living - the location is very convenient, and I'm getting to know my flatmates. I got to go to my first kiwi BBQ last weekend with one of my flatmates and her friends. That was a lot of fun! The kiwi BBQ is a very important summer tradition. In fact, rather than turkey and stuffing (although many do partake), often the kiwis have a BBQ on Christmas. And lunch is usually the big meal of the day that day, not dinner per se. I've already been seeing Christmas trees up in people's houses (I spy through their windows as I ride my bike past - lol!) and the weirdest thing for me was when I was riding home last weekend I rode past the botanic gardens and they had an outdoor Christmas concert going on. It was really neat, but so surreal for me to be riding my bike in warm weather while passing "The First Noel" being sung. I've never been away from the snow and ice for Christmas before! Very weird feeling. I'm happy to have company from home for the holidays too. I know it will make me feel much less removed from it all.
So stay tuned, and while we're traveling in the coming weeks I will have to try to keep you updated on the new places I'll be visiting!
This morning I'm off to pick up likely my one and only Canadian visitor, Andrew. He will be arriving in about an hour's time and I'm super psyched to have a visitor from home with whom I can share some of this experience, as well, we will be heading off for a trip to explore some more of this country! So I'm going on vacation again! Woo-hoo!
By way of a quick update though (for those of you who aren't connected with me through other means and would like to hear more): I have been settling in well here in Wello. I really like where I'm living - the location is very convenient, and I'm getting to know my flatmates. I got to go to my first kiwi BBQ last weekend with one of my flatmates and her friends. That was a lot of fun! The kiwi BBQ is a very important summer tradition. In fact, rather than turkey and stuffing (although many do partake), often the kiwis have a BBQ on Christmas. And lunch is usually the big meal of the day that day, not dinner per se. I've already been seeing Christmas trees up in people's houses (I spy through their windows as I ride my bike past - lol!) and the weirdest thing for me was when I was riding home last weekend I rode past the botanic gardens and they had an outdoor Christmas concert going on. It was really neat, but so surreal for me to be riding my bike in warm weather while passing "The First Noel" being sung. I've never been away from the snow and ice for Christmas before! Very weird feeling. I'm happy to have company from home for the holidays too. I know it will make me feel much less removed from it all.
So stay tuned, and while we're traveling in the coming weeks I will have to try to keep you updated on the new places I'll be visiting!
Friday, October 17, 2008
All Business
Well, I may have finally gotten down to the last of the 'sorting out my business' end of things here (famous last words). I was hoping to leave Auckland today, but as luck would have it I could not confirm a place up north to stay in time and had to spend another day here. This was not a bad thing in the end, as I still had some things to figure out, book, plan, etc. I have not relaxed one minute yet. It's been quite tiring. I look very much forward to some R&R this weekend. So tomorrow is a non-computer day. I need a break from the screen and the bookings and the....
the list could go on.
I'm not sure I've given Auckland it's fair shake, as my time here has been consumed by matters that aren't really of a tourist nature. The only real thing I've done as a tourist was the Sky Tower. I have been around the city a little bit though. I got to travel across the Harbour Bridge yesterday to the suburbs to have dinner with Kiwi-Mike's parents. That was super!! We had a great dinner, their house is totally, amazingly cool, and they took me down to the beach near their place for a walk. The kids were out after school for their surf and sailing lessons. No, no hockey after school in the City of Sails. ;)
I left the B&B today to stay at more affordable accommodations. The B&B upon my arrival was my splurge. I needed a nice, quiet place to stay and take a load off while I acclimatized to the new circadian rhythm over here. So now I'm at a hostel. It's ok, but not half as nice. I was getting used to the family at the B&B and when I left they said I had become a member of the family. It was a nice place to stay.
I've met several people in similar situations as myself: taking a break from work or looking for a change. It's nice to meet like-minded people (read of my same age range). A lot of the kids down here are from Germany. In fact, I'd say the majority of those at the IEP have come from there. I've met two Canadians now (one sharing my room at the hostel tonight) and a couple Brits and a couple Americans. So I'm off to relax and meet more new people tomorrow. Til then!
the list could go on.
I'm not sure I've given Auckland it's fair shake, as my time here has been consumed by matters that aren't really of a tourist nature. The only real thing I've done as a tourist was the Sky Tower. I have been around the city a little bit though. I got to travel across the Harbour Bridge yesterday to the suburbs to have dinner with Kiwi-Mike's parents. That was super!! We had a great dinner, their house is totally, amazingly cool, and they took me down to the beach near their place for a walk. The kids were out after school for their surf and sailing lessons. No, no hockey after school in the City of Sails. ;)
I left the B&B today to stay at more affordable accommodations. The B&B upon my arrival was my splurge. I needed a nice, quiet place to stay and take a load off while I acclimatized to the new circadian rhythm over here. So now I'm at a hostel. It's ok, but not half as nice. I was getting used to the family at the B&B and when I left they said I had become a member of the family. It was a nice place to stay.
I've met several people in similar situations as myself: taking a break from work or looking for a change. It's nice to meet like-minded people (read of my same age range). A lot of the kids down here are from Germany. In fact, I'd say the majority of those at the IEP have come from there. I've met two Canadians now (one sharing my room at the hostel tonight) and a couple Brits and a couple Americans. So I'm off to relax and meet more new people tomorrow. Til then!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Kia ora tatou!
Which means: "hello everyone!" in Maori. I have arrived safe and sound. The flight was much less painful than usual, even given it was a total of 19 hours flying time (plus a short 1.5 hour layover in beautiful Vancouver). It was also shorter than I had anticipated, given what I'd been told by others. The Air NZ folks were totally amazing.
So what to tell you about first. I haven't seen much yet. Just got here an hour or so ago. My lovely hosts here at the B&B got my room ready in a pinch, even though the person occupying my room had just left. Very sweet of them. I need a shower... that will come next (certainly before I head out to explore the city). The only thing to fill you in on so far are the particulars of the journey.
Of course there were tears at the airport when Beth & Andrew sent me off. To be honest, until I got into the airport I had only felt excitement for the trip for the past 1-2 weeks. At the airport I started to feel nervous because it was all actually real for the first time. Although, I also have a feeling that my nerves were caused by a mixture of adventuring out into the unknown, and worrying about my bike. When I took her over to the oversized luggage area and set her down on the conveyor belt I prayed that I'd get her back in one piece on the other side of the world. As I waited for the oversized luggage to come out at the Auckland airport the anticipation was nothing short of waiting for a loved one coming back from a long trip - I kid you not. I almost kissed the box when I grabbed it. Didn't open the box until I arrived at the B&B - the sweet little girl (granddaughter of the owners) helped me open it. She was pretty excited to see my bike, and complimented me on how nice it was too. :) So far so good. A little paint scratched off one spoke - no worries (getting down with the kiwi venacular there if you hadn't noticed). I digress...
I only had my executive seat for the YVR-AKL leg of the journey confirmed last week - one of the most exciting days this year! Executive from home to Van was nice - from Van to Auckland was fantabulous!!!! I had my own little pod, in-pod entertainment system, a foot rest, and the piece de resistance: the pod converts into a full lie-down bed!!!!!!!!!! Side note for those who aren't aware: I saved all - ALL - of my points to get this ticket and I have never - NEVER - in all the travels, all the flights I've taken in my lifetime, ever flown business/executive or any other classification other than economy. This was an experience that I appreciated immensely. We took off from Van at 9 PM -> midnight for my internal clock (and the rest of you on EST). They proceeded to serve dinner. I was fried. I was not hungry. So I ate a little bread and some salad and (since I HAD to) had a vodka and soda (which was amazing - this NZ vodka that has some sort of honey taste) and promptly curled up in my pod all scrunched-up-like with the big pillow and the eye mask they provided and fell asleep. I could not keep my eyes open. One of the crew came by at one point and covered me with a blanket, and I knew they had but I couldn't get myself to move. Next time I woke up was after the dinner service when one of the crew was trying to adjust my blanket which I probably moved or something. When I got up he offered to convert my pod to a bed and I was so all over that. Next thing I'm in my little bed and snuggled up and I can't fall back to sleep because I'm so damned excited about how awesome this little bed thing is! Eventually I did sleep - most of the night. It was great. Got up a couple of hours before the breakfast (which was fantastic) and then we were landing.
Landing was great. I got a nice view of Auckland as we came in overhead and then swooped back around to approach it from the west to land. The landscape around in the rural areas we flew over (and some totally uninhabited areas) was beautiful: lush and green and hilly and ocean and sand. Next few days I'll tour Auckland and fill you in. Until then: Haere ra!
So what to tell you about first. I haven't seen much yet. Just got here an hour or so ago. My lovely hosts here at the B&B got my room ready in a pinch, even though the person occupying my room had just left. Very sweet of them. I need a shower... that will come next (certainly before I head out to explore the city). The only thing to fill you in on so far are the particulars of the journey.
Of course there were tears at the airport when Beth & Andrew sent me off. To be honest, until I got into the airport I had only felt excitement for the trip for the past 1-2 weeks. At the airport I started to feel nervous because it was all actually real for the first time. Although, I also have a feeling that my nerves were caused by a mixture of adventuring out into the unknown, and worrying about my bike. When I took her over to the oversized luggage area and set her down on the conveyor belt I prayed that I'd get her back in one piece on the other side of the world. As I waited for the oversized luggage to come out at the Auckland airport the anticipation was nothing short of waiting for a loved one coming back from a long trip - I kid you not. I almost kissed the box when I grabbed it. Didn't open the box until I arrived at the B&B - the sweet little girl (granddaughter of the owners) helped me open it. She was pretty excited to see my bike, and complimented me on how nice it was too. :) So far so good. A little paint scratched off one spoke - no worries (getting down with the kiwi venacular there if you hadn't noticed). I digress...
I only had my executive seat for the YVR-AKL leg of the journey confirmed last week - one of the most exciting days this year! Executive from home to Van was nice - from Van to Auckland was fantabulous!!!! I had my own little pod, in-pod entertainment system, a foot rest, and the piece de resistance: the pod converts into a full lie-down bed!!!!!!!!!! Side note for those who aren't aware: I saved all - ALL - of my points to get this ticket and I have never - NEVER - in all the travels, all the flights I've taken in my lifetime, ever flown business/executive or any other classification other than economy. This was an experience that I appreciated immensely. We took off from Van at 9 PM -> midnight for my internal clock (and the rest of you on EST). They proceeded to serve dinner. I was fried. I was not hungry. So I ate a little bread and some salad and (since I HAD to) had a vodka and soda (which was amazing - this NZ vodka that has some sort of honey taste) and promptly curled up in my pod all scrunched-up-like with the big pillow and the eye mask they provided and fell asleep. I could not keep my eyes open. One of the crew came by at one point and covered me with a blanket, and I knew they had but I couldn't get myself to move. Next time I woke up was after the dinner service when one of the crew was trying to adjust my blanket which I probably moved or something. When I got up he offered to convert my pod to a bed and I was so all over that. Next thing I'm in my little bed and snuggled up and I can't fall back to sleep because I'm so damned excited about how awesome this little bed thing is! Eventually I did sleep - most of the night. It was great. Got up a couple of hours before the breakfast (which was fantastic) and then we were landing.
Landing was great. I got a nice view of Auckland as we came in overhead and then swooped back around to approach it from the west to land. The landscape around in the rural areas we flew over (and some totally uninhabited areas) was beautiful: lush and green and hilly and ocean and sand. Next few days I'll tour Auckland and fill you in. Until then: Haere ra!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I'm back!
I decided to slack off on something I'm supposed to be doing right now and write here instead.
T. was ok. I find meetings tiring and they test my patience. I get impatient when it's all didactic (I find I can only sit and listen to someone else speak for a couple of hours - one of our days it was all day long). I also find it difficult to be patient with others when they are dissecting the clinical papers to death and getting hung up on the minutia and falling into the trap of looking at them from a microscopic point of view instead of stepping back and seeing the big picture. However, I also recognize that it's part of the learning experience for me. I have to learn to have more patience with these things, with other people, and know that work isn't always easy (i.e. sometimes you have to sit through 8 hours of didactic lectures in a day, get a sore back, and suck it up) - this too shall pass. The fun part about T. was exactly what I had mentioned before: the people. I was really happy to see the majority of my friends and colleagues before I head off and leave them for some time. I really will miss so many of them. In particular, my old manager is someone I will miss tremendously. He has been an important person in my life over the years that I have worked with this organization and I learned a lot from him.
Today I got out on the bike. I have not been riding very much in the past few weeks. In fact, not at all in the last week and a half. Last weekend I felt that funny feeling you get in your throat when you are about to get a cold, so I stayed in on Sunday instead of riding with the gang. I was really bummed about it, but I really wasn't up for it and did not want to get sick. I was still feeling this bug niggling at my throat and in my ears when I left on my trip on Tuesday, but with proper rest, lots of extra fluids, my vitamins, and echinacea I was able to fight it off successfully! :) So I hope this means that in the upcoming weeks I'll be getting out on my bike a lot! Oh. And I saw something new today while on my ride: cycle polo. And this is where I saw it. Now that would be a great way to get better bike handling skills. It looked pretty neat!
I've also been doing a little more research on NZ. Learning about the places, things to do, etc. I have some ideas about the cycling communities there through some of my research. And this is giving me some ideas about some places I'm going to check out. But all of that will come when I'm actually there - so you'll have to read then to find out. ;)
T. was ok. I find meetings tiring and they test my patience. I get impatient when it's all didactic (I find I can only sit and listen to someone else speak for a couple of hours - one of our days it was all day long). I also find it difficult to be patient with others when they are dissecting the clinical papers to death and getting hung up on the minutia and falling into the trap of looking at them from a microscopic point of view instead of stepping back and seeing the big picture. However, I also recognize that it's part of the learning experience for me. I have to learn to have more patience with these things, with other people, and know that work isn't always easy (i.e. sometimes you have to sit through 8 hours of didactic lectures in a day, get a sore back, and suck it up) - this too shall pass. The fun part about T. was exactly what I had mentioned before: the people. I was really happy to see the majority of my friends and colleagues before I head off and leave them for some time. I really will miss so many of them. In particular, my old manager is someone I will miss tremendously. He has been an important person in my life over the years that I have worked with this organization and I learned a lot from him.
Today I got out on the bike. I have not been riding very much in the past few weeks. In fact, not at all in the last week and a half. Last weekend I felt that funny feeling you get in your throat when you are about to get a cold, so I stayed in on Sunday instead of riding with the gang. I was really bummed about it, but I really wasn't up for it and did not want to get sick. I was still feeling this bug niggling at my throat and in my ears when I left on my trip on Tuesday, but with proper rest, lots of extra fluids, my vitamins, and echinacea I was able to fight it off successfully! :) So I hope this means that in the upcoming weeks I'll be getting out on my bike a lot! Oh. And I saw something new today while on my ride: cycle polo. And this is where I saw it. Now that would be a great way to get better bike handling skills. It looked pretty neat!
I've also been doing a little more research on NZ. Learning about the places, things to do, etc. I have some ideas about the cycling communities there through some of my research. And this is giving me some ideas about some places I'm going to check out. But all of that will come when I'm actually there - so you'll have to read then to find out. ;)
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Adjusting
So last Friday I moved all the stuff that I hadn't thrown away, given away, or sold into my new storage locker. I could never have done this on my own:
The movers screwed me I think - charged me way too much. At any rate, I was too tired and too brain-dead to care or to complain. It was done, I'm glad it's done and I was on to more pressing things: get the remainder of the little things out of my place and into my sister's and clean the apartment up for the new tenants - some cool people I know.
The rest of the weekend was nice and I had some time to come down from all of the stress and trauma of moving out of my beloved apartment. I may sound slightly melodramatic, but it truly was stressful and traumatic. It has only been a few short days, and living with my sister and her hubby is still better than being a real guest in someone else's home, but it's also still an adjustment. I don't want to do something that they might not like and I also don't have everything my way. In fact nothing is my way really. That's ok, but imagine having absolutely everything in your environment and your life your way for years at a time. I knew when I moved out on my own that I would come to this kind of crossroads one day. So here I am. It's not all about me. But I'll stop whining. Life really is pretty good. I've got a sister who loves me enough to have me stay with her (and I guess my brother-in-law thinks I'm pretty ok too). I'm heading off for a totally amazing trip of a lifetime pretty soon. But with all changes in life I guess you grieve the things you leave behind.
And hopefully not everything about my place is gone with me leaving it... tonight when I was out for my little ride on my own I ran into Robbie-O and I got to ride with him. He helped me get my first real bike, my second f-ing amazing bike (the Colnago), he changed several tires for me in a pinch when I was running late for group rides and had flats, he taught me how to change an inner tube, and introduced me to lots of great people to ride with, amongst other things. In all the years I lived downstairs from him we never did ride together. Took me moving out for us to run into each other on the bike path and head up to the park together.
The movers screwed me I think - charged me way too much. At any rate, I was too tired and too brain-dead to care or to complain. It was done, I'm glad it's done and I was on to more pressing things: get the remainder of the little things out of my place and into my sister's and clean the apartment up for the new tenants - some cool people I know.The rest of the weekend was nice and I had some time to come down from all of the stress and trauma of moving out of my beloved apartment. I may sound slightly melodramatic, but it truly was stressful and traumatic. It has only been a few short days, and living with my sister and her hubby is still better than being a real guest in someone else's home, but it's also still an adjustment. I don't want to do something that they might not like and I also don't have everything my way. In fact nothing is my way really. That's ok, but imagine having absolutely everything in your environment and your life your way for years at a time. I knew when I moved out on my own that I would come to this kind of crossroads one day. So here I am. It's not all about me. But I'll stop whining. Life really is pretty good. I've got a sister who loves me enough to have me stay with her (and I guess my brother-in-law thinks I'm pretty ok too). I'm heading off for a totally amazing trip of a lifetime pretty soon. But with all changes in life I guess you grieve the things you leave behind.
And hopefully not everything about my place is gone with me leaving it... tonight when I was out for my little ride on my own I ran into Robbie-O and I got to ride with him. He helped me get my first real bike, my second f-ing amazing bike (the Colnago), he changed several tires for me in a pinch when I was running late for group rides and had flats, he taught me how to change an inner tube, and introduced me to lots of great people to ride with, amongst other things. In all the years I lived downstairs from him we never did ride together. Took me moving out for us to run into each other on the bike path and head up to the park together.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Growing up and moving out
I should be heading to bed now since I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow... last day to finish all the little things before moving all my stuff into storage Friday. I've never moved an apartment into storage. I've certainly moved enough times in my life. Let's see (me looking up and thinking), this will be move # 9. That's a lot of moving. Mind you, I didn't do all the work for all of those moves, as 6 of them (seven different places that I lived) were while living with my folks as a kid and since we moved due to my dad's work we had movers do just about everything - including the packing. But I digress... like I said, moving into a storage unit - sigh - it's not easy. I've gone to bed almost every night of the past week visualizing the unit and thinking about my stuff and almost praying (but not really since I'm completely non-religious) that it will all fit. I've gotten rid of so much stuff either by throwing it away, putting it at the curb for passers by, giving to charity, and I sold one thing. It's nice to minimize - take it all down to what I really need and some stuff that I really truly want. The rest of it someone else can love (or hoard). I had a box of cassettes of old 80's and 90's cheese that I knew some collector-type would want. I left it out at the curb with a note: "Help Yourself" and sure enough, after a few had been pilfered someone came along and took the whole box of 'em - within 2 hours. At any rate, moving into a storage unit is stressful. Much more stressful than moving to another dwelling. It will all be worth it though.
I'm going to miss this place. The four years I've lived in my apartment have gone by really quickly. I feel like - no, I've actually grown up a lot living here. It's been an important journey. I was a bit of a messed up kid when I moved here. I think I'm leaving as a fairly well-rounded and better grounded adult. I think I know how to still be a kid in the best ways though, and when I forget I have some friends that are always around to remind me. Okay, enough sap for tonight. Big job ahead and a long weekend to round it all out. I need to get back on the bike. It's been so sporadic the past week and a half. At least I had a really great 100K ride last weekend in the heat with the gang. Gotta get this moving thing wrapped up so I can get back to the important stuff... on two wheels.
I'm going to miss this place. The four years I've lived in my apartment have gone by really quickly. I feel like - no, I've actually grown up a lot living here. It's been an important journey. I was a bit of a messed up kid when I moved here. I think I'm leaving as a fairly well-rounded and better grounded adult. I think I know how to still be a kid in the best ways though, and when I forget I have some friends that are always around to remind me. Okay, enough sap for tonight. Big job ahead and a long weekend to round it all out. I need to get back on the bike. It's been so sporadic the past week and a half. At least I had a really great 100K ride last weekend in the heat with the gang. Gotta get this moving thing wrapped up so I can get back to the important stuff... on two wheels.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Packing
Whew! I'm gettin-er done. Yep. Packing up a storm, as I put it today. And purging like mad! I took 3 heavy bags of clothes to the women's shelter this morning. Thank you to Mir for helping me let go of things I don't wear anymore (and I thought I'd already done much of that over the past months).
I've been doing well over the past years to learn to remain serene during adverse situations. Packing up to move out of my place has definitely been testing me. And on the weekend I wasn't passing the test. Moody-me went out for a bike ride on Saturday, only to have my riding company of the day, Andrew, tell me that he thought I should take some time off the bike. Well, at least I hadn't lost my listening skills. I wasn't having fun on the bike. I was stressing about all of the things I need to do in the next week and a half. Things I was not able to control in that particular moment. Yes, I should have been focused on riding the bike and instead I couldn't stop fretting. Plus I was mad at my garmin, and having asthma issues, but that's another story. So, yes, I heard the message and I did not head out for a ride yesterday. Besides, I have a really annoying saddle sore that needs a rest right now. I spent the day plowing through the packing and by the time I saw him again last night, my response to how I was feeling was: "I'm great!!" I took another day off the bike today and got more packing done (not that I would have ventured out in the crazy thunderstorm that descended upon us this evening).
When you want to log 5,000 km on the bike in a single season (about 5 months) it takes the majority of your free time - unless you race and you are faster than I. Most rides are a minimum of 2 hours - the weekend rides are 3-4 hours. I haven't been doing the long rides I normally do. Then I have a full-time job and things like work travel, working evenings, fatigue - oh, and maybe uprooting my life, packing up my apartment and moving out - getting in the way of the goal... well it's hard to set the goal to the side for reality. It kinda sucks. (not to mention that I actually have lovely people in my life that I would like to spend some of that free time with when I can find it - I'm lucky that they are all very patient and accepting of my bike obsession and find time for me when I find it for them) Then I was reminded: I'm heading off to ride my bike for the whole 'off-season'. Perspective. Patience. It will pay off in the end.
I've been doing well over the past years to learn to remain serene during adverse situations. Packing up to move out of my place has definitely been testing me. And on the weekend I wasn't passing the test. Moody-me went out for a bike ride on Saturday, only to have my riding company of the day, Andrew, tell me that he thought I should take some time off the bike. Well, at least I hadn't lost my listening skills. I wasn't having fun on the bike. I was stressing about all of the things I need to do in the next week and a half. Things I was not able to control in that particular moment. Yes, I should have been focused on riding the bike and instead I couldn't stop fretting. Plus I was mad at my garmin, and having asthma issues, but that's another story. So, yes, I heard the message and I did not head out for a ride yesterday. Besides, I have a really annoying saddle sore that needs a rest right now. I spent the day plowing through the packing and by the time I saw him again last night, my response to how I was feeling was: "I'm great!!" I took another day off the bike today and got more packing done (not that I would have ventured out in the crazy thunderstorm that descended upon us this evening).
When you want to log 5,000 km on the bike in a single season (about 5 months) it takes the majority of your free time - unless you race and you are faster than I. Most rides are a minimum of 2 hours - the weekend rides are 3-4 hours. I haven't been doing the long rides I normally do. Then I have a full-time job and things like work travel, working evenings, fatigue - oh, and maybe uprooting my life, packing up my apartment and moving out - getting in the way of the goal... well it's hard to set the goal to the side for reality. It kinda sucks. (not to mention that I actually have lovely people in my life that I would like to spend some of that free time with when I can find it - I'm lucky that they are all very patient and accepting of my bike obsession and find time for me when I find it for them) Then I was reminded: I'm heading off to ride my bike for the whole 'off-season'. Perspective. Patience. It will pay off in the end.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Dirty Dishes
I am the worst when it comes to doing dishes. I love to cook, but detest the clean-up involved. This week, as I really start to roll up my sleeves and dig into packing, I neglect the dishes as they are not my priority. Yesterday my negligence made me laugh and I had to document it for you. Notice how good I am at stacking them up on the counter. There are frequent, near accidents as they teeter to keep balance. It made me think that I'm really happy that all of my friends who have offered for me to stay with them in the next month before I leave (although I will be bunking with my sister and her hubby) have dishwashers! Hooray for dishwashers! After university, when I moved out of my parents' place, I never thought I'd still be dishwasher-less at this late date. The laugh's on me, I guess!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Spud Island
I've been off the computer for over a week now: on vacation. It was a really nice break. Quite busy though. Lots of riding. :) The weather was all over the place, but we managed to get rides in regardless. There were 11 of us and we rode most days all together. A few days we split into smaller groups or did individual rides. Visited my grandmother while on the island. Spent a day at the beach. Ate a lot of fish. Here are some photos. Perhaps I'll be inspired to write more later...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Friends who inspire
Well, as you can see I have gotten back in the saddle. I realize that I need to take it slowly though - I'm still recovering. Guess it will take a while. Seems when you crack your helmet you've kind of hit your head pretty damn hard and well - I think I didn't really realize most of last week just how injured I was. I'm good now though. :)
The main reason for the post though, is to celebrate my friend Sandra's first marathon! It was National Capital Race weekend and I went out to cheer her on. They started this new cool thing for the first time where if the registrant gave them cell phone numbers, the system would send an automated text message to those numbers when your chip is read at certain markers: 10K, 20K, 30K, and the finish. So I received my first text at 8 AM-ish when she reached the 10K mark and it told me her start time, her time at the 10K mark, her pace, and the split. That was so totally cool. I live off the route so I got to go out twice: around the 25K mark, and then at the 40.5-41K mark. She looked great at the end and even said my name as I yelled at her. It was fun and I got some good shots of her. I'll just post one where there are many other people in it though. :) Way to go Sandra!!!! I know I could never run 1K, let alone 42! I personally think that riding 100 km is easier than running a marathon, so my hat is off to her!
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