Well hello there once again, northern hemisphere. Yes it is time once again for me to let you all know what I've been getting up to down here on the other side of the world.
Anyway, when last we spoke, I made a rather hurried entry explaining that I was off to spent a couple of weeks in good old Australia. Well, here I am now to tell you about what I got up to while I was there.
In short, I mostly helped Sarah out around the house when I wasn't either playing Thomas the Tank Engine with or being run ragged, shot, clung to, kicked, punched, and I think on one occasion, bitten by her 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 kids, William and Matthew. Still, it was good fun despite all the aforementioned grievances, and I'll admit I'm not Mister Innocent myself, vis-a-vis, holding Will upside down by his ankles and chasing the pair of them around the house with my sleeping bag to name a few. So, that was the domestic side of my stay, which was great fun, now moving on to the tourism side of my visit. All in all, the sights that Sarah took me to see were very impressive; Mildura does not have what could be called an abundance of man-made sights, but it is overflowing with natural beauty, which you can see for yourselves in my next batch of photos. I can say this much for Australia, though; it is very, very, very flat in comparison to Dunedin. Additionally, Sarah was kind enough to take me along on one of her archaeological surveys, which, while revealing to me that archaeology is definitely not for me, was enjoyable none-the less, making for some great photos, despite the one moment of panic where she nearly lost control of the 4x4 we were using, (though she now claims this was intentional just to scare me, if so, then mission accomplished).
Anyway, that more or less sums up what happened while I was over in Oz. There were of course several drinking evenings where I was introduced to the rest of Sarah's friends, (who were kind enough to give me one of their cricket team's shirts as a parting gift), and I also experienced my first hang-over, which was more unpleasant than I could've imagined.
Okay, so moving on. It was a shame to leave Oz behind, I found it to be a very relaxed atmosphere, still nothing lasts forever. Arriving back in New Zealand, I still had a few things to sort out, namely Claire's birthday and souvenir shopping. I think my birthday must have happened somewhere along the line, as I got a DVD and a new set of week socks from Mum & Dad, a Dunedin Tee-shirt and a student cookbook from Claire & John and a new coat from Judith. Anyway, Claire's party was great fun with much eating and drinking and giving of gifts.
Anyway, I have to round up now, 'cos we're set to head down to the airport. So we'll finish this little chat at a later date.
Laters
Alex
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Tuesday 13 July 2010
End of an Era
Kia-Ora once more folks. I'm afraid that I don't have much to talk about today, which suits me just fine, seeing as I am writing this before just before I head off to Australia!
Anyway, not much has happened really...well alright, there hasn't been much stuff that I wish to write about in a public blog, but that's neither here nor there. Basically I had my last day at Property Services, and pulled a two full-day shift with the Union at some sort of Nurses Convention; which essentially entailed running around and providing cups of tea. Anyway, the guys down at PS were very sorry to see me leave them yesterday, and even got me a little parting gift; an Otago University scarf and a Clock tower key chain.
Anyway, that's this month so far. Expect more soon as I'm now spending roughly the next three weeks in Australia!
Laters
Alex
Anyway, not much has happened really...well alright, there hasn't been much stuff that I wish to write about in a public blog, but that's neither here nor there. Basically I had my last day at Property Services, and pulled a two full-day shift with the Union at some sort of Nurses Convention; which essentially entailed running around and providing cups of tea. Anyway, the guys down at PS were very sorry to see me leave them yesterday, and even got me a little parting gift; an Otago University scarf and a Clock tower key chain.
Anyway, that's this month so far. Expect more soon as I'm now spending roughly the next three weeks in Australia!
Laters
Alex
Sunday 27 June 2010
A New Friend and Taking in the Sights
Hello, yet again, good people of the North...which I realize could mean anyone, since I am about as far South as is physically possible without being a penguin, but I digress. Once more, I have come to tell you about my various adventures in tourism down here in New Zealand, and believe me folks, I've have had quite a busy month this time. So without further ado, I shall now recount my activities of the month, thus far.
Right, so one of the first things that I did this month was to take a trip down to Larnach Castle, during one of my long weekends at Emma's, courtesy of John, who even went as far as to provide me with information regarding the place's history. All in all a very impressive piece of architecture, constructed on the Otago peninsular to the specifics of a New Zealand merchant baron and politician William Larnach, and restored to its original state in 1967 by the family who purchased it; resplendent of Victorian design and the only castle that exists down here in the antipodeans...And lets be honest, somewhat unexpected down here. Unfortunately they didn't allow photography in the castle itself for some inexplicable reason, mores the pity, but I did get some very nice photos of the gardens and from the top of the castle's tower.
The week following my trip down to Larnach, I spent the next weekend round Emma's again. However this time, I had to make my own way there, as she was away and Paul working. So I figured I'd kill some time and visit the Dunedin Chinese Gardens; a sight that you would rarely see outside the country of origin. In fact, it is only one of few genuine Chinese Gardens to exist outside China; assembled on-site in Shanghai, then dismantled assembled here in Dunedin. It was an amazing feat of both engineering and architecture, and a great place to spend an afternoon; very peaceful. The food as well was very good, even the ice-cream (for those interested, it was green-tea; it tasted a little like pistachio, but with a more earthy undertone). Anyway, I eventually made it to Emma's, despite going the wrong way on more than one occasion, and now I know the correct route for future journeys.
Okay then, so what happened next, let me think...oh yes! I made a new friend; Judith Dobson, a student of Art at the local Polytechnic, in her third year, and who has now effectively become my sight-seeing companion, as she too is now on her holidays. She's a great person to have around, especially when it comes down to ideas for sight-seeing, since she has grown up in Dunedin. Anyway, one of the first tourist traps we decided to hit was the Speight's Brewery. Again I was able to get some impressive photos and learn a thing or two about the history of brewing beer along the way; for example our modern day word "boozer" comes from the Ancient Egyptian name for their pubs "boozah"...alright not the most useful piece of information I will grant you, but you never know if it may come in handy. Anyway, the interior of the brewery is as much as one might expect; gleaming copper vats and water tanks; personally I was reminded of the last level on Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, but that's just me.
Okay, the next major event that I suppose is worthy of mention was my attendance of the Carisbrook Stadium's swansong performance last weekend; the Rugby test match between the All Blacks and Wales. Don't ask me how John managed to obtain the tickets as I don't know. Needless to say, Wales were soundly beaten, the final score being something akin to 49-9 to the All Blacks. In Wales defense though, they did start off quite strong, managing to score the first 3 points. Regardless, their inevitable defeat didn't sop me from supporting them, (Judith and I were edging bets that this activity may well result in my getting lynched, fortunately this did not happen).
Anyway, moving on to the next activity the following Sunday. Since the weather had proven to be dismal yet again, Claire and John decided to take me down South to see the Purakaunui Waterfalls. I must admit, even with the rain, it gave the whole place a rather appropriate atmosphere, becoming somewhat like a rain forest. Anyway, the falls were absolutely stunning, and made for some great pictures.
Okay, most recent activities now. This time the destination was Judith's idea; she decided to show me Olveston House, seeing as she had a free pass and could get us in gratis. Again, photos were not permitted in the house for some wishy-washy reason, but we were allowed to take photos in the grounds and gardens surrounding the house. The design of the house itself was quite impressive, being that of early 1900's England. Despite the period, however, the house itself proved to have many modern innovations for its time, meaning that one could well live quite comfortably inside today, without having to make any serious or radical changes to the house itself. Anyway, following the tour of Olveston, the weather turned sour, so we chose to take a wander round the Dunedin Natural History Museum, including the butterfly exhibition, the artificially generated tropical climate being a welcome reprieve from the freezing exterior climate; again this provided a great venue for some interesting photos.
Okay well that's pretty much clued you into my leisure activities for the month thus far. Now onto the section regarding my activities at work. Work with the Union this month has been pretty sporadic, with only one event cropping up down at the Dunedin Early Settler's Museum. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it was definately some form of Gaelic music festival. It wasn't my most exciting job for the Union, but it was certainly the calmest; all we needed to do was hand out nibbles for the first 30-45 minutes, then move onto tending bar whilst we listened to the music. With Property Services though, things have been carrying on at there usual pace, the only difference being that we have now finished sweeping up leaves, (at least in the area that Graham and I tend to) and have now moved onto clearing out flower beds of both weeds and dead plants in preparation for new plantings for Summer.
Right, well that's pretty much the low down for my activities this month, as always I hope you enjoyed reading about them and you can check out all the pictures that I've taken this month by checking out the usual place:
Okay then folks, I gotta be moving on, and I can promise you a new update at the start of next month.
Laters,
Alex
Right, so one of the first things that I did this month was to take a trip down to Larnach Castle, during one of my long weekends at Emma's, courtesy of John, who even went as far as to provide me with information regarding the place's history. All in all a very impressive piece of architecture, constructed on the Otago peninsular to the specifics of a New Zealand merchant baron and politician William Larnach, and restored to its original state in 1967 by the family who purchased it; resplendent of Victorian design and the only castle that exists down here in the antipodeans...And lets be honest, somewhat unexpected down here. Unfortunately they didn't allow photography in the castle itself for some inexplicable reason, mores the pity, but I did get some very nice photos of the gardens and from the top of the castle's tower.
The week following my trip down to Larnach, I spent the next weekend round Emma's again. However this time, I had to make my own way there, as she was away and Paul working. So I figured I'd kill some time and visit the Dunedin Chinese Gardens; a sight that you would rarely see outside the country of origin. In fact, it is only one of few genuine Chinese Gardens to exist outside China; assembled on-site in Shanghai, then dismantled assembled here in Dunedin. It was an amazing feat of both engineering and architecture, and a great place to spend an afternoon; very peaceful. The food as well was very good, even the ice-cream (for those interested, it was green-tea; it tasted a little like pistachio, but with a more earthy undertone). Anyway, I eventually made it to Emma's, despite going the wrong way on more than one occasion, and now I know the correct route for future journeys.
Okay then, so what happened next, let me think...oh yes! I made a new friend; Judith Dobson, a student of Art at the local Polytechnic, in her third year, and who has now effectively become my sight-seeing companion, as she too is now on her holidays. She's a great person to have around, especially when it comes down to ideas for sight-seeing, since she has grown up in Dunedin. Anyway, one of the first tourist traps we decided to hit was the Speight's Brewery. Again I was able to get some impressive photos and learn a thing or two about the history of brewing beer along the way; for example our modern day word "boozer" comes from the Ancient Egyptian name for their pubs "boozah"...alright not the most useful piece of information I will grant you, but you never know if it may come in handy. Anyway, the interior of the brewery is as much as one might expect; gleaming copper vats and water tanks; personally I was reminded of the last level on Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, but that's just me.
Okay, the next major event that I suppose is worthy of mention was my attendance of the Carisbrook Stadium's swansong performance last weekend; the Rugby test match between the All Blacks and Wales. Don't ask me how John managed to obtain the tickets as I don't know. Needless to say, Wales were soundly beaten, the final score being something akin to 49-9 to the All Blacks. In Wales defense though, they did start off quite strong, managing to score the first 3 points. Regardless, their inevitable defeat didn't sop me from supporting them, (Judith and I were edging bets that this activity may well result in my getting lynched, fortunately this did not happen).
Anyway, moving on to the next activity the following Sunday. Since the weather had proven to be dismal yet again, Claire and John decided to take me down South to see the Purakaunui Waterfalls. I must admit, even with the rain, it gave the whole place a rather appropriate atmosphere, becoming somewhat like a rain forest. Anyway, the falls were absolutely stunning, and made for some great pictures.
Okay, most recent activities now. This time the destination was Judith's idea; she decided to show me Olveston House, seeing as she had a free pass and could get us in gratis. Again, photos were not permitted in the house for some wishy-washy reason, but we were allowed to take photos in the grounds and gardens surrounding the house. The design of the house itself was quite impressive, being that of early 1900's England. Despite the period, however, the house itself proved to have many modern innovations for its time, meaning that one could well live quite comfortably inside today, without having to make any serious or radical changes to the house itself. Anyway, following the tour of Olveston, the weather turned sour, so we chose to take a wander round the Dunedin Natural History Museum, including the butterfly exhibition, the artificially generated tropical climate being a welcome reprieve from the freezing exterior climate; again this provided a great venue for some interesting photos.
Okay well that's pretty much clued you into my leisure activities for the month thus far. Now onto the section regarding my activities at work. Work with the Union this month has been pretty sporadic, with only one event cropping up down at the Dunedin Early Settler's Museum. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it was definately some form of Gaelic music festival. It wasn't my most exciting job for the Union, but it was certainly the calmest; all we needed to do was hand out nibbles for the first 30-45 minutes, then move onto tending bar whilst we listened to the music. With Property Services though, things have been carrying on at there usual pace, the only difference being that we have now finished sweeping up leaves, (at least in the area that Graham and I tend to) and have now moved onto clearing out flower beds of both weeds and dead plants in preparation for new plantings for Summer.
Right, well that's pretty much the low down for my activities this month, as always I hope you enjoyed reading about them and you can check out all the pictures that I've taken this month by checking out the usual place:
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=719348724&v=info#!/album.php?aid=145622&id=719348724
Okay then folks, I gotta be moving on, and I can promise you a new update at the start of next month.
Laters,
Alex
Monday 31 May 2010
Chocolate, Tickets, Floods and My Own Room
Hello, once again, people of the northern hemisphere.
Once again, I bring you news of my activities and happenings down here in New Zealand. A fair few things have happened since we last spoke, so I'll give you the usual run-down and abbreviation of them. Enjoy!
First and foremost, I decided to take the tour of the Cadbury Factory here in Dunedin, partially because it came highly recommended on Dunedin's list of tourism spots, but mostly because I wanted to see if it was the same as the factory tour I took oh-so-many years ago. I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Instead of being trapped inside a pod and wheeled through the factory, we were, in fact, taken through the factory on foot. I tell you, though, it wasn't the factory itself that I found to be the most impressive feature of the tour; what I found to be the most astounding feature was the variations in chocolate that they have here down south. Trust me; you would not believe the variants and flavours that we never even see in the north. But I digress. The factory tour was very impressive, lasting just over an hour, and picking up a reasonable amount of chocolate, from both the gift shop and the tour itself. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Anyway, let me think...what else has happened? Ah, yes. I know what to tell you about! I have now booked my tickets to Australia. I am now set to leave on the 14th of July. Regrettably, the tickets have set me back a bit more than I would have liked, but it was worth it. I'll reveal more details closer to departure. There were a few issues regarding my contract with PS in connection to this, but I was able to resolve it, extending my contract to the day before I depart. All in all a good thing considering that I will now need all the extra money which I can scrounge up. Hence why I am now pulling extra shifts down in the Student Union; not so many new faces now, but still the occasional stranger.
Right, now I shall move onto the next issue in the title; the weather. In two words; bloody awful. You would not believe the amount of rain we have had...well okay, maybe you would. For the last week it has rained, non-stop, pausing ever-so briefly on Thursday, only to return with a vengeance on Friday and Saturday, resulting in without a doubt one of the dullest weeks I have experienced to date. The countryside is still recovering from the flooding, land slips and goodness knows what else. However, it is meant to be much better this week. The sun was actually shining today.
And on to the final topic. I now have my own room over at Emma's, which now lets me spend more time over there. Very useful, since Emma lives closer to town, allowing me to get to work at the union more easily. The fact that this gives me more access to Simon's XBOX is neither here nor there...honest!
Anyway, that brings you up to speed with recent events. I'm afraid that I'll have to sign off now, seeing as John wants to use the computer. Oh! Before I forget, check out my Facebook album for all the photos from this month, including those from the Anime convention.
Laters,
Alex
Once again, I bring you news of my activities and happenings down here in New Zealand. A fair few things have happened since we last spoke, so I'll give you the usual run-down and abbreviation of them. Enjoy!
First and foremost, I decided to take the tour of the Cadbury Factory here in Dunedin, partially because it came highly recommended on Dunedin's list of tourism spots, but mostly because I wanted to see if it was the same as the factory tour I took oh-so-many years ago. I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Instead of being trapped inside a pod and wheeled through the factory, we were, in fact, taken through the factory on foot. I tell you, though, it wasn't the factory itself that I found to be the most impressive feature of the tour; what I found to be the most astounding feature was the variations in chocolate that they have here down south. Trust me; you would not believe the variants and flavours that we never even see in the north. But I digress. The factory tour was very impressive, lasting just over an hour, and picking up a reasonable amount of chocolate, from both the gift shop and the tour itself. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Anyway, let me think...what else has happened? Ah, yes. I know what to tell you about! I have now booked my tickets to Australia. I am now set to leave on the 14th of July. Regrettably, the tickets have set me back a bit more than I would have liked, but it was worth it. I'll reveal more details closer to departure. There were a few issues regarding my contract with PS in connection to this, but I was able to resolve it, extending my contract to the day before I depart. All in all a good thing considering that I will now need all the extra money which I can scrounge up. Hence why I am now pulling extra shifts down in the Student Union; not so many new faces now, but still the occasional stranger.
Right, now I shall move onto the next issue in the title; the weather. In two words; bloody awful. You would not believe the amount of rain we have had...well okay, maybe you would. For the last week it has rained, non-stop, pausing ever-so briefly on Thursday, only to return with a vengeance on Friday and Saturday, resulting in without a doubt one of the dullest weeks I have experienced to date. The countryside is still recovering from the flooding, land slips and goodness knows what else. However, it is meant to be much better this week. The sun was actually shining today.
And on to the final topic. I now have my own room over at Emma's, which now lets me spend more time over there. Very useful, since Emma lives closer to town, allowing me to get to work at the union more easily. The fact that this gives me more access to Simon's XBOX is neither here nor there...honest!
Anyway, that brings you up to speed with recent events. I'm afraid that I'll have to sign off now, seeing as John wants to use the computer. Oh! Before I forget, check out my Facebook album for all the photos from this month, including those from the Anime convention.
Laters,
Alex
Monday 17 May 2010
Parties, Conventions, Haircuts 'n' Plants
What's up, other side of the world? Yes, it's that time once again; the time where I tell you lovely people all about whats been happening to me over here in NZ.
Anyway, weather-wise over here, its been all over the place, sometimes its bloody freezing and wet, whilst on other days, like today, it's been hot and sweltering, which is rather unwelcome when you're digging over over-grown plots for re-planting, but I digress. Here's the news that you guys have tuned into for.
Things have been pretty slow since my last update in April, however there have been several events of importance. For instance, my boss down at PS, Malcolm Watson, has now retired. We had a leaving do for him on April 28th. I think it went pretty well, but I'm not one to comment, as I got drunk...and this time it was quite severe. I remember walking into a door frame and falling off my chair, just to give you an idea, but I was still able to hold a coherent conversation, and had sobered up by about 10 o'clock, so I think that counts in my favour. Anyway, moving on.
Anyway, the other major event that has happened was the NZ Anime Convention that lasted from May 8th-9th, which was pretty good for Dunedin's first go. I was originally considering attending in costume, but backed out when I realised that I'd have to take public transport in costume. Regardless of my cowardice, there was still a colourful collection of costumes (how's that for alliteration, huh?) from both anime and video games, and you'll be able to see some of those via the photos I'll be posting on Facebook...well, at least the characters whom I recognised. Anyway, I also had the opportunity to meet Johnny Young Bosch, the voice actor best known for his work in Bleach and Trigun, and got his autograph on the latest volume of Bleach manga that I bought, and on my copy of Dissidia: Final Fantasy, (he voices one of the main characters). Anyway, I also bought a few other items of memorabilia, including a replica sword from Final Fantasy VII which I will eventually post home), a few DVDs, and the fore mentioned manga. In short, I had a great weekend.
So, that pretty much clues you in for the major events that have happened over the past few weeks, so now we move onto the more mundane news.
One point that you might find interesting is that I have had a haircut, (hence the title) and I am now trying out a new style, which has actually been complemented quite a few times; so long bird's nest! Anyway, check out the new batch of photo's and decide for yourselves.
As far as work is concerned, we've nearly won the war against the leaves down in PS. As such, Graham has now introduced me to the joy of planting out empty plots. Last week I did this for the first time, and was quite pleased with the result. Therefore, you can imagine my horror and anger when I got into work this morning, only to find MY plants trampled and crushed. I won't bore you with what I said...but let me suffice it to say that it was a general rant against all students in general, with several colourful expletives thrown in for good measure. Graham applauded my reaction, telling me that was exactly the right reaction for a gardener to have.
That's pretty much it for PS news, as for Union, its been pretty slow lately, however, I did help out with a function last Saturday, I had actually told them that I couldn't make the event, due to the bloody weekend buses, however, I relented when they said that they didn't have enough hands, and offered me a lift home when it was done. Anyway, enough about how they bribed me emotionally; the event itself was a cocktail function up at the Public Art Gallery for the Law Students who had graduated that day. It wasn't as mad as past events, but what made it difficult was the fact that everyone was crammed into such a narrow venue; it would have made it much easier for us to distribute the trays of nibbles throughout the crowd if they'd supplied crowbars as well. Additionally, there were several new faces at this event, unsurprising really, since I haven't worked with them in over a month-and-a-half, but they seemed an alright bunch.
Right, that's pretty much it for events that have happened since my last post, and I hope you've enjoyed reading about them. As I've said before, you can check out all my photos from NZ by clicking the address here:
Anyway, weather-wise over here, its been all over the place, sometimes its bloody freezing and wet, whilst on other days, like today, it's been hot and sweltering, which is rather unwelcome when you're digging over over-grown plots for re-planting, but I digress. Here's the news that you guys have tuned into for.
Things have been pretty slow since my last update in April, however there have been several events of importance. For instance, my boss down at PS, Malcolm Watson, has now retired. We had a leaving do for him on April 28th. I think it went pretty well, but I'm not one to comment, as I got drunk...and this time it was quite severe. I remember walking into a door frame and falling off my chair, just to give you an idea, but I was still able to hold a coherent conversation, and had sobered up by about 10 o'clock, so I think that counts in my favour. Anyway, moving on.
Anyway, the other major event that has happened was the NZ Anime Convention that lasted from May 8th-9th, which was pretty good for Dunedin's first go. I was originally considering attending in costume, but backed out when I realised that I'd have to take public transport in costume. Regardless of my cowardice, there was still a colourful collection of costumes (how's that for alliteration, huh?) from both anime and video games, and you'll be able to see some of those via the photos I'll be posting on Facebook...well, at least the characters whom I recognised. Anyway, I also had the opportunity to meet Johnny Young Bosch, the voice actor best known for his work in Bleach and Trigun, and got his autograph on the latest volume of Bleach manga that I bought, and on my copy of Dissidia: Final Fantasy, (he voices one of the main characters). Anyway, I also bought a few other items of memorabilia, including a replica sword from Final Fantasy VII which I will eventually post home), a few DVDs, and the fore mentioned manga. In short, I had a great weekend.
So, that pretty much clues you in for the major events that have happened over the past few weeks, so now we move onto the more mundane news.
One point that you might find interesting is that I have had a haircut, (hence the title) and I am now trying out a new style, which has actually been complemented quite a few times; so long bird's nest! Anyway, check out the new batch of photo's and decide for yourselves.
As far as work is concerned, we've nearly won the war against the leaves down in PS. As such, Graham has now introduced me to the joy of planting out empty plots. Last week I did this for the first time, and was quite pleased with the result. Therefore, you can imagine my horror and anger when I got into work this morning, only to find MY plants trampled and crushed. I won't bore you with what I said...but let me suffice it to say that it was a general rant against all students in general, with several colourful expletives thrown in for good measure. Graham applauded my reaction, telling me that was exactly the right reaction for a gardener to have.
That's pretty much it for PS news, as for Union, its been pretty slow lately, however, I did help out with a function last Saturday, I had actually told them that I couldn't make the event, due to the bloody weekend buses, however, I relented when they said that they didn't have enough hands, and offered me a lift home when it was done. Anyway, enough about how they bribed me emotionally; the event itself was a cocktail function up at the Public Art Gallery for the Law Students who had graduated that day. It wasn't as mad as past events, but what made it difficult was the fact that everyone was crammed into such a narrow venue; it would have made it much easier for us to distribute the trays of nibbles throughout the crowd if they'd supplied crowbars as well. Additionally, there were several new faces at this event, unsurprising really, since I haven't worked with them in over a month-and-a-half, but they seemed an alright bunch.
Right, that's pretty much it for events that have happened since my last post, and I hope you've enjoyed reading about them. As I've said before, you can check out all my photos from NZ by clicking the address here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=145622&id=719348724
Okay, that's it for me, folks. I'll see you soon with more updates and pointless gibberish. Hope you're all doing well.
Laters,
Alex
PS. to Matt and Katie, thanks for setting up the Skype account, its great to talk to you guys in person...well you know what I mean.
Monday 19 April 2010
We apologise for the delays.
Kia-Ora, other side of the world.
First off I'd like to apologise for the month long deprivation of news regarding my exploits down here in the land of the Kiwis. However there was method behind my delay; I theorised that the longer I procrastinated the updates, the more I would have to talk about with you lovely people back home. And believe you me, folks, you and I have a lot of catching up to do.
But before we dive into what I've been doing in the month since we last spoke, I'd just like to let you know that my photo albums on Facebook have been updated, and can be viewed by following this link here:
First off I'd like to apologise for the month long deprivation of news regarding my exploits down here in the land of the Kiwis. However there was method behind my delay; I theorised that the longer I procrastinated the updates, the more I would have to talk about with you lovely people back home. And believe you me, folks, you and I have a lot of catching up to do.
But before we dive into what I've been doing in the month since we last spoke, I'd just like to let you know that my photo albums on Facebook have been updated, and can be viewed by following this link here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=145622&id=719348724
Anyway, without further ado, here is the news.
As I said, many exciting things have happened, so I will tell them in chronological order. One week after my last update, I experienced my first live Rugby match; the local Dunedin team, the Highlanders, playing against a foreign team, the Lions, (who are apparently at the bottom of the league) at Carlsbrook Stadium, also known as the "House of Pain", so called due to the fact that any opposing team playing there would have it's arse handed to them...at least in the old days. Anyway, it was a good fun experience, and the seats were not half bad either, seeing as John had acquired tickets to a private box...however, this did also hamper the experience for me, as I was not allowed to shout...and, indeed, got in trouble for doing so on a few occasions. Anyway, it was a good game, and ultimately the Highlanders won 39-29...good thing too, as losing to the worst team in the league would have just been mortifying.
Anyway, things were a little quiet for a while, with nothing of very much interest happening, although I did attend a very interesting lecture, (being university staff I was able to get in), given by a former member of the CIA with regards to Fidel Castro, and what the USA tried doing about him, with some rather Pythonesque plans that fortunately never got off the ground, such as an LSD laced cigar. I also got drunk during the after function, but let us not dwell on that. Moving on.
The next really interesting thing that I have done was on Easter Sunday, where Claire, John and I went to see the "Warbirds Over Wannaka" air show, and let me tell you, it was absolutely fantastic, with mock dogfights, aerial stunts, demonstrations of military tech, air races, sky divers, explosions from mock bombing runs, formation flying, wing-walkers and one of the last few remaining Japanese Zero fighter planes on display, it was truly worth every penny. If you are interested, then check out my photos of the day by following the link above. I apologise about the quality, but I only had my digital camera to hand, and it's not really suited for long distance photos.
Anyway, things have been pretty quiet for the rest of the month, Claire has started her "travel cycle" portion of work, so it has been just John and myself, recently. Anyway, last Thursday I decided to have a bit of an adventure, so I booked a ticket on the Taieri Gorge Railway tour, (both Claire and John recommended doing it, so I figured what the heck). And let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing...the scenery out there...you just wouldn't believe it...it was just mind boggling, the sheer beauty and scale of it all. Well you'll be able to see some of it for yourselves after I publish the photos. Anyway, last Saturday we also went to the wedding of Mark and Leah, (Mark being Paul's younger brother), I was volunteered to help prepare the venue for the party, along with Claire, John, Emma and the rest of the gang, and that was all well and good; good food, good music, however, there wasn't much dancing, at least until people had had enough to drink.
Right, so that pretty much brings you up to speed in the important events which have happened in the last month, now onto more local news, as it were.
Work has been going fine, however, as the leaves have started to drop with true intent now, we are now fighting a losing battle with nature, even though they will eventually stop, this fact does little to quell the frustration felt when the wind blows through a pile of leaves that you have just bloody finished raking/sweeping! Ahem, anyway, what else, oh yes, Simon's XBOX 360 suffered from the red ring of death early on in the holidays, so as you can imagine he has had a rather dull Easter, at least until he pulled out his original XBOX.
And that, as they say, is that. You are now fully updated in everything I have done in the last month, and I promise you now that I will not allow a build up of this degree again. I'm serious, I will not go back on it. I swear.
Anyway, I hope that you are all doing well out there, and that you are having a good time.
Laters, Alex
PS. this is to Matt, Katie, Dion, Sam, Miran, Brewer and all my other friends out there: Please get Skype if you can. Its not difficult, its free, and it will allow me to talk to you guys face to face...sort of.
Bye.
Sunday 21 March 2010
Hello, other side of the world!
Hello, hello, hello.
Yes, its that time once more; the time that I tell all you lovely people out there reading my blog about what has been going on in this side of the world.
Well, for starters, work has been going along pretty well. Been pretty much the same so far. However with the recent heavy winds, there has been a fair bit of sweeping to do...plus a few branches to remove, some of them pretty big too! Anyway, did some more work with the union last week, that went very well, even got an e-mail forwarded to me by Claire complementing my services during the event, :).
Anyway, as for happenings outside of work, nothing very much has happened. Last weekend I did go to see "Alice in Wonderland", I enjoyed it; very much a Burton film; dark and unique. As for this weekend, I have spent it around Emma's again, this time cooking pizza, (and making the dough by hand too) for a much larger group of people. It went down very well, considering I've not made it for quite some time.
Still, this eveing should be quite fun; its Emma's Dad's 60th, and I've been invited to go along. I'll be sure to take some photos so that you lot don't miss out, seriously, the cake that emma has bought is very impressive!
Anyway, that pretty mush brings you guys up to date on whats been happening lately, I hope you guys are doing okay back home. I mis you all terribly.
Laters,
Alex
Yes, its that time once more; the time that I tell all you lovely people out there reading my blog about what has been going on in this side of the world.
Well, for starters, work has been going along pretty well. Been pretty much the same so far. However with the recent heavy winds, there has been a fair bit of sweeping to do...plus a few branches to remove, some of them pretty big too! Anyway, did some more work with the union last week, that went very well, even got an e-mail forwarded to me by Claire complementing my services during the event, :).
Anyway, as for happenings outside of work, nothing very much has happened. Last weekend I did go to see "Alice in Wonderland", I enjoyed it; very much a Burton film; dark and unique. As for this weekend, I have spent it around Emma's again, this time cooking pizza, (and making the dough by hand too) for a much larger group of people. It went down very well, considering I've not made it for quite some time.
Still, this eveing should be quite fun; its Emma's Dad's 60th, and I've been invited to go along. I'll be sure to take some photos so that you lot don't miss out, seriously, the cake that emma has bought is very impressive!
Anyway, that pretty mush brings you guys up to date on whats been happening lately, I hope you guys are doing okay back home. I mis you all terribly.
Laters,
Alex
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