Hot in The City

I am off to Melbourne in a few days and it is over 40 degrees over there. The
players are struggling with the heat and no doubt I will be, over there.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4831881a1823.html
According to the Stuff website, players are using plunge pools, ice vests, ice towels and, in extreme cases, intravenous drips have been used by tennis players to cool down on sweltering days.

It gets up towards 50 degrees on court and sometimes they have to shut the roof at the Rod Laver Arena. It will be a far cry for me after a summer in both Wellington and Invers where the days over 25 degrees have been limited. It is forecast to continue for a few more days. Hydration is the key!

In other news, I have overdone the party lifestyle at the moment. I jumped head first back into the social life at the Street and regret it at the moment as I am feeling tired and fatigued. I am unsure if I have caught the flu which has crippled a few punters around the scene in recent days. It is hard to know whether I have become paranoid or am actually coming down with something. I ended up not playing touch tonight and struggled throughout the day at work not to fall asleep. I have to get right for Melbourne as it will be action central and I can't afford to be fatigued.

I saw Yes Man again with Movie Club. Norman played by Rhys Darby was still cool the second time around and the movie was still above average the second time. It reinforced the Yes theme to me after a month since I saw it last.

It is 25 years since Invers flooded. I remember it in 1984. We just shifted houses from Bay Road (which would've been drenched) to Mitchell Street in Richmond (out of the flood zone). We were very lucky and in that year the Donaldson's went around the South Island on a road trip. The photo above taken at the beach started a life long love of beaches for me and was on the trip at the same time as the floods. We couldn't return to Invers initially because of the water!

In my absence of have been invited to heaps of leaving parties. I have already attended several and it seems that there are people leaving Wellington in their droves. I will miss Tim Gillon the most out of those leaving. He is one of the genuine nice guys around and I remember meeting him in the early 2000s, years before I came here to live.

Engagements

I guess at a place the size of The Street City Church you are bound to get plenty of couples, but over the past few months there have been 10 engagements. I hear this isn't the record, but it is rather impressive. It is funny how most people get engaged around New Years and during summer. It is the time of year famous for long beach walks, New Years Resolutions and attending weddings which then makes people think about getting married. It is also the time of year when we spend plenty of time with family and you realise what an important part of life family is.

So what are the ramifications of this for me? From recent indications it means that I will hopefully be invited to a few weddings. I am slowly working my way onto guest lists, but with so many more people to invite to weddings in Wellington, people obviously can't invite everyone.

There are other potential spinoffs. There are now less elligible guys (competition). The Street has less guys anyway, but now a larger proportion of them are taken. This is definitely noticeable at the moment. Johnny Wilson for example, was seen on Sunday walking along Oriental Bay accompanied by six women. Maybe this is why Street females are difficult to separate from the safety of their pack. Because there are so many of them, they have no choice but to hang in packs! Miss fun loving, smart and sporty could well be lurking in the middle of one of these groups.

I have been trying to mix up who I talk to these days. With so many social events on there are the opportunities to meet new people and have a chat. The thing is too, that I have known some of these people for two years now, so it is great having a core of people you know and then some new people.


In other news

I got this from Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4830797a1823.html

Coventry Saracens suffered the worst-ever defeat in English league rugby at the weekend when they lost 194-3 t0 Alcester but won praise from their opponents for playing the match despite having only eight players.


"We dropped three forwards out of the scrum to make it five against three in the scrums but all credit to Coventry Saracens for honouring the fixture," Alcester captain Scott Carmichael told the Rugby Football Union.

"A lot of clubs would have cried off, but they turned up and insisted that the game went ahead so they deserve a lot of credit. They have gone up in our estimation and we appreciated their efforts."

Alcester ran in 32 tries in the Midlands West Six match to surpass the previous highest score in a game in England, 177-3 set by Norwich in a Norfolk Cup match against Eccles & Attleborough 13 years ago.

The tally fell well short of the world record score of 350-0 set by French third division side Lavardac against Vergt in 1984 when the losers refused to tackle in protest at having players suspended.



That match from 1984 would've been interesting.


Andy Jamieson is couped up in bed with the flu. He wasn't looking to flash on Sunday. He has just started at teachers college and will now be taking the week off. I hope it had nothing to do with that chickpea salad he had for lunch on Sunday!

Finally, I played club tennis last night and thrashed my opponent. I developed a sore fore arm at work yesterday and it was sore, but luckily I managed to win quickly. I actually felt sorry for my opponent who is in the bottom team in my grade and seems like a nice guy with limited tools in his repetoire. I have seen him play better and pull out some nice shots on occasion. Should I have taken advantage and thrashed him 6-0 6-1? I figured it is like pulling off a sticking plaster. Get it over with quickly! At least he was playing sport and getting out there! He just shouldn't be playing Number 1.

Good Times

I love this social calendar I have managed to be busy every night this week. On Tuesday night some of the old movie club went to Bolt 3D. It was good for a 3D kids movie, but it gave Matt Landreth a chance to be 5th wheel with Karl and Sally and Myself and Jenny going as couples. Nah me and JW are good mates, but it is really difficult to go to the movies with a female without the rumour mill spreading and them fearing that it is more than what it is. Be warned. Going to 3D movies on cheap night still costs full price and you pay $2 for the dorky glasses. I wonder if you can buy 3D glasses with the huge amount of 3D movies being released? Do all 3D glasses work the same?

Wednesday night saw us draw a tight and fast paced game of touch. Our team is running out of girls, but we somehow got three on the field and drew 5 all. We got more tries disallowed than the opposition, so we were unlucky not to win, but at the same time the other team were pretty good. Former Wallabies loose forward compared drawing with kissing your sister. I wouldn't know, but it sounds about right.

Check out the video of Del Potro sconing a ball boy on the side of the head. He won the Heineken Cup. I must say that it would hurt. I am loving the Australian Open and can't wait to make it over to the final. I hope it is an epic like Wimbledon last year.

This morning I awoke for the second day in a row to noisy builders. It seems ridiculous that builders a making a din before 7am and it is infact illegal according to the council.

David Tua and Shane Cameron will fight. These guys are the best New Zealand boxers in the past few decades. Tua actually got somewhere, but is past it, while Cameron is younger, but never made it. Tua is paying $1.50 at the TAB Cameron $2.50.

Tonight I went out with a few friends to a place which served hippy food. It was nice for a change. IT is amazing where you eat if there are women involved. We then played some Boggle, so it was a good night out.

I really wonder when the wind will subside and when Wellington will be hotter than Invers. Hopefully this weekend. It has been disappointing and is a far cry from when I used to go to the beach most days after work. It just isn't hot enough!

Finally, Friday night there is a BBQ at Baywatch flat on High Street. IT is a shame that people are away at Parachute, but this will be great and the final social gathering at the Baywatch flat. The brunches those guys put on throughout last year were great!

Do You Need A New Bed?

It is the time of year when people make changes in life and getting a new bed could be one of them. I have actually got some sore dead shoulders from my bed, but am too tight to buy a new one. I have a rather average double bed which came with my bedroom, but there are some pretty amazing beds out there. You spend a third of your life in bed, so it is important to be comfortable.

Below is a website which has some great deals even though it is an overseas site. You may think this is a random post that I must be getting paid to write but I am not not being paid. Time4Sleep beds have a great selection of beds. I have always loved the childrens bed like a car or themed beds. Childrens beds are always cute and fun and these guys have heaps of them. They also have Divan beds, wooden, leather, faux leather, antique and upholstered beds. They really have a bed for everyone. At my current single stage of life, my bed isn't exactly a good looking bed, but I reckon if you are getting married or showing off your bed, you want a nice looking bed. That is where Time4Sleep childrens bedscomes in.

As for me, well although my budget bed isn't the most comfortable. With my busy lifestyle I still sleep like a baby and find it difficult to get out of bed before work!

Comings and Goings

I have actually attended a couple of leaving parties over the weekend. Mike and Karen Bain are leaving. Mike can be seen above as the Indian from the famous Lip Sync! I have to say that when Mike is involved there are always quality parties. I remember the Mafia Party was amazing with special effects and lights. Saturday nights was no exception. It was actually the around 30 crew which has been relatively quiet in recent times due to marriages and departures. Mike and Karen are off to the UK.

A few of the same people showed up to say goodbye to Janelle who is returns to Canada via Asia. It is a shame that I only really met her at New Years, even though she was at The Street for a year. It is amazing how in a church the size of The Street, you can go for ages without seeing people.

What is also funny is that this was a different crowd to the other leaving party, but there are the usual suspects much like Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral who keep popping up at these things. Most notably myself, Chris Dodds, Dave Meerman and now I have roped Matt The Landreth and Ben Mai into the social butterly category. But it is scary how you can be in a church with people and unless you make an effort to continually meet new people, you can miss out on meeting some really cool people.

In goings, I have two new flatmates who I met at the weekend. They are both women of God and one of them has just baked a nice banana cake and admits to enjoying domestic chores, long may it last.

I was caught between catching up with people after church yesterday and seeing my brother who is in town, but who I have just seen in Invers over summer. So I had some meetings with him and hopefully kept all parties happy.


In other news,

I went to the Wellington Phoenix vs Adelaide last night with Matt Landreth. It was a great game which a 10 man Phoenix could've won but only drew. They now need to win next week and hope Central Coast lose, to make the top four. Unfortunately I sat on tomato sauce in my Yellow Fever t-shirt. Hopefully it all comes out in the wash!

I played Cam Bisley at tennis. The courts must be the biggest waste of space in Wellington city near Massey University. They weren't flat and the gates were shut. The net was fine but the rest of the court was a dogs breakfast. Cam's great to talk to and suggested why if Christian women hang in packs (the inpenetrable force) then why isn't it legal to marry more than one woman? Just a thought on the concept of the level of difficulty getting to know females on there own outside the pack. Group dating is the only way!

I was supposed to be attending a combined birthday at Days Bay today, but the hosts cancelled at 9am this morning based on a wet forecast which hasn't eventuated. Now I have nothing to do, hence I am writing this on anniversary day.



The Australian Open has started, meaning I am two weeks away from leaving for Melbourne. I am getting really excited as the Mens' singles final could include any number of players, given the high calibre of players at the moment. It could be any one of Fed Express,Raf Nadal, Djokovic the Joker or Andy Murray. You can never count out the enigmatic Safin or Tsonga. The cricket has been shown from Melbourne with Australia playing South Africa. We will be there in a fortnight! Bring it on!

Holiday Weekend

I thought this weekend would be a great chance to catch up with people, since I didn't arrive back until late last Sunday night. Unfortunately there are still several people away for the holiday weekend. I must say that I am back into the swing with work and we have found some female flatmates for the upcoming year. I am hoping there will still be a beach trip this weekend and a match of tennis, but the frustrating Wellington weather could stiffle my ambitions.

My brother is in town and I stayed on Oriental Copthorne Hotel with him after I grabbed a couple of nights cheap on www.grabanight.co.nz It was weird being a tourist in Wellington. The Oriental area is so laden with tourists that it is crazy. There are some pros and cons with staying in a hotel. Firstly the pros. The location is close to the beach. The LA Galaxy stayed in this massive hotel and it is close to town and the beach. There is a pool there and you can get free toiletries, Granny Smith apples and a one hour pass to the Freyberg Pool, but the spa pool was broken, so I didn't utilise it.

The cons are that the food is expensive in a hotel, so you have to buy it elsewhere. The rooms are always too hot and you often feel dehydrated. My brother had to get up early, so I didn't sleep very well.

I forgot how glamourous Wellington is. In Invers beach goers over summer were getting told off for wearing long t-shirts, jeans and sunglasses into the water. Oreti Beach in Invers is bigger and does have better surf than most Wellington beaches. No one sunbathes because there are cars driving along the beach. People wear anything to the bars, usually jeans and there are more practical rather than glamourous people.

Fast forward a week to the bikini clad beach babes on Oriental. There are heaps of toned tourists and locals alike. People wear skimpy cocktail dresses not jeans and have their make overs regularly. There are far more attractive people in Wellington, there are more people mind you and of course more opportunities for a guy like me if only I knew what these women are after!



Plenty has happened since my last post. Boy George who was made famous by the clip below.


He has shown that he is a man with contradictions. Boy George got put in the slammer/jail house for 15 months after assaulting a toy boy. Anyway, he definitely is a colourful character.




Since I left Southland it has been in the news. There was the Turkish restaurant (these only arrived in Invers a few years ago) kicking Israelis out of their restaurant.

There were also the Dutch tourists who were attacked in Tuatapere of all places. It sounded like a pretty rough camping ground with shearing gangs hanging out there. Dear I say, the future of that camping ground could be bleak after this incident.

Finally, most people make New Years resolutions about giving up drinking or smoking, but I have decided to be more tolerant of alcohol. I used to be more anti-alcohol, but in recent times have realised that alcohol is a great way of getting people to come out of their shell a bit more. I am not saying that getting drunk improves your social skills, but I think that the odd drink is a great way of getting people to open up a bit more and makes people more talkative.

I am off to a going away party tonight, so it will be interesting to see what happens, or how my theory works. It is in Breaker Bay, which is home of Wellington's nudist beach, but the party is in someone's house, so hopefully there won't be any gravitationally challenged people on display!

Sights and People - Congratulations to the Engaged!

http://www.lakevista.co.nz/deer_park.htm

The above is a website which I went to today and saw and fed animals like donkeys and llamas. There is a Deer Park in Kelvin Heights near Queenstown. Besides the animals, there are amazing views and heaps of sights where the Lord of the Rings were filmed. It is stunning scenery! There is also an old Korean prison where a 1986 movie "The Rescue" was filmed. Apparently it was a Disney movie!

The rich and famous holiday in Queenstown. I was wearing my Bring Back Georgie Pie t-shirt when former All Black from the 1970s when he used to have a perm, Graham Thorne approached me with his hands full of wine. He told me that his son opened a Georgie Pie for a promotion recently and that it was remarkably successful. Thorne has since been South Africa as he was wearing a Blue Bulls cap. I also saw Simon Barnett today. It is just the circles I mix in!

Finally congratulations to the people from The Street who got engaged at New Years. It is the ideal time for such life changing decisions and an easy way to remember anniversaries.

It continues to be average weather down south, but at least I am not getting sunburnt down here!

P.S. The Frankton tennis courts need an upgrade!

PPS. I hope they find Sonny Fai somewhere! Because he will be a huge loss to the Warriors!

Meeting With People and Who Brushes Their Hair?

This time of the year (New Years and Christmas) has largely been about catching up with people, but I have decided to be more open about what I am thinking and feeling and putting myself out there a bit more. This stems from catching up with old mates who I can generally open up to, but knowing I won't be seeing them again in ages and being slightly removed from each others lives, I realise how easy it is, sharing each others feelings! I haven't left my man card at the door, but I live in a time where it is easy to meet up with people for coffee and fun times and it is hard to say whether reaching thirty has made me realise how I need to put myself out there and meet as many people as I can in life. I also went to the movie called "Yes Man" starring Jim Carrey. This movie is based around saying "Yes" to doing things and getting the most out of life. It inspired me more than "Liar,Liar" ever did. In this day and age with the Internet, cellphones and a mobilised society, it is easier than ever to meet up with people, go on outings and generally live life, than ever before. Wellington is a hub of single twenty something professionals looking for a new lease of life.

P.S. How many people brush their hair daily? I am curious, because I was laughed at by my family (not the first or the last time) for not brushing my hair in about 15 years. I just use my hands or put product in there, are my alone here? Do people still brush and/or comb their hair these days?

My New Years and The Waboba Ball

I have just returned to Invers for a few days before returning to Queenstown for five more days. It was fun in Queenstown staying with my brothers family and my brother and sister in a house in Quail Rise which is a flash development (one of the many) just outside Frankton. My bro's family has six people (he has four kids and a wife), but because of this, there was heaps of entertainment on hand. We played some Nintendo Wii Sports and got out and about to Frankton and Arrowtown.

Queenstown is expanding out towards the Frankton side of things, making it more the place where kiwi's shop. I bumped into heaps of people I knew in Frankton like Bondy (old Dunners mate), Grunta (from my hall), Jess formerly from Wellington and Macca, DJ and some others formerly from Elim in Dunners. IT was chaotic around Queenstown with the influx of people.

For New Years Eve I went to the cricket with my brother and met up with several others from Wellington. The rain was always threatening, and made it rather frustrating with the players always coming and going from the field. It started getting colder and I couldn't even wear my new Black Caps cricket top because it was too cold. The rain then got heavier, and it made the high temperatures of Invers the previous few days which saw me swim twice in a row at Oreti Beach (home of Burt Munro's famous race) a distant memory. We all were elligible for full ticket refunds though!

I must say that the people of Invers aren't used to the heat. They go swimming with baggy tshirts on and sunglasses. No one sunbathes because they would burn to easy and because it is a drive on beach and they would get run over by some bogans!

Matt Landreth and Dan Cullen the comic duo came over from Te Anau having done the Milford Track in a day and without clothes, accommodation and bedding due to mishaps on the way. We all went to another flash place with a view between Queenstown and Frankton, where heaps of people from Wellington were staying. They had toured from Wellington and were doing all the tourist things. There was a good mix of mainly single 20 somethings in a house with plenty of beverages and food to keep people entertained for the evening. What goes on tour stays on tour, but time flew and before we knew it, six of us were sleeping over in the lounge.

I returned to Invers with family rather than staying with some of the Wellington crew who would only be staying until about the 3rd. It would've been a hassle to find somewhere for a few nights until my family return to Frankton on the 5th January.

Finally, yesterday I got to try my Waboba Ball and it was brilliant at Lake Wakatipu. You throw it like you skim stones and it bounces amazing on both water and land, making it difficult to catch. I would throw it from the water (freezing cold in the water especially since it was only about 15 degrees outside) to my brother on the shore. It has a mind of its own. It makes it a challenge to catch in the water, but that is what I am after. It is actually really hard to catch.
Go to www.woboba.com

In other news,

It is raining cats and dogs in Invers at the moment! It is cold and wet here, while the rest of New Zealand frollicks on the golden sandy beaches!
I have been getting sore eyes when going swimming. I think the salty water at Oreti Beach and sunscreen in the eyes at the lake don't help!
My folks finally have internet access, but it is only dial up. They don't have SKY television, meaning I will have to either become an alcoholic at a pub for eight hours tomorrow, or stay up for the Prime highlights from midnight until 1:40am!
Finally, it is Paul "Boss" Weir's 31st birthday tomorrow. He is a true warrior and great bloke who hasn't changed much in the 12 years I have known him. He still rates himself at sport and I would expect nothing less from Boss who will quickly remind you of his exploits playing for Waikaka or Otago University! Have a good one Boss!