Start Spreading the News

OK, so we're back from New York. I could have written last week but jet lag and all that....

It was very fun, bloody awesome if you count the fact that we were kids with no kids. While Bodhi stayed home with Mum, The Lovely Samantha and I spent 10 brilliant days in Williamsburg (a suburb of the Brooklyn borough) which had more of a suburban low rise feel than Manhattan and is said to be where the hipster culture originated. We still did almost daily trips to Manhattan, but it meant there was a whole other culture right on our doorstep to explore which was Da Bomb! I'd recommend it over Manhattan any day of the week.

To keep up my training I managed a few morning jogs (over the W'burg bridge) and also joined other cyclists for group rides out along New Jersey & upper New York state (I hired a road bike from a nearby bike shop). It was actually really fun cycling and running in another city - not like exercise at all, more like vigorous sight seeing.  And aside from The Knicks, Daniel Craig in "The Betrayal", The food, The people, The town, The music (it has it all) the rides were by far my highlight. No better way to see a place if you ask me.

So we got back from NYC and I had to endure 4 days of jet lag and work before the weekend which (typically) couldn't come quickly enough.

This weekend we headed down to Vincentia for the first triathlon of the summer season - Little Huski (named after the town Huskisson). We were joined by 4 other families and had a great time. The weather on Saturday couldn't have been better and the nearby Greenfields beach was truly one of the prettiest white sand beaches i'd seen in a while. I now know why everyone raves about Jervis bay.

Unfortunately triathlon Sunday was greeted with shitty rain and wind which meant that it was tough going on the bike and run. Somehow though, despite the teeming rain and squalls (and admittedly too much pastrami sandwiches still in the system), I managed to finish the 1.5k/40k/10k course in 2hrs 24mins which i was absolutely stoked with! To top it off, Sam competed in the team sprint triathlon and acquitted herself admirably in the 20k bike leg (with no training mind you) to make us a very proud family on the slow, wet and tired drive home.

Big congrats to Shalome, Brendan, Scarlet, Charlie, India & Brianne on the arrival of Frankie!
Big good luck to Mere for her Cambodia half marathon - May the force be with you!
Big Simon - I'll be heading to Singers for workshops before year end. Will ping you when confirmed.

In the words of Jeff Fenech:
"And em eh...i loves yous all",
Minas
 

Just Checking In

Hi Gang;

Just checking in to say hi. Absolutely nothing to see here. We're all good, no pregnancy to report, nor life threatening illness and still as happily married as a de facto couple under the eyes of the law can be. I have a roof over my head, a comfy couch on which I can fart as much as I like, a good woman who puts food on the table three times a day and a cleaning fairy who magically gets rid of dirty dishes and clothes without so much as a squeak. What's not to be happy about? And as The Lovely Samantha has equal access to the same said luxuries, I can only assume she's equally happy.

The Huskisson triathlon is just one month away and while training is going fine, day light saving means i now have to get up at the un-Godly hour of 4:30am (although officially recognised as 5:30am) to do my morning exercise. Yuk.

I bumped into Damien on my weekly run. He'd just finished as is looking fit as a fiddle. I pity the poor sparring partners who are going to have to go six rounds with him during his grading.


Just like Damo, work is neither here nor there for me. It's thankfully not stressful and I'm always learning, so i shouldn't complain, but i do still have a lingering feeling that all is not well on the project.

Anyway, it's a means to an end and the end de jeur is our new garage renovation. Out with the old, in with the new - a complete demolition  to be replaced by a new shiny double storey garage/studio combo. Not sure what we'll do with it once complete, but everyone said it would be a shame to let the approved plans expire which was about to happen had we not started.

Unlike the backyard blitz of several years ago though, I've decided to leave this one to the professionals. Our friend, who shall be referred to as Builder John throughout the course of the construction, won the tender process and has been charged with making sure that I have absolutely nothing to do with the work. That will not remove the need for regular trips to Bunnings though (If for nothing else, to assess options and explore the wonderful world of potential).

One week left until New York - giddy up!

see ya,
Minas.

Just can't cop a break

Hey;

So my wetsuit finally arrives from the UK and hey presto, Summer jumps ahead of the queue and pops its head up in front of Spring. The weather has been gorgeous - barely a cloud in sight with the mercury pushing a constant 20+ degrees for the last few weeks. In fact, I'm slightly embarrassed to be wearing said wetsuit now,  but i have to say - IT IS THE BOMB!!! Truly freaky how much technological innovation can go into a seemingly simple layer of rubber. Firstly there's the buoyancy panels in the thighs & chest which make it impossible not to maintain good swim form, then there's the frictionless coating to reduce drag - exactly the same formula Chinese restaurants spray on chopsticks before serving prawns in XO sauce to westerners. And finally, it makes me look like Batman - enough said.

In other news, Bodhi is slowly transitioning off training wheels, emphasis on the slowly. I have to admit i had an "I know bikes" moment when i saw a second hand bicycle i thought would be ideal (cheap) for him to learn to ride. The Lovely Samantha thought it a little big, but i dismissed her doubts with a tut-tut and flick of a know-it-all wrist...only to realise, since buying it, that it's too big. While his mates all cruise around on Jack Russel models, he can barely tippy toe on his great dane of a frame which makes nearly every crash a teary tantrum trauma. Oh well. my fault he'll just have to grow into it.

While still on the topic of Bodhi, last week we had the privilege of contacting The Guinness Book of Records on his behalf to inquire if any other child in history had managed to bring home nits six times in the space of 12 months. Unfortunately for Sam, who spends several hours each time treating his hair and washing all his sheets, Bodhi's got a way to go before threatening the record.

To give Sam a little break on Saturdays, I've started a little father-son tradition by taking the wunderkind for lunch at the Nandos in Broadway shopping mall. We always order the same thing - a half chicken and the "Seriously Large" serving of chips. As Sam is a bit of a tomato sauce Nazi at home, i tend to let him help himself to the condiments which is a responsibility he accepts with relish (terrible pun intended). To quote his exact words, one week, while pushing a chip around his plate of sauce, with a smile from ear to ear he said "look dad, my chip is like a boat in sea of sauce".

And so it is, that Spring is finally here. The first triathlon of the season is just two months away (Nov 10 in Jervis bay) and If you'd asked me a year ago if I'd be gagging to subject my body to over two and a half hours journey through a world of hurt, i'd have told you to pull the other one.

see ya,
Minas.





 

The Wilderness

Hiya;

Been a while, several weeks in fact since the last update. So much and yet so little to write about.

This weekend's report was prompted by a lovely birthday visit from Shalome (not sure who takes over the birthday fairy duties when the fairy herself celebrates). The Chaz and Shaz show was in town and as the weekend weather was fabulous (unlike the last few miserable weekends), we picnic'd at Neilson park in Vaucluse. Happy to report all is well. They're both plump and cuddly.

I've been absolutely loving the Tour De France over the last two weeks. Just can't get enough of it - by far the most grueling event outside the Hawaiian Ironman . Shame that poor old Cadel is struggling, but the new Aussie team have been trail blazing so can't complain too much from my couch at 2am in the morning.

Winter has firmly taken hold and It's been cold so i haven't swum or run in the last month. My wetsuit is supposedly in train from the UK, but i'm  regretting the purchase already as it means i'll have no excuse to avoid that cold dark winter morning weekend water.

Work is typical - always something to complain about but no elevated stress levels yet, so status quo.

How are you and yours? Do tell.

Minas.

Look kids, Big Ben!

Hey;

Left the office early on Friday afternoon just so that we could sit in traffic up to Wahroonga to join the freeway heading north to Port Stephens. Others in our party who’d left much later, arrived pretty much the same time as us.

Come Saturday morning I loaded up on energy bars, energy drinks, energy gels and read articles on energy. Anything I could to help with the triathlon that I was about to embark upon. In fact I probably put on weight given the calorie intake I woofed down.
Anyway, cut to the chase – the pain is unimaginable. It’s just like childbirth, only worse. After a 1.5km ocean swim against the rip and a 40km thigh burning cycle, you have a 10km “fun: run to complete the Olympic distance course. I gave it my all, often having to play little mind games to distract myself from focussing on the pain. Look! is that a Koala over there? Finally, 2hrs & 40 mins after starting, I crossed the finish line and registered a personal best. While the official title goes to the 1hr 58 min upstart, everyone’s a winner on the day.
But our day of family PBs didn’t stop there, because just an hour later, The Lovely Samantha was putting the sword to her fear of the ocean and completed her first official triathlon too! While technically shorter than Olympic, the distances were still significant psychological mountains requiring no less cunning mental distractions to climb. Look! Is that a Balenciaga bag over there?

Bodhi is now blessed with not one, but two triathlete parents. Something for which he is ecstatic about, and not because of the ice cream handed out to competitors at the finish line.
See ya
Minas.

Re-entry

Hey;

OK, so I obviously misjudged my exit and got caught in the tractor beam of the ANZ deathstar.
After a glorious month out of contract, amidst a quiet Sydney market, I accepted another contract with the devil I know...albeit with a new program of work, new stakeholders and a whole new set of brick walls to beat my head against. Just a week in though, with a new set of warning bells ringing already, perhaps the movie similarities are more Groundhog Day than Star Wars. I'll give it a month and see what pans out.

Looking back, my last report was pre-easter, so here's a whirlwind recap of the month that was:

• Easter - most brilliant camping trip EVER!!! Depot beach. Stunning location, sensational weather, kids went nuts and i honestly couldn't have asked for anything more.
• Cairns - Lovely Samantha, Bodhi and I spent a week there after the Easter break doing lots of fun touristy croc-wrestling type stuff.
• Narrabri - I took Bodhi to visit my Dad for a few days. Three generations of Aroney men...in one pub.
• Home - spent the final fortnight of my break potting around the house, fixing odds and ends and doing general training for the mighty Port Stephens triathlon (coming up in a fortnight).

The summer weather has had a very long tail meaning that we also got to spend a glorious afternoons at the beach which was a wonderful boon for the school holidays. It's only in the last few days that Autumn has rolled in.

Here's to a toasty winter ahead,
See ya,
Minas.

So Friday night was an unexpected delight. Saturday morning wasn’t. What started as innocent after work drinks turned into a no-food, too-much-booze, head-in-the toilet kind of night. I should have seen the warning signs when we decided to kick on to the Hero of Waterloo at a time when I’d usually be fast asleep.

The Lovely Samantha went off to Pilates on Saturday morning leaving me to wallow in my own self-inflicted penance. Bodhi knocked on my head and complained about hunger pains, but it was only after he complained of light headedness that I could muster the energy to lift my head off the horizontal and fashion him a bowl of cereal. Thankfully Sam returned, with panadol, and come midday, an upright position was achieved.

We caught up with Shalome, Brendan and Charlie on Sat evening. I stupidly opted to cycle over to Dee Why in 30 degree heat, which in hindsight wasn’t the smarted choice given the previous night’s intake which leeched out of every pore during my 35km ride.

Sunday was another stellar day so we started with a swim at Leichhardt. After a few weeks out with the dreaded man flu, my attempt at laps were embarrassing at best.

Later in the day Bodhi and I did some camping supplies shopping. We dropped a small fortune on a lantern, tarp, poles and ropes for the upcoming Easter camping trip to Depot beach. I just hope the weather Gods look kindly on us, but if not, one of the biggest tarps known to mankind will be at our disposal.

Fantastic dinner at a friend's place up the road. Yummy.

See ya,
Minas.

Jumping Ship

Hiya;

I missed last weekend's report due to the pathetic excuse of work. This week though, with less than 9 days left until i finish, my care factor is fast approaching nil.

Last weekend was the Woolongong triathlon although I had to pull out due to Man flu which I got real bad. It was so bad I thought they'd have to amputate my leg at one stage, but luckily a few codral were on hand to knock me out. Woke up with legs still attached, so must thank The Lovely Samantha for keeping watch over me during the coma.

This weekend, Man flu abating, I braved the conditions and partook in the ANZ corporate games sailing regatta. In fact, the conditions couldn't have been better. Saturday was one of those lazy sun kissed days that stumbled over and mistakenly turned up in Autumn. Gorgeous. Calm seas and good crew. Our boat was robbed, penalised on some analy  pedantic nautical technicality and thus did not  progressed to the finals. At the the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, several sheets to the wind, all was forgiven (or forgotten...cant remember which).

Sunday was another stellar day albeit a little windier. How ironic that Nippers is over. Met up with several others in the QVB Tea Rooms for a fancy high tea (lovely setting), before heading back home for an evening in front of the idiot box.

see ya,
Minas.

Second Time Round

Hiya;

A couple of weeks, a couple of birthdays. Bodhi and I notched up 6 and 37 respectively and In a break from tradition, we had separate parties. I stuck true to the backyard BBQ tradition of years gone by while Bodhi opted for some water slide action at Manly waterworks. Both celebrations got a little rained out, but everyone had fun.

We've had some very unpleasant weather the last few weekends and much to The Lovely Samantha's delight, nippers has been cancelled two weeks running, thus preserving her sleep ins.

However, while nippers were given a lie in, I was up before dawn this Sunday for the BRW corporate triathlon at Mrs Macquarie's chair. Horrible weather early on but by the time our wave started the sun was peeking through and all was good in the world...until the run. It truly is like childbirth. I forget the pain i put my body through when it all comes flooding back in the middle of an event and i wonder why.  Then the finish comes around and i'm looking up the next event (next Sunday in Wollongong).

Even though at 300m swim, 8k ride, 3k run It was a baby by triathlon standards, it was amazing to see the number of people being fished out of the water by the rescue boats. Scary. At 34:22 I narrowly scraped under my goal of 35mins, so i was happy. Some lean sod finished in 27mins and you've got to wonder how many weetbix he must have ate.

In the afternoon, we attended our first ever second wedding. A lovely unassuming affair on the front lawn of a grand old family home in Centennial park saw two old friends, who'd gone separate ways after high school, forging separate lives and families, both going through separate marriage breakdowns, finally reconnect and realise they were meant for each other.....awwww.

see ya,
Minas.

Date Night

Hey;

Friday night was date night. Some of the older readers of this irregular column might remember the once proud Gowings family business on the corner of George and Market st. It’s now one of the newest, hippest eatery/ hotels in town. While The Lovely Samantha feasted on stuffed Camembert, I tucked into a pork chop the size of Texas, and In a rare turn of events we kicked on to another CBD establishment for a few (overpriced) post dinner martinis.

Started Saturday with a bit of long overdue DIY at Mum’s house. She lives quite close to Bunnings which is quite handy as I do love a random visit to that mecca of meandering. I’m not sure what is more anticipated though – the promise of potential, when I walk through the aisles picturing the wondrous improvements one could do…or the promise of a sausage sizzle. Either way, satisfaction is always guaranteed.

After several hours of handing things up to me atop the ladder, the patience of my faithful assistant started to wane, so I took him off to the beach for a bit of a dip and rock pool shenanigans. Octopus, starfish, urchins…he didn’t want to leave.

Sunday was the usual early start for nippers. Each week is better than the next and I’m soooo glad we persevered through the initial tears. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Bodhi’s confidence has gone through the roof and the romantic beauty of a morning at the beach just can’t be topped.
Home made pizzas and apple pie for dinner.
See ya,
Minas.

Classic

Hey;


Saturday reminded me of an English summer’s day - Wet, miserable and not much fun to be outside. If it wasn’t for a bout of cabin fever, we’d have stayed indoors. Instead though, we popped into town and polished of a lazy Susan’s worth of Yum Cha on the way through to see Anish Kapoor’s travelling exhibition at the MCA. Full of larger than life, perspective bending “sculptures”, It’s gotten rave reviews, but I just thought it was a lot of repetition and not enough to keep this myopic mind at least engaged. Despite warnings to the contrary plastered all about the place, Bodhi liked touching things.

On Sunday, I finally ticked another item off the bucket list. A year in the making, I’ve finally completed an ocean swim (you might remember I agonisingly sprained my ankle the week before last year’s Cole Classic). Shane, Stu and I all started and successfully completed the 30th annual Cole Classic in Manly. The seas had threatened to be rough, so they altered the course, but I still respectably finished the 1km circuit in 20:47, which wasn’t so bad considering my poor preparation since Xmas. Some upstart won it in 15 minutes.

I’ve realised that all this outdoor exertion is a bit like childbirth for me – painful during, but forgotten in the euphoria of the finish. While swimming I developed a headache, had burning retinas from leaking goggles and swallowed way too much salt water (not to mention pre-swim nerves preventing me from dropping the kids off before hand). Yet shortly after the race, over breakfast and a latte, we all signed up for the Olympic distance triathlon at Port Stephens in May, which at 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run, is a decision I am already beginning to regret.

See ya,
Minas.

Oops I did it Again.

Happy new year!

Hope your break was fun. We repeated Christmas day, on boxing day, with the The Lovely Samantha’s Lovely side of the family before heading off to Bali for 10 days of Tropical rainy season shenanigans. Not much stayed dry, including my liver, as several other groups of friends also descended on the McKerlie’s compound in Seminyak for several rounds of socialising.

The last time we visited Bali was in ’98 and much had changed. It has practically everything you could want in a Balinese holiday. The only thing lacking was any semblance of a Balinese culture, being overrun with Australians and “our” needs nowadays. Sad really – reminded me the Costa Del Sol on the Spanish South Coast with their ubiquitous English pubs and fry ups. Still it was a fun getaway and a great catch up.

We returned to a few days camping in Umina before I begrudgingly trudged back to work. However, within a week of returning, as Brittany Spears would say, Oops I did it again.

I’ve gone and given notice to a decent paying contract…again. The past few months have made me eat my words (famously published here) about contractors not being susceptible to the same stresses as permanents. The project I’ve been shackled to for the last year with all its bag of problems has finally beaten me into a pulp. I’ve committed till Easter but have given notice to leave ANZ then.

Anyway, onwards and (hopefully) upwards.

See ya,

Minas.