Relief Pitcher

It rained the entire weekend which dampened (poor pun intended) any plans to get in a long ride . The combination of slick wheels, slippery roads and 4-wheel death traps is not one that favours the cyclist, so I went swimming instead.

Kids - I've lost my mojo…in the water that is. I've gone from hero to zero in the ocean in just a few weeks which is concerning particularly with the upcoming half ironman 2k swim. I snuck out before the family woke on Saturday morning for swim in Manly but had to sneak back in, tail between my legs, having pulled out half way after being overcome with a particularly severe strain of i-just-couldn't-give-a-f*%k-itis. Shalome – if you've got any tips to rekindle the mojo, speak now (I don’t want to get pregnant though).

We did a food safari trip to Cabramatta (little Vietnam) on Saturday evening. Little did we know that most pho places close at about 7 pm, but you expect these things when travelling to another country. At least they could’ve mentioned something when The Lovely Samantha rang and booked a table for four at 6:30pm. Fortunately a chance encounter with an old uni colleague who happens to be Vietnamese (automatically elevating him to expert status and local tour guide) set us on the right path. Interesting experience, but in hindsight not worth the direction arguments between driver & passengers to get there in the first place.

On Sunday morning in the wee small hours while the family still slept, having just sat down to a cup of tea and the paper, I was stirred into action to address a medical alarm that had  triggered at my grandparents. After my uncle (away in the blue mountains), my cousin (away somewhere else) and my mum (who’d conveniently left her car at our house), it fell to me, the fourth string relief pitcher to step up to the plate. Thankfully it was a false alarm - my grandfather had rolled over onto his emergency beeper and hadn't even flinched. My grandmother on the other hand was a ball of nerves wrestling unsuccessfully with the base unit that was constantly sending out high pitched warning calls in her bedroom. When I arrived on the scene I immediately performed triage and unplugged the base unit, restoring calm and order. Job done, I returned to the bull pen for a cold cup of tea and the paper.

Avoid old age at all costs.

Love to you and yours,

Minas.