The 1000 Day Holiday

I now have myself a Van!

I need to name her, and listening to her purr on the way home was great. Looking forward to kitting her out hippy styles.

And I have to arrange Insurance ASAP.

OK,
I committed 2 or so months back to not leaving this continent in search of snow.

Correct me if I’m wrong, butapproximately 1/2 of NZ is on the Australian Continent?

Or is a bottle of wine interrupting thought process? Anyway.
With Mt Ruapehu.com open for summer boarding 11th December 2004 to January 4th 2005… it is very tempting.

However, I have just agreed with dude that has hippy van; for him to complete suspension repairs. Thus it apparently it will be mine from Saturday. The intention is to explore this fine countrys eastern coastline from here to Noosa (north of this has crazy killer jelly fish and crap) And hone my kitesurfing skils.

Will find out about employment situation Friday or Monday. And so my life is beginning to look organised again.

If the flatmates dont realise it or not, theres going to be a backlog of 6 months bills that I haven’t passed on coming their way. Meh, sure I can handle a 2 week payment window

Crazy to think that I’ve been here 18 months.
Even wierder to have the feeling of satisfaction now that I think Im actually headed in the right direction(ala free time to work on scams).

Last week I wasn’t even contemplating job hunting and 3 jobs came up. freaky, and the fact that I can negociate an honest rate with them. But the numbers still dont seem enough for someone else to own my brain. hmm.. Job share as a mate suggested is becoming a possibility.

Maybe Im a born hippy. I don’t think so. Self diagnosis: As Rich dad.. Kyosaki put it. I’m a C Grade student (true or not = irrelevant).I think I have realised there is people more intelligent than myslef who have no problem working for less than I would consider getting out of bed for.
The part I need to work on is identifying Trump Style ideas. Things that may actually require a bit of capital. You are definatley limited in ideas when you try and invest nothing to reap the rewards.

I have managed to do ok by this so far. But to be truly sucessful you have to think big. Exclude self input from the calculation is the answer.

/Rant off.

If youve seen me this weekend, you would know how excited I am. Ive found the perfect hippy van. Its a Ford Econovan Maxi. Long wheel base with pop top (ala camper van style) roof.

And as long as it passes the NRMA inspection tomorrow its all mine.

I cant wait to get away, and play for a month or 2. I’m not too concerned about whats going to happen with work, I’m sure it will all work out.

On another note ( see last post – written ~4am after countless Souza Tequilas. )
I have found some ‘OK’ tequila in sydney. They don’t have Agavero, which is upsetting but this was manageable.

Apparently there is a tequila bar here as well. The top price for 30ml being $260
Its probably a good thing I dont know where it is or what its called.

Thank you for your time this morning it was a pleasure speaking with you
and a relief to finally find someone of your calibre! As discussed I have
attached the position description for…

Aww, do I feel special?

They had dug out my old Resume from when I was based in NZ 18 months ago!

Pity its based in Melbourne. Maybe they will consider having a team split between there & Sydney.

Still, theres another Sydney based job I should find out more about today.

My contract has been extended till 3 December. Which is cool. Gives me a bit more time to get organised and buy a van etc. I’m really looking foward to getting some serious time KiteSurfing.

With still no news on if my contract is getting extended, it will be an interesting day on Tuesday.

Its quite strange having only knowing whats going to happen for a couple of days, and no certainty after that.

After only a couple of 8km training runs the week before, I was a little aprehensive about how i would fare.

However, great experience running in such a large group, and very thankful the course was reasonably flat. Bumped into Mark mid race, which was a god send to have a pacer.

My time: 51:36
Mark McLean: 51:51
Susannah: 1:02:04
Una: 1:05:14
Hannah: 1:13:25

Photo of the team: pre race

The List:
Three Hats

Claude’s

MG Garage

Quay

Rockpool

Tetsuya’s

Two Hats

Aria

Banc

Bathers’ Pavilion

bel mondo

Bistro Moncur

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

Buon Ricordo

Celsius

Eleni’s

Forty One

Guillaume at Bennelong

Longrain

Lucio’s

Marque

Pier

Restaurant VII Sailors Thai

Salt

Sean’s Panaroma

One Hat

Alio

Aqua Dining

Aqua Luna

Becasse

Billy Kwong

Bistro Lulu

Cala Luna

Catalina Rose Bay

Certo Ristorante

Cottage Point Inn

Darling Mills

Elio

Fuel

Golden Century

Grappa

harbourkitchen&bar

Hugo’s

Il Piave

Jaspers

Kam Fook

Kam Fook, Chatswood

L’Unico

Milsons

The Mixing Pot

Neptune Palace

Ocean King House

Oh! Calcutta!

Otto

Pavilion on the Park

Pello

Prime

Restaurant Balzac

Ristorante Riva

Sailors Thai Canteen

Sea Treasure

Tables

Tabou

The Wharf

XO

Ying’s

Special categories

Best Chinese Ying’s

Best French Marque

Best Greek Eleni’s

Best Indian Oh! Calcutta!

Best Italian Buon Ricordo

Best Japanese Azuma

Best Seafood Pier

Best Steak Prime

Best Thai Sailors Thai

Best Bar Water Bar

Best Cafe Danks Street Depot

What they mean:
Three hats

The food surprises in its originality, delights in its technique and is delivered by professionals who know exactly what temperature the oven is set at to prepare the slow-cooked duck and what the mystery ingredient is that makes it taste so sexy. When you as much as glance at the wine list a waiter or (even better) a sommelier is suggesting not only a wine that’s drinking well now but one you can afford. The interior is probably going to be fabulous, but it doesn’t have to be.

Two hats

All of the above – just down a notch or two (in some cases, only a tiny notch). Professional service and seriously good flavours on the plate.

One hat

There is noticeable flair in the kitchen – good flavours and polished cooking techniques. Service is caring, if not always textbook perfect.

Unhatted

If it’s in the Good Food Guide, we’ve been and are happy to recommend it (and we’ve been to plenty that missed out).

Who got the hats? – smh.com.au

Im now much poorer, but the very happy owner of a full kit of Kitesurfing gear.

3 Best Kites:
Yarga 9, 13 & 17 meters
Best Bar & Lines
Underground FLX 142 cm board
Prolimit Harness
Pro Tec Hemlet

Now I just need a van to cart it all around in, and some wind please!

Flag this for Jan 06!
–
Russia
This is the heart of James Bond territory, with more than one movie depicting the tuxedo-clad skier being chased across a snowy landscape by skidoo-riding, machine-gun-wielding baddies. Visitors may not experience as much excitement, but Russia is the ultimate in Eastern European skiing. Partly because you can’t get there – at least not without connections.
Visas are still required, and a letter must be extended through a tour organisation that has the necessary contacts. But as the current favourite spot for professional skiers and snowboarders, it’s certainly worth a look. If it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for you.
Look at a map and you will find Europe’s highest mountain range, the Caucasus, featuring Mount Elbrus, easily outstripping Mount Blanc at 5642 metres as Europe’s highest mountain. It’s a wild place, bristling with mountains over 4000 metres.

Czech Republic
Like the rest of Eastern Europe, the people of the Czech Republic are warm and friendly, but winters are cold. Daytime temperatures hover around -15C to -20C, dipping further at night. This may jeopardise any nocturnal disco-dancing outfits, but translates into excellent snow conditions. Cold, dry temperatures maintain the snow cover and, unlike other ski areas near the moist coast (think west-coast Canada), snow is reliable and fresh snowfalls result in powder champagne.
The main Czech resort is Spindleruv Mlyn in the Krkonose (Giant) Mountains near the Polish border, about two hours’ drive north of the capital, Prague.

Romania
Skiing in this part of the world once meant battling archaic lift systems, sleeping in barns and finding rental equipment that was little more than a plank of wood and chicken wire. Simply put, heading downhill here required more than a drop of Dutch courage and some weighty logistics.
But the times they are a-changing. Capitalism has arrived, possibly more important than democracy, and money talks in many languages. In ski language it has meant lift upgrades, ski area expansions and sleeping arrangements involving linen-covered pillows instead of pallets of hay.

Bulgaria
It’s hard to spot the locals for all the English descending here every season. Their increasing numbers have made this the flavour of the month and it is for one reason: it’s ridiculously cheap. As in Romania, a three-star hotel for seven nights with breakfast and dinner costs from $390.

Poland
Poland boasts one major ski resort, Zakopane, which bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics – unsuccessfully. While it has some good runs, it still has a way to go. The town has a long history and features every stage of the past century on its streets, from old haunts of Polish intellectuals to the ugly communist apartment blocks and the more recent addition of Burger King.

Slovenia
The major resort, Kranjska Gora, is tucked in the border between Austria and Italy, giving it an international flavour all its own. The Austrian ski field of Nassfeld is only an hour away, and Treviso in Italy a simple 30-minute drive.

Lying in the valley that separates the Julian Alps to the south from the Karavanke Range in the north, the resort is small. So small that the ski school employs most of the off-duty police officers (they could issue you with a speeding ticket).

Slovakia
The eastern part of what used to be Czechoslovakia is fairly unknown as a general tourist – let alone a skiing – destination. But mountains dominate the landscape – 80 per cent are higher than 750 metres – and bears, lynx and wolves are some of the unexpected locals. A bonus here is empty slopes. The skiers are mostly Russians intent on committing crimes against ski fashion (think 1970s ski clothes that were actually made in 1970, with leather ski boots) rather than heading downhill.

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