Mindy had the choice of where to go for dinner however, being limited by the kids, she chose a local Mexican chain "Baja Fresh". I did make it clear that she could go wherever she wanted and I think that by saying "Happy Birthday" about 100 times over the course of the night I am now forgiven for not wishing her this earlier in the day.
After dinner, get the kids to bed and hit the TV for a crazy evening of viewing. I watched a poker show while she spoke to her father. Then we watched a documentary about sumo wrestlers - really interesting stuff. Clearly the wrestlers suffer health problems later in life due to their weight but I was surprised to learn that the life expectancy of a sumo wrestler is 20 years shorter than the average Japanese citizen. This was followed by an episode of a series about climbing Mt Everest. After reading a book on this recently and watching this series, I cannot understand people wanting to go through this. Even today, where you can get sherpas to lug your gear and supplies for you and also have experienced guides to advise you and guide you to the top, it is still amazingly dangerous and not a pleasant experience. Considering that the payoff is only a couple of minutes at the summit, I just don't understand why people flock to Asia to undertake this. Having said this, I am glad people do as watching and reading about their efforts is certainly very entertaining!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Mindy's Birthday
Today is Mindy's birthday. We actually had begin the celebrations on the weekend with a trip to the local Japanese hibachi restaurant for dinner. The kids enjoyed the entertainment and the food but Mindy and I both thought that we had been to better similarly themed restaurants in the past.
This morning I had to get to work early to get some stuff completed. Mindy and I were talking on the phone in the early afternoon when she said "Patty is here. I better go. Today is a special day you know". It was at that moment that I realised I had completely forgotten to mention her birthday today! Oops! So, I guess I need to make up for this tonight, still not sure how, but dinner out to celebrate is probably in order...
This morning I had to get to work early to get some stuff completed. Mindy and I were talking on the phone in the early afternoon when she said "Patty is here. I better go. Today is a special day you know". It was at that moment that I realised I had completely forgotten to mention her birthday today! Oops! So, I guess I need to make up for this tonight, still not sure how, but dinner out to celebrate is probably in order...
Ballet
On Tuesday, I worked from home allowing me to attend the 1 hour ballet performances from both Naomi and Fiona's classes. It was pretty cute to watch these groups of awkward kids go through their paces and a great example of patience from the teacher having to deal with the students wandering off (both in mind and body) throughout the class. The girls' personalities certainly came through in their dance, Mindy and I were laughing to ourselves watching both of them do "typical" Naomi and Fiona things in this setting.
In the evening I watched The Simpsons Movie. I thought it was pretty funny and I would imagine that it met the expectations of any fans who saw it. Full of classic Simpsons quotes and jokes, highly recommended to any fans of the series. Mindy, not a huge fan of the show, came in towards the end and was interested enough to watch the end, so I guess it is OK, even for casual fans.
In the evening I watched The Simpsons Movie. I thought it was pretty funny and I would imagine that it met the expectations of any fans who saw it. Full of classic Simpsons quotes and jokes, highly recommended to any fans of the series. Mindy, not a huge fan of the show, came in towards the end and was interested enough to watch the end, so I guess it is OK, even for casual fans.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Gilly
For the cricket fans out there, the big story was the retirement of Adam Gilchrist. I think he timed things perfectly. He is still a good player but was showing some signs of a decline - nice that he was able to get out before being pushed out. Brad Hadden will be a fine replacement I think and deserves his chance. He is coming into the team in career best form so hopefully this will now continue for a few years.
Other than watching the cricket, this weekend involved a much less eventful trip to Naomi's ice skating and spending time with friends on Saturday afternoon. We also found the time to bake Australian animal cookies (from the cookie cutters sent by Uncle Mick and Aunty Margaret) to celebrate Australia Day. The kids especially enjoyed piling about a 1/2 inch of topping on top, which of course made them no longer resemble the animals they were supposed to...and also, pretty much make them inedible. They had a lot of fun doing it though.
On Sunday, Mindy took Naomi to the rink for some extra practice so Fiona and I baked a cake to celebrate Mindy's upcoming birthday. Later in the afternoon, we spent some time re-arranging our firewood pile from our latest delivery. As a part of this, I discovered the simple pleasure of splitting firewood. A week ago I bought a splitting maul (basically a heavy axe where the blade is a combination of an axe head, splitting wedge and sledge hammer) and also a sledge hammer (the idea being that if the maul gets stuck in the log, the design allows for you to drive it through the log with a sledge hammer). While only having small pieces to try it out on, it was quite successful and fun to do. Of course, I am sure the novelty may well wear off if presented with a significant quantity to do but it was certainly fun on the weekend. Our wood stove is working very well, proving to be enjoyable, economic and environmentally sound. Next challenge - removing the old walnut tree in our back yard that messes up our deck and thanks to the squirrels, leaves our backyard covered in hard, sharp walnut shell fragments. I plan to get the tree company to leave the wood, split it myself and let it season for next year's fire.
Other than watching the cricket, this weekend involved a much less eventful trip to Naomi's ice skating and spending time with friends on Saturday afternoon. We also found the time to bake Australian animal cookies (from the cookie cutters sent by Uncle Mick and Aunty Margaret) to celebrate Australia Day. The kids especially enjoyed piling about a 1/2 inch of topping on top, which of course made them no longer resemble the animals they were supposed to...and also, pretty much make them inedible. They had a lot of fun doing it though.
On Sunday, Mindy took Naomi to the rink for some extra practice so Fiona and I baked a cake to celebrate Mindy's upcoming birthday. Later in the afternoon, we spent some time re-arranging our firewood pile from our latest delivery. As a part of this, I discovered the simple pleasure of splitting firewood. A week ago I bought a splitting maul (basically a heavy axe where the blade is a combination of an axe head, splitting wedge and sledge hammer) and also a sledge hammer (the idea being that if the maul gets stuck in the log, the design allows for you to drive it through the log with a sledge hammer). While only having small pieces to try it out on, it was quite successful and fun to do. Of course, I am sure the novelty may well wear off if presented with a significant quantity to do but it was certainly fun on the weekend. Our wood stove is working very well, proving to be enjoyable, economic and environmentally sound. Next challenge - removing the old walnut tree in our back yard that messes up our deck and thanks to the squirrels, leaves our backyard covered in hard, sharp walnut shell fragments. I plan to get the tree company to leave the wood, split it myself and let it season for next year's fire.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday
Colgate had a day off for Martin Luther King day, so I was at home! For some reason, I slept until about 8:30, literally the longest I have slept in about 5 years. After this I guess I had lots of energy so we decided to try to organise the house a little. Measurements were taken of various spaces and then a trip to Target resulted in the purchasing of several plastic bins and wooden shelf units. Mindy is now facing the task of arranging her craft/belly dancing/henna/etc supplies in the newly found space.
I also switched out the tub spout in the hopes of getting our leaky shower diverter to work. It actually did the trick. In addition, I added a low-flow shower head so now we have gone from having a small trickle of water to now having a workable shower again! It really made a difference and helps the environment as well. A win-win situation!
I also switched out the tub spout in the hopes of getting our leaky shower diverter to work. It actually did the trick. In addition, I added a low-flow shower head so now we have gone from having a small trickle of water to now having a workable shower again! It really made a difference and helps the environment as well. A win-win situation!
Sunday
We were hoping Sunday was a little more normal than Saturday. After some household chores in the morning Mindy suggested that we go to the local cinema cafe for lunch and a movie with the kids. I kind of felt like being a slob at the house but went along in the hope the kids would have a good time. The movie was "The Water Horse", a fantasy movie about a child who hatches a dinosaur into Loch Ness and the adventures that go along with this. It was OK I guess, not the best kids' movie I have seen, but the girls liked it (and enjoyed the pizza).
After this, it was over to some friends for an afternoon of beer drinking and watching the football playoffs. Both games were enjoyable - New England always seemed to have it in hand against San Diego...however the Green Bay v New York game was very exciting with no team able to put the other away. New York won it in overtime and so now only they stand in the way of New England having an undefeated season. I will be wanting a New England victory in the Super Bowl - I like their team and also want to shut up the annoying Dolphins players from 30 years ago who had the last undefeated season in the NFL.
The beer and company were good and the kids all had fun playing together. The ladies went out and had dinner while we "supervised" things at home. Our plan was that if there was an accident, one of the kids would probably survive it and be able to alert us...it worked like a charm and we did not miss any snaps.
After this, it was over to some friends for an afternoon of beer drinking and watching the football playoffs. Both games were enjoyable - New England always seemed to have it in hand against San Diego...however the Green Bay v New York game was very exciting with no team able to put the other away. New York won it in overtime and so now only they stand in the way of New England having an undefeated season. I will be wanting a New England victory in the Super Bowl - I like their team and also want to shut up the annoying Dolphins players from 30 years ago who had the last undefeated season in the NFL.
The beer and company were good and the kids all had fun playing together. The ladies went out and had dinner while we "supervised" things at home. Our plan was that if there was an accident, one of the kids would probably survive it and be able to alert us...it worked like a charm and we did not miss any snaps.
Saturday
After staying up for most of the night to watch us lose the cricket, I grabbed a few hours of sleep before going to Naomi's ice skating lesson. We were about a mile from the arena when Mindy commented that she had noticed a strange noise coming from the back of the car. I pulled over and we had a completely flat tyre (tire for the American readers!). I drove off the main road onto a side street and we considered our options. I could change it myself or we could call road service to help us out - but either of these options would mean Naomi missed her lesson. The other alternative was that only being about a mile from the place, I could run with Naomi/carry her/kind of drag her there and we should make it in time for the lesson...and Mindy could remain with Fiona and the mobile phone and wait for road service to arrive. We agreed that we would try to get here there so off I ran, holding Naomi's hand (figuring I would carry her when closer to the main road - it was quite safe where we were). As I left, Mindy shouted "Do you want the stroller?"...but with the ground being uneven at times, I figured this would not be of any help, so shouted back no and continued on.
About 1/2 way to the venue a car pulled up next to us and the lady driving asked if we needed any help. I guess she saw me carrying a young child and figured something was wrong. I told her the story but added that we were only about a 1/2 mile away and if she could give us a ride there, it would help. No problem - I buckled Naomi in the back and jumped in the front when a police car pulled in behind us. Now, there were a few possibilities here that came to mind - a routine check of a car pulled off on a main road perhaps, or perhaps he saw her pick us up and so was going to bust me for hitch-hiking?? At this stage I was thinking that what should have been an easy morning was quickly becoming much more complex.
The officer came to my window and asked: "Is everything OK?". I told him that we were trying to get to my daughter's ice skating lesson just a 1/2 mile away, told him about the flat etc. He then asked: "Did you two have an argument?". This was quite unexpected. I explained that we only just met and that my wife was about a 1/2 mile back with the car. He then asked: "Did you have an argument with your wife?". Now I was really confused and assured him that I did not. The lady then asked if she could go and the police officer said he would take care of us from here.
Upon getting out of the car, I noticed that there were now 3 police cars sitting there. The officer then said: "We had a report of a domestic dispute.". I asked: "And the person you were after matched my description?", the officer nodded. I was wearing my Newcastle Falcons jacket with bright red sleeves, so this was not too tough to believe. After telling him where Mindy was located, he dispatched a patrol car to check my story and then loaded Naomi and me into the back of his car to drive us to ice skating. Naomi was a little apprehensive and confused but I tried to assure her that everything was OK. We got to the ice rink and he made us wait around for a couple of minutes until he received confirmation from his buddy that all was OK with Mindy...and then we raced inside, got her skates and made it to the lesson with a minute to spare!
From Mindy's perspective...she had called road service when the police car arrived. The officer asked her: "How are you doing today?". Mindy then told him about the flat and that her husband and daughter were walking down the road to the ice skating rink. He replied: "Yes, we know". Mindy enquired further: "So did you help them out?". The answer: "Something like that.". So she was quite confused and completely in the dark about our adventure. In the end, the tyre was changed and she met us at the rink about 10 minutes after the class finished. Quite a strange way to spend a morning as it turned out.
The only thing we can figure is that the owner of the house that we stopped in front of saw us frantically discussing our options, probably gesturing toward the car. Next, I run off with a child, shouting something as I left - I guess it looked suspicious enough to deserve a call to the police!
After getting the tyre repaired we went home and then raced out again to a friend's child's birthday party. We were late but I guess we had a good excuse!
In the evening we watched Jackass 2. A quite amazing movie that you don't really want to watch at times but, much as with an accident on the road, you cannot stop yourself. Everything you would expect - entertaining, funny, gross, cringe-worthy and immature. Those guys deserve every cent thay make and I am amazed none of them has died doing some of these stunts. Certainly worth watching if you have 90 minutes to kill and want a good laugh.
About 1/2 way to the venue a car pulled up next to us and the lady driving asked if we needed any help. I guess she saw me carrying a young child and figured something was wrong. I told her the story but added that we were only about a 1/2 mile away and if she could give us a ride there, it would help. No problem - I buckled Naomi in the back and jumped in the front when a police car pulled in behind us. Now, there were a few possibilities here that came to mind - a routine check of a car pulled off on a main road perhaps, or perhaps he saw her pick us up and so was going to bust me for hitch-hiking?? At this stage I was thinking that what should have been an easy morning was quickly becoming much more complex.
The officer came to my window and asked: "Is everything OK?". I told him that we were trying to get to my daughter's ice skating lesson just a 1/2 mile away, told him about the flat etc. He then asked: "Did you two have an argument?". This was quite unexpected. I explained that we only just met and that my wife was about a 1/2 mile back with the car. He then asked: "Did you have an argument with your wife?". Now I was really confused and assured him that I did not. The lady then asked if she could go and the police officer said he would take care of us from here.
Upon getting out of the car, I noticed that there were now 3 police cars sitting there. The officer then said: "We had a report of a domestic dispute.". I asked: "And the person you were after matched my description?", the officer nodded. I was wearing my Newcastle Falcons jacket with bright red sleeves, so this was not too tough to believe. After telling him where Mindy was located, he dispatched a patrol car to check my story and then loaded Naomi and me into the back of his car to drive us to ice skating. Naomi was a little apprehensive and confused but I tried to assure her that everything was OK. We got to the ice rink and he made us wait around for a couple of minutes until he received confirmation from his buddy that all was OK with Mindy...and then we raced inside, got her skates and made it to the lesson with a minute to spare!
From Mindy's perspective...she had called road service when the police car arrived. The officer asked her: "How are you doing today?". Mindy then told him about the flat and that her husband and daughter were walking down the road to the ice skating rink. He replied: "Yes, we know". Mindy enquired further: "So did you help them out?". The answer: "Something like that.". So she was quite confused and completely in the dark about our adventure. In the end, the tyre was changed and she met us at the rink about 10 minutes after the class finished. Quite a strange way to spend a morning as it turned out.
The only thing we can figure is that the owner of the house that we stopped in front of saw us frantically discussing our options, probably gesturing toward the car. Next, I run off with a child, shouting something as I left - I guess it looked suspicious enough to deserve a call to the police!
After getting the tyre repaired we went home and then raced out again to a friend's child's birthday party. We were late but I guess we had a good excuse!
In the evening we watched Jackass 2. A quite amazing movie that you don't really want to watch at times but, much as with an accident on the road, you cannot stop yourself. Everything you would expect - entertaining, funny, gross, cringe-worthy and immature. Those guys deserve every cent thay make and I am amazed none of them has died doing some of these stunts. Certainly worth watching if you have 90 minutes to kill and want a good laugh.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Into Thin Air
Last night I finished reading the Jon Krakauer book "Into Thin Air". I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to all. His descriptions of the climb, especially the chaos of the final hours for many of the party, are quite gripping to read. Absolutely a better book than "Into the Wild", mainly because this is written from his perspective from actually being there, for Into the Wild, he had to piece together the story from journals and other people who met Chris on his journey.
Next on the reading front might be the other Krakauer book, or perhaps Sam Harris, I will see how my mood takes me.
The cricket is quite interesting right now. India missed a chance to bat us out of the game but still managed to set us a large enough total to make the chase difficult. I think we are a chance - the pitch is playing well and if we get through to lunch losing no more than 1 wicket, India will start to feel the pressure in the afternoon.
This weekend is a long weekend for us (MLK day on Monday and Colgate observes this holiday). Nothing much planned, Naomi has another ice skating lesson on Saturday so probably just relax (and recover from staying up all night tonight watching cricket).
Next on the reading front might be the other Krakauer book, or perhaps Sam Harris, I will see how my mood takes me.
The cricket is quite interesting right now. India missed a chance to bat us out of the game but still managed to set us a large enough total to make the chase difficult. I think we are a chance - the pitch is playing well and if we get through to lunch losing no more than 1 wicket, India will start to feel the pressure in the afternoon.
This weekend is a long weekend for us (MLK day on Monday and Colgate observes this holiday). Nothing much planned, Naomi has another ice skating lesson on Saturday so probably just relax (and recover from staying up all night tonight watching cricket).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Vegas etc
Travelled to Vegas on Sunday for a 3 day stay for a work conference. Going that far for such a short stay proved to be very tiring. I arrived around lunchtime on Sunday and by the time I finalized checking into my hotel and also registering for the conference, it was about 3:00pm. I decided to hit the poker tables for a while before the first conference function that evening.
I was playing $1/$2 NL and not getting anything playable at all. In fact, it was quite an uninspiring couple of hours. The only decent hand I got actually cost me a chunk of money as my AA got cracked by a flush. I was also quite tired and probably not really that focussed on what I was doing as well.
The rest of the stay involved work dinners and educational sessions. I really did not get much of a chance to gamble any more than this as I was never able to adjust to the west coast time (waking up at 4:30am both mornings). I had to attend the educational sessions as they were scanning badges to monitor attendance and the evening dinners tended to drag on with managers talking endlessly about many of the same topics. I left at lunchtime on Tuesday and was quite tired when I reached home...
...although not too tired to stay up until 2:00am watching the 3rd cricket test! Thanks to the two late wickets, we are in a good position I think but we need a couple of early wickets tonight to finish them off for a manageable total.
On the trip, I did manage to finish a book I had been reading "God Is Not Great : How Religion Poisions Everything" by Christopher Hitchens. It was very interesting and would certainly think that anybody, no matter what your religious beliefs were, could enjoy hearing what he had to say. He certainly does not leave anything to the imagination regarding his opinions, but I guess the title kind of makes that clear!
While flying home I started another of my Christmas presents by John Krakauer - "Into Thin Air". I simply could not put this thing down and managed to get through 2/3 of it during the flight. It is his personal account of a tragedy during a climb on Mt Everest about 10 years ago. Just hearing of the hardships and risks during all points of the climb is amazing. The fact that even with all the modern technology and lessons learned from past climbs so many people die trying to make the climb shows just how truly harsh and unforgiving that part of the world is. One fact that I had not really even considered...the height of Everest is almost the same height that jet airliners cruise at (give or take a little) 28029 feet. This was quite revealing while looking out of my plane window, imagining walking/climbing to such a height. I plan to finish the book soon, although cricket watching might get in the way this week.
Mindy's mother is also in town this week for a visit so she will be busy for that. The kids are especially excited and love the extra attention they get during such times.
I was playing $1/$2 NL and not getting anything playable at all. In fact, it was quite an uninspiring couple of hours. The only decent hand I got actually cost me a chunk of money as my AA got cracked by a flush. I was also quite tired and probably not really that focussed on what I was doing as well.
The rest of the stay involved work dinners and educational sessions. I really did not get much of a chance to gamble any more than this as I was never able to adjust to the west coast time (waking up at 4:30am both mornings). I had to attend the educational sessions as they were scanning badges to monitor attendance and the evening dinners tended to drag on with managers talking endlessly about many of the same topics. I left at lunchtime on Tuesday and was quite tired when I reached home...
...although not too tired to stay up until 2:00am watching the 3rd cricket test! Thanks to the two late wickets, we are in a good position I think but we need a couple of early wickets tonight to finish them off for a manageable total.
On the trip, I did manage to finish a book I had been reading "God Is Not Great : How Religion Poisions Everything" by Christopher Hitchens. It was very interesting and would certainly think that anybody, no matter what your religious beliefs were, could enjoy hearing what he had to say. He certainly does not leave anything to the imagination regarding his opinions, but I guess the title kind of makes that clear!
While flying home I started another of my Christmas presents by John Krakauer - "Into Thin Air". I simply could not put this thing down and managed to get through 2/3 of it during the flight. It is his personal account of a tragedy during a climb on Mt Everest about 10 years ago. Just hearing of the hardships and risks during all points of the climb is amazing. The fact that even with all the modern technology and lessons learned from past climbs so many people die trying to make the climb shows just how truly harsh and unforgiving that part of the world is. One fact that I had not really even considered...the height of Everest is almost the same height that jet airliners cruise at (give or take a little) 28029 feet. This was quite revealing while looking out of my plane window, imagining walking/climbing to such a height. I plan to finish the book soon, although cricket watching might get in the way this week.
Mindy's mother is also in town this week for a visit so she will be busy for that. The kids are especially excited and love the extra attention they get during such times.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Stitches, Cute Comment and Mr Brooks
My head cut seems to be healing nicely. I get my stitches out later in the week and hopefully all remains well with it. One thing I had forgotten before...on the day of the cut, Naomi was quite concerned about seeing me with all the blood on my head. I explained to her that she cut her head when she was a baby (worse than mine) and so now we will have matching "boo-boo scars". She replied "But daddy, I love you much more than I love myself"...quite a cute comment and one that certainly tugs at the heartstrings.
Last night we watched the movie Mr Brooks, a thriller about a serial killer (Kevin Costner) who cannot give up the urge to kill, despite his best efforts. Overall it was quite good, although one key character in the plot was so badly played by Dane Cook that it took some of the gloss off I think. It was quite entertaining and liked the ending but it did not live up to the hype of the radio recommendation I heard on Howard Stern's show earlier in the day. Demi Moore was good as the detective on the case and William Hurt was also very good as Kevin Costner's "inner voice". Worth a look but not a classic. What it did achieve is bringing Mindy's fears about serial killers back to the surface. After watching the entire season of Most Evil, I think she was just starting to put this behind her and now she is freaked out again. Probably have to stick to a few comedies for a while!
Last night we watched the movie Mr Brooks, a thriller about a serial killer (Kevin Costner) who cannot give up the urge to kill, despite his best efforts. Overall it was quite good, although one key character in the plot was so badly played by Dane Cook that it took some of the gloss off I think. It was quite entertaining and liked the ending but it did not live up to the hype of the radio recommendation I heard on Howard Stern's show earlier in the day. Demi Moore was good as the detective on the case and William Hurt was also very good as Kevin Costner's "inner voice". Worth a look but not a classic. What it did achieve is bringing Mindy's fears about serial killers back to the surface. After watching the entire season of Most Evil, I think she was just starting to put this behind her and now she is freaked out again. Probably have to stick to a few comedies for a while!
Monday, January 7, 2008
More Friends
Sunday brought a trip to upstate New York to visit some friends who are moving to LA in a couple of months. Naomi is exactly the same age as their daughter, in fact, we met in our Bradley childbirth class. Lunch gave me an opportunity to try sushi for the first time...it was OK, but my impression was that it really just tasted like the sauce. I kind of think of this as like eating oysters - not bad but I really don't see the point of it all. Perhaps, this is still a holdover of 20 years of "meat and potatoes" eating while growing up.
The day was fun but coming on the back of our busy Saturday, left us quite tired at the end. The kids got to sleep quite easily which is usually a sign that we have had a full weekend.
The day was fun but coming on the back of our busy Saturday, left us quite tired at the end. The kids got to sleep quite easily which is usually a sign that we have had a full weekend.
What a Saturday!
Saturday morning brought us to our local ice rink for Naomi's first ice skating lesson. She has been looking forward to this for quite a while and so we were both anxious to see her do OK so she would not lose heart. She was grouped with about 10 4-6 year olds, all of whom had no previous experience with skating. The first class was about teaching them how to get back up if they fall and some very basic marching on the ice to get a feel for it. She did very well, listened to all the teacher said and did not fall down once. She had a great time and is looking forward to next weekend.
The rest of the day was supposed to have involved hanging around the house until going to see some friends later in the afternoon. At about 2:00pm, I was walking through our dining room and bumped my head on a low hanging light fitting which is normally above our table. However, we had moved the table to temporarily accommodate furniture from our sun room due to our new floor getting installed. In any case, your reaction is to put your hand to the bump...when I pulled my hand away, it was covered with blood. The glass fixture had chipped away and sliced open my head. So a relaxing afternoon turned into a trip to a local clinic where I got 9 stiches and a tetanus shot.
After this, we went over to see our friends and spend the afternoon drinking beer and watching the Redskins play Seattle in the NFL playoffs. Unfortunately the Redskins could not quite get it done but there was some excitement as they briefly took the lead in the 4th quarter.
The night was spent watching the final day of the cricket. Australia took it to the very end before Clarke's miraculous over to take the final 3 Indian wickets for a great victory. Not only did this ensure them retaining the trophy, but keeping their now world record equalling win streak alive. All of this wrapped up around 3:00am but despite the late hour, it was quite tough to settle down and get to sleep. Upon reflection, quite a busy day.
The rest of the day was supposed to have involved hanging around the house until going to see some friends later in the afternoon. At about 2:00pm, I was walking through our dining room and bumped my head on a low hanging light fitting which is normally above our table. However, we had moved the table to temporarily accommodate furniture from our sun room due to our new floor getting installed. In any case, your reaction is to put your hand to the bump...when I pulled my hand away, it was covered with blood. The glass fixture had chipped away and sliced open my head. So a relaxing afternoon turned into a trip to a local clinic where I got 9 stiches and a tetanus shot.
After this, we went over to see our friends and spend the afternoon drinking beer and watching the Redskins play Seattle in the NFL playoffs. Unfortunately the Redskins could not quite get it done but there was some excitement as they briefly took the lead in the 4th quarter.
The night was spent watching the final day of the cricket. Australia took it to the very end before Clarke's miraculous over to take the final 3 Indian wickets for a great victory. Not only did this ensure them retaining the trophy, but keeping their now world record equalling win streak alive. All of this wrapped up around 3:00am but despite the late hour, it was quite tough to settle down and get to sleep. Upon reflection, quite a busy day.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Not The Best Thing To Say
This morning, after staying up until 2:00am watching cricket, I was hoping to catch a little sleep-in before going to work. Upon hearing Mindy walking downstairs early in the morning with Fiona I quite tactfully called out: "Can you make sure I don't sleep past 8:00?". Perhaps not the best thing to say to a tired wife dealing with the kids. Apparently being tired from watching the cricket is not a valid excuse!
New Floor
Yesterday we got our new kitchen floor. Mindy was on the front line dealing with 5 contractors in the house, dust, glue fumes and displaced furniture. The end result was great. It looks better, is warmer under foot and will be easier to maintain. At first I was not convinced by the fake wood vinyl look when we were discussing this however this does really mean that much as I am quite "challenged" in these matters. My trust in Mindy's design talents was well placed and we are all very happy with how it turned out. Next home projects will be removing a tree and building a fence.
Today is really dragging on. For the past two days, I have done nothing but sit in meetings. Fortunately it is a short week and I get some respite tomorrow. Next week should be a little better I hope. I did get good news though, I might be here through the end of June (still to be confirmed) so hopefully it works out.
The cricket is quite delicately poised. India probably have a better chance to push for a win if we bat poorly tonight however all 3 results are quite possible. I think all of the missed chances from Laxman and Dravid might end up costing us from having a good chance to extend our win streak. Most likely, this will end in a draw. I only hope we do not get to generous in a declaration if the situation presents itself. In any case, many hours of viewing are planned for the next couple of nights.
Today is really dragging on. For the past two days, I have done nothing but sit in meetings. Fortunately it is a short week and I get some respite tomorrow. Next week should be a little better I hope. I did get good news though, I might be here through the end of June (still to be confirmed) so hopefully it works out.
The cricket is quite delicately poised. India probably have a better chance to push for a win if we bat poorly tonight however all 3 results are quite possible. I think all of the missed chances from Laxman and Dravid might end up costing us from having a good chance to extend our win streak. Most likely, this will end in a draw. I only hope we do not get to generous in a declaration if the situation presents itself. In any case, many hours of viewing are planned for the next couple of nights.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
2008!
Welcome to 2008! We began by visiting some more friends during the day of January 1, then in the evening, settled in to watch the start of the cricket. Thanks to having a couple of deaf and blind umpires and also, some very good lower order batting, we are in a very good position once again...however at one point it did not look likely at all. Still, I do have some mixed feelings about this with the umpiring misses being so amazing blatent as to actually be embarrassing. Still, you need to take your chances and Symonds certainly did this. Hopefully he can continue this evening and give us a very nice first innings total.
Today was also my first day back at work. It was quite difficult to get out the door after my time off but the party had to end at some point. Hopefully this week should still be relatively quiet as some people are still away on holiday.
Today was also my first day back at work. It was quite difficult to get out the door after my time off but the party had to end at some point. Hopefully this week should still be relatively quiet as some people are still away on holiday.
The End of 2007
The last days of the year were amazingly busy. It seemed like every day we were running to someone's house or getting visited ourselves. It was fun and very relaxing I have to say, however I did not make any progress on many of the errand type things I had wanted to complete in my time off.
I did manage to read a few books over the week though. Firstly, "Into the Wild" - a book about a young bloke - Chris McCandless, who gave away basically all his possessions and money and went on an adventure travelling all over the western USA. His final adventure was to explore Alaska and live off the land. Unfortunately, due to some poor planning and bad luck he did not survive. It is certainly an interesting story and I would like to see the movie that has been recently made of this. Other related Christmas presents were two additional books written by the same author (John Krakauer), one about a tragic Everest expedition that he was a part of (Into Thin Air) and another about some Mormons who murdered people based on their beliefs (Under the Banner of Heaven). Also, I received the soundtrack to the movie "Into the Wild", performed by Eddie Vedder which is also quite good.
Another present which I began to enjoy was the AC/DC box set "Plug Me In". Great concert footage and interviews that will provide many hours of entertainment in the years ahead.
Our final act of 2007 was watching the ball drop in New York on TV. For any non-Americans reading this...the ball dropping is the final event of the party in at Times Square where about 1 million people cram in there for hours to watch a quite unimpressive display of a small crystal ball slowly drop down a pole. However, it is something to do while waiting for the clock to click over to midnight.
I did manage to read a few books over the week though. Firstly, "Into the Wild" - a book about a young bloke - Chris McCandless, who gave away basically all his possessions and money and went on an adventure travelling all over the western USA. His final adventure was to explore Alaska and live off the land. Unfortunately, due to some poor planning and bad luck he did not survive. It is certainly an interesting story and I would like to see the movie that has been recently made of this. Other related Christmas presents were two additional books written by the same author (John Krakauer), one about a tragic Everest expedition that he was a part of (Into Thin Air) and another about some Mormons who murdered people based on their beliefs (Under the Banner of Heaven). Also, I received the soundtrack to the movie "Into the Wild", performed by Eddie Vedder which is also quite good.
Another present which I began to enjoy was the AC/DC box set "Plug Me In". Great concert footage and interviews that will provide many hours of entertainment in the years ahead.
Our final act of 2007 was watching the ball drop in New York on TV. For any non-Americans reading this...the ball dropping is the final event of the party in at Times Square where about 1 million people cram in there for hours to watch a quite unimpressive display of a small crystal ball slowly drop down a pole. However, it is something to do while waiting for the clock to click over to midnight.
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