Conceptualize

Here, here.

Sweets

Italian hot chocolate at Brunetti last weekend in Melbourne. Epic.

Catch Up

What a month.

The movers came and packed up our stuff in Fitzroy. We had 100 pieces, plus what has and will be flown.






Shannon and I flew to Auckland, and into some less than perfect weather.


We had about 5 days before flying to Raleigh for Christmas. We've chalked it up to a successful week because we found an apartment. In some way (watching a listing, drive by, call, viewing) I think we were involved in 44 places.

That's the dormant volcano that you can see from one of the porches.




We signed the lease on a Thursday, and flew out on Friday (Christmas Eve) so we went out of town, to the north, to see what we found. We wound up on a black sand beach, just north of town. Really pretty drive.



Not so great weather, but it wasn't looking at apartments, so it was pretty great.

And then it was off to Raleigh. Where, unlike in Auckland, and we were wearing shorts, it snowed. Not a lot. But, it crippled Raleigh, like snow does. It was good to see some family and some old friends, but it was only nine days before I flew back to Auckland.


I saw a repainted Continental/United Express plane in Raleigh. Despite the fact that at this point, I had a foot out the door at United, this is still a strange sight for me. Obviously, United is somewhat ingrained in my life.


Ever since I've been back, I've been trying (and am still trying) to buy a car. It's not like there aren't any cars, or they are all overly expensive, but a manual, hatchback (or wagon), non-lowered, Subaru is next to impossible to find because nobody in Tokyo wants a stick, and most of the cars that we're willing to pay for are imports. Tax policy wonk information - New Zealand has zero import duty on cars, which I believe makes it one of the few countries in the world who can say that.

Anyway. A few days later, Shannon dropped in on her way back to Australia. We spend a good bit of time ignoring our responsibilities to find a car, and headed north again. We didn't even make it all that far out of town, but I've got a good feeling about the north island. I'm excited to really get out there. Rolling hills, nice beaches, and I hear there are some significant mountains south of Auckland.

Then Shannon had to go back to Melbourne. So here we are. Another January, anther move, another couple months apart. One day, we will move together. I'm certain of it. This sucks.

To pass the time, I started my new job. It's been a week, but it's gone reasonably well. I'm only mildly over my head. I think it's going to be pretty interesting.

Now, it's a waiting game for our stuff to be released by MAF. The word is, they have selected what they want to inspect, but haven't indicated when they might actually inspect it. Who knows how much trouble we'll have with it. We tried to get things clean, but who knows what is "clean."

More to come, I guess. Maybe tomorrow I'll solve the car problem?

Slaying the Environment

That's really what you're doing when you have professional movers box your life and take it away. I'm sure that the protective wrapping consumed today in our little apartment alone killed at least one species of tree somewhere. Total madness.

They did a good job though.

In related news, what's the fastest way to feel like an ass? Have three women pack your house while you sit around.

Melbourne UCI Track World Cup

I did not expect to get to see a third edition of this race...

The event has a slightly different format this year, in terms of what events are being held and when they are being held. Also, night session ticket prices went up, and you can no longer watch from the ends of the track. I don't know if this is the fault of the organizers or the UCI, but it's sort of disappointing all around. The Madison final on the first night? The place wasn't even half full. Based on the schedule, I doubt I'll check out any more of the events. Too much individual sprint scattered on each day.

Anyway, I still enjoyed myself. The events for the evening were men's and women's team sprint, woman's team pursuit, men's omnium elimination, and the 40k Madison. Below are some photos. No Madison shots, as it's hard enough to just watch the race.

hispanicfiesta

Last weekend was the Johnston St. Hispanic Festival, which has apparently been renamed hispanicfiesta. Like last year, we stopped by since it's just at the end of our street and whatnot.

Again, we were somewhat underwhelmed by the food. Just as before, we had some seriously high hopes, that left us somewhat disappointed. This food should be out of this world. What's the story? Are the vendors bringing flavors down to suit the market? Is it because of the larger scale production? Some of both? They certainly work the prices to suit the local market, which probably didn't help my feelings on the matter. I've simply had better Hispanic food elsewhere.

The weather worked out well though, unlike last year, and gave us an excellent chance to sit on our roof, polish off our tequila (in honor, naturally) and listen to the music.

World Road Race Championships

The elite men's world championship road race. I'm late getting pictures posted, and I'm sure most people have seen this already from every other website in the world. I won't rehash the race or results, but I will say that it was a lot of fun to watch. Good work to the organizers for putting together a good race, the fans for being on good behavior, and the riders for making it interesting.

I feel extremely fortunate to be living here when Worlds came to town. The atmosphere at the race was very much like a big race in Europe. I know I had a ball. The weather couldn't have been better either. Sunny and 22 degrees - the perfect way to start Daylight Saving Time.

We set up shop near the top of the major climb. The roads were painted and the fans were out.



These guys were across the way from us, and kept changing their Phil Says signs.





And now, some shots from the race.














The park at the top of the climb had a big screen set up, and we went there to catch the finish. Good setup all around by the organizers.

World Time Trial Championships

As one may have gleaned from my bitter and cranky post yesterday, I went down to the elite men's world TT championship in Geelong yesterday. Unlike our fine transit folks, the race organizers did an excellent job putting together the event. The area around the course was well signed, they had volunteers everywhere, plenty of course crossings, and folks handing out maps and start lists. Good work.

I thought the crowds were a little light. I know it was a Thursday and all, but this is Worlds, after all. People travel for it. The Euros were there.

Boonen wasn't even at the race.

I thought this guy was hilarious. I shall call him SuperEuro.

The course was extremely accessible, and I was able to get photos from a number of places. There are many more, but here are a few, from a smattering of nationalities.

Dave Zabriskie was the best hope for the US, and finished a solid 8th.

There were two guys from St. Kitts and Nevis in the race. I'm sure they were by far the underdogs, but both showed up, gave it their all, and finished. Awesome job guys.

And finally, a shot of Cancellara at the 200m sign on his last lap.

Racing continues this weekend with the U23, Elite Women's and Elite Men's road races. More photos to come, and available on request.