Old Musings - January 2003

Hmmm. That's right. I have a web site out there somewhere. Maybe I should just update it for a change :)

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year! - no, wait that's not right... oh well. Guess it might take me a bit longer that I thought to get back into the swing of things!

Righto, first off I am no longer in Paris. I left about a week after my last update (*cough*.. 3 months ago... *cough*). I just happen to be lodging with the folks in New Zealand for the festive season. I've been here for almost three weeks and am heading off  back home to Wollongong on Monday.

This then completes a nice long 6 week holiday break from the trudgery of work. All-in-all I had a great time, although I could have done without chipping a fragment of bone in my right thumb - this resulted me in having to have a cast put on which wasn't due to be taken off until Boxing day*. Although this did prevent me from going kayaking on the trip I organized to Kangaroo Valley (which was almost called off completely because the national park was closed due to the bush fires), I still managed to lose a fortune in a spot of high stakes Poker.

(*Yes, I was a naughty boy. I cut the cast off myself a couple of days early)

After having a spot of fun checking out the surroundings around Wollongong, I flew over to NZ for Christmas and New Years. (PS. You wouldn't believe how many questions you get asked when you go flying with a cast on). Christmas was spent with Mum and Dad, where the new family tradition was observed - going to the latest Lord of the Rings moving on Christmas day.

For New Years Eve, I went down to Wanaka - a good 6 hours drive south of Christchurch. Unfortunately I didn't take into account the fact that all the hotels in a 100km radius were booked out. D'Oh! Oh well. A not-so-comfortable night in the car later (Wohoo! What a way to ring in the new year :) ) and I was lucky enough to find lodgings. From here I did a lot of sleeping and even managed to find some time to do some local activities (visiting the puzzle centre, doing a spot of golf at the driving range and even having a go with a .22 down at the shooting range)