Skype with Rob & Andrew

I was finally able to touch base with Rob today on Skype. What a delightful surprise! His CPU issue has finally been fixed and he managed to figure out this Skype thing. Although it was very cool to see my big bro on camera (it's been over 7 months now since I've seen his face!) I have to admit that it was way cooler to see the face of my little nephew, Andrew.

After getting past the usual "can you hear me?"... "I can hear you" part of the conversation, I was then greeted by Andrew in the background excitedly saying "hi Auntie Heather!!!". I'm not gonna lie - it definitely brought some tears to my eyes which I had to blink away. Later on I found myself wiping away a few more tears when I was so graciously complimented by Andrew telling me that I looked "pretty" when we were talking about my shorter hair-do. Awwww... :)

I can't help but comment, once again, on how much I love technology! It was pretty cool to participate in this experience with my big brother and his 5-year old son! At one point in the conversation Rob opened up Google Earth and show Andrew just how far away I am by scrolling around the globe and pointing out all of the ocean and land that is between us! I'm not sure a 5-year old can really comprehend the distance, but it was still cool to watch Andrew's face as he discovered this phenomena!


On a very brief side-note: I just watched Mahe Drysdale recieve the keys to his Mitsubishi wagon - a prize that was voted by New Zealanders. I couldn't be happier! I definitely think he was the right pick! What a couarageous effort on his part to fight tooth-and-nail for his bronze medal after fighting a nasty flu-bug that made him lose 4 kilos in 4 days just before his race day!! He is definitely my favourite NZ Olympian!!

Engagement Party

Last night I went to an engagement party for a co-worker, Libby. It was definitely a fun night! Started off with a trip to the local garden centre with both Nic's. We picked out a beautiful Camelia tree as our gift to Libby and Mark that was just starting to bloom.

Later that evening we were picked up by another coworker of ours, Juliette, in her "Ute" (utility truck) who crammed 5 of us in with her. We got an early start (and broke an Ontario law!) as we shared a bottle of bubbles in plastic wine glasses that we had brought with us. (Yes mom and dad, we were responsible enough not to feed the bubbles to our driver!)


The rest of the evening was a fun gathering of more co-workers and some more of Libby and Mark's friends. A kiwi party wouldn't be complete without the traditional kiwi "nibbles" which there were plenty of! Meat pies, and cheerios, and even some asparagus rolls!

Good times were had, and copious quantities of wine were consumed. Libby's dad even brought out some delicious homemade liquors that made the rounds several times.


I'm actually feeling quite well this morning despite how much I had to drink. I had sort of made plans to run with Claire again this morning (we tackled Mt. Vernon yeterday morning) but decided that I was too tired and my body needed a rest. I'm anticipating a very lazy day today as I sit here on the couch with the Olympics in front of me, and rain falling down outside...

Motivation Chart

I've finally gotten around to putting up a "star chart" as a means to get myself motivated. I did this two years ago when I first moved into a flat on my own and was needing some motivation in the physical activity department. For some strange reason, it really helped. Knowing that I got to put a sticker on my calendar and watch them start to accumulate the more I went out for a run or made it to the gym seemed quite satisfying.

It's amazing, however, to see the reaction of my flatmates when they saw this chart. It was hilarious, in fact! It certainly created a lot of hype and stirred up a bit of competitiveness and some bitterness as well.

I'm not sure how long I'll keep this thing going, but it's certainly helping me for now!

Tour de Greenbelt

I got an email in my inbox this morning from MEC advertising a new event this year called "Tour de Greenbelt". The tour is intended to bring cyclists of all ages and abilities together to celebrate the joy of cycling and the beauty of Ontario's greenbelt. The rides range in distance from 25 to 60km.

What a cool idea! I love it! I hope that this event is a sucess and continues again next year as I would really like to participate! Go Canada!

Gear Advice

So the countdown is on for mom and dad to arrive in New Zealand. I'm really excited about getting to see them! I'm even more excited about the fact that they get to see this beautiful country and dad gets to experience his first trip on a plane! I got a bit teary-eyed while thinking about this today at school during my non-contact period. I can't believe it's been close to 7 months since I've seen my parents!

Now, since I'm starting to think about the end of the school year and all of the traveling that I would like to do here, I have started to think about some of the "gear" that I need. And since things are so darned expensive here, it might be worth getting mom and dad to bring some things from home. As a result, I'm in need of some advice on the following items:

1. Camp Stove - not sure where to go with this one. I've been looking at MEC and the MSR models that they sell. I have only really considered MSR because I know and trust the name. I understand that I have a choice of LPG or multi-fuel burning. Each one has it's pro's and con's. Ken and I used a really good MSR stove on our bike trip that burned pretty much anything (Ken liked to say that it would probably even burn bottled farts!). But there is also something to be said about the stoves that use gas canisters since they are far less messy and finicky. I'm guessing weight is also an important issue here, but don't know how much weight is worth sacrificing for other beneficial features in stoves???

2. Tent - there are soooo many options out there! There are so many name brands that I don't even know where to start! I'm pretty sure that I want a 2-3 person tent with some good vestibule space. I think the number one feature that I'm considering is weight. Some other nice features would be to have useful storage pockets, a gear loft, 3 season, and a bright colour (for safety reasons). I have no idea what sort of price range to look in. Since a tent is something that I figure I'll have for a long time and get some good use out of, I suppose it's worth splurging a bit on this one.

3. Camera - I was convinced that my current camera (Canon SD 400) that I've owned since 2004 is sufficient enough for my needs, but I'm starting to realize that it isn't. The battery technology is so old, that it's life-span is unreliable. Although I have two batteries for it, I'm not convinced that it would last me a 4-5 day hiking trip. In cold weather I'd be lucky to get 2 days out of it. I'm leaning towards the latest Olympus Stylus Shockproof and Waterproof digital camera, but am a bit worried about it's picture quality. I've been very pleased with the quality of the pictures that my Canon produces, and have heard that the Olympus camera I'm thinking about struggles in certain light conditions.

Oh decisions, decisions! If you have any advice for me, feel free to share! Leave a post or drop me an email.

Woodbourne Half-Marathon

So for some reason I decided to enter the Woodbourne Half-Marathon running race last weekend. My primary reason: an excuse to actually get off my ass and DO something! I was a wee bit nervous this weekend when I realized what I had signed myself up for, but turns out that it wasn't so bad afterall!

Although I am by no means "trained", I decided that I could probably do this race based on the fact that I successfully finished the 18km Mt Vernon race a few months ago which was probably equally as hard (with an equal amount of inadequate training). I managed to finish today's race in 2hr 8mins (my worst half-marathon time to-date), but I'm surprisingly quite proud of this one! I say this because I have done a completely inadequate amount of training. Over the past few months I have done the occasional 12 or 14km run, but they have been far and few between. Combine this with the fact that I was out last night til 11:30 at a birthday party for a co-worker, Louisa, complete with a whole lot of wine intake! It started with a glass of wine at home with dinner, a glass of bubbles when I arrived at the party, followed by a glass of home-made mulled wine that was prepared by Louisa. Oh yeah, and after that, I helped to polish off a bottle of Montana (Sauvignon Blanc - my new favourite!) shared with my roomie, short Nic.

Remarkably, no hang-over this morning! So yes, my muscles are a bit sore today, but nothing really too bad. I've been drinking lots of water and stretching often. I think I should be able to walk just fine tomorrow!

Now it's time to get serious! I'm thinking that my next goal will be to race the Auckland half, and hopefully get a PB there. Time to get my butt in gear!

ps. I'm watching the Olympics right now and am very VERY excited at the fact that Canada just won gold in the men's 8's rowing!!!!

Gemma's Birthday Celebrations

After getting back from skiing, we went home to shower and warm up. Before heading out to Gemma's for some birthday nibbles, I caught some of the Olympic rowing races on tv with my flatties. In true form, Nic and Nic decided to encourage the kiwi athletes and "row with them". Highly entertaining, indeed!



If you look closely, you can see Mahe Drysdale on the tv screen in the background!


Aaron was also some fantastic support on the "sidelines".


On the drive over to Gemma's, the theme of the night somehow became all about "staches" thanks to tall Nic and her $2 Shop purchase. What a hilarious scene showing up on Gemma's doorstep looking like a mixed-bag of mafia members. Although some people managed to escape the camera that night, we got a great collection of pictures that illustrates each of the different types of mustaches that we were sporting that evening...











Good times. Even more good times. What a great laugh!

Skiing Adventure

I had my first "real" downhill ski experience this weekend on a "real" mountain in a "real" alpine environment. I went with some of my co-workers as part of an organized trip to the Rainbow Ski field to celebrate Gemma's birthday. Great times indeed!

A significant part of this whole experience was the actual process of getting TO the ski field.

The beautiful Richmond Ranges glowing in the rising sun...

Nisrene looking chipper and ready to take on the day!...

I, on the other hand, look like I need to go back to bed...

More Marlborough scenery...

Crossing a ford on the way to the ski field...


Since NZ only gets snow in the alpine regions (it's typically green at sea level) we actually had to drive part-way up the mountain to reach the base of the ski lift (a completely foreign concept to a Canadian like me). This required a stop at a car park at the bottom of the mountain to chain up the tires...



Ascending the mountain...

Nisrene was a wee bit nervous about the snow and the sharp cliffs on either side... Can you tell???


We arrived to a beautiful, sunny day, with some fresh snow on the hill.



I was surprised to find that there was one and only one lift at this skifield - and it wasn't even a proper chairlift - it was a t-bar!


Excited to be there, we unloaded the cars and did our best to stay warm in the super frosty wind-chills.

Gemma, the birthday girl...

Mark and Chris...

Claire...

Nisrene & Blaire...

Me...


I decided to make the most of my day on the hill and paid for a one-hour private lesson. It cost me $70, but I think it was well worth it. I got some really great one-on-one instruction and was given some really useful tips on technique to try out. I couldn't help but notice my confidence increase by the end of the day. I only wished I could give it another go the very next day to keep on improving! Makes me think that I might have to try out a Canadian ski holiday next winter!

It was the cold that ultimately put an end to our day. The wind was just so cold that we couldn't bare to go up the lift once more. On our way out of the parking lot, we spotted some friendly Keas who had come to say hello...

We also enjoyed some beautiful scenery on the way down...






We even caught some of the spring lambs out grazing in the fields on our way home. They were sooooo cute!


It was a great day. A wonderfully awesome day. Another fantastic experience to add to my list so far in this country...

Wood vs. Gas

So our wood supply has deteriorated without us noticing until the situation has become dire. As a result, we have had to put an immediate reduction on the amount of wood we are burning each day until we can ensure that we can source some more. Our first load came from a coworker of ours named Peter (who I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I think he belongs to some sort of Christian Mafia since he's got endless connections but is very secretive about his sources!). So naturally, we approach Peter again to see if he can source us some more wood - realizing that this might be a difficult task this late in the winter. Peter said he'd see what he could do.

In the meantime, we are using tall Nic's portable propane heater that she pulled from the garage and wheeled into our living room. Yet again, another marvel for me to see another unique method the kiwis have invented to keep their houses warm. This is basically a big black metal square box that you store a propane tank inside of. You light it much like you would light your BBQ, and the flame catches some element that distributes the gas evenly for a steady heat source. I'll have to take a picture of it to explain...

The interesting observation that I've made is that propane gas is actually quite "humid". When it burns, it releases a whole slew of moisture in the air - to the point where it actually steams up all of our windows in just a short period of time. Apparently the product instructions recommend that you run a dehumidifier simultaneously for best results... go figure?! I am well-aware of the fact that this could be some pretty basic common "science knowledge" but I am excited at the fact that I've learned this one through my own little science experiment. This experiment has also allowed me to conclude that heating through this method isn't as warm as our previous method of a wood burning stove. Since the gas releases so much moisture in the air, it's a damp heat which isn't nearly as warm as the dry heat that we are used to.

Looking forward to seeing what Peter's Mafia can come up with for us in terms of wood!

Skateboarding Phenomenon

Tonight I got in a discussion with Short Nic that somehow led to her telling me about her next-door neighbour from Invercargill who is skateboarding around the world (well, sort-of... he started off riding his recumbent bike, but later switched modes of transport to his longboard). After checking out his blog, I'm pretty certain that this is one of the craziest (but coolest!) things I've ever heard of a person doing. His journey makes my bike trip from Whitehorse to Thunder Bay seem pathetic in comparison! Check out his site at http://www.14degrees.org.

On a different note - it's been a pretty low-key weekend for me. Had Jess, a co-worker, over for dinner on Friday night and nearly fell asleep on her by 8pm. Saw sun for the first time in over a week on Saturday morning which was quite rejuvenating. Decided to meet up with the Harriers for the first time in a VERY long time on Saturday afternoon. Had a good 14km run with them on a back-portion of the Wither Hills that is privately owned by farmers in the area - once again wished I had my camera because it was so beautiful (and wet!). On Saturday night I opted to stay in and watch the Rugby from home, focussing mostly on clearing out my inbox which has drastically inflated in size over the past few months. Oh yeah... and I managed to get out for another run on the hills (even wetter and muckier than the day before) with Claire this morning before spending the rest of the afternoon doing everything I could to avoid doing the school work that I should have been doing.