December 2004

Hello Everybody!

Well, it’s been an extremely busy last few months for me, and I barely have time to get this letter out before I am home for Christmas myself!

Daily Life

Gareth and I are now quite settled in our little one bedroom apartment, in the heart of the city. It’s a stone’s throw from Hyde Park and a 25 minute walk to work for both of us (I work right across the road from him in a circular building called “Australia Square” – go figure!). It’s surprisingly peaceful for somewhere in the middle of town. It’s great having things like Paddy’s market and my philosophy school just a few minutes’ walk away. Not to mention all the great restaurants in and around Darlinghurst. Mardi Gras time should be interesting though, as where we are is officially the gay district! Gareth and I feel like a sexual minority walking down Oxford St holding hands!



Work at Origin Energy is quite different to what I experienced at home working for a small company. It’s great to have so many people around that you can learn things from. The flipside is that communication channels are not always clear and you can end up lost and chasing your tail when trying to learn your way around the place. Origin bought a majority stake in Contact Energy late this year, and our head of department has been seconded to Contact in Wellington. The subsequent restructure will mean changes for everybody. I’ll keep you posted on what happens in the New Year. One is able to move around between departments here rather freely, which is great, and something I may have a chance to do now. I’ve been doing bits and bobs of NZ market analysis, long term generation analysis and some price forecasting since starting here. I’d like to work for the Green energy team, but will not hold my breath at this stage, as they’ve just recruited two new workers.

Visitors and Travel

Mum and dad came to visit during the last weekend of November. We had a blast! We didn’t shop as much as we expected we would – instead we busied ourselves with seeing all the Sydney city landmarks – the Opera House, Hyde park, the Botanical Gardens, the Rocks, the Bridge, Paddy’s market…

Gareth had an exam essay to write that weekend unfortunately, so we didn’t get to see much of him, apart from at meal times. We managed to get out to a fabulous Greek restaurant that weekend. I often see the guy who operates the rotisserie in the window of the restaurant, when I run past on my way to Centennial Park. He waves and says hi – I think he must remember me as the one whose mother requested a doggie bag, and whose blonde Kiwi father came in acting like he owned a mono-brow and was a Greek from way back! Dad had his psychological gold medallion on that night! After a mountain of mezethes plates, all licked clean of their delights, were taken away, the boys still had mains to come. They were not leaving without sinking their teeth into some of that lamb on the spit in the window. Dad’s body is well attuned to Greek eating and knew what it was in for – Gareth’s unfortunately, was not as primed, and a world record event ensued. Gareth could not finish his meal. Not only did he not finish the main event, he had literally one mouthful of hot lamb and was pooped! If we are going anywhere near Greece in the near future, I better get him in training!

I must say, mum and dad were in extremely good form, as the next day we went to Manly, where dad put away a massive meaty kebab, and mum the largest Copenhagen Death by Chocolate-styles cone known to man!

The following weekend I went to Queensland to visit a friend I made when we became penpals through a horsie magazine at the age of 13. The feeling of seeing her after 6 years, at the airport with two gorgeous white-blonde children of her own was something out of this world! We drove back to her place from Brisbane airport – about 45 minutes north, to a small town called Donnybrook. There we just spent the entire weekend catching up – I never thought I could just be happy talking for 2 days solid!

I found Queensland muggy and wet – that weekend we had a tonne of rain. The people are also a lot more laid back. I also had a real education in Aussie slang – “bloody oaths”, “fair dinkums”, “giving one the ‘shits’”, “referring to crass things/persons as ‘ferral’” (one of my faves) and a few more I will conveniently forget. Helen has a friendly neighbour there called Errol (I like to refer to him as ferral Errol). He’s a lovely fellow – a cross between someone off The Castle and some of the curious looking fellows you see around central Sydney. I think the following photo says it all…

He was so sweet and generous to us (he served us brie and fancy crackers – something he obviously went out of his way to get for us! And I mean that in the nicest possible way. He lives an extremely simple bachelor’s life…. But I had to pass on his generosity when it extended to the Kahlua, it was not even lunch time yet! I just couldn’t anyway, knowing that the poor man drinks watered down cask wine! Need I say more.

Oh yeah – also saw my first wild kangaroos and cane toad! And have a new friend for life. Helen’s daughter Jamila would not leave me alone for one second. Really – we played card game after card game, then coloured in, then more cards! She is the sweetest creature. Her boy Gauge was cute too, but a bit more on the shy side.

Next stop, the following weekend, was Adelaide. I was there for a course, so I got work to fly me home on Sunday night instead of Friday night, in order to see a bit of the place. I found a great backpackers, which served complimentary pancakes for brekkie! Town was packed that Saturday for the Christmas parade – a huge event for Adelaide.

Town had everything that Sydney has, just laid out in a grid-like fashion, similar to Christchurch. It’s smaller than Sydney, but still a big place for a Wellingtonian. I couldn’t believe that there was an international cross-country event on literally in the middle of town! Parkland borders the city, and I found it great for running in. I enjoyed the equestrian action for a while, then moseyed through the botanical gardens which were stunning.

I got up early the next morning to go for a swim at the aquatic centre, and crossed the River Torrens on the way. I had been so inspired by the architecture back in the city that I sat in on a church service in the cathedral after my dip, and soaked up the sweet sounds of the choristers. After that I ambled around a car show just outside the church. There were some really neat classic racing cars there, dad would’ve loved it – old Jags, Astin Martins and more!

I also squeezed in a visit to Glenelg. A beach town you can take a tram to. It was rather windy there, so didn’t stay long, but the tram ride allowed me to see a bit of suburban Adelaide – flat, quiet, a place you could happily raise a family – unlike Sydney. So I was rather in shock when Monday morning I read in the paper a woman was shot dead in the Myers in Adelaide!!

Well – the fun doesn’t stop there! The following weekend Lauren came! It was great to have her around – unfortunately she chose the wrong weekend – shocking weather – and she didn’t even get the chance to catch any rays. But she got in some great shopping, and the time we spent together was extremely precious – thanks for coming Lauren!! The weather then did some silly things after she left – like reaching nearly 42 degs! It’s now a bit more consistently hot – but this means thunderstorms, and the feisty one last night that G’s plane from Welly was rerouted through Canberra, making him a couple of hours late. Boy was it spectacular – everyone in the office just gazed outside (I’m on level 44 - fantastic view). A thick black blanket of cloud just rolled in, cracked open some awesome thunder, a few flashes of fork lightening, then came a massive white out – rain, rain and rain! All this happened about the time his plane was due…!

Did I mention that I caught up with Maurice when he and Jan came over at the start of December for the Eagles concert?

Running

Well! The running has surely been ticking over, and I’ve been ticking over my running! I have found a really dedicated squad that I’ve been training with. But I suppose I’m still not really settled in.

The coach is one Sean Williams – ex elite runner (10k pb 29.something…fast!) and he is extremely dedicated. He really cracks the whip on us at his speed sessions, quote “ you are in for some lactic acid tonight guys..”. I run against 10-14 year olds who are lightening fast. Some of them will go on to be Olympians. So you can imagine how I must feel! Some of them have already been running for 6 years! I have to really watch that I don’t get too caught up, it’s easy to start comparing yourself to these guys and feeling down about your own ability. I had my best session this week when I let the expectation go and relaxed.

I have also found a few people at work who like their long runs – and have been on a couple of beauties out to Bondi beach. There is such a dramatic coastline – sharply carved out heights which drop down to some massive pounding waves. At the weekend I went out with the Sydney Striders, which I have finally decided to join. The run on Sunday went from Manly Spit out to Manly beach – just stunning!! My first taste of some trails and seaside views, as well as the local insect population…I manage to down a particularly large bug while cruising through the bush, and could’ve sworn I felt something buzzing in my nasal passages during the rest of that run! That run resurrected my belief that there are plenty of places to run in Sydney – you just need to know where to go!

Gareth

Gareth has had an outstanding year, top of the class in all his subjects. He gained a couple of high distinctions in some of his papers. This is an awesome achievement for someone who has been doing 6 papers this year plus full time work. Not only that but some of his work from his Victoria University days has made it on the cover of a prestigious European science journal, and been published in numerous others. He has also received some very kind words from a top American chemist. But wait there’s more! He’s also published an article that features on the website of his company, and has been working on another. Go Gareth!

Philosophy

In October the philosophy school in Sydney held a study day at their ‘Mahrata’ property . A ‘study day’ is when students get together to often learn about a topic area related to philosophy – eg the letters of Marsilio Ficino, Plato or the Dead Sea Scrolls… This was my first study day, and first time visiting North Sydney and the famed estate. Wow – it blew my socks off. The well-preserved art-deco styled estate was stunning. I snapped away and have included some pickies here.

Furthermore, the talks that day really inspired me. Mr Salaman – an Oxford scholar and retired teacher, journeyed all the way from the UK to talk to us about Gnosticism and pre-Christian thought. Truly inspiring – I went to the library that week and dragged home a stack of books on the topic!

The garden at Mahrata is just magical. It really came alive last weekend when I visited the property once more for the school Christmas party. The garden was lit with candles, a choir sang and then we all joined in the carolling. It was really special!

I find the school here is really active, and I enjoy that. I have made such a natural transition to the group in Sydney, and it’s really broadened my appreciation of the organisation and its global presence and personal importance.

That’s all folks!