I've had so much going on lately, that it has truly been ridiculous. I've been meaning to blog for ages now (especially after receiving pressure from a representative group of British citizens, you know who you are!) but every time I try to get started there are other things to do, like organising races, preparing job applications, work, uni - and then there's that other thing I try to fit in... what's it called? Oh yeah,
training.
I'm not going to have time to backdate everything, which is a real shame. I'm also not going to go back and turn email-posted entries into something that looks good. Nor will I amend URLs so they become links. Why? I'm too busy, and when it comes to my blog I have more important things to do - I still want to finish my Glasshouse 100 Mile Saga (last post
here).
So my new challenge is to get all of this information into a blog post right now. Everything that happened between November 2006 and now. Just excuse me, I better grab a coffee first ;)
(Mmmmhh, coffee...)
Okay, I'm back. Here goes.
NovemberThe month of November 2006 saw me complete a really important course that I needed for a job promotion. My syndicate (eight members) was awesome and our diverse range of work areas meant we could learn a lot from each other, as well as from our very intelligent instructor. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the course, but I shouldn't have been, as it involved a lot of independent research and briefing, which I really enjoy.
The course involved one unfortunate incident where I got taken to hospital in order to get ?Maxalon? injection. Whatever it was called - it's the stuff that stops you from throwing up. It happened to be the day after our mid-course function, which involved excessive drinking. I was expecting a headache the following morning (and wasn't disappointed) but I don't normally get the vomits from a hangover. These vomits came on at about 1000h and recurred at about 1300h right when we were expected back in class. Being concerned, I asked to go to the hospital. After the injection, I went back to normal meals and was fine. Of course, everyone thought it was entirely the hangover... however several people had complained of tummy upsets earlier, and one girl was throwing up for the next three days before being admitted to hospital, so I reckon it was a duo that caused my illness.
November also saw the first race appearance of the fantastic mountain bikers known as
Team Scrubbaz (Lotte and me). We fought it out tough against
Team Pooftaz (Paulie and Steve) and came out even, pretty much. Damn them! It was all excitement - Lotte and Paulie did the first laps, and Paulie had a minor mechanical... then I went out for my lap and had all sorts of problems with my pedals sticking (I still haven't replaced them with the Crank Bros pedals I bought at the Scott 24hr... must get around to that...) so I was a bit unco. It was over 36 degrees C and I didn't have much of a sense of humour when I stacked it because of something so stupid as being unable to unclip - and then I nearly fell over in the transition area, as I rolled up to Lotte and couldn't get out of either pedal. Steven lost his rear derailleur and completely destroyed the hanger so the spare was no use... he ran the rest of the lap because no one sent the message back. At one point we all sat around for about an hour and had something to eat together, laughing and chatting and generally having a good time. Despite this break,
Team Scrubbaz came third - and only 22 seconds behind 2nd place (and that's my fault, I let her past near the end).
DecemberEarly December saw the end of my work year, and the start of my recognition that if I don't want to be an academic, I'm best applying for jobs now, before I get my PhD. So I started looking at the job websites and getting a handle on what sort of jobs I'd like. I've got that figured out now - I think I'd like to be an actuary. But as an intermediate, I'm applying for jobs that encompass any of the following: investigations, project work, policy development/implementation/compliance, data analysis, financial modelling. It's a good thing I got a lot of experience from my part time work, because I certainly didn't get most of my skills at uni. When the Careers Fair comes around in April, I'll ask the recruiters if they employ mathematicians instead of asking about physicists - most recruiters don't even know what a physicist is!
December also held the Kurrawa disaster, where it took me just under 6 hours to run the 50km, in contrast to 4:40 last year. I had a good time anyway and my friends did really well, so I can't complain. December saw my return to training, with a 100km bike ride the day before Kurrawa, and then a few runs in Brisbane Forest Park with Tamsin. She picks the stupidest trails, with ridiculous grades to run up and to slide down on our butts. On the 27th, we ran in drizzle all morning, and it took us 4:30 to do a measly 23km... with over 1300m of vertical. Tamsin is my hero - I first met her at Glasshouse and she's just a phenomenal runner, especially on hilly courses. She's also intelligent and friendly so she's great fun to hang out with. Tamsin to running is like Lotte to cycling for me!
December is definitely a time for parties. Most of my friends came up to Mt Coot-tha to celebrate my birthday (and Lotte's birthday) with me again. Marianne came along even though I had already seen her twice the previous day - for her PhD graduation and then for her graduation dinner. I didn't have much money but I bought her some silver dragonfly earrings with amethyst, because I'm so damn proud of her. She's in her 40s, a single mum who went back to pursue her dream career after her child was in school. My parents (Mal and Dini) finally met Dorothy, and my aunt and uncle (Adri and Steve) came along as well. It was to be my last time seeing Bec (former boss) and Shane before they moved up to Townsville... Karen took heaps of photos and all the usual suspects made the effort to rock up. My cycling buddies were fantastic and bought me an Anaconda gift voucher - I've spent half of it!
Steven's parents (Dorothy and Bob) arrived in Australia - at different times - and stayed with David (Steven's brother) and Carley. They only get to see Charlie when they're in Australia so he gets very spoiled - but it's a good sort of spoiling. Dorothy is very strict on Charlie's manners and she encourages learning at every opportunity. She also has an incredibly calming effect on him that is much appreciated. Mum and Dad visited us on the 23rd so that Steven and I could have a stress-free Christmas and, as usual, I got spoiled. They met Bob in the process, and bought Charlie an awesome motorbike racing set that he seemed to really enjoy - but not nearly as much as Steven, Dad and Bob did!
On Christmas Eve, Sarah (Steven's sister) and Dan arrived. They visited us (not-so-)fresh from the airport, and Sarah's first words to me were, "Sorry, I'm not usually so disgusting." I wish I could do that style of disgusting - she's got nothing on my post trail-running version! Sarah and Dan freshened up, grabbed some maps and headed off for Sunshine Beach, much to Charlie's disappointment. (He wanted them to wait for him.) After taking Charlie back to his mother's place, the rest of the day was relatively uneventful, with job applications and maybe some exercise.
Christmas held much more promise, with a trip up the coast to have Christmas dinner with Sarah and Dan. Oh my God - the place was a mansion! Sarah gave us the grand tour and then sent us off on a bike ride with Dan. (It didn't happen quite that quickly, of course, and I think lunch happened first!) We only did 50km or so, out along the Noosa Triathlon bike course, but it was stinking hot, and I don't think I ever recovered from the first
very steep hill at the end of their street.
We opened presents and I got spoiled. Dorothy and Bob bought me the most lovely red beaded top that matched perfectly with the necklace they'd bought for my birthday. Steven and I got a wine stopper and a calendar as well. Sarah and Dan spoiled us with a blender and a cafe press sandwich maker which have been put to good use already. I got a mystery package as well - Muriel had bought me some Marks and Spencer facial products. Now... who is Muriel?! It turns out she is a close friend of the family and I have been tipped off that she may be a blog reader so...
Muriel, thank you so much for the gifts. I've used the peel off mask already - it was the first one I've ever used and it was great. I thought that when I peeled it off I would see all gross stuff in the mask but it wasn't like that, thankfully.
We spent Boxing Day there as well, with another bike ride, this time to Boreen Point, a little town on Lake Catharaba (sp?). We found a dodgy little shop with surprisingly good lattes and some better maps of the area before heading back along the most painful road I've ever encountered - McKinnon Drive. It's rough and it's flat and it hurts to ride along and it slows you down. Stay away from it, cyclists!
Now, a few descriptions of the people I met for the first time. Sarah is intelligent and gorgeous and exactly what I wanted in a big sister when I was a kid. My brother didn't really fit that description. She has excellent taste in books and clothes and has this incredible ability to float through the kitchen and make meals appear, seemingly without any effort. It might just be a side effect of her flowing clothes though, who can tell? She's obviously very fond of her family but enjoys her Sarah-time as well, sneaking away upstairs to do pilates or yoga, or reading on the couch while Dan goes off cycling. Dan is cool - he's great with Charlie, who doesn't seem to understand his dry sense of humour, but loves the serious attention. I can understand why Dan and Steven get along so well - it's just a boy thing, mostly to do with bikes. Dan kept encouraging me to come on rides to keep the pace down - I was the sacrificial struggler. Dan also likes his space and it made for a really relaxing couple of days... punctuated by amazing meals.
Steven and I stayed in Brisbane for the next few days, before bringing Charlie up to celebrate the New Year. Dorothy and Bob were staying at Noosa Hill, and they looked after Charlie while we went for a stupid long bike ride out through the surrounding towns.
JanuaryWhen New Year's Eve came around, David and Carley joined us and Steven and I shifted over to stay with Dorothy and Bob. We celebrated New Year's together, with lots of presents for Charlie. I picked up some more lovely presents, including cycling socks from David and Carley (not just any socks, Pearl Izumi socks) and a Body Shop foot care kit from Dorothy and Bob. Dan's presents were interesting - he's the man who's got everything. Next year, everyone will have to figure out what to buy for the man who has everything plus two Jimi wallets (special plastic card wallets for cyclists, both grey).
I continued being a bit antisocial and applying for jobs, but we had lots of social functions, including dinners and lunches and an amazing New Year's dinner and... it goes on! Charlie gradually got out of his brat mood under the calming influence of Dorothy and Bob.
Sarah and Dan soon headed back home, after a delicious breakfast at David and Carley's place (they're good cooks too). I enjoyed a Sunday trail run with Adam, Dave and Tamsin while the others went to the beach. Then a few days later they were followed by Bob and then Dorothy. Suddenly it was quiet and life seemed a bit emptier!
More job applications, starting back up at work, doing uni... oh, and preparing the Hares and Hounds Trail Run. Yep, I helped organise my first race, and it was great fun! I even ran in it with CoolRunners Karisma, Vegie Girl and Hannah, in pink costumes with glitter bling. The Trail Running Association of Queensland now exists and I'm the secretary. I have a job interview on Monday. I rolled my ankle this morning (again) running with Tamsin but it's already feeling much better.
And so my summary ends... I have to go now, else I'll be in trouble with Steven for being late to dinner...
