In the beginning of July, my friend Angela and I made a "fitness resolution" to find a personal trainer to help us loose weight, get fit and eat healthier. We found this great trainer named John Donaghey who we work out with two mornings a week (yes can you actually believe I get up at 6 a.m. for a 7 a.m. training session), has helped us build a nutrition plan and on top of this we also take a boxing class at Mcmahon's Point which offers this amazing view of the bridge.
We also said we wanted to train to run the 9K Sydney Harbour Bridge Race (that's 5.6 miles). And that's exactly what we did this past Sunday.
I did it in 1:03 (which means a 11:25 mile which isn't so great, but certainly gives me room to improve next year) and Angela beat me by at least 10 minutes. Amazingly after the race I felt really good - so I definitely think the training's helped!
What I enjoyed about the race was the run across the Sydney Harbour Bridge (it's longer running across it than it is commuting across it each day) and the scenic route it took us through the Royal Botanical Garden and Sydney's CBD.
Check out this FlipVideo:
After our race, we went to breakfast in The Rocks and my friends Matt and Thomas joined us. Earlier that morning, Thomas completed the half-marathon! Here's his take on it:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sociable Birds at the NSW Art Museum
There seems to be a common theme of "things that fly" in my outings with Lisa (check out my last blog when we helped an injured bat).
While having afternoon tea at the New South Wales Art Museum these "Australian Parrots" came to visit. And they were very friendly and the most colorful birds you've ever seen - emerald green, lemon yellow, orange, lime green and Monet blue.
If I've identified them correctly (Ana and Scott will double check me I'm sure) I believe they are Rainbow Lorikeets. And they are arboreal, which means they like trees, and can be very noisy, active, gregarious (sociable) and as you'll see in this FlipVideo they like the company of other birds.
While having afternoon tea at the New South Wales Art Museum these "Australian Parrots" came to visit. And they were very friendly and the most colorful birds you've ever seen - emerald green, lemon yellow, orange, lime green and Monet blue.
If I've identified them correctly (Ana and Scott will double check me I'm sure) I believe they are Rainbow Lorikeets. And they are arboreal, which means they like trees, and can be very noisy, active, gregarious (sociable) and as you'll see in this FlipVideo they like the company of other birds.
ARN Awards and Australia's Got Talent's Justice Crew
Last week Thursday (Sept. 16) ARN - an Australian publication focused on IT channel resellers - hosted an awards dinner at the Sydney Hilton Hotel. Here's some of us at the cocktail party - you'd think we coordinated our colors.
The Ladies in Red:
After the awards dinner there was a performance by Justice Crew. And until I Googled them just now, I didn't realise that they were local celebrities. So what is their claim to fame?
Justice Crew are an all-male hip-hop dance and musical group from Sydney who won Australia's Got Talent in 2010. And more recently they released their single "And Then We Dance", which is at No. 46 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.
And my super hip chic friend Emma joined Justice Crew up on stage and really rocked it out! Check out the FlipVideo:
The Ladies in Red:
After the awards dinner there was a performance by Justice Crew. And until I Googled them just now, I didn't realise that they were local celebrities. So what is their claim to fame?
Justice Crew are an all-male hip-hop dance and musical group from Sydney who won Australia's Got Talent in 2010. And more recently they released their single "And Then We Dance", which is at No. 46 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.
And my super hip chic friend Emma joined Justice Crew up on stage and really rocked it out! Check out the FlipVideo:
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Don't Count out the All Blacks
At the half time break of last night's Australia's Wallabies vs. New Zealand's All Blacks, I was hopeful that the Wallabies were going to break their 9 game losing streak as they were winning 14-6. But Peter Ryan wisely said "never count out the All Blacks" and wouldn't you know it - in the last 15 minutes the All Blacks got two trys and won 22-23!
The All Blacks were impressive as they showed their strength in pushing the ball inch by inch closer to the goal line in the ruck to the point where (as I was looking through binoculars) it didn't look like they were moving at all. After multiple attempts they finally managed to get the "try" (over the goal line). And the fact that they did it twice in the last 15 minutes of the game showed their "never back down" push to 'til the very end.
In the last 15 minutes I was also happy to see that Luke Burgess of the Wallabies was substituted onto the field (I met him in my first few months in Sydney at a seafood BBQ class) so I got to see him play.
I also learned a new Australian phrase - "Dead rubber". There's this "Bledisloe Cup" match that's contested between New Zealand and Australia and before last night's game New Zealand had already racked up enough matches to win the cup. So to use it in a sentence, last night's game was "dead rubber" but a good opportunity for the Wallabies to show a strong competitive spirit and that they weren't going to give the game away.
In this Flip you'll hear Peter Witts (with a call out to our colleague Gareth Pettigrew in Vancouver) predicting the All Blacks win while his father Phillip optimistically cheers for the Wallabies.
The All Blacks were impressive as they showed their strength in pushing the ball inch by inch closer to the goal line in the ruck to the point where (as I was looking through binoculars) it didn't look like they were moving at all. After multiple attempts they finally managed to get the "try" (over the goal line). And the fact that they did it twice in the last 15 minutes of the game showed their "never back down" push to 'til the very end.
In the last 15 minutes I was also happy to see that Luke Burgess of the Wallabies was substituted onto the field (I met him in my first few months in Sydney at a seafood BBQ class) so I got to see him play.
I also learned a new Australian phrase - "Dead rubber". There's this "Bledisloe Cup" match that's contested between New Zealand and Australia and before last night's game New Zealand had already racked up enough matches to win the cup. So to use it in a sentence, last night's game was "dead rubber" but a good opportunity for the Wallabies to show a strong competitive spirit and that they weren't going to give the game away.
In this Flip you'll hear Peter Witts (with a call out to our colleague Gareth Pettigrew in Vancouver) predicting the All Blacks win while his father Phillip optimistically cheers for the Wallabies.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Planning for Boxing Day...
My friends Venecia and Sam are coming to visit me for Christmas and so I've begun thinking about things to do while they're here. Plus as this'll be my first Christmas/New Year's here in Australia I'm really looking forward to the experience myself!
One of the things I've been told is a great thing to do on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) is to check out the Sydney-to-Hobart Sailing Race that starts at 1 p.m. near the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Then the sail boats leave between North and South Head and then all the way down to Hobart, Tasmania. Watson's Bay is on the top of what's referred to as "South Head".
Evidently a great view can be had if you take the ferry to an island close to the race start and alternatively at Watson's Bay which is right where the sail boats pass before they start to sail South. After swimming yesterday (Sept. 5) where we did a 3.8k swim and lunch, I had some free time so I thought I'd check out Watson's Bay (see map below - on the far right in the middle).
Watson's Bay is really a beautiful and quaint town with amazing views of Sydney Harbour and the ocean. There's a nice national park which has very easy walking paths that lead you to these magestic views. There's also Doyle's on Watson's Bay and it's right on the beach, with a perfect view of the harbour so I booked us a table for lunch on the outdoor patio so we can enjoy the sail boats and the ambiance of a day at the races on Boxing Day.
While Boxing Day is sure to be beautiful as we'll be right in the middle of summer, when I visited yesterday it was quite windy. In fact it was so windy the birds hovered instead of truly flying. Check out this FlipVideo:
One of the things I've been told is a great thing to do on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) is to check out the Sydney-to-Hobart Sailing Race that starts at 1 p.m. near the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Then the sail boats leave between North and South Head and then all the way down to Hobart, Tasmania. Watson's Bay is on the top of what's referred to as "South Head".
Evidently a great view can be had if you take the ferry to an island close to the race start and alternatively at Watson's Bay which is right where the sail boats pass before they start to sail South. After swimming yesterday (Sept. 5) where we did a 3.8k swim and lunch, I had some free time so I thought I'd check out Watson's Bay (see map below - on the far right in the middle).
Watson's Bay is really a beautiful and quaint town with amazing views of Sydney Harbour and the ocean. There's a nice national park which has very easy walking paths that lead you to these magestic views. There's also Doyle's on Watson's Bay and it's right on the beach, with a perfect view of the harbour so I booked us a table for lunch on the outdoor patio so we can enjoy the sail boats and the ambiance of a day at the races on Boxing Day.
While Boxing Day is sure to be beautiful as we'll be right in the middle of summer, when I visited yesterday it was quite windy. In fact it was so windy the birds hovered instead of truly flying. Check out this FlipVideo:
So Excited to Finally Connect with Louise!
Louise is my first Australian friend. We met at Cunningham Communications a high tech PR firm in Silicon Valley and we were both on the HP account.
Louise moved back to Australia 6 years ago with her family to Perth which is on the West Coast (a 5 hour flight) of Australia. She happened to be in Sydney and we had a wonderful time catching up!
With the 9th anniversary of 9/11 coming up, we both remembered that the last time either of us were in the World Trade Center was when we were in NY to support an HP press event around 1998. We arrived a few days early - Louise to sightsee and me to visit my brother and family. It was a work day and my cousin Yasushi used to work in the World Trade Center (on 9/11 he was thank goodness working at another accounting firm somewhere else) so I went to meet him for coffee while Louise took the elevator to the top to check out the view.
On a more cheerful note, we also laughed about how much we both hated doing time sheets and were glad to finally go "in house" to do PR.
I have yet to visit Perth - but the plan now is to head there in Easter 2011. Can't wait to meet Louise's second son and to see the rest of the family again ... and check out the Margaret River which is world renowned for its shiraz wine.
Louise moved back to Australia 6 years ago with her family to Perth which is on the West Coast (a 5 hour flight) of Australia. She happened to be in Sydney and we had a wonderful time catching up!
With the 9th anniversary of 9/11 coming up, we both remembered that the last time either of us were in the World Trade Center was when we were in NY to support an HP press event around 1998. We arrived a few days early - Louise to sightsee and me to visit my brother and family. It was a work day and my cousin Yasushi used to work in the World Trade Center (on 9/11 he was thank goodness working at another accounting firm somewhere else) so I went to meet him for coffee while Louise took the elevator to the top to check out the view.
On a more cheerful note, we also laughed about how much we both hated doing time sheets and were glad to finally go "in house" to do PR.
I have yet to visit Perth - but the plan now is to head there in Easter 2011. Can't wait to meet Louise's second son and to see the rest of the family again ... and check out the Margaret River which is world renowned for its shiraz wine.
Moto - Check out Izakaya Den
An "Izakaya" restaurant is a type of restaurant that is primarily a Japanese sake bar but it also serves the type of food that typically goes with sake. My cousin Moto has an izakaya-type restaurant in New York and it's called "Izakaya Ten". If you're ever in New York you should check it out - it's in Chelsea at 207 10th Ave. at 23rd St.
I was in Melbourne on business and on Aug. 25 on the recommendation of my hotel concierge, I went to check out "Izakaya Den" (I assume it's called a "den" because it's located in the basement) and I LOVED it. It had great ambiance, a great selection of sake and really tasty dishes.
It's tricky to find as it's down this non-descript stairwell next to a cafe on Little Collins/Russell Streets and when you peak down the stairs you see a clothing shop which leads you to believe it couldn't possibly be down there, but if you persevere you'll find this great izakaya:
I was in Melbourne on business and on Aug. 25 on the recommendation of my hotel concierge, I went to check out "Izakaya Den" (I assume it's called a "den" because it's located in the basement) and I LOVED it. It had great ambiance, a great selection of sake and really tasty dishes.
It's tricky to find as it's down this non-descript stairwell next to a cafe on Little Collins/Russell Streets and when you peak down the stairs you see a clothing shop which leads you to believe it couldn't possibly be down there, but if you persevere you'll find this great izakaya:
Beautiful Weekend of Skiing at Thredbo!
It took us 8 hours to drive from Sydney to Thredbo for a ski weekend (and 6 hours to drive back)! Thank goodness we had amazing snow and beautiful weather (Aug. 20-22)!
Actually - it'd be more accurate to say that my friends Georgina (George) and her husband Paul drove and I kept everyone company with lively conversation and snacks. Thank you Paul and George for driving!
On the way up, it started to snow and as Thredbo Ski Resort is in a National Park we're required to have chains so we got a little instruction:
Now before I show the next FlipVideo I have to do a mea culpa - I confused the NY Mets hat for a NY Yankees hat. And my brother's a big Mets fan so I'm embarrassed I couldn't tell the difference! They're so similar?!???
Here's an image of a NY Mets Baseball Cap (the "Y" is below and overlapping the "N")
And here's an image of a NY Yankees Baseball Cap ("N" and "Y" are right on top of each other)
Now that I've got my mea culpa out of the way - you'll see in this series of FlipVideo clips the chronicles of what I'll call "Survival of the NY Yankees Baseball Cap (which I continually call a Mets Cap) on the slopes of Thredbo Ski Resort".
Essentially at the very top of the Kosciuszko Express Chair Lift (see ski trail map here) - the highest elevation, it was very, very windy and cold. When we reached the very top, Paul's NY Yankees baseball cap blew away (it was not attached in any way) and miraculously he was able to ski down and recover it.
Then just before lunch at the exact same spot - the NY Yankees baseball cap blew away again and -again luckily - Paul was able to ski down and recover it!
It became the running joke of the weekend. And the happy ending to the story is that the NY Yankee's Baseball Cap survived the weekend and went home with Paul.
In a weekend of "small wonders" George was confronted with of all animals - a wombat on the ski slopes of Thredbo. I'd seen the wombat (which looks like a very, very fat cat) from the ski lift on the way up and was excited to see it dash by and pause to say "hello" to George so that I had enough time to pull out my FlipVideo and take this:
In trying to go up the Snowgums ski lift, we found ourselves on the opposite mountain (we ended up going on Merritt's chair lift). So we had to traverse back and somehow found ourselves skiing down the slope right under the Gunbarrel chair lift. It was a tough go!
This is my second ski trip to Thredbo and the weather was much, much better! Last year it rained and the snow was more like slush so I spent more time in the pubs/ski lodge than on the slopes.
But that's not to say that we avoided the pubs entirely...we still found plenty of time to hit Black Sally's for "Schnappy Hour" where we did schnapps shots.
Actually - it'd be more accurate to say that my friends Georgina (George) and her husband Paul drove and I kept everyone company with lively conversation and snacks. Thank you Paul and George for driving!
On the way up, it started to snow and as Thredbo Ski Resort is in a National Park we're required to have chains so we got a little instruction:
Now before I show the next FlipVideo I have to do a mea culpa - I confused the NY Mets hat for a NY Yankees hat. And my brother's a big Mets fan so I'm embarrassed I couldn't tell the difference! They're so similar?!???
Here's an image of a NY Mets Baseball Cap (the "Y" is below and overlapping the "N")
And here's an image of a NY Yankees Baseball Cap ("N" and "Y" are right on top of each other)
Now that I've got my mea culpa out of the way - you'll see in this series of FlipVideo clips the chronicles of what I'll call "Survival of the NY Yankees Baseball Cap (which I continually call a Mets Cap) on the slopes of Thredbo Ski Resort".
Essentially at the very top of the Kosciuszko Express Chair Lift (see ski trail map here) - the highest elevation, it was very, very windy and cold. When we reached the very top, Paul's NY Yankees baseball cap blew away (it was not attached in any way) and miraculously he was able to ski down and recover it.
Then just before lunch at the exact same spot - the NY Yankees baseball cap blew away again and -again luckily - Paul was able to ski down and recover it!
It became the running joke of the weekend. And the happy ending to the story is that the NY Yankee's Baseball Cap survived the weekend and went home with Paul.
In a weekend of "small wonders" George was confronted with of all animals - a wombat on the ski slopes of Thredbo. I'd seen the wombat (which looks like a very, very fat cat) from the ski lift on the way up and was excited to see it dash by and pause to say "hello" to George so that I had enough time to pull out my FlipVideo and take this:
In trying to go up the Snowgums ski lift, we found ourselves on the opposite mountain (we ended up going on Merritt's chair lift). So we had to traverse back and somehow found ourselves skiing down the slope right under the Gunbarrel chair lift. It was a tough go!
This is my second ski trip to Thredbo and the weather was much, much better! Last year it rained and the snow was more like slush so I spent more time in the pubs/ski lodge than on the slopes.
But that's not to say that we avoided the pubs entirely...we still found plenty of time to hit Black Sally's for "Schnappy Hour" where we did schnapps shots.
Celebration Time!
On Aug. 5, there was a fundraiser for a team from VMware that was training to walk 100km as part of the Oxfam Trailblazer. The theme of the evening was James Bond's "Diamonds are Forever". Here's a photo from the event. In the end the team finished the 100km in a time of 31 hours, 41 minutes. Absolutely incredible!
Then in celebration of Karen and Luke's engagement (Aug. 14) there was a party at Kit & Kaboodle where there was great dancing and toasts for the engaged couple. Here I am with the bride to be...
Then in celebration of Karen and Luke's engagement (Aug. 14) there was a party at Kit & Kaboodle where there was great dancing and toasts for the engaged couple. Here I am with the bride to be...
Friday the 13th - Ghost Tour!
What better way to celebrate Friday the 13th (August) than to go on a Ghost Tour of Sydney's Historic Rocks District where the convicts that the UK was trying to "rehabilitate" landed back in the 1780s.
It was a great tour where everyone in the tour group (about 25-30 people) had a role. I was "bubonic plague" and wore a rubber mouse that squeaked when I squeezed it around my neck - it was my bubonic plague necklace :) The ghost story here was that many lives were taken due to bubonic plague and they separated those with the disease behind steel gates and away from everyone else. The gates literally separated The Rocks right in half.
I was much happier wearing my necklace than the sock that Helen wore around her neck to represent the "Sydney Rock Gang" that would take their socks off, fill it with rocks (that's why this historic district is called "The Rocks") and use it to bash people's heads in.
It was Lisa, however, who got her own spotlight as she was "the Girl with No Legs". You'll hear the tour guide tell this ghost story:
It was a great tour where everyone in the tour group (about 25-30 people) had a role. I was "bubonic plague" and wore a rubber mouse that squeaked when I squeezed it around my neck - it was my bubonic plague necklace :) The ghost story here was that many lives were taken due to bubonic plague and they separated those with the disease behind steel gates and away from everyone else. The gates literally separated The Rocks right in half.
I was much happier wearing my necklace than the sock that Helen wore around her neck to represent the "Sydney Rock Gang" that would take their socks off, fill it with rocks (that's why this historic district is called "The Rocks") and use it to bash people's heads in.
It was Lisa, however, who got her own spotlight as she was "the Girl with No Legs". You'll hear the tour guide tell this ghost story:
Two Football Games in One Night!
It's hard to believe it's been more than a year and this is the first time I've ever been to the Sydney Football/Cricket Grounds and it's just a short 10 minute walk from my place!
I'll definitely plan to have more "meet for drinks and aps" at my place before heading to the games - it's like having an apartment right next to PacBell Park!
What did it take to get me to the Sydney Football Field? It was the last night of the Sydney International Football Festival (July 31) and I was in the corporate box watching the two final football games - UK vs. Athens and Sydney vs. Glasgow.
I'll definitely plan to have more "meet for drinks and aps" at my place before heading to the games - it's like having an apartment right next to PacBell Park!
What did it take to get me to the Sydney Football Field? It was the last night of the Sydney International Football Festival (July 31) and I was in the corporate box watching the two final football games - UK vs. Athens and Sydney vs. Glasgow.
Foggy Sydney Harbour Bridge
On my drive into the office on July 30 I saw a sight that was more familiar to me crossing San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge than the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Sydney Aroma Festival
It's a festival dedicated to coffee, tea and chocolate - pretty incredible! And only here in Sydney (July 25)!
There's an interesting piece of coffee cup art in this Flip Video as well as a sneak peak for my nephew Kai and niece Kalea of some New Zealand (Kiwi) treats.
Later this evening after the Aroma Festival I went to my friend Matt's house where we watched the finale of Masterchef Australia while we enjoyed yummy appetizers (called "mains" here in Oz), paella and chocolate fondue (using my copper fondue which I brought over from the US).
Of interesting note, a few weeks later I had a fondue party for my friends Lisa and Nadia - started with a cheese fondue, meat/seafood fondue and then a chocolate fondue. Rather than wash the one fondue pot all night, I tried to purchase another all-purpose copper fondue pot but after calling around to all of the major department stores and a few specialty cooking stores - only one sold a ceramic fondue pot which is better suited for a chocolate fondue. Bottom-line: Looked far and wide and a solid copper fondue pot was not to be found - I think Aussie's much prefer to BBQ than to fondue.
There's an interesting piece of coffee cup art in this Flip Video as well as a sneak peak for my nephew Kai and niece Kalea of some New Zealand (Kiwi) treats.
Later this evening after the Aroma Festival I went to my friend Matt's house where we watched the finale of Masterchef Australia while we enjoyed yummy appetizers (called "mains" here in Oz), paella and chocolate fondue (using my copper fondue which I brought over from the US).
Of interesting note, a few weeks later I had a fondue party for my friends Lisa and Nadia - started with a cheese fondue, meat/seafood fondue and then a chocolate fondue. Rather than wash the one fondue pot all night, I tried to purchase another all-purpose copper fondue pot but after calling around to all of the major department stores and a few specialty cooking stores - only one sold a ceramic fondue pot which is better suited for a chocolate fondue. Bottom-line: Looked far and wide and a solid copper fondue pot was not to be found - I think Aussie's much prefer to BBQ than to fondue.
My Second NSW State Relay Carnival
Upon arriving at the Homebush Olympic Pool on July 18, I quickly learned that last year was an anomaly. Last year,due to two swim competitions taking place last year they shifted our relay to the 25 meter pool.
So when I showed up for the relay I was surprised we were in the 50 meter pool. So, what I thought was going to be a couple of nice, easy and short swims was actually quite exhausting!
I had four swims, all freestyle:
1. Women's Freestyle 4x100m (6:02.41) * New Club Record * and my split was 1:35.90
2. Mixed Medley 4x50m Relay (2:41.26) and my split was 41.1
3. Women's Freestyle 4x50m Relay (2:36.66) and my split was 39.6
4. Mixed Freestyle 4x50m Relay (2:25.91) and my split was 39.9
All of the results for the squad I swam with are here.
So when I showed up for the relay I was surprised we were in the 50 meter pool. So, what I thought was going to be a couple of nice, easy and short swims was actually quite exhausting!
I had four swims, all freestyle:
1. Women's Freestyle 4x100m (6:02.41) * New Club Record * and my split was 1:35.90
2. Mixed Medley 4x50m Relay (2:41.26) and my split was 41.1
3. Women's Freestyle 4x50m Relay (2:36.66) and my split was 39.6
4. Mixed Freestyle 4x50m Relay (2:25.91) and my split was 39.9
All of the results for the squad I swam with are here.
David Beckham on Cisco TelePresence
On July 14 (sorry it's been a while since I last blogged), David Beckham went into the Cisco UK office to meet with fans from 14 countries around the world via Cisco TelePresence.
In his 1.5 hour "the world interviews David Beckham" session, he displayed real charisma, personality and a sense of humor. The most memorable question from that night was when a fan asked Beckham whether his son asked for a tattoo yet (evidently Beckham has many, many tattoos) and Beckham said that he had to remind his son that tattoos were permanent and maybe he should wait awhile...
This reminded me of when my brother got his tattoo (it's "Horiuchi" in Japanese kanji) and he told my Mom to guess what he got a tattoo of and my Mom guessed "I love Mom"? And my Dad, his commentary was "did you get that so in case you forgot your name all you had to do was look (at your shoulder)?"
Look how close I was to Beckham!
Read more here on the official Cisco blog.
In his 1.5 hour "the world interviews David Beckham" session, he displayed real charisma, personality and a sense of humor. The most memorable question from that night was when a fan asked Beckham whether his son asked for a tattoo yet (evidently Beckham has many, many tattoos) and Beckham said that he had to remind his son that tattoos were permanent and maybe he should wait awhile...
This reminded me of when my brother got his tattoo (it's "Horiuchi" in Japanese kanji) and he told my Mom to guess what he got a tattoo of and my Mom guessed "I love Mom"? And my Dad, his commentary was "did you get that so in case you forgot your name all you had to do was look (at your shoulder)?"
Look how close I was to Beckham!
Read more here on the official Cisco blog.
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