Here's Kevin saying a few words to us:
And here are the two framed pictures we signed and presented to each of them:
Thursday, December 30, 2010
North Sydney Masters Christmas Party
At this year's Christmas Party (Dec. 11) we recognized two retiring coaches Kevin and Alvin. They're both amazing coaches who I learned a lot from and I'm happy that they'll still be swimming and coaching with us when they are in town.
Here's Kevin saying a few words to us:
And here are the two framed pictures we signed and presented to each of them:
Here's Kevin saying a few words to us:
And here are the two framed pictures we signed and presented to each of them:
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Bondi to Bronte Swim: Tough Going at Bronte
This was the first swim where I started at one beach (Bondi Beach) and ended at another (Bronte Beach). It was tough going, particularly at the end when I got "dumped" at Bronte Beach.
Essentially, you're swimming along and you catch a big wave that dumps you on Bronte Beach but because it's such a long, shallow beach you either have to keep swimming in shallow water or start walking up on to the beach (which is hard as I'm exhausted from swimming) - all while battling wave, upon wave that keeps tumbling you head over heals and is so strongly pulling you back.
Here are some photos of the big waves and the surf life savers assisting us.
A few surf life savers came over to assist me but I was able to manage to get across the finish line on my own.
The Bondi-to-Bronte Swim was on Dec. 5 and was 2.4K (1.5 miles) and it took me 46:24. I placed 39/65 in my age category (F35-39). Here's the map of the course:
Here's the view of Bondi Beach - we started the swim in the middle of this beach:
Then once we rounded the corner, we headed to the beach you see here:
And here we are walking back to Bondi Beach after the swim and breakfast (interestingly, it took us longer to walk back than swim).
Essentially, you're swimming along and you catch a big wave that dumps you on Bronte Beach but because it's such a long, shallow beach you either have to keep swimming in shallow water or start walking up on to the beach (which is hard as I'm exhausted from swimming) - all while battling wave, upon wave that keeps tumbling you head over heals and is so strongly pulling you back.
Here are some photos of the big waves and the surf life savers assisting us.
A few surf life savers came over to assist me but I was able to manage to get across the finish line on my own.
The Bondi-to-Bronte Swim was on Dec. 5 and was 2.4K (1.5 miles) and it took me 46:24. I placed 39/65 in my age category (F35-39). Here's the map of the course:
Here's the view of Bondi Beach - we started the swim in the middle of this beach:
Then once we rounded the corner, we headed to the beach you see here:
And here we are walking back to Bondi Beach after the swim and breakfast (interestingly, it took us longer to walk back than swim).
Big Disappointment in Australia's Loss of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
It was so disappointing that Australia didn't win the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Here I am at 2 a.m. in the morning on Dec. 3 with colleagues from Cisco and the FFA as we await the announcement of the host countries for FIFA World Cup 2018 and 2022.
Not for the Faint of Heart: Coogee Beach Ocean Swim in 60F
In my first ocean swim for the 2010-2011 season - on Nov. 28 - I joined friends from North Sydney Masters in what is surely my coldest ocean swim to date without a wetsuit!
It was the Coogee Beach Island Challenge Ocean Swim and to kick off the season I selected a 1K (.62 miles) and completed it in 26:33 which for my age category (F35-39) I was 24/32 in my category and 118/164 of all females racing that day.
The water was 16C (60F), it was overcast with no sun and absolutely freezing. In swimming to the first buoy I could barely put my face in the water it was so cold and I felt my chest constrict and it was hard to take a full breadth it was that shockingly cold! By the time I was headed to the second buoy I'd acclimated to the temperature, yet there were strong swells on the back stretch so I'd definitely rate this one of the tougher swims.
In this FlipVideo you'll see the course I swam and then the swim finishes of my friends who did the longer 2.4 "Island Challenge" swim.
It was the Coogee Beach Island Challenge Ocean Swim and to kick off the season I selected a 1K (.62 miles) and completed it in 26:33 which for my age category (F35-39) I was 24/32 in my category and 118/164 of all females racing that day.
The water was 16C (60F), it was overcast with no sun and absolutely freezing. In swimming to the first buoy I could barely put my face in the water it was so cold and I felt my chest constrict and it was hard to take a full breadth it was that shockingly cold! By the time I was headed to the second buoy I'd acclimated to the temperature, yet there were strong swells on the back stretch so I'd definitely rate this one of the tougher swims.
In this FlipVideo you'll see the course I swam and then the swim finishes of my friends who did the longer 2.4 "Island Challenge" swim.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Papa Gets (another) Belt at RM Williams
I almost titled this blog entry "The never ending saga of Papa's belt" because there's a bigger back story to this than is told in the FlipVideo:
1. (Distance 5k) Last time Papa was here in Sydney (Sept. 2009) he mentioned how he wanted a belt for Christmas 2009. So I measured his belt to be size 38 and went out and purchased him a 38 belt from RM Williams which is quintessential Australian.
2. (Distance 5K) I mentioned that I'd done this on a Skype session and Papa exclaimed that he was a size 42, so back I went to the store and got him a 42.
3. (16,000k x 2 = 32,000 k) This size 42 belt, I took in my suitcase all the way to New York for Christmas. And have you already guessed what happened - it was too big for Papa! So I took it back (in my suitcase again) all the way back to Sydney.
4. (Distance 10k) Then I took this belt back to RM Williams and exchanged it back to a size 38.
5. (Distance 15,000) And then I mailed it to Papa in Chicago.
6. (Distance 13,000k) Papa loved the belt so much he of course had to wear it on his flight here on his most recent visit. And because the Qantas A380s were exchanged for 747s due to worry there was something at fault in the A380s, Mom and Papa got bumped and delayed and then diverted to Auckland, New Zealand before finally arriving in Sydney. Long story short, while going through security in Auckland, New Zealand Papa removed his belt and forgot to pick it up again. So the belt's now lost and Papa was using a tie with a pattern of a tennis racket and balls as a belt while here on vacation (although in thinking about this some more, would he have gone through security? Maybe he lost the belt in LA?).
7. (Distance 15,000k) Then the day before they returned home to Chicago, I took Papa to RM Williams in the new Westfield Pitt Street Mall and we purchased him a brand new belt which Papa packed in his suitcase for the trip home so there was not another "left it at airport security" incident.
Total Distance Belt(s) has Travelled: 75,000k
Tomu, while we were at RM Williams I not only purchased Papa his new belt, I also purchased him a new long sleeve shirt and another pair of shorts (this time navy) for his birthday/Christmas present from us.
Enjoy the video here:
1. (Distance 5k) Last time Papa was here in Sydney (Sept. 2009) he mentioned how he wanted a belt for Christmas 2009. So I measured his belt to be size 38 and went out and purchased him a 38 belt from RM Williams which is quintessential Australian.
2. (Distance 5K) I mentioned that I'd done this on a Skype session and Papa exclaimed that he was a size 42, so back I went to the store and got him a 42.
3. (16,000k x 2 = 32,000 k) This size 42 belt, I took in my suitcase all the way to New York for Christmas. And have you already guessed what happened - it was too big for Papa! So I took it back (in my suitcase again) all the way back to Sydney.
4. (Distance 10k) Then I took this belt back to RM Williams and exchanged it back to a size 38.
5. (Distance 15,000) And then I mailed it to Papa in Chicago.
6. (Distance 13,000k) Papa loved the belt so much he of course had to wear it on his flight here on his most recent visit. And because the Qantas A380s were exchanged for 747s due to worry there was something at fault in the A380s, Mom and Papa got bumped and delayed and then diverted to Auckland, New Zealand before finally arriving in Sydney. Long story short, while going through security in Auckland, New Zealand Papa removed his belt and forgot to pick it up again. So the belt's now lost and Papa was using a tie with a pattern of a tennis racket and balls as a belt while here on vacation (although in thinking about this some more, would he have gone through security? Maybe he lost the belt in LA?).
7. (Distance 15,000k) Then the day before they returned home to Chicago, I took Papa to RM Williams in the new Westfield Pitt Street Mall and we purchased him a brand new belt which Papa packed in his suitcase for the trip home so there was not another "left it at airport security" incident.
Total Distance Belt(s) has Travelled: 75,000k
Tomu, while we were at RM Williams I not only purchased Papa his new belt, I also purchased him a new long sleeve shirt and another pair of shorts (this time navy) for his birthday/Christmas present from us.
Enjoy the video here:
Dinner in the Loo
After returning from Lord Howe Island, we enjoyed dinner at China Doll in Woolamaloo where Mom and Papa enjoyed the Sydney city horizon view.
Scuba Diving with Pro Dive Lord Howe Island
It's hard to believe that since I moved here to Australia in April 2009, I haven't yet been scuba diving. Finally on this trip to Lord Howe Island I corrected that and had an amazing 6 dives!
You'll see the highlights from my dive log, but first I'd like to shout out to Tas the owner of Pro Dive Lord Howe Island and dive masters Kyla and Kit for an amazing dive experience! They were professional, fun and very well organised... and they're so very lucky to have great diving, sea life and coral right in their backyard!
Day 1 (Nov. 15, 2010) Dive# 108 Dive location: Octopus Garden Max depth: 50 ft Visibility 15 metres
On my first dive on Lord Howe Island I found the water colder than I expected (20 degrees Celcius) and in quite a bummer it was recommended I wear a 5 mm wet suit, hooded vest and gloves (I much prefer not wearing a wet suit). The underwater beauty of LHI was incredible though - I loved the Autumn color of the soft coral.
Day 1 (Nov. 15, 2010) Dive#109 Dive location: Le Meurthe Max depth: 40 ft Visibility 15 metres
The highlight of this dive was this alien-like, massive (I mean HUGE) bullray that my dive buddy Paul pointed out for me. I'd swum by it without noticing it and it took Paul pointing it out to me before I realised it was not a rock but a HUGE sting ray which is called a "bull ray". This FlipVideo doesn't really do it justice, as it's at least 10 meters wide but I know I'll always remember how incredulous I was that there was such an oversized stingray - I remember thinking "what kind of steroids was this stingray on that it grew to be so big".
I'll be emailing this FlipVideo to my dive buddy Paul with hope he'll comment on this blog that it was indeed the biggest ray he's every seen!
Day 2 (Nov. 16, 2010) Dive#110 Dive location Cathedral Cave Max depth: 71 ft Visibility 25 ft
It was like that scene in Little Mermaid when Ariel finds Eric's statue except in Cathedral Cave there were massive grouper, sweet lip fish, this Medusa-like "head" made up of tiny, dark and swarming fish and a a lot of other colorful fish. On this dive I saw a plethora of sea life including 2 eels and 3 stingrays.
Day 2 (Nov. 16, 2010) Dive #111 Dive location North Passage Max depth 40 ft Visibility 25 ft
I saw so much on this dive! There was a fun Cinderella Slipper scenario played out by David and our dive master Kyla (note: it's an empty shell of a slip lobster) in this FlipVideo:
And on many of the dives I'd see these stone fish and I at first thought they were being friendly as they'd hang around, come up real close and looked like they wanted to play with you. Only after did I learn that they're quite territorial and in fact not so friendly. In this Flip you'll also see that I found a stonefish at the 1:00 (yes it's named because it looks like a stone).
A few year's ago at the Monterey Aquarium I remember enjoying a jellyfish exhibit. Here in this FlipVideo you'll see this beautiful jellyfish that reminds me of an old fashioned, cream colored wedding dress.
And you'll see that there was an abundance of sting rays on this dive as well. And if you look real close, at the 2:00 you'll see an eel.
And here's a sea urchin that looks blue and shiny:
And in this Flip you'll see Nemo in the anemone.
Day 3 (Nov. 17, 2010) Dive #112 Dive Location Yellow Rock Max depth 50 ft Visibility 25 metres
At about 2:10 you'll see that we went through this archway and while there's lot of things stirred up in the water so it's not the most clear FlipVideo you can sort of see a lion fish with its very long (and venomous) spines.
This Flip starts out with a large school of fish and then at :40 you see another huge bull ray. If you see 1:13 you see that I try to swim out a bit to give you some perspective and scope for just how large it is (at one point you see two fish in the foreground swim by).
Day 3 (Nov. 17, 2010) Dive#113 Dive location The Arch Max depth 40 ft Visibility 25 metres
A big thank you to Beck and Tim from Sydney for agreeing to a second dive (otherwise I would have only did the one dive on my last day). It was another gorgeous dive and a lasting memory of my dives on Lord Howe Island which has beautiful and very healthy coral and sea life going for it!
You'll see the highlights from my dive log, but first I'd like to shout out to Tas the owner of Pro Dive Lord Howe Island and dive masters Kyla and Kit for an amazing dive experience! They were professional, fun and very well organised... and they're so very lucky to have great diving, sea life and coral right in their backyard!
Day 1 (Nov. 15, 2010) Dive# 108 Dive location: Octopus Garden Max depth: 50 ft Visibility 15 metres
On my first dive on Lord Howe Island I found the water colder than I expected (20 degrees Celcius) and in quite a bummer it was recommended I wear a 5 mm wet suit, hooded vest and gloves (I much prefer not wearing a wet suit). The underwater beauty of LHI was incredible though - I loved the Autumn color of the soft coral.
Day 1 (Nov. 15, 2010) Dive#109 Dive location: Le Meurthe Max depth: 40 ft Visibility 15 metres
The highlight of this dive was this alien-like, massive (I mean HUGE) bullray that my dive buddy Paul pointed out for me. I'd swum by it without noticing it and it took Paul pointing it out to me before I realised it was not a rock but a HUGE sting ray which is called a "bull ray". This FlipVideo doesn't really do it justice, as it's at least 10 meters wide but I know I'll always remember how incredulous I was that there was such an oversized stingray - I remember thinking "what kind of steroids was this stingray on that it grew to be so big".
I'll be emailing this FlipVideo to my dive buddy Paul with hope he'll comment on this blog that it was indeed the biggest ray he's every seen!
Day 2 (Nov. 16, 2010) Dive#110 Dive location Cathedral Cave Max depth: 71 ft Visibility 25 ft
It was like that scene in Little Mermaid when Ariel finds Eric's statue except in Cathedral Cave there were massive grouper, sweet lip fish, this Medusa-like "head" made up of tiny, dark and swarming fish and a a lot of other colorful fish. On this dive I saw a plethora of sea life including 2 eels and 3 stingrays.
Day 2 (Nov. 16, 2010) Dive #111 Dive location North Passage Max depth 40 ft Visibility 25 ft
I saw so much on this dive! There was a fun Cinderella Slipper scenario played out by David and our dive master Kyla (note: it's an empty shell of a slip lobster) in this FlipVideo:
And on many of the dives I'd see these stone fish and I at first thought they were being friendly as they'd hang around, come up real close and looked like they wanted to play with you. Only after did I learn that they're quite territorial and in fact not so friendly. In this Flip you'll also see that I found a stonefish at the 1:00 (yes it's named because it looks like a stone).
A few year's ago at the Monterey Aquarium I remember enjoying a jellyfish exhibit. Here in this FlipVideo you'll see this beautiful jellyfish that reminds me of an old fashioned, cream colored wedding dress.
And you'll see that there was an abundance of sting rays on this dive as well. And if you look real close, at the 2:00 you'll see an eel.
And here's a sea urchin that looks blue and shiny:
And in this Flip you'll see Nemo in the anemone.
Day 3 (Nov. 17, 2010) Dive #112 Dive Location Yellow Rock Max depth 50 ft Visibility 25 metres
At about 2:10 you'll see that we went through this archway and while there's lot of things stirred up in the water so it's not the most clear FlipVideo you can sort of see a lion fish with its very long (and venomous) spines.
This Flip starts out with a large school of fish and then at :40 you see another huge bull ray. If you see 1:13 you see that I try to swim out a bit to give you some perspective and scope for just how large it is (at one point you see two fish in the foreground swim by).
Day 3 (Nov. 17, 2010) Dive#113 Dive location The Arch Max depth 40 ft Visibility 25 metres
A big thank you to Beck and Tim from Sydney for agreeing to a second dive (otherwise I would have only did the one dive on my last day). It was another gorgeous dive and a lasting memory of my dives on Lord Howe Island which has beautiful and very healthy coral and sea life going for it!
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