Guess what I did today.
10 August 2006
05 August 2006
Queenstown is full of Irish people.
We're a plague on the face of the earth that is inescapable.
There are 2 kinds of encounter with one's countryfolk that happen:
The first: Degrees of separation:
This is where an encounter with a person in which both parties become aware of their shared nationality and they immediately begin to find a tangible link between themselves other than that. This is usually resolved in a matter of seconds because whatever's brother's friend worked with a schoolmate's roommate in San Diego 2 years ago and yes, he does know about the funny incident with the trout.
The second: The "You're not Irish!" encounter:
This is all the more loathsome as it takes far longer to resolve than the first. Generally, a person of blatant Irish ethnicity (read: bogger/knacker) wants to know "Where yiz are all from?" and is disgusted at the loss of their opportunity to be "The Irish Person" who has far more interesting lies about their home country than random Americans/English. The disappointment is usually followed by disbelief marred by suspicion and instance that you're not Irish on the grounds that we don't sound like we're from their village/tower block. Then they find out what part of Dublin and oh how the hilarious comments fly.
We're a plague on the face of the earth that is inescapable.
There are 2 kinds of encounter with one's countryfolk that happen:
The first: Degrees of separation:
This is where an encounter with a person in which both parties become aware of their shared nationality and they immediately begin to find a tangible link between themselves other than that. This is usually resolved in a matter of seconds because whatever's brother's friend worked with a schoolmate's roommate in San Diego 2 years ago and yes, he does know about the funny incident with the trout.
The second: The "You're not Irish!" encounter:
This is all the more loathsome as it takes far longer to resolve than the first. Generally, a person of blatant Irish ethnicity (read: bogger/knacker) wants to know "Where yiz are all from?" and is disgusted at the loss of their opportunity to be "The Irish Person" who has far more interesting lies about their home country than random Americans/English. The disappointment is usually followed by disbelief marred by suspicion and instance that you're not Irish on the grounds that we don't sound like we're from their village/tower block. Then they find out what part of Dublin and oh how the hilarious comments fly.
04 August 2006
I think I have left the shadow of the Valley of Death.
The good news is: I'm on the mend. Still not 100%, but at least I'm able to get off the sofa and come out of a liquid state.
The bad news: The snow is crap.
Our last big dump was on the 21st of July and conditions were brilliant for the following week, but I was up Coronet Peak yesterday and it was a mix of chunky ice, sheer ice, and brown slush. This is especially bad for snowboarders, and doubly so for snowboarders with powder boards. I knew I should've bought an extra board for conditions like this!
The good news is: I'm on the mend. Still not 100%, but at least I'm able to get off the sofa and come out of a liquid state.
The bad news: The snow is crap.
Our last big dump was on the 21st of July and conditions were brilliant for the following week, but I was up Coronet Peak yesterday and it was a mix of chunky ice, sheer ice, and brown slush. This is especially bad for snowboarders, and doubly so for snowboarders with powder boards. I knew I should've bought an extra board for conditions like this!
31 July 2006
me sick.
New Zealand has made me frail and feeble. I'm battling my second bout of illness in as many weeks, and I feel like shite.
I haven't been sick for ages back home and all of a sudden I'm repeatedly struck down like some kind of sentient spoon.
I wish to be cryogenically frozen until medical science can cure me.
New Zealand has made me frail and feeble. I'm battling my second bout of illness in as many weeks, and I feel like shite.
I haven't been sick for ages back home and all of a sudden I'm repeatedly struck down like some kind of sentient spoon.
I wish to be cryogenically frozen until medical science can cure me.
27 July 2006
Donal and I went to this hilarious wine tasting place today.
We got a prepaid $20 (about Â10) smart card and a glass and were able to just walk around the shop sampling various bottles of wine by inserting the smart card into this big silver dispenser jobbie and selecting how much of the particular wine you want. It's good fun, and they give you a little notepad and pencil to make notes on the wine for future reference.
Several glasses of wine and an ill-advised ridiculously sweet port later, we went to a sweet shop and engaged in a similarly lengthy bout of fudge tasting, culminating in the purchase of aforementioned fudge.
Still slumming it up in Queenstown.
We got a prepaid $20 (about Â10) smart card and a glass and were able to just walk around the shop sampling various bottles of wine by inserting the smart card into this big silver dispenser jobbie and selecting how much of the particular wine you want. It's good fun, and they give you a little notepad and pencil to make notes on the wine for future reference.
Several glasses of wine and an ill-advised ridiculously sweet port later, we went to a sweet shop and engaged in a similarly lengthy bout of fudge tasting, culminating in the purchase of aforementioned fudge.
Still slumming it up in Queenstown.
26 July 2006
Queenstown is brilliant.
We've been skiing/boarding for the last few days and it's been great. I know it's boring to spell this out, but it's loads and loads of fun.
It's amazing what a difference decent gear can make to snowboarding ability. The setup I have now is just great and I'm absolutely tearing it up on the piste.
My only problem is that when I roast past a beginner I can't help feeling pangs of guilt, as I have become everything I've ever hated.
Donal took a really cool photo one of the days were were up on Coronet Peak, here it is:
We've been skiing/boarding for the last few days and it's been great. I know it's boring to spell this out, but it's loads and loads of fun.
It's amazing what a difference decent gear can make to snowboarding ability. The setup I have now is just great and I'm absolutely tearing it up on the piste.
My only problem is that when I roast past a beginner I can't help feeling pangs of guilt, as I have become everything I've ever hated.
Donal took a really cool photo one of the days were were up on Coronet Peak, here it is:
21 July 2006
40 hours, 6 airports, and all we did was travel through time and relocate to the other side of the planet.
Dublin - Heathrow - Salt Lake City (WTF?) - LAX - Auckland - Queenstown.
Queenstown looks class. It's our first morning here and it was snowing when we woke up and we've spent the last few hours playing Street Fighter II on Donal's mini Mega Drive thingy.
We got most of our gear set up today. I got a nice pair of K2 bindings and a decent pair of boots.
We're going to give the snowboarding/skiing a go tomorrow.
Quote of the day goes to Alex:
Donal (surprised): "You've never heard the Grease Megamix?"
Alex: "I'm sure it's just, like, chillout?"
Dublin - Heathrow - Salt Lake City (WTF?) - LAX - Auckland - Queenstown.
Queenstown looks class. It's our first morning here and it was snowing when we woke up and we've spent the last few hours playing Street Fighter II on Donal's mini Mega Drive thingy.
We got most of our gear set up today. I got a nice pair of K2 bindings and a decent pair of boots.
We're going to give the snowboarding/skiing a go tomorrow.
Quote of the day goes to Alex:
Donal (surprised): "You've never heard the Grease Megamix?"
Alex: "I'm sure it's just, like, chillout?"
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