Just how resilient is technology these days?

I take my USB drive, with essential data and files (such as my Whackhead Simpson collection to keep me amused!) to work and home everyday.

On Friday I somehow forgot to take my USB drive out of my pants, and on Saturday I was looking for my drive.

Having exhausted all possibilites, I figured maybe it was in pants? They had been washed and were currently in the dryer. Surely not…

Alas, I found my USB in my pants pocket, tumbling round in the dryer. Having neared the end of it’s cycle it was at least dry.

Having figured I’d have lost all my data and need to buy a new drive, I reluctantly inserted it into our computer!

I can’t believe it still worked! Given how fragile items are today…I was certainly surprised. Maybe it just needed a decent clean!

USB Drive

We get to go to South Africa to attempt the Comrades Marathon and experience the magic of the 2010 FIFA World Cup!

God has been listening to our prayers! I had all but given up on going to South Africa in 2010 even though World Cup fever was making me desperately unhappy not to be able to experience it. Rheanna has also been hankering for South Africa and missing her family (well I miss them too, but I better not admit that!).

Rheanna got a bonus that was over 3 times more than what she would normally get. Then the money I had saved for my Student loan was able to be used as the New Zealand IRD decided I didn’t have to meet my repayment obligations. Rheanna kept asking can we go, can we go? Then just that week Qantas had a fare special to South Africa. You had to fly on 1 day only. And it just happens to fit perfectly with Comrades 2010.

We decided to book tickets and I decided I couldn’t fly back before the World Cup final! It’s a once in a lifetime chance, and now we will be in South Africa for 7 glorious weeks!

My entry for Comrades has been confirmed and I have 7 and a half weeks to prepare for a 90km ultra-marathon and my longest run ever. For the first time ever I have doubts, and realise that I won’t be as ready, and I’ll have to rely on oodles of courage, luck and mental strength. to make up for the lack of physical preparation!

I am officially race number

You can keep updated with my preparation at Sanjay’s training diary. I shall endeavour to post daily updates as the countdown to Comrades 2010 gets closer and closer!

Hard to believe but me and Rheanna celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary!

We went out for dinner to a Turkish restaurant called Ahmets, in South Brisbane. We had been meaning to go for ages as it is quite popular and usually booked out a few days in advance. We went out on the Saturday night, 2 days before our official anniversary date, but at our age we can’t go out on a monday night!

The setting was quite nice, although the tables are very close together. Very close! You can practically just lean on the person next to you!

We had Turkish bread as an entree. Quite nice when it is warm, but it gets quite hard as it cools. I still prefer a naan anyday!

Rheanna and the chicken clay pot casserole

For mains Rheanna had a chicken clay pot casserole. I had the Karisik Izgara, which is a mixed grill platter of a lamb cutlet, and then a lamb, beef and chicken kebab with rice and a salad. I had asked if it could be spicy but was told the dish is not spicy. I can’t see why they couldn’t chuck some chilli in it, or hand me some chilli flakes! Rheanna said her dish was just a cooked chicken casserole and rice, nothing special.

Sanjay

Karisik Izgara - Mixed grill Platter

Towards the end of our meal music suddenly started blaring. I couldn’t believe how loud it was. I didn’t realise there was a belly dancer behind me, the music was so loud I could’t talk to Rheanna 1 metre away. At least it was something different, they tried, but still not enough to impress us!

Belly dancer

Somedays it still seems very hard to believe we’ve been married 10 years already.

On Friday night when I was sleeping (well actually it so hot at the moment it makes it difficult to sleep, so I was just lying there awake at night)

Now I do some crazy things in my sleep, saying things and doing things (so I am told by Rheanna anyway. I’ve never heard me say anything crazy!)

The next thing I know the crazy lady next to me starts saying “s…r…deva” and then “”@iprimus!” Not sure why Rheanna was giving our email address to me in the middle of the night, but she wasn’t awake that’s for sure! I know we’ve been doing a lot of internet marketing work…but really, having our email address on her brain shows’s she really does need a rest!

The day after boxing day we went around to some friends for lunch.

They are originally from England, and spent some time living in New Zealand in Thames and Waikanae. Now they live in Brisbane, and it is nice to discuss the things we have in common.

Actually it just turned into a long complaint about Australia as we each discussed all the little things that peeve us off here! It was a long list!

After that we tried their Wii fit. It’s basically a fancy video game, that has a sensor remote allowing you to interact with the tv. There is also a pressure pad that goes with it. What it means is that you can do balance exercises/games eg Downhill skiing, tightrope walking, running etc etc. It’s highly addictive and a lot of fun.

Our favourites were the slalom skiing, and having to see how many soccer balls you can header in a set time frame (and doge the shoes that get thrown at you!)

We managed to get the high scores for most of the games we played. so we’ll have to go back around when our scores get overtaken!

You can also do an assessment and it gives you your “Wii fit age”. I am glad I only came out at 38 (I am 34)!

It’s not the same as doing actual exercise, but this is exercise in the 21st century for those that really don’t do much at all! What will they think of next…

With our impending move, and some backyard space, we decided a barbeque (Braai) would be a nice acquisition.

Last week we went barbeque shopping. It proved a greater task than we imagined!

Barbeques come in all shapes and forms nowadays, gone are the days of a simple plate to grill your meat. We just wanted something plain and simple. Now you have to choose from 2-6 burners, rangehoods, wok compatibility, thermostats etc etc.

You can do your veges, roast meat and even stir fry on your barbeque these days. I thought that was the reason for having a kitchen?

Eventually we decided on a simple 4 burner barbeque with cast iron plates. It was on special, however when I went o pick it up a week later (just before the special was about to end), the sale price had increased! Whoever heard of an advertised special price going up? Not much I could do about it however.

Also they wouldn’t let me pay for it and pick it up at a later date. They do have lay-by, not on sale items, but I couldn’t even pay for it in full and pick it up later which would have been handy with our move.

When we were asking about cleaning the barbeque, the lady had me confused. Australians have an annoying habit of shortening everything! Afternoon is “arvo”, sandwhiches are “sangars” etc.

She said we should use “al foil” on the tray. I didn’t understand and thought she was saying “our foil”, meaning some special type of foil only they sell. I wondered why you couldn’t use normal foil, and what was so different about “their foil”. After much discussion, Rheanna and I worked out she was saying “Al foil” as in short for aluminum foil! Weird!

Now we need to buy all the accessories that are also needed. A gas bottle, the fat soak, some foil, and tongs. And you’re invited to a barbeque at our place sometime soon!

One of the things that never ceases to amaze us is the lack of good customer service in Australia. Whilst we whinge constantly (ok I whinge constantly and Rheanna does sometimes), I feel it is not without good reason.

Recently we went to Blue Smoke BBQ, an American style barbeque restaurant. We had a voucher to get one main free, mind you it still cost way more than we would normally spend eating out!

We had buffalo chicken wings as an entree. There were three sauce options, one was mild, the next spicy, and the last level they have to warn you about. Obviously we wanted to go the really spicy level, but weren’t quite sure after the warning. The waitress said we could get the really spicy sauce on the side. That sounded like a good idea.

The wings were really hot! Not like an Indian tasty spicy. Just a burn your mouth type of hot! It was nice and spicy but could have had more flavour.

For mains I had a steak and Rheanna had wings. There was no bowl of water offered to wash her hands afterward either. Who does that?

The worst part was when we left and we were charged extra for the spicy sauce that came with the chicken wings. Whilst it seems to be par for the course in Australia, I was very surprised. It’s a measly small bowl of sauce, and why can’t they tell you beforehand you will be charged. They offer it like they are doing you a favour! It’s something you have to be very careful of in Australia, you are charged for every little thing.

When we went to Sydney recently for the APPA trade show, Rheanna purchased 2 hot chocolate’s and they asked if we’d like marshmallows. She said ‘yes’ to one and they charged us 70c! It’s not the amount so much as the fact you don’t expect to be charged for every little thing!

On Thursday I went out for lunch with Preetesh to a place called rush lounge. Preetesh said he chose it because the menu looked well priced. Lunch mains were $26-30 dollars! And Sandwiches on the menu were $18! That’s crazy. It’s two bits of bread and some filling. I guess it’s $15 of customer service!

I decided on the special of Tandoori pizza. Only to be told they’d run out. At 1pm? Ridiculous. Instead I had Barramundi risotto cakes which equated to 4 bites. Still at $13 it was more reasonable than most things on the menu!

Recently I was dealing with a Promotional Products supplier and was so surprised to get exceptional customer service (it is not the norm!) so I wrote an email stating how impressed I was. In this country if someone does something remotely good, you notice it!

Not much else going on other than trying to look for a new place to live. Saturday we viewed 2 places, the second was quite nice, but it was a pigsty! There was dust inside from the recent dust storms, dishes everywhere, we couldn’t go into the bedroom because someone was sleeping. Do they not even think if there’s an inspection they had better be ready?

Although it was an ok place, seeing it like that turned us off a bit. Even with professional cleaners coming, it makes it hard to imagine living there…Oh well we have a month or so to look and find somewhere. Not desperate yet!

On Saturday we ventured out into Brisbane city and it hit home how many Weirdos there are in Australia! Whilst we always knew this was the case, Saturday was like walking down Freak Street!

Of particular note, was a guy walking with Clogs. The first time we’ve ever seen them. They were just like Crocs really, but wooden!

Then we saw a guy walking around in pink sandals…with brown striped socks!

Coming home we saw a guy driving a small hatchback, with a single bed base and mattress on his roof! And one strap securing, (I use that term loosely!) it.

If you want to see the bizarre and the weird, go to Queen St mall in Brisbane, Centrepoint in Sydney or Bourke St mall in Melbourne and this will be the norm not the exception!

On Tuesday night we went to a fairly new Desert place, named Freestyle, that has opened up about 5 minutes walk away from us in West End, Brisbane. We went with Mon and Leslie, who raved how great it was.

We used to love Strawberry Fare in Wellington, which had great deserts with a touch of elegance. We always had plenty of choice there, and everything on the menu was nice. Their Chocolate madness and Devil’s dreamcake are to die for! They rate a 10/10 with us!

When we are in South Africa, you cannot single out any one place. However Milky Lane franchises are everywhere and they do the best Milkshakes. Their Milo milkshake is exquisite with bit of crunch Milo! Yummy! And whilst their deserts are simple, their waffles with ice-cream are awesome. It’s no wonder I picked up 12 kilos the last time we were in South Africa! Of special mention were Nanage farm where we had the biggest Koeksisters, or the Milkshakes at Friesland!

So skeptically, Me and Rheanna decided we would try Freestyle, because we haven’t had any great deserts in Australia.

I had the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownie, which was quite nice, but had a slightly sourish yellow sauce. Not sure that went with a sweet desert.

Freestyle Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownie

 Rheanna had the Macadamia white chocolate slice

Freestyle Macadamia white chocolate slice

Whilst Mon had the Vanilla White Chocolate Crème Brulee and Leslie had the Bread and Butter Pudding.

Freestyle Vanilla White Chocolate Crème Brulee

Freestyle Traditional Bread and Butter Pudding

Overall it was quite nice, very rich, just the way I like it. But I would still only rate it 7-8/10 whereas Strawberry Fare, Milky Lane, and most places in South Africa get a 10/10. Still not bad for Australia!

This weekend was the Gold Coast Marathon.

Although I wasn’t running in the Marathon, we transferred my entry to Rheanna to run the half-marathon. We travelled down on Saturday before lunch, and were struck by a little bit of traffic around Broadbeach. We had lunch, and then wandered over to the Gold Coast convention centre for the Marathon expo.

Sanjay on the Gold Coast

Gold Coast convention centre

The expo was ok. When we entered it was quite a big room, and it looked quite impressive. Upon moving around however we discovered that the exhibitors occupied less than half the room, and many of them had things that were repeated at another exhibitor.

We bought some Injinji products, 2 spi belts and I got a pair of their socks that cover each toe individually. People rave about them, but i’m not so sure. The guy explaining the product to us was a moron, stating that the Australian ultramarathon runners use them and run 250km a day! I’d suggest he gets his facts right next time! Anyway thought I’d try a pair. But the queues to get served were quite long.

The expo made me realise how much I miss running, and gave me new inspiration. It was badly organised but good by Australian standards! (If you get what I mean)

After that we made our way to our accomodation. We were staying at Royal Pines resort in Ashmore. Boy was it classy. We drove up towards the entrance and the bellboy motioned for us to park at the entrance. He asked for our bags and we weren’t quite sure what we were supposed to do. He asked if we wanted valet parking…but I can park my own car and I didn’t want to pay a fortune to move it a few metres to the carpark!

It was a beautiful resort. It has 3 golf courses, tennis courts, massive gardens, a health spa…you name it. Even the lifts had a seat in it! Never seen that before.

Me in the elevator

The room was quite nice except it had 2 double beds. Weird! We were 15 floors up, and the views out over the golf course were awesome. It would have been nice to stay there a bit longer and enjoy the resort.

Our room Royal Pines resort

View from our room at Royal Pines resort

We went out to dinner at Cav’s steakhouse at Labrador and had an interesting experience. Rheanna had chicken pasta, and I had a steak. You choose your cut of meat, and I chose a piece of rump. When it came out, it was damn tough to eat! I was spitting out half the meat because I couldn’t chew through it. The guy came around and asked how our meal was, so I said it wasn’t great. (I’m not going to lie anymore. Service in this country is rubbish and they should know about it!)

He was a bit surprised and went away and came back. He said they’d replace it as he wanted to ensure I enjoyed my meal, and that the restaurant didn’t want me to be unhappy. They replaced my entire meal, including the potato and salad. The potato was even worse…I wanted my first potato back!

The duty manager asked me if this steak was any better. I couldn’t cut it! Man the pressure as he stood over me…he said he’d come back as I couldn’t cut the steak. I think we were both nervous. It was better than the first steak, but I had to cut it into small pieces. And we still wouldn’t ever go back there! I still cook a better steak than any restuarant I’ve been to here in Australia.

After remembering we forgot our toothbrushes, we made a quick stop at a Supermarket, before retiring for the night at 8pm. I got up at 11pm, to watch the 3rd rugby test between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions. That was a waste of time as South Africa were disgraceful, and I was tired when we woke at 4am. Rheanna was not too happy that she couldn’t get a full night’s sleep either.

We made our way to the start line just after 5am, and boy was it cold. We got there about 5.30am and the half-marathon started at 6.20am. It was quite chaotic, and organised quite stupidly…but hey what do you expect in this place?

Rheanna at start of Gold Coast half-marathon

It was quite depressing seeing everyone else run. The Marathon started at 7.30am, quite late for a Marathon.

Rheanna had quite a good run, starting out 6:35 pace for the first 5km. She stopped for the toilet around this time and wasted over 5 minutes. She got progressively slower over the second half of the race but came in with a time of 2:22:39 which was a great effort for her first half-marathon!

Rheanna running last km Gold Coast half-marathon

Rheanna at finish line of Gold Coast half-marathon

Rheanna after Gold Coast half-marathon

After leaving the race precinct, which took awhile because nobody can organise anything in an organised and logical manner in this place, we went back to the Royal Pines resort, had a shower and checked out.  

It took us just over an hour to get home, and by that stage it was time to have a rest…well for some anyway!