my 30th

so now I'm 30! so far seems much the same as 29 . . .

Ange did a great job of decorating my desk this morning! It looked fantastic :)





and Michelle bought a fantastic cake - I am sure we were close to setting off the smoke alarm with all those candles!!



Reid made a beautiful snack platter - mmmm goats cheese!



and the florist sent another bunch of flowers - on the right day this time!

From 2008 Birthday

My desk!!

Check out how decorated my desk is!!
Not over the top at all :-)

iPhone

wow cool I can update my blog from my iPhone!!

Neat!!

Can't seem to add pictures and of course since I can't select I can't add a link to existing text, but still cool :-)

kung fu panda

while recovering on Sunday after Rox's birthday we watched Kung Fu Panda!

It was shocking!! Out of all the DreamWorks animations this must be the worst - although all their animated movies are pretty bad (eg: shark tail and over the hedge). There wasn't even an attempt to make the plot orignial - I think we could have turned the sound off and we would still have been able to work out what was going on! along with the plot the dialogue was sooo predictable!

AND - Dustin Hoffman's voice did not suit that little character he played!

it certainly did not deserve the 89% rating from Rotten Tomatoes!

anniversary

27 October was our 1 year engagement anniversary! For the first time ever Reid sent me flowers :)





I didn't do a very good job of wrapping the water jug to look like a vase!

birthday

Mum and Dad sent me these great flowers for my birthday - aren't they pretty

Rox Birthday

It was Rox's 30th party on Sat night - theme was Hollywood glamour



it was at bar called Cabinet, just off Swanston street - it was a really cool little place, although the new balcony freaked me out a bit - reminded me of that Cave Creek tragedy

fun night!

happy birthday to me!

well, tomorrow is my 30th birthday - farewell 20' it's been fun :)

having always thought it was no big deal to turn 30, after all isn't the real milestone at 40?
this morning I was surprised to find myself contemplating life (and death) and making pledges to make changes to my life (including writing my blog more often, improving my posture, and drinking less on Friday nights in an attempt to remember the whole night!!).

anyways! 30's here I come :)

and here are some goals for the next 5 years

• buy a car (this is at the top of the list on purpose)
• buy a house
• holiday somewhere cool - like South America or China
• get married (maybe) I'll have to think of a cool theme for a wedding first
  
• get some training on how to be a business analyst
• learn about service delivery - maybe do the ITIL course
• project manage a decent size project
• get really good at yoga
• have a much better posture

I think that'll do for now! lets DO IT!

aucklanders against scientology

we were walking up Queen Street, central Auckland, and came across a group all dressed up in costumes, including masks.

They were protesting against the church of scientology members who were handing out DVDs on the street!

good on them for getting out there and doing something about the crazies!!

I think they were part of Operation Clambake

Here's a copy of the pamphlet they were handing out:

Auckland

had a great time in Auckland, it was so quiet and easy going and made for a very relaxing break :)
I was pretty surprised at how quiet it was, I was expecting big city hustle and bustle, lots of people all racing around with plenty to do! Instead there was no one around - the main street of the CBD was practically empty until about 3pm on Saturday afternoon. We ate brunch at the Viaduct Basin where there were several restaurants and cafe's with only a few customers each.

I was also really surprised at how warm it was - it was definitely warmer than in Melbourne, we didn't need to wear a coat, even at night time. I think the difference between Auckland and Melbourne is the overnight low - in Auckland it didn't get nearly as cold as Melbourne so first thing in the morning it wasn't so cold and it only got warmer during the day!

A couple of other things we noticed:

• everyone pays by EFTPOS for everything! even a $3 coffee or a round of drinks at the bar!
  
• the dairy or corner store is called a superette
• (Reid thought) everywhere smelt like pee
• the harbour bridge was smaller than expected
• giving way to the right is really annoying! It means that there are several phases of lights at every intersection - turning cars, then straight ahead cars, then turning cars, then straight ahead cars on the second road, and somewhere in there pedestrians get to cross. I'm sure if we had been there longer we would have worked out the pattern, but I felt like we spent a LOT of time waiting at the lights!
• Cars don't give way to pedestrians. In Australia if a car is turning into a side street, approaching an intersection, or pulling out of a driveway/car park they give way to pedestrians - in New Zealand if you are on foot WATCH OUT!

Here are some pics


Warning at Auckland Wharf


Beer and Wine at the Occidental Bar Vulcan Lane


Deb @ the Domain


Winter Garden @ the Domain


Reid outside a Marae at the Auckland Museum


Auckland Museum


Reid & Deb at Orbit Restaurant - Sky Tower
The Orbit restaurant rotates at the top of the Auckland Sky tower. We had a really clear night so had a great view!!


Sky Tower Auckland


View from Sky Tower Auckland


View down from Sky Tower lift


Reid & sting ray at Kelly Tarltons
I was a bit disappointed with Kelly Tarltons - the penguins didn't have much room for swimming or wandering about!


Penguins at Kelly Tarltons


More penguins at Kelly Tarltons


Star fist at Kelly Tarltons


star fish at Kelly Tarltons


Funny fish at Kelly Tarltons


Pub in Auckland

rugby

Reid and I popped over to Auckland for the recent All Blacks v England rugby game!

The trip was great - a nice long 4 day weekend, a great game of rugby, nice warm weather (for winter).

There was a free bus from the CBD to Eden Park. Then after the game there were heaps of free buses ready and waiting to take us back to the CBD! Very well organised!

Here are some pics from the game!


Reid @ Eden Park


Pre game entertainment


Me with a hotdog!!!


Kick off


Packed terraces!


A scrum (random pic)

perfume pagoda

Reid and I both woke up with colds so pumped ourselves up with cold and flu tablets, and soldiered on!

We headed out by minibus for a tour to the perfume pagoda. On the way we came across our first (and thankfully only) traffic fatality. A scooter had collided head on with a tourist minibus – the scooter driver had no chance! We then passed the grieving family gathered around the body that was covered in a blanket and laid out on the road. After seeing the way the Vietnamese drive I am so grateful this was the only accident we saw, it was all pretty sad!

The pagoda is a one-hour boat ride from where the minibus dropped us off. The boats are tiny and all rowed by women – they must be so strong, I would totally back them in a dark alley confrontation!







The pagoda itself is a big cave – so not quite what I was expecting. It was raining and the track from the river to the pagoda was too treacherous to walk up so we took the cable car. Since the walk is quite demanding perhaps the exhilaration of reaching your destination makes the pagoda seem more exciting?? I missed the sense of wonder!








We had lunch at the pagoda before heading back on the boats. After lunch I used the toilet out the back of the restaurant only to find a cage full of kittens. . . . .I wonder what we really had for lunch – gulp!



There was a second pagoda near the perfume pagoda – here are some pics from there: