Amidst the chaos and manic-ness that consumes me, it proved to be a good opportunity to take some time to reflect on what has been a rather amazing journey....
March 26, 2010 marked the 6th anniversary of my move from Melb to Akl. I know I already sound like a broken record but for those who don't know, this was a move that I never wanted to happen and was by no means an easy one. However, 6 years on and my preconceptions have been proven oh so very wrong on many levels. So where DO I start???
Let's go with work and let me just say, " I LOVE MY JOB ". I couldn't have asked for a better job with better perks and a better boss. It is everything I could have asked for and more. two fifteen is now 16 months old. We opened up in Jan '09 and survived our first year, the critical year of any new restaurant. We've gained a good amount of regulars and things are looking up for us as we continue into our second year.
Myself, along with my boss and another boy are the ones chained to the stove 5 days a week and too many hours in a day. Out the front we have two full time staff and bout 3-4 part timers. Oh and let me not forget our AMAZING kitchen hand!!! It has taken many bum jobs and crappy employers over the years to have landed this God-sent job (and I'm not exaggerating!!).
I basically get to treat the place as if it were my own; I determine how many hours I work. Should I have errands to run or appts to get to during the work day, I'm allowed to shoot off for as long as I need to. We all get a long like a house on fire; no work day is a dull one, it's like a comedy fest on a daily basis (it actually amazes us that we manage to get any work done with the amount of crap we talk!!!). We are more like family than work mates and it's more like home than work. It's the first job that I have thoroughly enjoyed each day and not felt like I needed to look for a new job 3 months into it....what a blessing to not hate your job but love every aspect of it. May it long continue.
With the few remaining hours I have left of the week while I'm not at work I can be found either at the dance studio, pilates/physio studio, out on the trails, yoga studio or the pool....and before you say anything, don't worry, it even surprises me just how much I can fit in a day! In my defence, as the saying goes: "Work hard, Play harder"
Running has unfortunately taken a bit of a back seat this year due to a related injury. I have missed it very much and my feet are getting very itching at the prospect of an upcoming series which kicks off on May 16 and runs through winter. Fingers (and toes) are very much crossed in hopes that I'll be ready to dawn the running shoes again by then.
The fall back of not being able to run has meant that I started swimming. I've been swimming 2-3 times a week since Feb and much to my surprise, it's going better than I ever thought it would. The fitness I had gained from running made the first swim a blast and consequently I've kept at it. It has most certainly helped suppress some of the running-hunger and kept the fitness up. It does look like I'll continue with the swimming even when I'm back running as part of some cross training but prob not as often as I currently am.
Something else that doesn't take up as much of my time as it used to is yoga. I do try to make sure that I take a class once a week but since I'd decided to invest more time in pilates/running/swimming, it's proven a little difficult to give more time to yoga. On top of that the travel involved in getting to the studio does require quite a bit of planning; each class I decide to attend takes up a total of 3.5hours of my day. That may not seem like a lot most ppl's days but seeing as I don't particularly have much spare time lying around, that is a significant portion of my day and week. Hence the decision to only take one class each week.
We've had 1 term back at dance this year already and it went really well. I'm looking forward to starting term 2...this year is looking great with competitions, auditions, exams and workshops lined up already!! I'm in absolute bliss with so much to work towards. Current timeline is exams in June and workshops, auditions and competition in July. It'll be a lot of hard work and prob a lot of nerves too but there is nothing I thrive better on than adrenalin. So, BRING IT ON...
Being in and out of physios/osteos has very much been apart of my life for a long long time. It's part and parcel of being a (ex)gymnast. A year ago, I was referred by a friend to a bio mechanical-based physio practise, bioSPORT, and it's been the best recommendation EVER! Part of my ongoing treatment/maintenance is pilates sessions twice a week, something that looks so easy but do not be fooled!!! I do enjoy the 'torture' and hard work and in a sick way, I find it good fun...it has been beneficial physically as well as personally. Through this practise I've gained some incredible relationships and this is testament to the ppl who own and work at bioSPORT. They have a great community of clients, which again reflects on the ppl that they are.
Flowing nicely from my last point is the single biggest reason why the last 6 yrs have been so amazing: the incredible ppl I have had the privilege and honour to be around and get to know. It is with the utmost sincerity that I say thank YOU to everyone who has been along for the ride no matter how small a part YOU think YOU may have played. YOU have helped shaped me into who I am today. I couldn't have asked for a better last 6 yrs and it is all thanks to YOU......
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
Milano & Verona in detail....
Thought I'd go into a little more detail of the trip so far...
Milan: So flights etc getting to Milan were all pretty good. Everything went smoothly and all in all, can't complain. We even arrived into Milan a whole hour earlier than scheduled. Once we got through customs and picked up our baggage, we got tickets for the shuttle to get us into town. Til then, everything was going rather smoothly....and then it kinda went to custard just a tad. There were a few options to get to the hotel; either get the local underground or taxi or walk. I didn't know how expensive the taxi would cost so thought it best to catch the 'train'. What I didn't realise was that there was a difference between the underground system and the main railway system. So I paid E219 for what was suppose to be 2 stops down the round in the underground. Just my luck that there was a city called Loreto as well as a Loreto square (which is where we were headed!!!!!). So after actually finding out what was going on and waiting in a huge line for a refund, we caught a taxi (which ended up being only E8) and got to the hotel. After the day's events, we fell asleep only the get up for dinner. Original plan was to go to a family restaurant owned by Gaetano's parents. Gaetano owns O'Sarracino back in Akl. Unfortunately, there were closed til the next day. So we ended up having dinner by the hotel, our worse meal to date....off seafood and soggy pizza.
The next day we were off to Verona. Everything seemed to be gooing to plan until we were about to baord the train and I reliased that I had lost 1 of the 4 tickets!!!! So it was a mad dash to get one more ticket and onto the train we got. 2 hours later and we arrived in Verona. I was still very jet lagged and ended up sleeping for the next 15hrs!
Verona: We were here for 2 nites. Once we sorted ourselves out and had breakky, we hit the streets to visit the sites in Verona. We caught the bus into town with the 'Verona card' (gives you complimentary access to most of the main sites and use of busses). First site we visited was the Arena. That was a pretty spectacular site!!!! One way to feel ridiculously small...Me explaining it just won't do it justice so you'll have to wait for photos. Following the Arena we headed to the Castelvecchio. Along the way we walked through some amazing side streets and passed some pasticcerias (pastry shops). I was totally loving the quaint European atmosphere. So this castle we next visited featured a lot of art work and sculptures based on Christianity history of a certain era (I'm useless at that sorta stuff so you won't get details from me). We even got to head up to the towers of the castle and walk along the perimeter giving you a great view of the city. The rest of the morning we navigated the various sites along the way, a market square, through some more side streets....next main attraction was Juliet's house. Here we took the mandatory tourist photo with the statue of Juliet....Within the house was various artists' interpretation of the different scenes. For lunch we were determined not to have lunch at the main square where prices were very obviously tourist prices. We wondered off the beaten track and stumbled across this family owned restaurant and had a rather good lunch. Favourites were dad's order of Bacala(salted cod) with polenta and my polenta with gorgonzola and sopressa (local cured meat, similar to salami). After lunch we headed to the Roman Theatre. Another amazing site....venturing through the ruins and the rooms with rows and rows of artifacts displayed. It was getting pretty late in the evening so we decided to head back to the hotel. We were all pretty knackered that we fell asleep and didn't even get up for dinner that nite!!!
Next stop: Venezia....
Milan: So flights etc getting to Milan were all pretty good. Everything went smoothly and all in all, can't complain. We even arrived into Milan a whole hour earlier than scheduled. Once we got through customs and picked up our baggage, we got tickets for the shuttle to get us into town. Til then, everything was going rather smoothly....and then it kinda went to custard just a tad. There were a few options to get to the hotel; either get the local underground or taxi or walk. I didn't know how expensive the taxi would cost so thought it best to catch the 'train'. What I didn't realise was that there was a difference between the underground system and the main railway system. So I paid E219 for what was suppose to be 2 stops down the round in the underground. Just my luck that there was a city called Loreto as well as a Loreto square (which is where we were headed!!!!!). So after actually finding out what was going on and waiting in a huge line for a refund, we caught a taxi (which ended up being only E8) and got to the hotel. After the day's events, we fell asleep only the get up for dinner. Original plan was to go to a family restaurant owned by Gaetano's parents. Gaetano owns O'Sarracino back in Akl. Unfortunately, there were closed til the next day. So we ended up having dinner by the hotel, our worse meal to date....off seafood and soggy pizza.
The next day we were off to Verona. Everything seemed to be gooing to plan until we were about to baord the train and I reliased that I had lost 1 of the 4 tickets!!!! So it was a mad dash to get one more ticket and onto the train we got. 2 hours later and we arrived in Verona. I was still very jet lagged and ended up sleeping for the next 15hrs!
Verona: We were here for 2 nites. Once we sorted ourselves out and had breakky, we hit the streets to visit the sites in Verona. We caught the bus into town with the 'Verona card' (gives you complimentary access to most of the main sites and use of busses). First site we visited was the Arena. That was a pretty spectacular site!!!! One way to feel ridiculously small...Me explaining it just won't do it justice so you'll have to wait for photos. Following the Arena we headed to the Castelvecchio. Along the way we walked through some amazing side streets and passed some pasticcerias (pastry shops). I was totally loving the quaint European atmosphere. So this castle we next visited featured a lot of art work and sculptures based on Christianity history of a certain era (I'm useless at that sorta stuff so you won't get details from me). We even got to head up to the towers of the castle and walk along the perimeter giving you a great view of the city. The rest of the morning we navigated the various sites along the way, a market square, through some more side streets....next main attraction was Juliet's house. Here we took the mandatory tourist photo with the statue of Juliet....Within the house was various artists' interpretation of the different scenes. For lunch we were determined not to have lunch at the main square where prices were very obviously tourist prices. We wondered off the beaten track and stumbled across this family owned restaurant and had a rather good lunch. Favourites were dad's order of Bacala(salted cod) with polenta and my polenta with gorgonzola and sopressa (local cured meat, similar to salami). After lunch we headed to the Roman Theatre. Another amazing site....venturing through the ruins and the rooms with rows and rows of artifacts displayed. It was getting pretty late in the evening so we decided to head back to the hotel. We were all pretty knackered that we fell asleep and didn't even get up for dinner that nite!!!
Next stop: Venezia....
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