Byron Bay Triathlon

Byron Bay, Australia (May 2007)- On Saturday, May 12th 2007, we courageous athletes competed in the Byron Bay Triathlon as a team. Nick (a friend doing a study abroad from UMich) did the 1.5km swim in the cold, surging Pacific Ocean, Andreas did the 40km undulating and windy bike ride, and Rach did the excruitiating 10km run with a cramp the intensity of a large California earthquake. It was great fun. We had the pleasure of being lapped multiple times by the elite triathletes, eating both their dust and their sweat. But, more importantly, we made a few upsets in the Team category. Nick coming in 1 second after Andreas' PhD advisor, Pete Clarkson (Pete: "You're not supposed to be here yet"), Andreas showing Pete the back lights on his bike (Pete: "When did you get in"; A:"3 minutes ago"- laying on the grass stretching; Pete: "Bullshit!!!"); and Rach with enough time to shake hands with the crowd (the little boys loved me!), enjoy a few drinks of water at a walking pace, and still going under one hour. We kicked some major butt. I (Rach) especially enjoyed watching people's bums bounce up and down on the run (sarcasm)! And to all of you older men out there who think you can still (or ever!) pull off wearing budgie smugglers (banana hammocks, sluggos, dick togs, lollybags, or the more common- speedos)... please don't do it while competing in a triathlon, or any other sport for that matter!!! YUCK! This is something I believe I could have lived without seeing. It's just all the bouncing... Ach.

Blues and Roots Festival

Byron Bay, Australia (Apr 2007)- We jammin', jammin' at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay. This is Australia's answer to Woodstock, a 5-day celebration of 'rooting' the Blues. Rachel and I went down to New South Wales for a day to soak up the vibe and boost our resume of things accomplished in life- 'yesterday's flower children are today's business leaders'. You say, but a festival needs rain and mud- I say, it never rains on Australia's East Coast, but it sure bucketed down when we were there. Although we did not get a chance to take our clothes off and go mud sliding, we certainly felt the '69 vibe. You say, a festival needs a great line-up of artists- I say, John Butler Trio, John Mayer, Joss Stone, Bonnie Raitt, Fat Freddy's Drop, The Roots, Wolfmother, Ben Harper, Fishbone, etc.- beat that. You say, drugs and alcohol- I say, I haven't heard of any study showing a correlation between second-hand cannabis smoke and getting high, but the shit was everywhere man! You say, what about free love- I say, well let's put it in the words of Jimi Hendrix "You know you are a cute little heartbreaker - Foxy (Rachel) lady".

USA

California and Michigan, USA (Feb 2007) - Ah, the good ole' US of A. It's always so refreshing when we go back to the US, especially California! Seeing family and friends is the most rewarding part of our trips, although shopping comes in at a close second! I did nothing special this trip except hang out with the fam (here we are at Carvel!), however Andreas was awarded a University of Queensland Travel Grant to do some of his PhD work at the University of Michigan. Lovely Ann Arbor, Michigan was, for the most part, -29 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing. That's quite a steep jump considering when we left Brisbane in late January, it was 100 degrees!!! Well, I'm glad I wasn't there to freeze my butt off with him! Now we are back in snuggly warm Brissy. Back to life, back to reality. Peace out.

Sydney mate!

Sydney, Australia (Jan 2007)- Ah refreshing Sydney. Sometimes it's nice to get away from small town Brisbanites and hang out with the big league Sydneysiders. The culture, fast pace, good restaurants, but people are just a little less friendly... except if they are trying to get your husband to work for their university!!! I was actually treated like a queen! Free flights, free five star hotel, free breakfasts and lunches, free museum passes, free internet-- it was a grand experience. On Andreas's day off, we went to Manly Beach (finally!). It was absolutely beautiful and had great ice cream and great shopping.

Other notable activities were: watching Andreas's financial accounting presentation at UTS (he kicked some academic ass!)-- he took the spot of the Wharton School of Business academic that was refused from Australia because he didn't get a visa (that's a bloody nightmare), reading at many a cafe, walking around Darling Harbour and Circular Quay, and trying to apply for Andreas's US permanent residency visa and after 30 minutes of trying to get through tight-assed security, getting told that the US changed their policy last week-- they are no longer accepting applications in Australia (BUGGER).

After that debacle, I can't remember what else we did! But we come to Sydney often, so it's all starting to blur anyway! All in all, it was another successful and entertaining trip. But if we do end up moving there... it will definitely be North Sydney... no way I could live in the city!

The Australian Open

Melbourne Australia (Jan 2007)- We're back from two days of the Australian Open in excruciatingly hot Melbourne! It was an incredible two days... watching "the tennis" (that's what we Aussies call it!) on tv is nothing compared to being there in person. The comraderie, proud countrymen, funky outfits supporting different countries, ... fights breaking out amongst the Croatians and the Serbians?!?! Totally uncalled for... Otherwise, it was such a great atmosphere and we only wish we could have stayed longer.

Some notable matches we saw were:
Andy Roddick vs Joe Tsonga (an absolutely incredible match between two great players)
Ivan Ljubicic vs Mardy Fish (we can't believe Mardy won! Ivan put up a decent fight)
David Nalbandian vs Janko Tipsarevic (this was the longest match I have ever seen- over three hours and finally Tipsarevic retired-- looked like he was about to collapse of heat stroke!)
Nicole Vaidisova vs Jill Craybas (no match for Nicole...)
and a bunch of other great matches. We could have seen a lot of the other seeded players if not for the hot weather. They were all cancelled as it was around 40 degrees C and they were all outside in the sun. By the time the matches were played, we were making way to the airport... oh well.

American Express-- thanks for hosting the open and giving us lots of free paraphernalia! We'll be back next year, that's for sure...

Tasmania - Overland Track Hike

Tasmania, Australia (Dec 2006). Seven days, six nights and 65 km later, Rachel and I defeated The Overland Track in the Tasmanian Cradle Mountain World Heritage Area.

It was an unforgettable physical - you don't know what pain is until you walked with blisters like Rach had - and mental challenge - are we there yet? -, but most of all, an adventure that did not spare with life-long impressions: Hiking through snow on Christmas day, dragging all you need to survive in the wilderness (25 kg each) over mountains, making friends in the various huts along the trail (also with people that snore and smell!), focusing just on life essentials (there is really not that much in life that you need to be happy, and most of it is free), and working together as a team.

After being back in the civilized world we treated ourselves at the Tasmanian Food and Wine Festival in Hobart, a.k.a. "The Taste" (they had real German sausages!), visited the former penal colony of Port Arthur and relaxed at Wine Glass Bay. All in all good times, we'll be back Tassie.