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Archive - October 2000 - February 2001
Sunday 1st October - Last day of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Went to the domain at about 2pm with John, Jared and Josh, Tracie, Mikaila, Ben and Luca and sunbathed until the Closing Ceremony started. Vanessa Amorosi, Kylie, and Savage Garden all performed at the Closing Ceremony. Kylie was great. Afterwards, there was the hugest fireworks display over the city and harbour that I have ever seen. There was a Savage Garden concert afterwards in the domain, but we were all too tired to stay. Matt and Laura stayed over.
Monday 2nd October - Public holiday in NSW (Labour Day). Had the day off, so just spent the day wandering around with Matt and Laura.
Thursday 5th October - Took a break from my regular work for Project 98 training.
Friday 6th October - Project 98 training continued until the end of today. Met up at Josh and Jared's after work to watch Scream 3. I slept through the movie (snoring).
Saturday 7th October - Went out to Stonewall with John and Tracie, then a combination of events made me get no sleep until the sun was up on Sunday.
Sunday 8th October - Went to Ben and Luca's. Lack of sleep lately left me a little run down, so I got a sore throat with all the associated ickyness that you have to eventually cough up.
Tuesday 10th October - Simon's surprise arrival back in Sydney. Saw a job advertisement for an amazing position with quite a salary jump, so went to an interview. LOVE working at Rabobank, so it was a tough decision even going to the interview.
Wednesday 11th October - Was invited back for a second interview! Looks promising.
Friday 13th October - Went to Uno Uno for dinner with Simon, John and Donald, then went to see Scary Movie with Simon, John and Tracie. But when we got there, it wasn't playing, so we went and saw Tap Dogs instead. Not bad. After the movie, we went out for coffee.
Saturday 14th October - Went out to Bono with Simon.
Monday 16th October - Got my own office at work. Cool! Was asked to go back for a THIRD interview.
Wednesday 18th October - Day off work - sick. Went with Josh to the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony. Amazing! The stadium was totally sold out, and we had seats in the 28th row (just behind the New Zealand contingent, not too far away from the stage. Saw Kylie (amazed at how tiny she is) live for the first time (sung Waltzing Matilda, Celebration, and Spinning Around). Saw Vanessa Amorosi, Taxiride, and Christine Anu singing. Also glimpsed John Howard (Prime Minister of Australia) and Sir William Deane (Governor General).
Thursday 19th October - Day off work - sick (coughing and side effects from nasty and evil - but effective - "expectorant" medication.
Friday 20th October - Met Jared for lunch, and went to Josh and Jared's for dinner. Didn't get back home until about 2am. Donald is going to be our new neighbour - got the nice and sunny 2-bedroom apartment that was going in the same building as us.
Saturday 21st October - Had a nice quiet weekend.
Monday 23rd October - Ben and Luca came around for dinner.
Friday 27th October - Went out to La Toque - a really nice French restaurant, where Simon found a bottle of wine from a winery he visited when in France.
Saturday 28th October - Met up with Tracie and the others and went to the beach in a celebration of her birthday (Friday).
Sunday 29th October - Went to Ben and Luca's for lunch.
Monday 30th October - Got the job offer in the mail today, so I resigned from my current position. It'll be a bit of a shame, because Rabobank is a great place to work. However, the new position will be more challenging, and the 37.4% raise won't be a bad thing either.
Friday 3rd November - After drinks at work, went to Bono restaurant with Simon and Karen from work, where the merriment continued.
Saturday 4th November - Andy and Clint popped over for coffee, then Tracie did. Then, met up with John and the others and went to the Bronte Beach in a celebration of his birthday (Thursday).
Sunday 5th November - Did nothing all day.
Monday 6th November - Simon's first day back at work. To celebrate, I bought Asheron's Call (a computer game) for him.
Wednesday 8th November - Dinner with Donald.
Friday 10th November - Day in lieu owed at work, so I had the day off today.
Saturday 11th November - Helped Cody move apartments.
Friday 17th November - Dîner Beaujolais (celebration of the release of this year's Beaujolais wine) at La Toque Restaurant.
Sunday 19th November - I've just come back from seeing the Backstreet Boys on their "round the world in 100 hours promotion". Woohoo! 10,000 screaming little girls (most of them fat) all pushing trying to get forward. It was a bit of a nightmare - I won't be going to any of their concerts!!! One of them passed out 10 minutes before they even arrived. She needed a good slapping. And I thought Pitt St Mall was crowded during the Olympics!
Friday 24th November - Last day working for Rabobank. Quite sad to actually leave, but lots of people turned up to say goodbye. Went out for drinkies...
Saturday 25th November - Had a bit of a headache today (THERE'S a surprise!) Kevin (my oldest brother) was in Sydney, so he came over to see the apartment. I wasn't that much of a host, because I was feeling SO seedy!
Tuesday 28th November - Tuned in, like 9 million others, to watch a Madonna concert webcast. Awesome! So glad I'm not working this week!
Friday 1st December - After one full year of stuffing around, and a week's worth of study at home, I FINALLY got around to sitting my next Microsoft exam (Internetworking with TCP/IP). I passed with 966 points out of 1000. Not too shabby! Time's running out though, so my next one will be Internet Information Server 4.0 (need to sit it before the end of the year). Panic! The exam finished too late for me to go to the planned movie with John et al, so Simon and I went to Donald's for a barbecue and stayed the night in the spare room of this lovely new apartment in Chatswood.
Saturday 2nd December - Had brunch with Donald and Simon at Westfield.
Sunday 3rd December - Was so impressed with Donald's barbeque that we went and bought a little electric barbeque for ourselves. Tried it out - awesome. Perfect for the balcony. Also bought a 64MB memory stick for the camera.
Monday 4th December - First day at my new job (working for News Limited (MATP - Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications) as a Desktop Applications Analyst.
Wednesday 6th December - News Ltd Christmas party at Fox Studios. Lots and lots of drunk people. Was a great, fun atmosphere - to all but those who weren't drunk. I had fun (hehe).
Thursday 7th December - Rabobank Christmas party. It was nice of them to invite me, even though I don't work there. It was really nice seeing everyone again. Had three drinks and stayed sober the whole night.
Friday 8th December - Got tickets for the Kylie concert in April. There was so much demand that the Ticketek website crashed. Then, after work, we had the News Limited MATP IT&T Christmas party (Harbour cruise). Was great fun. Went up the harbour to near Lane Cove and had dinner and drinkies. Took over 200 photos (now that I can with the extra memory). Then, back to the city, giving us a really nice view!
Saturday 9th December - Went to see Chicken Run (movie). Worth a look. Bought an extra battery for the camera for when we go to the South Island in NZ.. should be a lot to photograph there.
Sunday 10th December - Computer crashing all the time again. So frustrating! But I should be studying so this could be a blessing in disguise.
Saturday 16th December - Took a break from studying to go to a BBQ.
Sunday 17th December - Study.
Monday 18th December - Study.
Tuesday 19th December - Study.
Wednesday 20th December - Sat my Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 exam. After two years of study, I'm finally an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer). WOOHOO! Rang Charlotte (my technological mentor) to thank her personally for encouraging me to get certified. David arrived from Paris to stay with us until Saturday. Went out to Bono restaurant.
Thursday 21st December - Went to Summit restaurant for dinner.
Friday 22nd December - Dinner with David, Donald and Simon at the Lowenbrau. Today, the temperature reached 39 C! It was so hot, when you breathed in, it was warmer air than your body. Felt strange.
Saturday 23rd December - Went to brunch just before seeing David off.
Monday 25th December - Merry Christmas everyone!!! Went to Donald and Mark's for a xmas roast. Had lots and lots of champagne and wine.
Tuesday 26th December - Went to the beach with Cody, then Donald and Mark came around for dinner.
Thursday 28th December - Last day at work until January 15th!
Friday 29th December - Left Sydney bound for Auckland. Back to New Zealand to spend some time with Mum and Dad and see the country. I grew up in New Zealand, but have never been to the South Island! Stayed at Brad and Aaron's - went to Surrender Dorothy's for a drink, and then to Provence with David, Brad and Aaron for dinner.
Saturday 30th December - Had breakfast with Robb, Brad, and Aaron, then went up north to have lunch with Mum and Dad (with Brad and Aaron).
Sunday 31st December 2000 - Spent some time with Charlotte and Liz, and then with Darren. Simon joined me in Auckland, along with Frank and Joerg (all the way from Cologne, Germany). They were tired, so we went the BBQ at Brad and Aaron's without them, then joined the (by that time) refreshed visitors to see in the New Year.
Monday 1st January 2001 - Happy New Year! Went out for breakfast in St Heliers, then visited some Auckland landmarks: One Tree Hill (which currently is without a tree thanks to a bastard Maori activist with a chainsaw, who - incidentally - does not look remotely Maori or even have a Maori name); Mt Eden, Piha Beach and Karekare Beach.
Tuesday 2nd January - Went up north to see Simon's parents' place at Woolley's Bay, then went to my parents' place at Omaha Beach. Had dinner in Warkworth.
Wednesday 3rd January - Went with Mum, Dad, Simon, Frank and Joerg, to Kawau Island in the boat. A great time was had by all. Left Omaha bound for Auckland.
Thursday 4th January - Drove almost the entire distance of the North Island to Wellington, where we stayed overnight (Quality Hotel). On the way we had coffee in Hamilton, visited the thermal area in Rotorua, and near Lake Taupo at a place called Prawn Park for some yummy fresh prawns (farmed on-site).
Friday 5th January - Got on the Lynx ferry (with the car) from Wellington to Picton, then drove to Nelson where we stayed at the Bayview Bed and Breakfast. The night, we visited Seifried's winery and had an amazing meal with even more amazing wine (worth a visit)! Try their Barrique Fermented Chardonnay!!!
Saturday 6th January - Drove from Nelson to Hokitika, stopping to see the Buller River and the Pancake Rocks on the way. That night, we stayed in a backpackers, but we (four) had our own separate room with a TV, cooking facilities, fridge, and bathroom etc, so it wasn't really like a backpackers. Made our own dinner instead of going out.
Sunday 7th January - Drove from Hokitika to Wanaka, where we stayed in the Wunderview Motel which was pretty much next to the lake. On the way, we stopped to see the Franz Josef Glacier. We had dinner at a so-so Mexican restaurant.
Monday 8th January - Drove from Wanaka to Queenstown, where we stayed at the Rydges Hotel with an amazing view of Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains. Went out for dinner at a nice restaurant - can't remember the name though.
Tuesday 9th January - Went up to the Skyline Restaurant for breakfast in a gondola. Amazing views from the top. Drove across to Christchurch, where we stayed at the Copthorne Christchurch Central. Went to a restaurant called Just Outside the Square. The food was good, but the service was shocking. "I'm not so good with wine", was the comment as the waitress poured our champagne over the table. "I poured red wine over a customer tonight, and she still gave me a $10 tip". Here's a tip: get another career.
Wednesday 10th January - Drove from Christchurch through the blackened hills (recent forest fires), to Blenheim. Went to Bacchus restaurant on Arawa Street - worthwhile! That night, we stayed in a motel by the site of the State Highway 1, but it wasn't that loud.
Thursday 11th January - Drove from Blenheim up to Picton, and stayed at the Bay Vista Motel on the water's edge at Waikawa Bay (5 minutes from Picton). We were the first guests ever in our particular brand new unit, and apart from the construction noise, it was rather pleasant with a very relaxing view. I'd recommend staying there because they will have finished building now.
Friday 12th January - Went from Picton to Wellington on the 11am ferry, then drove all the way back to Auckland (arriving at about midnight). Stopped off at Taupo for dinner on the way. Normally we would not have driven so far so late, but I was booked to fly out to Sydney the next day.
Saturday 13th January - Flew back to Sydney. Simon, Frank and Joerg stayed in Auckland for a few more days.
Monday 15th January - Back at work.
Tuesday 16th January - Simon, Frank and Joerg arrived in Sydney.
Wednesday 17th January - Went up Sydney Tower for dinner with Donald, Frank, Joerg, and Simon.
Friday 19th January - Had dinner with Donald, Frank, Joerg, and Simon at BBono.
Saturday 20th January - Went to Bondi to lay in the sun, then went with Donald, Frank, Joerg, and Simon to the Lowenbrau (German restaurant), then we went to see some Aboriginal culture thing on the steps of the Opera House, but at the end, they had good fireworks, so it was worth it.
Sunday 21st January - Frank and Joerg left for Germany.
Thursday 25th January - Supposed to reach 40 C again today, but didn't. Went out for drinks with a couple of guys from work - had some really nice Shiraz.
Friday 26th January - Long weekend starts because today is Australia Day! Went on a harbour cruise for dinner and saw the Australia Day fireworks. All in all, a nice evening.
Saturday 27th January - Went to Manly Beach with Donald for lunch. Powerful thunderstorm in the evening.
Saturday 3rd February - Went to BBono for dinner with Donald and Mark.
Sunday 4th February - Went to Donald and Mark's for a roast, cooked on the barbeque - yummo!
Tuesday 6th February - Waitangi Day in New Zealand. First Waitangi Day that I've ever worked. Yay - not.
Monday 12th February - Went to a Sound of Music sing along. Was interesting, to say the least.
Thursday 15th February - Attended a Train the Trainer course for two days (today and Friday). Very worthwhile.
Friday 16th February - Went to Uno Uno for dinner, and then to went see Hannibal with Simon, Andy and Clint. Pretty disturbing stuff. I've never seen Silence of the Lambs. My advise would be to see that movie before attempting Hannibal. There's too much prior knowledge assumed in the sequel for those who haven't seen Silence of the Lambs to understand fully what's going on.
Friday 23rd February - Went to Donald and Mark's for a roast dinner. Yum. Watched the Grammy Awards, too.
Saturday 24th February - Had lunch with Melissa and Michelle, then did a bit of shopping and ended up at Andy and Clint's place. Went to dinner with Andy, Clint, Ben and Simon at BBono. Came back and watched The Cell on DVD. Fell asleep which watching the movie. I STILL haven't seen it.
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