BluesBro's World Downunder

Why can't people learn how to get on and off the freeway? Last night it took me 1/2 an hour to get on because people were going on at all angles and just caused gridlock. As I was inching forward at 5 metres per minute I got a call saying the powers out, get fast food. And traffic lights not working at Tristram Ave offramp, take the next one.

Once I got on the motorway (that's what we call it downunder) traffic was almost normal, but the weather was lousy. Blowing a gale. When I got home I found the swinging chair cloth top had disintegrated and a couple of recliners were floating in the pool.

Long story short, huge gale, floods around town, bnoats lost their moorings again and our power came on at 10:30 p.m. We were amongst the lucky ones. Others in the area had floods, trees down, fences down etc. Have had a perfect month of sunshine, and last night a month worth of wind and rain came in one blast. I'm, not complaining though, I'm back at work and its gotta rain sometime:)

I finally got to see this movie tonight and it has instantly become one of my favourites. If there are any Kiwi expats reading this who haven't gone to see it yet, do it now, today. It epitomises (I know big word) the Kiwi spirit of don't tell me it can't be done while I'm busy doing it.

His 1967 land speed record for a sub 1000cc motorcycle on the salt flats still stands today, on a 1920 Indian motorcycle that was designed with a top speed of 57m.p.h. I remember hearing stories about how he once made and drove on a piston smelted from baked bean cans.

A great story and true even! Check it out.

My resolution for this year is to become a professional songwriter. It's going to take a fwe years if I am successful because I can't do without the money from my job. Muso's don't earn much and being a songwriter even less, unless you do really well.

So in recognition of that, I have changed my profile pic which will hopefully also satisfy those who keep complaining that I don't post many pics of myself. There is of course a really good reason for that, which is that I am always the one holding the camera and I'm not narcistic enough to take mobile pics of myself, although I don't mind looking at other people's:-)

As to my shinsplints, I did lots of walking while I was away without any worries, although I started getting a few niggles over the last 2 days on the treadmill, beats me.

Looking at starting to train next week for my first half marathon. Haven't found one yet, so will go light for the first week or 3 until I sort out a location and date, don't want to peak at the wrong time, but it's time to get into it.

How you folk? Have you made any new years resolutions?

So I finally made it back to sunny Auckland after a huge drive around the country with my Uncle who was over from Holland. He has hosted me 4 times in the last 10 years so it was a real pleasure to be able to return the favour.

The weather forcast was for rain and wind, but we only had about 4 hours of rain on the whole trip and most of those were while we were asleep.

Took lots of photos to remind me why Middle Earth is a touch of paradise. Missed my Buzznet friends, but only found one place on my travels that had Broadband and I was pretty tired that night. For some reason 28kbps in a motel doesn't rate with me any more.

Anyway, it's great to be back. Now I have to plow through 300 emails and start posting some of my new pics so you can see where I have been:)

As of tomorrow I will be hitting the road for a couple of weeks to travel around the South Island of New Zealand. No that's not just below Wyoming:)

The weather has turned to shit, its raining and trees are falling over in gale force winds. I'm glad I bought a couple of new tyres for the car and it will be well laden down with necessities like clothes and beer.

Just hoping that the ferry trip isn't too bad. The ferry leaves from Wellington and goes through Marlborough Sounds (which is very scenic) into Picton. The route it takes is notorious for bad weather and hundreds of thousands of people have spoken to Herbie down the long white telephone (upchucked) on this trip, so I'll be taking a seasickness pill for good luck. Basically the boat crosses Cook Strait (famous for the sinking of the Wahine) which is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.

So keep an eye on my buzz, cause whenever I can get internet access, I'll have some cool pics to show ya'all. This is a great country if I say so myself.

Hope you all had a great New Year. I have big plans for 2006, but I'll tell you about those when I get back:-)