welcome to Tierra Santa.

Last week was stressful. I am not going to go into details because they are depressing and awful and annoying and ridiculous.

Instead, look at the souvenir George brought me back from Argentina!

This superbly crafted plastic mug depicts the Parque Tierra Santa in Buenos Aires. Literally: Park Holy Land. Yup, you guessed it: Argentina boasts the only Jesus-themed amusment park in the world. Sigh. I always miss out on all the fun. It has shows and plastic oxen and plaster palm trees and mechanical angels. But on top of that awesomeness, a 18 meter (60 foot) statue of Jesus is resurrected every hour. I'm not making this up-- watch it happen here.

I can say no more.

The world has outdone itself.

Thank you George for brightening an otherwise horrendous week!

P.S. the coffee I drank out of my mug this morning was absolutely divine.

Whew. The mayhem all started a few weeks back with the Australian Beer Festival. We* decided to give Australian beer another go (even though it didn't deserve it) and sacrifice our day drinking sips of Australia's most prestigious specialty beers. That night ended at the Waterloo with the purple lady singing to a jolly tune and Harry, a very enthusiastic local, being invited to Mary and Toby's wedding next year (even though I'm not sure they'll follow through--they're heartbreakers, those two). I also vaguely remember meeting a guy who is doing his PhD on why America is so awesome and his friend doing his masters on why koalas don't make good lunch meat**.

Next was a sobering week filled with reading and writing and data annotation and all those linguistic-y activities that I love so much. But since the weather is starting to not be ridiculous (although as I say this the temperature has dropped like 25 degrees), Vincent and I headed out last weekend to Sculpture by the Sea 2009--an art exhibition along the coast from Bondi to Tamarama. My favorite were the dominos and the stick sculptures. And maybe the little guy looking out to sea. And the huge wrist-watch. And...and...

Then Bec got home from overseas.
And yesterday, I went with her to the annual Flame Free Melbourne Cup Lunch at the Rose. I won 8 WHOLE dollars in the sweeps. Great food. Great company. What a lovely way to spend a Tuesday!

Now it's time to get back to work--I am presenting about sign language lexicography at an upcoming conference. Because, as you all know, that's my specialty***.

* "We" being the Germans and the Kiwis mostly, save me, the lone American and Kat, the lone Australian

** The details are a bit fuzzy.

*** Along with medical interpreting.

one...two...three....GO!

For something new and exciting I joined the Concorde Triathlon Club. They host a season of aquathons (swim + run events) around the Bay area. Our first event was a 200m swim, 5k (or so) run, 300 m swim. I didn't die and I even got an honourable mention in the newsletter! Check it out!

October 14 – First Aquathon at Drummoyne Pool – Everyone races well and safely - congratulations

Our first aquathon of the season got under way under a threatening sky and cool and blustery conditions. Despite the weather, we had an excellent turn-out with 32 competitors setting off for the Brent Street Single event.

Again it was great to see many new (and I must say anxious) faces awaiting the starters gun. However, to be expected, with so many having a go for the first time with CTC without having seen one of the aquathons before. To that end, a big welcome to: Julie, Cathy, Tim, Fiona, Rosemary, Bianca, Vicki, Pauline, Sam(uel), Fiona, Mike, Steph, Steve, Brad, Helen, Nathan, Lindsay, Beccie, Dan, Anthonys, Phillip and Georgie who raced with us for the first time last night. We trust you enjoyed the experience and we will see you at more races this season.
...

Group 2 set off 8 minutes later. First home in this group was ‘Slim’ Jim Kirkpatrick - showing the benefits of some sneaky personal training in the off season. Well done Jim - looking good. Group 3 next week can be your reward! Jim was closely followed by Mike who is also a member of our sister tri club - Balance.

This group also contained our recent acquisition from Georgia USA - Lindsay, who managed to post a very respectable time despite a relaxed approach to her transitions. Leaving “room for improvement” as she noted later.

Another import - Beccie from the UK , raced hard becoming the first female home overall. Well done Beccie. Special mention in this group also goes to Anna who is showing off some new running form this season.
...
So a great effort to all who competed. Conditions weren’t easy. That head wind out made life tough for all competitors. (Wait till summer however guys, the prevailing wind is usually a North Easterly, which means you are running back into it!). The breezy conditions also made it hard for Marshals - in particular Brett, who apparently was almost was blown away with all his equipment on more than one occasion.

Next week’s event is the Duke Avenue Single; a 500m swim followed by 5.6k run. (Those concerned about their swimming might think about having a practice run over the weekend!).

At the time of writing, the long range forecast is for very warm conditions - 30 degrees. Hope to see you all there. Until then - train well.

Steve Nielsen

I guess that means I better get to the pool before next week. 500 meters, yeah--that's going to be "interesting."

road trip + wine = the hunter valley

don't worry, George was our fearless and gracious DD. Thank you George.

morning orange!

I woke up to million mile per hour winds and an orange Sydney this morning.
Yum.

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