by ·0 Comments

It has not been the easiest of weeks this week but with all the the stress and #fml thoughts I have managed to keep things on track. Although I haven’t had to walk home in the rain once from Canyon Park (an all to common occurrence lately) I have kept myself in check and on track.

Last week I managed to knock myself down by 8lb which is a good amount, yet long term that is not smart nor sustainable. Right now though I have lost a further 4lb and I am at my pre NZ weight, which makes me pretty happy.

This isn’t the time for me to take a break, I still may be 12lb down, I still have a good 8-10lb more to go. My goal to achieve the reduction back to my “happy” weight by December looks om track, which will make that BBQ in Kansas all the more tastier, as I will have earned it? Your thinking right now, “since when did he say he was going to Kansas?” well to be honest since last week I have been planning it but that’s for another time.

It does tie in though with my endcif year rush to complete my goals. I have to decide today pretty much which 5k to run before Christmas. I need to do one more to finish off my fitness goals for the year. I haven’t decided yet on the Thanksgiving Run on the Sunday before Turkey Day or the Santa vs Superhero 5K at the Seattle Marathon. This end of year run is more about fun than time so no hard training or anything but knowing me that won’t happen, I will push myself either way.

by ·0 Comments

It’s Monday and as I head to work this morning I have plenty of time to think and look back. Mondays are always a gamble. For me they will either start out good or bad (though they usually never stay good due to work but that is another post entirely).

Monday is generally my weigh in day, the day that is either going to make or break my mood. If the weigh in is good i’m happy, if not good, let the self hate begin. It has always been this way and as I fluctuate up and down like a yoyo, it is a never ending cycle of craziness.

So this morning I wasn’t looking forward to the weigh in, I know I will be higher than I want to be but how much more do I have to lose? It was a tough weekend, temptation was everywhere and I battled my own brain a lot. I got up this morning and went for my run, usual time, usual route, usual hatred of my body as I climbed the first incline and usual question to myself of “why do I do this again?” on the final incline as my body hates me by that stage.

I get back and good news, really good news, my week of hard work has paid off, I am down 8lb yes thats right 8 pounds! (roughly 4kg for my aussie friends). I have every right to be happy this morning.

I guess all the hard work does pay off and although that is not a maintainable loss rate, it shows me that no matter what if I focus, work hard and stick to it, I can do the things I want. As was said in Star Wars Ep 4 as red squadron flew down the Death Star Trench “stay on target”. For me that is going to be a whole new task.

by ·0 Comments

A lot of things have been put in perspective lately, stuff that I never wanted to think about. A friend of mine lost his best mate and room mate at a very young age. It’s not my place to go into details, but lets just say that it was out of no where for me to find out and to be honest quite shocking. Though I didn’t really know him all that well, I had met him a few times and he was a great person. But that sudden departure just makes you look and think. The Priest today at the memorial said some things that really hit him. He said that the one question most people will ask if they are religious is Why? But that is never a question that can ever be answered well enough to stop the grieving process.

What it makes me do is think, think a lot. I couldn’t imagine being in my friends position, being put in a position where I need to face the fact that I will never EVER see my best friend again. Sure there may be times that people may think like that, after I left Aus I knew I was leaving close friendships behind, leaving my best friends behind. But there was a chance I would see them again. My friend doesn’t have that option, and that hurts, it hurts me to think about if I was in his position. I wouldn’t want that myself at all. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what life would be like without some of my friends from back home.

But it also makes me think that out of all of this, perhaps there is a positive side. Even though there is tragedy, there is hope, hope that this passing will help others see that there are things that can be done, that all the times we think “well why didn’t I do that” or “I have plenty of time in my life to do things”. It makes me think that I shouldn’t let those things go to chance, I need to just do it. I shouldn’t let opportunities go past, go to waste at all.

I know that I over think things quite a bit, it is a weakness of mine. But in this case, thinking is smart, thinking is something that I know is appropriate at times like this. I need to sit back, think and set my priorities straight. Time will tell though if I take my own advice.

by ·0 Comments

It is now November, o how the time has surely flown by this year. It felt like only yesterday I was at SeaTac on New Years Day spotting by the water tower. It has definitely been a long month in October though, lots of travelling. But today is a new month and a new challenge. I aim to be down to my 175lb mark by the time we have the work Christmas Party. So to start with after my hour of extra sleep (thank you daylight savings ending, I forgot, when I realized went back to bed) I got my internet working again (long story) and after pulling the box out of the cupboard I donned my new running shoes. All $35 worth of them 😀 You have to love the Brooks Outlet sales. When I first bought my new pair after getting fitted they were $90 and heading towards being replaced. This is good news as they would then go to the outlet once the new model comes out. At the outlet they are essentially half that price (around $45). Then twice a year the Outlet has a massive truck sale where they just roll in a truck, empty the contents into the parking lot and they just sell it all till it’s gone. Managed to score my shoes from that sale. While visiting New Zealand last month I checked on what they were selling the shoe for…. $240NZD. Yep gotta love a good mark up.

Yesterday I also did my first full hour of weights training in almost 18 months. I want to work more on getting some muscle strength back after 18 months of nothing, but that 18 month has certainly cost me. My arms today can barely move, so this is not going to be an easy thing to handle. I will take all of these things and work hard this month to get that weight back down, to get it under control. It won’t be easy, it will take time. But I will do what I can to get through it!

by ·0 Comments

The Photos from my trip are now up (more or less). While I ponder over if I should purchase any of the official photos (they are NOT cheap almost $80 for 3 photos) here is a few for you to check out:

From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K
From Marine Corp Marathon 10K

The full album is here

Marine Corp Marathon 10K

by ·0 Comments

Introduction
Seattle to Honolulu
Honolulu to Auckland
Auckland to Christchurch
Wellington to Rotorua
Auckland to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle

                                                                                                                                                                      

After making my way over to T2 on the AirTrain and walking down through to the Virgin America check in, I was tired and just wanted to get home really. What I wasn’t really in for was the hassle that I was about to get at check in. Since I was on a seperate ticket for the Virgin America flight and needing to check a bag (although the company would be reimbursing me for that anyway), I was going to try for a Main Cabin Select upgrade as I was hoping to use that cost for a bit of a meal onboard. Online it wouldn’t let me do it, and it wouldn’t let me assign seats either so I had to wait till check in.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I arrived at the premium desk and had to wait… and wait while the staff chatted amongst themselves and when she waved me forward, she continued to chat and pretty much ignored me. The staff member was extremely unhelpful during my check in process and after some back and forth over a bag weight that was 1-2lbs over the standard weight, and telling me that she would not allow my bag to fly at all, even without the cost of paying for overweight baggage, she just refused to let it fly outright. Then once I said I wanted to upgrade to MCS amazingly I was able to take my bag, then when she told me the price which was Double the price it should’ve been, I pushed back and was rudely told “pay it or your bags not going to go for that price and you’re going to have a middle seat” (though not in those exact words of course). I forked over my credit card, thought about how much I could claim back from work for the meal as well the bag and just figured I would make a complaint to Virgin America over it (probably won’t though).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I cleared security pretty quickly as the lines were short and once through met up with my co worker who wasn’t to far behind and we kind of found a few places to set up during the couple of hours we had in SFO. I had a few things on my mind, Coffee, Wifi, clearing work emails. So that is pretty much what I did, nothing really that exciting. I settled in for the time by the gate at a power point and it just kind of sped by. I had checked to see if I could score an exit row seat as well instead of the row 3 so that i could get to do some stuff for as long as possible on the flight.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Time flew by, my coworker joined me by the gate and then as boarding was called, she disappeared to the bathroom, leaving me to mind the stuff till she returned.

Virgin America – VX744
San Francisco to Seattle Tacoma
1430-1635
Airbus A320 (N840VA)
Main Cabin Select – Seat 10A

Boarding: 1350 (Gate 50)
Push Back: 1430
Take Off Roll: 1455 (Runway 01R)
Top of Descent: 1604
Touch Down: 1628 (Runway 16R)
Shut Down:1631 (Gate B11)

Once my co-worker returned they were calling group B by that stage so had well and truly missed my boarding group and I headed over to get onboard and store my stuff since I would not have much chance later on as people would push their way on anyway. I got onboard and settled into my window exit row and boarding slowly happened around me. It was weird to watch them all board and take their seats while I watched tv and just tried to relax. We were ready early but obviously being a slot controlled airport we had to wait for our turn before we could push back.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

We pushed back dead on time and as we were towed away from T2 and towards the power up point, there was a lovely long line forming for the active departure runways, Dual take offs were happening on 1L & 1R with the occasional racing take off, which was pretty cool to watch. By the time we waited for our turn (almost 25 mins since push back) we finally took off on the right side, swung to the right then back to the left to climb out over Oakland, north towards Seattle.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

As we climbed out I hit up the order screen to set up some lunch, I was a little dissapointed to see the fresher items were not on offer but hey, its VX, they don’t make any sense at any time. I ordered some lunch (Protein Meal and some nuts) and figured I would just settle in to watch some tv while we cruised north. Flight time today of 90 minutes and once we were at cruise altitude the WiFi was switched on, the crew set about to work, and I just zoned out. Next thing I know my lunch is being delivered and I am chowing down as we fly North. I didn’t even realize what was going on till we started to get towards the top end of Oregon. I kind of wish the flight had been faster so I could get home sooner. At least with a coworker once I hit the ground I could use the HOV lane 😉

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Descent was announced and I packed up my stuff, getting myself sorted. It was a pretty non eventful flight and the descent was about the same, easy, quick and without a hassle. We tracked north past the city and then did a nice turn above the clouds over the city (thank you mapping function) and with a final shot of Mt Rainier before we descended below the clouds (now I know I am really home) we ducked under into the grey below. Tracking for a 16R arrival, the airport looked quiet and it was, because minutes after we were on the ground, we pulled up at the gate.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Disembarkation was relatively quick and once in the terminal, I waited around for my co-worker and then we headed towards baggage claim, the truck and home! 2 hours later I was at home, a world away from where I began the day, but almost 2 weeks after leaving, I was happy to have my own bed!

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

by ·0 Comments

Introduction
Seattle to Honolulu
Honolulu to Auckland
Auckland to Christchurch
Wellington to Rotorua
Auckland to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle

                                                                                                                                                                      

Monday 21st October 2013

A day full of excitement and exhilaration after jumping off the top of a tower, watching as friends did the same and then catching up with a friend for lunch. Before I knew it, our bus to the airport was ready for us and I was heading towards the airport, to begin a long journey home to the USA.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I was heading for Auckland International for my first of 2 legs home and I was fairly sad to do so. I was happy to be back up in the air, to be flying one of the two remaining 747s in the Air New Zealand fleet, but the sad part was leaving all my new friends behind, I didn’t want the trip to come to an end, but thats life right? Suck it up princess!

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

We got dropped off at the Airport by our driver who had been looking after us for the last several days and after leaving a little present for one of my friends who was getting picked up later (Tessa did always want that drink from me) I headed into the terminal and headed towards the Premium Check In area. As I entered the area (which was surrounded by construction panels) I was suprised to find out that they use kiosks now for all flights, including the USA. I knew there would be a problem, but was assured that there wouldn’t be. As I scanned my passport and started the process of check in, I knew things were not going to work when it asked me to confirm I had tickets onward from the USA. Which I didn’t. The staff took over, as I expected they would, as the kiosk errored and did not allow me to check in.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

So off to the counter I went and I was checked in. My seat was moved to an empty row and I was told the space available upgrade I had been told I should get, was not going to happen at all and had it been on the right ticket, would of worked cause the flight was wiiiiiide open. *sigh* Lied to again *sigh*.

With my bag dropped at the Bag drop (1kg over the 23kg limit for standard econ but thanks to *G I was not worried) and watching as it was safely sent on its way, I filled in my departure card and got a little lost as they had changed the process slightly to get up to customs. You now head up the lift just inside the door where as previously the lift was after the check in desks. Felt like a bit of a dick at that point but hey it happens. Customs was over extremely quickly and then came the hell that was security. It was a MESS. With a few Jetstar flights, heaps of NZ flights, China Airlines and of course 2 of the Emirates A380s departing shortly, of course it was going to be a mess.

Security took about 10-15 minutes to get through the line, but I did get to keep my shoes on which was great. Everything else was pretty standard. Liquids & Laptop out, belt off as well. No big deal, nothing I haven’t already dealt with so many times this year. Once through security I spun the duty free wheel, won nothing all that exciting and headed up to the Koru Club for a bit of a relax before the flight. My main reason for the lounge today was to do a touch of work prior to the flight, back up some of the photos from the day and get myself prepped for the flight. Almost missed the door again to the Koru Club because it was so non descript and felt like a dick again, but meh. I had the usual hassle at the door thanks to the Aegean card (seriously don’t Star Alliance staff know their own partners) and I was finally let in, where I scoped out the power locations and got set up for some work. I checked on seat assignments and was assured that I had the best I could get and to double check before leaving that the seat would be free as if not they would move me to a free row.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I settled in with a coffee and a snack to get some stuff done and the time seemingly flew by, I barely even noticed the hour or so that went past in the lounge and I had to rush off out of the lounge to make a few stops on the way out to the gate. Being out on the end of the NZ flight pier (gates 6 & 8 are always used for the USA flights so they can do the extra checks they always do for some stupid reason) it isn’t as long of a trek compared to the Emirates gates but it is still a good 5 or so minutes from the lounge, add in a stop to change some cash and at the store (still forgot to buy the magazine I wanted…. doh!) it was cutting it close to the advertised boarding time.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

The line for the gate was huge at the secondary checks and by the time I cleared that I was at the gate to see my beautiful Queen waiting for me. Tonights flight was on 1 of the 2 remaining 747-400s that Air NZ has in their fleet and they they won’t be around that long either, but might as well get one last flight on it before they dissapear. Having now flown almost all of the Air NZ long haul fleet in both Economy & Business (just Econ on the 77W to go) I was excited to get back onboard. Todays aircraft may look old and be old, but I will ALWAYS love the beauty that is a 747. There is a reason they call her the Queen of the Skies, it is because she deserves the respect of everyone who flies her, like any Queen should have.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

The gate area was a mess for such a light load and the time for boarding came and went, this did not look good for an on time departure, but hey, what can you do. In between annoucements that LAN had cancelled their flights (suprise surprise) and the boarding instructions, time seemed to just fly past.

Air New Zealand – NZ8
Auckland to San Francisco
1915-1115
Boeing 747-400 (ZK-SUH)
Economy Class – Seat 55A

Boarding: 1900 (Gate 8)
Push Back: 1915
Take Off Roll: 1929 (Runway 23L)
Top of Descent: 1038
Touch Down: 1105 (Runway 28R)
Shut Down: 1118 (Gate 93)

Boarding was eventually called and like the scrums that NZ rugby fans just adore, the boarding area and process turned into one. Originally supposed to be boarded in stages, all the premium were called and irrespective of eligibility, everyone bolted for the gate and the 3 control points. I got into the scrum and soon I was scanned through, heading onto my first 747 in almost 2 years! Hey, I wasn’t going to complain.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I settled into my row and spread out a bit with so much of my crap stored under the seats in front instead of the overhead in case they kept the seat belt sign as I wanted as much access as I could get out of it. I was going to enjoy my time on this flight. Leg space was spacious at the seat and with 3 seats to myself and a galley next to it, I was in for a good time. The people infront of me were moaning that they “paid for premium” and were stuck up the back in Economy. Sorry guys what you paid for was not premium but actually “Preffered Seating” allowing them access to the better seats that came with a blocked seat next to them essentially. Damn americans who don’t read.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

We pushed back dead on time which was a shock and I was suprised to see that we had loaded a 747 in that short time frame. As we pushed back I snapped away at all the good traffic around us and was especially happy to see a freight Convair 580 powering up and also the DHL 757F on the ramp as well. As we lined up for a 23L departure the sun was setting and it was giving magnificent views. Take off felt spirited but I am sure this lady was heavy with fuel. I still enjoyed the show as we climbed out into the sky over Auckland, turning right over the city, and heading North East towards San Francisco.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

The most brilliant sunset was happening as we climbed out and I was just glued to the window and did not even care about anything else. A brilliant sunset is always going to keep me on a window without the need of something to read. I could of been watching a movie (and next time I will put on some music as the selection had my favourite DJ on it) but instead I watched the Avgeek dream. A Winglet, a sunset and a colour change as we headed up into the sky.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Climb out was gradual and the seatbelt sign was off relatively shortly after take off but it didn’t stay off all that long and was soon back on. Documents were handed out shortly after and I set up my “Poor mans business class” (whole economy row) for the flight ahead. No annoucments about service, no menus on Air NZ, it felt so foreign to me after having some amazing flights this year on Long haul economy. O the differences between airlines you see these days. Me I was just happy to be back in the air really. Spending time somehwere I love (the sky) without the threat of being attached to a rope or being thrown off the top of a tower.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

As the crew prepared for the dinner service they announced that tonights choices were a chicken curry (suprise suprise) or Corned Beef. Having not had Corned Beef in forever I was happy to be going for that, and I settled in and waited what felt like forever for my turn. I found a whole heap of movies I wanted to watch and while enjoying Caddyshack my meal was delivered with an apology. “I am sorry but we have run out of Chicken so you have to have the Corned Beef”. O how shall I ever live with that 😉 I could of faked the fact that I didn’t get a choice and milked it for extra ice cream to make up for it, but I thanked them, assured them it was no problem and waited for a drink before eating.

The dinner looked ok (not sure what the Salad was) but at least the main looked tasty and fairly good proportions of meet to starch to vegies (something that is not often found in Economy). It was very tasty and with a drink and some Ice Cream, I was quite happy to sit back and enjoy it all. What more can I ask for? A Tasty meal, a beverage and a movie while cruising along watching the sun set out my window.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

After dinner was cleared away and I was not offered coffee (sadly) I ended up doing a bit of work on the trip report and we still had the seat belt on after going through the occaisional bit of turbulence (light really) and watching the crew get stuck into the leftover meals (they better have some extra ice cream in there *wishes*). I settled in trying to get comfortable and after a couple of hours I did get that extra ice cream I was after along with some coffee and even tried to get some sleep. Having 3 seats to myself meant I should of been able to stretch out, but the arm rests on these old queens don’t fully go up, so you kind of have a bit of a point where they stop, which is crap but you deal with that. It means that you can’t really lie down without a hassle but I am to tall and big for that anyway and I know that skycouch on the 77W would just be a waste of money, I would rather go for the J upgrade any day.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I did manage to get some rest (I wouldn’t call it sleep) and in between bouts of restlessness I think i got maybe an hour or two. Around about 3 hours out from SFO I woke up from a rest to the most beautiful sunrise out the window, and from that moment on, I stayed awake, starting my “day”, time to start shotgunning the coffee right? I must of passed out again because next thing I know it’s just before 2 hours out of SFO so I quickly got myself sorted as I could smell breakfast getting ready in the galley (which was right next to me). From there I managed to continue watching the hobbit which had turned out to take me almost 6 hours to watch a 3 hour movie. HAH! I kept watching and eventually I settled in for my breakfast. Choices this morning were Cereal or Eggs and they advised that since those in the back missed out on their choices earlier they would start in the back (not that i missed out).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

The cereal was nice and tasty and I enjoyed it, the fruit was fairly bland though which was a disappointment but I had a banana stashed in my bag from the lounge in Auckland. Breakfast was consumed along with a few cups of coffee (I wanted to steal the coffee cup cause it was excellent) and once that was sorted and cleared away, I got myself changed and cleaned up in preparation for descent into SFO. At about the hour from touch down mark I got myself sorted, putting away my gear and getting set (as that is the point I have to put my ear plugs back in) and they announced a bit of a delay to landing due to “congestion” in SFO (which really means fog).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

We descended into SFO and the fog had burnt out for most of it so there wasn’t to much of a hassle during the descent. I did love the look of the huge 747 flaps and spoilers as we descended over the coast. We made some weird turns over the Bay Area with a right turn south towards San Jose, then a big sweeping right turn back towards SFO. I was wanting to descend into SFO on the fated 28L, but sadly it was 28R (if thats a bad thing).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Watching the bay area speed by as we descended into SFO and next thing I know I see the runway, the ill fated location and then hello I am on the ground. Touching down on what will probably be my last time onboard an Air NZ 747 since they will be removed from fleet soon enough.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Clearing the active at SFO was quick but i was to busy getting back into the real world and having my phone connect back to my Tmobile account. The flood of activity came back as sms and emails and tweets flooded back in after almost 12 hours of being disconnected from the world. It is sad but I am extremely connected to life that way. I got my email from the guys at Cranky telling me all was good and it looked like I would be ok to make the connection which was great and once we pulled up I just had to wait through the disembarking process before scurrying to immigration.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I finally got out of the aircraft and into the terminal where it was on for young and old to get to immigration. I left my co worker behind as she was on a US passport so would be through quicker than I was, but my line wasn’t to bad as it looked like I beat the rush of kiwis making it to the desks. I wasn’t in line long (maybe 5-10 minutes) and I wasn’t grilled all to badly at immigration (mind you I was half asleep and looked like hell, so I think he went easy on me) and I was through to baggage claim. My bag took forever to come out and then it was out of the secure area, into the terminal, change a few things and onto the Airtrain to Terminal 2 and my Virgin Flight home to SEA.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

by ·0 Comments

Introduction
Seattle to Honolulu
Honolulu to Auckland
Auckland to Christchurch
Wellington to Rotorua
Auckland to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle

                                                                                                                                                                      

Thursday 17th October 2013

A very rushed morning after a morning run around Wellington Harbour (training) and watching the sun rise and the city wake up. A rushed pack of my bag and a few errands around the city (mission to get things going but unfortunately that did not work all that well. I wish it could of happened a little bit easier but unfortunately, it was not to be. At the appointed time I was in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for the bus departure with everyone else. We were off to the airport heaps earlier than we needed to be but as I had no say in it, I just did as I was told. No group check in or anything like that, but a group bus transfer was on the cards.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

When we got to Wellington Airport I did the right thing and got myself sorted out, I waited forever at the Premium Desk and for some reason they just never came to serve me. What the hell! Bad call Air New Zealand. But eventually I got helped and checked in, with my A3 number added to the boarding pass, *G status showing, bag on its way to Rotorua and I waited for the others to finalise. I had offered to guest in whoever wanted to come with and one person ended up taking up the offer.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Headed to the Koru Club which in Wellington is actually pretty nice. Good runway side location with plenty of floor to ceiling windows and plenty of space. A spacious lounge with plenty of seating options and a really good food spread for that time of the morning. Lots of the usual snack options that you find in Australia (Fruit, really good hand made cookies) and some of the more morning tea options as well like fresh scones and slices. The lunch options were also on the verge of being handed out which was pretty cool as well.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Lots of snacking options (to many really) and several different coffee options being by the pot or a barista service, what more do I need. A couple of cups of coffee later and a good chat with one of the group (I may have been conned into half a scone) and then before we knew it, it was time to head for the gate. As we left the Koru Club, boarding was called.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Air New Zealand (Operated by Air Nelson) – NZ8584
Wellington to Rotorua
1150-1255
Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 (ZK-NEW)
Economy Class – Seat 5A

Boarding: 1135 (Gate 7)
Power Out: 1157
Take Off Roll: 1200 (Runway 34)
Top of Descent: 1234
Touch Down: 1251 (Runway 18R)
Shut Down: 1253 (Gate 2)

Walking down towards the single digit gates at Wellington you head out to the gates that don’t require security and I do love that rule in New Zealand for any flight with less than 50 people, no security required. Awesome!! Popped out right at our gate and within a few moments I was scanned through (after a brief pause for my boarding pass to respond correctly and then I was out onto the tarmac. The usual Aussie/Kiwi reaction to a camera on the ground by the staff (No photos, no photos!) and a few pictures as soon as I had passed the staff and I was waiting to get onboard.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I was worried that my camera bag would not fit in the overhead lockers as it was quite big and I know I had issues on the Horizon Dash 8 back in May, I wasn’t sure how it compared to the Q300. Thankfully under the seat in front was big enough space for the camera bag and my backpack into the overhead bin. Got to love some juggling. Laptop out and into the seat pocket, getting myself situated and a few photos, time to settle in.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

We waited for a little bit while the last of the paperwork was fixed and finalised and then the doors were shut and we were off to Rotorua. As the props powered up right next to me, the vibration obviously began but that is always a reassuring thing on a turboprop aircraft. If the vibration stops, that is probably not a good thing. Half the flight was filled with our group and I would be suprised if anyone behind me was paying attention to the safety demonstration as to be honest, there wasnt really one. Instructions to read the safety card was it and that was pretty much it. Powering out from the gate and headed towards the southern end of the runway for our Northbound departure out over Wellington.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

No holding at the runway point, just a quick flick of the throttles to takeoff power and the props spinning up. We were airborne just past the Koru Club I had just barely left and climbing out past the city with a slight right turn but not by much. The city off on my side meant that I could enjoy the departure as we climbed out, off into the skies above. The first ding went off about 30 seconds later signifying electronics are ok and then advised of the service onboard today of tea, coffee, water and a cookie as well (not that I was going to eat the cookie, it would go into the stash).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

I took the offered coffee (I am quite happy with the Air NZ coffee and the fact that it is french press over instant is a good thing) and watched as my cup vibrated its way across the tray table and also grabbed a water when offered. We flew north along the coast and a lot of clouds below us unfortunately. The flight was very non eventful as we cruised north, I wrote most of the trip report before we had even hit cruise altitude and I instead sat back with my coffee and water and relaxed. Eventually it was TOD (top of descent), power to idle, dip the nose down and down she goes. A quick clean up by the lone crew member and a hand out of the traditional sweets onboard Air New Zealand and we heading fast toward the cloud deck.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Passing through the thick cloud deck we were getting bumped around a little but nothing at all that bad. I am sure some of the people may have worried but I couldnt care less, it was not even remotely bad. As we popped out below the clouds we seemed to track north over the city and the lake. Being able to spot some landmarks on the city was good but having never flown into Rotorua before it was hard to guage runway location or even what direction we were going to land. It seemed the airport was on the other side of the aircraft as we dropped gear half way over the lake and all I had on my side was water.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Right turn with gear deployed and flaps to full, we started our final turn onto the final approach and we made the last minute descent and touch down onto the runway at Rotorua and then that distinctive sound as they threw it into full reverse pitch and wound up the engines to help slow us down. We cleared the runway at the lone taxi location and headed towards the tiny tiny airport, which I swear is New Zealands smallest International Airport (2 flights a week to Sydney). It didn’t take long for the crew to shut down and let us all free and suprisingly the smell did not smack us all in the face. It was there a little but not at all that bad as I had remembered, it must be stronger in town compared to the airport.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

Took a number of photos before I walked into the Terminal and we met our escort for the next part of our journey and by the time I went to collect my bags it had just dissapeared onto the belt portion where it heads back out around for its 2nd lap. Dammit. Got my bag on the second loop and then it was off into the city, not before leaving a little something on the airport 😉

From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – North Island

by ·0 Comments

I flew to Washington DC this previous weekend to run the Marine Corps Marathon 10k and it was awesome. I have not run a 10k race since the GC marathon over 3 years ago. Back then I was a good 20kg or more heavier, and it was the first time I had ever run 10k. Since then I have only ever run 10k once and that was by accident (I got lost, it happens, you can run 10k by accident trust me) so this was an all out effort.

I was a little bit scared after seeing a couple of photos from the day from someone who was running the Marathon from the packet pickup area. Lines were on average 2 hours around mid afternoon and that was just to get your packet with race number etc. That was not exactly the news I wanted to hear as I was cutting it fine already getting off a flight from the west coast and going straight there after the hotel. I didn’t want to have to go their directly from the airport (as I had no idea how I was going to do that anyway) but I kept to my plan and thankfully the lines were not to bad when I got there (only 30 mins or so). I wasn’t really going to be doing much at the “Expo” where packet pick up was anyway as I had been up since 2am so was just wanting to get my stuff, get back to the hotel, get some dinner and get some sleep as the run was first thing Sunday morning.

Thankfully the hotel I was staying at was not to far from the start line so I didn’t spend all morning trying to get to the start line, just a few minutes on one train, swap to another go one more stop and I was there (saved walking in the cold). The start line area was really busy with people in the subway station (where it was warm) or plenty of people stretched around the race start through various spots. The line up for the port a loo was HUGE stretching almost 100m long and about 20 or 30m in width, not the best if you desperately needed to go (thankfully I didn’t). Got the usual photos you would expect, sealed my bag and let UPS take it from there to the finish line and I settled in to wait. The race finally started with a unique starting gun… a Howitzer! Yep wouldn’t be the marines if there wasn’t a cannon involved.

I was really happy to be running and was suprised at just how many people were running as when I passed the 1 mile marker you could see back to the race start and I wasn’t exactly at the front of the pack, but there was still people waiting to get across the start line. with 10,000 people running the 10k I would think it was the largest race I have competed in (not sure how many people ran the Jingle Bell Run last year or at the GC Marathon). The full Marathon had over 20,000 people competing and they would of gotten the full experience compared to us. The streets were lined with marines and staff at all points and they were all their to encourage us. A lot of the Marines who were staffing the points were yelling the current time to encourage us more, a lot were giving high 5s etc so it was a great atmosphere. The run ran through the National Mall area and then over the Bridge into Virginia, through a few areas of Crystal City, past the Pentagon and into the final stretch up to the Marine Corp Memorial in Arlington (near the National cemetery). The MCM10K site had said that it follows the same “Final Uphill” stretch that the full Marathon gets, and this was the portion that I was worried about the most. Probably didn’t need to worry so much as it was no where near as bad as I had thought it would be. To be honest I need not have worried at all, as the final “uphill” portion was about 250m and although it was a challenge, it was nothing like the hills I had been training on.

The last uphill portion though was definately where the enthusiasm set in. The street was PACKED with marines and staff (its a closed circuit for some reason at this point) and they were there to get us across the line as quickly and easily as possible. Their was encouraging words painted on the street and there was high 5s at every turn if you wanted them. I pushed hard up the hill and finished strong. The photos haven’t come out yet but hopefully my finishing photo is better than my one from the GC Marathon (i look like a doofus in that photo). I managed to get across the line, take a look at my watch and a giant smile came across my face. I had been aiming to do the run in under an hour and been training hard for it (well not Triathlon hard but still been pushing some of my runs hard). When I crossed that line, I saw my time and I was ecstatic, happy as hell that the training paid off. My last distance training run in Wellington had me 3 minutes under expected time, well I beat that, I was over 4 mins under… I finished the 10k in 55mins & 43 seconds…. OOORAH!!!

After all is said and done, I feel extremely happy that I was able to get this done and get the times I wanted. A lot has changed in the last 10 months, I still have one more fitness goal this year (I comitted to two 5ks before the end of the year) and so i still have more to do, but right now, I am looking forward to a bit of a slow down. Maybe the 10k was good for me, maybe I needed that extra little push, I need to get back on track weight goal wise right now, drop back under that 180lb mark that I am sitting at (not that there is anything wrong with where I am at right now) and perhaps refocus for next year. Does this 10K also mean that I need to push harder next time, or is it a stepping stone towards a half marathon? I have already put thoughts into a challenge for next year, and already told a friend that if he does a triathlon, I would join him, but maybe a half marathon is in my future. A Full marathon though is NOT on the cards. I am NOT that crazy.

by ·0 Comments

Introduction
Seattle to Honolulu
Honolulu to Auckland
Auckland to Christchurch
Wellington to Rotorua
Auckland to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle

                                                                                                                                                                      

Friday 11th October 2013

I hear an alarm going off somewhere in my room, could it really be time to get up again? *sigh* No gym this morning as I was totally out of it and had planned on getting to one when I get to Christchurch, so this morning was an expedited routine of shower, repack, and out the door. All completed in less than 30 minutes (well apart from the out the door part, I sat around watching the news till I was set to go and meet my coworkers).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

In the lobby while I waited, logged into the free internet provided and cleared out some of my emails and since no benefits like free wifi or even water were offered and the staff were totally indifferent about anything and didn’t seem to care, I just did what I needed to do. When my coworkers joined me, I logged out and we headed towards the domestic terminal. My bag was in walking mode (ie strain my arms not my shoulders) and the 750m walk from the International Terminal to the Domestic began.

I wasn’t going to wait for the shuttle as I always tell my clients it is easy to walk it and I wanted to prove to myself I was giving the right advice. It was definitely correct as the walk was flat, not at all complicated and done with 7 minutes (at Mal pace that is). When we got to the terminal I checked in at the Premium desk, was moved to a lovely window seat up the front and that is that.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Air NZ domestic is a pretty simple affair, especially at check in. For years now they have had the self check in for everything including bag tagging and even premium guests with Star Gold have to do that part yourself (though the staff will hand you your bag tag to put on yourself). No real weighing of my bag or even a second look. hah! My coworkers had not really understood the process and they joined the every increasing line of people who probably also didn’t figure it out. But hey, isn’t that what learning is all about?

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

After everyone had their boarding passes and their bags were dropped off to be checked, plans were put in place. I offered to guest one of them into the Koru Club for breakfast or coffee and explained that once they went through security, that was it, there was nothing on the other side, which is sadly true. But security should take all of 5 seconds so you cross at the very last second right before boarding (or even as they call it). Neither of them chose to join me as I just wanted 2 things, WiFi and coffee. I wanted to get a couple of emails responded to asap and check in with work to let them know we are safe and sound.

Security was effortless and I still had my shoes on, my belt on, my jacket on as well. I felt like a human being rather than someone who was being treated like crap by the TSA. My laptop did have to come out but i mean that was it! Surely that can be done everywhere right? Once through security, flicked up to the gate to take a shot of the aircraft and grab the registration and then to the Koru club. I noticed an Air NZ 320 with sharklets at one the gates, but the gate location blocked any photo opportunity which was crap. To the lounge it is!

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

The Domestic Koru Club in Auckland was pretty well stocked and the breakfast offerings were more than ample, but I didn’t partake. I grabbed a banana for later, a WiFi code, and some liquids (coffee & water). I had barely any time in the lounge to get what I needed done but I did it. A couple of things I noticed in the lounge that was excellent was you could board directly to the regional aircraft straight from the lounge and that they had take away coffee available. Something I did not realize till I was literally about to leave the lounge.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Air New Zealand – NZ507
Auckland to Christchurch
0610-0725
Boeing 737-300 (ZK-NGG)
Economy Class – Seat 4A

Boarding: 0545 (Gate 30)
Push Back: 0608
Take Off Roll: 0616 (Runway 23L)
Top Of Descent: 0709
Touch Down: 0730 (Runway 02)
Shut Down: 0733 (Gate 16)

Boarding was called earlier than advised and they had called the Wellington flight about 5 minutes before ours and within 5-10 minutes of that announcement they were threatening boarding closure within 4 minutes. So I knew I wouldn’t have much time, but my priorities were set that morning. COFFEE! Coffee always comes first right? With a double long black in hand I headed to the gate where it looked like boarding was already over as there was no one around and when I stepped onboard my coworkers were already in. Craziness!

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

I got all my stuff onboard and stowed and passed on a message to one of my coworkers and settled into my seat for departure. Plenty of legroom up in Row 4 and I wonder if that is just a Space+ seat for preferred pax or if it is normal. My original seat was the exit row so I guess I would not really know. It was raining (slightly) and dark outside so photos were practically useless and it wasn’t all that long before we were closed down and pushing back for an early departure (2 minutes early).

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Push back had to be the world’s longest as we just kept going further and further back, way more than would usually be the case. It was a little bit of a wait to get taxi clearance and then we were headed for the active runway, the same as we arrived on the night before. Passing a Jetconnect 738 being towed to the international, and wishing it was light enough to get a photo, I kind of wished that it was daylight, but can’t have everything right. We were the only one in line as the Wellington flight was already on its way and the Jetstar flight ahead of us, was already powering out before we touched the taxiway. Next thing I know we are turning onto 23L, holding for a brief few seconds while the First Officer (who was handling today’s flight) gave her same gas and down the runway we went, into the morning sky.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Climbing out through clouds and darkness, we cleared above the clouds to sunlight and sunshine and my brain could not understand anything, but then I was barely a functioning human at this point. I was 3 coffees in but after 4 hours sleep in 2 days, who is functioning (I need a gym session to get me back on track). As we climbed out the Seat belt sign stayed on for a bit for “turbulence” but if you want to call those bumps turbulence you can but it was more like hitting a speed bump occasionally over a 10 minute period.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Once electronics were ok’d I pulled out the laptop and finished off some notes and stuff from the last few days and service shortly began in the Cabin. The mornings choice was Tea, Coffee or Water and Cookie or Muffin. Give you one guess what I had. Yep the cookie! Well not really, I took the cookie to save for later as an emergency snack as now it was time to get back on track eating wise. Back to my usual self, no more flight day exceptions. With my 4th coffee of the morning poured infront of me (french press, not instant) I was a happy man.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

We cruised along above the clouds without anything happening and before we knew it, we were starting descent into a cold Christchurch. Mind you it was still early in the morning as we descended and the temperature was a mere 5C. Electronics off, and seats to upright position please. Descent was relatively quick and although most of the cloud was up high, once below the layer the views were pretty outstanding. The area is extremely flat around Christchurch but I guess that is why they call it the “Canterbury Plains”.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

As we followed in the Jetstar flight which had taken off ahead of us from Auckland it was all flooding back into me (this wasn’t my first time to this airport and funnily enough it wasn’t my first flight on that exact aircraft). What I really wanted to see was just how much the airport had changed since I was there back in 2010. Well to be honest what I saw when we finally touched down I did not expect. There wasn’t much on the Deep Freeze ramp just a C17 and a C130 but the new domestic terminal gates looked immaculate.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

The last time I was there the airport was a bit of a construction site, well not any longer! It looked amazingly good and just so well done. The clean lines from the outside must definitely make for an impressive sight on the inside. We pulled up to the gate and before the engines had even shut down the seat belt sign was off and people were up and out of their seats ready to get moving. It didn’t seem like we were going to have to wait long as moments later the airbridge was connected.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

We were let loose into an amazingly modern terminal and it was a thousand fold difference from what I had seen when I was previously there. They had put quite a bit of money into this airport and it has definately been worth every cent. I had not stopped moving since being off the aircraft and it was only a short distance from the gate to the escalators down to baggage claim, as we walked down to it, our bags popped out and within the first 6 bags all 3 of ours were out. Aircraft to bags in hand to shuttle at the door in less than 6 minutes! Holy crap that is fast!

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

As we drove away in the shuttle, my brain was firmly on the prize ahead of me. A workout and some time on the ground after a truly epic journey to the other side of the world.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island