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I have been struggling lately and it is not exactly what you think. Work and life have been buay lately and stress has been high but that is not what I am talking about now.

September was a bad month for me, sure I got to travel for a day, spend time with friends and also complete my first Triathlon, but on the more personal level I struggled, big time. This is tough for me to admit, but I struggled with my eating. In the last month I have gained around 10 pounds (4.5kg) and although that doesn’t sound like much if I leave it the way it is, it could get worse.

This all stems back to Hong Kong and my injury, after that I think I have had some depression as I couldn’t do the one thing I loved, run. But the training I was doing helped offset whatever eating I was doing that was not healthy. I was binge eating at times and was ashamed to admit it. Well no longer. It all came undone in the final weeks of September no matter how much I tried to change, I slipped and went back to “old habits”.

October is a fresh start for me, it won’t be easy as I am traveling quite a bit, but I am going to do my very best to stay in control, if people don’t like it, tough shit to them, this is about my health, fuck anyone else. What it means right now to me is that I need to get back in control, my exercise hasn’t faltered over the past few months, so that won’t change. What will change is the way I have been thinking, no more “Just one won’t hurt”, that is just a lie to myself. No more weekly treats till this changes and even then I am going to really control it afterwards until my brain ia back to the way it was, before this all happened.

I have no one to blame but myself and I hope that those around me will be supporting of my wishes. I won’t be doing anything food related socially for a while, I just don’t want the temptation right now, and this upcoming trip is going to be a real test. Part of me thinks I should just worry about it when I get back but that isn’t going to help. Doing this now will mean that when I get back I will be all the better for it.

I hope.

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Well as i mentioned yesterday I got to go to the first flight of the 787-9 and instead of talking more about it… just check out the prettyness

click for bigger images 😉

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Yep, I have been slack lately, but there has been good reason. The last two weeks at work have been so full on that I haven’t had much time to do anything else but work, sleep and eat. It has been a rough week as I was averaging 12 hour shifts at work (that’s actually at work, doesn’t add in the travel time or the mile and a half walk home from the Park and Ride) but I got through it. I managed to get myself up to speed and I should be ok this week. I probably won’t be leaving work on time most of the week but at least I won’t be starting work at 730am every day.

I have also been battling some personal demons this past week, trying hard to get through that, while working has been tough and it has meant I could distract myself from those demons and push through it, dealing with them on the weekends is tougher when I have more downtime, so keeping myself busy is a must… but I would rather not talk to much about that. One thing that did keep me happy this week was that on Tuesday I got to head on up to Paine Field and down to Boeing Field to cover the action of the 787-9 First flight. Awesome day and I loved every minute of it.

Getting to see the first flight, take heaps of photos and tweet it all out. Since I had Bernie with me as photographer for the day I could focus on the social media side (though I didn’t miss to many photos) but I also got to focus on getting the story out as well. So while Bernie drove between Paine Field and Boeing Field down I5, I was writing the story on the laptop. Doing 60 😉 down I5 writing on a laptop is a little bit wierd, but hey… it works!

Photos to come!

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With the triathlon over, my life returns to normal, if you could ever call it that. It is kind of wierd not swimming or having to push hard in my runs or training and a week of recovery, so far, has been good to me.

I have been running the last three mornings on my old 5k routes something I haven’t done in a while. My body is taking it in strides, though sometimes it isn’t to happy. Come down from the triathlon was fairly good and after the day of rest Sunday I actually felt pretty good on Monday. Though for some reason my finger feels like it’s broken, no idea why.

Looking forward to a slow week training wise, but work has been insane and I’ve been pushing extra hours as usual (so much for taking it easy this week). At least I have the weekend to relax and get away with a trip up over the border planned again.

Today being September 11th, a lot of people are making the usual statements about rembrance etc, but I won’t do that. I was in Australia 12 years ago and although it didn’t really affect me directly, it did in some ways, but over all today doesn’t have the impact on me that it does on others. So I will just make it short. A lot of people died that day in vain, and they deserve to be remembered. Those who have served since then to right the wrongs caused that day have my utmost respect and admiration. Now back to your average blogging about crap and stuff.

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Since Yena left me on Saturday afternoon, it was time to get back to the grind. The goal for the weekend was to get in a number of training sessions prior to next weeks triathlon. Pretty much the rest of my weekend after all of the shenanigans was just going to be boring. So other than the training for the triathlon I was intending on catching up with all the missed work from Friday (and there was quite a bit) and doing the usual weekend chores along with a few extras.

First though let’s look at all my “training”. The pool was still closed unfortunately so that just got me really pissed off. Sunday morning was another Bike & Run training session with a Bike to Run transition thrown in for good measure. The ride went well and the servicing done was a smart idea because I knocked a good 15 minutes off my time. Ahh the benefits of actually having a working bike! I have the transition narrowed down now and things are looking good. On Monday morning I did the same two sessions BUT this time I added a pre bike transition. Normally this would be a Swim to Bike transition, but without a swim I just tried to replicate what it would be like. Running barefoot across the car park to my truck and getting going from there was the idea and although my transitions aren’t exactly perfect, they are good enough to get me through it without taking forever.

Without a pool though, what was I meant to do? I need to get some swimming in before next Saturday or things are not going to go well at all! So after a friend gave me a little push to check things out, I found a local gym (about a 10 minute drive away) that has a pool, along with a free week trial. Sorry to say but I am just going to use them for their pool for 4 days. I took my first swim at the pool on Monday and man it felt weird swimming in a proper pool, with lap lanes and everything. Totally not something I am used to at all, but I only have 3 more days of swimming left.

My training plans for the rest of the week are pretty much to focus on a run in the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, with swims every evening. Then Friday I will go into hold back with just some time on the exercise bike Friday morning and then nothing Friday night other than picking up my race packet. Final week of training planned!

The rest of my weekend was spent cleaning up the house after I tried to unclog my bathroom sink (it hadn’t been draining properly for a week or two now) and with lots of frustration, a boat load of baking soda & vinegar, a bottle of draino (that didn’t do much at all), a little bit of elbow grease and a whole lot of disgusting crap, I got it cleaned in two hours. I also spent a good portion of Sunday working from home and some time on Monday in the office working as well. The things you do to stay employed!

A big week ahead, I don’t expect to get much sleep this week, so Will head to bed early tonight (hopefully) to try and get a least one night of half decent sleep. The rest of the week is going to be full on!

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2 years ago during my trip around the world, I was visiting Seattle with Brad & Corey and we had planned to head out for dinner. I am a pretty fussy eater at times, so was brad, being that it was only my second time in Seattle, I didn’t know where to go and I had really just been starting to get into twitter just prior to that trip. So I thought I might try something out. I tweeted out for some help on where to eat. I was given a recommendation of a restaurant by someone on twitter. The recommendation was for Steelhead Diner down by the market place. I instantly fell in love with the restaurant and when I returned for my interviews with my job later that year, I returned (it was restaurant week). I also got another recommendation for Skillet Diner from the same person. Who would of known at the time, but that person to this day has never failed with their recommendations to me.

@Seattlemaven on twitter (or you can just call her Ann which is her real name) was the person who gave me that first recommendation. Since there are so many places to eat in this city, I have needed help to find the best places and Ann has never let me down… EVER. So many of the places I have eaten at like Barrio, Hudson, Steelhead so many more, all have been suggested by Ann, all of them I have loved. When Yena came to visit me, she told me she wanted a night out on the town. I had no idea where to take her, so I turned to the one person who had yet to let me down. I reached out and got some tips of the places that fit what Yena had told me what she wanted.

In the end we only had time for one place out and we went with what was a favourite. If @seattlemaven loves it it HAS to be good right? That bar was Suite 410 and Yena loved it. It was as though they combined two of her favourite bars from back home into the one place over here. With Yena loving it so much, I felt that I had to reach out and write this blog post, because a simple thank you would not convey just how much I am grateful for making one of my friends so happy.

Funnily enough Ann works for the Seattle Visitors Bureau (@visitseattle) and all I can say is that if you EVER need any help in seeing or doing something in Seattle or need help in finding out where to eat, drink or be merry, They can help. In this day and age it is tough to find out who to trust with recommendations. Sites like Yelp, Urbanspoon etc are good, but it is tough to work out the real from the fake. I know now who to trust and I suggest you all listen when you see a suggestion from these guys, because it is spot on!

So to Ann I must say a big, giant THANK YOU! For being the fantastic wealth of knowledge of all things Seattle that you are, but most of all I want to say just how grateful I am that you can make me and my friends happy, that you are kind enough to share your knowledge and passion for this city, asking nothing but kindness (or maybe the occasional bit of food porn) in return.

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Well the big day finally arrived yesterday morning. The culmination of all the Breakfast “research”. I gave my friend Yena all the options with one Extra one, another recommendation for something new to try that apparently has the best Biscuits & Gravy. Yena had no real idea what that was, so we went with it. Something a little bit different right? Hudson is down in the Georgetown area of Seattle which is near the Port/Boeing Field area. Pretty much its all industrial and it is fairly basic. Absolutely dive bar location and in the middle of no where, bring it on! Funnily enough its located next door to a Haunted House.

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

We took a seat at the Bar (not a counter, a real bar) and the menu was left for us and some water. The Menu was fairly basic really, but there was a good range of Booze options. This is more a bar than a restaurant so that is understandable.

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

I took the biscuits & Gravy and a side of hash while Yena went with something that was just crazy++ a Monte Cristo sandwhich made with French toast! Seriously! Sounded pretty awesome. Food was quick and I was barely into my first cup of coffee when it came out (ps they use Umbria coffee, so the coffee is gooooood).

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

The food was good, the biscuits were light and fluffy and the gravy was nice (though it has been a while since I have had country gravy). Prices were really reasonable and the portions not overly huge but not tiny tiny rip off. I would say that it was a good score.

Was it the best breakfast in Seattle? Probably not… however the reason I was there wasn’t all about the food, but the company. Keeping alive a tradition that the two of us have had for many years. The Brunch buddies were back in action and I made the agreement (and hopefully Yena will continue it as well) that I will keep having brunches out even if it is on my own. Going to keep trying to find the best Breakfast/Brunch in Seattle.. even if I have to do it on my own… without my buddy.

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It’s Labor Day weekend! This time last year I was travelling to the other side of the country to the US Air Force Museum to spend the weekend mileage running and checking out awesome planes. Getting to spend the weekend with two aircraft that I have always wanted to see (the XB-70 and the YF-12) was pretty awesome. Well this year is a little bit different, because my friend Yena decided to come visit. Originally planned to come in around the start of the month right around my birthday, but plans changed and so Yena was coming for a couple of nights (just two sadly) and it would be like old times. Earlier in the month I had already played tour guide for Fiona, but this time was a little bit different. This was like the old days when Yena and I got to hit up France or like back at home when we explored TNQ thanks to 5 Star Mal 😀 This time it would be me hosting, but I would be having some time off to enjoy myself while I played tour guide.

I picked Yena up late Thursday night (after traffic from hell) and we enjoyed a quiet evening of that Seattle staple of Teriyaki, a few stories before hitting the sack, both of us were dead to the world pretty quickly. Friday morning was a little bit the usual for me, work outs, breakfast and fixing air bookings (thanks Tripit for being not so great). With that all done and the sun coming out we decided to head downtown for a bit of random wandering while we explored the city and hit up some time with the big gaming festival PAX on.

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

After plenty of random wanderings and taking Yena up to the top of the Columbia Center we jumped in the truck (after a failed attempt at trying to have lunch at the Batali Families Salumi) and headed up to Kerry Park for some beautiful Skyline Shots:

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

After that it was some power shopping at the Mall so Yena could pick up some things before her last flights home and some lunch at a new Vietnamese Pho place (barely opened and the broth was gooooooood). Then it was off to the Boeing Factory and the Future of Flight to show Yena exactly where I really live 😉 I did earn myself $20 in the process though (thanks Blaine!)

From Labor Day 2013

Friday night I took Yena out on the town (her request) and after some advice from a some friends we had a good plan set (though since we were running behind It didn’t quite go to plan). We had dinner near Pikes Place Market at Steelhead Diner:

From Labor Day 2013

Then after not being able to get a park on Capitol Hill, we headed for a nightcap (or two) at Suite 410:

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

Today was a little bit of the usual adventures of a big loop from Pikes Place, along the waterfront up to the Olympic Sculpture Park, to Seattle Center and the Space Needle, then the Monorail down to Westlake and back to Pikes Place. I wasn’t feeling so crash hot, so no usual Lunch for me, but we still had a final coffee together at the “First” Starbucks. One last drink before I drove her (slowly) back to the airport so she could begin her journey home.

From Labor Day 2013
From Labor Day 2013

One thing I will say about having one of my closer friends coming to visit is that it is totally different compared to just other friends or family. I got to really relax, and have fun being a tour guide/tourist in my own town. I got to explore and although I have been to these places before, I still enjoyed it. I still had the best time. As I drove away from the airport on my own I was a little bit sad, but I thought back over how awesome the weekend was and knew that it was all about one thing. This:

From Labor Day 2013

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When my parents decided to finally try and venture further out of Australia than New Zealand, I hoped and prayed that they would come my way. Sadly the closest they would come would be Vancouver (I got told it was due to the tour company, but who knows). Thankfully I was able to coordinate a weekend up in Vancouver when they were going to be there, prior to them flying home to Australia. What it meant for me was time to spend with my family.

My parents were scheduled to step off their Alaska Cruise saturday morning, so it meant if I drove up Friday night, I could have an night to myself, a morning to hit the Grind and then spend the rest of the day with my folks and possibly catch up with someone else on Sunday morning before hitting the road back to Seattle. Plans settled!

I drove up last Friday night and unfortunately got my first windscreen chip in the truck 🙁 Thankfully (if you can be thankful) it is on the passengers side of the truck right down low. But the border crossing wasn’t to bad and after dropping off some donuts at a mates place on the way north, I was safely in bed in Vancouver without a hassle. Back at my old haunt the Fairmont! Saturday morning I got up super early and headed straight to Grouse Mountain to get on that trail before it got way to crowded. I was aiming for less than an hour. My prize for getting under an hour. Ice Cream! I made it in 57 mins, with no issues at all. Hell I was suprised I didn’t have to run the last bit. Though I was disappointed that you now have to pay to come down the mountain when previously it was free. After breakfast I ran into my parents in the lobby of the hotel and as expected. My mum burst into tears right in the middle of the lobby.

I got to spend a good afternoon with my family, we went over to Granville Island to the markets (they had some lunch) and then Dad came with me while I ran some errands (I was not letting him near the drivers seat of the truck) and then I took dad to try his first Japadog! He actually liked it! (my mum and aunt would not even get close to even remotely wanting to try).

From Family Visit to Vancouver

After a quiet afternoon it was time to celebrate my Mums Birthday. So we went out for a special dinner and it was me this time wanting to show them an amazing restaurant in Vancouver (probably the only one I really know). Tojo’s was introduced to me a few years back by a fellow contiki traveller and friend. It was a great experience and I had to go again. This time I did order the Omakase and it was worth every cent! My parents had a great time and of course, Tojo’s did not disappoint with singing my mum Happy Birthday

Of course, I was going to take my parents out for a special ice cream (and for my reward) but the place I wanted to go had about a 45 minute wait, and I wasn’t going to put them through that, so we went back to the hotel and I went for a walk to get ice cream myself, which was overpriced and crappy… No reward at all. More like pity in a cup.

Sunday morning I hit up a ride thanks to the hotels free bikes and then after breakfast with my aussie friend Roylene, I headed home to Seattle. thanks to a 90 minute border crossing and being totally behind plan for the day, I threw caution to the wind and indulged in that ice cream reward by going to Snow Goose but that is for another day.

My time with my family may have been limited, but it was better than the three hours I had with them back in April. I miss them already and wish I could of stayed longer but work rules my life at the moment. So I take what I can get, and cherish the moments I do get. Who knows.. maybe they will come back and spend some time with ME this time. Who cares though. I have photos like this to keep me happy for a while

From Family Visit to Vancouver

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My god the triathlon is less than 2 weeks away and now I need to get serious.

It is tough to fit all the training I need to do around everything else with friends and family visiting, it is not an ideal situation. But I have already paid the entry fee and invested almost 3 months of my life to this tri, it is to late to turn back now.

I am improving and the individual legs don’t worry me it is just mixing it all together! The transitions etc worry me the most and if that’s the worst on my mind then that’s not to bad right?

Time will tell how it all goes but I think its time to get more focused on my training, everything else comes second right?