In Perth safely after a long and torturous journey.
Breakfast yesterday was at a small cafe called "Sassy on the Swan", which is built on stilts overhanging the Swan River. The river itself is a horrible and grotty red-brown colour at that point. Anyway, we decided that a newspaper would be in order, so Sonia wandered off in search of one while I waited for the food to be delivered.
About 30 minutes later (not really) Sonia came back with a very sheepish look on her face. She'd been to a shop/dairy place and asked about newspapers. After a pause the lady behind the counter said "you get them from the paperboy". "You do?"
Apparently the newspaper boys set themselves up in the middle of the intersections selling papers to the cars stopped at the lights. So off Sonia trots to find a paperboy - on foot of course. And back she comes with a newspaper. I guess everything here is geared to people in their cars.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
At the airport
Well the points upgrade came through, so I am writing this sitting in the Qantas lounge at Narita airport, having caught the 5:30pm bus, and then had a shower. Nice and fresh. 25 minutes until the flight goes, so as soon as I save this, I go to the gate - which is very close.
Sonia just texted to say she made it safely (if not without problems) to Singapore. She is off to find dinner in the rain (as you do in Singapore).
Wendy McCabe (or Ian) - if you read this, it's time to put something useful and/or interesting on your blog. If you've forgotten where it is, click the link on the right-hand side of the screen. :-)
Sonia just texted to say she made it safely (if not without problems) to Singapore. She is off to find dinner in the rain (as you do in Singapore).
Wendy McCabe (or Ian) - if you read this, it's time to put something useful and/or interesting on your blog. If you've forgotten where it is, click the link on the right-hand side of the screen. :-)
Counting the hours
It's only a matter of hours before we start the trip to Perth....
The hire car is booked (Holden Astra convertible), although I have just found a place that rents BMW Z4's (and others) so maybe we'll change to that. I am thinking that if Sonia spends time in such a nice car it might remind her how much fun it is and possibly lead to a purchase back in HK.... watch this space.
In other news....
I am being kicked out of my office today. A new CFO arrives on Monday, and since we are short of offices, and he has "C" in his title (and I don't) I am given the short straw. Not really a big deal, as in a few weeks we get more space (extra floor in the building) and I'll move back into an office.
Anyway, time to get to work.
The hire car is booked (Holden Astra convertible), although I have just found a place that rents BMW Z4's (and others) so maybe we'll change to that. I am thinking that if Sonia spends time in such a nice car it might remind her how much fun it is and possibly lead to a purchase back in HK.... watch this space.
In other news....
I am being kicked out of my office today. A new CFO arrives on Monday, and since we are short of offices, and he has "C" in his title (and I don't) I am given the short straw. Not really a big deal, as in a few weeks we get more space (extra floor in the building) and I'll move back into an office.
Anyway, time to get to work.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Learning
Well I continue to learn. Yesterday I was informed that the spellings of the Japanese numbers that I had written on my white board were incorrect (refer to an entry a few days back)!
6 should be "roku"
7 should be "schichi" not hitchi
8 should be "hachi" not hutchi
9 should be "kyu" not qu
10 should be "ju" not dew - although that's so close I'll never be able to tell the difference.
6 should be "roku"
7 should be "schichi" not hitchi
8 should be "hachi" not hutchi
9 should be "kyu" not qu
10 should be "ju" not dew - although that's so close I'll never be able to tell the difference.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Island ECC
Well the church has a new website - click the link on the right-hand side of the page underneath the Eggs Benedict ratings (you can see priorities here!).
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Back to HK
Well this weekend coming, Sonia and I will be back in HK. I have a couple of meetings booked on Friday, so tonight I jump on a plane at 6:30, then fall into bed by around 11:30. Sonia gets in on Friday night. It's only a short trip for both of us, as we need to be back at our desks the following week - Monday for Sonia, Tuesday for me (Monday is a holiday in Tokyo).
It will be good to have a chance to make sure the apartment is still ok before we swan off on holiday in Perth/Margaret River the following weekend.
Not much to tell right now. Oh, I am taking some Japanese lessons - the team have been teaching me some basics (numbers are below), but it's important to have some of the formal phrases you need in a business context.
1 = ichi
2 = ni (as in knee)
3 = sun
4 = see
5 = go
6 = rock
7 = hitchi
8 = hutchi (I think)
9 = qu (as in queue)
10 = dew
Strangely if you want to indicate 50, you actually say "go-dew". Similarly, 15 is "dew-go". I guess it makes some sense, but it will take a bit of getting used to.
It will be good to have a chance to make sure the apartment is still ok before we swan off on holiday in Perth/Margaret River the following weekend.
Not much to tell right now. Oh, I am taking some Japanese lessons - the team have been teaching me some basics (numbers are below), but it's important to have some of the formal phrases you need in a business context.
1 = ichi
2 = ni (as in knee)
3 = sun
4 = see
5 = go
6 = rock
7 = hitchi
8 = hutchi (I think)
9 = qu (as in queue)
10 = dew
Strangely if you want to indicate 50, you actually say "go-dew". Similarly, 15 is "dew-go". I guess it makes some sense, but it will take a bit of getting used to.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Cooling off
Well things are starting to cool down here in Tokyo, while Sonia continues to sweat it out in Bangkok. A few rainy days have meant that the temperature has dropped back into the twenties - positively chilly! Not really, but it has been better on the last two or three mornings walking to work.
Sonia flys up tonight, arriving early tomorrow morning. Since she has spent most of the week with a cold, I am not sure what we will get up to around Tokyo, but there is a nice restaurant I was thinking of getting to. And of course maybe we should look for Eggs Benedict to review.
There is an IT/Gadgets place called Akihabara which I'd like to take Sonia to see - amazing area full of shops with tvs, stereos, computers, and anything else gadget-wise that you can think of. It is also known as one of the places that exhibits a more quirky aspect of Japanese culture - "maid cafes". They are innocent (as opposed to sleazy) places where all of the waitresses are dressed in french maid uniforms. I've not seen one of these cafes, but walking around the gadget shops you see the waitresses walking past outside. There are a few strange aspects of the culture here, so maybe over time I can write some more.
Once great thing is the sushi. Amazing, and so fresh. I particularly like the tuna - so much more tender than tuna in NZ. It really does melt on your tongue. I will be keeping a lookout for "real" sushi places back in NZ - now that I know what to look for. Most of the places I've been here make the sushi fresh, right in front of you. These are guys who have trained for 10 years to know how to do it right. They told me yesterday (through translator) that there is a special way you make the rice into the sushi shapes in order to maintain the correct amount of air in it. Otherwise it ends up becoming heavy and solid. And there is a special mix of vinegar, sugar and salt that works best. Whatever... it tastes amazing.
And I can now say that I've eaten sea eel (very nice), sea urchin, sea grapes (type of seaweed), scallops (wasted on me), salmon roe, and a few other strange things. I guess things have come a long way since mashed carrots and parsnip? Still don't like cauliflower, broccoli, etc!
Sonia flys up tonight, arriving early tomorrow morning. Since she has spent most of the week with a cold, I am not sure what we will get up to around Tokyo, but there is a nice restaurant I was thinking of getting to. And of course maybe we should look for Eggs Benedict to review.
There is an IT/Gadgets place called Akihabara which I'd like to take Sonia to see - amazing area full of shops with tvs, stereos, computers, and anything else gadget-wise that you can think of. It is also known as one of the places that exhibits a more quirky aspect of Japanese culture - "maid cafes". They are innocent (as opposed to sleazy) places where all of the waitresses are dressed in french maid uniforms. I've not seen one of these cafes, but walking around the gadget shops you see the waitresses walking past outside. There are a few strange aspects of the culture here, so maybe over time I can write some more.
Once great thing is the sushi. Amazing, and so fresh. I particularly like the tuna - so much more tender than tuna in NZ. It really does melt on your tongue. I will be keeping a lookout for "real" sushi places back in NZ - now that I know what to look for. Most of the places I've been here make the sushi fresh, right in front of you. These are guys who have trained for 10 years to know how to do it right. They told me yesterday (through translator) that there is a special way you make the rice into the sushi shapes in order to maintain the correct amount of air in it. Otherwise it ends up becoming heavy and solid. And there is a special mix of vinegar, sugar and salt that works best. Whatever... it tastes amazing.
And I can now say that I've eaten sea eel (very nice), sea urchin, sea grapes (type of seaweed), scallops (wasted on me), salmon roe, and a few other strange things. I guess things have come a long way since mashed carrots and parsnip? Still don't like cauliflower, broccoli, etc!
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Well things are changing again.
I (Andrew) have taken on a temporary secondment to Japan, running anything up to nine months. This is a result of changes in the regional team, with a reduction in focus on operations and IT (my area). The Japan work is very much a temporary thing, at least from my perspective.
I will be returning to HK every few weeks. On other weeks, Sonia will fly up to Tokyo and explore the wonders of Japanese society. The apartment in HK is still home, so no changes in address or phone number (not that we ever answer the home phone anyway!). My email address is changing - for anyone who has it, just replace prudential.com.hk with pcalife.co.jp.
Coincidentally, Sonia is getting the opportunity to spend some of her time in Bangkok. Just as well we don't have a cat. Well, at least not in HK. Hope Phoebe is still ok. It does mean that we have a range of choices for where we spend the weekends - HK, Bangkok, or Tokyo.
We are off to Perth and the Margaret River region in about 4 weeks time. Holiday! We are planning to stay in Perth for a couple of nights before driving the 4 hour trip down to Margaret River. What (I hear you ask) is the attraction of Margaret River? Well, it starts it's life as a grape. Need I say more?
I (Andrew) have taken on a temporary secondment to Japan, running anything up to nine months. This is a result of changes in the regional team, with a reduction in focus on operations and IT (my area). The Japan work is very much a temporary thing, at least from my perspective.
I will be returning to HK every few weeks. On other weeks, Sonia will fly up to Tokyo and explore the wonders of Japanese society. The apartment in HK is still home, so no changes in address or phone number (not that we ever answer the home phone anyway!). My email address is changing - for anyone who has it, just replace prudential.com.hk with pcalife.co.jp.
Coincidentally, Sonia is getting the opportunity to spend some of her time in Bangkok. Just as well we don't have a cat. Well, at least not in HK. Hope Phoebe is still ok. It does mean that we have a range of choices for where we spend the weekends - HK, Bangkok, or Tokyo.
We are off to Perth and the Margaret River region in about 4 weeks time. Holiday! We are planning to stay in Perth for a couple of nights before driving the 4 hour trip down to Margaret River. What (I hear you ask) is the attraction of Margaret River? Well, it starts it's life as a grape. Need I say more?
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