Happy New Year!

After a half day at work and a brief respite from the 40/104 degree heat I headed into the city to meet up with Chantal and her cousin and friends for a lovely New Year's Eve dinner at Seamstress on Lonsdale Street.  They had a 7 course degustation menu with the option of wine matching with each course.  Here is what we ate:

• Peking duck consomme with shaved green lip abalone and quad of poached Chinese mushrooms
• Pan seared wild harvest scallop stuffed with tailor made XO on poached iceberg lettuce
• Swallowed clouds... poached won tons of snake bean and golden sweet kaukau with green pea puree, coriander foam and flying fish roe
• Terrine of pork hock and oolong tea smoked duck with pickled watermelon
• Hiramasa kingfish carpaccio with young coconut, lime and pomegranate dressed in snow pea tendrils
• Cleansing parsley and lemon sorbet
• Crisp fried five spice quail, salad of fresh garden herbs, cucumber julienne and pink ginger
• Ponzu marinated wagyu and twice cooked pork belly served with drunken potatoes and gai larn
• Petit fours and coffee

The food was amazing and just the perfect amount over the few hours we were there.  My favorite courses were the won tons and the quail.  After we finished eating it was very close to midnight so we rushed outside just in time to see bits of the fireworks show that were happening along the Yarra River.  We wandered for a bit around the city and down to Federation Square before heading home.  Happy New Year to you all and may 2011 live up to and exceed your expectations.

Happy New Year

It is 2008 here in Australia and soon to be in the United States. I spent my New Year's Eve at The Espy in St. Kilda with Tash and her friend Steve listening to various bands. We caught the second half of Children Collide's set, rang in the new year with Architecture in Helsinki and caught a couple songs from Rocket Science before heading home. It was an incredibly hot night as temperatures during the day were 41/106 degrees, and it was still 30/86 degrees by the time I got home around 3:00 am. I've been lying low today as it reached 41 degrees again, but a cool change has finally come through, so I should be able to sleep tonight. I hope you all have a fantastic 2008!

New Year's Greetings

While I sweated my way into the new year (it was 43 degrees C/109 degrees F on New Year's Eve), my family and friends in the Bay Area had to deal with torrential downpours and flooding. I hope you made it into 2006 in one piece! A new year allows you to step back, take stock, and start fresh. Resolutions or goals help you to focus on what you want to accomplish, and writing them down is one way to make sure they happen and keep yourself honest. So here are my goals for 2006:

1. Find a Job
The job hunt so far has been unsuccessful. Each school does its own hiring, so when I see postings I apply for the position. There have only been a couple of postings for government school jobs, and I'm hoping that will be changing soon as people return from holidays and start getting ready for the new school year at the end of this month. I have applied to quite a few Catholic schools, but since I am not accredited to teach religious education, I think that has hurt my chances of getting hired. I would really like to have a permanent classroom position for the start of the school year, but if all else fails, I will substitute teach through an agency. This would allow me to get to know some local schools and more than likely result in a permanent job. At least they pay substitutes twice the amount I would get in the States.

2. Finish Decorating my Apartment
There are still some small little things I would like to get. I also need to rescue my belongings, which have been stuck in customs and quarantine in Sydney since the ship docked on November 18th. All my posters, photos, and picture frames are in there, along with my dishes and pots and pans. I know there were big computer issues at the docks a few months ago, but I would have thought they had straightened it all out by now. Time for another call to the removalists who are handling my stuff.

3. Have a Consistent Exercise Schedule
I have been a member of the YMCA Brunswick City Baths since I moved in to my place. They have a great schedule of exercise classes to choose from and are just a short walk down the road. I usually go 3 - 4 times a week, but I would like to get more consistent and make it there 5 - 6 times a week. I already do Body Pump (weights) and RPM (cycling), but I want to add in kickboxing and yoga on a regular basis.

4. Better Communication with Friends
Moving half way around the world can make it difficult to stay in touch with people. You get busy with the day to day events and pretty soon it becomes weeks since you last spoke with someone. I really want to make the effort to stay in contact with my friends and family. This blog lets you know what I am up to, but without e-mail or phone calls, the conversations get lost. I want to do a better job of corresponding, so I promise to respond back in a timely fashion. And don't be afraid to write to me- I love hearing what people are up to. As for my Aussie friends, I should be seeing and talking to you more frequently than I currently do. We are finally living in the same city together (well, most of you are at least), so let's do something fun.

I hope you and your family have a fantastic 2006! Maybe I've inspired you to write your own list of goals for the new year.