Melbourne for two nights? Oh go on then...

Another day, another media famil...this time to Melbourne for the opening of a fashion emporium.

I could, said the PR, stay on for the weekend at my own expense if I wanted. Under normal circumstances I most certainly would have - there's a friend from my London days who moved back there last year that I'd love to see - but I fly to Hawaii the week after for a 10-day media trip, so this Melbourne one will have to be shoe-horned into two nights.

The downside is that I have to re-jig my hours at the part-time day gig - and won't be able to attend the wedding of my two friends from the running group. Which isn't really making the corners of my mouth turn up. But when life hands you something on a plate, etc etc...

  

(Pic credit: Google Images) 

Best wedding invite ever?

It's far too tedious to go into but this week I swapped one of my working from home days from Thursday to Friday. A bonus was that I got two days uninterrupted writing space and have finished, drum roll please, three of the nine stories I currently have on my slate. Yay for me.

It also meant that, deep in Vienna-related research, I was ripe for a distraction. It came in the form of this cute wedding invite, which plopped into my mail box this morning from two of the founders of the Wednesday night running group (sidebar: I went back last night for the first time in five weeks. It hurt). As befits them, the wedding invite is in the form of a marathon entry, complete with safety pins. In fact, the envelope came stamped with the words 'Marrython Pack'.

In typical Brent and Ewa style, the wedding will be at the top of Mt Victoria and guests are invited to run with them to the reception afterwards. Am not sure I will be running but will certainly be there to cheer them on.

   

Cold

Someone has sat on the remote and fast-forwarded to winter.

Today on my walk to work I was swaddled like the Michelin Man (although I do love any opportunity to whip out the softest leather gloves I bought in Seoul last year).

Yesterday, when the weather gods hadn't totally lost their marbles, I arranged a post-work Monday run with a friend from my running group, Jeanne-Marie (French, been in NZ a couple of months, adorable). I spent most of this afternoon hoping against hope she would cancel and I could chain myself to the radiator and drink hot tea until it scaled my lips. But she didn't and so tonight we ran like mad women into the teeth of a southerly gale and tried in vain to keep our extremities warm. But it was good to catch up on the gossip and now it is done.

I cannot insert myself into the European summer quickly enough.

This little guy has buggar all to do with being cold but thought I should share, given it's the cutest wee thing I've seen in a long time (Bristol the Wonder Dog excepted, of course).

(Pic credit: Tumblr) 

Travel Talk Wednesday

From today's DomPost, my interview with the lovely Bill Gosden, king of the Capital's film festivals (pictured below). Click here to read.

Stupid amounts of work were done today, my only working from home day this week. There were interviews and the setting up of, furious typing of stories, invoicing and general madness. There was much nervous watching of the sky and wondering whether my knee would hold out for the first running group in ages. It did rain and my knee did hold out but it was fun to see everyone again and muscle memory did what it was supposed to. I easily slipped back into my running rhythm and it was a great feeling to knock out 8kms without too much effort. Thank you, god of running...

My brain is about to explode

This morning I kept company with three very nice architects as they walked me through their amazing renovation of an historic building (once a department store, now the funky HQ of an energy company).

I have spent large chunks of the afternoon trying to turn phrases such as 'linear structures that provide for greater social convergence' and 'spatial experiences' into plain English. My brain now feels like boiled marmalade.

Worse still, Wednesday night's running group embarked on a longer than usual trot and my left knee is now hurting like buggery. If I have to limp around HK next week, I will not be best pleased.

Today's visuals are, what else, but cute canines.

Have a lovely weekend y'all and while you're out having a good time, think of me strapped to the lap top trying to make sense of architectural jargon...

(Pic credit: Tumblr)

Sunshine

Wellington is currently being held hostage by summer.

It is HOT. And glorious and I never want it to end.

Not that I'm actually able to enjoy it, strapped as I am to the laptop. But it certainly looks nice outside the window.

Actually, that's not strictly true: there have been a couple of doggie walks along the waterfront and earlier this morning, before the sun got too excited, an 8km run with the running group. Hot, sweaty fun.

Once I manage to give this tedious work a kiss and send it on its way, there shall hopefully be time to sit in the sun-drenched garden with a glass of something suitably cold and alcoholic.

Here's someone else who loves the sun. And his ball.

  

Today's blog post was brought to you

by the heavenly trifecta of peaches, nectarines and plums, doused in icing sugar and grilled on the barbie. Served with mascarpone into which a swirl of honey has been introduced, and it's like a kiss from an angel.

This is, it appears, an addiction I am unable to break.

Fortunately the calorie ledger was balanced by a 7km run this arvo with the running group. Today we did the hills behind Ori Parade; not my favourite thing, particularly in the blazing heat, and I didn't exactly cover myself with glory. But I made it and I now have that comfortably sore feeling that comes from dragging my lardy arse around the streets.

Tonight there will be red wine and this movie which I have been dying to see for the longest time. I hear Meryl Street is fabulous in it.

And for those of you who emailed to ask after the Hound, fortunately no teeth extractions were required. He remains on soft food for the next few days, and we're only able to walk him on-leash around the hood, but he is back to his delightful self. And that is something else to be thankful for today.

    

Going backwards

Today I started back at a previous contract I left almost a year ago. A wise old friend warned me against it, suggested that one shouldn't go backwards.

As with most things in life, it turned out to be okay. There is a shit-tonne of reading, writing and strategising to do (more than I expected) and, of course, it all has to be done by yesterday. But the hourly rate is good and it's only two days a week (the other three are taken up with the copywriting gig I've been at for the last seven months) and it's only for a month or so. Best of all, I can do the bulk of it from home.

In the meantime, all my other freelance stuff will grow mould waiting for me to get to it, but oh well.

A friend sent me the following quote today; it's a timely reminder not just to run from one contract to another, or from one workplace to another, but to grab what I'm doing and squeeze the bejesus out of it.      

"I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. [He taught me that] if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be."

Roald Dahl

One thing I am passionate about is the running group; this week I've signed up for two events - tonight and Saturday. Let the fat begone...

Today's visuals are of something else I'm truly, desperately passionate about - the furry love of my life.

   

It's getting hot in here...

This was the view from my back garden at 5.30pm this evening.

Tonight's outing with the running group was as hot as Hades, a complete contrast to last week's run.

But another 7km down and another step closer to reclaiming my fitness (and my muscle definition, which is proving about as elusive as world peace).

Disturbing picture #1

This is what getting caught in rain of Biblical proportions whilst on a 7km run looks like.

And yes, that deeply unattractive possum-in-the-headlights look is partly because I discovered the mascara manufacturers weren't lying about their product's 'no run' properties and partly because my trainers were so waterlogged I could barely walk, letalone run, home.  

Less than ideal meteorological conditions aside, my first outing with the running group was fun and proved the point that without others to motivate me, I'm hopeless at getting my lardy arse off the couch.

Apparently they run in rain (tick), sun and earthquakes, so that's my Wednesday evenings sorted for the next wee while.