FEB SCALES

So February was a better month for weight loss ... still tracking it ... and hovering around low 190's (87kg).

Im about to head off to LAX to fly back to Adelaide, via weekend in Brisbane .. to catch up with Sully.... so it will be intresting to see how the 2 weeks in Oz will affect the scales!!!

MY WEIGHT-LOSS FOR JANUARY

I made a new year's resolution to get healthier and fitter ... which involves a goal to lose some weight (get to 80kg by my birthday in July)......Now when I told Damian about this ... he said that there is "no way it was going to happen" ... and we made a bet about it .... also involving him losing more weight than me.

When Damian left, we had a weigh-in (at the airport, of course) .... and at the time I weighed 200 pounds (91.2 kg) and he weighed 202 pounds (92.1kg)....I was little surprised to see that my weight had creeped up into thew 90's.... but understandable, given the pizza eating and drinking that occured during Damian's 2 week visit ...so on the way home, I stopped by and purchased a scale (unfortunately it measures in pounds).

Since that day, I have religously measured my weight in the morning (when I first get up, after taking a morning piss), and at night, just before I go to sleep.... I have recorded the measurements, and figure that an average of them is a good indication of my progress.

I have also recorded these measurements in a spreadsheet, and created a graph, which is a easy graphical representation of my progress (I figure if i do that over months ... it will be very interesting to see)

First few weeks, the weight loss was very consistent (healthy eating, exercise, no alcohol) ... but last week was all over the place (thanks to Máté's visit, which involved the usual behaviours associated with having a guest Aussie over ... ie. drinking) .

I decided that Febuary is going to be a dry month .. and the first drink Im going to have is in Brisbane ... when I catch up with Damian again.

MATE IN NEWPORT BEACH

Máté flew in from London for a week.... just like Sully (last month), to get away from London's winter (1 degree and snowing)... and enjoy the Californian sun..... and with a few days of 25 degree sun ... he was not disappointed ... and worked up quite a decent tan.
We played a lot of golf, did our fair share of drinking (I took couple days off work during the week)... and had a great time.

While he was here ... I grabbed his Beijing photos and updated my October 08 posts:
http://okbyebye.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html

This is London when he arrived back from OC!!!

MARCH 09 : BRISBANE & ADELAIDE

Just booked flights back to Australia for first two weeks of March.... Two of Pamela’s friends are getting married in the first two weekends of March (Lucie and Joanne)... and since I have 35days annual leave for 2009 (I carried over most from 08)..... it is good enough reason to use it up.

It was actually cheaper with a Saturday stop-over in Brisbane (Sully will be there, so I will catch up with him).... so it should be good times for all.

Looking forward to seeing everybody again!!

COUNTRIES I HAVE VISITED

DRIVE BACK TO OC ALONG THE COAST

Solvang (a Dutch village)

Santa Barbara

VIEW FROM COIT TOWER

BOAT CRUISE AROUND THE BAY

The Bay Bridge

Alcatraz

San Francisco skyline

The Golden Gate Bridge

SAN FRAN

We left a day later then expected ...(due to Pamela’s ankle, which held up ok through the weekend) ... and made the 6 ½ hour drive from Newport to San Francisco .....and spent couple of days checking out SF ... and it is a pretty amazing place.

Around the Golden Gate Bridge

World's most crooked street

Painted Ladies (thats what these old houses are called)

Ice skating at Union Square

A Ride in the Cabel-Kart

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2009

We really didn’t make any plans for New Year’s Eve, other than to celebrate the night in Newport beach....unfortunately, a fog hang around the area for 2 days (in OC they call it a “marine layer” and at night the visibility was less than 40 metres).

We were planning to drive to San Francisco on New Years day ... so neither of us were expecting to have a huge night (and we already had a string of drinking nights, so this was literally just another night)... but to celebrate the occasion ... we did have a shot of Gray Goose Vodka that is sitting in my freezer for special occasions (my dad brought with him from New Zealand, during his visit in October).

Unfortunately, at 12:05am ... as myself and Pamela were going out the door to check out the activities on the Peninsular, Pamela missed a step (probably the shot of Vodka hit her as she was declining altitude), and injured her ankle .... not a great way to start 2009..... we didnt end up going anywhere .... Straight back to bed, and an ice pack.

TOURISTY CRAP

So it took me few days to recover from the Xmas drinking ... and we decided to take Sully to do some LA’s touristy stuff: Venice Beach, Mulholand Drive, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Blvd, Sunset Strip, and Rodeo Drive....all up a pretty big day (some 200 miles)

The highlight was an adventure trying to get close up to the Hollywood sign (its on top of an unpopulated hill, and there is no access to the public) .. and with a bit of persistence we got pretty damn close.... followeda bunch of narrow, winding side streets to get to Mulholand Highway (which is just called a highway, but in fact it’s a dirt amenity road .... not open to the public .... which drives around the back of the sign, and some public utilities which are located on top of that hill).

Oh .. and thought I'd mention the freak (LA is full of them) we met on the way back from the Hollywood sign ... this guy built a car that looked like a rocket …. Except on closer examination it’s jet engine is fake … and it has a rotor that spins just like an electric fan … not to mention flashing lights that belong on a xmas tree.