Happy New Year and ooVoo.com

100th Blog Post

Here is my 100th Blog post. It is a Christmas montage of Video and Photos. The negative is that youtube would not allow my music to be played. So please feel free to play some sweet Christmas music in the background as you view my video. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I also got to witness some sheep being sheared so you should check that video out at the link below.

Link

Thats all I have for you guys.

Please insert in the comments what your favorite gift from Santa was! Ta

My Favorite gift from Santa was my new Nike and New Balance Running Singlets

Merry Christmas and Tree Hunt

On the 1st Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
A Gorilla playing the Drums

Hope All enjoyed the countdown! Let next years start now!

Merry Christmas
Our Tree Hunt


Have a Safe Holiday and New Year! Merry Christmas

Weekend Recap, 2nd Day of Christmas, and Merry Xmas

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!


On the Second Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
2 Flying Shoes!


And I will embed the Race into the blog to make it easy for everyone
Watch for the sprinklers!


Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

3rd Day of Christmas

On the 3rd Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...

3 Reasons Not to be an ASS

4th Day of Christmas

On the 4th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me
4 New Zealand Phrases

Just to clear something up, in the last video the count wasnt cursing, they just bleeped everytime he says count and it sounds funny when you here was he says afterwards.

I hope that you are enjoying the Christmas Season!

5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
5 Count Curses

6th Day of Christmas

On the 6th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
6 Akward seconds with Princess and Mario

And if you think my countdown is shit...which no one is viewing anyway go and have a try and this game it is a blast...Personal Best 11
The Shoe Game

7th Day of Christmas

On the 7th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
7 David Blaine Street Magic Tricks

8th Days of Christmas

On the 8th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...

8 Italian Phrases

9th Day of Christmas

On the 9th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
9 MPH of Tricylce Speed

Weekend Recap, Countdown and So Much More!

This weekend recap is going to be a lot more than just the weekend. First off you will notice that I am doing the weekend recap in the old format, text. Sorry but I am bored and have a lot of time to sit here and type away to you. So I hope that you have the time to sit and read.

Santa Fun Run

Last Wednesday was a cool little event known as "Wendy's Great New Zealand Santa Fun". It was exactly that Great and Fun! It was a fun event where we were meant to dress as Chris Kringle, well I had emailed the race directors and asked for permission to dress as something else, like Rudolph. They were all for it and actually thought it would be cool to have reindeer and elves running around along with all the Santas and Mrs. Clauses. 

I was doing this run strictly for fun I was not intended to win I was just going to have a jog over the course. Well when the run started I soon found myself all alone at the front of the pack in my swift little jog. I decided what the heck I will make sure I win, because we all know that Rudolph leads the way anyway so I thought it only fitting that I take the victory. For my efforts I was given mineral waters, cookies and a cool prize pack that included a mini chili bag, t shirt, cap and water bottle. The event was a for a good cause and I was glad I could take part.

However there was even bigger things to come the next morning. This was the first ever Santa Fun Run in New Zealand, and it was also the largest group of Santas running in the Southern Hemisphere, so the New Zealand Herald made a whole big deal about it. I made the article with some quotes and I made the giant photo that dorns the cover of the paper, along with hundreds of Santas.

The cover of the NZ Herald

A photo collage from the run on me as Rudolph.

The Video of the Run Below

So that was the week really, then the weekend rolled right on in and we had even more xmas stuff planned. What I was most looking forward to doing was going hunting for our very own Christmas tree on the Joy's property. I have a whole video that shows you how we did it, but I am still editing it and hoping to get it to you later in the week. To hold you over and relax the suspense a little I have added a photo below of Leo and I in our "Cheeky XMas Photo"

Also over the weekend we went to Christmas in the park which is like a large picnic where there is a stage and acts going on and other side shows and food also. It was good run. 

I have been finding it a little difficult with the warm weather and it almost Christmas, it is a little different. It doesn't feel like it, but at the same time it is still awesome. It is awesome because I did get a summer in 08 and I will be having 2 in 09. (Be Jealous)

This upcoming is the last full week before Christmas and thats exciting because I need a break from work, and we get them. Dec 25th and 26th and then Jan 1st and 2nd and then I have booked some vacation time from the 3rd to the 8th...So it will be a much needed rest. Well Enjoy the blog and don't forget to receive the 10th day of Christmas gift below.

Countdown

On the 10th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to you 10 Children playing as...

 "The Dark Knight"

Countdown Continues...

On the 11th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me
Some street art made from Rubbish Bags!

Dont Worry I will still be doing weekend recaps and other posts along side the countdown. Enjoy!

Countdown

I wanted to share with you my favorite 12 youtube videos, and I was going to do this in the form of a 4 part show. However I realized none of the videos would be allowed to air for copyright reasons. I am too lazy and waited to the last minute and didnt get the proper permission. So instead it will just appear as a written blog entry with the video posted.

It is a play on the song 12 Days of Christmas, but I have changed it to make it my own. So we are going to start at 12 and count our way down.

"On the 12th Day of Christmas Hurricane Petrina gave to me...
A Dancing Storm Trooper

**Note** No scientific method was used in formulating the videos **Note**

Mission Bay

51 Kiwi Things

On Youtube there is this video going around called "51 Things I found in my house" and in the video she asks you to post a reply with things from your house. So I thought let me do a kiwi version. Hence 51 Kiwi Things! Hope you enjoy.

To view the Original Click Here and Here and Here

Post Turkey Day and Post "Mo"vember

So the weekend is over, ate a lot of turkey and shaved off the "mo"! So the weekend was a good one! So where to start...

The Twelve Days of Christmas are coming up and Hurricane Petrina is coming with something special for the viewers of the blog, but he needs your help. I would like the readers and viewers of my blog to please message me their favorite videos from youtube. The only catch is that they have to be added to youtube between Dec 11th 2007-Dec 10th 2008. I need the videos to me by the 11th so I can start the "Hurricane Petrina 12 Days of Christmas Special" So send me the link, title or keyword and I will watch the video and then from that I will start to drop a present off everyday leading up until Christmas. The Countdown starts the 13th of December so get those entries in. Thanks!

So once you have done that you can continue reading my blog.

Last friday I had a nice chat with many of my family on Thanksgiving. It was the Thanksgiving Bunch I call it. What the ones that talked to me didnt know was that I was going to make a little collage for them.Sorry those I didnt get a picture of, it means that we didnt talk for longer than a few minutes. It takes time stealing a pic of you with out you knowing.

In New Zealand I celebrated and gave thanks on Sunday. We had a nice big feast and watched some taped football games. It was a good time had by all.

We had Turkey, Stuffing, Mash Pototatos, Candied Carrotts and Yams, Corn Muffins, Cranberry -Sauce, Corn, and Much More. For Dessert we had Jell-O with fruit, that my gma makes. So I tried to make it for the Kiwis. I think it looks like what gma makes.While I was incharge of the Jell-O, Lynette and Leo were incharge of the Homemade from scratch pumpkin pie. It was so yummy. I mean look ath the picture below! Dont eat your computer screens please! I am not taking responsibility.

Now I skipped around and I completely forgot about the Kiwi turkey that we ate. It was hunted and killed by Nathanial Joy, gutted and plucked by Julian and then stuffed roasted by Lynette. A all around team effort for a turkey that too was yum!

So I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. As I am thankful for many things but most thankful for those that are reading this blog!

And without further ado the usual weekend recap Vlog

I saved the Video till the end so you would read and see the pics. Til Next Time!

25 Days Till X-MAS

Naked Vlog

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

If you want to video chat with me I will be around on turkey day. Go on AIM (rnnngm) and MSN Messenger (michael.petrina@gmail.com) Hit me up it will be good to help celebrate Turkey Day!

Plus I will keep you from napping due to all the eltriptaphane!

Shit Weather

Today is such a shit day out, heavy nasty rain and cold wind gusts. What do you do on a day like this. Well I look at youtube videos. I have found some more to share with you guys.
First One Is a video I made as requested by HugeCanOfWhoopA$$
Postie Bike

The Next Video is one that was made by two Aussies poking a little fun at how the Kiwis say some words and stuff. I think it is funny as do many other kiwis so enjoy that
Beached As

And the last one comes from BlendTec, its a play on the Chuck Norris Facts.
Will it Blend? Chuck Norris

Hope that you enjoyed those videos and I will have a weekend recap later in the week, maybe tomorrow. I'm "Beached As!"

Collage From Kerikeri Half

My Photo Collage from Kerikeri Half Marathon
1:11:49 --- 5:28/Mile
4th Overall ---3rd NZ Half Marathon Champs Open

Weekly Vlog

Kerikeri and the "Mo"

And that is a Picture of my "Mo" 17 days into Movember. It is pathetic I know but it is for a good cause! Just getting my act together and I will be back later in the week with New News to share!

I also received some international press from the race

KERIKERI

Kim Hogarth of Nelson and Hanny Allston of Auckland were convincing winners of the New Zealand half marathon titles based on the annual Kerikeri event on Saturday. Hogarth powered his way to victory ahead of a record number of 2600 entrants. Stephen Lett winner of the Northland race in 2005 led for the first 3km before Hogarth lengthened his stride on the uphill to 7km and on the sweeping downhill to 10km. The 32 year old had established a commanding lead by 15km and carried on to record a time of 1h 8m 16s, over two minutes ahead of Lett. Hogarth said the race had drained him. It's a deceiving course and there was a bit of wind, which made it pretty slow, but I shouldn't be winning a New Zealand title in 68m," said Hogarth. He added that he will still stick to the steeplechase on the track, an event he has won four national titles and went close to qualifying in for the Beijing Olympic Games. "I also want to run reasonable times over 5000m and I'll do more 1500m races to improve the raw speed that was missing in trying to qualify," he said. Hogarth had previously won the national half marathon title in 2005. Lett said that it was a bit windier than other years. "I decided to make a bit of pace from the start, but Kim is really quick on those downhills," he said. Robbie Johnston, the 40-44 age group winner was third in 1h 11m 16s. Third in the open national championship was Michael Petrina in 1h 11m 50s.

Allston added the half to the New Zealand full marathon title won in Rotorua earlier this year, before she returns to Melbourne. The Australian and 2006 world sprint and junior orienteering champion has finished a degree in Auckland and the lure of a holiday in the Bay of Islands was too great before she returns on 3 December. Ady Ngawati of Whangarei led up to 18km before Allston swept past. "I got into the race and felt right, I made new friends on the way and had good crowd support," said Allston who recorded 1h 17m 49s. Ngawati the Auckland marathon winner two weeks ago, improved on her third place last year by over two minutes finishing in 1h 18m 51s. "The only way I know how to run is to run hard at the start, it was good but at 18km all I saw was this greyhound sweep past me," said Ngawati. Melissa Norris, in the 35-39 age group was delighted with her third place in a personal best by two minutes of 1h 21m 55s. Third in the open women championship went to Erin Whitla of Dunedin in 1h 21m 58s. Lee Warn warmed up for the wheelchair section by completing the 21.1km from Kerikeri to the start at Okaihau arriving five minutes before the start. His time to the start was 1h 51m and in the race clocked 1h 31m 2s.

Men.- Kim Hogarth (Nelson) 1h 8m 16s 1, Stephen Lett (Takapuna) 1h 10m 27s 2, Robbie Johnston (Akld Univ) 1h 11m 16s 3, Michael Petrina (Takapuna) 1h 11m 50s

Vlog 7 Quick Weekend Recap

vlog 6 Hectic Weekend

Just a little FYI Gas is now $1.62 a Liter When I arrived here it was $1.74, since then it has shot up to $2.25 a liter and now down to the current $1.62. Just thought that was crazy!

Characters

This past Sunday was the Auckland Adidas Marathon, the course happened to run right past the flat. So I sat out there and watched all 7,000 entries run past. Here is a little video I put together of the characters that I came across.

I hope you enjoy and I will return with my vlog later in the week. Alot went on over the weekend.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween I'm a Nerd!

Vlog #5 CanTeen and More

Well I dont want to give too much away, but I do want to share some photos with you from the weekend. Keep eyes peeled for a video of the day trip.Life Size Photo Frame over the Waitakere Ranges at the Info CenterMaori Figure at Waitakere Info CenterLeo and I on the Waitakere Dam Bridge looking over the range.

The Waitakere Dam

Odd Ones

So this Blog is going to be just some Odd things that are mashed together in one post with several seperate sub headings

NZRun.com

See The Red Insert Below

for a detailed view of the webpage

Or you can check out the real thing by clicking on HERE...NZRun.Com To see the video that was referenced Please Click Here...SirBarry10k And that will be all for that Sub Heading

Moving Right Along Yearbook Yourself
By Clicking Here...Yearbook Yourself You too can do this with one of your photos.

Thats what my yearbook photo would of looked like if I was in the 1960's. More like a teacher than a student but still pretty bad ass!

Its real simple and you can spend quality time having a blast.

1) Take Pic of Face with a Digital source. 2) Upload to the Website. 3) Have FUN!

As simple as that.

Weetbix Stat Attack II (2 of 2)

I hope that you enjoyed all that entertainment.

This weekend is Labour Weekend here, so I have an extra day off. We are playing the weekend by year, the weather is supposed to be nasty. So we are going to see what the deal is on the day.

Due to the day off the weekend update might be a little delayed. Sorry if this inconviences any of my followers. My sincerest apologies!

PS Keep the ideas flowing in they are great!

JB Hi - Fi Vlog #4

Get busy, respond, and let me know all!

Later

Weet Bix Stat Attack II (1 of 2)

And I am still looking for some Thanksgiving Day ideas, just email me or leave them in the comments. Enjoy this video and catch you all Later!

Vlog #3

And for those that are really interested here is a clearer photo of my pink sock. Which are awesome by the way.Remember to comment about things to do for Thanksgiving in the comments. Cheers!

Takapuna "A" Team

For those that were interested in what the Road Relay looked like from the perspective of the team. Here it is. This is just the race, and for those that are curious of the other stuff we got up to on the trip can look at my youtube account. I will be posting some stuff there in the next few days. Hope you enjoy. Go Taka!

Second Ever VLOG!

Last week I brought you my first ever vlog, this week I bring you my second ever vlog! Got such a positive response from them that I brought it back again. Keep letting me know you like it. So here is a quick sumation of my weekend. Enjoy

Christchurch Airport

As I stand here using the Internet at the Christchurch Airport, I write to you because I have so much time to kill until my flight. I am not in the greatest of moods, it has been a long weekend and all I want to do is go home, but I cant.

My flight is at 810 and it is now 540 I have been here since 145. What have I done for the last 4 hours?

Well first off I stuffed my bag into the storage locker place, and went out for a run. The run killed an hour and forty minutes of the time. Then I retrieved my bag and went and had a shower. Yes they have showers at the Airport. These happened to be at in bathroom in the International Terminal. I happened to notice them by chance. So after I took a shower until it ran out of hot water. I headed outside to have some lunch/dinner. I had brought with me peanut butter and jam sandwiches. So I made and ate three of them. Hopefully that will hold me off until I get home at 10 pm.

It has indeed been a long weekend a lot of travel, some running and no sight seeing... which I am not happy about. You get told to book a late flight on Sunday and do that before everyone else only to find out that everyone else has booked mid afternoon flights. So I am stuck here alone.

Blah Blah Blah listen to Mike bitch about shit that he canyt control, and not feel bad for him blah blah blah.

On friday I woke in Auckland and had breakfast, then caught a plane to Christchurch where I had lunch and went for a run, then the Taka club rented some vans and had a 5 hour road trip to Dunedin where I ate dinner. Today was pretty much the opposite. I woke in Dunedin and had breakfast, then drove up to Christchurch we I ran and had lunch/dinner to catch a plane to get home to Auckland. Something that I will never do again...Maybe...Three major cities in one day for three different meals.

This trip has had a lot of first... Like the shower in an Airport, runs from an Airport, and a few others that I will go into more detail in a blog later in the week. O and for those that were wondering I went to Dunedin for National Road Relays... it was good fun. The Taka boys came 6th overall. I personal ran the 3rd leg, 9k, in 30 min. Not too bad, had some slight ups and downs but nothing major.

Well my time on here is about to expire, you only get 20 min. So with that I will leave you with the quote of the week. "Taka give them the 'Bird'!"No not the MIDDLE finger.

David Jorgenson

Ok so this is a story, a true story, about how small New Zealand really is. I swear that I am not making this story up. It was aired on the radio at 9 am and I was laughing so hard that I think I tinkled my pants.

David Jorgenson is a resident of Christchurch in the South Island. David has been going out with his long time girlfriend Emma for over three years. So David has been getting a little bored in the relationship and wanted to take a chance. He had no plans on breaking it off with Emma, he just felt like being a Tool.

So the other day David was at the mall killing his lunch break when he saw a very attractive woman get out from her car a few car stalls down from him. He watched her walk into the mall and found her very very attractive. David decided that this was the chance he was going to take to spice up his life for the time being.

David reached into his glove box and took out a pen and a sticky note. On the sticky note he wrote:

"Hey I noticed you walking into the mall as I was leaving, I found you attractive and was wondering if you would meet me for coffee? I dont normally do this but I am ataken back by your beauty. Here is my cell number 021 8675309. Send me a text if your Keen! - Jason"

When the woman got back to her car she found the note stuffed under her windshield wiper. She did not know what to think, she was flattered but also creeped out at the same time. She had just ended a long relationship and was interested in trying something different. She wanted second opinions though.

When she got back to work she started showing the note around to the women in the office in which she worked. Some said that it was cute and didnt see the harm others thought it was creepy and some just didnt care. Right before she decided to send the number a text she showed it to one more person in the office. The women that worked right across from her. She asked the woman what she thought?

The woman replied "That looks like my David's hand writting!"

She quickly whipped out her phone and checked David's Cell Number and it Matched.

Yes that is right this woman was Emma and the lady who David gave the note to was the woman who her girlfriend worked across the desk from.

Needless to say David or should I call him Jason? Got his ass reemed and Emma kicked his ass to the curb!

Now talk about a small world! New Zealand is a country that is 4 million strong.(Yes I said 4 million) It seems big but when you spread that amount of people across the whole country that has 4 major cities and many regions to live, 4 million is not that big.

The moral of this story? Dont live in NZ its too small everyone is bound to know everyone

First Ever VLOG

So here is my first ever vlog.

Hope you enjoyed!

Odds n Ends

This is going to be a post of Odds n Ends. So basically whatever I feel like typing and sharing with you I am going to do that. It will provide some much needed entertainment in your life!

Rat Race 5k

So the Rat Race is a local 5k that goes on every Wednesday night at 6. It is put on by my New Zealand running club, Takapuna. It is an out and back 5k with a slight uphill to the turn around and then slight down hill to the finish. Overall it is a boring course but a quick one, so that makes it more enjoyable. I have done several workouts on the course and raced it one other time.

The last time I ran the course I travelled the course in fifteen minutes and forty-five seconds and I won in a land slide. This time I recruited some of the other top runners from the club to come and join me. I had five guys come down and apply some pressure on me for some of the race. Most of them were using the effort as a hard workout and not an all out race. The second time around the course I was much quicker, fifteen minutes and ten seconds (15:10). That is 4:53 mile pace for 3.1 miles. For more analysis of this race compared to the first race I will supply my splits. 1st 2.5k -- Yesterday 7:40 First Race 7:55 2nd 2.5k -- Yesterday 7:30 First Race 7:50

Overall I am super excited with my efforts and am looking forward to the next race. The club is heading down to Dunedin for New Zealand National Road Relay Champs on October 4th. look for posts about that trip!

Boredom

I recieved an inquiry about what I do to kill time from when I get home from work till Leo gets home from work and we go running. At first I thought well I do Jack all day, but then I was AIMing with Mango and realized what I do is much more than that. For starters let me list the things I do. These are in no specific order.

Video Chat

AIM Chat

Google Chat

Email

Facebook

Youtube

FWD's

Blogging

Run

NZRun.com

Letsrun.com

Coachwood.org

SRC Website and Blog

Veggie and Fruit Shop

Bread and Milk Shop

Play Hockey Alone in the Backyard

Listen to Music

Clean

Make Dinner

Do Dishes

ETC...

Those are just a few things I do to pass the time. So I have shared some NZ videos with you on this Blog. Now I think I am going to share with you just videos that are funny. Videos that I found while I was sitting here doing Jack All. Viewer beware Harsh Wording Do Not Let Children Watch.

This first video is Titled "Douche Off" and I found this Video on youtube.com as one of the featured videos. It is real funny and defines a Douche to a "T" Sit back and enjoy.

The next is a three part series that pokes fun at the Magician David Blaine. I will just supply you with the first part and if you want to see the rest you need to go online and find it on youtube.

And of course I have found other videos but will save those for another time. So I hope that you got your entertainment fix for the afternoon. Wasted five minutes of work time. Or just enjoyed your own little viewing session.

Weekend Adventure

Ok so after a pretty hectic weekend where should I begin? I think that I will just go in order of how the events happened.

Friday brought a nice weekend, not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining brightly at work. Got home from work and went for an hour run in the amazing weather. It was so nice I was tempted to go no shirt but later opted for a running singlet. After the run I went to the local rugby field and did some drills and striders to loosen my legs up a bit. The weather was so nice I didnt want to go home. After the run I went back to the flat quickly showered and headed out on a walk down to the super market. I bought some things to have a semi BBQ with. I got some beef patties, whole wheat rolls, cheese, pineapple, beetroot and lettuce. After the supermarket I headed home and did some brief chores. Dishes and laundry to be exact.

When leo got home from work we went for another run, this one was only a 30 minute one so it was quick and harmless. When that was done we cooked up our semi BBQ on the stove in the flat. No fire pit yet and definately didnt buy an outdoor BBQ. Afterwards we went out to get some dessert but settled on something from the supermarket. It is called a Bin Boston Bun or Sally Long Bun. The Best way I can describe it is Irish Soda Bread with Strawberry icing and coconut. Sounds like an odd combo but when mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream it is delicious!

On Saturday I had to head to work again... Boring... After work I got home and we did our runs. Then we went to watch Nat play hockey. He plays on the North Harbour regional team, and they are having a 10 day long tournament in Auckland City. This is kind of a big deal because this would be the equivalent to the NHL Playoffs. Which is what they call it here in NZ, except that it is field hockey and not Ice Hockey.

The game was really good, however North Harbour did suffer defeat. They were winning 2-Nil at halftime but the second half was a different story. The opposition came out and tied the game up quickly in the second half. The game remained close the rest of the way until an untimely penalty corner was given to the other team. Penalty Corner is similar to a corner kick in Soccer. The other team scored on the penalty corner with just minutes remaining in the game. It was a tough lose and North Harbour will have to win the rest of their games in order to make sure they are a lock for next Sundays final.

After the game we headed home and went and did our full food shopping for the up coming week. That goes rather smoothly these days as we have it down to a science. However this week we needed to pick up a fe extra items because on Sunday we were attending a Pot Luck Luncheon and our directions were to bring something American. Something American you say... well Leo was the one that figured these out basically its not American, but it is something they dont do here. We settled on Candied Yams and a Bett Crocker Box Cake. So we picked up these extra items and the rest of the groceries and headed home for the night.

We baked the cake when we got home and prepared the yams for cooking tomorrow mourning before the luncheon.

After all that I decided I needed a hair cut. My longish hair was getting to warm for me at work and I chopped/shaved it all off...

Sunday we woke up and saw that it was another fantastical day out. No work, just the nice day to enjoy ahead of us. So we went for our run around 9 am and did an easy relaxed 14 mile run. When we returned we iced the cake and did the yams. We quickyl showered and headed off to the luncheon.

Some of you are probably wondering the deal with the Box Cake. Well here a box of Betty Crocker is about 5 bucks... steep I know. It comes with the powered ingredients, you add eggs and water. It also comes with a little packet of icing that is barely big enough to cover the top of the cake. Since the Box Cake is so expensive it is rarely used and home cakes are more the norm around here. So leo and I labeled the Box Cake American.

Now for the Candied yams, I emailed Gpa and Gma Maestri for some help with the ingredients. Got a reply that it was Honey, Brown Sugar, and Mallows.... no exact measurments just done by feel and with Love. So we boiled up the Yams made them soft, added them to a baking dish added the honey and brown sugar mixed that around a bit and then we added the Mallows and covered it promptly.

As soon as we added the last mallow we jumped in the car and headed for the luncheon. We arrived at the stroke of Noon and the food was ready to be eaten. We added out dish to the other ones and dug right in. There were so many different kinds of food Asian, American and of course Kiwi. Everyone loved the Candied Yams and wanted to know the recipe. Of course I tolkd them "If I tell you the recipe my Gma will kill you!" Which wasnt true but it kept her secret safe. Now however I dont know if Leo was on the other side of the room sharing the recipe you have to ask her that.

So we couldnt stay for the whole luncheon because Nat had another game that we were going to watch. I am really getting into this Hockey thing if you havent noticed. This was a must win game, a big one, no more mistakes... you could feel the pressure in the air the crowd was extra big this game as they needed all the support for Noth Harbour. At Half the opposition lead 1-nil but like stated earlier hockey is a game of two halves. North Harbour rallied with three goals in the second half for a 3-1 victory. This was very crucial for keeping their finals hopes alive. The next game is tuesday afternoon and I am undecided if I am going to attend.

After the game Leo and I headed for the fish market for our dinner. We were going to buy a whole fish and cook it up. We got a little snapper that would be big enough for the two of us. When we got home we cut up lemon and put on some spices and wrapped the fish in tin foil. We baked it for 45 minutes. We had with it a salad and some veggies and kumera (Sweet Potato). The fish was delicious and enjoyed greatly. After dinner we watched a great cinematice adventure movie... SPEED ... Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.... what a combonation. I hadnt seen that movie in years! It was great, so cheesey and predictable I loved it.... then we headed to bed because Monday Morning comes early and that means work! BOOOOOOOOOOO...

Email

Alright so I got a request from a buddy asking me to send him some of things that are hott in entertainment at the moment in an email. I thought after writing the email that it would be good to share the email with you all. So here is what I sent to him.

Dearest Big Sexy,

Here is a list of NZ Shit that is just so hott right now it burns when you hear and see it!

Opshop-is a NZ rock band formed in 2k2. The Album Secondhand Planet has gone double platinum and also the album and One Day are #1 on Itunes
One Day Music Video
Maybe Music Video
Big Energy Little Spaces Music Video
This band is totally kick ass, I went to there concert a few months back and they blew the doors off the venue. It was the best concert that I have been to. They also had another Kiwi artist open up for them. Luke Thompson he is pretty good. I think that you will really like these two. That is my personal opinion.
Luke Thompson Music Video

Another bad ass Kiwi Music group is Shihad- who is an alternative rock band with elements of industrial rock from Wellington NZ. Formed in 1988 by vocalist Jon Toogood and drummer Tom Larkin, who were still in school at the time. They have been around for ages and got good stuff from then and now. here is some of there lastest stuff.
One Will Hear The Other Music Video
Vampires Music Video
Beautiful Machine Music Video
I hear there stuff all over the radio. It is all so bad ass, totally rocks!

The Feelers is a New Zealand band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch NZ. Now I am not going to lie, I havent heard much of their new stuff but they got some good stuff. here is their song "Venus" that became popular because ppl would replace the word "Venus wit "Penis" it kind of works and made the song take off!
Venus Music Video
They have other songs that are good but cant really remember the names so I will just leave you with that funny bit of info.

Then there is Elemeno P is a New Zealand based band. Their sound is guitar driven rock. With strong backing vocals from the other band members. They have had crazy hits with there songs being played in several telecom tv ads. telecom is a phone company down here. Here is some of there awesome music.
Baby Come On Music Video
Baby Come On Telecom Commercial
Nirvana Their First Ever Music Video
Verona Music Video

So you would think Mike what else could you possibly have me look at. Well that was the Music that I thought you might like. There is also other music that I am not sure is on in the states but gets a lot of air time down here. So I will share some of those with you. Will you like them? I have No Freaking clue! BTW you are only getting the link and a brief describtion no big hoopla about them...Sorry

Nesian Mystic- They are mostly a kiwi hip hop group that has some rapping and r&b singing. The song is real catchy and they sing about real kiwi things. Like greenstone necklaces etc etc Nesian 101 Music Video

I know how you like your hip hop so I will give you a video from the hottest NZ rapper Scribe Not Many . I think it is funny but thats just me you might like it. You could look up other stuff from him. Youtube is a great place!

We also get a big influence from Aussie so I have some of there stuff that I will share with you.

White Noise - The Living End

Well maybe the influence is not as big as I first thought. You are probably wondering when the hell is this email going to end. Well not anytime soon! I also have the Europen and American influences to go through. Now some of this stuff I dont know if it is on the radio in the States. Last I checked with my sisters none of it was.

Lady Gaga - Remix Just Dance
Lady Hawke - Paris is Burning
Metro Station - Shake It
Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire

I really like that Kings of Leon song. So much so that I bought if off iTunes! Well Thats it for music. I mean they also play heaps of Pink and Miley Cyrus but who the hell likes that shit anyways...Not Me wink wink

On the tube we only get four basic channels and they just recycle pretty much everything from the States.

CSI New York
CSI Miami
Law and Order SVU
Law and Order Criminal Intent
Law and Order
Family Guy
Simpsons
Power of 10
Two and a Half Men
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
Top Chef
The Office
King of the Hill'
South Park ....

The list goes on and on and on. The second season of Flavor of Love is starting next week. Now that is classy Television! Entertainment for the Whole Family. Kind of Like my blog!

Also if you were curious The All Blacks are probably the Hottest of all the Hott shit down here! They just won the tri nations which is between Australia and South Africa. That was a big deal because South Africa is defending World Champs. Here is a video of some of the sick shit they do.

The Haka - Performed by the All Blacks
All Blacks Sick Moves

What else could i add? Hmmm... right Now i think that this will keep you busy for a while! Hope that you enjoy! Let Me know what you think... Later

Kind Regards
Hurricane Petrina

PS Stay Big!

So that was the email I sent I hope that you all took time out to check out some of the stuff that I posted. Enjoy Let me know if you have any questions!

SRC Spoof

Back in December Sayville Running Company travelled out to Club Nationals in Ohio. At the last minute we were safted by one of the team members, Adam. On the trip we made it a point to make sure he wouldnt forget what he did to us. So what we did was made a video inspired by Letterman's Top 10. It was called "Top 10 Reasons Adam Didnt Come to XC Nationals." The video was hilarious and mean spirited but harmless. The video was made and everyone had a good laugh. So lets fast forward to now.
Well not technically now but pretty close. A few weeks back a member of the SRC community said that they were going to make a video, "Top 10 Reasons Why Petrina was Not at 2008 Ocean to Sound Relay" Well the race was 2 weeks ago and still no video! I think that I have given them enough time. So what I can up with was a list of my own Top Reasons, "Top Reasons Why SRC Didnt Make a Video About Petrina"

15) Suzanne and Kelly were too busy getting into their prom dresses for the after party.
14) Chakloas and Dispensa were "Who the eff is Petrina?"
13) Soltan was too busy training for the 2010 12 scoop challenge and Milk Mile
12) Mark was too busy auditing some company.
11) Beach was too busy singing autographs as Screech.
10) Hopkins was enjoying the after party beer a little too much.
09) Holl was too busy locking down victory for the second straight year.
08) Nettuno was playing Xbox live as BigCanOfWhoopAss(or was it HugeCanOfWhoopA$$)
07) Nobody wanted to make the video anyway.
06) Adam was too busy bringing his 1/2 tights to the dry cleaners or was he at a sleepover with Soltan or was he shaving his legs for the recruits or it was he couldnt find a pair of house slippers to wear.
05) Murphy was talking to that braud at that race with the camera near the finish.
04) They were all too busy being hugged by Terry.
03) "The Batteries on Brendans Camera Ran Out"
02) They have too much sand in their fanny!
01) Brendan was too busy waiting inline for Alien Canopy Tickets!

Well I hope that the SRC Community enjoyed that. As for life in NZ there is really nothing new to report on. So I will keep it at that. I will be back when I find something worth tell you all about.

Mid Week Update

I know that the video above is pretty delayed. What can I say? I have been lazy about the whole video making process. But I got it to you in the end. I am currently working on the video from the Northland Trip and that will hopefully be up sometime next week.
Insurance
So before I left the USA I purchased some 12 month Holiday Working Visa Insurance from a company in New Zealand, Orbit. Well for the year it costed me $220 dollars and that covered property while traveling and emeregency health care. Since I did not request to have my filling to fall out, get infected, and need a root canal this is considered an emergency.
The way that the insurance works in New Zealand is the person getting the procedure pays the money out and then they claim it back through the insurance company. So many of you were interested in how much I will have to pay the answer is " I am really unsure." The breakdown of the cost of the Root Canal is $350 for the first visit $350 for visit two and then $250 for the last visit. A grand total of $950 out of pocket payment. After my last visit I then have to take all the receipts given to me from the Dentist and fill out a claim form. Then I need to make a nice packet and mail it down to Christchurch, they then review it and write me a check for what I have spent.
Many of you are probably thinking:
"Oh it wont be that easy! Insurance companies are pains in the arse!!!"
However here in NZ the insurance companies take care of their customers, apparently they go the extra kilometer* to make sure you are taken care of. Atleast that is the impression that I get, they dont send you on the run around to get your money back. They are very helpful.
So I have two more visits to go with my next one on this Monday coming up, it is an 11 am appointment and I will be taking a half day at work so I can get there in time. Cross your fingers and pray that everything works out well.
*Distance in New Zealand measured using the metric system. FYI 1.609 Kilometers = 1 mile
Vernacular
I received a message from a fan of the blog that said they "Were enjoying my new found vernacular!"
For those that are reading and might not know what "vernacular" means it simply is the language of the locals. Yes they speak English in NZ but they have different words for things than we do in NY. Just like traveling from state to state there is different meanings of words. I did a post about some words ages ago. So for those that dont remember I will post some more examples below.
New Zealand local word on the left --- Our LI meaning on the right
Kia Ora --- Hello
Good Day --- Greetings, Hello, How are you?
Partner --- BF/GF Wife/Husband (In a Heterosexual way)
Cuzzy Bro --- Close Friends
Mates --- Friends
Foot Path --- Sidewalk
Boot --- Trunk
Tow Bar --- Hitch
Petrol Station --- Gas Station
Motorway --- Highway/Parkway
Car Park --- Parking Lot
Trolley --- Shopping Cart
Push Bike --- Bicycle
Harbour --- Harbor
Labour --- Labor
Tomato Sauce --- Ketchup
Sauces --- Dressings
Chips --- Fries
Fizzy Drink --- Soda
I think that you get the picture. There are several others but I use them so frequently now that they are escaping me. I might be taking on the vernacular but there is no mistaking where my accent comes from, LawnGuyLand, Nu Yawk.

Weekend South NZRC

This weekend we headed down to Hamilton for New Zealand Road Champs. It was going to be a road trip with the Joy's (Lynette, Julian, Bart and Cindy), Leo and our new found friend Hanny Allston. The plan was that we were leaving 9am from our flat and on the way down we would stop and pick up Hanny and then continue down to Hamiliton, which took 90 minutes. Bart and Cindy were folowing behind us on their motorbike. We got to Hamiliton around 11am picked up our race packs and then headed over to the motel to check into it. Then we headed back to the race to warm up and get ready to race.
First let me start out with a little more information about our new found friend. Hanny Allston is an Aussie that is studying here. She is from Tasmania, and is 22 years old. She runs for the same club as Leo and that is how they got to talking. Just some other quick facts about Hanny, 2:40 Marathon runner, World Oreinteering Champion, and wicked interesting to talk to. Now that you know Hanny lets get into some details of the race.
For me the race did not go so hot. It was a combination of not feeling too fresh, and a shoe incident that made my race go shitty. I was running well and was hitting some decent splits on a very tough course. The course was 5 and a bit laps on a course that had some slight ups and downs and some sections of sharpe left and right turns. I hit 2k in 615, 4k 1235, 6k 1950 and then it just fell apart. On the fourth lap I was running in a group when my shoe had come untied, I didnt really worry because the shoe was not getting loose. Then one of the guys around me stepped on my heel and my shoe popped off. I pulled off to the side to try and fix it. Got it off loosened it so my foot could get in and then had to retie it. By the time I did that the guys I was running with were out of sight and I was left in no mans land. Pretty pissed that it happened a pretty much packed it in and just finished the race. I made sure that I didnt lose to any of the females in the race, but other than that nothing else was pushing me the last lap of the race. I was the last to finish for the Auckland Centre team that I was representing. and 24th in the race.

On the other hand the women ran a little better than I did (comparetively). Hanny finished 3rd overall and Leo was 6th overall. They also helped the Auckland Center team to a 2nd place finish in the teams race. They were the top two girls for the centre team. I dont have details of their races, cause I was busy running my race at the same time.

(Above: Hanny left and Leo right) Running together at NZ Road Champs
Hamilton Town
After the race and after the awards ceremony we headed back to the motel had a snack and got ready to go for dinner. We headed out for dinner and walked up and down the main street of Hamiliton trying to find a resturant to eat at for dinner. There must of been atleast 50 resturants/cafes to choose from. In the end we went to an all you can eat twenty dollar buffet. It was a Mongolian Resturant and they cooked the food for you as you selected it from the buffet. It was delicious, and I enjoyed it a lot. For the rest of the night we walked around and then headed back to the motel to relax and watch some tv.
We had planned on getting up at 630 to get ready to go for a run by 7am. At 10 to 6 I heard Hanny say she was heading out for her run, FREAK... Just Kidding, I was going to enjoy the next 30 minutes of sleep. I got up with Leo and we headed out for our run by 7am. Got back from the run around 830 had some brekkie and then got ready to check out of the motel. We planned on walking the town, downing a little bit of shopping and heading down to the river for "The Great Race" which was a rowing competion between the University of Waikato (NZ) and Cambridge University (UK). They also had a few other races on through out the day to check out. The day was going to be pretty packed full of stuff to do.

We grabbed a spot on a bridge over the river where the race would be finishing so we would be able to witness a good chunk of the race. There was some pretty exciting races building up for the concluding race of the day which was the battle between UK and NZ. The UK came out ontop this year, but NZ will seek revenge next year.
ToothAche
We headed for lunch after that, where I got a killer toothache and didnt know why. It was so painful, I took some drugs on the car ride home and that didnt even work. I forced myself to take a nap in the car so that I wouldnt feel the pain. That worked except that when we went to drop of Hanny I woke up and my toothache was back again. When we got back to the flat I took some more stronger drugs and they didnt work. We then got on the phone and called a few emergency Dentists to see if I could get an appointment. I could, 530 with a dentist at an emergency clinic. I was so relieved that I was going to be able to get some help for that.
I got to the dentist and was taken right in, I told him what I was feeling he took a look and then took some xrays. He said that it looked like I had a leaking filling that had gotten infected and that at lunch I must of been eating something that aggravated it. So what are the solutions? He said I could get the tooth removed or get a root canal. Well I didnt want to lose a tooth from my smile so I went with the root canal. I thought I was going to have to come back for that or go else but he said if I wanted to I could get it started right there and then. I wanted the pain to go away so I said yes. I was in the chair for an hour when he said that he was finished for the time being. I had to come back to complete the last two steps. I was so thankful that I got into see him. I made my next appointment and got on with the rest of the evening pain free. I will be going back on the 15th for the next steps and I will have to be in the chair for two hours. (If you have any questions about payment, cost, and insurance please email me or ask it on the comment section. I could go into depth but dont want to if no one cares)
Fundraising?
After the Dentist and we were invited to this fundraiser for Nats Hockey Team. They said I didnt have to go if I wasnt up to it, but I was so we went. It was called a "Quiz Night", which consisted of three main parts for the fundraising. Part I The Quiz Part II the Auction Part III Raffle.
Part I The quiz was 8 rounds of 10 questions each that covered 8 different topics. There was also this thing called your joker, where if played your points would be doubled for that round. The topics per round where: Round 1 NZ history, Round 2 Auckland history, Round 3 Maori culture, Round 4 Olympics, Round 5 General Sport, Round 6 Tip of the Tongue (Complete that Line of a Song) Round 7 Name the Artist and Round 8 Name the Movie.
So Rounds 1-3 I was useless, round 4 I was a little help, Round 5 a little bit more of a help, Round 6&7 I was the shit and Round 8 I was useless again. During rounds 6&7 our team scored the most points of the game, and I dont think there is any other reason than ME. LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Round 6 we scored 9 out of ten and then Round 7 we scored 14 (we played our Joker that round). Anyway our team finished up in 4th place out of 10 teams and we were only 4 points from victory and 1 point from third. Points went like the 4+4+4+4+5+9+14+1=45 points.
Part II was the Auction which was different items that were donated by the players and businesses in the area. It worked like a regular auction with the bidding and everything. It wasnt a silent or Chinese auction. There was Olympic gear to win, Hockey sticks and bags, flat screen tv, and much more. and For the Raffle which was Part III they had other lesser prizes to win where they picked numbers out of a bucket of bought tickets. Leo and I won a cool NZ Black Caps T Shirt. The Black Caps are the name of the NZ National Cricket team.
All in all the Fundraising event was pretty awesome and thought it was a great night to get the parents, family and friends of the team members involved in with the team. I am going to keep that in my mental dairy and when I need to give an idea for a fundraiser I will have that. Dont know when I will have to do that but if I had to I have it.
One Last Thing I Promise
As I sit here on the couch in my flat with the TV blasting and the keys typing I am watching/listening to the TOP 40 Guilty Pleasure Music Videos and it is totally an awesome countdown. You know it is the songs that are awesome but are embarassed to say that you actually like. For instance Bon Jovi "Living on a Pray" or the whole rest of the countdown...minus the Brittany Spears...she is not liked. C4TV is Cool
Well I hope that you enjoyed my blog and I will catch you later in the week.

CrossWalks

Went into the city the other day just to have a walk around and the crosswalk situation amazed me.

Trip to the North

So this weekend Leo and I headed up to Northland for some sight seeing and to tick some more places of the list of visits. We headed up to Northland early on Saturday. We made a quick stop for brekkie at a cafe and then made our way to Paihia. We then were going to make our way up to Kerikeri.

Lets start with Paihia, we stopped there for some sight seeing and lunch. We first had to build an appettite up. Paihia is a place of friendly locals, over 250 business locations comprising of cafes, resturants, arts and crafts, many tourism operations and numerous accomadation choice. The first place we walked past was

...we didnt stop to eat here because we had not built up enough of an appettite yet. But found it interesting that all the way in NZ they spelt Vinnie the same way that my dad does. After that photo we kept walking along, we travelled in and out of shops and information centers gathering what we could. We were tempted to pay 12 bucks and visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the birthplace of the Nation. However we decided against that then we weighed other options, cruise out onto the sparkling blue water of the Bay of Islands (too cold), swim with the dolphins (not the right season) or try fishing on the bay (not my cup of tea). We then walked the streets some more and decided to see what else there was to do. A flight out over the Islands or to Cape Reigna provides a breathtaking view of a scenic wonderland, but that was way too expensive. After seeing all to be seen in the town and finding all this information out on things that we could be doing if it wasnt cold, was the right season, was my cup of tea and not too expensive we decided to head for some lunch at a Cafe along the water front.

From our lunch we watched the action that was on the water. Ferry's going back and forth between islands, boats cruising, people walking and fishing on the beach. It was all lovely but too cold for my liking. We then decided that we would try something that was more inland and away from the wind and cold of the waterfront. There are several hikes in the area that lead to waterfalls and other cool natural wonders. However we were pressed for time so we skipped the hiking part and did the lazy thing and drove around. We still had a hike but insted of an hour hike each way it was more like a 10 minute hike round trip. Our first falls stop was Haruru Falls along the Waitangi River.

This is a picture of me at the falls. After we took some photos and video, we then got in the car and made our way to Kerikeri a town that was a few more minutes up the road. Once we got to Kerikeri we drove straight to some tourist attractions Leo knew of First stop Stonehouse Shop(5 bucks to go in and look around) We looked from the outside, we then did a quick little hike to the top of a hill that gave an aerial view of the river that the Stonehouse sat near. After that we headed into town to see what was happening.

Thats where our issues started to accur. There was nothing going on, it was two in the afternoon and absolutely nothing was happening. All major shops closed at two and everything else that was open was either a dinky cafe or the supermarket. We quickly decided to go and check in at the Orchard Motel just outside of main street Kerikeri and there we would map out what we were going to do that evening for dinner and then the next mourning when we woke up.

Kerikeri is one of the fastest growing urban centers in NZ. The area overflows with orchards and galleries, and the main road into Kerikeri is an art and craft trail bodered with cafes, confectionary manufacturers and wineries. We decided that for dinner we would go to the local resturant Red Stone and then in the mourning we would head to the farmers market in town, and then off to a hike to Rainbow Falls. After that was settled we headed out for our runs. The run took us along the river front past the Rainbow falls and other minor falls, past the power station and through the trails from one end of town to the other.

For dinner we went to the Red Stone, which is a resturant where many meals are brought out raw and you are given a stone that is heated to 400 degrees and you cook it to your liking. Leo go the seafood kebabs and that was served on the stone with a side of veggies and sauces. I went for the conventional method and got them to cook my food. I ordered a beef and mushroom fettucini which was very oily but still very good. At dinner we mapped out our travel plans for the afternoon. Where we were going to stop and what we were going to do.

In the mourning we got up and went down to the farmers market. The market was a combination of farmers and craftsmen. With it divided that way. On one side of the road was all the produce and food products and on the other side was the hand made crafts. There was so much to look through and everything looked so good, but nothing jumped out at me and said "Buy Me!" We then headed down to Rainbow Falls, Fairy pools, Water Powerstation and Wharepuke Falls. All very breath taking but the Rainbow falls was simply amazing. See Image below. After we finished our hike the weather was starting to turn and so we headed for the car and started our ride back home. We had decided that we were going to stop in Kawakawa a small town (population 1300) were there was two very unique things to take part in. The first was an old fashioned steam engine and the other was the Hundertwasser's Toilets.

The Bay of Island Vintage Railway was the first stop and it took us for a short thirty minute ride through Kawakawa and out into the farm lands and back. It was real steam and coal and all. This train is set up so that it can raise a awareness and get the Northland Railway going again. For now it only has permission to travel the short distance on the railway by the local government but it is fighting for trip that will span the whole region. The short train was real cool and I thought that my Grandpa Lou would really like it. So I have a lot of video and pictures from the thirty minutes that I will add later in the week. For now here is a picture of the steam engine called Gabriel.

After the ride on the steam engine we headed over to the Hundertwasser's Toilets. Friedich Hundertwasser was born in Austria in 1928 and he first came to NZ in the early 1970's. In 1975 he purchased a farm near Kawakawa, he became a NZ citizen in 1986 and in 1990 was declared a Living Treasure of NZ. He was internationally regarded as a great architect and ecologist and was commissioned in 1997 to design and build the public toilets on the town's main street.

The Kawakawa toilet block with its ceramic columns, garden roof and curiving coloful exuberance has put this town of Kawakawa on the international tourist route and traveleres from around the world pay homage to the man and his unique, architectural charm.

This is just one of many pictures from the toilets, but you can see the unique tile work and all. He was a man that did not belive in symmetry and being limited to the square of building. The floor, walls and ceiling were not level or right. However you look at it though this building is truely a great work of art. More photos to come in the video.

After the pit stop we then travelled back home to take care of our runs and get ready for work the next day. All in all we jam packed the two days with as much sight seeing as humanly possible. It was a great trip and I am looking forward to heading back up that way in November for my next Half Marathon. Also this coming week we are heading for a sight seeing/racing trip south to Hamilton. That should be another cool adventure. So keep a look out for a video from the Norhland trip and I will catch you all later.

Olympics Over

So Now that the Olympics are over I can finally pull myself away from the Tele and come and let everyone know what has been happening over the last two weeks. Besides Olympics there has been some running, working, boobs on bikes and much much more. Let me start off with what I personal have done and then I will move onto some crazy kiwi things that went on that I was not apart of. Just so you can get a feel for what goes on around here.

ME

Other than working and running nothing big has been going on. I did however watch an insane amount of Olympics. My typical day consisted of Working, Watching Olympics, Going for run during evening news, watching more olympics and then bed. In all I figured I was watching between 8-10 hours of Olympic coverage a day. It was good coverage indeed.

Throughout the Olympics I found that I was rooting for countries that I would not normal want to win. I basically followed this basic guideline of support. 1) USA 2) New Zealand 3) Anyone who was playing Australia/China.

Also during the Olympics I found that I was doing some insane things. For instance I woke up at 3AM to watch the final of the Mens 1500 meter run, which I am glad I did cause it was an awesome race. Another time I went to bed at 8 got up at 1125 to watch the Mens 800, Womens 1500 and Mens 5k runs, again another great move on my part because the racing was awesome. I figured what the hell the olympics only comes once every for years so I might as well do it.

Now that the games are over I am lost with what to do with myself. One thing that I am currently doing is regaining contact with the outside world, which is a good thing. And other things I have been doing is reading a lot of analysis of the medal count. So I have a few FYI's about the medal count that I would like to share with you (I also found them interesting)

1-The United States won the same amount of golds (36) that they did in Athens, continuing a remarkable consistency that the nation has exhibited over the past half-century. American Olympic gold totals since 1952: 40, 32, 34, 36, 45, 33, 34, 83, 36, 37, 44, 38, 36 and 36. (The outlier of 83 was from the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.)

2-Michael Phelps would have finished tied for 9th in the gold medal count, ahead of countries including France, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico.

-The rest of the world won seven golds in men's swimming events. Phelps, of course, won eight.

And my personal favorite-China won 27 gold medals in judged sports. <---To that breathes controversy. To view more interesting facts check out Fourth Place Medal .

Moving right along, I got a few emails of concern about my running and why I havent posted results from Auckland Road Champs, and my log. Well here is that installment.

Auckland Road Champs

It was a tough race on a very tough course. I cam 7th in my race and 6th overall in the Open Mens race. The course was a 2k loop of rolling hills and a point turn around. There was absolutely no flat and no where for one to get into a rythem, and with that I found the race difficult. It was good to get the cob webs out of the legs from not being in a race in a while, I have been doing monster training and it was nice to test the fitness a bit. My next race is September 6th New Zealand Road Champs in Hamiliton so I will keep you up to date on that.

Log-looks like I need to catch you up on a month of training...here we go

Monday July 28th - 8 miles felt real good and smooth

Tuesday July 29th- AM 3 PM 9 6xstrides felt real good again nice and smooth legs are feeling good.

Weds July 30th- 3wu/cd 3k 921 2k 613 600 148 Felt real good, calf started to tighten up a bit on the 600 so I ended the workout there, wanted to do 2 400's but felt I better play it safe. Otherwise the workout felt good.

Thurs July 31st- 12 miles calf still a little tight did some extra streching, feels heaps better from yesderday.

August 1st- AM 4 PM 8 6xstrides Still pretty sore and heavy after the workout, calf is loosen up so no worries with that.

August 2nd- w/o with Hodge in Wellington 25 minutes 3x5min and then 30min a little hilly ran them real hard still heavy from workout on Weds but no calf tightness so its all good.

August 3rd- 18 w/ Hodge- muddy, hilly and almost attacked by some cows it was an interesting run and that was only the first half the second half was crazy too. Felt good tho.

Week Stats 84 miles --- July stats 350 miles 9 Workouts 1 Road Race 5k PR 1545 and start New Pair or shoes

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Monday August 4th- 8 miles tired from trip but came on as the run went along.

Aug 5th- AM 4 PM 8 6xstrides Felt good on both runs legs back under me.

Aug 6th- 3wu/cd 8x1k felt really good got them done at 3 minute pace, last two really had to puch.

Aug 7th- 12 miles felt really good really loose not too heavy from w/o but that will come tomorrow.

Aug 8th- AM 4 PM 8 6xstrides Heavy as on the first run and then the second run was heaps better felt real good on the strides.

Aug 9th- 3wu/cd 8 mile tempo started out slow built into it real good5:55 :50 :45 :44 :36 :35 :34 & :23 Average 841

Aug 10th- 14 miles run at a pretty quick pace, not on purpose felt good.

Week Stats 85 miles

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Monday Aug 11th- AM4 PM8 felt good on both runs

Aug 12th- 9 6xstrides felt good on the run.

Aug13th- 3wu/cd 2 x 2 min, 330, 5 min 2 min rest inbetween felt really good.

Aug 14th- 12 miles ran comfortable andrelaxed trying to freshen up a little for race but mainly going to train through this one.

Aug 15th- 8 6xhard strides felt good on the run legs really under me looking forward to the race.

Aug 16th- 6 miles real easy jog

Aug 17th- Auckland Road Champs 3wu/cd 10k 3353 See explanation above

Week Stats 72 miles

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Monday Aug 18th- 8 really sore and heavy quads from the constant up and down of the course

Aug 19th- AM 4 PM 8 3x strides felt a lot better on second run

Aug 20th- 3wu/cd 6x1k under 3 min real tough workout legs still heavy from race but I am training through so got to get it done.

Aug 21st- 12 miles sluggish and heavy from workout and race still but not as bad as I would of thought.

Aug 22nd- AM 4 PM 6 real easy both runs comfortable and relaxed.

Aug 23rd 3wu/cd 8 mile tempo same as last time but wanted to go for a quicker average of the total time. 5:43 :34 :35 :39 :35 :30 :30 :18 Average 5:34 felt real good and relaxed

Aug 24th 18 in heavy ass rain and wind body felt better as the run went along.

Week Stats 84 miles

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Just some other cool interesting stats to share with anyone who cares

1) I have run everyday since I got here, so I am up in the 160's for consecutive days.

2) I have logged 1,084 in the 100 Days of summer Mileage with one week to go and

3) I have logged 2,260 miles for the year so far.

Now moving along What have the crazy local been up to... Well for one there was this event called "Boobs on Bikes"

Boobs on Bikes is a mostly annual parade of semi-nude pornstars riding on motorcycles through large New Zealand cities (in the past, Christchurch and most prominently Auckland).
It is organized by the somewhat locally famous pornographer Steve Crow, to advertise his activities and the Erotica Expo, an adults-only pornography trade exhibition.
2006 Auckland
In 2006, the parade, then much smaller and less known, made headlines in Auckland, when Steve Crow asked for permission from the city council, which was granted. Strong political opposition later materialized from parts of the public and some politicians, including mayor Dick Hubbard and most of the Auckland City Councillors. Legal experts however concluded that the parade could not be denied by current laws (bare-breasted women not being an indecency in New Zealand in this age, as a police spokesman noted). Also, the organizers had technically asked only for assistance with traffic control for the parade and declared themselves determined to go ahead even in the face of opposition.
The acrimonious debate about the parade ensured that when the parade took place several weeks later, Queen Street was packed with spectators. Rough counts estimate around one hundred thousand people, of which about one fifth were reported to be female. The 2006 parade contained about 15-20 female pornstars on 26 bikes and two decomissioned army tanks.

2007 Christchurch
The 2007 'Boobs on Bikes' parade was held in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 2. This parade received less national media attention than the Auckland parade the year before, as unlike in Auckland, there was no attempt by city councillors to prevent it. However, Christchurch City Council did release a press statement stating that they had "not approved or received an application to hold the proposed "Boobs on Bikes" parade on Friday, 2 March from Erotica event organisers." The press release stated that the council must be consulted for any procession that will interfere with traffic, or may require crowd management. Erotica Festival organiser Steve Crowe has brushed this off, saying that it is a promotion, not a parade, and all rules of the road will be observed.
City council and organizers of the event say they had received numerous complaints about the parade, however it isn't in the city's jurisdiction to act, as female toplessness is not illegal in New Zealand. Council transport and streets manager Michael Aitken told NZPA that the "standard of dress of participants is not a matter that the Council can control."
Police inspector Gary Knowles commented that it was a "moral not a criminal issue. We have taken legal advice and unless there is a breach of the peace, we cannot intervene."

Here is an article from this years Parade...

'Boobs on Bikes' parade revs up Kiwis

OFFICES in New Zealand's largest city emptied and an estimated 100,000 workers lined Auckland's main street today to enjoy the annual "Boobs on Bikes" parade.
Around one hundred porn stars and drag queens cruised through the bustling business district on motorbikes, while the male-dominated crowd jostled to get photographs... Read Whole Article

After all that excitment what can I say but I do have one more thing to share with you.

Daffodil Day is approaching on August 29th 2008. Daffodil Day, the New Zealand Cancer Society's flagship annual event, is one of the most important fundraising and awareness campaigns in the country.
Daffodil Day is the culmination of a month of fundraising activities, and is a time when people support the Cancer Society’s essential work.
We use the daffodil as our symbol as it is one of the first flowers of spring, whose bright yellow blooms remind us of the joys the new season will bring. It represents the hope there is for all those affected by cancer.
The National Bank of New Zealand is the proud principal sponsor of the event, and the hard work of its employees helps focus the nation's attention on our cause every year.
Cancer affects 1 in 3 New Zealanders. With your help, we have the hope of reducing its incidence and impact.

More About Daffodil Day is at there Official Website.

Since I know someone who fought cancer and WON I am going to support this day, I will make a donation and rock some yellow clothing to show that I support the cause.

Now I could go on about how Leo's sister Eveline and Family were up this weekend or how I made a mean feast for everyone yesterday, but I am going to spare you the details of that boring stuff.

I will now leave you with one more thing. The TV ads in NZ I find to be somewhat higher quality, meaning to me that they have an awesomeness factor that is greater than commercials in the states. I have showed you the Cadbury Gorilla commercial which is the best one I have seen. I have for you another clever ad for the New Mitshubishi Lancer

New Lancer-New Life