ONE MORE SLEEP!!

This is how I feel about how it's only ONE MORE SLEEP til I leave... 

and only FOUR MORE SLEEPS (or something) til I get to Russia!!

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

I do look kind of undead-slash-serial-killer here...  I was going for something more like mixed shock and excitement.  I'm told that I have an expressive face, but somehow when I try to show a particular emotion it doesn't tend to work out so well.  Ah well, there had to be something I wasn't good at.

Rowing Times

Saturday 6 and Tuesday 9 August 2011

On the weekend, Mum's rowing crew (St George Masters W4x) came to Rotorua and joined the Masters from there and from Tauranga Bay of Plenty Club for a rowing camp.  They invited me as well.  It was a great weekend.  Everybody mixed clubs and crews and rowed together.  My first row was with two men from Tauranga BOP and one lady from Rotorua - see the top photo, that's me third from the left in that tiny wee far away boat.  Wellington rowers will be pleased to know that I always row in my Wellington Club hat.  We had another row on Saturday morning, when I went out with Mum and Stew and another of the men from their club, and then on Sunday we tried again, somewhat less successfully because the weather Really Packed Up.  It was so much fun, everybody was really friendly and the hospitality shown by the Rotorua Masters was amazing.

As we were leaving on Sunday, one of Mum's crew mates invited me to come for a row on Tuesday (today) in Auckland with them, which was really nice, and my stepdad Stew offered to take a double out with me, so that's the haps in the second photo.  I thought we had a pretty good row!

Aside from that, there's been much lying around the house and sleeping and eating chocolate and pretending to help Mum with all her work but not really achieving much.  I must be unwinding, I've been sleeping so early and so hard every night, and waking up is like coming out of a coma.

By this time tomorrow, I will have been in the air for three and a half hours, everything going to plan...  Which will mean that I'm quarter of the way to Hong Kong!  I'm looking forward to Hong Kong, that should be fun for a few days.  I like to be very organised when I travel, so I already know exactly how I'm getting from the airport into town (the Airport Express train), how much it costs (HK$90 - not as expensive as it sounds!), where I'm staying (Regal Oriental Hotel), I've found it on the map, and I know how I'm getting from the train stop to the hotel (taxi).  I really hope they give us dinner on the plane, I do not want to be dealing with that at 10.30pm when I get to the hotel!

So, tomorrow at 10am, to the aiport!