Small strokes, big steps and Bondi.

As a kid I grew up in a seaside suburb, but I never really spent a lot of time at the beach. Sure there'd be days we'd head down for a swim, but not as a regular thing. I was more inactive, a little overweight, and more introverted really. I could swim, but I never competed save for the yearly school swimming carnival and now and again the next level if I freaked a good lap time there. Training? Did people really do that? I certainly didn't feel at home at the beach or wherever there were swim squads or other sporting pursuits.

So today is a life far removed from my childhood. Above and below are photos of Bondi beach today (somewhat modified as you can see) after the ocean swim that was today's competition. I started swimming in senior high school when I realised I was a bit overweight and needed to do something about it. Training on my own I started cycling to school (it wasn't all that close to home) and then after school to the 25m pool which had me gasping at the end of each lap. It gradually grew from there, still without any formal training, occasionally with friends but no real physical challenge. Then in preparation for the gay games in 2002 in Sydney I agreed with a friend to train for it - actually go the whole hog, squads, gym, the works. He didn't continue but I kept on and ultimately competed successfully (it was a lot of fun but some seriously hard work too). I had broken my own self created mould. I'd become a competitive athlete. With time my love for things aquatic continues to grow, I live by the water, swim daily whether it be in the waves with crowds, on my own with the sharks, in the pool with fellow trainers or with with 7 month old Amélie who just this weekend got to try on her new goggles (and loved them). And on days like today compete with people who used to be completely foreign to me. I'm still that other guy too, but I do more things now and I love it.

Life is a series of small steps. Sometimes though we need to take bigger steps and see where we land. The start of the year is a great chance to take some new steps, then see where we are come December.

Getting ready for the start of the week

I've had a busy weekend. It's been a good one. Too much to do to find time to post now though - so here is my thousand words for today.

My first photographic exhibition goes live today - there's no big fanfare, but it's very exciting. At least for me.

One day I'll get more sleep. But not today.

Friday

This morning I wake up and it's dark, very dark. I don't wake up spontaneously mind you, it's a knock at my door. The doctor replacing me has arrived and I scramble to find some clothes to wear before letting him in, handing over in the mumbling tones of someone still half asleep not really wanting to wake, and go back to bed again. I'm woken again at 8am to a cardiac arrest alarm that would wake the dead. I was dead but now I'm not. I think hmm, should I help with that? And as I think it, it goes silent- a false alarm, I get up anyway as I want to swim before breakfast. The swim is good - it's a tad warmer than last night and has the bonus of a glimmer of sun.

Friday breakfast is at the usual diggies at the beach. The weather has kept the crowds at bay and Jamie & I sit outside in essentially our own space and chat and eat for the next hour. I'd been feeling somewhat unsettled through the week, but time spent with Jamie makes me feel completely at ease again. Something about friends who are just always keen to be there and not ever demanding of anything that makes the world a better place. So this morning my world is a better place, and the rest of the day continues the same way.

At work this week - apart from some patients who have almost literally driven me crazy, it has been decided that I'm going to get some of my photos framed and up on the waiting room walls, even available for sale if I like (and I do) which essentially gives me my own gallery space. I'm excited about the prospect. Invariably there will be criticism, as one of our receptionists reminds me, but that's okay. As long as it's all GOOD. 

The pressure's on. 

Can I have a burnt macchiato with a twist of instant?

What is it with coffee drinkers? In the past decade or two the quality of coffee available around the world has generally skyrocketed. The variety of coffee choices is huge - espresso, macchiato, ristretto, latte, cappuccino, mugaccino, flat white, long black, mocha, affogato, espresso corretto, cafe au lait, cafe freddo...

Not only do we have an enormous choice of coffee styles, but a huge array of combinations we can order to make the 'perfect coffee' , with variations including low fat, soy, skim, decaf, organic... (We haven't even started to talk about the choice of coffee bean, its origin and the social implications of same).

Despite the increased choice, sophistication and penetration of great coffee in the past 10 years, it seems increasingly common to hear complaints like: It's burnt , it's too strong, too weak, tastes like instant, too cold, too much milk, too little froth, not as good as at Pedro's, it's too thick, there's no crema... Soon Baristas will be paid more than Barristers to keep the discerning coffee drinkers of this world happy. Perhaps the increased choice has upgraded everyone's taste buds as well.

How often in a caffeine depleted low have you or people you know sought a caffeine hit in an unfamiliar cafe and, at the sight of a drip filter machine or even more inferior coffee culture, made a bee-line for the exit despite a world-crushing caffeine-free headache?

Are those who still live an oblivious existence on International Roast, or an equivalent instant, the losers in this world - or are they lucky to have escaped the caffeine elite with its constant disappointment?

Billboard ads we can do with more of: No.1

This one found at Reykjavik airport is a good example of advertising we need more of. I'm not sure about the tag line, but I only just looked at that now, so it can't be too distracting. 

Mind you when I was at the Blue Lagoon there were only one or two guys who would fit this image, and a lot of tourists who decidedly did not, but when did the truth get in the way of a good ad? (though, when there are one or two guys who look like this do you really see the rest anyway?)

Here we have the shower after the lazing about in the geothermal power station wastewater pool... (technically that's what the blue lagoon is but you don't see that in the ad). Did I say how decadent the showers in Iceland are? Incredibly. 

Hit the ground running

"I'm bored"

As a kid it was my catch cry, with its cousins "are we there yet" and "I'm hungry".

Now I have so many things to do, both things I want to and thing I have to do, that bored is a fond memory. Though really, even if given the chance to have nothing to do, I'll fill it up with a thousand things, plus one or two more, because I'm sure I can fit it in, somewhere. And then on the way too or from wherever I'm going I can be doing things too, whether it's texting, calling, reading, or even mobile internet surfing. Every minute of my day has something planned for it. And some things unplanned; they just get thrown in and somehow manage to get done - most of the time. It's a 'hit the ground running' world.

Down time? 

I guess for me that's swimming or running, or gym. The more intense that is, the more relaxed I feel. Occasionally TV, but I try to avoid too much of that- and when I'm watching I'm constantly analysing - "is this really what I want to be doing with my time?"

But I love it. I thrive on doing things - getting things happening - interacting and creating. And while I love sleep - if I could skip it completely I would. A luxury for those times when, well I don't know - just a luxury that isn't in my diary just yet, but I'm sure I can find time for it, how about next month?

So what's on this week's agenda?

I need to start up a new business. The photography one I keep talking about. People keep wanting to buy my photos. Need to chat with the accountant about that one. Perhaps a few government bodies as well to get it registrered. See if I can create a website with the name I want. Finalise a logo...

Book accommodation for Stockholm & Reykjavik, and look into a few other accommodation options within Iceland too... Oh and then for another trip OS later in the year. (Yes Jed if you're out there - it's happening).

Upload the last of my pc photos to my imac and organise them. 

Take Norten for a walk or 7.

Swim 5-7 times. Cook a few times more.

Run if my foot tendinitis is settled enough. 

Chat to the builder about some renovations. Oh and to the estate agents too.

Write an interesting post or two on superchilled. One that people will want to read and make some kind of difference to the world.. maybe. Oh and find a wild wednesday theme.

I have a few people to catch up with too, and I think I need a haircut. 

Ah yes, and then there's work, and we're 1 doctor short this week - so it will be especially busy for the next 2 weeks in fact. And there are a few review articles I want to read.

I'm very not bored.

But I'm still hungry...

Hobart 2

Day 2 and The Frenchman and I have eaten enough last night to make breakfast obsolete. We head to Salamanca Markets, because that's what you do in Hobart on Saturdays, and the only thing we buy is food including this particular slice of heaven (below) which becomes the entree for the breakfast I wasn't going to have... (I choose the blueberry version)

There's more too, like a local specialty: Scallop Pie, we'll call that main and is very good. Dessert is a dutch delicacy and I buy more but that's enough for now or I'll start to feel fat. Again.

We then head to Bruny Island, because again, that's what you do. And we head to the far south of it, terrorising every driver on the road as we go, (including our own) . Of course at the end, there's a lighthouse - and doesn't every lighthouse have a story of hardship... so I don't read most of the historical depiction of it but instead go take photos of the island just south of it, because it's quite spectacular and the rock formations are great. But I don't like the photos as much as the reality - so you won't be seeing more of them.

After terrorising the remaining drivers on the island and taking in the sights (as seen below with the Frenchman) we drive onto the car ferry that we all independently think "I don't want this ferry to be the way I die". And thankfully it's not. A quick, much needed swim in the Hobart Aquatic centre is punctuated in the open showers with a man who is obviously happy to see me, but I decline more Tasmanian forestry and we head back to the hotel for a run around the locale and then head out to dinner.

SMOLT is the venue tonight and smouldering Lynnette the guest diner, (who is grilled to well done by Sean, the vegetarian). It's good, we share 5 desserts between us and roll onto the footpath to stroll the square, window shopping the galleries then drive to the top of Mount Wellington - where we get out into a freezing gale that wakes us well and truly up (it's nearing midnight now). We rush to the edge, peer to the sparkling city below and rush back to the car to thaw.

Sunday takes us to the deep south to explore the forest, countryside and autumnal leaves. I'm feeling a little blue, but nothing like a bit of rain, suspended canopy walks and swinging suspension bridges to make you feel alive... (see photo at the top of this post). Sean tries to kill us on everything we get into or on and the suspension bridges are still vibrating violently, but despite his efforts, we make it home, safe and sound.

Hobart 1

So after a precisely tuned departure from work, a picking up of The Frenchman, and a negotiation of ANZAC day traffic (mostly headed to local watering holes in my observation) we get to the airport with way more time on our hands than normal so have a reasonably gourmet breakfast on the ground rather than a less so one in the air. In fact it is remarkably good. I might even head to the airport just for it one day, maybe.

Virgin spits us out with some quip in Hobart and the freezing day we expected has simmered into a reasonably warm one. We are picked up by the gorgeous Sean, and head to Port Arthur exploring along the way. The cafe we've been hanging out for since 1995 when we first discovered it is still operating - Eaglehawk Neck Cafe - but as we arrive we find it's closed for ANZAC day - bloody hell - all this way (and time!) and lunch plans are demolished - but by now it's after 2pm and the list of options is rapidly narrowing. The last time we ate at Port Arthur was shortly before the massacre happened there and that cafe is now a memorial... So we eat generic food elsewhere, then wander around and I actually like it here a lot more this time than last.

The sandstone on the decaying buildings has none of the wear of those in Sydney - it looks like it's been freshly quarried and at times I wonder if it has, must be something to do with the pristine air they talk about down here - though today it's a smoke haze with forest back burning that seems to have been very poorly planned in recent days, and we're coughing and my eyes are a bit sore, but I'm away for the long weekend so I'm still happy.

We head back to civilisation and our accommodation at The Islington Hotel in Hobart is it. We're greeted by Kelly who is at once warm, engaging and beautiful, and we feel at home right away. The rooms are sensational, and ours subtly has the seal of the hotel's owners in a painting of two naked men sitting together (though you have to look twice to see that that's in fact what you're looking at.) I've been up since 6.15am and I collapse into the huge bath for an eternity before heading out to dinner. Marque IV is the place - and the food is sublime. My main is 3 variations of Salmon and I can still taste them all (in a good way). More please!

Life is Beautiful

They come in threes, they say about pretty much everything, and my trilogy this weekend was a stomach bug. Just when I was feeling on top of the world the bugs struck back. So I've had laryngitis, sinusitis, and gastroenteritis all in a few short weeks. Regardless, the weekend threw some fantastic events, people and sights my way. It was the last weekend of The Frenchman's family - and my in-laws, in Australia (and I can say in-laws because in France at least our relationship is formally recognised). So Saturday was an all out Sydney Fest - Paddington Markets, Beach, Opera House, Harbour Sunset and AFL match; before their flight out early Sunday morning. The day was perfect, a lot of fun was had by all, and I even got in a swim at the perennially closed Tamarama Beach. We haven't been to the AFL for a while - but it was a lot of fun. I didn't manage to see the big punch that has been in the news ever since, but the atmosphere at the stadium and the game were great, even though I like to see the scores a little closer for the thriller finish factor... Our nephew got quite the surprise when Sydney scored and the crowd errupted with flags and all waving about just in front of him. It was the perfect end to their 3 week trip to Oz.

With all the excitement of entertaining the rellies and of trying to get over feeling hideous, I've not posted a lot. But now with normality restored, I'll see what I can do... though the gut still hasn't quite caught up with my plans.

Chillaxed in Byron

The Frenchman catches a wave.

Bathing in the Kitchen Sink

Guess who built pyramids... (click to enlarge)

I never tire of Byron Bay. We spent this weekend there. A weekend of a bit of this and a bit of that. Some home cooked food, some dining out, some beaching, some running, some playing in the surf, some afternoon siestas and playing with our nephew. Sure there was some pouring rain and there was me too slowly getting through my first ever sinusitis, but they were mere hiccups. (in fact I love nothing more than rain belting onto the roof when you're in bed!!) The weekend was divine. I'll do it again - or maybe The Frenchman and I really will do it one day - and just move there... now wouldn't THAT be nice!

Easter Long Weekend : Western Australia

Western Australia is right now the place to be, and not just for the gorgeous men. It is very much still summer over there and accordingly our Easter Long Weekend was spent along the coast from Perth to the far south, exploring beaches, wineries and diving right in.

First and second stop was Cottesloe Beach which, while not the best for catching waves, is a beautiful protected beach just south east of Perth. Good Friday it was jam-packed with people, from families having picnics to friends out for some fun in the sun. The water heated to just perfect degrees and painted bright blue we ventured in again and again. Sylvain managed to find a brightly coloured jellyfish, which I proceeded to spend 10 minutes photographing, and we both spotted a similarly beautiful beach bound beauty who looked like an ad for apple ipods… let me just click the home delivery box.

A little later on, something stung me on my last swim for the day - maybe an over photographed jellyfish...

Subiaco fed us dinner, Japanese in a flash, and we headed to the Camelot Outdoor Cinema in Mosman Park to watch Juno under the stars. The warm evening was just perfect for it. I laughed out loud a lot more than once - film and cinema recommended.

Afterwards we went for a late night run around the city and along the swan river. I could have kept running it was so good, but we were due to pick up The Frenchman’s family from the airport at midnight. And so Perth welcomed them in summery style. Our Nephew had cried pretty much all the way from France, so sleep was something they all needed. (and possibly the rest of the plane)

The Ibis hotel was fine for just that but we won’t be going back there any time soon by choice.

Saturday had me taking the girls out shopping as The Frenchman took his Brother and Dad to get their campervans (not as easy as it sounds). With all the logistics sorted we headed back to Cottesloe where the crowd had thinned, yet the day was even more spectacular. We all hit the water and played in the sand, the Frenchies looking especially stark in contrast to the deeply tanned locals. The atmosphere here so good we stayed and had lunch – Italian by the sea.

Convoy in tow we headed south, to Yallingup – great name – better place. The waves are huge, all shades of blue, green and white, and filled with surfers and body boarders who provide more eye candy than is probably safe for human consumption. My sunset swim here was probably the most spectacular in a long time – I watched as these suddenly huge waves crashed over me – with the tubes of water so incredible I was laughing out loud in this crazy surf. Colours, light, movement – I needed my underwater camera – but it was too late – and given how I was dumped by the first wave I caught – probably safer without it.

The weekend continued with exploration of the Margaret River region, wine tasting, late night dinners and chocolate in so many guises.. Easter eggs, brownies, milkshakes, hot chocolate (just heavenly - from a gourmet vendor at the beach after my early morning swims) home made choc chip cookies, chocolate tasting at the chocolate factory… I think I’ve found my limit. We left the Frenchies at Cape Leeuwin as we headed back to Perth for our Red Eye back to reality.

I hope you all managed a great Easter break.

WA Full Report : Coming Soon

I'm just back from an Easter trip to Western Australia.

Full post to come in the next 24 hours... (I'm playing with the pictures - like this one above) and, quite happily, I have quite a few to choose from. In the meantime you can work on your wild wednesday challenge... (below)

Wild Away Wednesday

Today’s the day to find the perfect weekend escape. Find a cheap flight to nowhere – or to somewhere glam. A beach house, a farm house, a camping spot by a river, lake or beach, trekking in the middle of nowhere… a hotel room in your own city, or one far far away.

Click onto your favourite cheap flights site, your wotif.com, ozstayz, or trekking guide and find your way out from wherever you are. Book it for this coming weekend, the next one – or sometime in the not too distant future. You might want to do it alone, with a friend or with a whole group, it’s all good, but now is the time to get it organised. Your Wild Away Wednesday.

Where will YOU go?

Race Day

So on Saturday night I get some good sleep - though my dreams are vivid, in one a bunch of guys from a big ute are attacking The Frenchman, in another I'm supposed to jump from this insanely high waterfall off a mountain basically and glide to the river at the base in some raft. Both are disturbing and both wake me up. But I get back to sleep and wake in time to prepare for THE SWIM. Today's focus. Well, one of them.

I have a bit of a routine for pre-race mornings, and I follow the plan. Butterflies have started and I'm visiting the mens' room more than I'd like - but this is normal, so I go with it, no choice really. We arrive in Cronulla ahead of schedule and find our way to the beach past scores of cute fit men, (I'm sure there were others too, but I don't recall them so well.) They give us these new Powerade pre-race drinks - complete with added caffeine as we register. The sun is out in force and the day sparkling. We're surrounded by cuteness, and the world is a beautiful place.

I test the water - there is a lot of shallow water here today so I figure I'm going to have to use that running practice I've been doing at the beginning and the end of the race. I'm braced and ready - and bang we're off and running... and running... and finally swimming, and I manage to keep in the front pack - but some of them do slip by - I'm doing my best, any faster and I'm going to be too lactic for the guts of the race - so I settle into race mode and gradually pick up pace through the 2.3km. In the final - and longest leg - there are 2 competitors right behind me and I have to pick up my pace progressively right through to the finish - I'm actually sprinting by the time I get to the beach and then I have to run to the finish line, and run and run... beating them both and managing to take out 3rd place in my age category.

I can't breathe and take a minute or two before I can move again- I'm stoked - although not as stoked as when I was told I was 2nd, but they later found out there was a technical glitch... So I manage my aim - a podium finish - and get a prize to boot. The Frenchman has a great swim - his first for the season - and I manage to photograph him (kind of) as he finishes... as you can see below...

I've obviously used all my reflexes for the race... but he still looks cute.

In the afternoon we head to the everpopular diggies to catch up with good friends. It feels like home there and cocktails / food / more is accompanied by a most excellend DJ on the deck watching the waves (and men) roll in on North Beach. I envisage the DJ at the launch of their new CD series Cafe Del Diggies, but figure they'll have to find a better name.

I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon quite frankly - heaven- so we stay a while longer. We all decide to buy the house across the road and then we leave to go and sell our houses and prepare for the move.

A SUPERCHILLED Weekend

Can you be exhausted and still full of energy? That's how I was Friday night. Eventually got to bed and slept like a baby, waking to the perfect summer weekend. Despite it being autumn.

The beach was a definite theme and we never got more than about 1km away from it. March is a great time at the beach - warm water, still warm air, and loads of guys at their physical peaks after months of outdoor activities, sigh... and with a Cuban themed cocktail party for the birthday of my favourite cafe, the theme was set in stone. Great and gregarious people, food and drinks aplenty, we were sad to leave. They sure know how to throw a party.

Sunday saw me out of my depth. It was fantastic. I was swimming in a sparkling ocean with schools of fish, armed with my camera to steal some images. I was in the water so long I was hypothermic when I got out, laying in the hot sun for 20 min before I stopped shivering. Sensational! Here are a few pics.It looks like I'm in a fish tank - apart from the waves...

Norten got into the action with a swim with us here in Coalcliff. While there we ran into some local friends who were having a BBQ on the rock platform by the beach (exposed in the low tide). It's kinda like seeing a dinner party in the dessert - I love the eccentricities of this place.

Anyone else have a beach themed weekend?

Gods of Sport

The guys from Naked for a Cause have asked me to post some details of their upcoming book, which promises a lot more than you'll find in the calendar.

"Gods of Sport is the first photography book dedicated to the hot Aussie sportsmen and comprises a huge, 224 page collection of previously unseen images of 24 leading Rugby League and Australian Rules Football stars who stripped off to raise funds for a great cause. Proceeds from sales of Gods of Sport benefit The McGrath Foundation œ a charity which funds breast care nurses and campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of early detection of cancer among young women."

You can find more details here: at the naked for a cause website , and I believe pre-order an advance copy for a significant savings.

Dam Weather

After an incredibly long time of no rain - and water restrictions it was refreshing Saturday to check out Cataract Dam not too far from home, where it is well and truly overflowing with water. As you can see in the photo with The Frenchman and our good friend Janet , it was still raining. Despite being a wintry day in summer, it was fun catching up with people and taking it easy indoors. But now that the dam is full - I'm ready for the summer to recommence. A little ray of sunshine please mr music!

Sunday is my first ocean swim race this year, in North Bondi... I'm looking forward to it. I've certainly had enough practice!!

When the going gets tough...

There's no way up, I can't breathe, there's a hell of a lot of loud static noise about and all I can see is white, and then some dark, and then white and a little yellowish-orange in there somewhere too I think. I'm spinning around, and not in a Kylie Minogue disco way, more a gymnast mid-air in a floor routine way, I'm not touching the ground here and there's no music, yet I am concerned that I might hit that ground at some point and know that could hurt. But air is my focus, and trying to breathe is beyond the concern about pain. I start to imagine what lifeless looks like, and note that my heart is doing that really fast thing, that really fast pounding thing, like it's telling me something I don't already know. And finally, after what feels like an eternity, I gasp to the surface. The wave has passed, I'm certainly a lot closer to the beach than I was a moment ago, and in the race training we're swimming I'm not doing too badly... but all my energy is gone, and I get to the beach panting, and coughing, and feeling like I've just fought for my life. And then we go out and do it all again...

It's a hell of a way to kick off the day, but I love it.

Team Cradle Mountain

It was the Australia Day long weekend and Tasmania was the place to be. We flew in to form a multinational foursome and explored the north including a very big walk to a rather spectacular Cradle Mountain, which while usually covered with cloud and or rain/sleet/snow, was perfection for us today (Monday) under a warm blue sky. We managed to scale the peak off the track - not intentional at first - but worth every step in the wrong direction. Climbing from peak to peak at the top was an exercise in vertigo control, and truly spectacular. We also managed a rare sighting of a wild Tasmanian Devil. Too much fun. I'm going back for more. Thanks guys!

Clifton Beach - Cape Town

Clifton 3
Clifton 3
Clifton 2
Clifton 4

While there is a suburb called Clifton just next door to me, these photos are from a world away in the seaside suburb of Cape Town, SA with the same name. There are a lot more people on its beaches which are numbered (hence the 'Clifton 2,3 and 4' labels) Guess which crowd has Clifton 3 as its favourite?

In my observation of the crowd - some of whom were decidedly Brazilian - there was a very high population wearing Aussiebum swimwear! I was impressed but at the same time a tad disappointed... go all that way... and what do we find?! But what a fantastic place to chill out for an afternoon. Hit the water and you'll do that literally - stay more than 5 minutes and you're getting closely acquainted with hypothermia. The landscape is truly spectacular, and the men aren't bad either.

The photos can be enlarged with a simple click... you know you want to...