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18-Dec-2015 Last Day Of Work For The Year
Today was my last day at work for the year as I will be off until 11th January. It’s interesting as the last few years I have had 2, 3 or 4 weeks off over Christmas, New Year and the summer and had time off mid-year. However it feels like I have been hanging out for my break for weeks now or months even! The last few weeks it feels like there has been a gradual dis-interest at work (by everyone, not just me…) greatly exacerbated by the xmas party season. The kids feel it too, hanging out for school holidays. In fact its probably the whole of Australian society in the gradual slow grind to the break. Probably it being summer does not help.
Today started off early as I was swimming at Cronulla at 6.30am so was up at 5.15am. A great swim around Shark Island with Stu and Steve and a bunch of others, then breakfast & coffer overlooking the beach – a great start to a cruisy day!
Luckily today at work was just clearing the decks, setting my out of office notification, clearly emails and telling people I can’t do stuff or passing work onto my team mates. Me and my team went out for lunch for two hours over the road sitting outside in the shade just chatting, then we tried the new coffee place “coffee handsome”. I left work about 5.30pm – early for me. It was very hot 30C I reckon.
At home I went for a run and a swim at Jibbon and I could just feel the pressure lift iff my shoulders. 3 weeks ahead of… fantastic !!
6-Jun-2015 Saturday .. some joy
It seems I have been working harder & longer at work the last few months, so today it felt like a real luxury to sleep in until about 10am with my wife and have a coffee sitting out on the back deck.
After dropping Kody off at a friends place I went running, not a huge long run, just an hour on what is becoming my fave route – to Jibbon beach and up the Eric St track then back down to the beach on the Sandy track. I did it last weekend in barefeet but today I wore shoes. My running is going very well, just frightened now of doing something silly and getting injured!
Then I went swimming at the beach – which is rapidly becoming my favourite spot to swim as it’s so clear and gets deep quickly – often just 1m from the edge it seems over my head! – just to the right of the rocks and across to “Devs” (as the kids call it) and back again. The water was chilly but not too bad. Maybe 17C in the water I’d estimate. Then jogged home afterwards.
Took Chelsea driving, then went to see Kody play soccer at Heathcote.
After seeing off Dawn to work and skyping with family in the UK, I “went to the gym” over at the oval:
5 sets of:
- 50 skips with skipping rope
- 20 step ups with 15kg “sandbag” on shoulders
- 10 pushups
- 10 knees up whilst hanging from climbing frame
It’s pretty clear that doing sets of reps is a good way to do heaps more than just straight through. I felt extra virtuous as it was so cold outside (10C) .. ha ha must be going soft !
After dinner I took Chelsea out driving again, this time to Sutherland and back. Relaxed in the evening listening to alt-country playlist on Spotify.
12-Apr-2015 Coogee Ocean Swim
It seems to be a tradition of mine to do the ocean swims at Coogee beach, around Wedding Cake Island (2.4km) – they have the “Cold” water swim in November (approx 17C water temp) and the warm water in April (approx 23C). Although today’s temp was only around 20-21C.
I drove to Coogee, it takes about an hour. Luckily these swims start at 1000am or 1030am so there is plenty of time. I even know that parking is really bad so park miles away and walk for 15-20mins. It’s good to just hang out. I saw my old mate Paul Every and we spent a fair bit of time catching up as it’s probably a year since I saw him last. It’s almost 25 years since we first met. The swim was good and I really powered home in the last half – maybe all the gym work paying off ?
I came in 341st position which was weird as I also number 341. I finished 56% of the way down the field in 51min 11secs which is on the better side of normal for me. Afterwards I had a look round the shops and had a coffee. It’s a bad photo with “goggle eyes“.
24-Dec-2014 Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve and the house seemed to be running off adrenaline, except Dawn of course who was working. It was the first day of my holidays and the kids despute being older teenagers, were still excited for Christmas.
Ko & Jaz drove Dawn to Sutherland station leaving approx 5.10am, then they went onto Greenhills to go surfing.
I left about 6.45am with Chelsea, although I was swimming with the people at South Cronulla – the SIPS – Shark Island Psycho Swimmers. We pretty much always swim out and around Shark Island, I would guess approx 1.5km total, depending on the conditions. The waves were BIG today out the back of the Point and out back of Shark Island. I was frankly a little scared and just did what everyone else did and came through it very happy.
The kids were waiting for me as I finished and we all had a nice breakfast together at the Barefoot on the Beach. As a sign of them growing up, I left them to go shopping at Woolies whilst I went home to do the cleaning up and wrap my final lot of presents & generally chill out whilst listening to the BBC World Service.
Later in the afternoon I went Boxing with Jaz at the beach which had emptied by then. Me, Jaz and Ko also played soccer and catch. A great time together and I really appreciated it.
28-Nov-2014 Summer Season of Swimming
23-Nov-2014 Coogee Wedding Cake Island Swim
22-Nov-2014 A Busy Saturday
9-Nov-2014 Swim with dolphins
Dawn was at work today, so I had a quiet morning doing chores, then in the afternoon I kayaked over to the White House, but as I was injured I went for a walk instead of a run. I walked to South Cronulla along the coast path, then went for a swim round the buoy. The sea was quite rough. Amazingly a dolphin swam underneath me. To be honest when I first saw the fin and flash of grey it scared the life out of me. When I looked up I could see it breach the water with it’s fin out – really beautiful once I’d calmed down.
I then got changed and had a coffee at Grind, then walked up to Wanda beach and then back to the White House and kayaked back home. I felt quite sore & tired.
In the evening, I was fiddling around with my new phone, the Samsung Note 4. After Dawn came home I took the first selfie – below.
2-Nov-2014 Summer has arrived figuratively!
I didn’t do a lot on Saturday. Up late, chores etc but I did go swimming. It was very hot 35C and quite windy (perfect weather for bush fires, and in fact there was a fire in the Blue Mountains). I swam from the rocks at one end of Hordern’s to the wharf and back. Going was with the wind/waves and not too bad but coming back was very hard – quite a bit of up and down and water in the face. Afterwards at home when I was getting into the hammock on the back deck I had a small globule of water run out of my nose onto the floor – a clear sign summer has arrived and it made me feel very glad! I even walked the dog.
28-Sept-2014 A Quiet Weekend
There’s no other word for it, it’s been a quiet and relaxing weekend!
Friday night I left work late in time for 6.30pm gym class, did 2 classes HIIT and a Hardcore (for my soft core … it was hard yakka). Then the steam room and sauna then a cold juice and a slow walk down George St with a samosa chaat and Masala Chai at the Jaipur. Caught the train in time to meet Dawn from yoga at 10pm.
Saturday up late (10am), some chores then a swim. Pretty much the first proper one of the summer season. Hordern’s beach was beautiful. just gorgeous. sunny and warm. The water was a bit nippy but quite tolerable. Then after I went for a 3hr run to Wattamolla beach and had a quick swim there and ran back. I took my ipod, Paul Weller, Counting Crows and Pearl Jam, all live. It was hot and I went for a quick dip at home again before zonking out on the hammock on the back deck!
Jazmin had built a BBQ in the back garden we all sat out and had our food out the back – surely the first sing of the approaching summer. It was great and she did a great job, with Dawn her helper.
Sunday, I also got up at 10am. Dawn was at work and all the kids went out, so I did a bunch of chores, listened to some music, did a bunch of reading, breakfast and then for another swim at the beach. Just great. Later in the afternoon I ran to Maianbar, but took it easy after yesterday’s effort.
I read the following :
The Woman Who Walked 10,000 Miles in Three Years [link]
But then there’s Sarah Marquis, who perhaps should be seen as an explorer like Scott, born in the wrong age. She is 42 and Swiss, and has spent three of the past four years walking about 10,000 miles by herself, from Siberia through the Gobi Desert, China, Laos and Thailand, then taking a cargo boat to Brisbane, Australia, and walking across that continent. Along the way, like Scott, she has starved, she has frozen, she has (wo)man-hauled. She has pushed herself at great physical cost to places she wanted to love but ended up feeling, as Scott wrote of the South Pole in his journal: “Great God! This is an awful place.” Despite planning a ludicrous trip, and dying on it, Scott became beloved and, somewhat improbably, hugely respected. Marquis, meanwhile, can be confounding. “You tell people what you’re doing, and they say, ‘You’re crazy,’ ” Marquis told me. “It’s never: ‘Cool project, Sarah! Go for it.’ ” Perhaps this is because the territory Marquis explores is really internal — the nature of fear, the limits of stamina and self-reliance and the meaning of travelling in nature as a female human animal, alone.
and then :
Global explorer Alastair Humphreys discovers microadventure [link]
When Alastair Humphreys leaves an “out of office” note, it’s for real.
But these days, the Briton — who once left his parents’ house and came back four years later after cycling around the world — is finding adventure closer to home.
“Originally I wanted to test myself, to see what I was capable of physically and mentally, and I suppose I wanted to try to make my mark for myself and on the world,” he tells CNN’s Human to Hero series.
“Now it’s just more the curiosity of going to new places and the simplicity of life when you’re out on an expedition, and the contrast of the life out in the wild to the real world back home — the urban, busy, hectic life which I also enjoy.”
It sent me off reading other links and even buying his book about walking across India. That is the kind of stuff I want to do, not sit in an office !!!
12-Jan-2014 Bondi Roughwater Swim
I drove to Bondi to swim the 2km Roughwater swim which goes from North Bondi to South then back again in like a big square. I love Bondi and always have since I first went there all the way back in 1974.
Unfortunately although the conditions were great, we swam through a patch of bluebottles which stung many people causing lots of evacuations. I got lots of stings but struggled to the finish but didn’t feel well at all and had to seek medical help. I felt like I wanted to sit down, then lay down, then stand and just couldn’t get comfy. I was breathing heavily and the medics were worried I would hyperventilate etc. Some people were taken to hospital. My notes were a Pulse of 90 and a blood pressure of 150/90 which dropped to 130/80 after I had some oxygen via a mask. After the oxygen I stabilised and got a lot better, although it took about 30mins or so.
I took my time having a coffee and bite to eat (recommended by paramedics). I eventually got home but retired to the hammock on the back deck then went to bed early.
I came in 506th from 674 – ie 75% down the field in a time of 39min 02secs (fastest was 23.00, the slowest 1.02.48)
6-Dec-2013 Summer fun!
This morning, for the first time this summer, I made the 0630am swim group at Cronulla. Actually we started at 06 15am with Mick, Stu & Steve and swam from South Cronulla beach to North Cronulla beach. The water was pretty cool, maybe 18-19C (has been 21C or more, although the temperature signboard has been moved !). There were some neat surfing waves as we were coming back into North Cronulla. Photo is of flat sea at South Cronulla. Finished with Coffee at Grind … a perfect start to the day!
The day was hot – and later on we had a work function at the Moorefield Bowling Club, Kogarah. Very hot and exposed but surprisingly a better day than expected.
12-Sept-2013 Lifesaving at Cronulla
One of the good things with having a week off work is you do get time to do stuff you can’t normally squeeze in.
This summer I have decided to do Surf Lifesaving patrols at Cronulla (South Cronulla if you want to avoid confusion with North Cronulla) instead of at Burning Palms. The main reason is that I felt Burning Palms was under utilising us, ie not enough people on the beach. Anyway Cronulla prefer you to go into their office which is open like 10am-2pm during the week. So I had a run of about an hour and then drove to Cronulla to sort out my membership. Their office has a to-die-for-view of the beach.
Today was totally gorgeous & sunny so I went for a swim round the buoy. The water was absolutely crystal clear, but still cold, with the brilliantly clean sand and sparkling sunny day it was just stunning. The fact it was a work-day and I was off work added that extra special touch! There were relatively small waves but you forget just how flat it is at Hordern’s my home beach, however coming back in to shore you still got a decent lift from them. Afterwards I had a coffee at Grind, actually two – a doppio and a soy piccolo. Then I drove to Ikea at Tempe to pick up some stuff for Dawn, then got home just in time to turn around and go out to yoga.
busy busy busy …..
16-Jun-2013 The weekend
Well the weekend seemed to pass in a bit of a blur. After the Friday night film I went to bed on Friday tired, but was up early as had to leave for Kody’s soccer at just gone 7am Sunday at Oyster Bay. She lost. Then we went to the Caringbah bookshop to buy a couple of books as she won a voucher over the summer that expires this month. Finally we went to Westfield Miranda as she wanted to buy a massive beanbag (with her own pocket money). I took her to Lindt for a treat (ok and to buy me a coffee…)
We make it home to fill up the bean bag with beans before I had to take Chelsea to her game also at Oyster Bay.
Chelsea lost but she did score and she did play well herself.
In the evening I made the kids dinner and basically crashed on the sofa.
Sunday morning Jazmin drove herself to soccer, the first time she drove by herself. scary, but not really as we do trust her. She is keen to drive the car more possibly she thinks the car is hers. I would like her to gradually ease herself into the car-borrowing world, possibly even buy her own. That is the trial of having a teenager I guess.
I got up late instead of rushing to watch her play, and then did lots of chores and read the paper with breakfast and a coffee. Maybe I am getting old, but it seems like a good thing to do on a dismal chilly winter Sunday morning. In the afternoon I went running and swimming in the largish waves off Hordern’s beach. In the evening we all went out for dinner to the Heart & Sole Organic Cafe in Cronulla which we all agreed was excellent quality and well worth the effort. I crashed on the sofa when we got home. Yes I am tired !
28-Feb-2013 Last day of summer
Although it was the last day of summer, it was the first day that my swimming mates Stu & Mick made it with me to Cronulla for a swim. I almost slept in as I was up till 1am doing my website and getting up at 5.20am was tough ! It was dark at 0630 but pretty light by 0640. The water was cold – the blackboard said 18C – but clearly some cold patches were like 15C as it took your breath away! Massive Surf also, so on the way back in, I skirted the side of it.
The rest of the day was raining and cold.
We did yoga in the evening and that was hot & very sweaty! These days, I usually go next to Dawn in the front row to keep her company. She is definitely front row material but I am not.
22-Dec-2012 first day of the holidays!
I am off work for 3 weeks as of today and boy I really feel as though I made the most of it on the first day.
First up I ran 15km with Billy’s Bushies in Bundeena at 7am-8.30am then had a swift icy cold gatorade in preparation for one of annual highlights – the Bundeena to Cronulla swim (Sough Cronulla beach) – 3.5km starting at 9am. There was about 62 swimmers this year, no entry no names, just like a running fat ass! I came in approx middle of the pack – swam very well for my best result ever although I did think I was going to vomit at The Point but it was a very gassy burp. Took $20 in my speedos to catch the ferry back, although I probably looked a bit weird walking thru Cronulla Mall and catching the ferry in my speedos.
At home I bit of a snooze on the hammock in the garden, reading the paper etc. Just what I’d like to do on holiday. There was a good letter on the letters page of the Guardian weekly which really resonated with me (from Jerry Schaefer, Long Beach California):
“Capitalism itself isn’t necessarily bad. The people involved in it aren’t automatically evil. But the actions they’re taking are foolhardy They are putting the planet at risk. Our addiction to commerce makes us willing collaborators in their folly. Worse than crimes against humanity, these are crimes against the planet itself”.
In the afternoon I went for a swim with my daughter.
On facebook there is a really good meme on “The uprising of women in the arab world” – I especially liked “I’m with the uprising of women in the Arab world because for 20 years i wasn’t allowed to feel the wind in my hair and my body” and “I’m with the uprising of women in the Arab world because for 20 years i was not born to be oppressed just like birds were not meant to be caged“.
I should clarify I support muslims and do not think “the west or anyone has the answers to life”, I support anyone, but I believe most in people and their ability to determine their own lives.
2-Dec-2012 Bondi to Bronte
This was about my 4th swim at the annual Bondi to Bronte and certainly one of the highlights of my yearly calendar. It’s about 2.3km-2.4km depending on conditions and the exact line you swim.
The conditions were very rough this year and I finished 923rd from 1319 – 69% down the field which is about average for me in 52min 47secs (fastest was 27.26 and the slowest 1.42.6). I enjoyed the swim – I am a bit like how I am when running races : the worse the conditions, then the better I go. Many times you could barely even see the buoys it was so rough (and they are BIG).
Afterwards I walked back to Bondi along the coast path, had some vietnamese rice paper rolls and a coffee for lunch. A quick look at the shops and the market then home by approx mid-afternoon.
yellow cap start (mine was pink hats)
21-Oct-2012 Seems like a long weekend
It started Friday night with Advanced Bikram, which I kind of love and hate both at the same time. I love it as it looks simple and I come out of it really having felt like I have stretched, pushed and pulled every muscle, bone and ligament I have. I feel so good. However I am just not very good at it and at least half the poses I either can’t do or do my own modified variant. A real bonus is that I can now do a headstand against a wall without collapsing. This person demonstrates my style in photos.
Afterwards I was up until nearly 2am helping Dawn with a work assignment (formatting graphs).
Saturday started too late to swim at Cronulla so went for a run along the Eric St Track and Jibbon Beach then swam at jibbon. It was hot and sunny and felt like summer – just perfect.
In the afternoon we went to buy boxing stuff for the girls – they seem to be turning the garage into a gym – and then clothes shopping for Ian’s wedding at Miranda. Aaarrgghh!
Back home I went for a proper swim at Hordern’s then did some more of Dawn’s work. Lucky we have a colour laser printer at home!
Sunday I was lifesaving at Burning Palms. I have to be there at 10am and left at 0920 – I seem to leave it layter and later. The sea was rough and still fairly dangerous. One of the guys was doing his proficiency today as he will away when the rest of the sessions are on, so a few of us decided to do it. It’s embarressing to report that as the seas were so big, out of the 3 of us, I was the only one who didn’t complete the swim – the sea was so wild I couldn’t get passed the waves. We did the rest of the proficiency – signals & resusitation. In the afternoon I retried and completed the swim – just – as they were still massive waves. Clearly I need more practise in big waves ! The high tide was very high and we nearly lost the IRB and flags a few times !
I dashed home afterwards as I had to finish of the last print of Dawn’s work before she left at 6pm. I was by now completly buggered, so read the paper. I snuck out for a quick 20min swim just before it got dark.
After dinner I cleaned up and watched some youtube on the big screen – clash remixes and the ramones.
I’d had a chance encounter with big chris stephenson at Miranda and mentioned my water sports to him when he suggested the Royal Challenge event in december – this was on my radar already, so I started to checkout some second-hands surf skis. Then I nealy fell asleep on the sofa (as per usual).
13-Oct-2012 Cronulla & Newtown
I found this draft post on my computer for today:
- Shark island swim at Cronulla – water temp was 16.2C – as always it was fantastic
- Coffee at Grind – double xpresso and a soy piccolo
- Then drove to Newtown and had a look at the shops, bought a book from a 2nd stall at the market – George Michael biog.
- Jivamukti Yoga
- Went to the Vegetarian butcher and bought some sausages to try!
- Drove home and went running
- totally stuffed but that counts as a great day!
6-Oct-2012 Saturday
I am writing this whilst watching the Into the Wild film – it’s probably one of my favourites. I have the book also that I read in India. I did see that Chris McCandless was born on the same date as me (not the same year though).
This morning I dropped Chelseas and a friend off at another friend’s then drove to Cronulla for a swim. I just love it in the waves, although today was very rainy and windy – no one on the beach at all – even the lifeguards deserted their posts for the dry! I swam around the buoy – 17.7C – so fairly warm in the water and quite decent swell. I loved it so much !!
Then I went to the Best Little Bookshop in town, and traded in 5 books for $27 and bought 2 to cover it, then a new one to boot – I am definitely trying to get rid of my books but its a slow process! I will be getting a kindle or a kindle reader on the Samsung Galaxy phone (when I get it) but either way will be going digital.
I went to the Sylvania fruit shop to get some veggies and Sauerkraut for one of the kids.
Back at home, it was just before 4pm. I’d half thought of going to a Jivamukti class at 6pm, but realised it was 5pm and that I would not make it. I was then going to follow up with the Joe Strummer-inspired Revolution Rock also in Newtown at 8pm, but in the end decided I didn’t want to rush out, and miss yoga and hang around for a few hours AND then get home at 1am. (I am surf lifesaving tomorrow and just want to chillax).
After I’d made the decision, Dawn announced she was about to go running so I went with her, but on my mountain bike. We went down to Big Marley and I just ran from the end of the new firetrail they are building. My first run for a month – my ankle seems to be pretty much better now. However I will still take it easy.
Had a bath then made dinner, a little rice, veggies, with fresh ginger and fresh Turmeric (that I got today in Cronulla), then watch the movie.
Kevin Tiller 
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