Sydney 2016 (Part 2)

And we're back on the same flight, one week later. Looking forward to a week of Christmas, Family time, another wedding and New Years Eve.

Sydney 2016 (Part 1)

It has been 16 years since we finished high school and it still feels like yesterday we were running around the Canterbury Boys' High School quadrangle. The memories from that period of my life are the most fondness and memorable. Most of the boys have gotten married and started their own families with some of their kids about to embark upon their own high school memories. It's a surreal feeling, it feels like I'm a spectator watching from the side lines. Despite this, there are still a handful that aren't married so when one does decide to tie the knot, it's always a 'drop everything' event.

So with that in mind I headed to Sydney for what would be part 1 of an enjoyable December back home. I flew out of Hong Kong on the Friday night and arrived in home on Saturday morning for a short return. I can't speak more about being at home with family, if there's anything that remains constant it's returning home to Earlwood and having family time. In my eyes, things don't age but I know that each time I go back, there are subtleties that change.

The weekend was relaxing, I slept early on the Saturday evening and rose early to run errands before the wedding. I checked my calendar to confirm the Sunday wedding time, 2 pm. It seemed a little late for a wedding but I took the open morning to head out and pick up a Wedding Card before a family lunch and onward to the ceremony.

Embarrassingly, it turns out that Google Calendar stores the event as the local time of where the event  entry was created. Now, what that means is, when I received the invitation in Hong Kong, and entered the event that was at 11 am, it registered the Wedding at 11 am, Hong Kong Time. Read that carefully. So of course when I head to Sydney, it re-adjusted the event, factoring in a change in timezone and readjusted my calendar to 2 pm Sydney time, or 11 am Hong Kong time. Yes, that's what happened, I flew into Sydney for the wedding and still managed to be 3 hours late. Read that carefully.

I pulled up into the car park 30 minutes early (or 150 mins late, interpret that as you want) at Mosman and it was full, unusual that everybody was on time, but again I still didn't know that I was late. It was only until I found the wedding crowd. They were all standing and had champagne glasses, while listening to the groom give his thank you speech. He saw me walk in from the corner of his eye and made a special mention of my tardiness in his speech. Despite this, given the nature of the high school group, this unfortunate event would probably not surprise anybody. Beautiful afternoon, catching up with friends like we were still running around the grounds of Highschool. Time is fleeting.

Currently Reading: "Superforecasting"

UNICEF

First long distance run since my ankle injury. Joints feel stable, but still weary.

I actually have enjoyed running again. It's been a while and shocking to see how my cardio has deteriorated over the years. Training in Hong Kong is rather limited, with most of my running taking place on Bowen Road or down by the Victoria Harbour. Still being up amongst the buildings or by the water with the Tai Chi practitioners is a nice change in scenery.

Trying to find my time for the last 10 km race I participated in. It was back in London, for the Miles for Missing People run. Couldn't find my time, but know that I finished 79th out of all the men. Not very useful information.

Due to bad weather, the event was canceled. Bummer,

Spartan Sprint: Hong Kong

Spartan Sprint. 20 obstacles littered across a 6 km course in Kam Tin. Three of us decided to participate. We finished in 65 Mins, I missed two obstacles: Monkey Bars and Multi-Rig. I still remember how easy Monkey Bars used to be as a kid. What happened when I became an adult?

The Gravel Carry was by far the most brutal course, it makes the 60 burpees feel like a walk in the park.

Tokyo + Halloween + Stag

Passed the exam. There's a certain satisfaction in not having to read through the material and instead jump on a flight to Tokyo for 24 hours. Ended up talking the 1 am flight on Saturday morning arriving in Tokyo at 6 am local time. Mental note, try to avoid this flight time at all costs.

I arrived into Narita with just a backpack, toiletries and the clothes on my back. The direct bus to Roppongi shuttled me into Tokyo in a short amount of time and I was checking in at 8:30 am. The Whatsapp group was littered with activity up until 7:40 am. Either they had a quiet night in or they had a late night back. Given this assemble it was highly probable that they have only retired to their hotels within the last hour.

Turns out, one person was awake, not awake early, but rather, still awake. It was was a friend who had flown in from New York and with my freshness and his jet lag, we hit up Tsujiki fish markets for breakfast. Checked into the room and heading straight to lunch and kick started the buck's party. What would follow would be a romp around Shibuya dressed up as Street Fighter characters and the buck dressed as a lone Chun Li. The Halloween romp was followed by a group dinner before we retreated to the hotel to reassemble for the club.

Headed back to the hotel to drop off some water before heading to Agaha. Only to fall asleep. I wake up propped up against my bed with a million messages along the same line "Where are you?", "Wake up", "Get here now". It was 4 am, I had flown in for one night and managed to sleep through the entire evening. I pulled myself out of bed to meet up with more stragglers at 6 am for some morning sushi. What a whirlwind 24 hours in Tokyo.

Study sessions

SFC licensing. 60 questions, 70% pass rate. Material, oh so dry. Currently reading, this.

HKSAR: National Day