Spring Shootout

First games of the season... Woohoo.

We played in the Spring Shootout this weekend. There were four teams in the women's competition (Us = Papanui, RKS, Sydenham-Kereru and Albion). Although we went through the round robin undefeated we ended up in second place after losing 4-2 in the final. Some things I haven't done in a long, long time:

• Playing in shorts - pants (aka knickerbockers) are so much more appropriate for softball. You don't get sliding grazes and you don't have to wear annoying knee pads that cut into your skin and are easy to forget to pull up. Pants don't even look that bad now that it is possible to get womens-fit ones that aren't saggy at the front! I can't even imagine how retarded it must be to play in dresses (yes I am talking about you Saints).
• Grass diamonds - obviously the outfield is always grass but it is really weird when all of a sudden the infield is grass too. At least I don't play infield or I would have been really freaking out.
• Playing in ridiculously cold, windy, rainy crap weather - when the rain is blowing sideways, there are puddles on the pitcher's mound and no-one can feel their hands you know that it is time to stop playing... unless you are one of the two umpires we had on Saturday afternoon.
• Timed games - 1.5 hours and you're done. I can only imagine how long our Sunday morning game would have lasted considering that we only managed to play 3 innings in 1.5 hours. It was also quite amusing having to show up at 8:30 am to play 5/6 of an inning (which happened to be the 5th inning due to the 1.5 hour rule) and then going into a tiebreaker anyway.
• Open diamonds - not very cool if you are an outfielder chasing after a ball that has gone over your head. Very cool if you are the person who just hit the ball past the outfield.
• Man-size diamonds - I want my 190 foot fence back!
• Safety base - it's nice not to have to share a base with mean, nasty 1st basemen.

Two Fat (Unfair) Indians Review

On Friday the training team went to Two Fat Indians on Manchester Street for lunch. I’m not going to provide a link to their website or a map because I am so disappointed with our experience. The main reason we chose Two Fat Indians was because we had a $20 off voucher that they gave us last time we dined there (hmm might have been smart of them to treat loyal customers fairly). We all ordered full lunch meals and drinks. When we went to pay we were informed that we could not use our voucher because it was for dinner only. It did not state this condition anywhere on the voucher or in the restaurant. We informed the waitress of this but she just ignored us. I guess she didn’t think it was important that they blatantly breached the Fair Trading Act. She made us pay full price and then to rub salt in the wound she gave us more useless vouchers.

It is a real pity that a restaurant that serves relatively good Indian engages in such despicable practises. We definitely wont be back out of principle.

UPDATE: I received a response from Two Fat Indians. They basically said that they are sorry for the confusion and the vouchers were printed before they started offering lunch. They also gave me an unconditional (dinner, lunch or takeaway) $20 voucher. I still think they were way in the wrong but at least they took the time to respond and try to make things right.

So now I feel like I can comment on the food. The lunches we ordered were great. They came as a combo meal which included curry, naan, rice, salad, and raita all presented on a sectioned metal tray. I wish they would serve this at dinner because it was exactly the right sized portions and included everything I want as part of an Indian meal. I ordered butter chicken and my only complaint is that it could have been hotter. Overall, yummy :)

New Century Review

Team lunch this week was at New Century Restaurant, 185 St Asaph Street. I was excited as soon as I found out because it is dim sum… yum yum. Farah even managed to get hold of some paper menus the day before so I could decide in advance what I wanted. There were some pretty funny spelling mistakes on the menu such as “Shrimp & Scoloops Dumpling” and “Steamed Stewed Chinken Feet.”

When we got to the restaurant it was in the process of being invaded by an extremely large group of elderly people. The waitress even tried to make us sit at one table. Fifteen people at a table designed to fit 8 was never going to work so we didn’t move from our 2 tables and she eventually gave up trying. She was actually pretty rude about it. We got another waitress to bring us green tea (I don’t usually drink tea but I gave it a go and it was refreshing) and she wasn’t particularly friendly either.

Lee and I ordered Beef Vermicelli Roll, Steamed BBQ Pork Bun and Steamed Pork Dumpling to share. She also ordered ½ dozen wontons and I also ordered Deep Fried Squid. We got heaps of food. Furthermore, the people who ordered off the main menu got even more food than us. I tried a wonton and it was crispy and flavourful, but the best part about it was the sweet and sour dipping sauce. The deep fried squid was amazing. Squid has a bad reputation for being tough but this wasn’t at all and it was perfectly seasoned and served with sweet chilli dipping sauce. I am addicted to steamed buns so the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns could do no wrong. The dumplings were pretty good too… tasty and very meaty. The only thing I wasn’t very fond of was the Beef Vermicelli Roll which was weird. It was like a cold clear noodle tube wrapped around some barely cooked beef meat. I ate one tube and that was enough for me. I definitely wasn’t adventurous enough to order anything crazy like tripe but Tan was and he seemed to enjoy it.

My share of the food me came out at a bargain basement price of $8.50. So go to New Century if crappy service doesn’t bother you and you want some yummy cheap dim sum. Farah volunteered me to organise team lunch next week so wish me luck... I'm thinking The Crumpet Club will be a safe bet.

Rib Hunt

About 2:00 pm yesterday I realised that there wasn’t any (desirable) food in the pantry, fridge or freezer for dinner. I was forced to stop reading the Sunday Star-Times and think about what I wanted to cook for tea. My first thought was to make teriyaki glazed salmon with steamed rice and bok choy but everybody knows that it is stupid to buy seafood on a Sunday. And I can confirm that this is not an old wives tale because I used to work at a supermarket seafood counter. So I went back to the drawing board. Then I remembered talking to the guy from Uncle Vern’s BBQ Sauce at the Dunkley’s Craft Show and realised that ribs would be perfect. My decision was final… I wanted BBQ pork ribs.

It was a lovely day outside. If I wasn’t home alone it probably would have been a nice enough day to pull out the BBQ for the first time since I have been back. I decided to roller-blade to the butcher instead of being a lazy bum and taking the car. And off I went. I would definitely roller-blade more places if it wasn’t so darn difficult to stop. I’m also a scaredy-pants and don’t want to trip over a branch and go flying or anything crazy like that. Luckily all the footpaths around our house are nice and smooth and pretty wide in most places so I can go fast. The first butcher I tried was closed. The second butcher I tried was closed. My last ditch resort was The Mad Butcher. Thankfully, it was open. I searched around the shop looking for a nice juicy rack of pork ribs but there were none in sight. Then I discovered that they had ribs that were already cut up. The only problem was that they only seemed to come in ginormous size packages. I also found some lamb ribs but I knew they wouldn’t be quite right. Right when I was about to give up and get a steak, I found the only small pack of ribs in the entire store and nabbed them. Woohoo.

I raced home to get started with the slow cooking process. My only detour was a brief stop at The Funky Pumpkin fruit and vege store where I found some yummy blood oranges and couldn’t resist buying a couple. I decided to try a new method for cooking the ribs… I simmered them in beer and water for a couple of hours before finishing them off in the oven with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce (the best sauce in the whole of the US). They were fallin’ off the bone tender and absolutely delicious. I’m glad I went on a rib hunt.

The Flying Burrito Brothers Review

The first time I went to The Flying Burrito Brothers at the corner of Armagh Street and New Regent Street I was not impressed. I assume they spilled salt in my margarita because it was so salty it was almost undrinkable (but I never waste alcohol so I managed to get it down) and it wasn’t even the flavour I ordered. The rest of the meal was all downhill from there. It probably didn’t help that after living in Louisiana, which is way closer to Mexico than Christchurch, I have unreasonably high expectations of the quality and price of Mexican food. I was slightly apprehensive when I discovered that our work dinner was going to be at The Flying Burrito Brothers. I decided to go anyway because heaps of people said that it was really good, and throughout the week Lee kept mentioning chile con queso (cheese dip) so I ended up developing a healthy Mexican craving.

The first thing we ordered at the restaurant was a pitcher of regular unfrozen margarita. It was $10 off thanks to a vouchermate.co.nz coupon. It was delicious… nice and tart and enough tequila so you could taste it but not be blown away by it. We also ordered a couple of plates of chile con queso (cheese dip in case you forgot) to share. It was pretty bland and needed more spice, more real cheese and less cream cheese but we were all starving and corn chips are addictive so it kind of hit the spot. And plus we still had margarita to distract ourselves with.

Time for the main course. I didn’t feel like making a decision so I ordered “un poquito de todo” (a little bit of everything) which consisted of a fish taco, a chicken enchilada and a cheese quesadilla accompanied by guacamole, sour cream, rice and black beans. The meal was huge but I managed to get my money’s worth by eating it all. The chicken enchilada was best. The mole sauce had an interesting combination of flavours that complemented the chicken nicely. I was also surprised that I enjoyed the fish taco. The worst part of the dish was definitely the black beans. They had no flavour and needed a lot of hot sauce and little salt to be added to make them edible. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals. The fajitas on the sizzling plate were particularly impressive. The second pitcher of margarita was just as good as the first.

By the time we left, the restaurant was really busy and had a lively, energetic atmosphere. Overall, the food had some good and bad aspects so I would give it an average rating; above average if I include the margarita. The Flying Burrito Brothers is a good place to go with a group for a bit of fun and a large meal. We split the costs evenly (because it was easy) and it came out at $32 each.

Doggie Massage Therapist

Last night I went to see a massage therapist, Michelle Pierre, for help with my tight shoulder. It gets sore sometimes, probably because I throw too much and use the mouse too much. She was very professional and a lovely person and I would highly recommend her to anyone with aches and pains. The most interesting thing though is that Michelle also massages dogs (and cats, horses and rabbits). I thought this was pretty cool and it got me thinking about some of the breeds of dog I like.

Sheltie – When I was little we had a Sheltie called Pippy who was very tolerant and protective of me. He let me pull his tail and trap him the corner using my walker; I wasn’t always a well-behaved toddler. He also barked like nuts when I screamed in the bath because he mistakenly thought that my Mum was hurting me. Our current dog is also a Sheltie and he is called Goldie. Goldie is a naughty little bugger but I love him. His favourite activity is eating, just like me.

Melamute – This breed of dog is completely inappropriate for me so it will forever remain as my dream dog. I think they are gorgeous but they require much more space, food and exercise than I could provide. I could buy a treadmill for exercise but then I would just feel guilty for not using it myself.

German Shepherd – I think this is the breed of dog that I eventually want to buy. They are intelligent, energetic and loyal. It also helps that they are cuddly. I want a large dog so that I can play with it but not so big that it would be out of control.

Long-haired Daschund – I never thought I would like this sort of dog until I met Abbie. She is feisty, independent and absolutely adorable. She is definitely the boss of her household and the chiropractic centre where she spends her days lying around and playing with the patients.

Bensons Restaurant Review

Today I once again ignored the part of my brain that keeps telling me I have been going out to eat way too often and decided to tag along for team lunch. The venue this week was Bensons Restaurant at 641 Colombo Street. The front is bright yellow and the inside is very modest although they did have those cool spinny tables which is enough to impress me. The menu was in English and Chinese but the specials were only in Chinese. The waitress was very nice and spoke good English, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because we had a Chinese-speaker in our group.

We started with a nice big bowl of chicken and corn soup. It had lots of flavour (unlike some watery varieties I have had in the past) and there were even pieces of real shredded chicken. I also tried one of Lee’s dumplings. It was delicious and the meat inside was tasty and saucy. I just wish I hadn’t accidentally stuck it to my napkin before I ate it. For my main course I ordered the honey BBQ pork with rice. It came out on a huge plate with steamed rice and bok choy. The bok choy added a nice bit of colour to the meal and was fresh and crispy. The pork was tender and the honey sauce added a nice touch of sweetness. I almost managed to finish the whole thing and I was definitely satisfied at the end.

The people in our group ordered a wide variety of dishes and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I got the most food envy from looking at the hot and sour pork and the pork cutlet. I guess today was a pork loving day for me. The service was very fast considering we were a rather large group.

On my way out I made an impulse buy of some type of milky tea in a carton. I don’t know exactly what it was but it tasted good. The total cost was a very reasonable $12. Hopefully I will have a chance to go back because it was great food at a great price.

Palin and Me: Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

As you probably already know Sarah Palin is the recently announced vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party. She has been the Governor of Alaska since December 4th 2006 and before then she was the mayor of a small town in Alaska (Wasilla). She is married to a part Inuit snowmobile champion and has 5 kids who all have weird names. The names are nothing compared to “Talula does the Hula from Hawaii” though. I seem to disagree with the vast majority of her opinions, especially in the big 5 controversial topics...

1. Abortion: I think everyone should have the right to choose. Do you really want to bring a child into the world when the mother is not able to cope. Not everyone has a good support system and the skills to raise a child. Just ask some of the kids raised in squalor by crack-addicted parents. And then you have to consider pregnancy caused by rape or incest.
2. Sex Education: If you teach about safe-sex and contraception then abstinence is still an option. If all you teach is abstinence then the kids who ignore it don’t know the consequences of their behaviour.
3. Creationism: No. School is for science, church is for religion. Keep them separate because not everyone believes the same things.
4. Gay rights: Sometimes girls like girls and boys like boys. Same-sex couples are not hurting anyone so what is the problem with gay marriage. At least give them the legal rights that a civil union entails.
5. Gun control: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. True. But guns sure as hell help. If you are using your guns legally for hunting then what is the problem with having to register them and lock them up.
   

Strawberry Fare Review

Ever since Death by Chocolate closed years ago, Strawberry Fare has been the only real choice for a specialised dessert restaurant in Christchurch. My friend Joey, who is currently living in Hong Kong, is in Christchurch for a few days so a group of us decided to go out for dessert to catch up. Strawberry Fare doesn’t take reservations but it was a Monday night and we had no problems getting a table for 7 at 8 pm. Strawberry Fare is located at 114 Peterborough St.

I thought I was running late (minor clothes issues), but I was actually one of the first people to arrive. Only super-punctual Jane beat me. All the rest of my friends seem to run on island time. The service was prompt and attentive but not overbearing. Most of my friends were predictable and ordered the same thing they always order: White Chocolate Fantasy. This is “creamy mousse in a chocolate biscuit tower with poached tamarillos.” I have had it before and not only does it look very impressive, it also tastes delicious. I ordered the Devils Dream. This is “white & dark chocolate layers, raspberry coulis, really wicked.” It is hard to describe but I would say it is like a cross between mousse and cheesecake. Very very yummy and very very decadent. I was most impressed. All of the desserts were creatively presented and the portions were generous. The prices ranged between $14.50 and $16.50.

We stayed at the restaurant for about an hour and a half chatting. Our discussions are always unusual and not always politically correct so I wont elaborate further on what we were talking about. Strawberry Fare is definitely a dessert destination worth checking out. I’m sure it is also good for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Top 5 Things I Like About Google Chrome

Google released a new browser last week. We can't randomly download and install stuff at work (for obvious reasons) so I had to wait until I got home to play with it. Here are the top 5 things I like about it:

1. It is blue. I like blue. Computer applications are like cars... the most important thing is that they work but they must must must also look good.
2. The tabs are on top. I don't care that I need to move my mouse about 2cm further to click on one. It makes sense.
3. The omnibox. I don't know how but it somehow manages to do what I want. I now trust the psychic skills of Chrome more than the horoscopes in my daily paper.
4. You can drag tabs to make them into new windows.
5. Google made a nerdy comic about it.
   

The Coffee House Review

The Coffee House always seems to be the winning choice when me and my friends decide to go out for late night coffee. It is always open, seems less like a chain restaurant than Coffee Culture, and is relatively close to where everyone lives. They also serve breakfast, lunch and dinner but we only ever go for coffee. The Coffee House is located at 290 Montreal Street (across from the Dux).

On Saturday night we were going to go to the Dux to have a few drinks but there was a cover charge and some of us (including me) are cheap bastards so we decided on coffee instead. I couldn’t find a park on the street so I had to park in the Art Gallery parking building. They charge $1.10 per half hour or part thereof so I was not happy. Two of my friends also had to park there. Maybe we should have car pooled.

I hadn’t eaten dessert so I decided to order one of the dessert-like special coffees that I always want to get but can never seem to justify. I chose the Caramel Mocha latte. The service was good and all the coffees came out fast. The chocolate flake was good, the whipped cream was good, the marshmallows were good, but the coffee itself was crap. Someone went a little crazy with the chocolate powder and it totally overpowered the whole drink. Most of my friends ordered some variation on hot chocolate and they all had the same complaint. So, overall, the atmosphere was great and there was a vast selection of hot drinks, but the drinks really weren’t up to scratch. I wasted $5.80 on my drink but I had a great time chatting with my friends and that is the reason why I will probably go back to The Coffee House.

Cook 'n' with Gas Review

On Thursday night me and Mum attended ‘On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her Young Lover’ (performed by Arthur Meek) at the Christchurch Art Gallery. It was part of The Press Christchurch Writers Festival and it was hilarious. The show finished at about 7 pm… perfect time for dinner. It was horribly cold and rainy so we decided not to venture too far afield and ended up at Cook ‘n’ with Gas, which is located at 23 Worcester Boulevard (across the street from the Court Theatre). Cook ‘n’ with Gas has won lots of awards and also accepts the Entertainment Card so we were off to a good start.

Even though we didn’t have a booking we were lucky enough to get a table for two right by the fire. The waiter was very friendly and promptly got our table set up and gave us menus and a wine list. Interestingly, the tables were covered with a large sheet of paper secured with big clips rather than a table cloth. The wine list appeared to be pretty comprehensive and a good number of wines were available by the glass. I opted for a glass of Gewürztraminer (can’t remember what winery) and Mum opted a glass of Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc. The glasses were large and filled almost to the top. It was probably the biggest wine serving I have ever had at a restaurant and it lasted the whole meal. Mum didn’t manage to finish hers which was probably a good thing seeing as she was driving.

We started with a combination of garlic bread and fresh breads with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herb butter. The garlic bread had an interesting texture because it was covered with polenta and one piece was enough for me. I loved that they served the balsamic vinegar and olive oil separately. Lots of restaurants put so much olive oil in the ramekin that you have to drench your bread to get any vinegar.

The main menu had a good selection of seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes. I ordered the Pegasus crab bisque as a main course. It was described as “A rich fish soup served over truffled vegetables & crab with bruschetta & rouille.” The bowl came out with just the vegetables and bruschetta in the middle but soon after a waiter appeared to ladle the steaming soup from a rustic looking pot. There was not much crab in the tomato-based soup but it had a lovely subtle fish flavour and was perfect for a cold night. Mum ordered the Red oak salad which was described as “Seasonal leaves, fine herbs & semi-dried tomatoes tossed with croutons, Winderburn olive oil, aged balsamic, toasted pinenuts, & fresh parmesan.” Her plate of salad was huge. Mum appeared to eat heaps and claimed that she had eaten heaps, but when she was done it looked like she had barely made a dent in the salad. I didn’t try any because it had purple lettuce which I don’t like.

When the waiter asked if we would like to see the dessert menu, we replied “yes please” in unison. Every time Mum goes to Cook ‘n’ with Gas she orders the Crepes a la Gas and this time was no different. These are “Flambéed in Mandarine Napoleon, & served with fresh and frozen vanilla creams.” The crepes were served directly from the pan they were cooked in. The waiter apologized that the flame had been extinguished, but we had both seen them on fire the past so we weren’t too disappointed. Mum assured me that the crepes were up to their usual delicious standard. I decided on the hot sticky date pudding with custard and cream. It was warm and comforting and so large that I was unable to finish it.

We used our Entertainment Card to get a 25% discount and the resulting bill was a little over $60. Pretty darn good really. Cook ‘n’ with Gas is open Monday through Saturday in the evenings and is a great place to go before the theatre. Bookings are recommended.

The Crumpet Club Review

The Crumpet Club was the winner of the 2008 CPIT Salon Culinaire ‘Christchurch Casino South Island Café of the Year’ title. The crazy thing about this is that it had only been open a few days when it won the award. The Crumpet Club was actually an afterthought of restaurateur, Peter Kraal. After closing the popular Le Bon Bolli restaurant, Kraal opened Le Bon Bolli Catering in an old building on the corner of Tuam Street and Durham Street. He later decided to add a café to the site (The Crumpet Club).

The Crumpet Club operates as a café for breakfast and lunch and morphs into a bar in the evenings. It serves a combination of traditional Le Bon Bolli classics and homemade crumpets with a selection of sweet and savoury toppings.

I first visited The Crumpet Club for lunch on Tuesday 2nd September. I ate alone because I was stood up by my mother. I thought it was only right to order crumpets although the soups and freshly made gourmet pies were very tempting. I decided on crumpets with spinach, cold smoked salmon, poached eggs and a chardonnay cream sauce. The crumpets were lovely and soft, the smoked salmon was delicious, and the eggs were cooked perfectly. The capers sprinkled on top complemented all of the flavours in the dish. The meal was definitely large enough to satisfy me but was not overwhelming. I think the price was reasonable at $14.90.

Unsurprisingly, I was more than happy to return to The Crumpet Club for breakfast on Thursday 4th September… my Mum was jealous and wanted to try The Crumpet Club for herself before heading off overseas. We both ordered crumpets – her a single, me a double (the other option was a triple). It was very difficult to choose from the wide variety of syrups and other toppings available. I eventually decided on the lime and ginger syrup. Although the crumpets were a little crispier this time, they were still very tasty. I was worried that the syrup would be too sweet, but it wasn’t and there was also a spoonful of crème fraiche on top to balance the sweetness anyway. I also ordered some caramello topping on the side because I was curious and I am a greedy guts. This was a layer of thick caramel sauce topped with a layer of rich chocolate ganache. Although I would be tempted to order it again, it is definitely more of a dessert treat than a breakfast topping. Mum chose to have some type of curd on her crumpets. She enjoyed her meal but we both agreed that my syrup was better. I also had a flat white with my breakfast. It was OK but nothing spectacular. On our way out, Mum bought a yummy-looking passionfruit and white chocolate muffin for lunch. Although it looked good, she said that it wasn’t that great. Our breakfast for two came in under $30.

I will definitely be visiting The Crumpet Club again some time in the (near) future.


For those who are crazy (and patient) enough to attempt cooking crumpets at home, Newstalk ZB managed to obtain Philip Kraal's recipe for homemade crumpets:

Homemade Crumpets
by Peter Kraal

400 g Flour
18 g Sugar
620 g Warm milk
16 g Fresh yeast or 6 g dried yeast
5-8g salt

1. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large bowl
2. Dissolve the yeast in the milk until it begins to froth
3. Add the dry ingredients to the yeast and mix to create a batter.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to ferment. (about 45 minutes)
5. Knock back the batter by stirring, re-cover and allow 10-15 minutes to 're-gas'. You will know when the batter is ready for baking when it becomes bubbly
6. Place well buttered steel rings moulds onto a low temp flat top griddle (about 8-12 depending on size)
7. Drop the batter into each ring and bake slowly for about 20 minutes or until the top appears dry and cooked
8. If desired, toast the tops before serving.

Solo Lunch

On Tuesday I discovered that it is possible for two people to stand each other up at the same time.

Background
Me and Mum decided to meet for lunch at The Crumpet Club on the corner of Tuam Street and Durham street. We agreed to meet at 12:00 because I had to be back at work by 1:00 for a training session.

My Side of the Story
I left nice and early because I was hungry and ready for lunch. I arrived at The Crumpet Club at about 11:50 and went inside to get a table. Once inside, I texted Mum to let her know I had a table. Then I waited. The waitress asked if I wanted to order but I said I was waiting for someone. I tried calling Mum. No answer. I waited some more. I tried calling again. No answer. I even called her office. No answer. The waitress came over to check on me. She was nice but I said I would wait a little longer. And so I kept on waiting. I tried calling Mum a few more times. Still no answer. By now I was getting a little worried and very hungry. I called over the waitress and ordered my lunch hoping Mum would not be much longer. The food was great. I had two crumpets with spinach, cold smoked salmon, poached eggs and a chardonnay cream sauce. Still no sign of Mum. I left a message on her phone for her to call me ASAP and went back to work.
I had been stood up.

Mum’s Side of the Story
Mum claims she arrived at The Crumpet Club before 11:50. This is obviously a lie because if that was the case I would have seen her when I arrived. She waited outside for me for 25 minutes. In all this time she did not consider checking to see if I was inside. Additionally, she did not bring her cell phone to lunch – apparently she never takes it to lunch (what's the point in having a cell phone then?). Mum was not happy about waiting for so long so she left and ate lunch at Subway. She thinks that I should have left ‘our’ table to go and see if she was waiting outside.
Mum had also been stood up.

In conclusion, The Crumpet Club has really yummy food, and always decide exactly where to meet for a lunch date with your Mum.

Me and my Life

I live in Christchurch but I'm migrating to Wellington in 2009. I temporarily live at home and am not ashamed of it. I like our house and flat screen TVs and heat pump and dishwasher and laundry. I might need counselling when I move to Wellington to deal with the loss of these things.


Christchurch


Wellington

I really am from New Zealand and my alleged American accent is an accident. I did not have an American accent when I lived in America so how can I have one now? I went to school at Southeastern Louisiana University for 4 years from 2004-2008. The weather was much nicer there apart from the occasional hurricane.

I would rather spend money to eat at a nice restaurant than buy a nice shirt. I definitely don't have enough money to do both. I would rather buy sausages from the butcher than a pack of Sizzlers at Countdown. And I am a supermarket brand snob with a particular hatred towards the Pams brand. I enjoy cooking and eating out. Basically, I like everything about food and its consumption. Wine and beer aren't bad either.

My friends are cool and are generally nice to me so I am generally nice to them. Ditto for my family. I have a Mum (Queen Lyn), a Dad (Gary), a younger sister (Tara), and a dog (Goldie). Tara has a fiancée (Bob) and they are getting married next year.

I'm not very photogenic but I still let people take pictures of me all the time. When my Dad learns to use his digital camera I will even let him take pictures of me.

Normal photo of me	Miraculously nice photo of me

I think sarcasm is one of the highest forms of wit but it is in a close race with toilet humour.

I hate it when people spell stuff wrong and put apostrophes in the wrong place. I am a hypocrite because occasionally I have bad spelling and grammar.

I don’t like running but I tolerate it. Sometimes running is necessary… if something on the stove is boiling over, if you need to get the mail when it is raining outside, and if you desperately need to go to the toilet. I do like lifting weights. I especially enjoy the rare moments when I can lift more than a guy.

I sit in front of a computer all day. It is very exciting. When I am at home I like sitting in front of the TV. My favourite show of all time is Outrageous Fortune. I also watch Shortland Street, Gossip Girl, Army Wives, Veronica Mars and Inside New Zealand. I used to watch Intervention but we don’t get it in New Zealand.

I play softball. It rocks. I have also played tennis, golf, soccer, netball and a variety of other sports. They rock too, but not as much as softball.

I like American football (aka gridiron). Even though it lasts for three hours there is plenty of time for food breaks, bathroom breaks and any other kind of break you can think of. I also like rugby and I’m not willing to decide which of the two I like watching better. I love watching the Olympics but I don’t think that team sports (especially beach volleyball, handball and U23 soccer) or equestrian or tennis belong.