Saturday, January 07, 2006
Rugby and Ninjas.
One of the advantages of having a mother who interviews for Medical School admissions (I hope that this isn't classified information, but I'm pretty sure she leaves her Darth Vader mask at home before the interviews so she's not anonymous there) is that she gets to gossip with the All Blacks' doctor.
She asked him whether I should be playing rugby after the knee surgery I had back in 98.
His words (not an exact quote but close enough were "His knee will be buggered by the time he's 40, he may as well have fun."
It's not the best news I've heard, but hopefully artificial cartillage is on the market before July 17 2020 (when my life begins according to Grey Power propaganda).
I played rugby today (something I plan on doing more often now I'm 9 to 5).
It was a great game, one of those games that is evenly matched, and players are fired up without it ever quite boiling over into more than a bit of shoving. Yes, I was well behaved too, when the game is in the balance, I'm less inclined to come up swinging, even when some big fat South African tries to punch me in the head (I might have been interfering with his scrum half trying to clear the ball from the ruck a little, but otherwise it was unprovoked).
I played fairly well although I am really unfit from three months of sitting around eating kebabs (when I work) and drinking beer (on my days off). Actually kebabs are pretty healthy, it's mostly the sitting around.
I made ninja pie last night - it's like cottage pie only you put soy (teryaki or oyster) sauce and oriental spices (OXO do a killer oriental cube) when frying the mince up. Also, boil the potatoes in water flavoured with a beef stock cube, then mash them with butter, more beef stock (minimal amount of hot water to dissolve the cube) and parmesan cheese.
That's today's food tip.
She asked him whether I should be playing rugby after the knee surgery I had back in 98.
His words (not an exact quote but close enough were "His knee will be buggered by the time he's 40, he may as well have fun."
It's not the best news I've heard, but hopefully artificial cartillage is on the market before July 17 2020 (when my life begins according to Grey Power propaganda).
I played rugby today (something I plan on doing more often now I'm 9 to 5).
It was a great game, one of those games that is evenly matched, and players are fired up without it ever quite boiling over into more than a bit of shoving. Yes, I was well behaved too, when the game is in the balance, I'm less inclined to come up swinging, even when some big fat South African tries to punch me in the head (I might have been interfering with his scrum half trying to clear the ball from the ruck a little, but otherwise it was unprovoked).
I played fairly well although I am really unfit from three months of sitting around eating kebabs (when I work) and drinking beer (on my days off). Actually kebabs are pretty healthy, it's mostly the sitting around.
I made ninja pie last night - it's like cottage pie only you put soy (teryaki or oyster) sauce and oriental spices (OXO do a killer oriental cube) when frying the mince up. Also, boil the potatoes in water flavoured with a beef stock cube, then mash them with butter, more beef stock (minimal amount of hot water to dissolve the cube) and parmesan cheese.
That's today's food tip.
Friday, January 06, 2006
9 to 5 (well 6) ing it.
Tomorrow is my last day of shift work! As of Monday, I'm on the office hours schedule like other important people.* It's a weird feeling, I'm really growing up a lot these last few months. Working weird hours a part of immature nomadic Richard that is falling by the wayside.
I now have a real job, working in an office, supervising people and all that adult stuff. I even wore trousers and shoes to work on Monday! I still have long hair (see photo) but even the last true statement on my blog title is endangered since having long hair annoys me sometimes - it falls out all over the place, and gets in my eyes and nose sometimes. I might keep it till I go back to New Zealand so I can try and sneak past my mother at the airport again. The last time I returned from overseas my hair was three inches longer than my mother was used to (ie four inches long) and had been dyed blondish. This plan is now danger because she has been warned about it, but whatever, I like a challenge, and all the studying she's been doing has probably made her eyesight even worse.
I'm also getting a company laptop and phone in the near future, so that's pretty cool. I'm mostly psyched about the laptop, although a Bluetooth phone is actually pretty sweet too. My house will have an internet connection within a week or two so although I'll be on call 24/7 I won't have to walk round to the office if it's just simple stuff.
Man, I'm 25.5 years old and I'm in real danger of becoming a corporobot.
That said, there are many worse places to do it (there are better ones, at least until Malta gets a ski resort) and many worse companies / industries to do it in (almost any one that makes its employees wear trousers, and especially any that impose ties).
My long term plan is actually to do this job for a year or two and then either move up a level (probably in another company in another country so it will be a bit of an adventure but we'll see) or abandon this whole working lark and either go teach English in Japan (Matt is steadily convincing me that I really like Japanese culture and stuff, even though he's kind of a banana) or back to university and get a PhD (my mother AND father will both have one by that time so I don't want to feel left out).
Anyway, 20 minutes to go on my penultimate shift and I have a rugby game tomorrow so I want to get out of here on time.
* = Offer not valid when any of my team are sick, on holiday, or if things go seriously wrong.
I now have a real job, working in an office, supervising people and all that adult stuff. I even wore trousers and shoes to work on Monday! I still have long hair (see photo) but even the last true statement on my blog title is endangered since having long hair annoys me sometimes - it falls out all over the place, and gets in my eyes and nose sometimes. I might keep it till I go back to New Zealand so I can try and sneak past my mother at the airport again. The last time I returned from overseas my hair was three inches longer than my mother was used to (ie four inches long) and had been dyed blondish. This plan is now danger because she has been warned about it, but whatever, I like a challenge, and all the studying she's been doing has probably made her eyesight even worse.
I'm also getting a company laptop and phone in the near future, so that's pretty cool. I'm mostly psyched about the laptop, although a Bluetooth phone is actually pretty sweet too. My house will have an internet connection within a week or two so although I'll be on call 24/7 I won't have to walk round to the office if it's just simple stuff.
Man, I'm 25.5 years old and I'm in real danger of becoming a corporobot.
That said, there are many worse places to do it (there are better ones, at least until Malta gets a ski resort) and many worse companies / industries to do it in (almost any one that makes its employees wear trousers, and especially any that impose ties).
My long term plan is actually to do this job for a year or two and then either move up a level (probably in another company in another country so it will be a bit of an adventure but we'll see) or abandon this whole working lark and either go teach English in Japan (Matt is steadily convincing me that I really like Japanese culture and stuff, even though he's kind of a banana) or back to university and get a PhD (my mother AND father will both have one by that time so I don't want to feel left out).
Anyway, 20 minutes to go on my penultimate shift and I have a rugby game tomorrow so I want to get out of here on time.
* = Offer not valid when any of my team are sick, on holiday, or if things go seriously wrong.
