May
Monday May 11, 2015
May has been pretty damn busy for me, and it's only going to get busier. There were heaps of social things to keep me occupied, but more than anything, the big house move is on Saturday and that's been the cause of most of my stress.
We started off the month with Laser Strike at the complex on Tory St for Dianne's birthday, after some sushi train and a sneaky cocktail from CGR Merchant and Co. On Saturday, I saw the final night of Definitely Not The Babysitter's Club, an improv show presented by the cast of Definitely Not Witches. Today's topic was a rival babysitter's club, so cue awesomeness and chaos as each of the six actors on stage juggled three or four characters each. It was amazing. We chilled at BATS for a bit and then helped Joe pack down the stage before retiring to his house for a few drinks.
Then, on Sunday, we said our farewells to Josh and Christine at the Southern Cross, while following the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight on a live blog. Finally, early on Monday morning, Vincent flew in from Nepal via Australia, safe and sound after the devastating 7.8 earthquake that had hit the region. I caught up with Ben at Fork and Brewer on Tuesday. He'd been in town over the weekend, filming for the 48 Hour film festival. It was good to chit chat and see that him and Jill had settled in Melbourne alright, and said that I would someday be back for more food. And of course, one of those chicken parmas he keeps going on about.
We had some torrential rain hit the city on Thursday. The full force of northerly winds blew all the rain straight into my face, soaking the entire front portion of my jeans. I found out that several others had arrived quite soggy and miserable. I managed to secure a fan heater for myself to start drying all my wet clothes, but unfortunately it overloaded the circuit and shut down a few computers on my side of the office.
We celebrated Vincent's birthday at the Boat Cafe on Oriental Parade. One of his friends is part of the waiting staff there, and was telling me about their entry for the burger competition for Wellington on a Plate 2015 - a mussel and kumara burger - that was currently available for patrons to try. So, unable to resist the chance to start the WOAP journey early, I agreed to give it a go and provide feedback. The burger had good texture, perhaps a bit too much bun on the bottom, but a lovely crunch from the pickles, green salad and lightly toasted bread. The patty was interesting and I do like that they chose some adventurous ingredients, but I couldn't taste the kumara at all, and wouldn't have been able to tell there was any if I hadn't been told. Several others on the table agreed, and I suggested that maybe they could enhance the flavour with more kumara, maybe making it a bit more chunky, or adding something with a bit of kick like a chilli salsa. We shall see what the Boat Cafe offers in August!
On Saturday after badminton (and a nap), I joined Sam and Sarah (and 2000 others) at the War Memorial to see if we could spot Prince Harry doing his rounds around Wellington. Sure enough, at 4.30pm, he arrived at Pukeahu and went inside the memorial for a bit, before walking around greeting the crowd and shaking hands. A very personable, down to earth guy, I must admit! I got some good, close pictures of him and tried to get him to fistbump me, but alas it just wasn't my day. Sam and Sarah were much more successful and managed to grab a handshake! I was so tired after gym that day that I gatecrashed the kids' apartment and chilled for a bit before heading out to Grill Meats Beer with Will and Phil. We texted Mana and Mike as well, but they were pretty cosy at home, so we headed there after dinner for a while. They got Josh and Christine's couches, so it's finally feeling a bit more homely in their flat.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:24am on Monday May 11, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 