Japan 2007.

Okay, now that I've got NZ out of the way, I think it's time for me to put in all I can remember about the Japan trip. I do have a diary that I kept for the first two weeks, though the last two will have to be dredged up from my memory...

 

- Grover.

Planning for UK/Europe 2010.

Well I've hardly finished putting up all the entries from New Zealand 2008 and I'm already planning a trip to UK/Europe in 2010.

 

It appears I've been well and truly bitten by the travel bug.

 

I've been careful when taken recreation leave for the last couple of years so that I could build up the maxium credit (I'm actually two days in excess of the maximum). Plus I have Long Service due around the middle March nex year.

 

I have been thinking of what to do with my long service ever since I had accrued 7 years worth pf service in 2007. Nothing definate, but just keeping it in the back of my mind that I'll have three months with which to do something.

 

Then at the start of the year, Mum mentioned that my great Aunt in England is turning 80 and that she and Dad (along with half a dozen other family members), are planning to travel over for it and visit the UK for a month in 2010 and would I be interested in coming along.

 

I said of course immediately yes. Then that got me thinking. If I stay longer and use recreation leave until my long service accural date then I would be able to take my long service as well.

 

So the plan at the moment is as follows.

 

18 Jan 10 - Fly to England

19/01-18/02/10 - Looking at Wales, Ireland, Lakes district, London.

19/02/10 - Wave goodbye to family as they going back home.

20-28/02/10 - Scotland

March - 1st wk of April France and Spain.

2nd - 3 wk of April - France again, Hungary, Chech Rp

4th wk of April - France again.

May - Denmark/Sweden/Norway

June - Netherlands/Belgium/Tour de Mont Blanc

July - Italy-Austria

August - France

September - France/England fly home.

 

It's a bit of a strange itinerary I know, but that's because I might be meeting up with a friend and do Italy-France together.

 

Although it's all subject to change ^.^

 

- Grover

Weathers, they are a changing.

So it's two days away from the official start of the Dry season (what we call our winter), and already there has been a big change towards cooler temperatures.

 

No joke, it's as if someone has flicked a switch to make it cooler, the change has been that sudden.

 

Everyone is now talking about how low the humidity is, and how cool it was last night. It got down to 21°C, with humidity hanging around 50%. This is down from 26-27, and humidity can remain over 70%

 

Although to give this a perspective, we spend most of the year in hot to very hot conditions. With humidity from high to very high. So any time the weather conditions change like this it's very noticeable.

 

So you can understand how we get so excited for the Dry season. It the best time of year and everyone longs for the dry season to arrive. I'll start to see people wearing old, worn jumpers about town soon. You can tell that they have been in storage since last year. They are really out of date fashion too, because people keep them for years because they only get used a couple of months every year. Then get stored again.

 

It's just amusing to see everyone so excited and talking about it. You can tell the seasons in Darwin by the conversations that go around the office.

 

- Grover

 

 

NZ Holiday 2008

Finally found my diary that I kept from when I went to NZ last year.

I'll start posting the day by day entries, then refile them on the day.

Start [Here]

- Grover

Slinking in to the New Year...

Ah yeah, happy new year and all that jazz...

Slunk into new year without too much fuss or fanfare.

Looked after my Sister and Brother-In-Law's place while they went and visited Mum and Dad.

Started up at training at Mantis, Tai Chi and Jian again.

Heh, actually last Thursday after training, Sifu, took me aside after the lesson just to let me know about about some of the disciple stuff and what he will be teaching as a disciple. And Sifu told me he is unsure what to teach me first.

To explain, Sifu is quite traditional in the sense that although Sifu knows a LOT of styles, he will only teach some of it to disciples. This, from what I can gather is what he knows of Ba ji, Pi qua and Bha gua. These are some very nasty styles. Don't get me wrong, if you came to him and showed you were really sincere about wanting to train, he would probably teach you. But this would also probably be the basics. The higher level things he would leave until you became a desciple.

Same with Tai chi. He has got quite a few forms, but will only teach the second one once you have been training with him for many, many years. He says it would be a waste of time. You would need those years getting the energy right.

Anyway anyway anyway.

Apparently he is unsure what to teach me is that with my body type (stocky), I should be a ba ji or a ba gua (short powerful strikes), but I am also good at some of the flowing movements of pi qua.

We'll sort it in the end I suppose.

Oh yes, also found out what the style of Mantis Sifu is teaching me. It is called: Cha Chui [cha chew-wei]. Smashing Fist. It's the signature move of the form.

It's about 5-6 months until Sifu Wong comes out over from Alaska. Really looking forward to that.

Sifu is also going to be doing another couple of seminars next month. One on San T'sai Jien, or Three Powers Sword. This time teaching the other side of the form. One on a mantis form, and one on Qi gung. I'll probably go to the first two.

- Grover.