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Archive - July 2003 - December 2003
Saturday 5th July 2003 - Simon and I went to the Robbie Williams concert at the Munich Olympic Stadium. Robbie's an excellent entertainer, and all had a great time. Started seriously doing the running training for the Loch Ness Marathon with Simon - one hour today.
Sunday 6th July - Fridays and Sundays are rest days from the running.
Monday 7th July - 30 minutes.
Tuesday 8th July - One hour run today.
Wednesday 9th July - Simon's friend Jon from Auckland came to stay for a week or two. 30 minutes.
Thursday 10th July - Went to Donatos for dinner with Rene, Simon and Jon. Donatos have the yummiest Hawaiian pizza, including almonds and cinnamon. Sounds disgusting, but it's really yummy. Also, they don't just use mozzarella but also provolone cheese = yummy. 1 hour run today.
Friday 11th July - Went to Outland and had dinner with Simon and Jon, Benny and Joe and Rene.
Saturday 12th July - Christopher Street Day in Munich. Met up with Katja, Nadine, M and Martin and we watched the parade about three times from different locations. Ran into Bernd. Great fun. Took about 150 photos. 1 hour ten minutes run.
Sunday 13th July - Met up with Katja, Nadine, Simon, Jon, M and Martin for the Strassenfest at Holzstrasse. Dinner at Yum (where else!?!) with Simon and Jon.
Monday 14th July - Jon left for Paris. Got the apartment back to ourselves for a week. Today's run was 30 mins, Tuesday one hour, Wed 30 mins, Thursday 50 minutes.
Friday 18th July - Last day at work until the 29th.
Saturday 19th July - Met up with M and then went shopping with Joe. Invited Joe around for a BBQ and we watched The Dish. It was supposed to be a comedy, but wasn't very funny. Was a good movie though. Today we went for a one hour twenty minute run. So tired!
Sunday 20th July - Jon back in Munich. Went to Inge's for a BBQ.
Monday 21st July - Flew to Mykonos (Greece) with Simon and Jon for a week's vacation. It was one of the best vacations I have ever had. We only saw about one or two small white fluffy clouds the entire time we were there. The temperature was around 32 C every day, and the never-failing breeze kept us cool. The pool was salt-water, but apparently that is usual in the Greek Islands. Spent the week relaxing, riding around on our little motor-scooters (fun!), eating, and reading. Was really relaxing.
Monday 28th July - Back from Mykonos.
Late August / Early September - Two weeks in Italy with Simon, Katja and Nadine to celebrate Katja and my birthdays. We drove through Austria, Italy, France, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican. We had a great time, until the car accident on the 1st of September around 8pm. We were just out of Trieste (Italy) and almost in Slovenia when a van decided to do a u-turn *right in front of us*. We couldn't stop in time and we smashed straight into them going about 70km/h. Katja's car was a complete write-off, but THANK GOD all four of us are OK. They took us all to hospital in ambulances (leaving everything we owned in the car). After a few x-rays, they sent us home - to the hotel that the insurance people set up for us. We weren't allowed to use the pillows. The next day, we went (Nadine without shoes) to another hospital and got checked out again. We got neck braces fitted that we were supposed to wear for ten days. Simon and I caught a train back to Munich, while Katja and Nadine got driven back (we weren't in the mood for driving). We went to the doctor in Germany and he said that the neck-braces only need to be worn for three days. Simon had massive bruising where the seatbelt was, and our necks hurt like hell. My ribs hurt heaps because of the seatbelt and my shins because they smacked against the back of the front seat. Although the seatbelts caused pain that lasted about a month, I'm glad we had them on. We seriously could have died without them. I always wear a seatbelt even when in the back seat because I don't want to kill the person in the front. Anyway, one a positive note, I've learnt a few things.
1. Don't try and do too much. Part of the reason why we had the accident was because we'd spent so much time driving. Next time, I'll spend a week on the beach.
2. Each day is precious. Love your friends and family.
3. Seatbelts save lives.
Sunday 27th September - Simon flew to Scotland to support his dad and brother in the Loch Ness Marathon. He couldn't run himself because he had to stop training after the accident. Instead of flying to Scotland for the weekend, I flew instead to Ibiza with Benny and Joe to use up a weeks' leave. Benny's family has a house there, and we spent a week relaxing (and when the weather was fine) on the beach improving our tans.
Saturday 4th October - Back from Ibiza.
Sunday 5th October - Simon's parents (who were staying with us) went to Oktoberfest and got so drunk that we had to take lots of video. :)
Friday 10th October - Warren (my twin brother) came to Munich to stay the weekend. Yay!
Saturday 11th October - After a bit of sightseeing, we went and chowed down on three Schweinshaxen. Yum. Didn't have the potatoes, because we've started eating following the Atkins plan.
Sunday 12th October - Flew to London for a week for work. Warren flew back a couple of hours later, so we went to the airport together. Stayed at the Marriott for the first few days, but their pool wasn't warm enough, so the guests weren't allowed to use it! Changed to the Le Meridien. My room looked out over the runway.
Tuesday 14th October - They announced that the company I work for has been bought out. This change things. For starters, the new company has offices in Sydney, so they might want me to stay on until the merger is complete. The share price almost doubled - woohoo!
Wednesday 15th October - After a tip from the driver, I went out this evening at ten to seven and walked for about 5 minutes to get right next to the runway fence to watch the Concorde take off. It was dark, and I could see the afterburners. It was unbelievably loud and definitely something I won't forget for a while. I'm glad I did see it, because they're decommissioning the last of the Concordes on the 24th.
Friday 17th October - Went to stay with David.
Sunday 19th October - Had brunch with Warren (my twin brother) and then flew back to Munich.
Friday 31st October - Cancelled the telephone, internet, magazine, health insurance and store incentive plan accounts and deregistered with the police (yes, you need to do that!) ready for the 30th of next month.
Saturday 1st November - First site update in a while. Had breakfast with Katja, Simon, Simone and Martin at Forum, then went and watched a DVD at Katja's. Today was a public holiday so all the shops were closed. Like it made a difference anyway.
Sunday 2nd November - Lazy day at home planning the move and playing on the PC. Went out to dinner with Simon at Cafe Blue and had yummy chicken wings and a glass of Prosecco.
Monday 3rd November - Had a flu shot at work.. Didn't even hurt a bit, until afterwards.. then my arm hurt :(
Friday 14th November - David came to stay for the weekend.
Sunday 16th November - David flew back to London.
Wednesday 19th November - Surprise farewell at work. Was really nice.
Friday 21st November - Last day at work. Quite sad, but also really busy, teaching my temporary replacement
Saturday 29th November - Leaving dinner at Yum. Was great to have so many good friends there.
Sunday 30th November - Flew from Munich (via Frankfurt and Singapore) to Sydney, flying Qantas, of course. I managed to get an upgrade for Simon and myself to business class. This was the first time Simon had flown business, and we both loved it.
Monday 1st December - Arrived in Singapore for a couple of days relaxation. Didn't get to spend any time by the pool, because it was cloudy most afternoons, and when it wasn't we were out taking photos. Spent lots of time shopping. Didn't buy any computer gear, but did buy some summer clothes for Australia.
Thursday 4th December - Left Singapore for Sydney. Economy (sigh).
Friday 5th December - Arrived in Sydney. Staying at Michael and Peter's. Started looking for an apartment straight away. Found a few promising ones, but nothing special. Some were great inside but had crappy views; some has the most amazing view, but crappy inside. We wanted a good view and good inside, with lots of amenities. Was heartened at the wide range of choice though... totally different to Munich.
Monday 15th December - Signed the lease on our new apartment. It's got two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two balconies, and a shared gym, pool, wet-sauna, dry-sauna and spa. Awesome. We're really happy with the place.
Wednesday 31st December 2003 - Went to Josh and Jared's place for dinner and drinkies and then to Michael and Peter's for the rest of the evening. The 9am and midnight fireworks were absolutely spectacular. At midnight, we were all invited to another party on the roof. Bumped into Donovan and Suzanne. Small world! Anyway, a great night was had by all, and all were eventually had by a great night.
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