Auckland bound, visitors, and more

We are still settling in to our place in Auckland.  Even though I needed to be up here almost exactly a month ago for work, I've only been in the new house for about a week.  The first week was spent working in Malaysia.  The day I got back, Beth picked me up and we went back to our place in Thames.  We decided to use that house as our vacation bach for when her parents were out.  The next week I spent in Auckland working while Beth's parents arrived on Wed and they went to Thames. 

Chicken in a cone.

On Friday, they came back up to Auckland and we hit up the Auckland Night Market.  These take place nightly from Thursday to Sunday in different locations.  There is your typical arts/crafts, shirts, and food stalls.  We also hit up the 2nd Hobbit as they had been out to Matamata to see Hobbiton the day before.  This also happens to be the cheapest movie ticket I've ever seen in New Zealand! 
 

On Saturday we boarded the ferry and went out to Rangitoto Island.  Its an interesting place to go see, but the next time I go there I would like it to be apart of the 5k swim.  We got to explore some lava caves, see the crater, and sit on a idyllic beach.

 

 

 

 

 

Was thinking of climbing it

I don't recall the day, but we drove around the Coromandel Peninsula.  We stopped in Whangapoua and hiked out to New Chums Beach, where I happened to sprain my ankle.  I had just stepped to the side to allow an on-coming person to pass on the track.  Last time that is going to happen, ever.  If this place sounds familiar, it is where my friend Phil has a bach that he let us use.  Its a really awesome place and if you ever get a chance to visit, stop in to the only store in town and ask Steve for directions.  Let him know that Phil sent you!  We were torn between my ankle and doing more.  We ended up going to Hot Water beach bypassing the long (2 hr) hike to Cathedral Cove.  It has been about a year since my last sprain and I've tried to be careful with my half on Jan 4, but that didn't work out so well.  I would have rather stayed at New Chums and left the masses to the few spots to catch the hot water.  We may head out that way during the off-season when the bus loads of tourists will most likely not be at capacity. 

On Christmas Eve, the plan was to hike the Pinnacles and camp out in the 80 person tent.  I had enough problems walking down the steps that I opted out of the hike.  Beth and her parents did the hike and left early on Christmas morning to avoid the worst of the downpour that hit New Zealand's North Island.  Prior to making our last moving trip up to Auckland with the camping gear and some other odds and ends, we hit up the first tour of the Thames Goldmine site.  The site has been going under renovations over the past couple years however the battery stamper was not functioning.  It was interesting to see the site as I had ran past it so many times over the last year, but it was behind a fence. 

Cathedral Cove

We then spent the following week in Akaroa on the Bank's Peninsula, SE of Christchurch.  We were staying in a timeshare located on the edge of town.  The weather didn't cooperate for us as it was pissing down.  Beth and Betsy did puzzles and Bill and I read.  I finished the 5th Jack Reacher, Inferno, and 2500 pages of Game of Thrones.  I also got 3 chapters done of my T-SQL studying done.  When it wasn't raining (at least not that much) we got out on the Fox II for a trip around the harbor and out into the ocean.  It was nice to meet Captain Roy, from NY, who seemed knowledgeable about the area, but liked to repeat himself when describing landmarks.  We got to see a bunch of dolphins, penguins, Cathedral Cove, seals, and enjoyed being on a boat.  Well Bill got sea sick and Betsy and Beth got really cold. 

Over looking Akaroa

We did get out to do some hiking around the crater around the town as well as walking around the town.  The hike went from Sea Level to about 600 m for us.  We didn't summit as the trail wasn't that flash and I didn't want to further injure my ankle.  Betsy and Bill went to the summit and I believe they both took a spill.  The views up high were pretty awesome.  There were sheep a plenty and I couldn't stop harassing them with my 'baas'.  We also stopped into Barry's Cheese where every other day you can watch them make cheese.  It appeared to be a milk delivery day when we were there so we watched a short video and bought some cheese.  We also took in a Maori and Colonial Museum that reminded me of Centennial Village back home.  There were a lot of buildings with a lot of displays that gave insight into the region and some of the colorful history.

After the week we jetted back to Auckland for the evening before heading to Tauranga.  While in Auckland, we ran around town getting some things for Betsy and Bill to take back with them and I tried in vain to get my bike inspected.  Who would have thought the 2nd would still be a holiday and many shops would be closed?  Not this guy.  We got to Tauranga about mid-day and our first stop was Koop's to get my bike and helmet inspected.  It was good to see the guys again (Dan, Craig, Will, and Phil) who all gave me a little crap for becoming a JAFA. We then went to our old neighborhood in the Mount to check into the hotel and drop by the registration booth.  We later went out to La Barca, a small Italian restaurant that was surprisingly not packed.  It often is.  A lot has changed in the Mount in the last year.  There are new places on Maunganui Road and even a board walk on Pilot Bay replacing the foot worn path I was used to. 

I could bore you with the race information, but I didn't do as well as I hoped, as I had some strange cramp/pulled muscle that made it very painful to breathe deep and I couldn't keep food down and I vomited 4 times.  I did finish and my first 2 events went well.  It was my first time racing with a wetsuit and it was too hot.  The bike ride was easy and I averaged 21.5 mph,, but I realized that my stomach was starting to go pear shaped on the 2nd lap.  I about lost it eating a banana so I stopped eating solids and kept trying to drink my nutrition but that still made me feel funky.  I started the run feeling good but after about 2 kms I had what I felt was a stitch, but it never went away.  It appeared to be something else as it continued to hurt after the race and hurt every time I breathed in deep, coughed, yawned, or tried to sit up from a laying position.

Now its back to a normal life for awhile.  I have 8 weeks until Taupo and it sounds like my dad is coming over again.  So its now time to study and train.  Hope you guys are enjoying your days that are getting longer as they are getting shorter here. 

My treat post race of fried Moro bar.

New Role

The last I wrote was about the starting of my new role.  I was tossed into the deep end and had to make sense of a live environment in Malaysia.  Prior to boarding a flight with my boss and a co-worker for the red-eye flight to Singapore, I was handed my company laptop and a stack of induction paperwork.  This was at 11 pm on the night prior to my first official day.  Little did I know, but I would be going full throttle all week and it doesn't stop there.

KLIA Terminal 2

I slept almost the entire flight to Singapore only waking momentarily to eat some food.  I was told that we were going to maximize our time on site so we would most likely go right to the site.  What is this site?  It is the new KLIA terminal that is scheduled to be opened in May. So what are we doing here?  We are installing the baggage controlling system.  This means all the physical aspects including conveyor belts, sorters, and scanners, as well as the software to manage the entire operation from a control room.  I'm currently getting very familiar with all the data being produced for the site.  I'm working with all the BI and database development with very little understanding of the environment.  As I'm doing trouble shooting, I have an end point to work back from and I've gained a much better understanding of the data structures in my first 50+ hrs on the job.

The Control Room

There was no exploring of Kuala Lumpur as I would have liked, but I was there to work first and play second.  The days were long and I hardly moved from the control room.  That had some benefits as the temperature was in the 90s and very humid.  This played some havoc in my training schedule as I didn't have a pool or bike, but I did get out and do some predawn runs where the temp was still in the high 70s.  I had some tasty eats while there, but the curry balls and the venison curry probably rank the tastiest. 

Venison Curry was still in the kitchen

My 2nd week was actually in the office.  I drove to work the first day as I had my laptop to get to the office, but since then I've been doing the commute on my bike (approximately 10 miles a day).  Its a good ride uphill that requires a cold shower before starting my day.  I'm currently working on several projects.  I'll probably talk in reference to location to keep things straight.  KL is having site acceptance testing 6/1-8/1, so I'll be adjusting my hours to reflect their business hours.  STL is looking to have some changes done to appease the TSA and Perth is going to have a factory acceptance test next week.  I'll be busy getting their environment up and running as the data warehouse scripts haven't been written nor the SSAS cubes.  However, there are 2 students doing an internrship that I get to assist with some of the report writing.  I've also started to study for the MSCE: Data Platform exams.  There are 5 of them and at our final team meeting (my first meeting) the expectation for all of the development team was to have the exams done by March.  I'm going to be a busy guy with my training and studying.

Wrapping up life in Thames and moving on

So its been awhile since the last post, but I've been busy with training and recovering.  My wrist and fingers have been giving me problems since being dumped by my bike.  I ended up getting x-rays and an MRI on it. Luckily nothing major, only that there is fluid in my wrist and the Dr is recommending that I get a cortisone shot.  I've taken the stance of reducing my swimming and riding my road bike.  I've also been delaying setting up an appointment as I'm supposed to start at my new job in Auckland on Monday, but there is a little kink with that.

I received a phone call from my new manager mid-last week asking if I would be ok starting a day early as he would like to take me to an on-site installation for my first week.  I ran it by Beth as we are scheduled to move into our new house on Saturday and I would have to catch a flight on Sunday.  Today I received confirmation that we are booked on a 1 am flight out of Auckland to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore.  So technically I'm not starting a day early only several hours, many of which I'll probably be sleeping.  What am I going to be doing there you ask?  I'm not really sure, but its a new installation of hardware and software.  There is bound to be some issues and I'll be there in the deep end trying to stay afloat.  Otherwise, I'll observe and start to learn first hand what we provide and what is required on my expected frequent travels. I guess Daytona wont be my first on-site.

I've slowly been getting used to the idea of not living in our little town.  I've been doing things one last time, like running up to the Pinnacles Hut or baking for my local friends.  Hopefully I'll stumble upon some friendly bikers and other active people up in Auckland.  The different groups of people I interact with be missed. 

There are the mountain bike crew.  Whom I met via a poster looking for worker bees on the track.  Last night we finished a section that allows us access back to the main track, even though the new track is only about a 1/3 done.  We also did trips to Rotorua and other mtb trails as well as our weekly Wed Night ride. 

Then there are the tri folks.  We swam, biked, and ran together.  And after all of that we would hit up a cafe for some drinks and snacks.  They are also the ones that talked me into my big event of the year.  I'm already thinking that I may want to top it next year with Coast to Coast, but don't let Beth know just yet.

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but its getting late and I'm wanting to research where I should eat in KL.  Also need to plot out some running workouts so I don't suck at my race in a month.  If anyone wants to sending something over to us, Beth's parents are coming over for Xmas.  Email me and I can get you in contact.

Time to start looking

We'll be moving to Auckland in early December as I just accepted a role as a Business Intelligence Developer with a company on Auckland's North Shore. I've had a few interviews as I've been looking for roles that would allow me to utilize my development skills. This role feels like an extension of my previous roles in data and development.  I'll be responsible for SSRS (reporting), SSAS (cubes of relational data for reporting and metrics), and ASP.NET MVC in C# (for the application). 

What does the company do?  They design, manufacture, install, and manage via software sorting systems.  Huh?  Let me paint this picture for you.  You drop off your bag at the ticket counter.  It gets tagged and then takes a magical ride through the underbelly of the airport.  Based on the bag tag it gets routed by a computer system to a carousel to be loaded into a baggage cart and then delivered and loaded onto your flight.  Works most of the time, right?  Well this company makes most of that happen.  The other big client would be companies like FedEx, which utilize conveyor belts to move thousands of packages around the facility to the proper containers to be loaded for exotic places or more likely just across state lines.  It will be interesting to see the operation for a different point of view as I held jobs in both industries in college. They were eager for me to accept and are anxious to get me in the office.  I'm sure I'll learn a lot and rise to any challenges that the new environment brings.

Once I find out exactly what I'll be doing, I'll post it up.  I know right now I'll be in charge of creating an application to deploy report definitions from a central server to client servers when new versions are created in order to keep the remote sites synchronized with the latest version.  I will be drinking from the fire hose when it comes to SSAS, but I'm already been studying and practicing.  

Some of the perks:
Early adopters of technology
Close to lots of sushi restaurants and other tasty places in general
They have an indoor 3-on-3 soccer 'field', weights, heavy bag, and other cycle commuters.
Pay for Microsoft Certifications (Training and Exams)
Travel

Trail runs, fooding, and other recaps

So training is in full swing.  Its 10 weeks from POTH and 18 from IMNZ.  So I've been super active.  I have K2 November 2nd just a little jaunt around the Coromandel Peninsula, approximately 200km.  I did a lengthy write-up of it last year.  Wait, I've been in New Zealand how long now? 

Backside of the ridge from Thames

Our Tuesday Night run went on a new route last week and it was filled with hill work.  I saw a few new places in this small town.  I thought we were running down someone's lawn, but it was a trail.  Then Garth, Manu, and I did a 3 hr trail run on Thursday in the valley behind Thames.  The trail leaves from a side street which I lived closed to when I was in the Edward Street house.  You have the capability to go all the way out to the Kauaeranga Valley (Pinnacles and mtb trails) or to come back down a 2nd track which exits on the edge of town.  That is what we did.  It was a good run, but I worried about my ankle in a lot of spots as it was pretty uneven.  Go figure it was a trail run.

Last weekend, Beth and I went up to Auckland to do a few errands and we hit up 2 different festivals.  It was supposed to be 3, but I couldn't eat any more.  Shocking I know!  Saturday morning, I did 2000m in the pool then took in a Maori food festival and the Diwali festival.  We also planned on hitting up the Auckland Night Market, where they have 60-80 food stalls.  Its still on my to-do list.  At the Maori food festival we started with a cupcake. 

So tasty.  Easy to make to boot.

Then I had a plate of boil up, its like a soup of potato, water cress, doughboy (think dumplings), and pork bones with meat) with 2 pieces of Maori bread.  I wanted to have some hangi, but it was sold-out.  However, a very kind guy stopped by Beth and I and said he overheard we were asking for hangi, but were turned away. 

He gave us, I mean me, one of his helpings of hangi.  We had an interesting conversation with an older lady at the festival.  I got the typical, what are you question.  Which led to explaining how this is a typical conversation.  Now that I think of it, I should just make a t-shirt and wear it all the time.  I said I get my dark skin from being half-vietnamese and she chimed in "and the other half is American!".  I just had to agree with her.  She talked about eating nettles and sea urchin and how in the past they were embarassed to do it in front of foreigners.  Now she doesn't care.  I said I've eaten both and she was surprised as she thought only Kiwis did it.  At this point I had plowed through both portions of food and turned down her offer for some uni as I feeling full.  She said that we should be on Amazing Race because I eat anything.  We told her we had applied years ago, but sadly we weren't chosen to compete.
 

Yes, $20 for HoHos

Then we went to Martha's Backyard which imports American goods and sells at a significant markup.  I've been using pop tarts as a nutrition source while on my long rides.  Also picked up some corn meal for corn bread muffins and graham crackers for s'mores.  We then drove back up the street to pick up a bike trainer we got off of TradeMe.  Then off to the North Shore to pick up a water bottle seat mount and to drop off my wetsuit which had a seam tear.  Sad because I only probably wore it 6-10 times, but as I had bought it at the end of the September and didn't wear it until June of the following year it was out of warranty.  Then we were off to Diwali where we met up with Shiv.  We took in some music and more food before heading back home.  We had curry puffs, samosas, mango lassi, vegetarian takoyaki (cheese and corn or onion), chipati with bread, fried fritters with chocolate sauce, and a sprite.  Then I topped the night off with a mystery dessert from a place on Elliot Street of panna cotta and chocolate mouse parfait. I don't think I could have forced myself to eat at each of the 60-80 food stalls at the night market, so we just drove back home.

Shiv next to a MN State Fair booth?

Don't be fooled, its not takoyaki

Then on Sunday, I did a solo 50 mile ride against a head or cross wind the majority of the time.  I didn't have the greatest average, but I worked hard.  I also found out that my friend Martin had had an accident on his K2 training ride a few weeks earlier.  The ride, I missed because of my hurt wrist.  He is in the hospital still recovering, but he has a fractured pelvis and 5 ribs.  I'll get down there to check on him at some point, but this weekend is Labor weekend.  We'll be crashing at my friend Phil's bach on the best beach in New Zealand.  I'll be taking my bike, so I can ride the 70 km back to Thames after our little vacation.  Monday is supposed to be a worker bee day at the mtb trail and if I spend most of the day there we might get a good chunk done.  We had 7 people out working last week and got about 20 meters done.  We are working on a technical switchback section of a downhill that requires a lot of platforming and removing of stumps.  If all goes to plan, the trail will be done around Christmas. 

Today we went back up to Auckland to get our refinance documents certified at the US Embassy.  It was our first time, visiting an embassy.  It was nothing like the movies.  Where were the heavily armored guards walking around the massive complex?  Nope it was tucked in a Citi building on the edge of the CBD.  We then talked briefly to an accountant to see how screwed up our taxes may be.  Then we picked up my freshly repaired wetsuit.  Time to get some open water practice.  I was called on Monday about scheduling a job interview.  It took place after all the other activities for the day.  

Some recipes cause I love food

Tonight I made the following; a Caramel Cake for Leith's birthday, a chocolate chip cookie pan, and  quinoa spinach goat cheese fritters.  So much for not baking while on my training program.  Then again, I rode 17 miles on the trainer this morning.  My wrist still isn't feeling that awesome.  Even on the trainer my wrist caused me unbelievable amount of grief that lasted for hours.  I also have wicked sores on my heels from my new-ish trail running shoes. 

So I've been cooking and baking here and there for years.  What can I say I love food.  I've worked as a cook back in college for a short time.  I've even taken baking orders for friends from time to time, but never professionally.  Sometimes I hear that I'm in the wrong industry or I hear the comment that I should own my own bakery or what have you.  I wont claim that I do it all as sometimes I start with a recipe from this place or that magazine and then modify it.  Other times I just whip things together.  Not everything I do turns out, but it almost always gets eaten.  I can only recall a few major disasters where it was utter crap.

Recently I made a modified Pumpkin Whoopie Pies but I roasted my own pumpkin and hand mashed it for a chunkier consistency.  Then I basically disregarded the entire spice section and put in a combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.  This is my typical spice concoction when dealing with pumpkin, which I love using.  Also made some wicked pumpkin pancakes the other day with a faux buttermilk.  I've yet to find buttermilk in New Zealand, so I learned a trick of curdling milk with white vinegar.  I don't really have a ration that I adhere to, I just taste the batter and add whatever I feel like that day or night.  Then I changed the filling to be one that I've used for my Cream-Filled Pumpkin.  This is a recipe I found over a decade ago while working for the airlines.  I don't recall the magazine, but I have several sure fire cupcake hits from that issue.  So straight from recipes files so of my crowd favorites.  My current and former co-workers, Beth's former co-workers, and our friends and family approved pants tightening goodness.  This is another big winner that I made back home.  I have yet to find the mini-kisses over here so if you are coming to visit, bring a couple bags and you might get a batch to yourself.  My instructions for the Choco-pucks.

Enjoy baking and eating, cause I know I do.

Cream-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

4 eggs

2 c sugar

¾ c vegetable oil

1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin

2 c flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 t baking powder

1 t ground cinnamon

(See above for my spice concoction)

Filling

1 T cornstarch

1 c milk from

½ c shortening

¼ c butter softened

2 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, for the filling you mix the cornstarch and milk over medium high heat and bring to a boil while constantly stirring.  Remove immediately after coming to a boil.  Let cool to room temp.  While that is cooling, cream the shortening, butter, and sugar.  Now add the vanilla.  Slowly add the thickened milk mixture to the creamed ingredients while mixing on high.  You are looking for a fluffy mixture.  I've never used all the milk mixture when creating the filling.  After the cupcakes have had a chance to cool cut a cone divet in the top.  Remove the section, fill with cream mixture, and then replace the cut-out section.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Cupcakes

Filling

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese softened

1/3 c sugar

1 egg

1/8 t salt

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c peanut butter chips

Cupcake

1 ½ c flour

1 c sugar

¼ c baking cocoa

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

1 c water

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 T while vinegar

1 t vanilla

Back at 350 for 25-30 minutes  Cream the cream cheese, sugar, and egg.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Mix the cupcake ingredients together.  I've never been a big fan of using multiple bowls and slowly adding the wet and dry together.  Then again, this is something I do for fun not a job.  Fill the cupcake paper about 1/2 full with cupcake batter and then take a table spoon or so of the filling and plop it on top.

Caramel Sauced Cake

Caramel Cake (Gourmet, January 2008)

Cake:

2 c plus 2 T flour

1 t baking powder

¾ t baking soda

½ t salt

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter softened

1 c sugar

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

1 c shaken buttermilk

Glaze:

1 c heavy cream

½ c brown sugar

1 T light corn syrup

1 t vanilla

Bake cake in an 8 inch square cake pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes, cool for an hour

Boil glaze until it registers 210 to 212 for 12-14 minutes, cool for 30 minutes