Dear Anonymous

I hate blogs and websites that require you to sign in, so I've kept the blog totally open to anyone who wants to comment. The problem is, I get a lot of spam that I have to delete.

So, if you choose to comment and you're not some chump trying to sell me on the Top 101 Social Media Tips You're Not Using, please use your name.

Cheers

Lunch

We had a light Sunday lunch at Bees Online, the awesome place with the stupid name where we took Iain's parents. Pictured here is my latest pet peeve: salads served in really deep bowls. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to eat this?!

Wild Jungle Cats!

Blue discovered tree climbing in the new backyard!

I finally remembered my camera!

We went for a walk this morning -- one of my first long walks since my foot surgery. It was only 50 minutes but better than nothing. Last week I went for a few walks at lunchtime, and managed to get down to the Viaduct and all the way around before my foot started hurting. It made for a painful walk back to work, but I'm glad I got out.

It's been raining intermittently all day (welcome to winter in Auckland!) but we managed to have a nice wander through Northcote Point. It's a beautiful neighborhood 15 minutes from our 'hood, on the north shore of Auckland. Full of old villas and fantastic views of the Harbour Bridge, most homes run around $900K+. We actually looked at buying a house here - the price seemed far too good to be true, which it was. The house was right next to the motorway, right as people got off the bridge. We didn't even bother going in. The house pictured here isn't the house, but you get the idea of what the neighborhood is like. And I love the blue roof!

NZ All Blacks

The rugby game was on last night -- NZ v Wales, so we tuned in. Iain watched it, I sat on the sofa posting used clothing on TradeMe.com.

I hate sports, but I'm actually sorta kinda getting into rubgy (and not just because of Dan Carter).

For one thing. the haka is REALLY cool. It doesn't matter what country you're from, seeing the haka is pretty amazing. But of course, this being New Zealand, the commercial break that follows inevitably contains some weird deworming product for sheep. Classic.

Hotel bars

Yesterday we met friends for brunch then decided to wander around the Viaduct by ourselves. It was sunny and gorgeous so we stopped at the Hilton for a drink. I love hotel bars because it always feels like you're on vacation. They have a stunning bar that overlooks the entire harbor. I reached for my camera and realized that yet AGAIN, I left it at home. Damn it! We had a nice wander over to the Westin which was also picture-perfect but alas, no camera. Instead, here are a bunch of house pictures!

Happy Hour

We had a VERY early start on Friday morning. Iain woke up at 4am to watch the Tivo'ed NZ v Paraguay game. I might as well have gotten up, since the cats, ecstatic to have someone awake, began the racing and fighting and meowing extra early.

Because of meetings, etc. we also left the house early and arrived at work around 7.30am. You'd think that getting to work a full 1 - 1.5 hours before everyone else would give one a real headstart on the day but no, there's always more work. Thankfully I left at 5pm.

Later on we met friends at La Zeppa for a few drinks. Our waitress was a large, rude woman who was visibly annoyed that we "just" wanted to drink. I've never understood this -- drinks end up costing MORE most of the time! Although our party of 6 did include a pregnant gal and 2 designated drivers.

La Zeppa is a tapas place, which simply means they charge exorbitant amounts of money for minuscule plates of food, but you can't complain because "It's tapas!". $12 for three tiny pieces of grilled calamari? I know they aren't different from any other tapas place, here or in the US, but it still annoys me. According to people who've experienced REAL Spanish tapas in Spain, the whole concept is enjoying small INEXPENSIVE plates of food before heading off to a big meal. That said, it's still a pretty cool place to go on a Friday night.

For Kate Brill

Hey skank,

Here's a picture of what we have in our fridge.

I hope this lays your fears to rest!!! (Although, I DO say "toMAHto sauce" in restaurants.)

WNED: Canadian Earthquake Felt Across WNY (2010-06-23)

Well this is just weird. So much for that claim about Buffalo "only" getting the snow! Did anyone feel this?

Canadian Earthquake Felt Across WNY (2010-06-23)

More TV and Movie Clichés

#4. During a chase scene, the person being chased trips and completely wipes out spread eagle on the ground before scrambling back up again. C'mon!

#5. After an emotional confrontation where one person leaves, the other person shuts the door then leans against it - back to the door. This is almost always accompanied by looking up towards the ceiling, with a heavy sigh.

What Aucklanders are Eating

This is a neat link promoting the Auckland Museum's latest exhibit. They've asked people to upload pictures of typical (and not so typical) Kiwi culinary delights. The Auckland Museum has great exhibits -- from what I can tell from walking by, viewing stuff on Twitter or seeing their posters. No, I've never actually BEEN to the museum...

I don't know the people in this picture, but based on where they are and what they're eating, I wish they were my best friends.

http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/1429/showcase

TV and Movie Clichés - part one

Iain and I are constantly pointing out those things you see on TV and in films that no one in real life actually does. Here are a few examples, seen today on episodes of SVU and Gossip Girl:

1. The woman sauntering around the man's apartment wearing his buttondown and nothing else.

2. The woman sitting at her dressing table brushing her hair at night while talking to her husband. Alt: woman sitting in bed rubbing moisturizer on her elbows while talking to her husband (oddly, this one seems reserved for the moms; you never see a single gal doing this)

3. "Surely you can't think I did this?" as an answer during police questioning. Usually followed by "... I LOVED her/him!"

I'm going to start keeping track of these. If you can think of any, please post a comment here or on Facebook.

Token House Shots, part one

A few shots of the house (taken right after we cleaned). More to come.

Declan Michael Occhino!

I don't have any pictures but I wanted to congratulate Och + Kerry on their latest, born June 9th. Simone now has a brother and Pippa has another excuse to bark 24/7. Way to go guys!

Law and Order SVU

Is it just me or does SVU suck now? Honestly, the last few episodes I've seen have replaced decent plotlines for celebrity guest appearances. They've even tried injecting humor into the show which is just totally bizarre.

Also, I guess the writers finally realized how hot Mariska Hargitay is, and so now the show always has a scene where she just happens to play a dominatrix, a hard core lesbian, a sexy speed dater, or a slutty corrupt detective -- but it's okay 'cause it's for the plot.

The latest episode was a ridiculous dramedy featuring Kathy Griffin playing a man hating lesbian-turned-bisexual activist. Yeah.

Of course, I will continue to Tivo it and watch religiously....

Skype!

A year ago I was in NY hanging out with Nam and a very pregnant Danielle. This year, I'm back in NZ and Danielle and Nam have 9 month old Emory. Once again Skype proves to be a saving grace: I finally got to "meet" Emory! Pictures on Facebook don't really cut it. At one point, while Mom made herself a margarita, Nam put the laptop on the floor and I called Emory who came crawling across the carpet to greet me - pretty cool! Iain was out getting a massage and missed all the fun, but we'll do it again.

Queen's Birthday Weekend!

We've got a long weekend! Both of us got out of work early (4.30) and were eager to start the weekend off right. Our plans were derailed when we saw Tama - he'd been in another fight with evil neighborhood ginger kitty and looked quite shaken.

His collar was off and after a thorough search of the yard, I found it by a rosebush and a bunch of ginger fur -- there was obviously quite a scuffle!

We inspected Tama and he seems fine except for his ear -- we think there's a sliver in it so we're taking him to the vets this morning.

Plans for the weekend are pretty tame: we're lying low to save money and take care of our kitty. It's supposed to be cold and rainy, so it's perfect for movies and soup and books.

Tama on Twitter!

Well this RULES!

mashable.com/cats-tweet

Sal's Pizza

About a month ago we discovered Sal's Authentic New York Pizza here in Auckland. Considering THIS is what we've had to tolerate (please see below), finally getting the real deal has been worth the wait. Of course, we had it once. Then a week later had it again. Then Iain's parents were in town so we had it AGAIN. Then a coworker mentioned it so now I want it again.....