Road-tripping

CORPUS CHRISTI - As I type, I'm sitting in a condo with some friends after road-tripping down from Austin. It was a nice little trip filled with laughs, food, and driving skill mockery. Ha ha. I was driving. It's fine.

Anyway, I'm excited to be chilling for the next couple of days. We'll be partying on the beach, kayaking, playing games and just having the time of our lives.

Life is good.

P.S. Happy New Year to you all!

Facebook Timeline

AUSTIN - So, I've decided to make the switch over to Facebook Timeline (it's where your profile appears as a timeline of events instead of the current format) and it has been fascinating. I literally cannot help but watch old videos and look at old pictures from years gone by.

A few notes:

• I've done heaps of things in America.
• The things that I've done have made me pretty happy.
• I can tell by the pictures and videos.
• In 2011, I had the most birthday wishes on Facebook of any prior year.
• I can't complain about the life I've lived.
• Also, I've got some great friends!

Ok, love you bye.

The Home Office

AUSTIN - A document was signed a few months ago that dramatically changed my work environment for the immediate future. What was it? Well, it was a contract that gifted my office to a customer here in Austin after they agreed to work closer with my company. This means I now work from home.

Working from home is not all that bad. I don't have the hour to hour-and-a-half commute everyday. I also don't have to get dressed up everyday.

That's the beginning of the end right there.

I used to get up religiously and go to the gym at 6.30a.m. Now, I roll out of bed and start answering emails or frantically setting up for meetings (read as "conference calls")--the gym happens around lunchtime.

I used to shave pretty much everyday. Now, you're lucky if that happens once or twice a week.

I used to shower everyday. Now, I still shower everyday--just later than usual.

Here's what I'm going to commit to do in the New Year:

Get into a schedule and stick to it.

I think that will help solve my Home Office woes. If you can really call them that.

Historical Movies

SALT LAKE CITY - I love historical movies. In fact, movies that have some ounce of truth to them (and are well-made) are usually pretty fascintating to me.

"We bought a Zoo." The story of a family that purchased a broken down zoo and reopened it. I saw it this past week and I liked it.

"Fair Game." A movie about the start of the Iraq war and subsequent outing of a covert CIA agent. I watched it again this week and enjoyed that too. (Note: I don't normally like to re-watch movies I've already seen.)

AND, I cannot wait to see this movie:

"The Iron Lady." A movie about England's first, and only, female Prime Minister. Looks pretty interesting to me.

I'll let you know how it is.

Boxing Day In-Transit

SALT LAKE CITY - 1288 miles.

That's the distance from Salt Lake City to Austin, TX via car. It's a long trip. And, I can tell you that by experience. But don't worry, today I'll be flying back on American Airlines via DFW.  I end up arriving in Austin pretty late and am actually pretty excited to be back in my own room and my own bed.

The past few days here in Utah have been great. I caught up with some friends in Salt Lake / Provo and also down in St. George. I had a great little Christmas with the Stevens (see post below) and also got to speak to every member of my immediate family (see Christmas Eve post).

Some asked why I didn't go back to NZ for Christmas--it's because it costs about $2500 to fly around this time of year. It's summer. It's Christmas. And, it's a great place to be. Who can blame those ticket holders? Not me. Plus, I'm planning on being in that part of the world this November for my brothers wedding. He gets married in Brisbane, Australia during November. Good times.

However, being in-transit is not always my favorite thing. I can't wait for the days when you can just teleport to wherever you need to go. Do you think that'll be a possibility one day? Hope so.

Oh, and Happy Boxing Day!

St. George Christmas

Spent a few days down here in St. George with some of my favorite people. In fact, they are the reason why I'm in America.

We all had a great time at church. We opened a few presents, ate some ham and played Rummikub.

"Uncle Jack" and "Aunt Jane" have been playing Rummikub for a few years, but guess who goes back to Texas as the reigning champion?

Yours truly. NBD.

Merry Christmas (From Hobbiton)

Just a little Hobbit video blog.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas tomorrow and it'll be different for my family. We're all growing up, 'expanding,' and are not really going to be together for the holidays.

Some of you might know that my family are spread out all across the world:

• Dad and Shaz are in Sydney, Australia.
• Mum, Nath and Jade are in Rarotonga.
• Ari, Mounga, Zydal, Molela, Monaco, Belle and Josh are in the Hutt Valley (New Zealand).
• Caleb, Chev, Malia and Kapri are in Brisbane, Australia.
• I'm in St. George, Utah.

That's a lot of different places. Just saying.

Also, Merry Christmas to everyone in NZ and Aussie--they're already opening presents and eating stuff because of time zones.

Much love.

Bachelor Party

Last night we had a little Bachelor party for my buddy, Tyson.

He gets married this coming Saturday and we had to throw him a little celebration before he ties the knot.

Yes, we did eat Mexican food.

...followed by Karaoke.

Epic?

(Ha ha!)

My Life.

I don't have one right now.

Remember how it's 11pmish and I'm still finishing up a project for work? Yeah, that's right. I'm that hardcore.

Or I'm just a chump...

I choose hardcore.

The Life of Pi

How many of you have read "The Life of Pi"?

It's a pretty interesting book and I just finished reading it. However, I know it's a novel, but I have a few questions in my mind. So, if you've got a few moments to spare, please give me a call so we can chat about what actually happened? I'm confused.

Ha ha. Thanks.

Cricket

While I was at the gym today, I met an older East Indian woman and her husband. We chatted for a few minutes (after they asked if I was an Indian) and then I told them I was from New Zealand, referencing the fact that our national team plays cricket against India.

Some of you may know that I enrolled in a local cricket team as a young boy. I played for about a season, before quitting because I wasn't very good and also because it was a bit boring.

Did you know that some cricket matches last for days? Days.

One time, I was looking at the sky while our team was fielding (i.e. in the outfield). This was a bit of a problem. Especially because the ball went flying past me and some other kid had to grab it and throw it back. Ha! I was also regularly placed as the last batter--a position that meant I would probably not get to bat before our team got out.

I'm not going to use this blog to talk about the rules of cricket (you can do that here), however, I just wanted to say that these Indians brought back a few funny memories from my childhood. Oh, cricket.

I'll admit it...

Sometimes I get it wrong. Maybe I misspeak. Maybe I was misinformed. Maybe it was true once and now, after a series of events or period of time, it's not true anymore.

It's ok to be wrong.

Took me a long time to realize that. I think that there are still times when I think to myself, "Just take this on the chin, you're right, but you don't need to do the haka about it." Ha ha. I don't think I'd have any friends if I did this every time I thought I was right (because I'd be doing it a lot, if that was the case).

Tonight was one of those times when I actually was wrong. Ha! That's fine. No big deal (It was about politics).

I'm just glad that I can actually recognize this and accept it. And, hopefully, I'm glad I have friends that can overlook these moments and keep being my friend. Much love.


Don't you just love the 80s?

Opening night: Savior of the World

A few months ago, I was asked to be the choral director for the Savior of the World production in our Stake. "Savior of the World" is a musical play about the events preceding the birth of Christ.

I wanted to give a little shout out to the musical on the blog, because, tonight was our opening night and it has just been a fantastic way to recognize the true meaning of Christmas. I've been blessed to be part of the help--although I didn't always see that.

Because of the play, I've resolved to be a little better and work a little harder in remembering the reason why we celebrate Christmas--Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

NZ Facebook Product Trials

I just think it's awesome that New Zealand gets to do stuff like this. I mean, we're a relatively small country in the grand scheme of things. Also, 2 million FB users in NZ? Who knew?

Click here to view the news story.

Happy Birthday, Detective Ruri!

In Sydney with Dad - Very glamorous photo. Ha ha.

And today, is my father's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

So, technically, it was his birthday yesterday and we Skyped. I told him that I thought he was looking good (maybe a bit better than when I was there) and I realized it was because he got a good haircut. Ha. His girlfriend said that his last one made him look like a criminal.

FYI - My Dad is a retired Undercover New Zealand Policeman. Pretty legit and definitely not a criminal. Quite the opposite, really.

Love you, Dad.

It's Christmas!

On Saturday, we got a real Christmas tree for the flat and today we put decorations on it.

I think it's pretty cool.

I've been excited for this season to roll around, even though I won't be with my family (I wish I was), and it's just been making me smile. I ran some Christmas errands and have been enjoying listening to Christmas music.

When I worked at KFC in Upper Hutt, I always loved saying, "Enjoy your meal, and have a Merry Christmas!" I would even say it after New Years day (force of habit). So festive. It was awesome.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great holiday season and remember why we celebrate--it's not just for the presents.

Love you.

Kid History

Also, here's a little plug for Kid History. I think they're hilarious. The videos are stories acted out by adults, but told by children.



And here's the most recent one:



They kill me. Everytime.

Also, one of the guys that made them was in my first BYU ward bishopric. Hilarious.

Making NZ treats.

A few weeks ago, and last week, I made the famous New Zealand dessert, Pavlova (find out its origins here).

Today, I made one of my favorite New Zealand treats called, "Chocolate Caramel Slice."

Mine will look a little like this,

Minus the chocolate on top (I wanted to make the low fat option....bahahaha...).

Mmmmm....

Karaoke

Karaoke is awesome.

Last night, some friends and I went to the dodgy-est little karaoke place in Austin. Granted, I have been there before, but, that still doesn't diminish the dodginess of it all.

But boy, did we have fun? Yes we did.

Why don't people want to come karaoke with me more often? That's what I want to know.

Back from Georgia...

After a few hours in the ATL or "Hotlanta," (as some people call it) I arrived into the Savannah airport on:

Then, using

I rolled around in a 2012 Chevy Suburban for the week.

And I stayed at this four star hotel downtown.

I also ate at a number of nice Savannah restaurants--the city is famous for their food--and drank some pretty disgusting water. But, all-in-all, a great trip.