Plus Twelve

Today I flew South and as far away as I've ever been from the Greenwich Meridian line.  I crossed the date line and in doing so I lost my Sunday.  The 18th of April 2010 is officially a day I have never lived through (and never will).  For some losing a Sunday would be annoying.  It's potentially the most important day of the weekend.  However, for others it could mean a shorter week, like those still living where I grew up (in Bahrain) where the weekend is Friday and Saturday.  Amazing but true, not all weekends use the same days.  Actually many people choose different days off depending on their jobs.  Right now, in 2010, the only significance to a weekend is that others have the day off so are available to hang out.  Aside from this most days are like the others.

So, here I am, twelve time zones ahead of UTC or GMT.  This idea of the international date line is playing tricks with me.  I saw the Sun set on Saturday and then the next viewing was it rising on Monday morning.  I talk to people and they are living through yesterday.  Winter is arriving when a few days ago Summer was clearly on the way.  I have finally jumped through time and proved to myself, it's open to individual interpretation, some may say relative.  In other words time is unique to us all and we all experience it differently.  The Sun sets and the Sun rises but we name the days and we set the clocks.  When we have this power it makes me wonder why we choose to only have two day weekends, why not choose three?

Outside of my childlike excitement surrounding time travel the flight was uneventful.  I suppose the 40 minutes of turbulence was unusual, but not significant.  The only effect was the absence of an all important bread roll that should have accompanied my meal.  Everyone, included the flight attendants, had to remain seated so my bread roll was forgotten and left undelivered to my plate.  When next flying Qantas I'll be sure to remember and ask for two rolls.  It's important to keep the universe in balance.

Prior to my flight my attempts for an upgrade were met with resistance.  I imagine it has something to do with all the spare seats available.  I had even tried dressing up in hope of a "you look fit for first class walk this way" comment. Hah!  Anyway, thanks to all the spare seats I had plenty of room and this certainly helped as I spent most of my journey asleep.  I'm sure the late advice received prior to my flight also helped (thanks Ray!).  If you find yourself on a long haul flight I recommend a window seat, not for the view but for the pleasure of leaning against something that isn't a fellow passenger.

Arrival in Auckland was very much like arriving in the UK.  I always start to think of the weather when arriving somewhere.  The strong light glaring into the cabin makes me think that clear blue skies are certain.  However, as altitude drops so too does the light and expectations of a clear day.  Gazing out of the window there is nothing but grey cloud.  It clears as land approaches but only because you have sunk below a ceiling of cloud.  I'm very familiar with this grey roof thanks to time spent in the UK but often fooled into thinking it's permanent.  It's not, clouds can clear and they certainly did as I took the Airbus Express into town.  Although rain wasn't far away and fell on and off through my first day, it's warm.  The rainbow greeting me for my landing could be considered a good sign.  Time to go looking for a pot of gold, that'll keep me occupied for the next few weeks!

So, internet is a pay for access affair in Auckland.  Finding this out sent me on a search, and as usual I find myself surrounded by books.  Auckland Public Library has free access but it's limited to 100MB/day and as I'm currently hitting the limit I will have to sign off.  Enjoy what's left of my yesterday, it was good to me I hope it will be good to you.

Auckland Public Library.  Home of free internet and an interesting research section.

 Sky Tower at night and yes you can jump off it.

Auckland Ferry Building, dwarfed by an HSBC tower.

Lost in London

So, it's been a few months since I left California and it's time to switch it up. I've been enjoying my time since I've been back. Catching up with old friends, hopping around a bit and really enjoying it. So much so I've bought some flights and will be making more use of my time. I took a message from London Underground literally, "no waiting". It's certainly time for action.

I'll be attempting to blog about my trip and post a few pictures. I'll also be organising my photos into some online galleries which will be available soon. For now you'll have to make do with the following snaps.

Tower Bridge from Tooley Street.

Anish Kapoor - Tall Tree and the Eye. An installation at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Forest created with mirrors near Waterloo station.

Battersea Power Station as viewed from across the Thames.

Sign at South Bank.

St Pauls Cathedral.

All the leaves are brown

The coldest week of my life in San Francisco. Not quite what I expected as the ultimate week in sunny North California but then again it is winter.

According to Mike Pechner (a Bay Area weather man) “This is one of the heaviest and lowest snowfalls in 25 years”. Such infrequent extremes certainly make you think more about climate change, every year brings new records. Snow, hail and rain have arrived in varying degrees over my last seven days and it looks to be a fantastic season for snow sports in the Sierras, almost double the total snow fall compared to the same time last year.

A trip through Caldecott tunnel, under the Berkeley hills, often welcomes traffic arriving on the East side with much warmer weather. Not so on my recent journey along State Route 24, instead of a temperature climb I’m hit with a sharp drop, frost twinkles on either side of the road as I’m greeted with a view more at home around Lake Tahoe. Many of the “peaks” appear snow capped, Mount Diablo slides into view, frozen, and I can’t help but think that’s real snow up there (3,557 feet/ 1,084 metres). An impressive sight, sparkling and glistening in the sun. Thoughts of missing out on a decent season snowboarding are hard to keep out of mind. A surprising cold snap indeed.

Aside from the weather, this week has been full of other surprises. Most have provided a refreshing perspective on how limited our time can be and what it means to most. These surprises have resulted in numerous distractions and productive procrastination has been a sought after commodity. Soon the time will come to give up on that approach but not yet.


Many things will be missed, mostly the people. North Beach, a place I have come to call home, will surely be missed.

Good coffee, good food and good service. My favourite bars for reading books and drinking beer (The Adler Museum to name one) will be there when I return - I hope! I'm already craving Cal Italia pizza from Tony's Pizza Napoletana, a craving likely to stick with me for many a month to come!


Sitting on my beautiful bar stools or standing for a closer look out of my window filled with wonder at the changing view - mainly from the absent or present fog. It will be missed.

One final photo in a first blog entry that seems too full of words. It's not easy to say good-bye. Here's Golden Boy Pizza (now home to my bar stools) and easily the best spot for a slice in North Beach. I regret not having time to take a photo of the neon sign...