Archive for the 'State of the raph' Category

Tiger of a Tuesday

Published at October 14, 2009 in Thailand, Coffee, food and State of the raph. 0 Comments

I starter writing this last night, but started nodding off from sheer exhaustion.

first nights sleep was interrupted by a  mild case of reflux. This minor reflux was somewht affected by the green curry i had had earlier, to basically mean RED HOT reflux. Had a peppermint and some water and was ok.

The next morning, up at 5.45 (hey its sounding like a work day) shower and get dressed and rachy and I head down for the hotels buffet breakfast. Turns out the breakfast was incredibly good. Rather glad of that, as the long days tour was ahead and a big boy like me, needs to keep fueled.

So at 6.45am we board the tour bus for our River Kwai, Death Railway Museum and Tiger Temple tour.   First stop was a museum dedicated to those that had build the railway from Thailand to Burma, including the rail bridge over the river Kwae, I had been aware of the fact the Japanese had used POW’s and labourers to build the railway, but the sheer enormity of the task had never been clear to me. Thousands died during the construction. The mind boggles at the Japanese idea - hey we are fighting a war on multiple fronts, but we need a way to get to burma that isnt by sea… LETS BUILD A RAILWAY. The fact that they got the 300km railway built and were using it while at war, is incredible. The cost in human life cannot have been worth it.

On the way through, we stopped at a thai service station, my need for caffeine overtook my good coffee sense and I purchased nescafe in a can. To my slight chagrin, I liked it. Much better than a big m ice coffee, not as nice as  a decent latte, and way too sweet, but eminently drinkable.

We then went to the bridge over the river Kwae. Full of tourists, as expected, and the locals there very insistent on selling you their touristy books. We were approached at least 10 times by the same woman. It leads me to suspect that the tactic is to keep coming back until you buy the books just to stop them coming. I did however purchase a straw hat (pictures will be put up on facebook later). We then boarded a train to travel that line. It is mildly disconcerting to be given a certificate to say you have been traveling on the Death Railway. The train lurched and rattled quite a bit, and we were glad we had spent a little extra for the “VIP” seating. These had cushions on them to shield us from the bumps. We also made acquaintance with another melbourne couple who were on the tour with us, so had nice conversation for the 1.5hr journey. Some of the views were spectacular, but it was a little like being on Thai Puffing Billy. After the train ride, we adjourned to a nearby restaurant for a nice Thai buffet lunch. After this, another 30 minutes on the bus and we arrived at the tiger temple. We were told that for an extra 1000Baht donation, we could have special photo with a tigers head on one of our laps. Initially I was not going to do this, but upon finding out that all donations go towards building a better habitat for the Tigers, I changed my mind. I will admit that the idea of getting so close to these huge beasts is one I really like. So we got taken through to the first tiger, as I sat down for the photo op, the tiger appeared to get a little aggressive and we were hurriedly moved to another tiger. These animals are absolutely magnificent, and I can now also report, they are much heavier than they look. For the 1000Baht donation we got the “special photo” with a Tiger head in my lap, and also a walk around patting each tiger individually and a photo op. The tigers are kept with very large metal collars, and I question whether it is cruel to hobble them so, however, all the tigers in the temple are bought in by the people for the monks to care for, and would likely suffer a much crueler fate if they had not been so, and the monks take duty of care seriously and the tigers are well exercised, so I do take some small comfort in this.

I also had the obligatory photo op of standing friendly with a genuine monk. One that Rachel politely declined, because as a girl, she would have to stand about a foot away, as monks are not allowed to touch females.

After that, the tour ended and the bus took us back to Bangkok. From a pre-7am start, we made it back to the hotel at around 7pm. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed back out to MBK for some more shopping and dinner. We ended up having dinner at an incredibly good  Japanese restaurant on the 7th floor. I cannot remember the name, but the food was very very good, the service was excellent.

Also, I had my first beer in over a decade. It was a Singha beer, yes there is photographic evidence, and yes, i liked it.

This morning we once again enjoyed a buffet breakfast, and are now ensconced in our room, planning for the days activities.

Tonight we will write some postcards, and I will once again fill in the boring details of the day.

Wow! Stuff! (things have been happening.)

Published at October 12, 2009 in Thailand, Coffee, food and State of the raph. 0 Comments

So, ok, I suck at updating here with any regularity. The main problem with having a vanity site, is, well, I am just not that vain. I get passionate about something, rant, rave, move on. The passion may stay, but the urge to shout it to the world tends to die down a bit.

That said, I don’t really have any new passions to rant and rave about, however I have a lot of things going on, so I guess I should share with the world.

I guess, the first big item on the agenda is that I have left my old place of employ. After four years at Adairs, it is time to move on. An opportunity arose, with an up and coming fashion retailer, that is more in sync with the direction I want to be moving. So leaving the comfort of the old, to the new future that awaits. I cannot really talk much about it, as I have not started yet, and as those that know me already are aware, I am not much given to reflections of my work life. I am a big proponent of the idea that discussion of work, should remain at work. That still holds, even when you take work home with you.

So, yes, I have already left Adairs, so why have I not started my new position yet?

Well, I am glad you asked.

This morning, 6am Thai time, the lovely Rachel and myself landed at Bangkok Airport to start 10 glorious days of Thai goodness. This is both of our first time in Thailand, and we are really taking to it.

Highlights of day 1 include (in no particular order)

  •  Seeing a Ronald MacDonald statue giving the wai
  •  The 2009 Miss Poland conference appears to be being held at our hotel, she is rather pretty, and VERY tall (we saw her get out of the lift as we were entering)
  • Wandering laps on all seven floors of MBK - this took over five hours.
  • Catching a cab to a different area just to try out a restaurant.
  • Finding out via empirical evidence that decent coffee in Thailand is hard to come by.
  • Watching tuktuk drivers get mad at the fact we don’t want them.
  • Fending out little thai ladies can really push me about.
  • Haggling to save what you then realise works out to be $1 on a $50 transaction, watch other people haggle longer, louder and harder, to save less on a significantly larger transaction

Tomorrow we are off to the tigher temple and river kwai tour. Early morning, and I am tired now, so will get back to this tomorrow

night.

More updaes then

More on the nation of procrastri

Published at December 2, 2008 in Education, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

So, its getting close to the end of this masters. In theory, complete this last assignment, then do two industry based exams, and I have completed my course requirements. Of cours, during the course of the masters, I think I have attained a PhD in procrastination, and a Grad certificate in self frustration.

I should have had this assignment already. Its due in two days, and I have my day job to keep me busy in that time. Of course, being me, instead of finishing the assignment, I played a bit of spore over the weekend, and did some cooking, and sleeping.

Ok, i did do about 9 hours of reading, planning and preparing, but that leaves another 8-10 hours that need to be done in actually completing the bloody thing. Also, as this is the final assignment for this subject, it is an exam equivalent, and therefore is a MUST PASS assignment for the subject.

Still, I am learning, and despite my self sabotage habits, I am also progressing. I cannot ask for an extension on this one either, because on Saturday, myself and Rachel are off to Tasmania for a weekend away.

So hopefully, I can get it done over the next few evenings, well not hopefully, I WILL get it done… May involve some bleary eyes at work.

The next thing to consider is whether or not to put myself through more educational anguish, and pursue an MBA. I will get significant credit for coursework already completed in the Masters, but I need to consider my general sanity.

 Of course, having got a new desk to work on may help. I think I need to place a “study computer” on it, just so i can have a dedicated study desk. Could be interesting.

Ah well, will update when the assignment is in. I may even write up a brief commentary on the Rondell Data Corporation, as by the end of it, I may have some good ideas to impart. For such a well used example of organisational strategy and change, the Rondell Data Corp seems to be conspicuously absent from the web.

Update - quick state of the raph

Published at May 25, 2008 in The House and State of the raph. 0 Comments

Well, I am not going to harp on here much, because is suspect either straight after this post, or if not directly after in the next few hours or at most days, there will be more posts.

But, Rachel and I have moved into the new house in cranbourne. It is big, warm, and quite lovely. Working on keeping it clean is an exercise in discipline for me, but so far I am working well at it. Having a dishwasher is nice, and a 90cm oven kicks butt.

Beej is settling in well, and the regular commute to work is not too bad, about 50 minutes in, and 1 hour 10 minutes out. Its made easier by the 2 coffees I drink on the way in.

Still need to get landscaping done out the front and out the back, have a few quotes, working on the funds to do it all.  Theater room is set up, with selectv and setanta as well, so we have movie and documentary channels and i will be able to watch euro 08.

Rachy also seems to be loving the place, so things are indeed going well.

Emptying the old place was an exercise. 4 cubic meters taken out of the garage alone to be thrown away. I knew I should have gotten a bigger skip, but hey we managed (thanks dad). Currently haggling with the agent as to how much of my bond I should get back.  Hopefully it will be most of it. All things considered the place is not in too much worse shape than when I moved in, and I am leaving behind an airconditioner.

I have gotten totally into making coffee at home, will talk more about that later, and am settling into the suburb of Cranbourne nicely too - Also more on that soon.

Update - Its been a while

Published at March 18, 2008 in Weight, The House, Education, Wii, State of the raph and Life. 1 Comment

Ok, so I will be the first to admit it, I have really slacked off here for a while. A lot has happened since my last update in December, and I have been either too busy, too tired or too slack to post any updates. So without much further ado, heres a bit of a quick summary.

Still in love with Rachel.

The house is going swimmingly, and with a little luck, I shall commence moving in within the next 4-6 weeks. At the moment, it is in the final stages, things like light fittings, appliances, carpets and flooring are left to do. Then its simply the driveway and the back decking and done.

Had this trimester off study, resume the masters in May, and will hopefully complete it all then. So by the end of August I should have a MCSE and also a Masters of Management. Hooray for me. The conditional there is that I am completely moved into the new house by May, otherwise I will only do 1 subject and not finish until December.

 The lap-band is also working pretty well, weight loss has slowed to a healthy 4-5 kilo a month and I am now down to 134 kilograms. Thats nearly a 40 Kilogram loss. I am able to eat nearly anything I want, I just eat very slowly and and make sure I chew my food thoroughly. I have only ever experienced one very painful episode where i chewed a roll and mustnt have done so thoroughly enough. I have still remained faithful to my giving up of soft drinks, though I do sometimes have some icecream.

Eating out is not an issue, though I do need to remember that I cannot eat as much as I used to. I often over order. However leaving food on my plate is not something that riles me like it used to.

On February 29th, my friend Bed got married to the beautiful Kristin. It was both an honour and a privilege for me to be part of the bridal party as a groomsman. The wedding was beautiful, the bride absolutely stunning, and Bed, dressed in a suit is a sight to behold.  Was an awesome night, and I know that it is a fantastic move onto the next chapter, for the two of them, in the wonderful story of their lives.

I did end up buying an Xbox 360 - JB Hifi had them on sale for $450 for the premium console with Forza and Viva Pinata. Have been playing it a fair bit. Certainly a lot more than the Wii, which I consider more of a party console than one to play solo. I do find that being a member of the Atari 2600 generation, the current model controllers with their many many buttons are a lot more complex to use, making certain combos rather difficult, but hey live and learn. Certainly a lot of fun. The new Tony Hawk game - Proving Grounds has been both entertaining me and frustrating me a fair bit lately. Am also going to be getting into Assassins Creed more soon. I may do a post or two on video game reviews in the near future.

So theres the current state of the raph. Comments might make me post more :D

December - state of the raph

Published at December 26, 2007 in The House, Work, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

So, I havent been posting here much lately. i have been busy. Working for a retailer with over 90 stores, being one of only two IT people means that I have no time sometimes. In addition, I havent had a lot to say.

The house is going swimmingly, and is now at lock-up stage. Drove past the other day, only to find that I am totally locked out of my own house. On the bright side, it now has the big evaporative cooler unit on top, all the bricks are done, and soon they will start making the insides look beautiful.

Celebrated Christmas with Rachels family. Was fun. Unfortunately Rachel was a little ill and some time needed to be spent at hospital waiting for the doctors to give her the all clear. Took about 4 or 5 hours out of our day, but when we got back to the party, it was still going strong enough that there was dessert for us.

Today being boxing day, means once again this year, I am the only person in the office. Much fun and excitement. Read that as BORING. Mind you, a boring day is a good day for boxing day. Any excitement generally means stores cant trade. That then means the MD gets pissed off, and someone comes and yells at us. In all though, I would much prefer to spend the day lazing with Rachel at home. We also finally got employed an extra IT person to take calls and generally free up myself and Clinton to do our main projects. He starts mid-january. Should make it an entirely more fun place to work. Will also reduce my weekend load to once every 3 weeks as opposed to once every 2.

I am considering ducking out of the office to see how much an xbox 360 can be bought for. I probably shouldnt buy one, but I like my toys, and I think I have enough cash to spare for it. If I was being really good though, theres many better places to put that money towards at the moment. By the same token though, I have heard that the prices are supposed to be very good today. Will see.

Weight wise, I have been doing pretty well. Am down from 171Kg to 144Kg thats 27Kg down. Had a bit of a naughty day yesterday, but I was taking the christmas spirit in hand. Truth be told, though the lap band has been helping, I am hungry nearly all the time. I am just being good because I have spent a fortune on the damned thing. I am having my second tightening next week, and hopefully that will reduce my problems with being hungry. Once I get into the green zone, it should be much much easier.

Dad is away in Israel again. I miss him. We havent spoken much this time since he has been gone. He did sms me the other day, so I know all is well. I cant help but worry though.

 Passed uni for the trimester, not overly happy with my mark, have emailed the lecturer regarding it, but have decided against officially protesting my mark. I will need to nail my last two subjects (both in trimester 2 next year) in order to get the overall mark I want. It is good to be well over 3/4 finished the masters though.

Ah well, that is all for now. More updates as I feel.

State of the raph - an ongoing saga

Published at November 18, 2007 in The House, Weight, Education, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

So where to start? I am not really sure, so lets just jump in and see what happens.

The house is going swimmingly. Frame is totally up, Rachy and I wandered down on the weekend as is our habit and its really starting to look like a house. Woah do the cupboards look big! It will be most excellent to have a house with enough storage to put all my stuff away. Of course, i do have WAY TOO MUCH stuff ™ but I do plan on getting rid of a lot of it. Will sell some, and freecycle the rest. The debate is on between myself and Rachy as too how much furniture to keep and how much to throw out. The part of me that takes after my father is absolutely loath to get rid of stuff, especially stuff that can still be used, however to a point, Rachy is right in that it would be lovely to start off with a lot of new stuff. I suspect we need to make a big furniture list and see what we can afford to start with. Ah well, still have a short while to work on that.

A lot of people keep asking me how I am going with the lap band. The short answer is “quite well thank you.” but that isnt the whole story. Truth be told, I am quite often very very hungry at the moment. The scenario with a lap band is that when they put it in, it is unfilled, giving minimum restriction to food. This means that now that the swelling in my stomach has gone down and I am back onto solid food, as long as I chew carefully, food just slides down the hole. So, because there is still a band around my stomach I do feel a lot less hungry in general, I am yet to get that “ooh I am full and satisfied” feeling. The big problem there is that I am and always have been a nervous eater, and not having hunger does not necessarily equate to not eating. On the more fortunate side, because my insurance did not cover the surgery, I had to pay for it off my own dime, and that means I have a lot of guilt if I do not stick to it, so I have been forcing myself to eat minimally. I am looking forward to my first fill in 2 weeks so that hopefully I will get that satisfied, full feeling soon. In the meantime, just having the band does reduce the need to eat, as in general I dont feel too hungry most of the time. At times the hunger does flare up, mostly after having eaten carbs, but I try to ride it out, especially late at night where I am pretty sure it is just psychological hunger.

I am still losing weight, and though I know through the online forums that a lot of lap band people gain a little weight during the first few weeks, I remain determined just to keep losing and losing.

Its exam time for uni, and I have one take home exam for my Strategic Practice subject and a Microsoft MCSE exam to sit ad Excom. Had a look at the take home exam and it doesnt look like I will have too much of a problem. I have had a fair amount of issues with this subject, mainly related to the fact that during assignment time, I have been either starving myself for pre-op reasons or being generally messed up post op. The lecturer has been very good in letting me be late with my assignments though, and I hope to do well enough in my second assignment and exam to pass with at least a credit. Time will tell.

As for the Microsoft exam, its active directory stuff and I am reasonably well versed in it, both from constantly being immersed in it at work, as well as having done a little actual study over the course of the trimester. Should be fine there.

 Next trimester is going to be a lay-off trimester as none of the subjects I need are being offered. I may do some other industry stuff just to keep the study knack. Second trimester next year I will do two core subjects and hopefully finish the masters. Dad is really hopeful that I will consider a phd after that, but I am not so sure, though part of me wants to do a MBA at some point. So much to think about.

Anyway, thats about all thats going on at the moment. Work is busy, life is busy. Its full steam ahead and much fun.

More later.

We’re putting the band back together.

Published at November 7, 2007 in Weight, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

So, after much consideration, consultation and some financial consolidation, I decided that I was going to get a gastric band put in. This is the tale of how it all went down.

It boiled down to the long term view of the fact that though I can lose weight, my ability to keep that lost weight off is not very good, and that every time I have lost a significant amount of weight, within few years, I have regained it all, along with an extra 10% or so. Research has shown that such yo-yo dieting is worse for the health than just remaining overweight so its not really a good long term option.

So after attending a seminar back in August on lap banding, I booked an appointment with the specialist and started the ball rolling.  The initial appointment was in mid-september. At that appointment, a plan was laid out in order for me to get the required surgery. An appointment with an independent physician and a seperate psychiatrist were required in order to be sure that I was an acceptable candidate for the surgery.

Both the physician and the psychiatrist cleared me for surgery, and then a definite appointment for 31st of October was made to perform the surgery at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond.

A week before surgery, I was put on an Optifast diet. I will say that the optifast tasted so god-awful that I pretty much just fasted for that week, not feeling able to eat it. In one week, I managed to lose nine and a half kilograms. Not a bad effort really. The main objective of the pre-op diet is to shrink the liver so that it is easy to move around while performing the surgery laparoscopically. Mission there accomplished.

Surgery day arrived, and with little drama got to the hospital. Ended up in a shared room, not a private one. Was also a little disgruntled by the fact that my bed had a clear label on it stating that it was not rated for more than 125Kg. If i was under 125Kg,  I would not be having surgery for it. Was rather uncomfortable in the bed, with my butt pushing down on the mattress hard enough that it felt like it was resting direct on the wooden backboard.

At about 4pm they took me down to the operating theater (after having my stomach shaved from just below the nipples all the way down to the top of my pubic hair). Apparently the operation was a resounding success, though there were some issues with my oxygen levels near the end, forcing them to wake me up while still having the oxygen tube in my mouth.  A rather unpleasant experience I must say.

Back up to the ward, and the most pain I have is actually in my shoulder, not where they operated on. This is caused  by the gas they use to inflate the body so they can move around the internal organs during surgery. I get given a pethidine injection in my thigh for pain, and get put on oxygen as I am still having issues getting enough oxygenation in my system. My beautiful girlfriend, Rachel, is there, as is my mother and stepfather. I am not coherent, and they go home, my father turns up, I am still not coherent. He leaves, I find out that the old man in the bed next to mine is an undiagnosed sleep apnea sufferer. He sounds like a broken chainsaw that is stop starting all night. Being that I am a diagnosed sleep apnea sufferer, and am on oxygen, I cant use my CPAP machine, and therefore do not get much sleep.

The nursing staff keep me medicated with a combination of paracetamol and trammadol through the IV line, also giving me antibiotics through there. One nurse steps on my IV line, causing me pain. The IV line in general is rather uncomfortable.

Still having trouble breathing, am concerned about this, as it may delay me coming home, and I REALLY HATE staying in hospital. The dietician comes to visit, and talk about the eating plan for the next four weeks, which will be a build up to eating solids. Due to participation and much reading on the lap band talk forum, I am already aware of most of this. The phsyio comes to see me ad gives me some breathing exercises in order to help with my low O2 levels. I also take a work call. Jesus, they really CANT LIVE without me. Visitors on day 2 include Andy Blume, my beautiful darling Rachel, my sister, my mother and step-father, bed,  and my father.

That night, after hours of non-sleep, I convince the nurse that my CPAP machine would be the better way to go for sleeping, rather than the oxygen, and manage 3 or 4 hours sleep. With the help of the exercises shown to me by the physio, I am able to get more oxygen into my system, and convince everyone that I am alright to go home.

Minor issues getting home, dad cant do it, so once again Rachel to the rescue, she comes and takes me home. Much much much more comfortable to be home in my own bed.

Day 1 at home, am unable to sleep on my stomach due to surgical wounds. Finally fall asleep on my back, turn over in my sleep, wake up in agony. Not hungry but forcing myself to keep fluids up.

Rapid improvements over next few days. Able to sleep on my stomach by the fourth day after surgery.

day 7 after surgery, still have no appetite, forcing myself to keep hydrated and have small amounts of soup. All the foods I bought in anticipation of this time are laying wasted in the fridge. Have left the house a few times, it is tiring, but good not to be totally housebound. Am going to attempt to go to work tomorrow. Expecting it to be tiring. For some reason my thigh where they gave me the pethidine shot is still numb. Also have massive bruising and a raised vein where they had the IV line in. My mother assures me this is normal, but if it hasnt cleared in the next few days i will get it investigated by a doctor.

I dont know how much more weight I have lost, but it is definitely coming off. Will have a better indication after my visit to the surgeon on the 12th. Will keep you posted.

As to the long term efficacy of the band, people have said very good things about it. I look forward to finding all about it first hand, and shall endeavor to share those learnings.

Swedish Band

Published at September 6, 2007 in food, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

And I dont mean ABBA!

So, after a fair amount of investigation, some visits to regular doctors, discussion with friends and family and a information session held by the bariatric team at the hospital, I think that I am going to have the swedish lap band surgery. Its a big decision, one that will change my life significantly. Hopefully for the better, possibly for the worse.

What is for certain is that if I get it I will lose weight. If I dont lose a significant amount of weight soon, I am likely to encounter a great many health issues. That is on top of the general issues I already have which I do not particularly want to go into. Such things like type 2 diabetes, cardiac issues etc are just looming on the horizon for me if I do nothing. The threat of these things scares the bejesus out of me.

So while elective surgery is something that I believe should never be undertaken lightly, I have booked an appointment with the surgeon for 2 weeks time. He will then send me to be evaluated by a psychiatrist and a dietician. After  that, it will be back to the surgeon who if all goes well, will then book me in for surgery. The whole process apparently will take around 6 weeks from first visit through to surgery.

I do need to check how much my insurance will cover for the surgery, as well as work out how i can afford to pay for the gap in between. Several options there, which I may go into in another post.

After it is all done, I will be physically unable to binge eat anymore. Seeing as I dont drink alcohol, and do not have a huge sweet tooth, this will effectively mean that I will lose weight rather fast. Of concern to me is that I binge eat for a reason, good or bad, I am unsure, I think it is to curb depression or maybe to deal with day to day drudgery much like an alcoholic turns to drink. What I will do upon losing my ability to do this worries me, but I cannot see it being as bad as doing what I am doing. I am slowly eating myself to death right now.

 Some have argued that it is purely an issue of discipline, and that I should be able to manage to sort it out by myself. Maybe they are right. In my own defence though, I have in my life managed to beat addiction to cigarettes, regular binge drinking and a few other items that I wont mention here. I have also managed to lose up to 50 kilo before putting it all back on again with a bit more on top over a 2 year period. I stand before you, someone who does not drink, smoke or do drugs, but I eat. I have found that I lack the ability to defeat this demon by myself, so before you judge me for “taking the easy way out” ask yourself if you would judge someone with a broken ankle for using a crutch.

not much going on.

Published at August 16, 2007 in State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

Blog guilt sets in.

This is kind of just a post to say i have not forgotten about this little space of mine on the web, but I have been on leave from work and study. As such, I have been avoiding anything that resembles essay or report writing.

That includes this space.

Anyway, normal service shall resume shortly.