Sunday 31st December 2006 For an 'alternative' New Year (instead of the usual pissed-up version) we decided to give 'Party Pills' another go (after getting advice on what we did and didn't want, based on last time). We took them and watched a Manga DVD called Appleseed, which borrowed plot from Greek mythology and was very deep... These party pills definitely had a more pronounced effect... The film took an extra hour to watch because of our constant pausing to discuss it... Then Lisa started feeling really ill - nauseous. I wasn't as bad, but did get a very hot/cold flushes and was immensely interested in the detail of everything - including a cat over the road (which I initially suspected to be a carrier bag) which I spotted out of the window and had to ... read more

Saturday 23rd December 2006 Lisa and I had both talked about one of our goals of travelling was new 'experiences' and one we both wanted to try was something called 'Party Pills'. These are very popular in New Zealand - they are LEGAL herbal pills that are on sale everywhere. So Saturday we decided to try party pills as part of our experience of living like a typical Kiwi in New Zealand. The effects were pretty mild to start with.... We ended up playing midget golf all around the house (making up courses in every room) and then (with a few house mates) a combination game of charades, pictionary and towel-bum writing (writing a word with just a towel to cover your bum). We didn't sleep until 8am. So I guess you could say they had ... read more

Monday 27th November 2006 to Sunday 3rd December It was a usual week (starting to get in to a routine) - work was fine, went to chiro and physio, went climbing at the Roxx, watched a DVD, spent time at the beach trying to play volleyball with some house mates. The highlight of the week was walking in to a smoke filled kitchen to see one of my house mates (never found out who, but have my suspicions) had left a pan on the hob. They had left it on so long that when Lisa picked it up to take it off the heat, the bottom fell out of the pan as molten metal and burnt through our work top! Thankfully we went in to the kitchen before going to bed! Our weekly eat-out treat was ... read more

Monday 13th November 2006 to Sunday 19th November 2006 This week was pretty huge as it was Lisa’s 30th birthday on the 16th. We went out to the Honey Pot Café (another place on our Christchurch eatery ‘to do’ list) and stayed up on the 15th until midnight, to crack open some fizzy and celebrate the start of her birthday. In the morning of her birthday we were woken at 6am by her Granny calling from the States. I made Lisa breakfast in bed - cake (my first!). She is a big chocolate fan, so it was a chocolate cake with malteezers, choc chips, nuts and topped with strawberries and strawberry chocolate sauce. She opened all her presents in bed (she had parcels arrive from her family) For a birthday treat I took Lisa to Maruia ... read more

Monday 30th October 2006 to Sunday 5th November 2006 Had pretty good week, fitting 25 hours of work around flying and playing at the beach. Also gave Lisa a 'driving lesson' at Taylor’s Mistake car park. Didn't do too much flying as winds were picking up. I arrived at Taylor’s Mistake launch site to meet Dave and Alex. Alex was covered from head to toe in sheep shit - he had problems after top landing and had been dragged along through all the shit, poor bloke - but very funny! I did one flight and after having problems actually getting my feet on the ground we called it a day - time to go get a kite out! See the Chrsitchurch kite surfers here. Lisa was due to fly onto Oz that week but she decided ... read more