holiday number 1

Tonight is our last night in Pauanui, where we've spent the last 10 days taking in Christmas and New Year. Weather has been superb and i've spent most of the time being a beach bum on my new boogie board that Annabel bought me for Christmas. I didn't realise there was professional boogie boarders and am now weighing up career change as a result.

Days spent waking up, eating toast, going to beach, boogie boarding, sleeping and then going to eat hot chips a diet coke and a double scoop of triple choccy ice cream, all before tea!

Have read some good books as well. Highly recommended is 'The Google Story' which is one journalist's highly engaing tale of the rise and rise of the Google empire. Also Dan 'da vinci code' Brown's Deception Point, which is normal thrill a minute stuff. Also now devouring Ben Okri's The Famished Road which is very lush and magical, perfect beach reading.

Thoroughly relaxed now, although we have another holiday beckoning on Jan 18th when we take the train to Wellington bound for the South Island via Interislander ferry. Have upgraded the blog so i can use my mobile to post up entries on the move so you can expect a lot more posts during the holidays!

As i'm contracting now i can take as many holidays as i want but i don't get paid. This year i'll have 7 weeks off, which is great, but it's hard not to think of the money you could be getting if at work. So, at the start of the year i'm blanking the weeks out and booking tickets etc, so that i can't change my mind as things get closer.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone back in blighty in mid-August 2006....oh, and pictures and video to follow soon..