‘SLAB’ Kristin’s blog on Surfing, Learning and Business

In one week’s time we’re heading over to the USA for a 2 week holiday. We’re visiting my wife’s brother in Austin, Texas then flying back to LA for a trip around California. The plan is to check out San Diego, LA, and San Fransisco, with all the other bits in between.

As of this morning, having looked at a friends donated maps of the area, i’m anticipating visits to the following:

• Hollywood
• Beverly Hills
• Disneyland
• Sea World
• Tijuana
• Huntington beach
• Venice beach
• Alcatraz
• Golden gate bridge
• Silicon Valley
• Trestles
• Mavericks – Half Moon Bay
• Steamer Lane
• Rincon
• Santa Cruz
• Steamer lane
• Las Vegas*
• Not enough time

Obviously some of these (e.g. disneyland) fall into the “so we can say we’ve done it” category rather than because we’re really gagging to go.

Of the above list, is there anything missing? Where should we go that you recommend? Where shouldn’t we go?

Some interesting facts having researched California this week:

• Central Valley is California’s agricultural heartland and grows approximately one-third of the nation’s food
• There is a tree (Bristlecone pine) in the California White mountains that is 4,700 years old
• Death Valley recorded the highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere, 57 degrees celcius (July 10, 1913)

Looking forward to the trip. As they say, the anticipation is half the holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Some thoughts ranting on elements of Christmas culture in New Zealand (some we could do with, and some without).

I was at a house a couple of days ago and being a primo day I went to open the french doors. My impediment, icicle Christmas lights hanging from the door frame. The irony struck me.

Our Christmas culture in NZ is changing thankfully.

My parents generation and their ilk are clinging onto the empire’s representation of Christmas being about winter, snow, sleigh’s etc. Hence we eat hot roast meals inside while the sun is booming down outisde and the lawn is gagging to be run upon.

Christmas in this part of the world should be the complete oppoisite from the white Christmas many of us have been accustomed to. The only connection to snow I can think of that is remotely relevant is Santa.

NZ at Christmas is better accompanied by:

• BBQ
• Beer
• Sunburn
• Waterfights
• Water slides
• Backyard cricket

Images of irony on Christmas day:

• Icicle lights and any other winter pretending paraphenalia
• Roasting hot meals inside when it’s mid-summer
• Steamy kitchen and dining room windows when it’s 25 degrees outside

Let’s as a country embrace our own style of Christmas, doing away with the northern hemisphere’s white Christmas. It’s been a while since the british settlers arrived and it’s high time we stopped this hot meal nonsense.

I feel anyway.

via Aaron from Churn…

Life is too short to:

• use a pen with bad ink flow
• iron your underwear
• worry about what other people think
• write a business plan over 100 pages long
• not take a holiday
• not try for fear of embarrassment
• analyse every decision
• wait 4 hours for a flight that’s eventually cancelled
• say yes to everything
• say no to everything

The more enjoyable something is, the faster it seems to go. So short is good.