A brief update

Well it has been 10 days since my last posting so I guess it is about time I add some fresh content to this ever so dynamic blog. I haven't really done much of great interest lately, hence the delay in posting.

Last Thursday evening I went up to Grouse Mountain again with Ryan and Andrew my flatmate. It had been raining in the morning so the snow was pretty soft and wet and very bumpy. I think the snow has been completely different every time I have gone up to Grouse. Apparently it is like this more in Spring so I guess I will get plenty more wet snow experiences later in the season. With the snow being so soft I thought it would be a great opportunity to improve my jumping skills. After the first unsuccessful run I asked Ryan and Andrew for a few pointers, and sure enough there were a number of things I was doing wrong that could explain the lack of success I was seeing. On getting some tips I found the whole jumping thing to be much easier than I had expected it to be, and by the end of the evening I was landing most of my jumps and even braved the terrain park a couple of times (sticking to the easiest jumps still though).

On a slightly sadder note, one of my bass guitars was stolen back in NZ a week ago. It was a very nice bass, probably my second favourite after the MusicMan. On the bright side, my insurance has paid out so I can get myself a new acoustic guitar when I get back to New Zealand in June. I was planning on getting one on my way home in San Francisco but the insurance company paid out in credit at the rock shop so I guess that is one less item of luggage to cart back on the plane.

In other breaking news, I have decided to go to Papua New Guinea for 5 months or so in July to help out with some software development with Wycliffe Bible Translators. They have already sent me an official invitation so now I am starting to get my visa application other paperwork sorted out. Apparently getting the visa can take a while so I need to get on to it pretty promptly.

My meals over the last week have been a bit more simple than they were last month. Work has got a bit busier so I am not taking so many trips to the market on my way home. Tonight's pasta dish was pretty tasty though, I made a simple tomato based sauce with a bit of sausage and a few mystery spices to add a bit of a kick. It didn't look too flash so I didn't bother taking any snapshots of it.