On Saturday the 28th of March we celebrated Earth Hour with a great bunch of friends and some wonderful food.  We had a delicious BBQ (including North Carolina pulled pork) and then took a roady up to the top of Balmoral Hill to watch the city go dark. Unfortunately there were many lights still on; especially disappointing were all the big wealthy houses immediately around us still glowing bright. On a positive note, there were several other people partying in the dark and our friends all got into the spirit of the event. We came home and continued to eat, drink and be merry by candle light until after 11pm. Continue reading…

This Christmas Mark and I decided to give each other bikes. Three months down the track I got a swanky new bike for my 30th Birthday (Mark got one too). We did look at getting second-hand bikes from www.gumtree.com.au and Bicycle Revolution but there are just not that many good bikes available. There are more second-hand dealers popping up and I recommend you check them out first because you might just find what you are after.

After a bit of research we decided that we primarily want to ride our bikes on roads and paths around the city, and I want to cycle to work. We looked at hybrid bikes, but decided against them because of the extra weight of the suspension and the energy it wastes. We both ended up getting skinny-tired commuter bikes by Specialized. The bikes have given us more freedom and are allowing us to get out and explore Brisbane. This weekend we went for a 30km ride along the river to Toowong, across to the West End, and back home.

I have started cycling to work which is about a 7km ride each way. My employer is currently paying for me to park at the King George Cycle Centre, which is a brilliant secure facility with lockers, showers, towels and other creature comforts to make cycling life easy.

The words “I can’t believe we are moving to a city neither of us know” were the first to come out of my mouth as we flew into Brisbane. All of a sudden I felt very nervous and disorganized. “Where are we going to live… where am I going to work?”. Reality is a funny thing. I had been so busy dreaming about our move but didn’t actually have a concrete plan. Thankfully everything came together for us at the last minute. Michelle was a saving grace and offered us a room for our first few nights, and Nat’s uncle rented us his flat in Morningside until we found our own place (into which we have yet to move…).

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