Month completed: January 2011

The first goal achieved in 2011 was one of my most enjoyable so far.

On a trip back home from New York, we chose to fly Icelandair so that we could have a day in Iceland before getting back to London.

Fortunately the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s most well-known geothermal spa, is only 20km from the airport, so we had a good few hours to soak in the warm water before jumping back on the plane.

And it was almost the most relaxed I have ever been.

Although I didn’t get to see much else in Iceland, apart from the volcanic rock near the lagoon, and the houses along the stretches of road we went down, the people all seemed really friendly and I am definitely going to be on the outlook for a cheap 3-day travel deal there in the future.

If you do get the chance, please go. You will love it.

One thing that made me smile was that they are cashing in on their infamous, un-pronounceable, exploding volcano that spewed ash across Europe and caused chaos for weeks – you can buy jars of the ash for a few dollars. The Icelandics certainly have a sense of humour.

Month completed: December 2010

After spending Christmas with family in Canada, Nat and I popped down to New York for a whirlwind 48 hours, which included new year’s eve. I must say, the level of security (and the fact there were 2 million people crammed in) made it not the best new year’s eve I have ever had, but certainly I can’t knock the atmosphere – everyone was there for a good time, for sure.

Rather than lots of words, I will just show a few snaps of the best things we did while we were in New York.

Here is us amongst the mayhem of new year’s eve – this is as close as we got to Times Square unfortunately (about two blocks away).

The view from the top of the Empire State Building is really impressive. And so windy.

Central Park was probably my favourite place we went to, and it looked fantastic with the snow covering everything and despite the buildings surrounding us, at times it felt like we were well away from the urban jungle.

And a hot dog at Central Park is about the most New York thing I could do.

Here is a highlight you may not know. We discovered, near the south-east corner of Central Park, an amazing toy store called FAO. It was so big, they could even fit a ferris wheel inside. I almost had a heart attack from excitement. Double-excitement came when I discovered a three-storey NBA store a few streets further south. Nat had a similar symptom seeing Bloomingdales.

And last but not least, I survived the subway! The maps are a bit confusing, and the ticket machine you swipe through is a bit temperamental, but it was nice and roomy, and I liked the electronic displays that showed how many stops away your stop was. There was a couple of things that Metro trains in Melbourne could learn I think.

I will definitely be back, and for longer next time. Nat has already starting thinking about a shopping holiday, so I may have to save up a little first though.

Month completed: December 2010

For Christmas last year, Nat and I were lucky enough to spend some time with our Canadian relatives (my stepmum Ruby is Canadian).

We had a great time, and there are a lot of relatives on that side of the family so there was a lot of fun, food and festivity to go round.

While there, we stayed at a log cabin overlooking a big lake, and got the opportunity to go skiing for the first time ever.

We went to Mont St Marie, which is about an hour from Ottawa. My initial reaction was amazement of how big the ski runs were. On TV they look a lot less intimidating.

Getting started was really tiresome. Just getting all the equipment on, then getting used to walking with skis on, certainly wore me out.

After some quick tips from Dad and Ruby’s brother Gary, Nat and I headed to the bunny hill (below).

I was doing my best to remember ‘pizza’ for brakes, and ‘french fries’ for speed, but when you start moving down the hill it was really scary, and I ended up crashing into a big pile of snow on the side of the hill.

After a few runs though, and a lot more crashes, I was ready to tackle my first real run. I should have been, given my 8-year-old sister was already attempting them!

I made a bad start, when I made a very ungraceful exit in the chairlift at the top of the hill, and fell on my face. Nobody told me that they were tricky to slide out of! And a little scary when you look down too.

Below is me on that first run, making some attempt to traverse, and a lot of struggle to not fall off the edge. I did manage to have some major stacks during the day, and both knees were totally black and blue by days end.

Below is the aftermath of one of my more gentle crashes during the day.

I managed to complete two runs from the top of the hill to the bottom, got some level of control over my traversing and pizzas, and ended the day with no broken bones.

Despite the cold, the bruised knees, multiple crashes, difficulty in walking, annoyance at the set-up time, and embarrassment of falling from a chairlift, I had an awesome time skiing, and am definitely ready to give it another try in the near future.

The black run might have to wait a little longer though.

Month completed: October 2010

One of my passions in life is a good game of cards.

I think it is a family thing on the Tully (Dad’s) side, as playing gin rummy or any other of a variety of games is a common activity, especially at my Grandma’s.

This goal was included simply to remind me to organise card nights on a regular basis with a few close friends.

And this goal was actually probably achieved quite a while ago. Back in Australia there was a poker or 500 night every month or so, and while in London I have started having a few bridge afternoons with some new friends, as well as a few poker nights with some workmates.

I also took part in a charity poker event a couple of weeks ago (and somehow got beaten with three aces in my hand!).

So, goal achieved, but not over. The primary purpose of Project 183 was for me to try new things to find the things that give me the most joy in life. And cards are definitely one of them.

Month completed: October 2010

I must admit – I do love McDonalds. No matter which one you go to, you get a consistent experience, and the Sausage and Egg McMuffin rocks.

I know McDonalds overall is not good for me though, so I thought a short break of six months might be timely.

That six months is now up.

In fact, it is now nearly eight months and I still haven’t ventured back to the golden arches.

Have I missed it? A little. There was probably about 5 or 6 times where I thought ‘I could really get some Maccas right now’, usually when I was walking past one. But not enough to make me rush there just as the six months finished.

Will I now stop eating there? No way. Contrary to what all the negative people out there say, McDonalds is not evil, and in my opinion is not the reason that people are obese. Anything in moderation is completely fine, and if someone chooses to combine McDonalds on a frequent basis with zero exercise then they really only have themselves to blame.

See you soon Ronald.

Month started: September 2010

This is a big one.

Probably the biggest Project 183 goal so far, and one that I am extremely excited about.

I am starting a business, which will be a side project on top of my day job and will means lots of late nights and very early mornings.

My love of Dunlop Volleys, and their lack of availability in the UK, has led to the idea that I could set up a business to fill the gap and get the brand known over here.

So I have set up Volleys UK, working together with Dunlop in Australia. The website is now live, so come support my new adventure.

Over the past few months of getting it started, I have learnt so much about all the different things to take into account, forming the right relationships with the right people, and making tough decisions about who to work with.

The key thing I have found so far is that it has been important that I am passionate about the brand, because without this I think I may have stopped several times as obstacles arose. I have also been amazed at the level of support and interest people have had in the business – great to know help and advice is just a call or email away.

Wish me luck as I head on down the entrepreneurial path.

Month completed: August 2010

Firstly, apologies for the extreme lack of posts recently. My only excuse is that I have been working on two particularly big goals recently.

The first I can’t tell you about just yet, but it will be worth the wait and I am very excited about it.

The second I can tell you about, as I completed it on Sunday, after four months of training.

I just completed the London triathlon!

The race was an Olympic distance event, which means:

• 1,500 metre swim, then
• 40km bike ride, then
• 10km run

The run I thought I would be OK with, but it was the swim that frightened me the most, having struggled to swim 50m without wearing myself out.

So, back in April I started training. 4 or 5 mornings a week I was up at 5.30 to swim, bike or ride, or a combination of all three. Sleep-ins have been a rare treat recently, and much savoured whenever I have had the chance of one.

Me, a few nervous hours before the race

Me, straight after the race (not a pretty sight!)

I needed a bike too, as my folding bike was really suitable for the job. So I bought a mountain bike for £55 from Gumtree. When I arrived on the day to see everyone else in my class had fancy £1,000 road bikes, I admit I felt a little intimidated, but it is fun to be the underdog. My bike’s tyres are proper chunky tyres, so at least I was confident I wouldn’t get a puncture (which I didn’t, thank goodness).

The week leading up to the event was nerve-wracking, and particularly the night before. I woke up at 5.30 on Sunday and despite best efforts, could not fall back asleep. So I watched lots of TV, just to distract myself. Annoyingly, I was in the last group of the day, at 3.40pm, so I had all day for the nervous energy to build up. It felt worse than the feeling I got going up in the plane just before my first skydive.

After the swim leg, getting out of a wetsuit is tricky business

Just before the race started, when we were in the water waiting for the gun, two competitors near me were talking. One, who had obviously done triathlons before, and one who hadn’t. The more experienced competitor was saying ‘You are actually quite lucky that this is your first one, because you don’t yet know how painful it is.’ Not what I want to hear just before we kick off!

Once the race was underway, it was actually not too bad. Naturally, it was difficult, especially the run at the end, but I think the training paid off. I even had enough energy left to ride my bike the 15km home again afterwards (not that I had much choice – bikes weren’t allowed on the train), and play football on Monday night. I am starting to feel some aches now though, so that will be it for me.

Nearly there! A few laps to go

I raced for Macmillan Cancer Support, and have so far raised £430 £665 for them, which is great. If you feel like making a donation, click here.

Oh, and my time. I did the race in 3 hours flat (3 hours, 13 seconds to be exact). I actually shocked myself, as I thought I would be between four and five hours if I did really well.

Would I do another one? Probably, but not for a very, very long time!

My one tip for the triathlon, for anyone game enough to try (or should that be, tri) one – focus on the swim. If you can do the swim without using much energy your race is set up for you.

Month completed: June 2010

After a busy day at work, it is very easy to just pop something into the microwave for dinner, or even just order takeaway in (Indian and Thai are personal favourites).

While these are the quick, easy options, and are OK in moderation, it is important to have proper meals at least a few times a week.

So this year, Nat and I have been trying hard to do more home cooking. To help, my Grandma mailed me five pages of recipes to try out, which covered starters, mains and desserts.

And here are a few of the things I have made so far:

- Banana cake

- Porcupine meatballs (image below)

- Sweetcorn and pepper frittata

- Spinach and potato gratin

- Ratatouille

- Bobotie

- Zucchini Slice

Despite the extra effort involved (I guess around 45 minutes, rather than 10 minutes, preparation and cooking time), the result and the satisfaction is much better. In particular, the porcupine meatballs recipe is fantastic, and I genuinely look forward to coming home and cooking this because it is so tasty.

As well as eating better, and having more satisfaction with the meal, by cooking a proper meal there is also the chance to cook enough for leftovers the next day, so I can eat a great lunch instead of a dry, boring sandwich.

I will definitely continue to home cook as much as possible. I doubt whether or not it gets me out of dishes duty though!

For anyone inspired to give home cooking a try, give this a try. And if you want the recipe for any of the other dishes I mentioned above, leave me a comment and I am happy to email it to you.

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Grandma Tully’s recipe for porcupine meatballs (which I have amended slightly)

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 500g of mince meat
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice (I use basmati)
• 1 finely chopped onion
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch of thyme (optional)

For the sauce

• 2 tins of tomato soup (about 800g)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1.5 cups of water

1. Put the sauce ingredients in a big pot and bring to boil.

2. Mix the meatball ingredients together, press firmly into golf ball sized pieces with wet hands.

3. Put meatballs into boiling sauce, cover and simmer for about 1 hour.

4. Take out and enjoy (and add tomato sauce on top – I don’t do this, but Nat seems to like it)

Month completed: March 2010

I seem to be in card playing mode at the moment, so in this current frame of mind, I was taught how to build canasta by Andrew and Phillip, two of the guys I met at the bridge course I did recently.

I know what you are thinking. Canasta – that’s for old people, right?

Well, if that is right, then the old people have a good thing going. Canasta was great fun, and quite easy to pick up. We ended up playing for over six hours, and although I came dead last, I did get a few dirty canastas (not as dodgy as it sounds).

The game is sort of a combination of gin rummy, go fish and a game called Up to Ten, which no one outside of my family seems to have heard of. You play with two decks, including the jokers, with the aim to get canastas (eight of the same number) and then get rid of your cards. If you haven’t played it before, I would definitely recommend it.

Month completed: March 2010

Nat and I just got back from a 5 day adventure to Morocco (which we both highly recommend if you get the chance).

Among the fun of the holiday was the chance to venture through Djemma El Fna, which is the main square of the old part of Marrakech, and which contains (among other things) snake charmers.

So here I am, with a snake around my neck, and a cobra in the face (Nat wasn’t too keen on getting one close to her though).

To be completely honest, the snakes weren’t the scary bit. It was the five snake charmers who gathered around me about thirty seconds after the photos were taken, all demanding money.

Actually, the cobra was kind of scary too.