The Book of Ashes

Skiing with Tom & Crispy at Whakapapa 10:52AM

So Sunday was awesome. Tom, Crispy & I missioned up the hill to find the fields closed due to high winds. After hearing some good news I hired some gear and we headed up to Whakapapa, my first time and wow, those mountains are impressive. I loved it. The guys got me straight into it, all three of us snow boaring. The visibility was a little poor at times but otherwise the day rocked. Both Tom & Crispy were better than me, Tom has been over skiing Colorado slopes and Crispies been up a bit, but I managed to follow them round all right. I came a cropper and landed on my tailbone then flicked round quickly onto my head which hurt for a while. Yesterday and today my neck has been stiff and my tailbone a little sore but I am recovering from it fast. So after that we stopped in at the powderkeg and had a beer or two and caught up with Kirsty. It was good to see her again but we couldn't stay long so head back to drop Tom off in Kates car then drive back to Welly for a good sleep after a long day.

Interesting point that Tom (sifty) brought up. That someone should create insurance for speeding tickets. There would definetly be a market for it but I think it would be illegal. You would also have to increase the premimums the more tickets people got but I thought it was an interesting idea none-the-less.

Monday was recovery day. Went into work and caught up with people. Did a shop for DVDs and have Fight Club on order. It rained most of the day as well. Went for a shop after work with Dan then out to Cinta (a Malaysian resurtant on Courtenay) which was awesome. Good food for a good price. I recomend. After that I got a ride round to Amy & Fi's new place. It is pretty cool and is a definite improvement on their last place. The only downside is that it is further away from everything.

Amy and I had a debate about where the sun set. She reckoned it had set where I think it should rise but we shall see. I owe her $10 if she can prove me wrong. Also we are going snow boarind again next Tuesday which will rock. I can't wait.

Today I got up earlish to another rainy day. Did a tidy up of the house. Paid all my bills. Baked some chocolate chippie biscuits and gave half to Olivia for the flat next door and half to Amy for her flat. Went to lunch with Amy, Fi & Kate at Daawat. They are another excellent place with good food at an excellent price. I was pretty full after that. Came home and watched a few Futurama episodes with Kate as it was a crap rainy day still. Went to a physio for a review who seems really good. Came home. Cooked curry sausages for dinner making it three curries in a row. Watched a crap movie on PRIME and now I am ready for bed.

When making chocolate chippie biscuits the critical point is in the creaming of the butter, sugar and condensed milk. All other points (except the actual baking stage) one can take their time on. If you leave this part too long in the oven then you will melt the butter making the biscuits more solid and less fluffy. The second critical part is watching them in the oven and making sure they don't burn. Always take time to watch these two stages.

Tom arse's tip: Don't put the chocolate chippies straight into the hot creamed butter and sugar, put the flour in first. Otherwise they will melt and you will get a poo coloured mixture with no chocolate lumps and a slight chocolate flavour. Trust me, they're not that appealing..