It's Summer!!!

After a stormy December and cool start to January, the last few weeks have reminded us of the real Melbourne summer. With three straight days above 40C (110F), even the players at the Australian Open were feelin' it! With the extreme heat, the rail system collapsed, rolling blackouts hit the city suburbs, and city office buildings' A/Cs were put to the test. Good thing Melissa was working from Sydney where the weather always seems to be perfect. Add to the mix no substantial rain for 40+ days and our gardens are looking great ;-)

Since the trip to SE Asia, I've turned my focus to the Gatorade Triathlon Series. I competed in my first Olympic distance event in Sandringham (beach just 20mins south). I was very happy with my result; I finished in under 2:30 and in the middle of my age group. A few weeks later, I competed in a sprint distance event in Portarlington (1.5 hrs from Melbourne near Geelong) and was within striking distance coming out of the water - I think I went alittle too fast in the water because the bike and run suffered. Rookie mistake. My next race will be the final race in the Series in St Kilda at the end of March.

In the meantime, we have more travel planned. We head to Fiji for a week to celebrate Melissa's big 3-0 next week. Upon return, Melissa gets back on a plane and heads for Beijing. She's been asked to help launch the CEB programs in China, and this is her first trip to meet with current members and assess new opportunities.