Rommel Pascual Journals

Friday, July 07, 2006

Farewell Friday

Today 7th of July 2006 - FRIDAY, our golden Labrador, passed away in his sleep. He had served us for almost 8 years. He will be dearly missed. He will be cremated tomorrow and his ashes will be treasured, for he was a member of our family.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

One Fine Day

Nobody really read this things right?

It's winter in Sydney 2006. I was called to attend a meeting in the CBD at 3:00pm yesterday. The traffic will be really bad by the time the meeting is over - so I caught a lift from a work mate into the city. After the meeting, it was dark and I didn't feel like catching a cab to get my car in North Ryde. Besides, the ferry is inviting. The cold winter night, set on the magnificent view of the Sydney harbour. Taking a ferry home is a rare opportunity for me. I called Jeanne on the mobile, she's taking public transport too - so we decided to meet in Parramatta.

Celine was also coming from the city and was already on a train bound for Parramatta. We all met at a new Japanese restaurant near the station called "Tomadachi". We decided to grab a bite there. There was a lot to talk about. Celine just had her first rehearsal for a semi-pro production of Les Miserables. She could have been very excited if it was any other day - but she also had to squeeze in an audition for Miss Saigon today. From her perspective it may have not turned well on her favour. She does not know if she's in or out. She was so looking forward to Miss Saigon - it was her dream to play in this musical and all her training in voice and acting were now put to a test. Hopefully, some good will come out of it - but we're bracing her, just in case.

After dinner, we took the train to get home and called Jessica to pick us up at the station. This is the first time for me to be picked up at the station since Jessica got her driving license in May this year.

The following day - I had two options, to take public transport or to cycle to work. I have not cycled for any decent distance since November 2005, the 50Km Sydney-to-Parramatta day. My bike is almost fully deflated, dusty and squeky. The winter chill in the morning does not help either. It was a no brainer to just take the public transport. But is it ....

After 5km into my trip - I'm beginning to think whether I made a rush choice. Surprisingly, however, the old legs seem to be happy to be getting a workout. I decided not to take new M7 cycle path. This exclusively for cycle road has lots of twist and turns. By taking the cycle lane on the M7 Motor way - you have a straight path all the way - as long as you don't mind the cars and trucks whissing at 110 km/hour. It took me one-and-a-half hour to complete my 31km journey. Not bad for an old leg :-)