This is officially my 700th post…. still haven’t posted more than 0.7 or 0.3 (whatever it was) posts per day, but hey, i’m still working on it..
And that counts for something? Right? Please?
Adam
p.s – Have a wonderful XMAS guys and don’t do anything i’d consider.
Adam and Jules’ Wedding proposal story….. here we go…..
Location: Vietnam, ~ 125k’s outside of Hoi An (ironically the honeymoon capital of Vietnam)
Temperature: 7,00,000 degrees and 492% humidity
Back Story (aka The Hill)
So we awake on day 10 of our journey through Vietnam, and after hitting a few snags along the way (the whole of Vietnam being flooded, possible malaria, days of dysentry-like bowel cleansing ….. you know, the usual), we reached the physical pinnacle of the trip, we reach the hill.
Now, before I go into the proposal story, I really must give you a description of this monster so you to can understand the pain that we suffered on this fine day. The hill is a 50km journey of pain, with 36km’s of all-uphill-pain and no flat sections. Riding on a (thankfully) quiet, newly bitumened stretch of turf, we excitedly, but nervously meet for a final photo at the bottom of the range before we head off into the wilderness.
After the first 12 kilometres, of which I was holding back with the back group (including Jules), I realised that to make this journey that it was going to be entirely about me, there simply wasn’t any space to cajole or support anybody else to the top, you just had to keep plugging through it.
And so slowly but surely, I broke away from the girls behind me, and soon realised that I was alone.
Now to place this into context, being on your own for even a few seconds when on a ‘group holiday’ becomes a fairly rare treat. As most of you would know who have traveled in groups, alone time is a wonderful yet short-lived space in time where you can finally be yourself and start to navel gaze endlessly, a favoured part of mylife. This usually occurs between when you drunkenly get home and when you promptly fall asleep. If you have a partner, it just ain’t happening.
… anyway, back to the story ….
So i’m on my own, and when on my own I take the opportunity to try to block out the relatively high levels of pain that are associated with riding up a big fucking hill, and after a few short kilometres my thoughts turned to my life, my work, my friends and everything that’s important to me. Now i’ll be honest, the thoughts that invaded my mind in those early kilometres on my own were about the significant changes that were about to occur in my work life, assessing my life now that i’d moved back to Sydney and the general twists and turns of being in the rat race and away from my friends and how I had changed. And for an hour it was great to reflect on the wonderful life that I have, the amazing friends who share it with me and the family (bless them) who understand that I will almost certainly be, always, nomadic.
Moving swiftly along to resolving those internal conflicts, I got to thinking about my happiness, and in turn I got to thinking about Jules and I and how she had very silently (almost literally) shown up in my life one night, half drunk at the Epping hotel where I (as I do) announced to the people in front of me that I was going to run the City2Surf (details of said City2Surf experience I thought were etched in stone in this blog, but apparently I was too busy getting drunk that night…) and this girl, who I didn’t really know (Hools) and another friend, (who I did know) said they’d join me and start training.
Now as with all drunk endeavours, one forgets these fairly soon after they occur, though early in the next week I receives this e-mail that I almost, sincerely, deleted as I thought it was SPAM (it was the last name that made it seem salacious, as with just one letter change would make her last name seem like more like a sex toy than a humans last name…), but for reasons still not known to me, I opened it and realised who it was.
It was Hools.
(now I digressed here for a second to make a point. As I realise now that knowing Hools (as I do now) means that had I not replied to that message she almost certainly wouldn’t have chased me down, spoken to me again after the incident or even mentioned it in passing and I could be heading home right now and drinking beer because i’d be single!)
…. So back to it (again) …..
And there she was, in my head and making me happy in a way that, while driving me completely batty at times for her complete lack of worry in the world, made me the happiest, sanest person I had been in many years… and didn’t ask me to change a thing.
Of course what I had done is change. Change in ways that are so much for the better. I am better with my friends, closer to my family and overall, I hope, a better person to know and be around. And in the swiftest of seconds, in the shortest moment that I can count to you, I simply knew.
I knew that Hools was the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
Now, for someone like me, with a heart rate already going through the roof from the hardcore exercise, you’d think that this might set me into some kind of heart failure/early warning/resuscitation type scenario ….. meh?
But in fact the opposite happened. I found peace and calm in the world, and for the longest of moments, longer than I can imagine even now when I think about it, my world and everything around it stopped and that moment of clarity became a very long, very distant light over the horizon.
And I knew that I was home.
Riding up the rest of the hill was something that I will never forget. While it was hard physically, mentally and emotionally, I was committed to making it, committed to seeing Hools at the top and celebrating with her the most excited i’ve ever been about anything in my life.
Reaching the top of that mountain gave me a sense of accomplishment that made me (literally) jump around for joy. I was so excited I could barely contain myself.
Of course everyone else thought I was just a little too excited as I was 2/3rds of the way down the pack.
So after making it back to the hotel, excited and a little delirious we headed off to dinner. One of the group decided to drink far too much red wine and then decided to give several long, arduous speeches ranging from how great we all were, to how bad the wine taster over here and even as a tribute to his wife.
All the time i’m pushing my chair out inches away from the table, desperately trying to get a word in sideways (define irony!) and wondering if someone would kill me if I got up to speak (ed: someone did actually threaten that just moments before I climbed up to speak). But eventually I made it.
The worlds really just tumbled out of my mouth, though i’ve been told that I quoted about moments of clarity and moments of resolve combing together to define you as a person, and realising that my defining moment, my moment of most happiness and absolute clarity, was when I was with Hools.
So after a gentle prompt, some shoved chairs and two of the girls starting to cry before I even got a chance to finish my speech…. (and Hools completely unaware of what was going on), I got down on one knee and said…
Julia, will you marry me?
…..
And that was that.
(We’re off to get married in Fiji next year kids, very small group and a weeks holiday away dashed in with a wedding somewhere there in the middle. Promise i’ll write a post about it when I return….. well, maybe….!)
Adam
Dang, WordPress just went through a major upgrade. And while the same rubbish will still be posted by mwah, the interface I have by which to publish, world class.
That is all.
Well, that and i’m another couple of hundred words into my ‘proposal’ post…
I’m 47 words into my mammoth ‘how I got engaged post’…. i’ve already tested it out on Lucy (she almost cried, so i’m guessing it’s pretty respectable) and i’ll keep updating it during today.
Hopefully you’ll have something before I depart for home.
Adam
The International Council of Man Laws, Ltd.
1: Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.
2: It is OK for a man to cry ONLY under the following Circumstances:
(a) When a heroic dog dies to save its master.
(b) The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her Blouse.
(c) After wrecking your boss’s car.
(d) When she is using her teeth.
3: Any Man who brings a camera to a bachelor party may be legally killed and eaten by his buddies.
4: Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend out of jail within 12 hours.
5: If you’ve known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever unless you actually marry her.
6: Moaning about the brand of free beer in a buddy’s fridge is forbidden. However, complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable.
7: No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your buddy’s birthday is strictly optional. At that point, you must celebrate at a strip bar of the birthday boy’s choice.
8: On a road trip, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest.
9: When stumbling upon other guys watching a sporting event, you may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who’s playing.
10: You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have satisfied her sexually. If you trap her head under the covers for the purpose of flatulent entertainment, she’s officially your girlfriend.
11: It is permissible to drink a fruity alcohol drink only when you’re sunning on a tropical beach…and it’s delivered by a topless model and only when it’s free.
12: Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to kick another guy in the nuts.
13: Unless you’re in prison, never fight naked.
14: Friends don’t let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed.
15: If a man’s fly is down, that’s his problem, you didn’t see anything.
16: Women who claim they “love to watch sports” must be treated as spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers.
17: A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must remain sober enough to fight.
18: Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both, that’s just greedy.
19: If you compliment a guy on his six-pack, you’d better be talking about his choice of beer.
20: Never join your girlfriend or wife in discussing a friend of yours, except if she’s withholding sex pending your response.
21: Phrases that may NOT be uttered to another man while lifting weights:
(a) Yeah, Baby, Push it!
(b) C’mon, give me one more! Harder!
(c) Another set and we can hit the showers!
22: Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing: i.e., both urinating, both waiting In line, etc. For all other situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need.
23: Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer than you are able to have sex with her. Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up if necessary.
24: The morning after you and a girl who was formerly “just a friend” have carnal, drunken monkey sex, the fact that you’re feeling weird and guilty is no reason for you not to nail each other again before the discussion occurs about what a big mistake it was.
25: It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for her to drive yours.
26: Thou shalt not buy a car in the colors of brown, pink, lime green, orange or sky blue.
27: The girl who replies to the question “What do you want for Christmas?” with “If you loved me, you’d know what I want!” gets an Xbox. End of story.
28: There is no reason for guys to watch Ice Skating or Men’s Gymnastics. Ever.
29: We’ve all heard about people having guts or balls. but do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the definition of each is listed below:
“GUTS” is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being assaulted by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to say, “are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?”
“BALLS” is coming home late after a night out with the guys smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the ass and having the balls to say, “You’re next!”
We hope this clears up any confusion,
The International Council of Manlaws, Ltd.
Whatever you do, don’t make you first insurance claim on your motorcycle because you drop it on it’s side…
1. It will hurt your insurance premium
2. Especially when they have to spend $2k repairing it ….
3. And you’ve been complaining that you paid $800+ per year in premiums….
4. Because *everything* is expensive on a bike
5. But not nearly as expensive as your ego when you realise you’ve just dropped it….
>:B
So how was your weeekend?
Adam
1. I’ve got so much to say;
2. I’ve got no time to do it;
3. I’m off to Vietnam (woo-fucking-hoo!) in 48 hours 
;
4. I’ve booked myself in for another pain session, the Penrose 24 Hour Rally … why… why do I do this?
5. I’ve still not completed my commitment for 3 posts a week!
Miss all you guys
Adam
Do I continue to run half marathons (and train for a full) when I know the pain it will cause me?
Adam
As I sit here writing on my flight to Melbourne, stuck beside some arrogant person who has decided that sitting in the centre seat entitles you to take up both arm rests and make it ridiculously uncomfortable for me to type, I already wish I had a well-enough to do job that my company would fly me business on domestic flights….. but alas, I don’t see that happening anytime soon I think….
Besides that, Jules and I have started to more passionately connect of late, on many levels (most of which I’m not going on in detail on this blog!), but what I’ve found most intriguing is that after enjoying the various phases of our relationship, we’re talking more openly and honestly with each other, we’re understanding of each other needs more and we’re making inroads into sharing our lives with each other, and forging a relationship that I’m really starting to see will go the distance.
For I’m starting to see that it’s not just the ‘what we both like’s’ that make this thing work, it’s the intrinsic and symbiotic balance that you create with another human being, accepting fatal flaws, but also relishing in their imperfection that makes your relationship tangible, honest, flawed and, in every sense of the word, perfect.
I can definitely start to see that we are starting to form our own ideals on the world, views that were possibly at times opposing are now more bound together, we have our interests, while still keeping the personal traits that define us and keep our individual spirit alive.
So as I sit here on the plane to Melbourne, and wonder ‘what now’, I’m starting to see that there’s a whole lot more out there, and while the future is unknown, and therefore at times for me scary, there’s every reason to see that my life is happening each and every day, and the relationship that I have is really going to go the distance.
Moving onto somewhat simpler topics. We soon head off to Vietnam and Thailand for three weeks of cycling and general frivolity. After launching from Bangkok after a duo-night stay where we will unfurl, relax and generally enjoy our last moments of warm showers, working toilets and modern facilities, we’ll be plunging ourselves into the darkness of varying routes, inclement weather, lean-to’s, pit toilets and 70km’s of hard cycling in some of the worlds most challenging conditions for 17 days.
And neither of us can wait…
While our trip last year to Europe was the trip of excess, the extra kilos added to my waistline would not budge for several months, and that largesse was not only uncomfortable, it was plain unsightly and has meant that my wardrobe hasn’t changed a single piece (barring one very nice suit) since last year. However this year after this trip, that’s all going to change. As our waist lines have been shrinking (and let me just say that Jules is looking *fine* of late…. Seriously!), the summer of 2008 will be the time for renewal, replenishment and indulgence on an entirely different scale to what we enjoyed in Europe. We’re swapping Bratwurst for Bally, Lounging for Luis Vuitton (sp?) and Carbohydrates for Class (god, those were awful!).
This is all, of course, after I get my pay rise J
My work conditions continue to yo-yo out of control. Every day I come into the office and something significant has changed, a staff member has been made redundant, new roles are starting up and our change programme is starting to fire on all cylinders. The flow-on effect of this I’m starting to see as I’m part and parcel of this little change-extraordinaire, but I can’t help but thing that there are many out there who don’t yet know what’s coming, and don’t realise that their plot could very well be changing in ways they hadn’t considered over the next 12 months. For real change to happen, every person must see that they have to do something different, yet every day I see people who will not accept that their universe at work is about to be different, and the need to change in this economic climate is mandatory. But alas, I have no idea why I’m talking about work today……
My final words for the day are about that social networking phenomenon, Facebook, and in particular, my concern that most of my friends have listed 200+ people in their Facebook profile as ‘friends’ …. Now let’s get serious people, how the fuck do you keep up with that many people. Personally I think that the number should be removed altogether, it just encourages people to doll up every person they every saw or spent 5 minutes with and add them in and therefore allow them access to a world that, honestly, most people outside those that you actually like, couldn’t give a fuck about. So I did what no persona in the history of Facebook has ever done (or at leats I believe so). I culled my numbers back. And let me tell you, it felt great. I ditched all the wankers that I met on our European holiday tour, dropped those that I’ve travelled to other countries with but will never get the chance to keep in contact with, and kept those in who I actually spent time with and enjoy the company of and will make a concerted effort to see when I travel overseas.
So to Joe, Natanya, Chris, Paul, Lauren and the few others who I’ve met travelling overseas who I still have listed on my profile, you’re always welcome at my house when you arrive in beautiful Sydney. The rest, find your own fucking accommodation….. J
