dantheman0177

Oh I'm hearing you. Working in Asia now, which is a very different environment - it's all about saving face, so what you can get away with chastising or criticising someone for in the US, UK or Australia will basically get you kicked off a project here. So I'm working on a project with a couple of quite junior, inexperienced investment bankers - who nevertheless have overly inflated opinions of their own capabilities - as part of the client's advisory team. One of these guys has held up a circa $500 million corporate listing because he's not happy with my writing style (and English is my first language, but not his!) and for tiny things like changing the word "manager" to "managers". Don't get me started on some of the other things he's been insisting on. He's probably delayed the deal by a month so far, so who knows how much money that's cost everyone. Now I'm not a violent person, but I am having visions of digging his heart out with a blunt soup spoon.....:AR15firin:AR15firin

Not that I didn't have the guts to, just that I missed the original post from Ais or I would have asked it too.....

Fin, you know that was all filmed near my place? I'll show you Max's house one day and drive you down some of the roads too.

Well it was +27C here on Wednesday and the locals were complaining it was cold!!!

Nope, not me. Not til April 21st - same day as the Queen. Vanessa is April 20th - same day as Hitler! Psychoanalyze that relationship!!! Anyway.....so we finally made it to Singapore. And today moved into our permanent residence, which is awesome. Went to Ikea and spent a bucket load of cash that I don't have on things that apparently I do need. But otherwise things are just peachy. Only one sore point................no SES for the second year in a row!:(:(:(

We went there on a guided week over NYE 08-09. Was an amazing week in an incredible place. Probably the best holiday I've ever had. I found that many of the runs were a bit narrow for most of the snowboarders we were with (softies), but then I was on my Prior 4WD and didn't have too much trouble with the traversing. Basically it's set up for skiiers, but then so is Aspen Ajax and that has one of the best carving runs of all time (Copper Bowl). As I mentioned, we were guided, so I'm really not sure where we went or what the names of the best runs were. It was very cold, so be prepared for that. And the food was unbelievable, so be prepared for that too! If you go to Campitello, there is a little restaurant called 'Mini Restaurant' (no joke) which serves fantastic local cuisine. Anyway, in short, what I can guarantee is that you will LOVE it.

kkboarder, the Moritz is a great central place for SES and you definitely won't need a car. Walk to town in 5 minutes, 2 blocks to the bus stop gets you to all the mountains. I've stayed there 5 times and it's perfect (and the hot tub is just icing on the cake). Unfortunately though, I'm a no-show again this year. Last year's excuse was a new baby. This year's excuse is that I'm moving to Singapore in 2 weeks to start a new job. Hopefully (please keep your fingers crossed for me) next year we'll will be back on deck!

Well we'll be back and forward a bit, since it's so much closer than the UK. So make sure you let us know when you're going to be down under, just in case we actually are there.

So it's all systems go for our move to the warm and humid climates of Singapore. Now the cat is out of the bag I'm really looking forward to making the move (but NOT looking forward to moving itself). Just means that I'll miss SES for another year. Oh yeah, and this post just keeps the thread alive on page 1....;)

I hear the guy riding the blue and yellow board in the middle was shredding up the course and leaving all those shiny black and silver things in his wake. Or is that just a plate system waiting to be mounted on a board???

I'm inspired! I have a 13 month old, so she will be a bit over 2 at next year's SES. And my wife looked at this pic and said "That's Olivia next year" so it seems like we have a goal. Oh yeah!

My job is going to be similar to what I was doing in Europe, except in Asia, so I'll be travelling a bit. And I have a good mate working in the Tokyo office and the likely need to go to Japan a bit for work. So mountains are a possibility still.

Today I disappointed my father. I told him that I was leaving the family business. I did this once before in 2007 (and spent 2 1/2 years in London) but he convinced me to come back last year. However after 15 months back, I am certain in my own mind that it is not what I want to do and need to do something challenging and interesting to me. I've been negotiating a new job for about 4 months, but today was the day I had to finally break the news. A very tough conversation, but it's done. So it would seem, Singapore here we come. Moral of the story: hard conversations with family who are going to come out disappointed are not fun.

Shaggy! Woo hoo, what do I win? It's ok, you can donate my prize to my favorite children's charity, "Bombers For Babies"

I'm not sure whether that cheesy grin makes you look more like a dodgy real estate agent or a dodgy used car salesman? But other than that, great pic Paul!

Beautiful, yes. And the board's not too bad either....

This is kayaking....sort of. Surf ski racing, in and out of big waves. And being in Oz, this is really all I have to look forward to for the next few months at least. (Me on the right, a mate on the left, both of us the main items on offer at a very severe garage sale about 2 seconds later)

Step-ins are fantastic, especially for us lazy buggers. Just watch out for ice build up under your heels, which is a real issue in Aust. Otherwise you'll find that you are not clipped in properly, and coming out of your binding half way through a turn is a VERY scary experience! I think it is mid-2000's but if you can read the serial number, send an email to Prior and they will be able to give you the full run down on the board. My wife has the same bindings and they are mounted directly on the board. Not sure if that is by design or circumstance though. Hope to catch up with you next winter on the hill. Otherwise if you come down the west coast for a surf, drop me a line. Dan

Mate, Not a bad get on the board. I have a similar vintage WCR 161 in my quiver and it can be a lot of fun. My only comment is that you'll have to be reasonably choosy on what runs you ride in Oz or you just won't enjoy it. But get out early on the groomers at Summit, Grimmus, Standard and Wombat (Mt Buller), around Ruined Castle chair (Falls Creek) and Blue Ribbon, Australia Drift, Race Gully and Bushwacker (Mt Hotham) and you should be able to make the most of the board. Don't know much about the boots, but they are a bargain at $150. You just can't get this stuff here, so not only should they be more than fine for purpose, they are great value for money too. The only problem that you have now is......the season's over! So you'll have to go to the northern hemisphere to ride. Oh what a shame...haha. Dan

We sold our old house on the weekend, so I have the financial capacity for some DIY to the new place now too. Not that it needs too much, but just a few tweaks here and there will make it about perfect. Oh yeah, and DIY is cool fun, so any excuse....

ooh-ah-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-do

Hey Pete, I was in the same boat as you about 5 or 6 years ago. Best piece of advice I can give is pony up and go to SES. If nothing else, it's a week in Aspen in Feb when the snow is awesome and the dollar is actually worth something. But you'll also have the chance to try out all the demo gear and work out what you like and what you don't. Then at then end of the week you can probably buy an ex demo board/bindings etc. Again, with the AUD so strong against the USD it's an amazing opportunity for this. Hope your day at Buller is fun. I've only managed one day this season, at Hotham, in knee deep powder and on softies! So I'm a bit jealous you are heading up to carve. You said you surf, so next time you are down in Torquay, drop me a line and catch up. Cheers Dan

My soft gear is a Prior MFR 158 with Catek Freeride bindings. I pulled it out for the first time in three years last month and it was good fun. My only issue is that I have size 29.5 mondo feet, so there is overhang, meaning hard leaning carves often end up booting out. But otherwise, a really good all round setup.

I know I shouldn't put on topic posts in the OT thread, but I can't help myself, it was just too good not to share! :biggthump:biggthump:biggthump:biggthump:biggthump:biggthump

That's what happens when you have a wedding to plan.