How IS Nathan doing?
Well, he's busy! He's doing ground school and training, which means five days a week, full days of school - he's about to start week four and if I'm not mistaken, soon going in to type related stuff.
He's just moved hotels and will be staying where he is now for at least another month.
In a perfect world, we will be finding our perfect new home when I go up there next week to visit, and he will be moving in just in time to find some furniture and get it all sorted before we get there... In a perfect world that is...
He has found a good mate that he hangs out a lot with, Johnny. They go to the gym, do their different jobs, have dinners and talk shop together. In the beginning now it's been pretty much the same as it was here, lots of admin to sort out, visas, bank accounts, ID cards and all that. They only have two days off each week, so they are busy; cars to test drive, shopping malls to discover, and of course he's also scouting areas and places to live and trying to follow up on all of our school applications.
I wish he would FB or something a bit more often though, cause after the initial "How's the selling going?", the next question in nearly every dialogue I have with anyone at the moment is "How's Nathan doing?"...
Showing posts with label Nathan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nathan. Show all posts
Monday, 3 February 2014
Monday, 13 January 2014
62 days
So, Nathan left last night on the last flight out of here, to Jakarta with RBA to pick up the Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi.
He is on his way to start our new life, which means that the countdown for the rest of us has now officially started. If everything goes according to plan, we now have 62 days left in the Abode. That's nine weeks, and 81 more school runs...
I know it will go quickly, especially when I will be looking back at it from the other end - but right now, it feels really long; more so since we don't know if Nathan will be able to come back and see us somewhere in the middle or if this is it. For nine weeks.
But I can do this. We can do this. It'll all be worth it in the end.
He is on his way to start our new life, which means that the countdown for the rest of us has now officially started. If everything goes according to plan, we now have 62 days left in the Abode. That's nine weeks, and 81 more school runs...
I know it will go quickly, especially when I will be looking back at it from the other end - but right now, it feels really long; more so since we don't know if Nathan will be able to come back and see us somewhere in the middle or if this is it. For nine weeks.
But I can do this. We can do this. It'll all be worth it in the end.
The Garden Party
The Yacht Club was so nice to organize a big Garden Party for Nathan on his last evening in Brunei. Well, maybe it wasn't just for Nathan, but we took it that way - nearly all our friends joined us there to say goodbye.
They had made the Yacht Club look really nice, and really different to normal. We started out by mingling to some live music:
Everybody looked really nice! Lots of bright, colourful, flowery dresses:
The lamb on the spit had been slow cooking all day, nom nom nom!
The food was so different to the "normal" Yacht Club party food, super delicious, especially the lamb and the seafood. Mmm! We had the best table in the corner:
What a lovely night it was, and how nice to get to spend it with our friends.
They had made the Yacht Club look really nice, and really different to normal. We started out by mingling to some live music:
Everybody looked really nice! Lots of bright, colourful, flowery dresses:
The lamb on the spit had been slow cooking all day, nom nom nom!
The food was so different to the "normal" Yacht Club party food, super delicious, especially the lamb and the seafood. Mmm! We had the best table in the corner:
What a lovely night it was, and how nice to get to spend it with our friends.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
BWN-HKG-BWN
Nathan's last flight with RBA was a Hong Kong, with F/O Julian and David, a new Captain, on the jump seat. Nice weather and good company made for a great last flight.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
There he goes
There he goes - off on his last flight operating for Royal Brunei Airlines. End of an era.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Guest blog from the saddle!
Emirates Road Cycling Club Presents... - "The Percival Aviation World Cycling Challenge 2013".
Nathan tells his story:
10th December we climbed aboard BI097 to Dubai. Here we go! Early morning arrival into Dubai to be picked up by Flora Park transport. (These guys would be invaluable over the coming days. Not only did they put us up for FREE!!! but they made sure we were transported to where we were supposed to be. A big thank you to Sidek and his team.) Didn’t quite make it through arrivals before we stocked up. Some of what got consumed before our pre-breakfast sleep...
First day there Linton came to meet us, it was good to see our old friend. Then Freddy came to pick us up for a little drive around and some shopping. Rush back to the hotel and then off to the Dubai Autodrome for a few laps. It was a pretty awesome place.
They open it up to cyclists for a few hours on Wednesday nights to whizz around. Fun for everyone from serious cyclists to the very beginners. Plus it was really nice to get to ride with Linton again, it's been a while and he has been missed on the long trawl down the coast road. Then it was back to the hotel and off for dinner. A few more ales and it was time for sleep.
Thursday was a rest day before the big event. some of the other teams went for a ride but we decided that rest was best. By now Will was recovering from his cold, and instead I was well on my way to one. Achoo!
I spent the day meeting up with Boel and the kids at Mirdif City Center, while Jeremy and Will went off to fine tune Will’s bike for the big day. We later had a team meeting before the Team Captain was supposed to meet the other Team Captain’s for final meeting. Roll call: Mike Lee? Present. Jeremy Saap? Present. Will Turner? Present. Nathan Watson? Present. Team Captain?….. Team Captain?…. Where is the team Captain?! A few frantic text messages it was revealed that he hadn’t even gotten on the flight over... Oh well. Jeremy sorted it and then cooked us a massive feed of pasta energy goodness. (When going on to a cycle event, always take a top chef!)
Early to bed and up at 0315. Aw god, that was early. Bit of a snivel and “Top Chef” had prepared breakfast. Nice. So a quick break and it was off to the bus again. We arrived nice and early. It was a little cool, everyone was wearing their undershirts. Mike Lee was a little chillier and rugged up!
Last minute pits stops meant we were rushing to get tot he start line. No rush needed though, as the start was delayed due to lighting issues. They also announced that the race would be shortened by about 10km.
We finally got away and it was on! In the rising sun we headed off towards the city, it was a spectacular ride. The roads were quiet and we were heavily protected by the local Police. A big thank you the Dubai Police force for keeping us all safe. The pace was pretty high, but not exhausting.
As we neared the end we started to ramp up the speed. There had formed a small gap and Will and I were closing on them quite nicely, but then we looked up and already saw the finish line?? They had shortened it by 13km, not 10km. Bugger!
We came up short, but just in the back of the main pack. It was a little disappointing on a personal level, but we had ridden a good race, and with an average moving speed of 40.9km/h for 2 hours we were pretty stoked overall. As a team Royal Brunei came in 8th. We had to be happy with that.
After the race everyone was invited to prize giving and lunch at the JW Marriot. A fantastic afternoon with all the teams.
Saturday saw another early start for breakfast and then a recovery ride to Bab Al Shams. A bunch of pilots (egos), and bikes on an “easy” 85km recovery ride. What could possibly go wrong??!! Off we set, a few gentle miles and then down went the hammer. Oh deep joy. But the breakfast was pretty cool. It was then time to head back and call a concussion. After a few pretty hectic days I finally hit the wall. We all finally rolled to stop and I got to meet the legend that is Stephen Roche!!! Yeah baby, him!!
What a finish to a great experience!! Can’t wait to do it again next year. It was a blast.
Thank you Will, Jeremy, and Mike and a huge thank you Emirates Road Cycling Club. You put on an outstanding week, made everyone one feel very welcome, and set the bases for hopefully an annual event. Well done.
Nathan tells his story:
10th December we climbed aboard BI097 to Dubai. Here we go! Early morning arrival into Dubai to be picked up by Flora Park transport. (These guys would be invaluable over the coming days. Not only did they put us up for FREE!!! but they made sure we were transported to where we were supposed to be. A big thank you to Sidek and his team.) Didn’t quite make it through arrivals before we stocked up. Some of what got consumed before our pre-breakfast sleep...
First day there Linton came to meet us, it was good to see our old friend. Then Freddy came to pick us up for a little drive around and some shopping. Rush back to the hotel and then off to the Dubai Autodrome for a few laps. It was a pretty awesome place.
They open it up to cyclists for a few hours on Wednesday nights to whizz around. Fun for everyone from serious cyclists to the very beginners. Plus it was really nice to get to ride with Linton again, it's been a while and he has been missed on the long trawl down the coast road. Then it was back to the hotel and off for dinner. A few more ales and it was time for sleep.
Thursday was a rest day before the big event. some of the other teams went for a ride but we decided that rest was best. By now Will was recovering from his cold, and instead I was well on my way to one. Achoo!
I spent the day meeting up with Boel and the kids at Mirdif City Center, while Jeremy and Will went off to fine tune Will’s bike for the big day. We later had a team meeting before the Team Captain was supposed to meet the other Team Captain’s for final meeting. Roll call: Mike Lee? Present. Jeremy Saap? Present. Will Turner? Present. Nathan Watson? Present. Team Captain?….. Team Captain?…. Where is the team Captain?! A few frantic text messages it was revealed that he hadn’t even gotten on the flight over... Oh well. Jeremy sorted it and then cooked us a massive feed of pasta energy goodness. (When going on to a cycle event, always take a top chef!)
Early to bed and up at 0315. Aw god, that was early. Bit of a snivel and “Top Chef” had prepared breakfast. Nice. So a quick break and it was off to the bus again. We arrived nice and early. It was a little cool, everyone was wearing their undershirts. Mike Lee was a little chillier and rugged up!
Last minute pits stops meant we were rushing to get tot he start line. No rush needed though, as the start was delayed due to lighting issues. They also announced that the race would be shortened by about 10km.
We finally got away and it was on! In the rising sun we headed off towards the city, it was a spectacular ride. The roads were quiet and we were heavily protected by the local Police. A big thank you the Dubai Police force for keeping us all safe. The pace was pretty high, but not exhausting.
As we neared the end we started to ramp up the speed. There had formed a small gap and Will and I were closing on them quite nicely, but then we looked up and already saw the finish line?? They had shortened it by 13km, not 10km. Bugger!
We came up short, but just in the back of the main pack. It was a little disappointing on a personal level, but we had ridden a good race, and with an average moving speed of 40.9km/h for 2 hours we were pretty stoked overall. As a team Royal Brunei came in 8th. We had to be happy with that.
After the race everyone was invited to prize giving and lunch at the JW Marriot. A fantastic afternoon with all the teams.
Saturday saw another early start for breakfast and then a recovery ride to Bab Al Shams. A bunch of pilots (egos), and bikes on an “easy” 85km recovery ride. What could possibly go wrong??!! Off we set, a few gentle miles and then down went the hammer. Oh deep joy. But the breakfast was pretty cool. It was then time to head back and call a concussion. After a few pretty hectic days I finally hit the wall. We all finally rolled to stop and I got to meet the legend that is Stephen Roche!!! Yeah baby, him!!
What a finish to a great experience!! Can’t wait to do it again next year. It was a blast.
Thank you Will, Jeremy, and Mike and a huge thank you Emirates Road Cycling Club. You put on an outstanding week, made everyone one feel very welcome, and set the bases for hopefully an annual event. Well done.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
What's Nathan up to?
Nathan has not been featuring much on the blog lately. What is he up to? Well, he is pretty much doing what he always is doing - working and biking.
In November he took part in the 'LOF Cycle Challenge' bike race, as 1/6th of 'Team Anakpanayu'. He only took photos of a whole lot of other people, but here is at least one of him, with his friend Johan:
It was a 98k race and their team came 2nd! Kids were very excited Daddy came home with a medal!
Now he's packed and ready to go and compete in a big cycling event in Dubai - the 'Airline World Cycling Challenge'. The AWCC is part of the annual challenge 'Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge'. It is expected that around 2000 cyclists will be riding the 92 km around the iconic streets of Dubai this Friday. This is the largest amateur cycling challenge in the Middle East, and one of the region’s fastest growing sporting events, doubling in size each year.
More than 80 cyclists from airlines and aviation companies worldwide are gearing up for the AWCC. They will have lots of fun, because apart from the challenge itself on Friday, the weekend happenings comprises of training rides, a special awards ceremony, a brunch and a desert cycle! :)
And - cycling legend Stephen Roche is taking part too!
Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) are sending five members from its 'Royal Brunei Flyers Cycling Team' to this challenge: Jeremy, Will and Nathan with Rosh Othman and Michael Lee. Yesterday they had a team jersey hand-over ceremony, and got interviewed for the news etc, so watch this space!
In November he took part in the 'LOF Cycle Challenge' bike race, as 1/6th of 'Team Anakpanayu'. He only took photos of a whole lot of other people, but here is at least one of him, with his friend Johan:
It was a 98k race and their team came 2nd! Kids were very excited Daddy came home with a medal!
Now he's packed and ready to go and compete in a big cycling event in Dubai - the 'Airline World Cycling Challenge'. The AWCC is part of the annual challenge 'Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge'. It is expected that around 2000 cyclists will be riding the 92 km around the iconic streets of Dubai this Friday. This is the largest amateur cycling challenge in the Middle East, and one of the region’s fastest growing sporting events, doubling in size each year.
More than 80 cyclists from airlines and aviation companies worldwide are gearing up for the AWCC. They will have lots of fun, because apart from the challenge itself on Friday, the weekend happenings comprises of training rides, a special awards ceremony, a brunch and a desert cycle! :)
And - cycling legend Stephen Roche is taking part too!
Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) are sending five members from its 'Royal Brunei Flyers Cycling Team' to this challenge: Jeremy, Will and Nathan with Rosh Othman and Michael Lee. Yesterday they had a team jersey hand-over ceremony, and got interviewed for the news etc, so watch this space!
(Photo courtesy of Geotrax, one of their sponsors.)
Thursday, 26 September 2013
The 40th birthday dinner
We had been rather slack making plans for Nathan's birthday. It felt too early planning anything before the summer holidays, and after we came back it all came around so quickly!
We couldn't throw a party the weekend before, since many of our friends had booked in to go to the Singapore F1. Instead we had loosely talked about doing a joint one a bit later in the year with Will (who turns 40 in December) but in the end we wanted to do something on the actual birthday, so we went for a small dinner party. We were lucky too, because Wednesday was (another) day off school!
Instead of going out somewhere, we hired this French chef, Chef Sebastien, who came to the house and prepared a three course meal, from our own kitchen! It was absolutely amazing!
While the chef was busy in the kitchen, we could just relax and enjoy ourselves. (Sorry the photos are a bit blurry, I was messing up the settings...) No running in and out of the kitchen, no stress about the food, no hassle - just pleasant chit-chat, and bubbles!
Time for dinner, first course was a chicken liver terrine with fruit compote and freshly baked bread. I was so busy enjoying it that I forgot to take any photo! It was so yummy!
Main course, duo of lamb with an onion tart, coriander braised vegetables and a mini potato pie:
Then it was gift time!
The big parcel had a world map in gold in it, where you scratch off the gold from the places you've been to make the colour come out! Pretty cool!
And of course, later on in the evening we also had birthday cake!
Happy Birthday Sweetie!
We couldn't throw a party the weekend before, since many of our friends had booked in to go to the Singapore F1. Instead we had loosely talked about doing a joint one a bit later in the year with Will (who turns 40 in December) but in the end we wanted to do something on the actual birthday, so we went for a small dinner party. We were lucky too, because Wednesday was (another) day off school!
Instead of going out somewhere, we hired this French chef, Chef Sebastien, who came to the house and prepared a three course meal, from our own kitchen! It was absolutely amazing!
While the chef was busy in the kitchen, we could just relax and enjoy ourselves. (Sorry the photos are a bit blurry, I was messing up the settings...) No running in and out of the kitchen, no stress about the food, no hassle - just pleasant chit-chat, and bubbles!
Time for dinner, first course was a chicken liver terrine with fruit compote and freshly baked bread. I was so busy enjoying it that I forgot to take any photo! It was so yummy!
Main course, duo of lamb with an onion tart, coriander braised vegetables and a mini potato pie:
Then it was gift time!
The big parcel had a world map in gold in it, where you scratch off the gold from the places you've been to make the colour come out! Pretty cool!
The dessert was a strawberry, vanilla and almond slice - mmm!
And of course, later on in the evening we also had birthday cake!
Happy Birthday Sweetie!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)