Just a great day.

I had to spend a little extra time tonight (way past my bedtime) to blog about a great day. You just never know when they are going to happen. In order for today to turn out like it did, a colleague had to call in sick, there had to be a couple of miscommunications, and my Paypal account had to be straightened out. No pictures this time, so just use your mind's eye.

Layan called in sick on a day when he was on call. I was post-call, thus having booked some of the surgeries for today when the patients came through the Emergency Department yesterday. Normally Layan would have done them, but since I know the cases, and two of the four were hand cases, I took them to the "operating theatre." They were fracture cases, procedures I really enjoy doing. The operating theatre mood was light, with everyone in a good mood. They came out well, too.

Just after the second hand surgery, I had to hurry to a meeting across town regarding upper extremity surgery for tetraplegics. Now it would have been great if the meeting had taken place, but I took full advantage of the opening in the appointment book to.... go home early! (Actually by the time I got back to the hospital and gathered things together, I only got to leave on time, but it was the first time since I have been here.) This allowed me to play with the kids and Ana for a while without the distraction of getting ready for dinner or feeding them (the kids).

Now I have to backtrack a few weeks. I had decided shortly after having arrived here, that the only way I would unite the mountain bike I had brought over with the highly reputed trails around here required the headlight, also brought over. Well, that sucker lasted only a couple of trips to work and back. As soon as it had to be charged, it became clear that the charger didn't work here, despite using a plug adapter. Time to upgrade!

Some time passed with shopping online. After looking at some review articles, chat reviews, vendor and manufacturer websites, it basically came down to two models. Interestingly, one is made in Australia, the second right here in the Garden City! (Ayup and Nightlightning, if you are interested).

The comparison took a little more time. I finally decided on Ayup, picked out the colors that I wanted and bought them from the company. In the process of checking out, it seemed easier to use my Paypal account. Long story slightly shorter, changing your address a couple of times, including to another country, when it has been dormant for months and months somehow triggers some security alerts. It also seems that triggering security alerts at Paypal triggers security alerts at my credit card company.

A couple of phone calls back to the states, during their hours of convenience, took a few more days to manage. If competent people managed the phones at Paypal, the pain would have been less, but after assuring me that all was well, they allowed new purchases to be made but never allowed the transfer of funds to Ayup. More time passed.

Ultimately, the great goods arrived last week, a month later. And tonight was the first opportunity I had to use them in an appropriate venue. These boys would be dangerous on the streets (for the oncoming cars... and therefore for me, I guess), but I found a city park that has trails and doesn't close until 11 pm. Perfect!

Fast forward back to where the great day left off. I found the park (Bottle Lake) and went for a great ride around sundown. It turns out that it leads you alongside the coast, which I found right in the midst of a great sunset. Surf to the east, mountains and sunset on the western horizon, and the emerging city lights and the Port Hills beyond them to the south. A great moment.

The lights worked fantastically. In fact, when I got back to the car I seriously considered going out for another ride. And why not, considering how many Kiwis were still out there; by my estimate more than thirty people were out riding the trails, and there were more cars in the lot that when I got there! But headed for home on time, and, man, am I glad I did. The kids were great, and we sat down to the best dinner Ana my have ever made. It was a wonderful culmination.

Great work, good people, family playtime, exercise, wonderful views, great food. This is what I hoped for coming to New Zealand.

The lights are recharged. You just never know when the next great day will come around...