Blogging from the phone

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my computer had been acting all screwy, flipping constantly between AC mode and battery mode when plugged in. When it decided to heal itself the day after, I believed it was just screwyness due to the Supermoon.

But the problem has come back. Calling the Asus Help Desk in Sydney just confirmed my fears--there is a deep wiring issue, possibly with the motherboard which is really the entire backbone of a computer. If it turns out that I need to replace the motherboard, I might as well buy myself a new computer or tablet completely.

So I have decided not to take my poor laptop to the doctor's office (aka the Asus shop), especially since we will be city hopping and then country hopping in a few weeks. I would be spending less and less time in front of it's luminescent glowing screen anyway.

That's why I'm taking this blog on the road. I'm sitting right now on a train taking me into the city, marvelling in the magic of technology, and blogging from my PHONE. Guys, I thought Instagram was cool...this blows my mind!

By the way here is a picture of my new pants I got on sale the other day! Skinny to the jeans, yo!

Garmin failed me, but I took my run into Unexplored Territory!

It was hard to get started today.

I wheedled and whined, caw-caw-ed and barked (even maybe howled), but I finally got off my butt and went for a run.

At 1:30 PM, I set my Garmin to find my location (like it hasn't found it a bazillion times before).

Apparently, cloudy days makes Garmin sad and confused.

By 1:46, I had decided that Garmin could suck it, downloaded and installed Runkeeper, and was on my way.

I decided to take a new route. Now that I had my phone with me, I wouldn't worry too much about getting lost. I came across a beautiful church.

As I ran along, Runkeeper kept speaking at me in her sweet dulcet tones: "10 minutes, 1.29 miles, average pace blah blah blah"... It was nice to know my stats as I went along!

It also had a nice camera shortcut inside the Runkeeper app, so I didn't have to close Runkeeper to take a picture.

I ran two loops around St Leonard's park, which was full of school kids doing some sort of activity/ athletic competition day.

Runkeeper uses Google maps, which is nice and accurate. (found GPS signals quite quickly, too!)

This is what the screen looks like on my Sony Xperia phone (which really isn't the best smart phone on the market today, but good enough for its price).

I did a total of 3.13 miles in 35:44.

By the time I got home, Garmin was sitting by the window like he was in Time Out for being naughty. But when I turned him around to look at his face, he simply showed the time and date as if nothing had happened...as if I hadn't asked him to find some satellites...as if he hadn't failed me...

Anyway, I think I'll keep Runkeeper around for those cloudy days when Garmin is being a dunce.

Do you use Runkeeper? Do you run with a GPS watch or your phone?

A Sydney Harbour Walk: Where am I? No, seriously where am I?!

If you've been following my blog for a while now, you'll know that I enjoy wandering in small confusing circles without a map or phone. 

I did one better today and went for a Sydney Harbour Walk with both my phone AND a map, and I still got lost!

Can you imagine how great I'd be at navigating back in the compass and constellations days? Do not let me steer the ship!!

Anyway, I started my day by sleeping in, which I highly recommend when Ashtanga isn't on the schedule (cuz I know you really need to know why, it's my Ladies Holiday. WIN!).

I recommend long sleeves and long pants in case of low bushes that might scratch.

Thick pink socks are a must!

I decided beforehand to do a "short walk" so I could have some lazy time at home later. This 3km one is close to the city and easy to get home from - McMahons Point to Waverton.

But 3 KM in a wwwaayyyy is too little for an superstar like me. I thought I could up the ante by adding a few extra km by starting at Circular Quay and walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

So I had basically added up 2 walks in my book; Circular Quay to Lavendar Bay + McMahons Point to Waverton = about 7 km.

Some of the highlights was a beautiful stretch of road behind Luna Park, in Lavendar Bay.

It takes you down to a seriously tiny beach, and then the road ends.

Where do you go next?

Don't ask me. This is where I got seriously lost. There's a little park once you cross under the train tracks, and a bunch of stairs that lead you to random residential streets. I think I went in 3 little circles, up the stairs, down the stairs, around the park, and back up the stairs before I decided to ask someone.

The answer is, THIS IS LAVENDAR BAY, NOT BLUES POINT RESERVE. You need to take Bay View Road and wind around the private residences before you can get to Blues Point Reserve. Luckily, Bay View Road is a small residential street without a lot of traffic, so it's a pleasant detour.

And it's well worth it. Blues Point Reserve is a beautiful little loop with great views.

From here on, it gets better and better. There's a small foray back into the residential streets, and then you get to Sawmiller's Reserve, which was my absolute FAVOURITE!

Take a look!

There's some sort of ship wreck washed up!

IN A CITY PARK!

A. CITY. PARK.

SHIPWRECK!

You cannot deny how cool this is!

The walk goes through Sawmillers Reserve and onto a boardwalk that leads to the North Sydney Marine Centre. You've got to get back onto the residential streets in order to go around the Marine Centre and back   to the water.

Eventually, you get to this fork in the road:

The higher one goes back to residential streets, while the lower one goes to a nice little sports field in Waverton Park.

From there, you can go to the BP Oil Station, which is a nice little walk I've done before, and about 10 minutes from home.

Like a proper lazy person, I decided to go home.

I had started my walk at 1:37. By the time I got home, it was 3:15! That's about an hour and a half walk! WOO HOO I'M A WALKING MONSTER!

Anyway, I rate this walk about a 7/10. It's filled with beautiful green spaces and some quieter residential streets. It's easy to do, peaceful and quiet. Much better than last week!