Quick update on my ankle

It is about 9 hours after surgery and I have not needed any pain meds beyond panadol (also, I was administered a decent amount of morphine in surgical recovery). There is a chance the local aesthetic administered during the operation has not worn off so it may be sleeping pain but I am hopeful.

I expect to be home tomorrow or within a couple of days. This will depend on the outcome of an X-ray and also the physio who is going to test my abilities on crutches and stairs. The occupational therapist will also be checking that there are no big issues at home with me being peg-legged for a while.

The nurses have been great and I really appreciate the care I have received here at the RBH.

At a high level, the recovery is 6 weeks on crutches (the foot can have no weight on it during this time) and 6 weeks in a moon boot. Apparently there is physio after that to work back the strength in the ankle.

No matter how bad that sounds, I am a lucky, lucky man in many ways.

I'm home and have 3G coverage again

Not a bad flight really. Slept for nearly half of it.

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Goodbye Cleveland, you were good to me

I'm sitting in a Paninis in Cleveland airport waiting for my flight to LA. The gods have provided me a direct fight between LA and Cleveland for the first time (we all know it was not Amex travel, or of it was, it was an accident).

I have not been keeping the Blog up to date- to be honest there has been too much going on. I will update everyone when I get back.

So back to auditing, warmer weather and smaller portion sizes. Goodbye to my Cleveland friends, cheap everything and Velvet Tango Room (so classy old blue eyes would feel under dressed).

I was very fortunate to be provided the chance to come here last year and even more so to comeback. You know my number Cleveland.

See you in 25 hours Australia (just as the 4th Cavs playoff finishes up).

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Draft pick number 1 and 2 for the Cavs

Number 1- Luis "LeBron" Vila















And number 2, Ian "James" Beaton

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It's VB day

Victory for the BlackBerry that is. The war has been raging between the iPhone and the BlackBerry and as the commentators expected, it was a hard fought battle.

When we last left off, it was equal - no clear winner. The knock down blow came Monday night when Luis and I hosted Emma and Lisa for dinner. It was a splendid meal of chicken and grape tomato pesto with a side salad of rocket (arugula as it is known over here) and parmesan cheese. This was accompanied by a bottle of Chilean wine. It was everything you could want - the food good and the company was great.

To follow this meal, Luis whipped up pineapple ice cream and fresh berries. This led Emma to think back to her childhood and how she loved picking Blackberries. She dived in and here is the photo (we refer to it as exhibit A).

Therefore, the judge awarded the final point to team BlackBerry. No one is sure exactly why points were awarded but the judges are a secretive lot and their decision is final. Speculation is that is was a combination of an iPhone user enjoying a blackberry experience and the fact that you cannot eat an iPhone. Who am I to judge the judges?- I'm no supreme court.

It is heartening to see good triumph over evil one again.


P.S. and thanks to Luis for concocting the diabolical plan.

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My last meal

Luis and I are at the Great Lakes Brewery enjoying a meal and a beer. Tomorrow is packing, final purchases and a couple of flights home.

We may head over to the Velvet Tango Room for a sneaky cocktail (thanks for the intro Emma).

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It's special time

David- THE BEST EVER

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Fancy cocktail night in Cleveland

We are at the Velvet Tango Room. A classy establishment where you are prevented from stabbing the nuts.

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If gods tears were made of chocolate with a crispy shell, they would be

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What is Chilean for Cheat?

Luis decided to start the punch buggy game. He also fake punched, double punched, google image search punched and repunched - all which are not allowed. If you are ever approached by a Chilean accountant to play punch buggy, say no or you will be disappointed in his utter contempt for the rules. He even told me he cheats when he plays it with his daughter. Shame, shame, shame

Also, he does a winning song at the end similar to the Homer Simpson “I am so smart” song. If you see him in the street, throw peanuts at him. He is the same person who brought us this http://iansprivateradio.blogspot.com/2010/04/its-ribs-and-pisco-sour-night-at-casa.html

I'm bigger than the car

I'm sure he gets keyed all the time in the US

If you can't read it, the bumper says "i'm already against the next war".

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Oh the shame

This is the "car" Luis got for the weekend. He had to leave is credit card and balls as security with Avis.

And I think it knows how I feel because every time I get out of it I get an electric shock. It is worse than the PT Cruiser I was stuck with last week. Seriously, people laugh as we drive by.

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Sunday afternoon lunch in little Italy

The hidden experiences of Cleveland.

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That is the smile of a winner

6-2

GO INDIANS.

I received 2 free tickets at the souvenir store so I hope there is a game before I leave so I can see them again (preferably a day game). It was actually really fun (as much as Clevelanders dump on it).

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We are sitting up from 3rd base

I just had a cheese burger, I have a miller lite and some peanuts. I'm at the ball game. The only thing that gives me away is the accent. We are even cheering when the crowd cheers (but we are never sure why).

Emma just called me to wave from her corporate box and show off her free beer. That was just mean.

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Excellent day for a ball game

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I'm part of the tribe

We are off to the Indians vs white sox baseball game tonight. It has been rainy and miserable all day but now, at 6PM, the clouds have lifted and the birds are singing again. Hopefully we are in for a good game (not that I would really know the difference between a good and bad game). My virginal ball game is going to include beer, hotdogs and peanuts (apparently that is a baseball staple).

Go Indians!!!

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THE ULTIMATE BATTLE

It is on. Emma (EY Global Learning bigwig) is one of those people who has gone out and picked up one of those iPhones. And we have all witnessed the transition of these people into objectophiles with their "my iPhone does this, and this, and this and blah blah". Largely Emma's position was that with Urbanspoon it could randomly select a restaurant to eat at in the area she was in. Pity no one ever actually goes to the selected restaurant and you just shake the phone over and over until the restaurant you wanted to go to comes up.

So, being the competitive and contrary shit I am, I had to declare it was indeed the Blackberry, not the iPhone, that was better. So starts the battle of the smart phones (or battle of the smart phone and the app phone. The iPhone is not smart- you install aps on it).

So, being a born-again Cavaliers fan, I downloaded the Cav's Blackberry theme so my phone is now cross between a blackberry and a basketball.

Blackberry 1, iPhone 0

In return, Emma downaloaded the song Cavaliers use in their player introduction video. I paid the fact that she could search, download and play a song so seamlessly on a single device.

Blackberry 1, iPhone 1.

Not stopping there, I set the iconic LeBron James Nike photo as my wallpaper and took a picture to send to Emma to gloat.


Emma quickly responded with a photo of her own. Note the strategically placed iPhone on the framed, wall mounted, iconic LeBron James Nike photo.


Now neither of these actions really support a one device being better than the other, but they look good. Emma gets points for creativity (I laughed so hard a little pee came out when I opened the photo) and also for effort (not real points, just figurative points).

The score is tied and it is anyone's (by anyone I mean Blackberry will win because, well, it is better)**.

** As an auditor, my views are always fair and impartial, without any hint of conflict of interest.

The sun's out and Cleveland is buzzing

This is my buzz to keep me going. Good mix of cultures I think.

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