Carmex Lip Balm - $5.99 from your local chemist or online.












I would like to thank Cat from Living With Multiple Personalities for turning my attention to this underrated lip balm. This product, as far as I can tell, is relatively new in Australia and once I tried it, I'm never going back!!

Rating: 10/10 - yep, that's right! I actually think it's better than the Blistex lip balm that I rated 10/10. Hmmm. Maybe I can give this one 10.5 out of 10?

It feels good on the lips, smells nice, and most of all, it actually moisturises. It also comes in a tube form but I have not yet been able to find this in Australia so far. Here's what it looks like:








Back in my original Lip Balm Challenge post, Cat commented that Carmex is good for taking on skiing trips. Me, I don't ski. In fact in terms of skiing I am a complete disaster area. For someone so coordinated for rollerblading, running, yoga and pilates, I am at a loss to understand this phenomenon. I tried downhill skiing near the border of Washington State and Canada after doing minimal training cross-country skiing at Lake Mountain, Victoria, Australia. For those of you who have not been to Lake Mountain, it is pretty tame compared to anywhere, let alone the USA/Canada. So, after a 1 hour lesson with a depressingly coordinated instructor, I got on the chairlift with my friend and started the climb to the "Green" run. When we neared the top, she told me "don't worry, heaps of people fall when they try to get off the chairlift". We dismounted and surprisingly, she fell and I didn't. This is going to be easy, I thought. Now, skis parallel, slightly pointed in, off we go.

Suddenly everything went blank. I was flying down the mountain, without a clue of what I had just been taught in the 1-hour lesson. Was it skis pointed in? Did you use your heels? Toes? Arms? I had no idea. All I knew was that I was going faster and faster, and I didn't have any idea how to stop.

And something else was happening. Each time I hit a bump, I was jumping off to another course. If I kept going, I would be on the black run. I was going too fast for my fear to catch up to me. I would rather swim with piranhas than go on the Black Run. That is strictly for suicidal maniacs and ridiculously outdoorsy types who actually have control over their bodies and their skis.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted as I hit another bump. I was airborne. I couldn't believe how high I was flying. I was flying so high I could hear the people on the chairlift talking. I clearly heard a girl say "Is she going to die?" as I flew past the lifts and towards a big pile of white.

*BANG!* *BANG!* BANG!*

My head hit the snow three times. I was practically buried and I couldn't see anything. My head was down the mountain and my skis were pointing up the mountain towards the sky. Somehow I had flown backwards. Everything was dark and I couldn't really move. Or could I? I wiggled my foot. Then my hands. Letting go of my poles, I dragged and dug myself out of my snowy resting place. I was okay. Well, I had a F#$%ck of a headache, but I was okay.

I looked up to see one of the officials from the ski resort standing over me. He looked extremely pissed off.

"The beginners run is THAT way." He said grumpily, then stalked off.

I started to laugh. One, because I was alive, and two, because that guy thought I was stupid enough to ever try anything like that again.

Technorati Tags: Lip Balms product review Carmex Skiing

@$$#%

Expletive expletive expletive. I tried to buy this MP3 player - Creative Muvo, as I have discussed in earlier posts is pretty much all you need as far as these things are concerned. Well, all I need anyway. And some no-talent-ass-clown pips me at the post. I mean really. It's just so rude. I was watching the whole thing unfold in front of me, quite sure I had it sorted.

Some people may suggest getting the Ebay toolbar. Perhaps, but it wouldn't have helped me in this situation...

the @$$#% person somehow managed to put in a bid EXACTLY $1 over my maximum bid when the time left reads: less than 1 minutes.

Technorati Tags: ebay bid mongrel

Photos in Order of Appearance (click to enlarge):

1. The Apollo Bay Clubhouse, 9th green. The first tee is around the corner
2. The spectacular 3rd hole, overlooking the ocean
3. The view from the 6th tee if you look behind you!
4. The 8th tee
5. The 9th tee with horses riding off into the sunset!

Witnessing the beauty of Apollo Bay Golf Course was a pretty amazing experience. I tried to compare it to another golf course but all I could come up with was Tiger Woods 2o03 on Playstation. It looks a bit like Torrey Pines with a bit of Pebble Beach thrown in. For those of you who don't know, Apollo Bay is in South Western Victoria, Australia (see map)















Firstly, the green fees for Apollo Bay Golf Course are reasonable. $20 for 18 holes - or $12 for 9 holes.

Secondly, the views are incredible. It is hard to concentrate on anything else. Fortunately, I was caddying so I didn't have to actually make the shots. I gave a couple of suggestions about club selection and I clicked for each shot.

My partner hit some truly beautiful shots and a number of pars. The dudes (locals) on the first tee were impressed by the seemingly effortless '3' on the first hole.

The conditions on the first day were gusty - a course like this gets a lot of wind, especially on the exposed seaside parts and any part of the course without a tree. The greens, well that was a different thing altogether. I saw balls skid and fly across greens like a dog on a tiled floor. There was no way this was going to be easy.

And... there are some moments where it is difficult to be a caddy. Like when my partner shot the ball into the trees and rather than taking a deep breath, walking around and doing a setup, he whacked the ball once.

I clicked.

And another.

I clicked, my mouth falling open but saying nothing.

Another whack and the ball was out. Finally.

I clicked again.

He looked at me and said "did you get all that?"

I nodded. And said nothing. Sometimes the best thing you can do as a caddy is say nothing. That's what I think anyway. I wouldn't want someone telling me what I already know I did wrong. We certainly had a big laugh about it at the hotel that night.

One of the shots landed in the ocean, so the next Srixon came out.

Another Srixon was lost in what looked like an old fishing hut from "I Know What You Did Last Summer". Either way, it was out of bounds and it would not have been the best idea to look for it, considering the high grass and rusty things lying around. Plus, I don't like snakes. I don't even care if they're actually there or not, it's just the thought of one lying in wait at the bottom of long grass...waiting for you to step on them.

There were some more great shots, and then disaster struck on the 2nd hole.

My partner sliced (?) - the one that goes to the left, anyway - the ball off the tee on the second hole into a shrubbery of wrong.

I thought that the last Srixon had left the building.

After much rummaging around and bending down to look at anything that appeared white, I suddenly heard my partner call out "here it is!"

I was relieved. The last Srixon saved. I looked up to see what looked like a frighteningly bad shot. It was like a chopping motion down into the ground and the club didn't seem to go anywhere at all. I went from relieved to horrified. But suddenly, the ball trickled out of the underbrush, down the massive hill and onto the fairway again. Go figure. I have a lot to learn about golf. These 3 days of golf were so much fun and very relaxing. The sea air is very good for the health.

Anyway, these are the Srixon balls (around $15)


















They certainly performed well on the 3 consecutive days of golf. They are designed for high wind conditions and they certainly did what they were supposed to do.

Technorati Tags: Golf course 18 holes Apollo Bay Srixon