I believe the time people put in working, running errands, going to the gym and all the other daily stuff we feel we have to do starts to take its toll on how we live and think. This is a big reason why Tom and I decided to pack up and leave for a little while...to put things in perspective, do a bit of work on the road and to surf (ok...learn to surf for me).

My surfing experience is limited to three times...once in New Zealand, once in Australia and one time in Costa Rica where an encounter with a jellyfish put my surfing attempts on hold. But now, since we have stopped in the Baja and there are some good learning beaches, I have decided to dedicate a few months to surfing, though the extent of my abilities so far is to stand up on my board. I'm working on it.

A few things beginner surfers need to know and remember: it is not as easy as it looks. No matter how athletic you are, expect to fall over and over and over again; practice makes perfect. Coordination, decent physical fitness and sheer determination (stubbornness...call it what you will) to get back up and keep trying are ideal traits if you want to learn how to surf.

I have noticed that some of the quirkiest stories come from Australia and New Zealand. I wonder if it is because major news organization are run out of the UK and we all know how Britons like to tease those from down under.

This story is no exception. Although it was originally reported by the New Zealand Herald, the BBC now has it on their site. "A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon," the New Zealand Herald has reported.

William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy. It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks. It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence. Mr Singalargh is due to appear in court on 17 April. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

The police spokesman said the suspect was arrested "for assault with a weapon, namely the hedgehog."

I wonder how long it will take TSA to add hedgehog to their list of illegal weapons.

I'm going to admit to a little ignorance about this strange story in the New Zealand Herald this morning, concerning an Air New Zealand flight yesterday that was fumigated with passengers still on board.

A man is complaining of a sore throat, and a baby caught in the noxious fog gagged and threw up.

Passengers were left with no official explanation for the spraying, but one traveler who spoke to the Herald said that one of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officers who carried out the spraying explained that the airplane had its "bio-security certificate" expire and thus needed manual fumigation.

The plane had come from Fiji and was fumigated on the tarmac of Auckland International Airport.

I can sum up my ignorance thusly: Just what is a airplane bio-security certificate? It seems to me that this is something particular to New Zealand; there is, after all, an official agency called the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Bio-security New Zealand. But then again, maybe this is something so common as to usually be ignored.

What doesn't seem common is dousing a bunch of passengers with chemicals while they sit in their seats, covering their noses and trying not to breath too much. One man described the ordeal as like a sauna, only without the heat.

Next time your pissed sitting on the tarmac be at least thankful that the plane's doors do not fly open and man in gas masks come on board.

Winding down the coast led us to San Francisco, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. It has a great vibe and extremely friendly people. The freeway was crazy but we managed to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into the city. The first night we decided to stay in a nice hotel, as it was my birthday (so we thought, but it was actually the following day, I guess we really lost track of time). I chose Hotel Kabuki, a Japanese-style hotel, for my so-called birthday treat. Tom and I lived in Japan for a year and I often miss the oddities that I discovered while living there.

The hotel is located in Japantown. Japantown in San Francisco is one of the oldest settlements of its kind in the US. It was apparently much larger at one point but after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were put into camps by the US government leaving the neighborhood vacant and open to others looking for a place to settle. Though many Japanese returned to the area it was never to be the same. The area has recovered well and offers a vibrant little community teaming with sushi restaurants, shops, izakayas, and all those cute characters like Hello Kitty.

An Aussie backpacker won US$830,000 in a lottery after he impulsively decided to buy a ticket when he arrived to New Zealand. Before becoming a millionaire in Kiwi-land, the plan was to travel around the country for a few months, fruit picking on the way. "However, we will now be able to travel in a bit more style," he says.

This story made me wonder: if I won the lottery, how would that change my plans?

Honestly, I'd still backpack. I repel 5-star hotels. Other than a luxurious bath, they really have nothing to offer and they make me feel like I am living in a posh, protected bubble that hides everything real the place I'm visiting has to offer. Paying a fortune for a clean bed makes no sense to me and often makes me feel sick.

This feeling was reemphasized lately when I went to Barcelona for work and I was put up in the Arts Hotel -- the most expensive hotel in the city. Everyone spoke English, I was surrounded by every nationality except Spaniards, a measly and tasteless coffee cost me €5(!!), and there was no place in my vicinity (other than a grubby Chinese restaurant) where I could eat for less than €20. I would much rather have stayed in a cheap little hostel in the city center where I would meet cool people (who don't have a pole up their backside or a $ sign on their forehead) and have access to cheap local food and bars where the Catalans hang.

So if I won the jackpot, I would invest some of the money in assets that would generate consistent revenue so I could spend more time more often on the road; the rest I would give to some cause. What would you do?

It is not often you hear about women trying to hijack planes, but I guess it was bound to happen with the closing gap of gender opportunities.

As reported by Herald Sun, a 33-year-old New Zealand woman of Somali descent boarded a 19-seat plane headed from Blenheim to Christchurch earlier today and about ten minutes after take-off she demanded to be flown to Australia. She rushed into the cockpit and stabbed one pilot in the hand and the other in the foot, claiming she was going to detonate the two bombs she brought on board. She was subdued by the co-pilot as the twin-propeller plane came in to land at Christchurch, and arrested after landing.

Passengers on regional flights in New Zealand apparently do not have their carry-on luggage screened. That's why she was able to smuggle a knife on to the plane. No bombs were found.

I feel bad for pilots these days, I really do.

How was New Year's Eve in your neck of the woods?

If you were a little disappointed with how it turned out, don't wait a full year before your next opportunity for end of year shenanigans. Just hop on a plane/train/taxi or chartered donkey and head overseas to intercept the coming of the new year in a different culture.

Chinese New Year kicks off on February 7 in 2008. Welcome to the Year of the Rat.

Around March 21, the Persian New Year or Nowruz is celebrated in Iran and across Central Asia. The traditional meal is Sabzi Polo Mahi, rice with green herbs and fish.

The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand celebrate Matariki or Maori New Year on June 5 2008. In the 21st century Matariki has been celebrated with renewed interest.

The Ethiopian New Year or Enkutatash falls on September 11. Because the Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the western calendar, the Millennium was only celebrated in Ethiopia last year.

That's by no means a definitive list. Let us know about other opportunities for celebrating the New Year in other cultures and countries.

Thanks to kenyaoa on Flickr for the pic of Times Square

I suppose I was in a bit of an adventurous spirit this morning when I came across this fine photograph in our Gadling Flickr Pool. Yes, I've bungee jumped before, but it was nowhere as spectacular as this legendary location in New Zealand. Just look at that water! What a beautiful end to a 43 meter bungee jump to be able to briefly soak your head before being whipped back up towards the bridge.

Hats off to MonkeyWobble for capturing this fine shot. I just wish we could have seen a close-up on that bungee jumper's face as well.

If you have any equally inspiring photos you'd like to share with us at Gadling, pay a visit to our Flickr Pool and upload away.

When I was researching New Zealand's Hermitage hotel a few weeks back for Lonely Planet, I had no idea of the weird no-brain stuff happening behind its flash doors. Maybe it was the altitude and mountain air - the Hermitage is right beside Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest peak - but a recent guest had a bit of culinary trouble in her room.

Hotel staff were called when an American guest in her mid 40s complained she couldn't get her frozen ham and pineapple pizza out of the microwave. Turns out she'd jammed the doughy treat in the lockable room safe, hit a few random numbers she thought stood for 3 minutes on high, and waited for her meaty, cheesy snack to emerge.

Is the appropriate response laughter or sympathy in such a case?

Scary.

Thanks to feeb on Flickr for the pic of a pop tart retrieval process.

Yep, eveyone's favourite reindeer is on the loose, and a week out from Christmas has already been sighted above New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

Click here to see a larger image of this Yuletide-friendly cloud formation that was snapped by Kiwi photographer Alan Blacklock as he sat in his back garden.

He's adamant it's not the result of some Photoshop jiggery pokery, a stance backed up by the boffins at New Zealand's MetService. Apparently it's the result of light cirrus clouds being blown by a few winds in different directions. Go figure.

Let us know if you've seen any other quirky cloud formations that made you look twice.