A bit of catch up

 Entrance

Sorry its been so long guys.  After all the essays I've been writing recently, I am quickly realizing how awesome being able to write on this is.  I don't care if I spell something wrong, use the word it, and I don't have to reference a damn thing.  Freedom I tell you.  Fragments, run-ons, hell I love IT all.  Here is a quick catch up with life.  

Sunday was the International Food Festival.  All the international kids went to the kitchens to make dishes from their various countries.  Luckily there are a hundred Americans so I got to eat instead of cook, though their buffalo wings were a huge let down.  The day was full of perfect weather and free food.  Awesome.  Ant and Sam also played for everyone.  Their performance was great as always and I'll get a video up sooner rather than later.  After all the food I was invited to play soccer.  My fragile ego had been slightly repaired from Friday's basketball outing so I figured why not, it couldn't be worse.  The game actually started out fine.  I remembered how to kick the ball, run, and pass.  Amazing.  Of course it didn't take long for the shin splints to kick in.  From a gazelle to a turtle I slowly hobbled around the field.  Then a quick tweak of the old fucking knee and my day was done.  I am so not cut out for this shit anymore. 

On Thursday night a group of us went out to the Illawara for a night of retro dancing and drinking.  Wado and I had purchased a bottle of gin and made gin and tonics to get a break from the goon.  The liquor was flowing smoothly so before we knew it, we had finished the bottle.  Then we stood up.  As we made are way to downtown Gong, I was able to sober up a bit.  Apparently, a bit was not enough.  See Illawara is notorious for the biggest douche bag bouncers and is the hardest bar to get into.  Once at the front of the line I was asked how many drinks I had so far.  My answer may have not been the smoothest, ("Uhhhhh four or five maybe") but I was completely coherent...and ready to dance.  Instead of the door opening, I was asked to stand to the side.  Why you ask, I have no idea.  I stood there as I watched the rest of my friends stand by the door after they had been admitted.  There we all were, well them and me maybe five feet away.  They looked at me and asked what I was doing and asked the bouncers why I had to stand there.  "Because I am a revolutionary!" was my response.  (I may have fumbled revolutionary a bit as well but come on.  That's a bit of a doozy anyways)  The bouncers finally got fed up with all of us standing there and signaled for me to go inside.  Thanks guys.  Good thing you made me stand there for five minutes.  That was real productive.  Dick heads.  The night was good besides that.  

Since school hasn't been much of a priority for me, I have turned my focus to training Mr. Sam Wade.  Its been a wearing journey with all his bitching and moaning, but we have reached week 3.  Already there has been drastic improvements in strength, weight loss, and appearance.  I may have found my new calling.  With three more weeks to go, there is still a lot of work to be done, but I promise you, I will turn that little boy into a man.  

During our trip to the gym today quite an event occurred.  On the weekends there are recreational rugby games held at the ovals near the gym.  There was one such game on the field next to the gym.  Wado and I happened to be conveniently riding the bikes the look right down on the field.  Within about three minutes there was a scuffle and an all out fight broke out.  Three pairs were teeing off on each other while everyone else shoved right and left.  One pair separated from the scuffle.  One of the guys grabbed the other's collar and ripped his dead towards his incoming fist for a direct hit.  The fight soon ended and the game had about a two minute intermission.  Soon it resumed with no penalties.  No harm, no foul.  Apparently the fight was no big deal and there is one most games.  Damn, Australians sure got their sports right.  I only wish lacrosse had been like that.  Bravo.  

A group of us also went to the biggest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere today.  There were people all over and a large group was singing and praying in the main shrine.  It was awesome and I no one that had been there had seen the place actually crowded before.  The place was extremely relaxing and enlightening.  Enjoy the pics.  

Well tomorrow is the start of the last week of the session.  I wish I would have counted the number of classes I've gone to, however I don't wish for my parents to know that information.  I remember the last week being such a big deal back home.  Like a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.  Well here there is no light at the end of the tunnel, because there is no tunnel.  It's not a big deal at all.  If anything I look forward to being done so I can get back home and back to real school so I don't feel like such a worthless sack of shit anymore.  All that is left is an essay, quiz, and a final.  I'll let you know how it ends.  

Baseketball

I considered myself a fairly athletic male.  I was competitive and loved to play all sorts of sports.  This all came to a screeching halt on Friday.  See I have never played a game of basketball in my life (a sad truth, and one of my many short comings), and for some reason I agreed to play with a bunch of people that I had recently met.  They all said they weren't very good so I figured/hoped I wouldn't stick out too much.  I was wrong, dead wrong.  I would compare the experience to a Texan on a double black, a blind man playing baseball, or a quadriplegic UFC fighter.  Too say the least, it was awful.  Nearly every time I got the ball I immediately passed or got the ball stolen attempting to dribble.  Every offensive possession I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off.  I thought I would have at least been able to play defense but I had no idea how rough I could be so I ended up taking multiple elbows in the chest and getting pushed around as if I were on ice.  The game was one of the worst sporting experiences of my life and was just the kind of impression I wanted to give to the new group.  The one highlight came when I pulled up (meaning came to a dead stop and shot) for a five foot jumper that I actually made.  A flicker of hope that was immediately extinguished the next time my team was forced to pass the ball to the 12 year old running around in a bulky knee brace.  I think this was the first and last time I ever try to play a game of basketball.  Its been real, but I guess some things aren't meant to be.

As I trudged away from the gym with my head held low, I was passed by a gang of about six uni students........on razor scooters.  "Maybe they are more of the type of athletes I should be associating with at this point," I thought to myself.

A bit of luck

Though my life has been fairly un-blog-worthy for the past few weeks, the weekend brought a wonderful story.  My friend Gabby had her boyfriend in town and recruited me to be their travel guide up Mt. Kierra. I had hiked it twice so I was the American expert.  The walk up went smoothly, and a good workout was achieved.  As we were cascading down the mountain, I took a step and heard a shrill.  Mike, the boyfriend, grabbed his girlfriend and jumped backward.  I looked down and saw a pissed off snake, standing straight up.  This thing was mean.  It charged at us and struck left and right.  We grabbed some sticks and poked at it a bit as we went around at a good distance.  Given its dark color and extreme aggressiveness, I'm pretty sure it was a brown snake.  Now a brown snake will kill you in 30 minutes if you don't get anti-venom.  That means that I'm one lucky son of a bitch.  I tip my hat off to Mike for grabbing Gabby, and I look down upon myself for being a dumb ass and not seeing the thing myself.  Well I guess Australia really does have poisonous creatures.  Can't wait to hike Kierra again!

Bad Luck/Dream

Sunday I decided to go for a hike up Mt. Kierra.  It's the local "mountain" but is more of a hill.  After getting to the top I decided to meander around for a bit, seeing if I could find anything cool.  As I was climbing down a slanted rock wall, I slipped on some wet moss that covered the slab.  I lashed out for the nearest tree.  Wrong tree.  I removed my hand to find it covered in thorns.  Now my hand has chicken pox and 20 splinters.  Lucky Day.

Dead asleep I laid, dreaming of something horrible.  I can't tell you what it was about , but this must have been the first nightmare I have had in years.  My eyes shot open.  Wide awake my heart pounded, no it was more than that.  It felt like there was a jackhammer in my chest, hammering away at my rib cage.  My hands lurched toward the excruciating pain.  Back and forth I rolled waiting for this pseudo-heart attack to end.  "Breath slowly, deep breaths," I thought.  I have to lower my heart rate.  "In and out, in and out."  Then nothing.  From fears of death, to frustration for being up at 3:30 in the fucking morning, and back to sleep in an instant.  The morning came and I asked myself if that really happened, or if the whole thing was all a dream.  A pain lingered in my chest.  Confirmed.  Nightmares suck.

Bus Stop Blues

Everyday around 5:30 endless crowds form at the Uni bus stop.  The majority of them are looking for the C bus, including myself.  As soon as one of those babies comes into sight, the race is on.  The hordes move like crashing waves towards the approaching vessel.  Here all personal boundaries are broken.  Feet are stepped on, girls are pushed, and backpacks are used as blunt objects in second degree assaults.  I bet this is the best part of the day for the bus drivers.  They get to choose whatever spot they please, only to watch the ensuing battle.  Often times they will pull over 25 meters short of the stop and enjoy the mad dash for the door.  Of course things change when people get on the bus.  It's as if they're on vacation.  They sit wherever they want, making sure not to be too close to everyone else.  As soon as the seats are taken, instead of pushing to the back, the aisle will fill about half way from the back.  The front gets jammed with people, while the back stays cool and open with space for a hammock and a bar.  The bus often pulls away when no inch of space is left in the front, leaving dozens of long faces in the dust, while the people in the back stretch their legs and relax for the upcoming ride.  It's a cruel world we live in, but that's how the bus stop works.  Sad but true.  Those people just better hope I'm not that long face left behind.  Otherwise....Oh it's on.

PG Language dedicated to Pattie Danford.

The Movies

Well, as the breaks have finally come to an end I have been continuously reminded of why I am here. My education.  It seems that my assignments, as well as everyone else's, are all due very soon.  This is becoming a big problem since my motivational tank is on E.  I have receiving a few grades so far and I find myself not looking at the overall percent, but how far above the 50% mark I am.  All I have to say is if it wasn't pass fail down here, I would be in a very bad place.  Really though, with classes like Dreams in Literature, what do you expect?

Since everyone is doing work nothing much has been going on.  Next weekend I plan to go to Sydney for a night on the town and I am looking into taking a trip down to Melbourne for the study recess (God knows I wouldn't actually use the break to study).

One thing I can comment on is my recent trip to the movies.  Last night I went to go see the movie Thor with some friends.  In my opinion, crap movie.  Skip it.  The real experience came in the movie theatre.  We entered the movie theatre looking to buy our tickets, however there was no booth or sales desk that you usually buy your tickets at.  Instead we bought them at the concession stand....for $15.50, ouch.  Jacob made the mistake of purchasing a medium drink and a small bag of skittles....26.50.  We then made our way to the screening room.  In the distance, past a 12 foot blank space of carpet, there was a small theatre screen.  As usual, we made our way higher up to avoid neck damage (plus the seats up close smelled like crap).  As I plopped down in my sticky, cracked pleather, covered in popcorn seat I peered at the screen in the distance.  Good thing I wore my glasses.  That bitch was far.  All around the place was littered with food and candy bags.  At least these seats smelled better.  I soon settled in to what would be a typical hero film.  At least Natalie Portman is gorgeous.  I left the theatre in need of a shower, but at least I was in good company.  I'll be skipping the next trip to that shit hole.  AMC 24, I took you for advantage.  You are the grey goose of movie theaters, and I just had a taste Mcormick's.  How I miss you.