Saturday, September 24, 2005
what do swans, the beach, and 200 have in common?
this is my 200th post! hooray. who would have ever thought? certainly not me, yet here i am.
so it is morning here in sydney australia, another beautiful day in paradise. i am literally moments away from leaving the house to return to the beach for my first day of work in a while. the beaches are about to be open for the next 7 months. in addition to a full time pay check, i will also be getting a tan and paid exercise and once again living the life style of a beach bum. it is a rough life, but someone has to do it (and get paid for it), so why not me?
the only draw back today is that fact that the AFL grand final is playing today. the game is the sydney swans vs. the west coast eagles (from perth). sydney, as a city, is going a bit crazy. there has been a crescendo of anxiety and exuberance since the swans obtained a finals berth. the swans have not been to the grand final in more than 70 years, so it is a bit like the boston red sox making the world series last year, but with 1/2 the craziness involved. had i been grown up in australia, aussie rules football would have been the game i would have played. it just looks like so much fun. (for all you americans, yes, it is the game that they play on an oval field and pretty much run around kicking and punching the ball while crash tackling each other, when a team scores they kick the ball through the sticks, and the umpire points his fingers). my first experience of an AFL game was at the MCG in melbourne several years ago. i was drunk before the second quarter began, but so was everyone else, yet the game was totally amazing. i was in awe at the enomity of the football field. it was like running around on three soccer fields for four twenty minute quarters. television does not give this game any justice.
alright that is enough for now, i have to go to work. my prediction- the swans by 22 points. so while the game is playing out, i will be sitting on the beach catching rays, but with the radio tuned in to the game. go swans!
so it is morning here in sydney australia, another beautiful day in paradise. i am literally moments away from leaving the house to return to the beach for my first day of work in a while. the beaches are about to be open for the next 7 months. in addition to a full time pay check, i will also be getting a tan and paid exercise and once again living the life style of a beach bum. it is a rough life, but someone has to do it (and get paid for it), so why not me?
the only draw back today is that fact that the AFL grand final is playing today. the game is the sydney swans vs. the west coast eagles (from perth). sydney, as a city, is going a bit crazy. there has been a crescendo of anxiety and exuberance since the swans obtained a finals berth. the swans have not been to the grand final in more than 70 years, so it is a bit like the boston red sox making the world series last year, but with 1/2 the craziness involved. had i been grown up in australia, aussie rules football would have been the game i would have played. it just looks like so much fun. (for all you americans, yes, it is the game that they play on an oval field and pretty much run around kicking and punching the ball while crash tackling each other, when a team scores they kick the ball through the sticks, and the umpire points his fingers). my first experience of an AFL game was at the MCG in melbourne several years ago. i was drunk before the second quarter began, but so was everyone else, yet the game was totally amazing. i was in awe at the enomity of the football field. it was like running around on three soccer fields for four twenty minute quarters. television does not give this game any justice.
alright that is enough for now, i have to go to work. my prediction- the swans by 22 points. so while the game is playing out, i will be sitting on the beach catching rays, but with the radio tuned in to the game. go swans!
