Back to Real Footy

Yesterday evening, I joined Mum, Melissa and Clinton, and Jessie and Heath for Hawthorn's first match for the year, being Round One of the NAB Cup, against Melbourne. This has been my first real footy match for a year and a half - a long drought for me!

We arrived at the Telstra Dome on the tram, and found seats on the bottom level. Level One is a treat for pre-season matches for us, because during the main season, Hawthorn members never seem to have privledges for this level.

The pre-season is all about trying out new players for the team, and adjusting your concentration levels, depth perception and long range visual focus for the fans! Learning the names and numbers of new players is usually a task during these matches, and for me, with just 11 players recognisable from my last footy season at home, there are many new players to remember.

A see-sawing match in the twilight hours, the lead changed several times, with bursts by both teams. Skill errors and inexperience aplenty in the first offical hit out of the year, the Hawks pumped home in the end, by 24 points. A happy team at Hawthorn!

Tracey the Hen

Last night I went along to the Limerick Hotel, in South Melbourne, for Tracey's Hen's Night. On arrival the party were easy to spot, with the bride to be decked out in veil, flashing bride-to-be sash, and feathers and a pink L plate on her bum!

Meeting loads of Tracey's friend's, Kara then arrived, and the two of us and the Hen caught up on respective lives post high school, and post high school reunion.

Dinner and drinks was the plan, and these kicked off with gusto. Just as our meals ended, the band started...and was it my imagination, or did they seem to play songs that centered around high school times for us!??

Dancing and general mucking about ensued. Was great to catch up with Kara and Tracey, and see Miss Tracey set to embark on that wedding and married life she has always dreamed of, right from high school! Next weekend she'll be a Mrs!!

Welcome to the World Baby Boy and Baby Girl!

So little, and so cute, Andrea's twins arrived on Monday, the 19th!

A boy, Cooper Gregory, and a girl, Charli Belle. A set!

I went up to visit today, and catch up with proud and very happy Mum Andrea and dad Dean. Arriving around feed time, I even got to feed little Charli!

Little fingers and toes, and such tiny little heads and bodies. So lovely!

Dom and Jason, and Sneeze!

I traveled down to Melbourne, and down to Melissa and Clinton's in the heat on Saturday, to attend the engagement party of Dominica and Jason. Dom accepted Jason's proposal in the UK quite a while ago, but during their stopover here at Dom's hometown, they have had a chance to celebrate with her family and friends. Held at Dom's parents home in Kew, the scene was decked out in Chinese lanterns, for the Chinese New Year, and the fact that the happy couple are about to live in China.

Meeting long time friends and family of Dom's, and catching up with both Dom and Jason, as the sun baked on. Speeches were made, and the couple was toasted numerous times. Congrats to them both!

On Sunday, plans to head to the MCG for the Shane Warne tribute Twenty/20 were ditched in light of the 38C temperatures...and a backyard BBQ was enjoyed instead at Melissa and Clinton's, with Jess and Noodles.

We then packed a picnic of goodies and went down to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, for this years Tropfest. Having never been to either, we set up ready for a night of film, wine and food.

Joined by Danielle and Kumi, Watty, Diana and Wendy, our little picnic got started, just before the rain got started! A shower here and there, umbrellas were up and then down again. The ominous clouds up above pelted down cooling rain, and then would stop just as abruptly.

Just before the films got started, we sought shelter under the big sail of the bowl...and the short films began. This year's signature item was Sneeze, meaning each film entered needed to have a senze in their film somewhere. It was interesting to see how creative and funny the placements were.

The two standouts for me in the 16 screened finalists were Road Rage, and the eventual winner of the night, An Imaginary Life. Road Rage showed a minor bingle on the road between two male drivers, and the altercation after, which turned into one man comforting the other as he told of his lifes woes. Eventually a long line of cars backed up, and soon their male drivers too were all sharing the sympathy - great promo for men's mental health!

An Imaginary Life was the story of what happens to children's imaginary friends when they get forgotten about. A mixture of animation and real life stills, this one was funny and cute.

A testiment to this film festival, in that despite the pelting rain, and the baking heat to start with, the crowd stayed throughout. Laughter, a collective ewwwwwww for Bad Yoghurt, and clapping ensured for each short film.

This Close To Selling Fruit At Intersections!

One quote from one of my all time favorite movies resonates a little loud today. The search for work continues, and trolling through job sites and organisations that I want to work for, looking for a suitable job, can be very wearing.

While starting to have doubts about whether I will ever work again, and the old maybe-I-should-just-do-anything thoughts (however I did promise myself that I will not wipe arses again!! And I think that will stand as a metaphoric for all crappy jobs I could think of!), and the distinct lack of funds that the dole offers....

This morning, however, I was thrown a glimmer of hope, with a call about a job interview for next week. Phew!! Not all hope is lost! My resume is not totally rubbish, and I will not have to take just any old job. A sign at least, that it's all just a mater of process!

Cricket Farse

I traveled down to Melbourne on the train on Friday, to get to the MCG for the first One Day International Final, between Australia and England.

The crowd was low, and just 10 minutes into the start of play, the first people from the bottom of the Southern Stand were evicted. The Fun Police were out in force! Two girls were escorted out for skulling a beer each, after the encouragement of the yobs around them - surely this is not an evictable offence! The mexican wave, although newly banned from the MCG, has never had so much participation, and has never been so easy to get going!

Brad come and joined me after work, and soon Ash did too, as we watched a fairly slow limited overs of cricket. I haven't been to a One Day match for years, although the prospect of no cricket for at least 10 months, and the fact that I had attended a whole 30 days of test cricket in 2006, I was a little worried about withdrawal! But the One Day game is just not the same.

I also haven't seen Australia lose for a long time, in fact, not since that dreaded day at The Oval. Friday night saw the emergence of ugly sore loser yobs spilling out of the MCG after the match. Much of a nothingness to me though, and a reminder that the real game in played in white, during the day, over five days!

I met up with Jessie and Heath after the game, and we headed back to his place for the night, and some Davis Cup action on TV. We three went over to Carlton North in the morning, and then met Jenny and Little Miss Ella for brunch in Fitzroy at Tin Pot, before I made it back on the train to the 'Rat.

Kiddies Everywhere!

There seems to be children everywhere here in Ballarat! Catching up with people at home means meeting new additions, or reaquainting with someone who has grown considerably!

Last Thursday I catch up with Mel at Gee Cee's for lunch and coffee. After that, we went to school to pick up Kaiyn...from Grade 2!! Turning 7 at the end of this month, that little one has grown so much! Quite the little man now.

This Thursday, after tracking her down, I managed to have coffee with Jenny and Michelle...and their new addition to the family. When I called them I jokingly asked if they still had just the two children - the answer, no, they had just had another, a month ago! Thursday was Alkira's first day of primary school (another growing very fast!), and so after they could finally tear themselves away from that, we had coffee at Cafe Companis. Little Yuri was just a baby when I last saw him - now he is a cheeky and entertaining toddler! And one month old Dante, just a big bundle of baby!

Yesterday I caught up with Katie, and her two lovely girls. Juliette is almost two now, and such a chatterbox. Tiny Madeline is almost two months old now. Was great to see Katie, who I haven't seen for ages...and who just lives around the corner.