February 2008 Archives

I mentioned yesterday that I had been to the Cricket, and very much enjoyed the outing, though the slow play, and low scoring was not as exciting as it might have been.

But, that was not the only excitement for the day, which was of the sort I could have gladly done without.

Because I was busy at work, backing up for a couple of colleagues, I left much later than most of my colleagues to go to the match. I and another cricket lover, arrived at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) at around 3.30pm and parked in the Car Park, and wandered over to the stadium, and I reached in my handbag to send a quick text to those who were already there, and discovered that my mobile phone was not there...

Momentary panic, then I thought it must be in the car, because I had answered a call shortly before we got to the ground, so I rushed back to the car. Not in the driver's seat, and not in the boot, from which I had pulled my carry bag. I shuffled through my handbag again, through the carrybag, checked the car again, but still no phone...

No joy with a nearby parking attendant, either, so I slowly started trudging back to where my colleague was waiting for me, thinking that I would have to get the SIM card cancelled, the inconvenience of not having the phone, the cost of replacement, yada yada yada...

Three or four rows away from where I had parked the car, I spotted a shiny rectangular black object on the ground near a parked car, and to my delight, there was the phone. A mighty sigh of relief, then when we found our seats, a good laugh about it all, and all was well.

Friday week ago, I managed to persuade a few of my colleagues to go to one of the pre-season AFL matches, to see my beloved Saints thump the Richmond Tigers, and this week's match was held in Canberra so I was forced to watch this afternoon on TV when the promising signs from last week for the Saints were built on with a fighting victory against last year's Premiers, the Geelong Cats.

Having a bit of a sporting week, really, having gone to the Australia vs Sri Lanka one day cricket match last night, which was very enjoyable, from the point of view of watching the crowd, and a little cricket on the side. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see some of my favourite Aussie batsmen in full flight, and as it was one of the last times Adam Gilchrist will play in Melbourne, it was disappointing when he went out, even before I had arrived at the ground.

The Sri Lankan supporters in the crowd were in good form for the first part of the match with beating drums, flags flying as they thoroughly enjoyed the fall of early Aussie wickets before the revival of fortunes put in place by Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey, and perhaps the future Australian Captain, Michael Clarke. The almost primeval beat of the drums provided atmosphere not provided in the mostly dour struggle out on the cricket ground and rain stopped play in the 30th over of the Sri Lankan innings, providing Australia with a 24 run victory in te Duckworth Lewis system, a strange way of calculating the winner when a game is cut short by wet weather.

Next Friday night, provides yet another opportunity for enjoying my passion for the Saints, with a Semi Final game between St Kilda and Essendon at the Docklands Stadium, and might provide another opportunity for an outing with some other like minded sports fans...

In our continuing pursuit of a better level of fitness, G and I headed off to our weekly outing to Street Orienteering, though the temperature was hovering around 35 deg C yesterday evening, and although there was a breeze blowing, it was not cool. By the time we'd finished, I was knackered, having consumed 750ml of liquid on the way around, and still being thirsty at the end.

And because we were so hot, we didn't even feel like going out to dinner afterwards, so we just went home and had a refreshing shower before we made sandwiches... and drank lots of water, and thought about how silly it was to walk in that heat...

Until next time, that is...

Not too much on this weekend, other than the previously mentioned football match, as G on night duty, leaving me to watch as much sport on TV as I can bear to watch. This involved 2 AFL preseason matches and today's one day International between Australia and India.

Pre-lunch on Saturday Pink Ukulele and Y dropped in for coffee, on their way to somewhere else.

Last night, I was just preparing for the start of the first footy match and the doorbell rang. There were my s-i-l, b-i-l and niece, in town after going to a show in town, looking for an introduction to Coco...and a cool drink (Not to visit me.... or Gaz who happened to have not long left for work!)

Well, hey guys, the cat's gorgeous, but it's all about ME!!!

Last time they were here Coco had been despatched to the local vet's accommodation for cats, as we had a party for 50 plus people in the house after Pink Ukulele and Y's wedding in July, and Coco is not too keen on people in the house en masse. So when the guests arrived yesterday, Coco vanished briefly after the initial introductions, but found she could not help herself, and had to come back into the family room to check out these pesky visitors. As B would dearly have loved to make friends with Coco, of course it was A who made friends first, and only later in the visit that B managed to get a pat, at all.

Then, tonight an extended conversation with Aussie Lass about possibilities for a holiday in Europe later in the year...Provence, or Alsace or Brittany, or maybe all three. Aaah, the joy of anticipation...

A warm Friday evening in February is not the usual precursor for a night of AFL football, because footy is, in my mind, at least, usually played in cold, damp wintry conditions. But the pre-season has commenced, and my beloved Saints were to play at the Docklands Stadium, so what better idea, than to go and get a fix of red, white and black athletic talent. Also a great opportunity to introduce a new Kiwi friend to the game, and maybe to find another person to accompany me to the footy when the season proper commences in late March. (Not that I really need a companion, it is great fun to strike up a conversation with a fellow footy tragic, even if they barrack for the opposition)

The evening started with an early dinner on the water front, and a leisurely stroll back to the stadium, queuing to get our tickets

I haven't been living in Melbourne for long enough to lose the sense of excitement of actually being at the game, to see the players doing their warm-up routines, and hearing roar at the first ball up or the groans when a silly mistake occurs. Thankfully, on Friday night it was the opposition who made the most mistakes, and the Saints finished clearly on top, with a satisfying number of top players sitting on the sidelines.

Of course, I have to stay to sing the Saints war cry at the finish, and the other exciting thing is to live close enough to the stadium that I can get home in time to watch most of the last quarter of play on delayed telecast...

Confidence can be a fragile thing. Gradually won, over time. Developing a thick skin seems like a good thing to do, and in practice is harder to achieve, but is an important way to cope with consequences of actions, whether mine or those of others.

Being left with someone else's projects to bring to fruition provides a bit of a boost, but following through and making sure they were completed, is better.

Support from others, and just knowing that they are there for advice also provides a platform for increasing self assurance.

Sometimes, though, the only way to be sure of something is to ask.

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
"Pooh!" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.
"I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A.A. Milne

Another night when sleep seems far away…

I have got various techniques for coping when sleep is hard to find, including getting out of bed, making a cup of tea, some toast (with peanut butter and a slice of tasty cheese), or writing down what I was thinking about, so I don’t forget that really important thing that has popped into my mind and is keeping me awake.

Another technique is to try to slow the rate of thinking down, in order to allow the brain to switch off. But somehow, it doesn’t always seem to work

Sometimes, lying in the dark, I rehearse the conversations I would like to have, and would have if the timing was right and by the time I fall asleep, they are perfect…, just unsaid.

Last night, further distraction from the joy of sleep was intermittent rain: sometimes large, and widely spaced drops (so it seemed) which smacked the awning outside our window, and at other times short downpours thumping down to replenish the parched earth. In the distance, thunder rolled and the humid conditions which have prevailed over the past few days finally came to a climax and we got some rain. And I stayed awake.

In the wee hours of the morning, one other sleepless night, some years ago, I heard someone on early morning radio advise that one should count backwards from 33 down to zero, and start again from 33 every time the mind wanders.

I have tried this technique, and now use it in French rather than English, as it makes me concentrate more

Trente trois, trente deux, trente et un…..

zzzzz

Well, I don't know where the last month has gone, really. Swamped in a sea of work, after an initial slow start to the New Year, I have managed to get renewed enthusiasm from the depths of somewhere, and it's been all systems go at work, with just a few minor hiccoughs along the way.

Let me see, where have I been? Well I continue to go Street Orienteering on Tuesday nights in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, and gradually showing some improvement. maybe my legs will even look a little shapelier, after power walking up hills and down dales, across creeks, through parks in search of the elusive checkpoints. This walking involves walking as fast as we can, after we get through the initial pain barrier where, i think, lack of oxygen to the calf muscles means that for the first fifteen minutes my legs are screaming at me- why, why why....?

One week, I was lucky to be given a ride by a lovely neighbours to Street O, but somewhere the driver lost his sense of direction, and we ended up doing a lovely scenic tour of Footscray, Braybrook and Sunshine before eventually, but surely finding our way to Caroline Springs to do our stuff. it was much more interesting that going straight there, and I saw some urban landscape that I'd never seen before.

Maybe the answer to many of my problems is to realise that the journey is just as important as the end destination, and we should enjoy what we've got, while we've got it, for there is humour to be found in every situation.