Wow, ok. Apparently if I wait a while between posts, everything starts to blend together.
I believe I left you after 2 of surfing, so I will start there.
The last two days of surfing were a lot choppier than the first two, so you didn't feel as if you had made much progress, when, in reality, you had.
The surfing was great, and you were hella sore afterwards, but I gotta say, if you're ever in Australia's West and need a place to chill out, hit the Lancelin Lodge. It is so laid back, and there's hardly anything to do there but surf and windsurf, so I tore through a couple books and played a lot of cards. You really don't spend money, except on food, because there is one pub, and no other entertainment, and the pub closes at 10 on weekdays. Such a cool little town. Write it down.
Anyway, we headed back to Perth, and, with no other major plans before heading to Melbourne, I stuck with the British couple (Pete and Rachel) and headed to Fremantle again.
Now the first time I was in Fremantle we were there for about 4 hours. That is not enough time to enjoy Fremantle. This time we were there for two nights, arriving late and leaving early, so essentially one full day and one night. This is too much time, but, really, too much time, when you're on vacation, just means more games of pool and catching Saw 3 (not really all that great)in the midafternoon. The coolest thing we did was check out the Fremantle Prison, which is now out of commission, and we did it on one of it's late-night torchlight tours. It was really cool, and a little creepy, hearing all the stories, seeing the gallows, solitary confinement etc. They threw in a couple of heart-jumping twists (dummy thrown from the roof to feign suicide, a couple of actors exploding through doors) and it was quite a good time. Oh, and for those 'Amazing Race' fans, if you caught one episode last year (I only saw a few, thank you Shannon, but this was one of them) where they had to run through the abandoned prison and then find a flashlight and batteries, before going into the tunnels underneath, this was where it was done, which was quite cool.
So we headed back to Perth the next day (Sunday) and booked into the YHA here (which is a great hostel) and then headed out to Cottesloe for a Sunday Session, which is a tradition where everyone drinks all Sunday afternoon. Now, I hadn't been properly drunk since the after-party for the Ultimate tournament, so this was a fun afternoon, and, I discovered, that Ultimate, the Championships, and, by association, myself, have quite a cult following, and there was some drunk Frisbee tossing going around. It was a good time. Um, this is where it sort of starts to blur. The next day....we.....
OH! We made sandwiches and headed down to Scarborough beach (where I stayed for the tournament) and spent the day on the beach. We hired surfboards and gave the waves a shot, the same waves that had been too brutal for us (well, just me, really) a couple of weeks before. The waves were tough, and got off to a good start, but I fought back and made the final score a little more respectable. It would be a lie to tell you that I won, or ever thought that I might, though. We crashed early at the hostel, and next we did a Southwest Australia 3-day tour. The first day was kind of bland. We saw some rocks that looked like they would collapse on you and climbed to the top of a big rocky hill, but that was really all that was worth mentioning. We crashed in Albany, and the next day did the whale museum, which had a cool 3D movie, but that was about it. We also did a treetop walk that was pretty and also quite scary. The trees were big. We stopped in a cabin outside a small town that I forget the name of and watched 'Wolf Creek' and all got a little scared. We made a fire! And by we I mean me and Pete and it was a great fire and we were most proud of it. I had to use a Tom Clancy novel for kindling, but it was a bad novel anyway. Today we went down into a cave, which was really cool, all the growths and stuff, it was a bit creepy. We also did Margaret River again, and drank some more wine and ate some more chocolate. It was cool.
Sorry this post is so short, even though I tried to cover eight days. My memory is getting poor, apparently, and I am also tired and have a very early flight to Melbourne tomorrow morning. The tournament starts on Saturday, and tomorrow night there is apparently a disc golf thing. I'm bad at disc golf, but will go for the BBQ.
Miss you all.
Cheers.
-P
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Day 17 - November 22nd
If I recall correctly, I last left you on Saturday (local time). So my update shall begin with Sunday, where, after moving rooms (we were losing some people and consolidating for the last night) we set out to check out this Red Bull Air Race you've (we've) heard so much about. Now, if you think that Old Strathcona is busy during the Fringe, you're mistaken. If you think that Times Square is busy at midnight on New Years you are mistaken. There were (by unofficial count, a count not done by me, but by someone with more experience in counting) 600,000 people there watching. The entire lake/bay thing was surrounded. We managed to use our powers of pushing-forward-while-not-pissing-anyone-off to get decent seats, but, as we were on the far side of the lake/bay, all we got to see were the airplanes and not see the times. Which was cool, don't get me wrong, but lacked the pizzazz of a sporting event. So we watched a handful and left for Fremantle, which is on the outskirts of Perth, and is famous for their markets. We had pizza and checked out the markets. They were cool, but, as I am already packed to the point of bursting, I only bought frozen chocolate covered strawberries on a stick. The coolest thing was the food market, which, as we arrived at the end of the day, was full of Asian and Baltic people shouting 'ONE DOLLAR! ONLY ONE DOLLAR! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY!'. So that was cool. Afterward we headed home and crashed and watched Phone Booth and finished yet another book. I took one last shot at the laptop and failed and sent it home with Brandon to lighten the load. Internet prices aren't too insane here.
Monday morning I set out on my own in downtown Perth. At the backpacker's lodge I found the nearest hostel, the number of someone that was road-tripping to Melbourne at the end of the month, and the number for that surfing place. I got my accomodations, and, with my passport duct-taped to my chest (kidding) I set out for a phone. I called 3 people: Shannon, who was prepping for karaoke :'(, Silke, the older German woman who was driving to Melbourne, and, as it turns out, was also nuts and asked way too many questions about things like my marital status and passort number, so I hung up. Finally I called the surfing place, who I booked for the next morning (6 45 pickup) and then I went shopping in downtown Perth, which was cool. I picked up a mini alarm clock, which is great, because with no phone, no watch (never have worn one) and an iPod that thinks it's four a.m. in April of 2000, I have no sense of time. I also bought a pair of sunglasses, as I wrecked my old ones. Snapped them, actually, as I was stressing out over being all alone. So I headed back to the hostel and crashed, so I could wake up in time for the surf people. I woke up before my alarm, which, frustratingly, I always do unless I forget to set it. Two hours later, I was with a young British couple and an older Swiss man and pulling into the tiny, isolated hippie town of Lancelin (like sheep's wool?).
Ah, surfing. It's an amazing process, and, according to the video we watched on the car ride, was the main weapon the Greeks used to defeat the Italians in some war sometime. It sounded like someone was clutching to some driftwood a la Leo in Titanic and caught a wave. Cool. Surf cavalry.
It's a lot different once you're out there though. I was on a big blue surfboard, which I affectionately nicknamed 'Get the F&%# off me!!'. I was wearing a big wetsuit, and I was all saltwatery.
Now, the thing you have to understand about waves is that there are four stages of waves. There is the ocean stage where they wobble back and forth and sometimes get big, but die soon enough. If you try to surf on those you look foolish. There is the broken stage, where they get all rolly and white, and by then it's really too late to surf them. The other two stages are the difficult part. They occur within seconds of each other, and, if you misinterpret one for the other, the consequences are dire. They are called the swell and the break. You can catch either in terms of surfing, but you must catch them quite differently. If you catch it on the swell, you want to be forward on your board, so you have momentum when it does break. If you are too far back, the break will come and you will be going too slow, and your surfboard will shoot out from under you, like some sort of tablecloth trick. If you want to catch the wave at the break, you have to be back on your board so the steepness of the wave doesn't throw you forward, headfirst into the ocean, usually with the sharpest part of your surfboard following close behind. Now both of these terrible things have happened to me quite often, but the percentage, after two days, is getting smaller, and I have gotten up on the board at a higher rate. I'm at 60-70% ish so far, but I started at about 20%. Well, I started at 0% if you want to get technical, but, really, who does?
It's a hell of a lot of fun once that percentage is up there, so day 2 was loads better than day one. Afterwards, you get back to the hostel (where it's essentially the surfers, a couple reception people, and the surfer trainees) at like 2pm and have way too much time to kill with nothing in the town to do and no energy to do it. Last night we played a myriad of sports, none of which everyone was good at. This cocky Dutch guy had been telling us all what a great athlete he is, so I busted out a frisbee and fired laser forehands at his 'area'. It felt good, especially after he criticized my soccer header technique, and proceeded into a full-on workshop demonstration. He can't catch a frisbee, and I kept throwing them right at them and really hard, so he didn't have any excuse that wouldn't make him look weak. Ah, vengeance. Then we played cards. Tonight, we went to the market and made a feast, and then played table tennis and then, some of the newbies (incl. a Canadian! from Toronto) played a little poker. Not for money, so it got a little reckless at the end, with a lot of 'what the hell's.
In Perth I am going to scavenge for someone else heading to Adelaide/Melbourne for a few days, and, if not, I'm going to fly to Melbourne for an ultimate tournament (hat touranment, see last post) on the second and third. The money is going fast, so I might have enough for one more adventure after that, but I think I'll settle in Melbourne for a while. I need a cooler place to rest my burned skin. I zinc-ed up hard today and my arms still feel like they are on fire. I feel sorry for the pasty-skinned Brits.
You all should write me more. I get lonely from time to time.
Miss y'all.
-P
Monday morning I set out on my own in downtown Perth. At the backpacker's lodge I found the nearest hostel, the number of someone that was road-tripping to Melbourne at the end of the month, and the number for that surfing place. I got my accomodations, and, with my passport duct-taped to my chest (kidding) I set out for a phone. I called 3 people: Shannon, who was prepping for karaoke :'(, Silke, the older German woman who was driving to Melbourne, and, as it turns out, was also nuts and asked way too many questions about things like my marital status and passort number, so I hung up. Finally I called the surfing place, who I booked for the next morning (6 45 pickup) and then I went shopping in downtown Perth, which was cool. I picked up a mini alarm clock, which is great, because with no phone, no watch (never have worn one) and an iPod that thinks it's four a.m. in April of 2000, I have no sense of time. I also bought a pair of sunglasses, as I wrecked my old ones. Snapped them, actually, as I was stressing out over being all alone. So I headed back to the hostel and crashed, so I could wake up in time for the surf people. I woke up before my alarm, which, frustratingly, I always do unless I forget to set it. Two hours later, I was with a young British couple and an older Swiss man and pulling into the tiny, isolated hippie town of Lancelin (like sheep's wool?).
Ah, surfing. It's an amazing process, and, according to the video we watched on the car ride, was the main weapon the Greeks used to defeat the Italians in some war sometime. It sounded like someone was clutching to some driftwood a la Leo in Titanic and caught a wave. Cool. Surf cavalry.
It's a lot different once you're out there though. I was on a big blue surfboard, which I affectionately nicknamed 'Get the F&%# off me!!'. I was wearing a big wetsuit, and I was all saltwatery.
Now, the thing you have to understand about waves is that there are four stages of waves. There is the ocean stage where they wobble back and forth and sometimes get big, but die soon enough. If you try to surf on those you look foolish. There is the broken stage, where they get all rolly and white, and by then it's really too late to surf them. The other two stages are the difficult part. They occur within seconds of each other, and, if you misinterpret one for the other, the consequences are dire. They are called the swell and the break. You can catch either in terms of surfing, but you must catch them quite differently. If you catch it on the swell, you want to be forward on your board, so you have momentum when it does break. If you are too far back, the break will come and you will be going too slow, and your surfboard will shoot out from under you, like some sort of tablecloth trick. If you want to catch the wave at the break, you have to be back on your board so the steepness of the wave doesn't throw you forward, headfirst into the ocean, usually with the sharpest part of your surfboard following close behind. Now both of these terrible things have happened to me quite often, but the percentage, after two days, is getting smaller, and I have gotten up on the board at a higher rate. I'm at 60-70% ish so far, but I started at about 20%. Well, I started at 0% if you want to get technical, but, really, who does?
It's a hell of a lot of fun once that percentage is up there, so day 2 was loads better than day one. Afterwards, you get back to the hostel (where it's essentially the surfers, a couple reception people, and the surfer trainees) at like 2pm and have way too much time to kill with nothing in the town to do and no energy to do it. Last night we played a myriad of sports, none of which everyone was good at. This cocky Dutch guy had been telling us all what a great athlete he is, so I busted out a frisbee and fired laser forehands at his 'area'. It felt good, especially after he criticized my soccer header technique, and proceeded into a full-on workshop demonstration. He can't catch a frisbee, and I kept throwing them right at them and really hard, so he didn't have any excuse that wouldn't make him look weak. Ah, vengeance. Then we played cards. Tonight, we went to the market and made a feast, and then played table tennis and then, some of the newbies (incl. a Canadian! from Toronto) played a little poker. Not for money, so it got a little reckless at the end, with a lot of 'what the hell's.
In Perth I am going to scavenge for someone else heading to Adelaide/Melbourne for a few days, and, if not, I'm going to fly to Melbourne for an ultimate tournament (hat touranment, see last post) on the second and third. The money is going fast, so I might have enough for one more adventure after that, but I think I'll settle in Melbourne for a while. I need a cooler place to rest my burned skin. I zinc-ed up hard today and my arms still feel like they are on fire. I feel sorry for the pasty-skinned Brits.
You all should write me more. I get lonely from time to time.
Miss y'all.
-P
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Day 13 - November 18th
Josh sent me an email telling me to update my blog more.
There are two things wrong with that. First, his comment on my previous entry encouraged me to spend more time away from computer screens. Secondly, Josh hardly ever updates his blog.
This email was out of line, Josh. It truly was. For shame.
I am, however, sorry that it's been so long. I had a tournament to play in and it took up most of my time. I ended up rooming with a couple girls from the women's team (Little Miss Bossy was the team name) and one guy (Brandon) from my team. We are beachfront with a view of the ocean right where the sun sets. It's out of a movie, it really is. The beach is great, and the waves are solid too. The day before the tournament a few of us went surfing. Steve-o (playing with Mephisto from Montreal) was the only one with any experience, and most of his experience was dictated to him half an hour before we set out by the guy he was staying with. Anyway, we let him go first to see what it was like, and the waves were so strong he couldn't get out to the break. So that was a waste of time, but an entertaining one at least. Brandon and I went boogie boarding later in the week, and it was pretty cool. We didn't last very long, because we were so sore. I still am sore. Probably will be for some time.
For anyone who doesn't know, I was competing in the World Ultimate Club Championships (as in Ultimate Frisbee, but it's not a frisbee, it's a disc, because Frisbee is a brand name. And we weren't playing with Frisbees, we were playing with Discrafts.), which is a week-long tournament that happens every 4 years. 4 years ago it was in Hawaii. Now, all the tournaments back home are 2 or three days... usually a Saturday/Sunday or a Friday/Saturday/Sunday, and those are tough enough. The whole week-long thing really is a draining experience. It also didn't help that our team (Too Bad) had only 10 or 11 guys, where most teams had at least 18. Some brought closer to 30. So I got a lot of playing time, which is good for experience, but I felt like hell every morning all week. The pool we got seeded into was the toughest one in the tournament, with the top-ranked Sub-Zero (USA), the eventual runner-up, Thong (AUS) and the second best (to the champion Buzz Bullets) Japanese team, the Bouhsears. Our team had never played together before and these guys have been together for years. So we dropped all three of those games in spectacular fashion, and were re-seeded into a more reasonable pool. We won our opener in that pool, but then drew a really deep Aussie team (Deathstar) that really pushed us and left us drained. We lost, and we didn't really ever recover. We played some beatable teams (EMO from the UK, the Columbian team and another Japanese team, Flippers) and were with them for the early going in all the games, but their depth took over and they all pulled away in the second half. So we didn't do so hot, but the experience of playing the best teams in the world, as well as teams from everywhere, was amazing. And the games were spread out enough that we got to watch some really solid ultimate between games. Mephisto, the Montreal team with a handful of Edmonton representation on it, came in with high hopes, and swept their opening pool (including a prime-time universe point win over the UK's Clapham, and another universe point win over the New Zealand team). Universe point essentially means it's a tie, and the next point wins. You win the universe, apparently. Just ask Shannon. Anyway, they then drew the aforementioned Thong, and lost on universe point in painful fashion, and they hit a bit of a slide from there, losing to both other Aussie teams in their pool before beating Fire of London to scrape a spot in the quarters against the Japanese Buzz Bullets. Now Buzz Bullets-sponsored by, and employed by, a Japanese window-making company. They get time off to train and get airfare free etc. So they are essentially semi-professional. They were easily the class of the tournament. So Mephisto ended up 8th, losing a lot of close ones. The ladies team won their opener and their closer but had some trouble in between.
But it was really an unreal experience. I didn't injure myself or re-aggravate my hamstring, and I'm certainly in running shape now, and I'd like to think I learned a thing or two.
Most of the week, it was go home and pass out reading on the couch and wake up very sore. Once, though, we had a team BBQ. Kangaroo meat!!I played cutter/striker the whole tournament, and got very little time off, which meant I was essentially the designated runner, as I was the youngest guy on my team by almost 6 years. So I am tired. And am walking like I have a stick up my ass.
The Japanese won the Open, Women's and Master's (old guys) titles, but Vancouver's Team Fisher Price pulled out the co-ed title.
The party last night, after everyone was finised except for the finalists, was great. We drank, we danced, we got kicked out, so we hit another bar and did some more of the same. The Edmonton contingent in the back of one of the late-night shuttle busses was quite vocal, with renditions of 'Summer of '69', 'Build me up Buttercup', and that song about a moose that likes juice. The song works because moose and juice rhyme. Oh, and there was a Hockey Night in Canada theme song appearance earlier in the night.
I taught everyone how to play Trapped and everyone loved it, more and more as the game went on (as is usually the case). We got lamb kebabs (donair, essentailly) and crashed poolside at the end of the night. We watched the finals today under a makeshift lean-to using tables and water jugs and milk crates. We are nothing if not resourceful.
There is a BBQ tonight at the condos Mephisto stayed at. I have lamb meat and chips and am quite excited.
Tomorrow, there is the Red Bull Air Race which involves some sort of strange flying mechanisms and large pylons in a harbour. So I hope to catch that.
After that, I really am not sure yet. I am considering going to a 4-day surf camp and learning to surf. Apparently the price is quite reasonable, and I think that another round of stress on my muscles is exactly what I need. I also want to end up in Melbourne in early December for a hat tournament (ultimate tournament where the players are split into teams at random).
The camera I have, but I can't turn it on. It may need batteries, so I will get it new ones and see. No progress on the laptop, but I have been busy.
I have a decent tan (farmer's) and a light burn on my face, but overall I think I handled the sun well. And it has been nothing but sun.
Also, I traded that Canada shirt you got me, Mom, the red one with 'Canada' down the back, for a really cool Shiok! jersey (Singapore co-ed team). Our Too Bad jerseys were ugly and plain, so I am stuck with both of those.
OH! Forgot. We went to the zoo! Saw cool animals. I like wombats. Like that story, Wombat Stew. Remember that? Ewey-gooey-yummy-chewy wombat stew!
I hope someone picks up on that reference.
The tournament is over, and the adventure starts tomorrow.
I'll keep you posted.
-P
There are two things wrong with that. First, his comment on my previous entry encouraged me to spend more time away from computer screens. Secondly, Josh hardly ever updates his blog.
This email was out of line, Josh. It truly was. For shame.
I am, however, sorry that it's been so long. I had a tournament to play in and it took up most of my time. I ended up rooming with a couple girls from the women's team (Little Miss Bossy was the team name) and one guy (Brandon) from my team. We are beachfront with a view of the ocean right where the sun sets. It's out of a movie, it really is. The beach is great, and the waves are solid too. The day before the tournament a few of us went surfing. Steve-o (playing with Mephisto from Montreal) was the only one with any experience, and most of his experience was dictated to him half an hour before we set out by the guy he was staying with. Anyway, we let him go first to see what it was like, and the waves were so strong he couldn't get out to the break. So that was a waste of time, but an entertaining one at least. Brandon and I went boogie boarding later in the week, and it was pretty cool. We didn't last very long, because we were so sore. I still am sore. Probably will be for some time.
For anyone who doesn't know, I was competing in the World Ultimate Club Championships (as in Ultimate Frisbee, but it's not a frisbee, it's a disc, because Frisbee is a brand name. And we weren't playing with Frisbees, we were playing with Discrafts.), which is a week-long tournament that happens every 4 years. 4 years ago it was in Hawaii. Now, all the tournaments back home are 2 or three days... usually a Saturday/Sunday or a Friday/Saturday/Sunday, and those are tough enough. The whole week-long thing really is a draining experience. It also didn't help that our team (Too Bad) had only 10 or 11 guys, where most teams had at least 18. Some brought closer to 30. So I got a lot of playing time, which is good for experience, but I felt like hell every morning all week. The pool we got seeded into was the toughest one in the tournament, with the top-ranked Sub-Zero (USA), the eventual runner-up, Thong (AUS) and the second best (to the champion Buzz Bullets) Japanese team, the Bouhsears. Our team had never played together before and these guys have been together for years. So we dropped all three of those games in spectacular fashion, and were re-seeded into a more reasonable pool. We won our opener in that pool, but then drew a really deep Aussie team (Deathstar) that really pushed us and left us drained. We lost, and we didn't really ever recover. We played some beatable teams (EMO from the UK, the Columbian team and another Japanese team, Flippers) and were with them for the early going in all the games, but their depth took over and they all pulled away in the second half. So we didn't do so hot, but the experience of playing the best teams in the world, as well as teams from everywhere, was amazing. And the games were spread out enough that we got to watch some really solid ultimate between games. Mephisto, the Montreal team with a handful of Edmonton representation on it, came in with high hopes, and swept their opening pool (including a prime-time universe point win over the UK's Clapham, and another universe point win over the New Zealand team). Universe point essentially means it's a tie, and the next point wins. You win the universe, apparently. Just ask Shannon. Anyway, they then drew the aforementioned Thong, and lost on universe point in painful fashion, and they hit a bit of a slide from there, losing to both other Aussie teams in their pool before beating Fire of London to scrape a spot in the quarters against the Japanese Buzz Bullets. Now Buzz Bullets-sponsored by, and employed by, a Japanese window-making company. They get time off to train and get airfare free etc. So they are essentially semi-professional. They were easily the class of the tournament. So Mephisto ended up 8th, losing a lot of close ones. The ladies team won their opener and their closer but had some trouble in between.
But it was really an unreal experience. I didn't injure myself or re-aggravate my hamstring, and I'm certainly in running shape now, and I'd like to think I learned a thing or two.
Most of the week, it was go home and pass out reading on the couch and wake up very sore. Once, though, we had a team BBQ. Kangaroo meat!!I played cutter/striker the whole tournament, and got very little time off, which meant I was essentially the designated runner, as I was the youngest guy on my team by almost 6 years. So I am tired. And am walking like I have a stick up my ass.
The Japanese won the Open, Women's and Master's (old guys) titles, but Vancouver's Team Fisher Price pulled out the co-ed title.
The party last night, after everyone was finised except for the finalists, was great. We drank, we danced, we got kicked out, so we hit another bar and did some more of the same. The Edmonton contingent in the back of one of the late-night shuttle busses was quite vocal, with renditions of 'Summer of '69', 'Build me up Buttercup', and that song about a moose that likes juice. The song works because moose and juice rhyme. Oh, and there was a Hockey Night in Canada theme song appearance earlier in the night.
I taught everyone how to play Trapped and everyone loved it, more and more as the game went on (as is usually the case). We got lamb kebabs (donair, essentailly) and crashed poolside at the end of the night. We watched the finals today under a makeshift lean-to using tables and water jugs and milk crates. We are nothing if not resourceful.
There is a BBQ tonight at the condos Mephisto stayed at. I have lamb meat and chips and am quite excited.
Tomorrow, there is the Red Bull Air Race which involves some sort of strange flying mechanisms and large pylons in a harbour. So I hope to catch that.
After that, I really am not sure yet. I am considering going to a 4-day surf camp and learning to surf. Apparently the price is quite reasonable, and I think that another round of stress on my muscles is exactly what I need. I also want to end up in Melbourne in early December for a hat tournament (ultimate tournament where the players are split into teams at random).
The camera I have, but I can't turn it on. It may need batteries, so I will get it new ones and see. No progress on the laptop, but I have been busy.
I have a decent tan (farmer's) and a light burn on my face, but overall I think I handled the sun well. And it has been nothing but sun.
Also, I traded that Canada shirt you got me, Mom, the red one with 'Canada' down the back, for a really cool Shiok! jersey (Singapore co-ed team). Our Too Bad jerseys were ugly and plain, so I am stuck with both of those.
OH! Forgot. We went to the zoo! Saw cool animals. I like wombats. Like that story, Wombat Stew. Remember that? Ewey-gooey-yummy-chewy wombat stew!
I hope someone picks up on that reference.
The tournament is over, and the adventure starts tomorrow.
I'll keep you posted.
-P
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Day 4 - November 9
Wow, where to start? It's been a heck of a first few days. Getting through the airport went pretty well; the only issue I had was with the passport number/visa fiasco. For those of you that don't know, I applied for my visa before renewing my passport, which meant that the passport number on my visa was incorrect. I was warned that this would be an issue in Edmonton, and that I should find someone in Vancouver, or else 'they' wouldn't let me in to Australia. No one in Vancouver seemed to know what I was talking about, so I decided that my only option was to get on the plane. My ticket was scanned, and I was flagged and sent to a little room next to the gate where two surly-looking women listened to my story, and then stared at each other, as if deciding whether or not to help me. They did, eventually, but made me feel like I was really putting them out of there way to do so.
But I got here.
One of the girls from the women's team (named Momoe) happened to be on my Sydney-Perth flight. Apparently there were five others that were supposed to be on the flight, but they were delayed for a day when their flight to L.A. was cancelled. They had a hostel booked, and, of course, no one was going to take those rooms, so I gallantly volunteered. The hostel was nicer then the one I'd booked, as well as closer to downtown Perth, so I swallowed the $3.72 AUD reservation fee and we set off for the hostel. It was a nice hostel, but it was filled with people who only spoke Chinese, so we set off looking for something to kill time with. We had a nice meal, with an Australian beer (note - I hammered back several Bailey's & coffee on the international flights. Made the trip faster, made the sleep easier. 23 plus hours in the air and I have yet to touch my iPod.) and threw a frisbee around a park for a while. Perth is beautiful. Parks everywhere, and the nicest sports fields I've seen for public use anywhere. This is why the Aussies win more medals at every summer Olympics than we do. At around 7 30 local time (4 30 am mountain) the jet lag started to hit us, so we walked to downtown Perth to try to stay awake. It was a long walk, but a nice one, and we went bowling and drank coke to keep our energy up. Walked back, fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next day we went to the airport to pick up the rest of the crew. (Stacey, Sue and Tanya from the women't team, Blair, who is playing with a Calgary Master's [35+y.o.] team and Garvin, who is playing with the Montreal-based Mephisto) They had rented a car for five of them, but the addition of me and Garv made 7, so we surprised them by upgrading them to a van. We packed it up and headed south to Margaret River. The drive was a little less than three hours, which wasn't so bad for me and Momoe, but for everyone who was incredibly sick of travelling, it was hard. We got to Margaret River, had a pizza dinner, and crashed hard, but only after picking up some groceries for breakfast. That was a good call, as we feasted on cereal and melons, before heading out for a day of wine-tasting, cheese-sampling and chocolate-stealing from the many wineries, cheese factories, and chocolate makers in the area. But first, we went on a 20-minute run in the humidity that made everyone feel like cancelling the tournament. However, the wine was great, and by the third winery, everyone but Stacey (D.D.) was good and drunk. The cheese sampling proved to be the most effective, as we bought 7 or 8 blocks of cheese, compared with 3 or 4 bottles of wine and only a couple bags of chocolate. The chocolate was good, but they gave away way too many free samples, and it took off the chocolate-craving edge. Lunch was crackers and (guess?) cheese, and we did the same thing all afternoon before picking up the ingrediants for a feast-like dinner and heading back. We hit the beach and threw a frisbee in the heavy, heavy wind, and discovered that none of us were prepared for the ocean wind that promised to hit the tournament. Sunset was getting ready to be amazing, but clouds rolled in. Ah, well. There will be plenty more.
(side note: It's interesting how I feel so relaxed and able to move at whatever pace I want, but all the people I am with are in such a rush, because most of them are only here for two weeks and want to see all they can.)
Supper was a team effort and was amazing. I was in charge of the from-scratch garlic bread with melted smoked cheddar cheese. It came out looking a little charred (the grill was not well-kept) but delicious. We all went to bed early and full.
Today we woke up with hopes of seeing the dolphins, but the rain chased that dream away, so we hit a few more wineries and cheese factories before picniking with leftovers from last night and heading back up to Perth, where we arrived just under an hour ago. The accommodations that the women's team has is amazing, and I may stay there if my team continues to be this unorganized. Interestingly, the accomodation is on the gay strip of Perth. I was whistled an hollered at three times on the way to find this internet cafe, (well, two for sure) and, girls, I gotta say, it's not so bad. I mean, it's a little flattering, and really, what are they going to do? Just stay in a well lit area. Also, there are many man-hand-holding walks occuring, and I also just saw an older female couple sharing a bottle of wine and a kiss in a little cafe. It was really beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful, I don't have a camera to capture such moments. This is unfortunate, I really thought it was in my bag. The laptop isn't working either, but I've only tried twice, and have yet to find anyone that knows what they're doing to help me. So if I get that to hook up to the internet, I will get myself a camera, but if I can't, you are just going to have to use your imagination.
I'm nervous about going it alone, but I know I will have to eventually. I don't know where I'm heading next, and I don't know how I want to get there. I think my choices are to stick with the big cities and take the bus or train, or to try to find smaller busses and work my way accross. That's not what makes me nervous, though, it's just the not-being-with-anyone-I-know factor and being completely out of my comfort zone.
I'll try to keep this thing updated, and I hope you all either a) keep the emails coming or b) start emailing me about your life! It's something I look forward to, and I'm only four days in. I miss you guys.
Until next time.
-P
But I got here.
One of the girls from the women's team (named Momoe) happened to be on my Sydney-Perth flight. Apparently there were five others that were supposed to be on the flight, but they were delayed for a day when their flight to L.A. was cancelled. They had a hostel booked, and, of course, no one was going to take those rooms, so I gallantly volunteered. The hostel was nicer then the one I'd booked, as well as closer to downtown Perth, so I swallowed the $3.72 AUD reservation fee and we set off for the hostel. It was a nice hostel, but it was filled with people who only spoke Chinese, so we set off looking for something to kill time with. We had a nice meal, with an Australian beer (note - I hammered back several Bailey's & coffee on the international flights. Made the trip faster, made the sleep easier. 23 plus hours in the air and I have yet to touch my iPod.) and threw a frisbee around a park for a while. Perth is beautiful. Parks everywhere, and the nicest sports fields I've seen for public use anywhere. This is why the Aussies win more medals at every summer Olympics than we do. At around 7 30 local time (4 30 am mountain) the jet lag started to hit us, so we walked to downtown Perth to try to stay awake. It was a long walk, but a nice one, and we went bowling and drank coke to keep our energy up. Walked back, fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next day we went to the airport to pick up the rest of the crew. (Stacey, Sue and Tanya from the women't team, Blair, who is playing with a Calgary Master's [35+y.o.] team and Garvin, who is playing with the Montreal-based Mephisto) They had rented a car for five of them, but the addition of me and Garv made 7, so we surprised them by upgrading them to a van. We packed it up and headed south to Margaret River. The drive was a little less than three hours, which wasn't so bad for me and Momoe, but for everyone who was incredibly sick of travelling, it was hard. We got to Margaret River, had a pizza dinner, and crashed hard, but only after picking up some groceries for breakfast. That was a good call, as we feasted on cereal and melons, before heading out for a day of wine-tasting, cheese-sampling and chocolate-stealing from the many wineries, cheese factories, and chocolate makers in the area. But first, we went on a 20-minute run in the humidity that made everyone feel like cancelling the tournament. However, the wine was great, and by the third winery, everyone but Stacey (D.D.) was good and drunk. The cheese sampling proved to be the most effective, as we bought 7 or 8 blocks of cheese, compared with 3 or 4 bottles of wine and only a couple bags of chocolate. The chocolate was good, but they gave away way too many free samples, and it took off the chocolate-craving edge. Lunch was crackers and (guess?) cheese, and we did the same thing all afternoon before picking up the ingrediants for a feast-like dinner and heading back. We hit the beach and threw a frisbee in the heavy, heavy wind, and discovered that none of us were prepared for the ocean wind that promised to hit the tournament. Sunset was getting ready to be amazing, but clouds rolled in. Ah, well. There will be plenty more.
(side note: It's interesting how I feel so relaxed and able to move at whatever pace I want, but all the people I am with are in such a rush, because most of them are only here for two weeks and want to see all they can.)
Supper was a team effort and was amazing. I was in charge of the from-scratch garlic bread with melted smoked cheddar cheese. It came out looking a little charred (the grill was not well-kept) but delicious. We all went to bed early and full.
Today we woke up with hopes of seeing the dolphins, but the rain chased that dream away, so we hit a few more wineries and cheese factories before picniking with leftovers from last night and heading back up to Perth, where we arrived just under an hour ago. The accommodations that the women's team has is amazing, and I may stay there if my team continues to be this unorganized. Interestingly, the accomodation is on the gay strip of Perth. I was whistled an hollered at three times on the way to find this internet cafe, (well, two for sure) and, girls, I gotta say, it's not so bad. I mean, it's a little flattering, and really, what are they going to do? Just stay in a well lit area. Also, there are many man-hand-holding walks occuring, and I also just saw an older female couple sharing a bottle of wine and a kiss in a little cafe. It was really beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful, I don't have a camera to capture such moments. This is unfortunate, I really thought it was in my bag. The laptop isn't working either, but I've only tried twice, and have yet to find anyone that knows what they're doing to help me. So if I get that to hook up to the internet, I will get myself a camera, but if I can't, you are just going to have to use your imagination.
I'm nervous about going it alone, but I know I will have to eventually. I don't know where I'm heading next, and I don't know how I want to get there. I think my choices are to stick with the big cities and take the bus or train, or to try to find smaller busses and work my way accross. That's not what makes me nervous, though, it's just the not-being-with-anyone-I-know factor and being completely out of my comfort zone.
I'll try to keep this thing updated, and I hope you all either a) keep the emails coming or b) start emailing me about your life! It's something I look forward to, and I'm only four days in. I miss you guys.
Until next time.
-P
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