Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Coolest Proposal Ever

Coolest Proposal Ever


Not that I'm in the market for a proposal (yet...) , but if I were, this would blow me away! You gotta watch this...

Sunday, June 6, 2010

July 5 2010
















Go Sharks Go!


















Original! Impromptu! Fun!
Three words to describe my recent date with Nick to watch a "footy" game. We are so not a movie and dinner date couple, in fact in one whole year of dating we've never been to the movies on our own! The closest we've come was back in January and Nick treated me and his wonderful mother to a date at the movies to see Avatar. I remember thinking when I met Nick and he took me ice skating for our first date, (remember we're in Australia here, ice rinks are about as common as dog sleds in this part of the world) that this guy would definitely keep me guessing!
Not surprisingly then, one evening in late April Nick suggested we travel to the nearby town of Cronulla to watch a live Rugby League game. Now let me pause here to explain that like soccer in Italy, or ice hockey in Canada, rugby is practically a religion here in Australia. Not only are there countless teams and leagues in almost every city and town, but there are 3 types of rugby from which to choose! Rugby Union, Rugby League and Australian Rules Football are all variations on the theme and, confusingly for a foreigner, are all referred to by the generic name of "footy." I suppose if you are in the know, you'll know what type is being referred to, and if you're not, then it probably doesn't matter. The differences are, I'm sure, not subtle, but for a novice "footy" spectator such as myself, it was exciting just to be present at a live game, even if I didn't really know what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed not only the athletes' on-field performances, but also the half-time show, cheerleading performances and myriad shark mascots parading around the field. The entire spectacle was very entertaining, made even more so by the fact that the home team won the game! The whole crowd launched into a rousing rendition of there team song as the players basked in the glory of their first win of the season. Not even the rain could dampen our spirits as Nick and I got swept up in the frenzied excitement of the crowd!

It was a great evening and I hope to go again soon. Go Sharks Go!

June 20 2010: MILO!

I'm determined to get back into blogging more regularly: there are, after all, so many exciting things going on in my life. I'm just at the point in exams where there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Instead of studying, I thought I'd drop in for a quick hello, and to share one of said exciting things:

I have an [informal] list of answers for when I am posed the "what's-different-in-Australia?" question and I have another item for the list...

This one is a beverage.

It may look like unstirred cocoa powder floating atop a glass of milk, but no! It's called "Milo" and it's a malted chocolate drink that people (in my experience, mostly boys) drink instead of chocolate milk. The weird part is that it's consumed without stirring the powder into the milk... After the powder is poured on top of the milk, they let it sit there so that it absorbs the moisture and goes all lumpy and then they eat it with a spoon. Bizarre! My boyfriend, who has texture issues with fruit (ie. he will only eat apples if they're crunchy and not powdery, soft or too crunchy) loves this stuff. I can handle the taste (it's kind of like liquid Malteasers) but I can't get past the lumpy, powdery texture... oh well, it must be an Aussie thing.


Netty! [June 17 2010]


It was a stunning sky. As though stuffed with iridescent cotton wool, the fluffy blue-grey clouds occupied my attention when my mind should have been focused on what was happening on the ground below.

The afternoon of my very first game of netball ("netty" in Australian) was a cool, cloudy Saturday in April. I'd brought my favourite two-person fan club (Nick and Jen) and was so excited to try out this brand-new (to me) sport. At the very least, I thought to myself, I'll get to wear this spiffy new netball dress! Had I not become so comfortable in a bathing suit from playing all those years of water polo I might have been just a wee bit self-conscious. The "dress" is more like a bathing suit with a gratuitous little frill. The frill is meant to pass as a skirt but it certainly does not hide much in a fast moving, outdoor game (hello breeze!)
Nevertheless, I forged ahead into the game. It's a bit like basketball however the net does not have a backboard, and instead of dribbling the ball, it gets passed from player to player up and down the court. I managed to stay on my feet (most of the time) and even got an interception! With the support and encouragement from my loyal fan club and Nick's sister (whose team I play on, along with Nick's mum but she was away on business) I made it through the game not only in one piece, but loving a new sport! Ever since injuring my shoulder I've really missed playing water polo so hopefully I'll be able to turn netball into my new team sport!

The hardest part was remembering all the rules. What is considered normal defense in basketball is called, "interference" in netball; needless to say I got a few penalties. Luckily I also managed to get the hang of it and have been looking forward to my weekly game ever since!

Out and About in Sydney

I just love having visitors, the only downside is eventually they have to leave :( As I'm knee deep in the study trenches (exams next week, yikes!) I needed something to cheer me up. I took a quick break to peruse through some photos from Jen's last stop in Sydney.

It was a great day! The weather was perfect, and we strolled around the historic Rocks area of Sydney where all the old convict-era buildings give you the feeling of having stepped back in time. It's also home of the famous Harbour Bridge climb. The climb is definitely on my bucket list but for now, we contented ourselves with calling into the bridge climb gift shop and checking out the wall of celebrity photos. I couldn't help but smile at Steve Irwin's classic pic:
We then ventured across part of the Harbour Bridge via the side-walk-in-a-cage to get to a little known secret tourist spot: Take a look!
The bridge tower climb ($10) is a great alternative to the bridge climb. Otherwise at the very least it just might hold you over until you can save the dough ($200+) for the real thing!
Jen, the two Norwegian girls Jen met on her travels, and I did the climb and I'd venture to say the view probably wasn't that different!
We didn't get to wear the funky jumpsuits the bridge-climbers get to sport, but nonetheless we all had a great time admiring the 360 panoramic Sydney harbour views and getting some pretty good happy-snaps too!
I've never been one to miss a Kodak moment (as you know) so it was great that Jen and I passed so many iconic Sydney landmarks during our last days together...


Miss you Jen! Come back soon!!!