Lonely Week with the Olympics as my companion

Forewarning, I wrote this apathetic post last night, bitter about my job and disgusted by the amount of Olympics that I have watched this past week. I apologize if this offends anyone.

The Australian broadcast of the Olympics has been hilarious. These ass muppets show the most bizarre sports, presumably because they actually medal in these bizarre events. For example, have you ever seen Field Hockey? Yeah, me neither, but if you can use your vivid imagination conjure up ice hockey but being played on the streets, yet sans rollerblades or roller-skates. Wait, I have seen it before, it was a scene in Wayne’s World where Garth and Wayne play hockey by themselves in the street. In summation field hockey is an absolutely pathetic athletic endeavor.

However, the absolute pinnacle of utter athletic befuddlement eluded my viddy until tonight when I witnessed Men’s Handball. Please tell me you’ve seen it?! If you haven’t, don’t worry, the game is a combination of Soccer and Basketball. Perhaps Soccerball? Or no, Basketccer sounds better. For cereal, that is all this game silly game is. I had the honor of watching a game between Russia and Denmark here in Australia this past evening. Titillating, rest assured. Oh, and Russia won. No doubt Georgia’s pissed at this turn of events.

Am I the only won who can’t wait for the Olympics to end? Probably. Yeah, Michael Phelps is bad ass, and it is quite incredible to see him destroy everyone, but dude, the only way watching the gamer here in Oz is to mute the TV. Announcers here in Australia make Bob Costas appear to be a Nobel Laureate, and listening to their mindless, self-propagating gibberish makes me feel like I am stuck inside of an Orwellian drama. It doesn’t help that I have had a shite week at work. This week has made me feel like a serious loser. I feel helpless and pathetic since I am incapable of getting a job of my own accord. ‘Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage’. What a great line, eh? Wish I had written that one.

Depression and angst won’t be the only topics of this post though. The surf has been cold this week. REAL cold. I surfed Tuesday morning at Dee Why with Jay. We had a peak to ourselves the entire session. Fun 2 foot lines were coming through, and we had an enjoyable session. It was refreshing until my last wave, where I got hung up in the lip and landed on the fin of my board. Cut a hole in my sweet wetsuit’s knee, all the way through, giving myself a gash as well. Could have cared less about the gash, I was just bummed about my wetsuit. So this morning I tested out the wetsuit (with it’s new hole) and no surprise it took in some water. Bummer. The waves were 3 to 4, but unfortunately the banks (sand banks that is) couldn’t handle it. The majority of the waves were closeouts, however, I was able to snag a real nice left that delivered a whole lotta speed and glide. Stoked. Funny how little it takes in a surf session to really get you excited. Guess that’s because a lot of times, especially surfing beachies, getting a good ride is such a rare occurrence.

Veronica’s been gone all week in Dubbo. It sucks when she is gone, big time. I can’t wait for her to get back tomorrow/today. Excited about seeing ‘Tropic Thunder’.

City to Surf

My wife is a little runner. This Sunday she finished the 14 km City to Surf run in a time of 1 hour and 24 minutes. I drove down to Bondi to meet up with Veronica and our friends Martina and Gavin.

The finish at Bondi Beach was absolute chaos. 70,000 runners plus 90,000 relatives like myself, and yeah, it was a tad busy. But my little baby was a beast, and she was feeling quite proud of herself on a job well done. Not to mention that I was quite impressed by Veronica's running prowess as well.

We might have been witness to the last Wolfmother gig

For all of you huge Wolfmother fan out there, I am sure you have heard the news that the band broke up this week. Crazy considering we just saw them perform at Splendour this past Sunday. It's not exactly like seeing The Beatles last show, but nonetheless still pretty cool. RIP Mother of Wolf!

In other news, I am sick. Guess the huge weekend has finally struck back on my body after all the punishment I bestowed upon it.

Additionally, I want to apologize for how crappy the end of the last post ended up being. Just got tired and I wanted to post the thing already. But in my haste I missed one really crucial facet of our trip. I forgot to give credit where credit was most certainly due, to the White Chariot. That little beast did almost 2,000 kilometers without breaking a sweat. All Hail to The White Chariot, the best free car ever!

The Best Weekend Ever in Oz?

The title is a rather bold claim I realize, but this past weekend was absolutely EPIC!

We left Sydney around 4 pm on Thursday and drove a little over 5 hours North to Crescent Head. Since we were caravanning up to Byron with Morgan, Andy and Jamie, we had 3 vehicles for sleeping accommodations. The views were nice, since we were parked right there at the beach park looking out over the ocean. What wasn't nice was sleeping in the back of the White Chariot since it was cramped, hard and not too spacious. Believe me when I tell you that it was one of the worst nights of sleep I have had since leaving Micronesia. But the terrible night of sleep had one advantage; I was up at the crack of dawn watching the waves and taking photos. After 20 minutes the guys finally woke and we debated whether to surf there since the winds were whipping incredibly hard offshore. I finally convinced them we should go out, and it was a good thing because we surfed the place alone. Had a great wave, but it was a tough place to surf with all the wind. However, the highlight of my session had to be when a pod of dolphins cruised by on there way up the point. Veronica can attest that the dolphins were literally 5 feet away from us as she was hanging out on top of the headland. It was pretty incredible. Veronica then went for a run along the beach, we caught some more waves, and then the pod of dolphins swam back by us.

After scarfing some pies and chocolate milk we continued the road journey North. The drive was much more enjoyable in the daylight. Arrived at Lennox Head around 4'ish to some ugly waves. Jamie, Veronica and myself parted ways from Andy and Morgan and headed 5 minutes South to Ballina where we were staying. Our cabin in the caravan park was quite nice, and after taking a nice shower we headed into Byron for dinner. Had dinner at Orgasmics, the falafal place we loved last time. While it was good, it just didn't seem as good this time around. After a few beers at a pub where we were supposed to meet up with everyone, we left. Got back to the car to discover an $81 parking ticket, for not reversing into the parking space. DOH!

Woke up quasi early after a nice sleep to go for a surf before the festival started. Got to Lennox Head, and it was SO good. Like a dummy I decided to drive to Broken Head to see if it might be better, it wasn't, and drove back to Lennox Head for a session. Besides falling on the rocks trying to get out, the session was absolutely perfect. Flawless 3 to 4 foot lines rolled around the big headland, where they would shelf up and zip down the boulder strewn point. And the icing on the cake, there were only 3 other guys out with us. To score such an iconic wave doing it's thing, with no one out is like finding Nirvana. I had two of the best backside waves of my life and I damn near cried when we paddled in so we wouldn't be late for the concert.

The glorious surf was followed by an awesome day at Splendour in the Grass. Got picked up at the caravan park by a charter bus and driven right to the gates. Started the day at the burrito tent for some fuel, and then we got down to business. First band we saw was Operator Please, followed by The Fratelli's. Took a bit of a break, and then we went to watch Cold War Kids. Frigging awesome set, 'Hospital Beds' was greatness, and they ended with 'Saint John'. We practically ran to one of the other stages to catch Band of Horses midset. Arrived just as they started playing 'Ode to LRC' and it was a sensational set. Just bummed that those two sets were overlapping, but that is the downside to huge festivals. After Band of Horses, Dallas band The Polyphonic Spree followed. Tim DeLaughter brought down the house with an awesome set. Devo followed at the main stage, and by that point it had gotten REAL cold in the fields of Byron. Luckily there were huge bonfires around the grounds, and massive amounts of people were huddled around trying to get warm. Our bus picked us up at 12:20, and we were exhausted.

Woke up Sunday morning spent. Way too tired for a surf, we opted to get a cab into Byron to have a good cup of coffee and breakfast. Our driver pointed us to a great cafe with a killer cappuccino, and a magnificent bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado on toasted Turkish bread. The sandwich was heavenly, and Veronica and I contemplated moving North just for this cafe (of whom I have forgotten the name!). Met up with Morgan and Charlotte and headed into the concert. Got to the main stage just as Vampire Weekend was coming onto the stage. These kids were the highlight of the festival for V and I. 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' and 'A-Punk' were outstandingly good, but when they closed the set with 'Walcott', my favorite song from their album it was ethereal! Had to take a break after that as I was still shaking with adrenaline. Had some chips and guacamole, wandered around to the main stage to see The Grates, an Australian band with a female lead singer who was rocking a Batgirl outfit. Super cool duds, and some great tunes. Then we went to another stage to see Lyrics Born and met up with our friends. We took a break at the Guzman y Gomez tent where Veronica found a ticket band. Subsequently Andy was called since he did not have a ticket, and he made his way to the concert. We made our way back to the main tent to see Sigur Ros. There set was sweet, but not quite as cool as they were when V & I saw them at the Hawaii State Theatre. However, I think the indoor venue was better suited to their music. But I digress, Andy made it to the concert in time for Wolfmother. Such a great performance, and it was insane getting to see them from such a close spot in the tent. That closed the show, and an epic weekend.

Monday was spent on the road. Utterly exhausted, yet still glowing from a kick ass weekend of music and uncrowded waves. Not gonna lie, it's been real tough being back at work. Tougher still, Veronica got sent out in the field today, so she will be gone the rest of the week. Bummer.

A Cold, Sunny Wednesday with a Wave

Finally, a post with a photo. But don't let this nice looking wave fool you, South Narrabeen was closing out, rendering it practically unsurfable. So after scouring the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Andy and I decided to paddle out at Dee Why. It didn't look that great because a lot of water was moving around, but we refused to give up without getting our hair wet.

The paddle out was vicious. It took me about 25 to 30 minutes to make it out the back. Quite frustrating, especially as I had almost made it to safety, only to get nailed on the head by a four wave set, pushing me back almost to the beach. But I persevered, and made it to the lineup, huffing and puffing. The waves were actually good, had a few fun ones, got axed on the head by a few, but it felt great to be in the water.

Tomorrow we are driving up to Byron Bay for the Splendour in the Grass festival. We had been planning on sleeping in the car since every flea bag motel and hotel for miles had been booked solid for the past 3 months. But today, Jamie decides to call up a place, and by some miracle they just received a cancellation. So instead of being filthy people who sleep in their car, we are now staying at a campground with cabins. Stoked!

Winter

I didn't feel like writing anything on here last week. Veronica was gone the entire week up in Dubbo, and frankly I was pretty depressed about it. Didn't help that I was eating leftovers all week. No joke, I ate the same reheated meal 7 times in one week. My mood was pretty dark, Dark Knight style. Speaking of which, we saw it the previous weekend, pretty stellar popcorn movie.

Having my wife back home made me feel like a new man. The sun came out, we enjoyed having a flat white from Barefoot, surfed both days, Veronica went for runs, and we relaxed. Saturday night we went to dinner with Gavin and Martina at The Oaks to watch the rugby. The Wallabies (AUS) played the All Blacks (NZ). The game was well played, but let me tell you, my steak at The Oaks was a disappointment. Big time. Not only was it way more expensive than other pub steaks, but at this place you cook your own. I could almost enjoy the novelty of going to a restaurant to cook my own food, except these morons didn't even give you a steak sauce like every other stinking pub does. Yeah, if it sounds like I am bitter about this meal, it's cause I am. Oh well, it wouldn't be Australia if we didn't pay a fair bit of money for a crap meal.

I finished reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger this weekend. Extremely impressive book. I actually cried. Don't tell anyone. If you haven't read it, Veronica and I would highly recommend it.

Not much else to report. I've been enjoying Beck's 'Vampire Voltage', a b-side to one of his single's. You can get a free download at stereogum.com. We are headed to Byron Bay this weekend for a huge concert festival, Splendour in the Grass. Pretty excited about it, as well as the 10 hour roadtrip. Can't wait to get out of Sydney for a little break.

Blah

I blame the monotony of day to day life for the extended absence of updates to this blog. Sometimes I am inclined to think, does anyone want to hear about where we ate a meal, and with who? Frankly, I am bored by that. I have visions of family and friends yawning while reading the blog, and I am saddened at the thought. But enough of my silly insecurities, here is the lowdown for the past week and half.

Veronica continues her training for the City to Surf. Her devotion to training is inspiring, although I can’t claim that she has me out running, I have been shamed into making every effort to surf even on small days. Speaking of the surf, it has been just that, small. Ridiculously small. The conditions would be epic, if you were midget. But the days have been gorgeous; sunny, brisk, hardly a cloud in the sky. This Tuesday while surfing in Manly with Jay and Andy a pod of dolphins cruised by. I don’t care who you are or how jaded your heart is, when you see dolphins your spirits are instantly brightened. As if to illustrate the yin and the yang of Sydney, I was harassed by an old, senile man while parking the car afterwards. To make a long story short, this cantankerous old man informed that I should back the White Chariot up so that 4 cars could fit on the stretch of road. Harmless, except for the fact there was plenty of room for 4 cars. I would love to tell you all that I handled his rantings gracefully, but after the 4th minute when he told he was going to call the cops I told him to go ahead, and in the process to get a hobby. Old balls kept on, and that’s I when I uttered, ‘Why don’t you cork it you pathetic bread thief descendant.’ I know, it’s pretty terrible, and it’s something that I have felt bad about for the past 3 days. This isn’t even the first time I’ve had a run in with a retired person either. Perhaps my 3rd or 4th month here in Sydney I had a 60 year old man want to fight me in Glebe for walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk! Geez, no wonder Sydneysiders are gigantic a**holes, they learned their crappy behavior from their elders.

This past weekend we had a free dinner at the Bavarian Bier Café. Oh yeah, that is one of the perks of having a foreign license, and your boss having a lead foot. I will say no more for fear of incriminating myself to the authorities. J We continue to watch ‘Flight of the Conchords’, a stellar show with some delightfully goofy humor. Sunday night we went and saw ‘Mongol’, part one of a three part epic about Ghengis Khan. Pretty good film, perhaps a little high -handed with Ghengis’s being such a noble man, but that’s entertainment for you.

Veronica has been in Dubbo for a job most of the week. I’ve stayed out of trouble, diverting myself by playing ping-pong over at Andy’s Wednesday night. Last night Jamie and I went and had $10 steaks at the Ivanhoe. They lost our order, which ended up being awesome since they refunded our money and we enjoyed delicious free steaks. If there is anything that warms my chintzy heart it is a free meal. Veronica gets back today, STOKED, and we plan on seeing ‘The Dark Knight’ this weekend. Doubly stoked. Only other news is that the great one, Kelly Slater won J-Bay yesterday in South Africa. For non-surfers, Slater is the Michael Jordan of surfing. He has won 4 out of 5 contests this year, and he is on pace to win his 9th World Title. Amazing stuff.