It was back into the fray of coaching Sport Boy's soccer team this morning. After the term break the under 11's league have been divided into the Premier League (Top 5 teams) and Championship (bottom 4 teams). We'll play each team once then play off in knockout finals.
Today was the first Premier League game, against Vasse with whom we drew 6-6 early in the season. That game was a classic, today's was the equal or better of it.
Vasse scored three goals in the first half to take a 3-0 lead. Poor goal-keeping and defending on our part got us into trouble although their third goal was a ripper.
We pulled one back before half time to get back some confidence.
I made a couple of changes at half time, swapping the goalie and jiggling the midfield around a little.
We played with much greater fluidity and effectiveness in the second half and withing 10 minutes had equalised. The third goal was one of the best I've evr seen in a kids game, a high cross from Jacob and Daniel headed it in. Eilidh, who is a little timid but tries hard then got on the end of an attacking move and poked the ball in the net. The momentum was with us until another we let in another "soft" goal.
To compound matters, their goalie was on fire, making one great save after another.
But the kids didn't give up. Sport Boy was having a great game and scored one goal and set up another to put us 5-4 in front. The last 10 minutes were very intense with both teams having chances but we finally got the goal to seal the game with another good goal from Eilidh.
Final score 6-4 and both teams received a rousing reception from the parents and coaches at the end of the game.
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday Night
Sunday night in sleepy Busselton and we're down to one child, Sport Boy. The older two have gone to Perth; Favourite Daughter for an interview at Tabor College where she will be starting a 6 month course in July and The Heir for moral support and a chance to get out of sleepy Busselton for a couple of days.
The Hair has wangled his way to Zac's place at Dunsborough for the night, theoretically so they can work together on a an oral presentation for history. Rumour has it that Zac's mum is strict about these sort of things so we'll see.
Mrs Holt Press and I had a late dinner of noodles while watching some quality TV, where else but on ABC1, "The Girls from Belarus" followed by a fascinating episode of Compass about a young woman's search for independence and identity in the face of a controlling fundamentalist father.
Saturday Soccer
The BIG game against the MR Gladiators lived up to its billing, it was a very good game. Sadly we lost 3-0 but not before a real battle. It was a tale of two halves, they out-played us in the first half, scoring 2 goals. Our defense just couldn't get the hang of marking players and being accountable. Perhaps because they so raely have to! A rev up and re-focus at half time brought significant improvement with Cornerstone dominating the game and having many opportunities but still failing to score. Then, in the last 5 seconds of the game MR scored on a breakaway to finish 3-0 winners.
They have a much better coach than our kids!! He coaches the country week team that Sport Boy has been selected in and it showed in their discipline and organisation.
After the game he affirmed that it had been by far their toughest game of the season.
I'm not sure if our kids can beat them next time they play but we at least know we're competitive with them.
Scenes from a taxi ride.
There was an interesting vignette in the taxi last night, played out in two parts.
I took a couple to Bunkers Bay Resort, past Dunsborough, a $60 fare, where they were going to dinner, a gift bought for them by their children. We talked about football most of the way, they are long-suffering Dockers members, she a teacher, he an electrical engineer.
I gave them my number and they rang a couple of hours later for me to come and pick them up for the return journey.
This time the tone was different, the lady was on the phone some of the way and it became obvious they had received some bad news while they were at dinner.
I didn't say anything until they opened a conversation with me then remarked "It sounds like you've had some bad news".
It turned out that the lady's mother had died and they had just received the news.
Suddenly the football didn't seem that important or relevant.
They told me a bit about her, that she was quite elderly and that she had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for many years which put a bit different perspective on the situation. They descibed her last 10 years as being trapped inside her (non-functioning) body yet still having an alert brain.
The lady was going to leave for Geraldton the following day to begin dealing with all the usual affairs that go with a bereavement.
Interestingly near the end of the journey, the conversation again turned to football, perhaps in a way grounding us and high-lighting that fine line we walk between the everyday and the eternal.
Death awaits us all. Life is made up of the myriad inter-actions, conversations and relationships that happen along the way. We never know where anyone else is on their journey, nor how close we may be to our destination ourselves.
And none of us knows when the Dockers will win another game!
The Hair has wangled his way to Zac's place at Dunsborough for the night, theoretically so they can work together on a an oral presentation for history. Rumour has it that Zac's mum is strict about these sort of things so we'll see.
Mrs Holt Press and I had a late dinner of noodles while watching some quality TV, where else but on ABC1, "The Girls from Belarus" followed by a fascinating episode of Compass about a young woman's search for independence and identity in the face of a controlling fundamentalist father.
Saturday Soccer
The BIG game against the MR Gladiators lived up to its billing, it was a very good game. Sadly we lost 3-0 but not before a real battle. It was a tale of two halves, they out-played us in the first half, scoring 2 goals. Our defense just couldn't get the hang of marking players and being accountable. Perhaps because they so raely have to! A rev up and re-focus at half time brought significant improvement with Cornerstone dominating the game and having many opportunities but still failing to score. Then, in the last 5 seconds of the game MR scored on a breakaway to finish 3-0 winners.
They have a much better coach than our kids!! He coaches the country week team that Sport Boy has been selected in and it showed in their discipline and organisation.
After the game he affirmed that it had been by far their toughest game of the season.
I'm not sure if our kids can beat them next time they play but we at least know we're competitive with them.
Scenes from a taxi ride.
There was an interesting vignette in the taxi last night, played out in two parts.
I took a couple to Bunkers Bay Resort, past Dunsborough, a $60 fare, where they were going to dinner, a gift bought for them by their children. We talked about football most of the way, they are long-suffering Dockers members, she a teacher, he an electrical engineer.
I gave them my number and they rang a couple of hours later for me to come and pick them up for the return journey.
This time the tone was different, the lady was on the phone some of the way and it became obvious they had received some bad news while they were at dinner.
I didn't say anything until they opened a conversation with me then remarked "It sounds like you've had some bad news".
It turned out that the lady's mother had died and they had just received the news.
Suddenly the football didn't seem that important or relevant.
They told me a bit about her, that she was quite elderly and that she had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for many years which put a bit different perspective on the situation. They descibed her last 10 years as being trapped inside her (non-functioning) body yet still having an alert brain.
The lady was going to leave for Geraldton the following day to begin dealing with all the usual affairs that go with a bereavement.
Interestingly near the end of the journey, the conversation again turned to football, perhaps in a way grounding us and high-lighting that fine line we walk between the everyday and the eternal.
Death awaits us all. Life is made up of the myriad inter-actions, conversations and relationships that happen along the way. We never know where anyone else is on their journey, nor how close we may be to our destination ourselves.
And none of us knows when the Dockers will win another game!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Friday/Saturday Wrap
PHAT PHRIDAY
Phat Phriday went really well, especially with the help of 5 young people to run it-The Heir, Favourite Daughter and three of her friends. We played "Spin a Mystery Meal" and were all amazed at the kid's enthusiasm and dedication to the task!
Three contestants each took turns spinning a wheel to select items to go in their meal, all of which were placed in a blender, mixed and poured for their consumption in a sculling race!
None of the items were a problem on their own, but the combinations they spun for themselves certainly made them less appetising!
From memory there was a Coke/Flake(chocolate)/tomato sauce/Tuna drink; a coconut milk/hamburger/chocolate/egg combo and a french fries/milk/tomato sauce and creamed corn concoction in one round.
Later mixes included some or all of: ravioli/tuna/egg/diet coke/jelly snakes/water/and vegemite sandwich!
No sooner had one group finished than ten more kids were eagerly volunteering to have a go. Most of them finished the whole cup full although one or two gagged at the first mouthful and couldn't go on.
As per the official rules of a sculling race as laid down by the IOC, the winner is the first one to finish the drink and place the upside down cup on their head. This of course reveals which competitors have truly finished. Plenty of kids ended up with goo in their hair at the end!
We were all happy with how it went but I did see a look of consternation on the nurse's face as she watched from the sidelines! There were no reports of Phat Phriday induced illness after lunch thankfully.
NB. The pictures above are from last week's very successful Phat Phriday Launch, Frozen Chicken Bowling which received 100% approval in our blog poll. (Thanks to the other three of you who voted:)
PS. Out of a sense of duty combined with guilt I did actually cook the bowling chook and ate some for lunch one day, with no ill-effects despite the loud protests of the entire Holt Press family!
TAXI TALES
Last night was one of the busiest shifts I've had in months. At one stage there were 22 jobs waiting. I was in a maxi taxi so had plenty of bigger groups to transport around. Apart from a couple of long drives to no-shows or cancellations I had a good night and made about $250. Even though I was rostered off at number two I didn't finish until nearly 4am, a couple of hours later than normal. Most of the customers behaved themselves which was a bonus. One lady I picked up works at The Ship and when I told her that I did the paintings that hang in the room with the pool tables she was embarrassingly effusive in her praise of them, and me! When I further confided that I was Favourite Daughter's Dad she was equally warm and full of compliments, telling me I should be very proud of her as she is wonderful. I am and she is.
Favourite Daughter is working with her in the bar tonight so there'll probably be an interesting conversation between them.
SATURDAY SOCCER
Our game this morning was at Dunsborough but I'm pleased to say it didn't start until 12.00 so I at least got a few hours sleep between taxi-driving and soccer coaching. We had a couple of kids away so I recruited an extra player to make up the starting 11. There was a bit of controversy about this but I can't say anything here in case the wrong people happen to read my blog!
(If you are a wrong person reading my blog please ignore this section and move on, there's nothing to see here.)
The kids played well and won the game 9-1 with Sport Boy scoring a hat trick.
GARAGE SALES
I spent a bit of time cruising a few garage sales this afternoon and did something unusual for me, I bought some plants! Several hanging baskets and a few potted plants from a lady who is about to head off on a trip around Australia with her husband. I hung them in the patio outside the kitchen window and they do look good. There wasn't much else worth buying, just a couple of Christmas ornaments and some art paints.
I finally managed to pick up the book shelves yesterday afternoon and today did some rearranging in the study, taking two smaller shelf units out and putting the new one in. The Heir made a successful bid for one set from the study so had to then do a big re-shuffle in his room as well. He has a talent for fitting ever more pieces of furniture into a confined space, in this case the smallest room in the house.
FOOTBALL
After dropping The Hair and his mates off at an X-Box Sleepover I settled down to watch the footy but was disappointed that the Hawks got up to beat the Crows in the last couple of minutes, a. because I'd tipped the Crows and b. because they are above the Cats on the ladder so a loss would have been to our advantage.
The Heir is home from work and in just under an hour's time we're going to watch the Australia V Ireland Rugby Test, Go the Wallabies.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Soccer Saturday
After minimal sleep I dragged myself out of bed in time to drive to Capel for the soccer game which kicked off at 9.30. Within 5 minutes of the start we were 4-0 in front and Sport Boy had scored a hat trick!!! It continued to be that sort of game with the final score being 18-0!!! Despite the one-sided nature of the game the other team didn't give up or become despondant.
Later in the afternoon he went down to Margaret River with the other kids for the third week of the Country week team trials. He came home happy and dirty and tired.
I spent the middle of the day watching Geelong beat Richmond in very wet conditions at the MCG. The Cats remain unbeaten so far this season along with Hawthorn, both being 8-0. The football world is eagerly awaiting them playing against each other but in a weird piece of fixturing they are not scheduled to meet until round 17! I can only imagine the hype in the build-up to that game if they both manage to remain unbeaten until then!
Church started early tonight, at 4.00 o'clock and was followed by a going away dinner for a couple who are moving to Molloy Island.
Now we're home watching the Cup Final.
Later in the afternoon he went down to Margaret River with the other kids for the third week of the Country week team trials. He came home happy and dirty and tired.
I spent the middle of the day watching Geelong beat Richmond in very wet conditions at the MCG. The Cats remain unbeaten so far this season along with Hawthorn, both being 8-0. The football world is eagerly awaiting them playing against each other but in a weird piece of fixturing they are not scheduled to meet until round 17! I can only imagine the hype in the build-up to that game if they both manage to remain unbeaten until then!
Church started early tonight, at 4.00 o'clock and was followed by a going away dinner for a couple who are moving to Molloy Island.
Now we're home watching the Cup Final.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Soccer Starts with a Bang
The soccer season started this morning, with both boys playing at Margaret River. I arrived just in time to see the soon to be re-badged Fashion Boy almost score a great goal. his team lost but he played well.
Sport Boy also had a good game, scoring two goals (and missing a penalty) in a 3-2 win. The only black spot on the game was some conflict between an opposition supporter and I which arose over a wrong call (in my opinion) by the ref. The bloke told me to shut up and let the ref do his job, not altogether unreasonable, but the followed it up by telling me to *%#$ off, in front of some of the kids in his team!! I was dumb-founded and got a little fired up, although I didn't take it any further. Then he launched an attack on me claiming I'd been coming down there for three years throwing my weight around etc! I had no idea what he was talking about and decided to go back to coaching the game. It all erupted suddenly and out of nowhere and left me confused and bemused. Things sttled down after that and a good game ensued, with the kids having their first taste of playing the offside rule. Our kids handled it a lot better than the opposition.
After the game I went to the pub in Margaret River to watch the second half of the football on Foxtel. Geelong won by 27 points but not before Brisbane had given hem a good run for their money and drawn level early in the final quarter.
footy fix satisfied I headed back to the soccer ground where they were holding trials for the Busselton under 12 country week team, something Sport Boy has been looking forward to for weeks. He was one of the smallest kids there but held his own in the games they played.
The trials run for 4 weeks before they choose the squad which means choosing 15 kids from the 30 odd who are trying out. I'm trying not to let SB get his hopes up too high as about half the kids are a year older, and significantly bigger, than he is. He's certainly got a chance but at the same time I'll be surprised if he makes it, pleased, but surprised none-the-less.
There's also the minimum $700 cost involved in being in the team that travels to Perth for Country week in October! It may take until next year before we can afford him to go!!
The new name suggestions for Fashion Boy are continuing to come in, thanks Dad, Keith, Broady and Zaac. A full list of options will be posted in a few days, and maybe an on-line poll, they seem very popular.
Broadie arrived tonight to stay for a couple of days. I've brought him to town to speak at a couple of churches, Down South tonight and Cornerstone tomorrow, and to do some sessions at the high school and Cornerstone college on Monday. He's always good value and the source of many laughs.
If you'd like to sample some of his work go to this link, click on Audio on Demand and type Bert's sport review in the search box. There are a lot worse things you could do with 5 minutes of your life.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Sport Boy, he's getting baptised at the beach at 12.30, along with a couple of other people from church. He and Mrs Holt Press have been doing some preparatory studies on baptism for the last few weeks and tomorrow is the big day.
Sport Boy also had a good game, scoring two goals (and missing a penalty) in a 3-2 win. The only black spot on the game was some conflict between an opposition supporter and I which arose over a wrong call (in my opinion) by the ref. The bloke told me to shut up and let the ref do his job, not altogether unreasonable, but the followed it up by telling me to *%#$ off, in front of some of the kids in his team!! I was dumb-founded and got a little fired up, although I didn't take it any further. Then he launched an attack on me claiming I'd been coming down there for three years throwing my weight around etc! I had no idea what he was talking about and decided to go back to coaching the game. It all erupted suddenly and out of nowhere and left me confused and bemused. Things sttled down after that and a good game ensued, with the kids having their first taste of playing the offside rule. Our kids handled it a lot better than the opposition.
After the game I went to the pub in Margaret River to watch the second half of the football on Foxtel. Geelong won by 27 points but not before Brisbane had given hem a good run for their money and drawn level early in the final quarter.
footy fix satisfied I headed back to the soccer ground where they were holding trials for the Busselton under 12 country week team, something Sport Boy has been looking forward to for weeks. He was one of the smallest kids there but held his own in the games they played.
The trials run for 4 weeks before they choose the squad which means choosing 15 kids from the 30 odd who are trying out. I'm trying not to let SB get his hopes up too high as about half the kids are a year older, and significantly bigger, than he is. He's certainly got a chance but at the same time I'll be surprised if he makes it, pleased, but surprised none-the-less.
There's also the minimum $700 cost involved in being in the team that travels to Perth for Country week in October! It may take until next year before we can afford him to go!!
The new name suggestions for Fashion Boy are continuing to come in, thanks Dad, Keith, Broady and Zaac. A full list of options will be posted in a few days, and maybe an on-line poll, they seem very popular.
Broadie arrived tonight to stay for a couple of days. I've brought him to town to speak at a couple of churches, Down South tonight and Cornerstone tomorrow, and to do some sessions at the high school and Cornerstone college on Monday. He's always good value and the source of many laughs.
If you'd like to sample some of his work go to this link, click on Audio on Demand and type Bert's sport review in the search box. There are a lot worse things you could do with 5 minutes of your life.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Sport Boy, he's getting baptised at the beach at 12.30, along with a couple of other people from church. He and Mrs Holt Press have been doing some preparatory studies on baptism for the last few weeks and tomorrow is the big day.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Beautiful Sunday
We had a great day in Bridgetown for the soccer team wind-up. The weather was perfect, Mum and Walter did a great job hosting the event in the park, including bringing their BBQ down because the Council have removed the BBQ's that used to be in the Boat Park, and creating the Giant Banana Split which all the kids had for dessert.
The trophies were awarded and I'm proud to say that Sport Boy won the Best & Fairest for the season. He felt a bit sick at different times throughout the day, partly as a result of the drive to Bridgetown through the winding hills road but the trophy brightened his spirits.
Sad to say also that I lost my Chaplains Fantasy Footy League Grand Final to Grant by about 3 points! And Craig Mottram fell away badly in the final of the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships which was pretty disappointing.
On a brighter note, the Cats finished the home and away season with a 7 goal win over Brisbane and now play the Kangaroos in the first round of the finals next Sunday afternoon, and I'll be there! Carn the Cats!
The trophies were awarded and I'm proud to say that Sport Boy won the Best & Fairest for the season. He felt a bit sick at different times throughout the day, partly as a result of the drive to Bridgetown through the winding hills road but the trophy brightened his spirits.
Sad to say also that I lost my Chaplains Fantasy Footy League Grand Final to Grant by about 3 points! And Craig Mottram fell away badly in the final of the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships which was pretty disappointing.
On a brighter note, the Cats finished the home and away season with a 7 goal win over Brisbane and now play the Kangaroos in the first round of the finals next Sunday afternoon, and I'll be there! Carn the Cats!
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Busy Saturday
The Cornerstone 10's Soccer Team 2007: Played 16, Won 14 Lost 2
I was awoken by a phone call from the guy at the Trophy Shop with wonderful news; despite being flat out he had managed to do the engraving on the trophies for tomorrow's soccer team wind-up, what a champ! Next time you're ordering trophies, let me recommend the trophy shop in Fig Tree Lane Busselton!
Today was the last game of the season and it was a beauty. The wind was quite strong and we were kicking into it in the first half. Despite a number of chances we were 1-0 down at half time but in the second half they showed how good they are by scoring 5 goals and winning 5-2. Sport Boy scored twice and was best on ground. A couple of the goals were sensational as the kids strung together a series of passes to cut through the opposition defense. All the parents and supporters were making heaps of noise and loving it and I was pretty excited too.
Tomorrow we'll introduce the team to the joys of Boat Soccer Squash, the game our family invented at the Boat Park in Bridgetown. There'll be trophies and a giant banana split along with a picnic BBQ lunch, it promises to be a great way to wind up what has been a fantastic season.
I only had a couple of hours after that before the start of my taxi shift (early start at 4pm). I tidied up the back patio and then we showed Sarah and Lisa through the house, explaining everything they'll need to know while they house-sit for us. Then Tina came round to pick up her painting. She told me she loves it which is very gratifying, and I loved the $300 she paid for it too!
It was a very quiet night in the cab so I finished quite early. There were the usual collection of drunks to take home safely and one bloke who loves Geelong about as much as I do so we were celebrating the Cats win over Brisbane tonight. When I told him I was going to Melbourne on Wednesday for the finals he threatened to kiss me!!! Thankfully I got him out of the cab before that unpleasant act could eventuate!!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Saturday Catch-Up
Just finished a 12 hour shift in the cab, and had my biggest night ever, collecting $718 in fares and clearing over $300 for the shift. The holiday fund continues to grow.
Another contribution will come from the sale of a painting I've just completed, a commission from one of Carolyn's friends, Tina. She came to see it today and gave it a BIG thumbs up which was both gratifying and a relief. Picture to follow.
Fashion Boy left for Perth on the bus this morning where he will be participating in the WA State Youth Parliament for the next three days as the representative for the electorate of Vasse. I was asleep when he left (post-taxi) but I left him a card with some words of encouragement and affirmation. He must have appreciated it because he left me a note saying he'd been feeling nervous and it had "really boosted his confidence". He has prepared a speech on an issue relevant to the area, the restoration of the Busselton Jetty, and I think he should do quite well. I went on special camps and events when I was at school and always had a great time. One of my best friends, Sally, and I met on a creative writing and drama camp when we were at school. It would be great if FB also made some good friends through the experience.
Sport Boy scored another goal this morning as Cornerstone reversed the result from our first game against Dunsborough. They beat us 3-2 early in the season but today we completely outplayed them and won 7-0, scoring a couple of cracking goals in the process.
I wish I wasn't so tired right now because Ian McNamara is broadcasting "Australia All Over" (ABC Radio Programme) from Bunbury this morning and I've always wanted to go to one of his outside broadcast shows. This is the closest I've ever been to one but I'm just too tired to drive to Bunbury again, having already been up there and back twice tonight in the taxi. Because of the time difference (WA is two hours behind the East coast) the show started at 4.00am our time. It has been a wild night in the region, very strong winds and heavy rain storms. Not ideal for standing around in the dark watching/listening to a radio show!
Hopefully I'll get another chance some other time.
Finally, on the topic of missed chances, I picked up a group in the cab tonight and we talked about the footy. On discovering I was a Geelong fan he said "We just buried my brother who was a staunch Geelong supporter. He dropped dead of a heart attack last week, aged .....47!!" That's one year older than me! I've said before if Geelong don't win a premiership in my lifetime I'll die a very unhappy man. This is our best chance in 44 years and this poor bloke droppped dead 6 weeks before it might finally happen! That's sad and sobering!
Talking of Geelong, their game starts in 7 hours so I need to get to bed and get some sleep in preparation.
Our friends Rolf and Nonna are coming down from Perth tomorrow arvo to stay for a night. It will be nice to have some guests in the house.
Another contribution will come from the sale of a painting I've just completed, a commission from one of Carolyn's friends, Tina. She came to see it today and gave it a BIG thumbs up which was both gratifying and a relief. Picture to follow.
Fashion Boy left for Perth on the bus this morning where he will be participating in the WA State Youth Parliament for the next three days as the representative for the electorate of Vasse. I was asleep when he left (post-taxi) but I left him a card with some words of encouragement and affirmation. He must have appreciated it because he left me a note saying he'd been feeling nervous and it had "really boosted his confidence". He has prepared a speech on an issue relevant to the area, the restoration of the Busselton Jetty, and I think he should do quite well. I went on special camps and events when I was at school and always had a great time. One of my best friends, Sally, and I met on a creative writing and drama camp when we were at school. It would be great if FB also made some good friends through the experience.
Sport Boy scored another goal this morning as Cornerstone reversed the result from our first game against Dunsborough. They beat us 3-2 early in the season but today we completely outplayed them and won 7-0, scoring a couple of cracking goals in the process.
I wish I wasn't so tired right now because Ian McNamara is broadcasting "Australia All Over" (ABC Radio Programme) from Bunbury this morning and I've always wanted to go to one of his outside broadcast shows. This is the closest I've ever been to one but I'm just too tired to drive to Bunbury again, having already been up there and back twice tonight in the taxi. Because of the time difference (WA is two hours behind the East coast) the show started at 4.00am our time. It has been a wild night in the region, very strong winds and heavy rain storms. Not ideal for standing around in the dark watching/listening to a radio show!
Hopefully I'll get another chance some other time.
Finally, on the topic of missed chances, I picked up a group in the cab tonight and we talked about the footy. On discovering I was a Geelong fan he said "We just buried my brother who was a staunch Geelong supporter. He dropped dead of a heart attack last week, aged .....47!!" That's one year older than me! I've said before if Geelong don't win a premiership in my lifetime I'll die a very unhappy man. This is our best chance in 44 years and this poor bloke droppped dead 6 weeks before it might finally happen! That's sad and sobering!
Talking of Geelong, their game starts in 7 hours so I need to get to bed and get some sleep in preparation.
Our friends Rolf and Nonna are coming down from Perth tomorrow arvo to stay for a night. It will be nice to have some guests in the house.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Weekend Wrap
Great number plate spotted on our trip to Bunbury on Wednesday.Lately I seem to enter a blogging black hole over the weekend. It's because of driving the taxi on Friday and Saturday nights and sleeping late the following mornings. Throw in Sport Boy's soccer on Saturday mornings, a Geelong game some time over the weekend, and the mandatory eating, showering and domestic requirements and the blog comes last until about now (Sunday evening). Not through lack of care, just lack of time.
I spent a few hours picking mandarins on Friday afternoon to help a family from church who have an orchard. Jamie has a brain tumour and is having a pretty hard time physically. Carolyn goes and does some exercises with him to help try and keep him mobile. It was my first experience of fruit picking, one of those seasonal jobs people often consider when they're travelling. I'd have to say that although manadarins are not hard to pick and the trees are fairly user-friendly, I won't be quitting my day job, or even my night job to take it up. It was good to be able to lend a hand to some people in need though and I couldn't help but marvel at the bountiful fruit on each tree and the wonderful way God has made things work in the natural world.
Friday night was a very busy shift and a late finish ($$$). The boss knocked off at 3am, leaving two of us on with the observation I'd probably be able to knock off in a few minutes (leaving just one car on the road to carry through till 6am and the day shift drivers). Ha! The moment he parked up the phone went ballistic and we were run off our feet, if you know what I mean, for the next hour and a half. Last night started very quietly but finished strongly and I didn't park up until 5am. That's OK ($$$) :) Nothing much to report, no major dramas or difficult customers, but an interesting encounter with one teenage girl who was going home because she felt guilty about deceiving her parents that she was staying at a friend's place when she was really at a party!
Sport Boy got back on the score sheet on Saturday morning in Cornerstone's 9-0 win over Capel. It was another good game, the team are getting better all the time, with improved skillls and a better sense of how to play as a team: "Passing, passing, passing". Only three more games till the end of the season and I can have my Saturday mornings back for uniterrupted recovery.
The house was full on Saturday arvo: Mum and Walter came for a visit after spending a riveting half an hour at the Nannup Tulip Festival!
Sport Boy had a friend over to play, which stretched to a sleepover. Rhys is a nice kid so it was no trouble. Carolyn went into a manic cleaning frenzy on Saturday morning in preparation for the arrival of ........ The Nutrimetics Party!!!! Two friends, Carolyn and the Nutrimetics Lady with her bag of smells and potions for the beautification and healing of just about anything you could think of. There was an inordinate amount of laughter for such a small and serious gathering and I had to admire the NL's perseverance as she battled on against the constant interruptions and outbursts of laughter from the "clients". It sounded like they were having a good time but it did go on for a very long time! "I didn't expect it to go that long" was Carolyn's half-hearted explanation for the lack of dinner or any junk mail folding by Saturday night! I didn't mind, although that may change when I see the credit card statement!!
This afternoon I folded the junk mail while waiting for the (delayed telecast) of the football to start, Geelong v The Kangaroos. It was a tough game which the Cats won by 27 points to take the streak to 15, their best ever in a single season. I compiled a list of all the companies whose ads aired during the game and am considering writing to them to say I'm boycotting their products because of their complicity in a lousy TV broadcasting arrangement which sees a game delayed three hours, presumably for financial/advertising reasons, rather than telecast live, despite there being no other games on at all for the day. Why should we wait, running the risk of some dunderhead revealing the result, in order to watch our national game?!! Then there was Channel 7's increasingly inane and annoying commentary to put up with! Just as well Geelong won or it would have been a completely unpleasant experience! (End Rant)
The final piece of good news for the weekend is that I won my elimination final in the Chaplains Fantasy Footy League by 1 point, 245 to 244 over The Slayers!-coached by Peter and Kent from SU (Barring protests! I forgot to submit my team on Friday afternoon-something to do with manadarins and taxis!) Hopefully the Bussel Muscle will have progressed to the Preliminary Final next week.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Dirty Game
Saturday's soccer game was played in the mud at Margaret River and it was a suitable tough slog. Cornerstone won 2-0.
The kids seemed in two minds about the mud, whether to tip toe through it and stay clean, or go jumping and sliding and have a mud bath!
For the 2nd week in a row Sport Boy didn't get a goal, a scoring drought looms! He has been prolific throughout the season so I'm sure the dry spell won't last long.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Saturday
Most things went to plan today.
The soccer team won (by a cricket score!) and Sport Boy achieved the goal I set him of passing the ball 20 times during the game. He even got excited when his passes lead to team-mates scoring goals, running over to the sideline to give me high 5's!
Geelong won, beating Sydney, and stretching their winning streak to 8 to stay a game clear on top of the ladder.
I got most things packed.
The other drivers kindly offered to cover for me so I didn't have to do the late shift and finish at 6am, in order that I can get a bit more sleep before heading to Perth with the Country Week team tomorrow lunchtime. It helped that one of the driver's daughters is in the team!
So, with blogging responsibilities taken care of, albeit briefly, I'm going to bed.
I don't know how much chance I'll have to blog next week or how much access I'll have to the net, but I'll be trying to keep up to date.
The soccer team won (by a cricket score!) and Sport Boy achieved the goal I set him of passing the ball 20 times during the game. He even got excited when his passes lead to team-mates scoring goals, running over to the sideline to give me high 5's!
Geelong won, beating Sydney, and stretching their winning streak to 8 to stay a game clear on top of the ladder.
I got most things packed.
The other drivers kindly offered to cover for me so I didn't have to do the late shift and finish at 6am, in order that I can get a bit more sleep before heading to Perth with the Country Week team tomorrow lunchtime. It helped that one of the driver's daughters is in the team!
So, with blogging responsibilities taken care of, albeit briefly, I'm going to bed.
I don't know how much chance I'll have to blog next week or how much access I'll have to the net, but I'll be trying to keep up to date.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday
In a gut-wrenching display of will powerI dragged myself out of bed this morning to get to soccer on time. The late taxi shift-early soccer combo is not a favourite at Holt Press. The weather has been filthy the last couple of days but thankfully the rain held off until five minutes after our game finished this morning. It would have quickly degenerated into water polo otherwise. The wind blew a gale against us in the first half, then mysteriously dissipated to a gentle breeze when it was our turn in the second half! It was a close exciting game, Cornerstone led 1-0, then fell 2-1 behind before staging a great recovery in the second half to win 3-2. Sport Boy was excellent again, playing both defense and attack.
I did a few jobs and errands, including exchanging a couple of tops that the family gave me for my birthday. Sadly they under-estimated my size as they were both too small. I ended up getting 4 new tops in the exchange but had to pay some extra, for my own birthday present!
I slept for a couple of hours this arvo before heading off for tonight's taxi shift. I drove the bus tonight and had some stark contrast between the various groups of passengers. Two hockey teams were great fun, very friendly and chatty and amusing; I took one group to Margaret River then went back for them a few hours later. Less pleasant was the group of young women all dolled up and loaded with bottles of booze and low-cut tops who quickly degenerated into foul language and bitchiness when they realised that their looks weren't going to earn them any short-cuts or discounts! One of them complained that I had turned the meter on too soon and another actually said "But we're sexy!" as if that was some sort of valid reason for them not to pay a legitimate fare!
I'm looking forward to a proper sleep-in tomorrow. I'm on roster at the gallery in the afternoon and then Mum and Walter are coming to visit in honour of my birthday now that they are home again from their trip east.
I did a few jobs and errands, including exchanging a couple of tops that the family gave me for my birthday. Sadly they under-estimated my size as they were both too small. I ended up getting 4 new tops in the exchange but had to pay some extra, for my own birthday present!
I slept for a couple of hours this arvo before heading off for tonight's taxi shift. I drove the bus tonight and had some stark contrast between the various groups of passengers. Two hockey teams were great fun, very friendly and chatty and amusing; I took one group to Margaret River then went back for them a few hours later. Less pleasant was the group of young women all dolled up and loaded with bottles of booze and low-cut tops who quickly degenerated into foul language and bitchiness when they realised that their looks weren't going to earn them any short-cuts or discounts! One of them complained that I had turned the meter on too soon and another actually said "But we're sexy!" as if that was some sort of valid reason for them not to pay a legitimate fare!
I'm looking forward to a proper sleep-in tomorrow. I'm on roster at the gallery in the afternoon and then Mum and Walter are coming to visit in honour of my birthday now that they are home again from their trip east.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Wheelie Bin
An even later finish tonight after a very strange night in the cab. One of the other drivers got a job to take someone to Perth (a lazy $350 fare and 7 hour round trip!) in the cab I was rostered to drive, so I drove the wheel chair taxi, colloquially known as "the wheelie bin"! My first job was to a spot in the bush 20km west of Nannup for a fare of $127! The lady I took ear-bashed me the entire trip and was the sort of person who says a lot of things that should be challenged but for the sake of peace and sanity you don't tend to challenge! I had to smile to myself a couple of times when she tickled my "Bad Grammar Man" funny bone. She referred to a certain place a couple of times as that "pacific spot" and I'm sure she wasn't talking about Hawaii, and later mentioned the "Christian Philadelphians" who I presume she mistook for the "Christadelphians".
My next job was to Dunsborough but with dubious directions and street numbering it took me about 15 minutes just to find the right house and get on the road so by the time I got back from there the Noodle Bar was closed and I'd missed out on the Seafood Mee Goreng noodles I'd been looking forward to all night.
Things got much worse than that though! I picked up 6 people from the Goose, two of the ladies sitting in the back hatch, when the car ran out of gas! LPG Gas that is! It coughed and spluttered and finally died, then I succeeded in flattening the battery while trying to re-start it on what I thought was the reserve petrol tank! Turns out the petrol tank holds about 2 litres and is only used for starting the engine! The customers took it in very good humour.
Many comments were made back and forth, amongst which the most memorable were:
Female Customer: "Now we'll never get there"
Me: "Yeah we will, it'll be no problem with this many people pushing".
Me: "I'll turn the meter off until we get this sorted and back on the road."
Customer: "We've past the point where we owe you money...!"
John came to there rescue in the maxi and I drove his car for the next few hours of a very busy night.
Later Leggy towed me to the 24 Houry and used his jump pack battery to get me started again.
A bit later my customer was not at the appointed pick-up address and coincidentally a police car pulled up next to me to say they'd had a report of a "domestic" but couldn't find it. When I knocked on the door of the address I'd been given I was informed by the males in the house that "the woman has walked off" with what I presume were meant to be knowing looks and tones. As I was getting back in the cab one of them gave me $20 and pointed me in the direction she'd set off and asked me to see if I could find her and take her home.
I did just that but not before she called her husband on her mobile and let rip at him with a torrent of swearing and abuse. I think I'd found the "domestic"!
I finished at 5 and made plenty of money tonight. Now the question is will I get enough sleep to be able to get up and watch the Geelong V Brisbane game at 11.00 in the morning!
Further to that, on Monday and Tuesday I'm going on an overnight hike on the Bibbulmun Track with a group of year 10 students that I've been helping a teacher with for the last few weeks. It will be a challenging hike I'm sure, moreso emotionally than physically!
Just a quick word before I finish on Sport Boy's soccer game this morning. From the comparitive riches of our initial 13 man squad, this morning we only had 8 players so had to play one short against St Joseph's Eagles. Despite being out-numbered and being under early pressure, the kids played extremely well and ended up winning 5-0. Sport Boy scored two goals and in the second half when I switched him into defense also played really well. He has become our most consistent and reliable player this season. It was a very good game and some of the kid's passing movements brought comments and appreciation from the crowd, not just the proud parents but senior soccer players who were watching the game.
Just time to check in on Aaron Baddeley's progress in the 3rd round of the US Open before I go to bed. Need to go soon before the sun starts to come up!
My next job was to Dunsborough but with dubious directions and street numbering it took me about 15 minutes just to find the right house and get on the road so by the time I got back from there the Noodle Bar was closed and I'd missed out on the Seafood Mee Goreng noodles I'd been looking forward to all night.
Things got much worse than that though! I picked up 6 people from the Goose, two of the ladies sitting in the back hatch, when the car ran out of gas! LPG Gas that is! It coughed and spluttered and finally died, then I succeeded in flattening the battery while trying to re-start it on what I thought was the reserve petrol tank! Turns out the petrol tank holds about 2 litres and is only used for starting the engine! The customers took it in very good humour.
Many comments were made back and forth, amongst which the most memorable were:
Female Customer: "Now we'll never get there"
Me: "Yeah we will, it'll be no problem with this many people pushing".
Me: "I'll turn the meter off until we get this sorted and back on the road."
Customer: "We've past the point where we owe you money...!"
John came to there rescue in the maxi and I drove his car for the next few hours of a very busy night.
Later Leggy towed me to the 24 Houry and used his jump pack battery to get me started again.
A bit later my customer was not at the appointed pick-up address and coincidentally a police car pulled up next to me to say they'd had a report of a "domestic" but couldn't find it. When I knocked on the door of the address I'd been given I was informed by the males in the house that "the woman has walked off" with what I presume were meant to be knowing looks and tones. As I was getting back in the cab one of them gave me $20 and pointed me in the direction she'd set off and asked me to see if I could find her and take her home.
I did just that but not before she called her husband on her mobile and let rip at him with a torrent of swearing and abuse. I think I'd found the "domestic"!
I finished at 5 and made plenty of money tonight. Now the question is will I get enough sleep to be able to get up and watch the Geelong V Brisbane game at 11.00 in the morning!
Further to that, on Monday and Tuesday I'm going on an overnight hike on the Bibbulmun Track with a group of year 10 students that I've been helping a teacher with for the last few weeks. It will be a challenging hike I'm sure, moreso emotionally than physically!
Just a quick word before I finish on Sport Boy's soccer game this morning. From the comparitive riches of our initial 13 man squad, this morning we only had 8 players so had to play one short against St Joseph's Eagles. Despite being out-numbered and being under early pressure, the kids played extremely well and ended up winning 5-0. Sport Boy scored two goals and in the second half when I switched him into defense also played really well. He has become our most consistent and reliable player this season. It was a very good game and some of the kid's passing movements brought comments and appreciation from the crowd, not just the proud parents but senior soccer players who were watching the game.
Just time to check in on Aaron Baddeley's progress in the 3rd round of the US Open before I go to bed. Need to go soon before the sun starts to come up!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Dream or reality?
I think I dreamed this morning that the soccer team won 4-0 and Sport Boy played really well, or it may have happened in real life, I'm not sure. If I did get up this morning and go to soccer after 3 and a bit hours of post-taxi sleep it was one of the more impressive feats of human endurance in the post-modern era, or in the last week, one of the two.
Beyond the soccer dream there was a hazy garage sale experience in which I found one of those three wheeled push-bikes (trikes?) that seem to be peculiarly common in Busselton and was able to haggle the price down from $250 to $190. I think removing the front wheel and loosening the classic "Angel Bar" handlebars enabled me to get it in the car to bring home. Replete with large basket at the back, between the two rear tyres, it will make an ideal vehicle for the junk mail round, and as a transition stage before one or both of us has to take to a gopher. They cost about $700-800 new so it was a "bargain"!
I spent the afternoon back in bed recovering from last night and preparing for tonight. In an effort to raise some extra funds, and because I'll be away for a few weeks in July and September, I'm driving the taxi on both Friday and Saturday nights this month.
My most interesting fare tonight was to pick up a family of 5 from the airport who had just flown down from Perth on a small twin propellor passenger plane. Turns out prior to that they had flown down from Broome this afternoon. I took them on the final leg of their journey, to Eagle Bay, where they were going to a party! That's a darn long way to come to a party! The bloke, who wore a cowboy hat off the plane, has a cattle station near Broome and there was an abundance of cowboy hats in evidence when we arrived at the party. Apparently The Magnificent Seven (a "country" band of some repute) were playing. I take this on advisement, courtesy of a subsequent customer, because I of course have a deliberate extremely small knowledge of country music and it's proponents. I have an inheritance coming which is designed to remedy this particular deficiency so I'm not in any hurry to further my knowledge at this point, and considering what the precursor to said inheritance must necessarily be, nor am I in any hurry in the future.
I can only surmise that there is money to be made in either cattle or country music, or perhaps even both, because apart form the cost of the flying excursion, the bloke in the cowboy hat gave me $100 for the $85 fare and told me to keep the change.
Beyond the soccer dream there was a hazy garage sale experience in which I found one of those three wheeled push-bikes (trikes?) that seem to be peculiarly common in Busselton and was able to haggle the price down from $250 to $190. I think removing the front wheel and loosening the classic "Angel Bar" handlebars enabled me to get it in the car to bring home. Replete with large basket at the back, between the two rear tyres, it will make an ideal vehicle for the junk mail round, and as a transition stage before one or both of us has to take to a gopher. They cost about $700-800 new so it was a "bargain"!
I spent the afternoon back in bed recovering from last night and preparing for tonight. In an effort to raise some extra funds, and because I'll be away for a few weeks in July and September, I'm driving the taxi on both Friday and Saturday nights this month.
My most interesting fare tonight was to pick up a family of 5 from the airport who had just flown down from Perth on a small twin propellor passenger plane. Turns out prior to that they had flown down from Broome this afternoon. I took them on the final leg of their journey, to Eagle Bay, where they were going to a party! That's a darn long way to come to a party! The bloke, who wore a cowboy hat off the plane, has a cattle station near Broome and there was an abundance of cowboy hats in evidence when we arrived at the party. Apparently The Magnificent Seven (a "country" band of some repute) were playing. I take this on advisement, courtesy of a subsequent customer, because I of course have a deliberate extremely small knowledge of country music and it's proponents. I have an inheritance coming which is designed to remedy this particular deficiency so I'm not in any hurry to further my knowledge at this point, and considering what the precursor to said inheritance must necessarily be, nor am I in any hurry in the future.
I can only surmise that there is money to be made in either cattle or country music, or perhaps even both, because apart form the cost of the flying excursion, the bloke in the cowboy hat gave me $100 for the $85 fare and told me to keep the change.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
1-0
The kids lost their soccer game 1-0 this morning due to a tactical error and very good defending by the opposition.
Chelsea beat Manchester Utd 1-0 in the first FA Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, although United were unlucky to have a goal disallowed in extra time.
Geelong won their third game in a row with a 25 point victory over the Dockers.
The biggest story of the day was Jordan's stage debut in "The Boyfriend", a musical production at Augusta tonight. He came home buzzing and laughing and telling stories of his exploits, and rueing the fact he couldn't get the songs out of his head. It sounded like it went very well and there were 200 people there which really surprised us.
We're looking forward to going to the show next weekend.
Chelsea beat Manchester Utd 1-0 in the first FA Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, although United were unlucky to have a goal disallowed in extra time.
Geelong won their third game in a row with a 25 point victory over the Dockers.
The biggest story of the day was Jordan's stage debut in "The Boyfriend", a musical production at Augusta tonight. He came home buzzing and laughing and telling stories of his exploits, and rueing the fact he couldn't get the songs out of his head. It sounded like it went very well and there were 200 people there which really surprised us.
We're looking forward to going to the show next weekend.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Saturday
I had planned to give an analysis of my injection in this post but I haven't had time to do any prep or research, I've hardly stopped all day.
After between 3-4 hours sleep I had to get up to coach the soccer.
Unfortunately there was a stuff-up with the fixturing and nobody told us that our game time had been brought forward an hour!!! The opposition came, and waited, and went before we even arrived! There were some pretty disappointed kids, no doubt on both teams! We improvised with a 5-a-side scratch match and brought the parents on for the last 10 minutes to play in defence. I can see some physio visits looming!
After lunch Carolyn and Favourite Daughter went out for coffee and a chat, Jordy went to work at Red Rooster and Sport Boy and I went to the cinema to see Mr Bean's Holiday which turned out to be better than I expected. We were the only two patrons at the screening so finding a seat wasn't difficult!
We visited a garage sale on the way home and I bought some down lights which I hope might be able to be fitted to replace the fittings we have in the lounge room, which are not only unattractive but also chew up power and blow globes repeatedly.
Gavin rang me at lunchtime to see if I wanted to drive a cab again tonight so I've just spent the last 9 hours driving one of the maxi taxis around on a very busy night. There were two big parties and a home footy game and we were on the run the whole night ferrying people to and from and around their various social events. Favourite daughter rang me at about 1.00am hoping for a lift home and was surprised to realise that I was sitting in the cab at the footy club not more than 20 metres away from where she was standing at the time! I gave her and her Canadian co-worker Ian a long and convoluted lift home, having to squeeze it in around paying fares Drunkeness is in the main, an ugly state of being. I concede that there are all sorts of drunks, happy drunks, funny drunks, melancholy drunks, talkative drunks etc etc, but all of these are overwhelmed by obnoxious drunks, crude drunks, aggressive drunks, idiotic drunks, disrespectful drunks and violent drunks and I had a fair smattering of each variety in the van tonight. I confronted one group I was taking to Dunsborough, challenging them on their horrendous treatment of one girl in particular that we had just dropped off. To their credit they pulled their heads in and were pretty quiet the rest of the way home.
It was a profitable night which is the other bonus.
It's 4 o'clock now so I need to sleep which means I'll miss church in the morning. Hopefully I'll wake up in time to watch the footy, in the hope of seeing my beloved Cats be the first team to beat the Eagles this season! There's a bag of Freddos riding on the result with the soccer team, most of whom have the handicap of being West Coast supporters!
Truth be known I don't expect Geelong to win, but as ever I live in hope. I think Mum is going to the game as she and Walter left for Victoria this week for a month. The funny thing is Mum can't watch a game of football on the TV because of her nerves, she almost becomes apopleptic, but apparently doesn't suffer the same ill effects at a live game. Mind you, it must be a very long time since she went to a live AFL game!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Am I Cool or What?
Sport Boy was transformed into Disco Boy for last night's party and didn't he love it!!
You looking at me?
A casualty of today's Half Ironman Triathlon at Busselton. I was on duty as a volunteer for a few hours this afternoon. I was a "catcher", waiting at the finish line to assist and support the triathletes as they finished, removing theior timing bands from their wet and sweaty ankles, trying not to pull any hair off with it for those who hadn't shaved down for the event. Pitiful as it sounds, I was sore and tired at the end from the continual kneeling! These people had just swum, ridden and run for the last 6 hours and I was struggling with a few knee bends!! As I said, pitiful!! 
Sport Boy was best on ground in this morning's soccer game at Dunsborough, he threw himself into everything, running, chasing, tackling and doing everything he could in the quest for victory. We went from 1-0 up to 2-1 down by half time. He got tackled and tripped and fouled repeatedly throughout the game and had to go off hurt a couple of times. When he came back on with 7 minutes left he won a very tough contested ball in midfield, beat a couple of players and sent a brilliant pass through to Ben C who beat a player and shot from distance to score the equaliser ; one of the best goals the team has ever scored.It was a nail-biting finish with Cornerstone doing most of the attacking and Dunsborough defending desperately. Then, with 14 seconds left on the clock, one of our kids gave the ball away outside the penalty area and a Dunsb. kid pounced to score the winning goal! It was pretty disappointing after the fightback and I was kicking myself for not having taught them what to do in such a situation, to just clear the ball into touch and regroup in defense! Next time.
It was a great game none-the-less. Sport Boy came off a little worse for wear, with a sore knee, and a few scratches in a very private area as a result of a clumsy challenge from one of the opposition! He was a bit distressed when he undressed for a bath and discovered the injury. It wasn't serious but it's never pleasant being injured anywhere in the groin region.
He spent the afternoon playing at Jack's while I was at the Ironman which no doubt contributed to his tiredness, the results of which are clear to see.
Ah! The junk mail! There's a massive 17 pamphlets to fold ready for delivery this week. That's because I'm combining the weekend and midweek deliveries in order to save a bit of time! Well that's the theory!I had a call with Carolyn tonight who is having a lovely relaxing time with Ray.
NB. The rabbit, despite my best efforts at neglect, is still alive!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday
It's been a busy day, starting with Sport Boy's soccer game this morning, a 15-0 victory in an obviously one-sided game. Although the other team were'nt very good, our kids did play exceptionally well, stringing together many passing movements and finishing well. Sport Boy scored 5 goals and was pretty happy afterwards! There'll be much tougher games to come!
I was on roster at the gallery this arvo which was extremely quiet, no sales all day, but I did get to work on a couple of paintings while I listened to the footy.
Tonight I drove the taxi, in fact I've just finished my shift. It was fairly quiet but a hail fare on the highway turned into a jackpot when the three young men asked me to take them to Bunbury! The total fare came to $106! Sadly their intentions in Bunbury were not very honourable!
I was pretty tired and a bit concerned about staying awake on the long trip (50km each way) so I stopped for my second Vanilla Diet Coke of the night and listened to the cricket with the windows down. Adam Gilchrist was superb, hitting 149 runs to help set up what should be a match-winning score in the World Cup Final.
I was on roster at the gallery this arvo which was extremely quiet, no sales all day, but I did get to work on a couple of paintings while I listened to the footy.
Tonight I drove the taxi, in fact I've just finished my shift. It was fairly quiet but a hail fare on the highway turned into a jackpot when the three young men asked me to take them to Bunbury! The total fare came to $106! Sadly their intentions in Bunbury were not very honourable!
I was pretty tired and a bit concerned about staying awake on the long trip (50km each way) so I stopped for my second Vanilla Diet Coke of the night and listened to the cricket with the windows down. Adam Gilchrist was superb, hitting 149 runs to help set up what should be a match-winning score in the World Cup Final.
Friday, April 27, 2007
New Seasons
Laurie with his three kids, Travis, Beau and KaraI had lunch with Laurie today, we go back a long way, to pre-chaplaincy days, when he was running Warriuka white water rafting and abseiling camps for Scripture Union and I was working with Fusion, back in the late 80's. We did some great camps together and built up quite a bit of legend and folk lore which will have to wait for the book. He went on to become a chaplain at Rockingham which piqued my initial interest in the field and when I started at Carine we continued to work together, pioneering Wilderness Intervention Programs (WIPs) in WA. He moved on from there to complete further studies at Uni in order to become a clinical psychologist. He and Sonia moved down to Busselton after Sonia's mum died a few years ago. When we moved we re-established connections with them. Laurie has been my supervisor, and has fought a fruitless battle trying to get me involved in outrigger canoeing which is one of his passions. He loves the water and has a yacht which I went for a sail on last year but I'm not much of a boatie so I remain unconverted. Laurie reads my blog from time to time so he was aware of some of my recent struggles and that was the major topic of conversation over lunch. He made a couple of suggestions and recommendations regarding counselling options which I will follow up on. For those who are interested in the small details, we ate at "The Food Room" behind Red Rooster, I had a chicken schnitzel burger and it was very nice, washed down with an Agrum.
Term 2 heralds the coming of winter and the change of sporting seasons. That means soccer season for the kids and I am once again coaching Sport Boy's team, the 10's and under. We've got a few new players this season, and most of the kids from last season are back and showing signs of improved skills and concentration, especially the girls. Ironically, Stu, aka The Gardener, is coaching the 11's and they are short a couple of players so we may have to give them a couple of ours! I'm reluctant to break the team up, they've been together for a couple of years now and are starting to gel and work together. Sport Boy has been hanging out for this, he started wearing his soccer gear two days ago and had it all laid out in his bedroom last night ready for today, although he is disappointed that his beloved number 11 shirt is missing from the bag of team shirts!
Volleyball restarted tonight as well, my first serious sporting test since I broke my ankle in last year's finals. I'm glad to report that it held up pretty well although I confess I was being ultra careful and was quite nervous each tiome I jumped up at the net. We're short one player and had to have a fill in tonight, Wade from school. He played really well but unfortunately has his own team and can't play for us regularly. We're on the hunt for a 6th player to complete the team. Despite these uncertainties, and losing the first set, we came back strongly to win the second set against Breakaways and then went on to record a solid win in the 3rd to take the game. We had a new girl, Magda playing tonight and it was great having a good setter consistently putting up good balls for us to hit. My serve was rusty in the first set but soon got warmed up and I was getting some good power and accuracy and causing some problems for Breakaways.
I'm due to have a cortizone injection in my ankle sometime in the next couple of weeks to reduce the swelling which still hasn't fully subsided since the injury last September.
I also need to see a physio because my neck and shoulders have been bothering me for the last week or two and getting back into sport will probably aggravate them further unless I get some treatment.
I have a Dr's appointment in the morning to follow up on my blood test results, which probably means starting on a course of testosterone tablets. I also want to get some anti-inflammatories and a referral to the physio for my neck, and to a counsellor so it will be a busy appointment.
Saturday morning is the first soccer game of the season. I've swapped my regular Friday night shift in the cab to Saturday night. Tomorrow night I'm running a quiz night for the local business women's association.
Sunday we're going to Perth to drop Carolyn off as she is flying to Adelaide on Monday morning to go and visit her brother Raymond and possible the rest of her family for 10 days. She's been a bit anxious about whether I'll manage all the household tasks and running the kids around to sport, rehearsals, work, school etc. I hope she just relaxes and goes away and has a good time with her family and doesn't spend her time worrying about me/us. We'll be fine. I've got Dominoes number programmed into the speed dial of my phone.
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