Played cricket on Saturday against the scumbags from Columbia University. A horrible bunch...actually most of them are OK but a few rotten apples always seem to spoil the bunch. Sadly we got done...but we are all well motivated to ensure that we get into the final to hand them another defeat then when it really matters. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I was totally stuffed with a horrible LBW decision...seriously bad. Our #3 was run out off a deflection when backing up. Throw in a couple of loose shots and we ended up paying the price for scoring about 25 runs too few. We bowled OK but they had one batsman who held things together for them and won them the game. Revenge is sweet...looking forward to another crack at them later in the year.
Other than this, Mum's visit is going well. Not a lot we are doign but it is nice that she can spend some time with the girls and relax. She is enjoying the warm weather, not so keen on the American food! Today, we took her to a pork BBQ place and she enjoyed that, so we are making some progress. The biggest irony of all of this is that she spent much of the first 20 years of my life imploring me to try different foods...now whe is unwilling to try them herself!
I am working from home all of this week so will be spending some more time with her this week. A few possible activities planned, will have to see if they pan out.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
School's Out
Today is Naomi's last day of school. I have been driving her to school every day as my work is literally around the corner. I am hopeful that I will continue at Colgate for a while yet but you never know, so I took a moment today to talk to her. Pretty much, I tried to be the sensitive father and told her how I enjoyed her beong my "car buddy" this year and how I will miss her not riding to work with me. I then added that I might not be working at Colgate after the summer but if I am I will get to take both her and Fiona next year. She then went downstairs and I had a shower.
After I was nice and clean, Mindy came up and said "You know what is going on down there?"..."Naomi is bawling about how she wants you to stay at Colgate and drive her to school next year". She was fine by the time we left and she will have a nice day I am sure. This kinds of sums up her personality - quite sensitive, emotional and sentimental...I am assuming she gets this all from Mindy!
After I was nice and clean, Mindy came up and said "You know what is going on down there?"..."Naomi is bawling about how she wants you to stay at Colgate and drive her to school next year". She was fine by the time we left and she will have a nice day I am sure. This kinds of sums up her personality - quite sensitive, emotional and sentimental...I am assuming she gets this all from Mindy!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Mother
Mum arrived safe and sound on Thursday night. Her flight was only 20 minutes late into JFK which for JFK is actually early! I had a little brush with fame while waiting for her to come through. I was standing there and all of a sudden I noticed someone walk through the gate that I recognized. I took another look and was convinced that it was either Harry Kewell (Aussie soccer player) or his identical twin! Still, out of context like that, you are never sure if you are right...however, my suspicions were confirmed when he walked up to a limo driver holding a sign stating "Kewell". I actually have "met" him before a few years ago when he played for Liverpool and their team came over here for a series of exhibition matches.
She is doing quite well considering the length of the trip. She was looked after in wheel chairs through all of the airports and we took it really easy this weekend. On Sunday, I think she was largely over the jet lag and was feeling back to 100%.
Saturday was supposed to be a cricket game but all we could do was stand there, watch the rain fall and call the match off. Shame as we had a good team lined up for the match.
Sunday is Father's Day in America. Mindy and the girls baked a cake to celebrate and we also went to lunch with some friends. Sunday afternoon was spent in the garden, taking advantage of a break in the weather to dig out another garden bed and transplant some more seedlings. Hopefully this new location works out well, it is down the bottom of our yard and will get plenty of water there, we are just hoping there is enough sun to get everything to grow.
All in all, a really nice weekend...Monday always seems to come much too quickly.
She is doing quite well considering the length of the trip. She was looked after in wheel chairs through all of the airports and we took it really easy this weekend. On Sunday, I think she was largely over the jet lag and was feeling back to 100%.
Saturday was supposed to be a cricket game but all we could do was stand there, watch the rain fall and call the match off. Shame as we had a good team lined up for the match.
Sunday is Father's Day in America. Mindy and the girls baked a cake to celebrate and we also went to lunch with some friends. Sunday afternoon was spent in the garden, taking advantage of a break in the weather to dig out another garden bed and transplant some more seedlings. Hopefully this new location works out well, it is down the bottom of our yard and will get plenty of water there, we are just hoping there is enough sun to get everything to grow.
All in all, a really nice weekend...Monday always seems to come much too quickly.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Poker Frustration
Friday night was poker night. A group of friends and a few others got together for a night of Hold 'Em poker. I was happy wiht how I played but still ended up behind on the night...all because of 3 hands:
1) Saw a flop with J8 of diamonds, flop brought 3 diamonds...first player to act shoves; I call and then the next player calls as well. First player had a flush also...but worse than mine. Other dude had the A of diamonds. Turn was a blank, river was a diamond of course giving him the pot and costing me $100. His "Ha! I win!" comment was perhaps a little lacking in proper etiquitte. :-)
2) Got it all in with KK over TT ... T hits in the window and I don't catch up...costing me $80.
3) Called a bet on the river with two pair...up against the nut straight that he BS'd on the flop...costing me $60.
Considering all of this, the fact I was $60 down on the night was not too bad actually! A fun night overall, despite these events.
Saturday morning was mainly dedicated to cleaning up, running errands etc...and recovering from the massive lack of sleep. Saturday afternoon brought Naomi's belated birthday party, an indoor art and craft place. It was mainly frineds from her class at school who were there and all seemed to have a good time. It was quite nice to let others worry about the cleanup and entertainment for a change.
Sunday was spent at a friend's house for a BBQ. A nice, relaxing afternoon talking and having a few beers on what eneded up being a really nice day. It is back rainy and cold again today...hope things are OK for cricket on Saturday.
Mum arrives for her visit tomorrow. We are all quite excited and looking forward to seeing her. Hopefully she gets some rest on the flight and is in good health when she arrives. Also hope the vegemite, snakes and other Aussie stuff she is lugging over here makes it in one piece!
1) Saw a flop with J8 of diamonds, flop brought 3 diamonds...first player to act shoves; I call and then the next player calls as well. First player had a flush also...but worse than mine. Other dude had the A of diamonds. Turn was a blank, river was a diamond of course giving him the pot and costing me $100. His "Ha! I win!" comment was perhaps a little lacking in proper etiquitte. :-)
2) Got it all in with KK over TT ... T hits in the window and I don't catch up...costing me $80.
3) Called a bet on the river with two pair...up against the nut straight that he BS'd on the flop...costing me $60.
Considering all of this, the fact I was $60 down on the night was not too bad actually! A fun night overall, despite these events.
Saturday morning was mainly dedicated to cleaning up, running errands etc...and recovering from the massive lack of sleep. Saturday afternoon brought Naomi's belated birthday party, an indoor art and craft place. It was mainly frineds from her class at school who were there and all seemed to have a good time. It was quite nice to let others worry about the cleanup and entertainment for a change.
Sunday was spent at a friend's house for a BBQ. A nice, relaxing afternoon talking and having a few beers on what eneded up being a really nice day. It is back rainy and cold again today...hope things are OK for cricket on Saturday.
Mum arrives for her visit tomorrow. We are all quite excited and looking forward to seeing her. Hopefully she gets some rest on the flight and is in good health when she arrives. Also hope the vegemite, snakes and other Aussie stuff she is lugging over here makes it in one piece!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Chisel!!!!
Mindy either likes or has grown to like many of my favourite Australian musical artists:
AC/DC - I have a picture of her wearing glowing devil horns at a concert...so no issue there
Midnight Oil - She likes tall, bald Australians (thankfully)
The Angels - She, like me, wonders why they did not make it bigger outside of Australia
Cold Chisel - She hates Cold Chisel...
Now, thanks to an article mailed by a friend back home about Don Walker's new book, I have been on a massive Cold Chisel kick lately. I have been pretty much been playing them non-stop for about a week now and she is totally sick of it. All of their stuff is great in its own way, even their most recent album they made after reforming (which sadly is 10 years ago now...can that be possible?).
The trump card I am playing is that I have Naomi as a captive audience every day for 40 minutes while driving her to school. Naomi is a rock fan and has developed a taste for Cold Chisel's stuff. Fiona also has come to the correct opinion as well. Mindy will be a tough nut to crack but either she will come to our way of thinking or be quite miserable. The other day, Mindy was driving Naomi home from school in my car...the first thing Naomi says when she gets in - "Can you play Cold Chisel?". Mindy was horrified at having to listen to them for the 40 minute ride. Another great comment the other night, Naomi proclaimed that she likes Cold Chisel more than the Jonas Brothers! That's my girl!!! Not sure how long it will last but I am appreciating it while I can.
AC/DC - I have a picture of her wearing glowing devil horns at a concert...so no issue there
Midnight Oil - She likes tall, bald Australians (thankfully)
The Angels - She, like me, wonders why they did not make it bigger outside of Australia
Cold Chisel - She hates Cold Chisel...
Now, thanks to an article mailed by a friend back home about Don Walker's new book, I have been on a massive Cold Chisel kick lately. I have been pretty much been playing them non-stop for about a week now and she is totally sick of it. All of their stuff is great in its own way, even their most recent album they made after reforming (which sadly is 10 years ago now...can that be possible?).
The trump card I am playing is that I have Naomi as a captive audience every day for 40 minutes while driving her to school. Naomi is a rock fan and has developed a taste for Cold Chisel's stuff. Fiona also has come to the correct opinion as well. Mindy will be a tough nut to crack but either she will come to our way of thinking or be quite miserable. The other day, Mindy was driving Naomi home from school in my car...the first thing Naomi says when she gets in - "Can you play Cold Chisel?". Mindy was horrified at having to listen to them for the 40 minute ride. Another great comment the other night, Naomi proclaimed that she likes Cold Chisel more than the Jonas Brothers! That's my girl!!! Not sure how long it will last but I am appreciating it while I can.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Cleaning, T20 and a Hangover
I promised Mindy that I would help her this weekend and get some stuff done around the house. I had an invitiation with some friends for dinner and a movie on Saturday night, so I had lined up all day on Saturday for cleaning to pave the way for a night out. This was before I realised that Australia was playing in the T20 WC on Saturday..."fortunately" due to our almost complete ineptness, watching the cricket did not really take much time. The last half of the afternoon was spent cutting grass; digging in the garden, relocating a tree in our yard and generally getting sore and filthy.
On Saturday night a few friends went out for dinner, drinks and then to see the new bloke flick - "The Hangover". All in all, I enjoyed the movie but certainly it was not a classic. I think most of the funny scenes and overall concept was pretty much covered by the advertisement.
Sunday was a major day of cleaning avoidance, helping instead by going to Ikea to get a new dresser for us, a new dresser for Fiona and another toy-storage thingy. It really did take a while as Ikea is always a difficult place to navigate quickly. This was made worse as they were remodelling, so stuff was all over the place. Sunday night was left to frustrating Ikea assembly however, unlike most attempts, I actually managed to get it put together in the correct way.
Australia subsequently crashed out of the T20 WC after another horrible performance. We really need an overhaul of ths side to learn how to play the game. More focus on the slower bowlers, both spinners and medium pacers; axing a couple of batsmen for more dynamic players (Mike Hussey has to go); Luke Ronchi should be in there as the keeper and I think we need to think about chasing occasionally...we just don't seem to be able to restrict sides these days. It is no longer satisfactory to say "it is just T20"...we need to figure out how to dominate this form of the game as well. Only bright spot is that we will be well rested for the Ashes, which truly is what really matters!
On Saturday night a few friends went out for dinner, drinks and then to see the new bloke flick - "The Hangover". All in all, I enjoyed the movie but certainly it was not a classic. I think most of the funny scenes and overall concept was pretty much covered by the advertisement.
Sunday was a major day of cleaning avoidance, helping instead by going to Ikea to get a new dresser for us, a new dresser for Fiona and another toy-storage thingy. It really did take a while as Ikea is always a difficult place to navigate quickly. This was made worse as they were remodelling, so stuff was all over the place. Sunday night was left to frustrating Ikea assembly however, unlike most attempts, I actually managed to get it put together in the correct way.
Australia subsequently crashed out of the T20 WC after another horrible performance. We really need an overhaul of ths side to learn how to play the game. More focus on the slower bowlers, both spinners and medium pacers; axing a couple of batsmen for more dynamic players (Mike Hussey has to go); Luke Ronchi should be in there as the keeper and I think we need to think about chasing occasionally...we just don't seem to be able to restrict sides these days. It is no longer satisfactory to say "it is just T20"...we need to figure out how to dominate this form of the game as well. Only bright spot is that we will be well rested for the Ashes, which truly is what really matters!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Easy Like Sunday Afternoon
Spent a relaxing afternoon on Sunday eating from the grill, drinking a few beers and playing some cards. The weather was amazing so good to enjoy it while it lasts.
Now it is only 2 1/2 weeks until my mother arrives, much preparation to be done to ensure we are ready for the visit. Next two weekends will be cricket free to ensure we get everything done in time!
Have been watching a great show - "Locked Up Abroad". Each week tells the story of someone who gets nabbed for a crime while overseas. Anyone contemplating committing a crime, smuggling something etc should watch this show, if it does not scare you straight, nothing would. This and of course the new season of "Deadliest Catch", which, for reasons I cannot fully explain, is one of the most addictive and compelling shows on TV.
Now it is only 2 1/2 weeks until my mother arrives, much preparation to be done to ensure we are ready for the visit. Next two weekends will be cricket free to ensure we get everything done in time!
Have been watching a great show - "Locked Up Abroad". Each week tells the story of someone who gets nabbed for a crime while overseas. Anyone contemplating committing a crime, smuggling something etc should watch this show, if it does not scare you straight, nothing would. This and of course the new season of "Deadliest Catch", which, for reasons I cannot fully explain, is one of the most addictive and compelling shows on TV.
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