Nationals

it was the best of time, it was the worst of time... ha! sorry, i just felt like it. so, this post will be all about nationals. if you have no interest in ultimate (frisbee for those of you who are wondering) stop reading now. otherwise, enjoy!

so, my trip began with a late flight out of perth. we arrived at the melbourne airport at around 11pm. correction: we arrived at avalon airport at that time. correction: we arrive to the avalon barn at 11pm. yes, i mean that in all sincerity. we got off the plane and i looked at my friend amanda and said "this looks like a barn". insert laugh here. lo and behold! it was a barn. i mention i need to go the washroom (there is a point here) and amanda says "it's probably outside" and lo and behold! it was outside. when we caught the shuttle out of there, we were ligitimately in the middle of nowhere. mental note, only fly into avalon airport to save cash and if you have lots of time.

we arrived at our hotel around 1am. rough, when you have to play 3 games of ultimate starting at 9 am. that morning, it happened to be pouring rain. and i mean pouring. we warmed up in the rain (me in my poncho...c'est super pa!). thankfully, the rain stopped just on time for the game, and didn't show it's face again while we played. hoorah.

we played 9 agmes in 3 days. long story short, we had many hard fought games. we did well and took all the teams to the time cap (not point cap). we placed 12th, which considering our entire team had never stepped on the field together until sunday morning at nationals, we did pretty well. and now, we're all fired up for next year, right ladies?!

i managed to score some points...thanks anna and viv!

the weather held out for the week (other then the first day AM), which is good, considering melbourne is similar to vancouver and rains a lot come winter (which we are heading into right now). i unfortunately didn't have time to explore melbourne while i was there, because we were in bundora (which would be like arnprior to ottawa). it was pretty much hotel-field-hotel.

while in melbourne, i was taking "australian lessons" from my teammates. expect another lesson in aussie language and pronunciation soon!

since i've arrived back in perth, we've been pretty busy. most importantly, john got to go see the fremantle dockers play adelaide today (aussie rules football)...in a corporate box, thanks to one of our neighbours. eventually i'll get him on here to post a message...perhaps he'll tell you about the game.

i would also like to mention that yesterday, april 28th, we went to the beach to hang out. yup. the end of april and we were on the beach. it only takes 10 mins to bike...you should all come visit....

xo

A lesson in Australian-ese, part 2

it's now almost 3 months into our life in australia, so i thought it was time for another lesson. you see, as we have a few more aussie friends, co-workers, clients, tv, newspaper and just plain ol' life, we are noting more "isms" and differences that i'm passing along to you. the picture, well, it's just funny because we say "idling"...


afternoon= arvo (pronounced ahvo. don't know why the r is there...probably so they can ignore it!)
thirteen= theudeen (same goes for all the teens)
tomato= tomAHto (but oddly enough, potato does not. which caused a bit of a stir at a party when i mentionned that)
dvd= dehvaydeh
television= telly (even though telephone starts the same way...)
bbq= barbie (pronounced bahbie)
kangaroo= 'roo

peppers = capsicum (katie warned me, but it's still wierd)
cookie= biscuit
underwear= knickers
tired= knackered
decrepid= grotty
gas= petrol
ketchup= tomato sauce (so does pasta sauce. go figure)
squash = pumpkin (as in spaghetti pumpkin and butternut pumpkin. i have no idea what a regular pumpkin is called)
canteloupe= rock melon
romaine lettuce = cos lettuce (they'd never heard of romaine. ever)
hot tub= spa
interact= EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale)
hoodie/sweatshirt= jumper
tuque= beanie
track pants/ jogging pants = trackies
bathing suit= bathers
speedo= budgie smugglers (this one kills me!)
mosquito= mozzie
girl= sheila
boy= bruce

again, there are many more. including the fact that hell can be used as an enhancing work. for example "that's hell good" means "that's very good". also, there continues to be the excess use of the sentence ending in "as". for example "hot as, fun as, hard as". again, they never finish the statement.

i will continue this lesson at a later date. john and i will be writing down the quips, comments and pronounciation differences because we always laugh and never remember it later (could be the old age kicking in!)

if you study these 2 lessons well, you'll be able to get around perth as well as any aussie (pronouced ozzie). assuming you can find your way around the unmarked city, on the wrong side of the street...

i'm off to nationals in melbourne on saturday, so there may not be a post until next thursday.
until then!
xo

Adventures in camping (or something like it)

happy belated Easter to all of you. while i know that some of you don't celebrate this holiday and/or are of different religious backgrounds, i'm still saying it. besides, when else do you get a 4 day weekend? :)

john and i decided to make the most of the weekend by heading away from the city for some good ol' canadian camping. what with all the wonderful gear that we received for the wedding, and the few purchases that we've made since arriving here at the smaller equivalent to MEC, we were ready. we left on saturday afternoon though, because john had to work on saturday morning (apparently fitness doesn't get a day off...) so we packed our bags, packed the car and off we went to the Avon valley (pronouned AHvin valley, not EH vohn as i would have said prior to this...see more on this in lesson 2 coming soon)

we drove northeast of perth in hopes of finding some hiking, some 'roos and perhaps a few smores on the campfire. but no! we discovered, again, that it is still not proper camping time in australia (or WA at least). i mean, don't get me wrong, you can "camp" but you can't camp as we would like. for one, the valley was off limits. we pulled in and read the sign that said "no camping from november to may" and " gates close at 4pm sharp". well, it was 4:30pm and since we'd had good luck last time at the national park with the friendly ranger, we thought we might give it a go. thankfully (in hindsight, anyhow) we ran into a 4WD before we entered the park and decided to leave. after chatting with the nice folk in the truck, we decided to suck it up and find a campground instead.

again, we were mistaken that it would be as easy/nice as it is back home. we drove to 2 different "caravan parks" which advertised themselves as private, bushland types of places. well, i don't know that that would mean to you, but to me i picture greenery, trees (or shrubs), private camping lots and so on. 'fraid not. the caravan parks in the east of perth are nothing more then red dirt lots, side by side, seemingly like a trailer park. which yes, i understand is the literal translation, but i mean trailer park as we would think of it back home (ie, trailer park boys) not lush campground. when we were offered a spot on the end of the lot, with all sorts of caravans nearby, we opted to leave. on the plus side, we saw 3 'roos and 2 emus at the site. fenced into their area of course.

we did end up staying at a caravan park that night, but not just any caravan park, one that has an archery course on it. we nearly stayed to do a course the next morning, but we decided that we would rather hike.

once again, or so we thought. as we were driving in towards the avon valley, it started to rain. honestly, it hasn't rained for more then a few minutes at a time since we've been here, so why it chose to rain all morning on easter sunday, i have no idea. not only that, but the "road" (i use the term loosely here) that leads into the park is a red dirt road (start singing now... if you have no idea what i mean, ask a PEIlsander). we drove about 10km over the rough and bumpy road before deciding to turn around. and thank heavens we did. the sign at the front (when we looked closely) said "66km to camping area"! goodness! that would've been rough. don't know if the civic could've handled that.

so, disheartened, we drove away and headed to some small villages to explore. we first went to northam, which is apparently a quaint, historic town. but as it was sunday, and easter to boot, it was none to exciting. we did manage to have a warm drink at a cafe overlooking the river (which is very low and smells like swan droppings) and snapped a pic of me in a fake air balloon. fun!. we drove onto york, which was a bit nicer...and open. we stumbled across a photography exhibit, which was fun. though we were dressed like hooligans, nobody semed to notice. after the 45 mins there, we decided to move on. at the suggestions of someone in the tourist bureau, we headed to Lake Leschenaultia (try pronouncing it... ) it's a man made lake. the ranger there told us to pitch our tent in the common area, because all the lots were full. we went for a walk first, then came back to discover a few families with very rambunctious (sp?) kids had set up camp there. we ended up pitching our tent on the side of the ranger station. a truly exciting experience. john had fun all weekend trying to get our darned stove to work (it's the kerosene, not the stove that's the problem laura. so don't worry). he managed to make some tasty, warm, pasta that night, though not without a few fellow campers coming to make sure we weren't lighting a fire or something scandalous like that (you can light a stove, but not a proper fire)

we sauntered back to perth the next day, stopping at the beach on the way home. and in true canadian form, we were the only ones on the beach (who weren't in full pants and long sleeved shirts). you see, it's heading into winter here and the weather is getting cooler. though i will admit it isn't "cold" persay, it is definitely cool. and when the sun goes down and the wind picks up, you wish you'd worn more clothes (case in point, camping...not enough clothes for the weather. curse my frigid hands and feet)

needless to say, camping in northeast perth is not very fun. apparently going south or north provides a bit more fun, but i'll believe it when i see it. truthfully, i think canada has this area of australia beat when it comes to camping. but that's just me. i may eat my words someday, and i kind of hope i do, but at the moment: no contest. also, i don't really understand camping without a camp fire. don't get me wrong, i respect the drought, the fire hazard, etc. but what are you supposed to do without a campfire? no marshmallows, no warmth, no "bonhomme bonhomme", no "i packed in my suitcase..." no "20 questions". truly a sad evening. cards at a picnic table only go so far.

i promise i will find some good spots for when any of you come to visit though.
xo

Blues and Roots

what a weekend! what a ridiculously busy and fun filled weekend we've had.

it all started on friday evening, when my ultimate team hosted a fundraiser at Rosie O'Grady's in northbridge. it was good times had by all (some more then others, it appeared). a late night train ride home, followed by an extremely frustrating experience trying to get a cab from freo (because my feet were sore and there was no way i was walking home), we didn't get in until rather late (well, for me. some fo you would probably consider it early). the evening was a success and we've raised enough money to fly our coach in with us, as well as knock some cash off of the registration fees. if you've been meaning to sponsor me but have simply let it slip by, don't worry, you still have 3 weeks to wire me the money (no, i'm serious)

saturday was the first day of the west coast blues and roots fest. this was supposed to be headlined by dave matthews and the roots, but both of the bands pulled out unfortunately. but not to worry. many other amazing acts were lined up for the day, including bela fleck, the ubiquious banjo player. the festival venue had a main stage and a smaller stage set up in a tent, with music being played continuously from approximately 11am until 10:30pm (on both days). we didn't know many of the bands because a lot of them were australian, but we know them now. and i'll recommend them to you further down this blog. we left during the last band on saturday night as we were tired from the night before, and from standing all day. thankfully, it cooled down at night (a bit more then we had planned for, actually).

sunday began with a nice long ultimate practice, then right into day 2 at the festival. sunday was headlined by john mayer and ben harper. john has informed me that ben harper and the innocent criminals has stolen the crown of "best live act" from the beastie boys...which were tough shoes to steal. needless to say, it was awesome. we stood pretty close to the main stage for the better part of the day because everyone we wanted to see was playing there. i couldn't stand any longer for ben harper, so my friend amanda and i headed to the back and leaned against some trees. which isn't a bad way to go when you're not tall enough to see the stage when you're close anyhow. john perservered and got some good pics for all of you.

some bands that i recommend to people from this weekend (in no particular order, other then how i can remember them): john butler trio, missy higgins, ben kweller, the waifs, xavier rudd, the cat empire and custom kings. the rest were good too, but these bands stood out to john and i.

i was informed by my most musical husband that this was not a typical folk festival but rather a mainstream music festival. there are differences...including the amount of alcohol consummed (less at folk), sitting vs. standing for the shows (folk vs. mainstream), artists playing more then once (folk) etc.

the festival had your typical group of pseudo-hippies - dreads, macrame-top, patchouli oiled, barefoot, music lover - in droves. many of them smoking cigarettes (which seems to me to go against the hippy lifestyle, but i digress). there was also a new breed of festival goer that i discovered. i'll call them "faris" (for fake paris...hilton). tons of girls in their little dresses, -many with the black leggings, many without- cleave tops, stilettos, 'uge sunglasses that hide their face so well they don't need sunblock. it seems odd to me to wear that kind of stuff at a festival where you walk over people, you sit in the dirt and you stand all day. but whatever. i'm guessing they were trying to score john mayer. in that case, maybe i should call them "fessicas". :)

the plans for this easter weekend are to hit up the Avon valley (pronounced aaaavon, not ehvon. i'll have another lesson up soon) to do some camping. it's supposed to be quite warm so it should be nice. hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

-- the pics are bela fleck, xavier rudd, john mayer and ben harper. for some reason, blogger isn't very compatible with our Mac and i can't add titles to pics.

xo