So Close Yet So Far!

Going into the latest round of games in the world of test rugby (it's like fantasyrugby where you select actual players to form an imaginary team and they get points for their performance). I was sitting fifth. This was not a bad effort considering I was 400th after Week One. I continued with my philospohy of having several Australians in my team because they always play despite not necessarily winning because of the dwindling depth of Australian rugby and the tough schedule. I was amazed to find myself in first place at what I thought was the final whistle after four rounds of games. The prize of $300 US looking like becoming increasingly handy. Low and behold I was sitting first but with three teams results still to be counted. Unfortunately Leamy had a blinder in the Irish pack and I ended up third. Gutted!

Darren's Wedding

I want to go over to Switzerland in July for Darren Hight's wedding. I am dead keen to stay over there go to a World Cup game, do the Big OE thing. Anyone else keen? I realise I will have to enter the next ticket ballot in a couple of weeks, but it would be great to watch a game or two. The sooner I get in the better! If you are going to this wedding lets get together and organise it pronto!


Something Deep
It is great the way that Blogging provides insight into the thoughts and complexities of the mind of the person writing them. It is a great way of getting ideas and thoughts across in a non abrasive demeanour. Everyone should get into it!

Lastly I bought a suit at the weekend so I will be model material before you know it!

Movies

I have been making the most of $3 Tuesday at Video Ezy. I am not names dropping to give them free advertising but "The Choice is Ezy". Because it only costs $3 it is easy to choose movies that never make it to the movie theatres. So below are some of the movies I have been to in recent years at the movies and/or hired. I have discovered that sequels to funny movies that don't have any of the original cast members or very few, are generally trash! I discovered some of these at the movies when me and Boss used to go around 2000 for something to skip lectures for.

Mission to Mars
I Robot
Being John Malkovich
What Dreams May Come (I had the misfortune of seeing this twice in two days in 1999)
Band Camp (The 4th American Pie)
Dumb and Dumberer
Dogville (DCBC's obssession with it makes me hate it even more! Snoozefest!)


Some hidden gems that I have discovered

Super Troopers
Dumb and Dumber (Number 1 awesome)
Joe Dirt
Usual Suspect
Shawshank Redemption
Hotel Rwanda
The World's Fastest Indian (Go Invers!)

Scenario Your Opinion Please

I happen to be given the phone number of a nice Christian girl who I have known for a while but not really well, but we always have a good conversation when we see each other. I wouldn't mind getting to know this gal lets call her "Project X". She never gave me her number herself. How can I contact this bird without seeming like a complete stalker??????

My Summer Plans
Apart from sunbathing my plans for summer are as follows. I am finishing work on the 23rd of December and hooking up with my brother and going down to Invers for my sister's birthday on the 23rd. The weekend of Christmas will be spent with family as my brother a different one and his family are coming over from Sweden.

I will stay in Invers until the 26th/27th before doing a Scripture Union Kids Holiday programme in steamy Cromwell. During this my buddies may come over and we will go to the New Zealand Sri Lanka one dayer in Queenstown on the 31st Dec. Following this I will return to Cromwell and then return to Queenstown for good times with family until I return to work on about the 9th of January. This will be my holiday but hopefully the weather is great and I can play tennis, sunbath naked of course and go for heaps of swims.

Social Situations

Over the years I have become increasingly intrigued by social situations. These include awkward moments and the way different people act in different settings.

First of all today I saw a guy mowing his lawns with ear muffs on. The only problem was he was using a push hand mower.

I was told earlier today of a guy named Ben Crowl who had a fire at his house which lit because he was having a church home group. He used Little Lucifer firestarters to get the things started. Feeling incredibly unholy by using such an evil brand of product, he hid them away so that no one thought he was evil.

Moving on to those bizarre toilet moments. Have you ever arrived at the toilets at work or wherever and someone before you was obviously feeling relieved after eating something disgusting because it stinks? This in itself isn't bad, but when this person leaves and you are the only person in there, it reflects badly on you. Really it wasn't me you say with a goofy look on your face! Same goes with BO problems in small spaces. Really it isn't me, I shower and use a spray.

It is an unwritten rule for Kiwi males to never touch or look at someone when using the work toilets. If someone is standing at the two man urinal you go and use the normal toilets. I couldn't believe it when low and behold a strange guy who walks around with his pants up way to high came and pushed up next to me. Hello personal spaces!

Another sacry work story revolves around the light sensors which sqitch the light on when someone moves. I had the embarrassment of being that person that stays in the toilet too long and the light switches off. What do you? Wait for someone else to get the fright of their life when they walk in causing the light to turn on and you are left in the corner cubicle? Or make a dash to the centre of the room with your pants half down, waving your arms about to reset the sensor, and risk looking like a prized baboon? You are correct I did the second and luckily no one walked in.

Another social setting I love analysing are the buses and the routine which is involved. There are the usuals on my bus which I have become one of. The middle aged lady who must work at Farmers who is always chewing on gum with her pink lipstick on. These ladies gossip and chat away to Ken the driver like they are great mates. It is such a routine, everyone sits in the same seats day after day. When someone new comes along without knowing the hierarchy or price of the bus, they are glared at and shown towards the back, but they have to walk the gauntlet to get there. There is also a man with a claw hand who is sitting at the bus stop for ages each morning. The thing is he arrives before me and gets on a later bus to the same destination, which I discovered one day I was late. Why?

Ruggers
When are those referees going to get sick of the annoying Poms chatting their ears off during the game and stand up to them? Rather than listening to them and sending the opposition off?

Flat
I have been putting off finding a flat for next year because I have got to that been there, done that mentality. If you know of somewhere I can live next year give me a yell. My current flatmates are going separate ways. I want somewhere close and don't mind whether it is with workers or students.

We Won the World Cup

It's a funny thing to say, but that has been the general consensus around the general public. They obviously mean that we won the rights to host the World Cup, but the William Web Ellis Trophy is still locked away in a snotty nosed Pommy cabinet for two more years. Our dominance between tournaments is frustrating. Currently we have two teams that could win the World Cup like the much maligned Australia and Australia A cricket sides.

News
In other news I decided to be sociable with my work colleagues/ladies and go out for dinner with them. It was painful at times listening to them giggling half trollied and all but I am glad I made the effort since I will probably avoid most of the other social ocassions on the calender. Let me see spend my spare time with ladies old enough to be my mothers firends or hang with mates?
It seems they were impressed that I made the effort too.

Interesting Facts
Why is it that people come up with the most cliche sayings which we all overuse yet nobody really knows what is being said. For example Educated Left Boot. Where did this come from? Workers at the DCC use the term "Good as Gold!" all the time. It is hard to say why but Phil Gifford always uses it. "Clear as mud!" is another common saying.

Ockers are in
It is amazing how difficult it is to qualify for the Soccer World Cup. Australia have a side full of Premiership Players yet it has taken them over 30 years to qualify again. They have a far superior side to us, but always stumbled in the past to sides like Uruguay (pronounced UR GAY) and Iran. They have shifted confederations which will make it easier for them. Anybody can qualify for a Rugby League or Rugby World Cup, but just making a football one is a victory.

Potty Mouth Christians

Another one of my special pet peeves are Chirstians or at least people who claim to go to church who have bad language and expletives. A couple of people at work are in this boat. It got to the stage today that the words church and F*** were in the same sentence on several ocassions. To quote Austin Powers when he realises that something is up with his lover Vanessa Kensington when it turns out she is a Femmebot "That's not right!"

I don't want to get all look down my nose at these people becasue that ain't cool. Maybe it was the way they were brought up compared with myself. But I have plenty of ways of venting my frustration than swearing. The other problem is these shocking four letter words are used more and more as sentence fillers rather than when the worst thing that could happen does happen.

On a more positive note these are some things I love in this world!
Watching the Stags win.
Playing Jonahs with Sammy.
Old Time Dancing with single elligible ladies.
Playing random games of touch and turf soccer.
Fantasy NBA and Hatty.
Summer with good times at the beach.
BBQs with good mates.
Christmas Dinner with the family.
Good time Christian events like Samstock, Pressie Ball etc a real who's who of the Southern Christian folk.
Playing tennis doubles.
Eating a lamb roast.
Joking around with mates.
Singing old style hymns and graces in full song with a choir of bellowing mates.

The Religion of New Zealand

I found myself sitting listening to people talking about heroes doing amazing feats over the other side of the world on Sunday morning amongst a half full congregation. No I wasn't at the usual DCBC service, I was at the Terrace Bar with some Christian mates. It dawned on me that watching the replay at 9am not only prevented me making it to the morning service (which I usually arrive to late!), but it symbolised where I am at, at the moment. I usually struggle to make it out of bed for church like many other New Zealanders. But yet for the rugby I made it up and about an hour and a half earlier. We place a huge amount of emphasis on the ABs but yet when this world ends or we leave it, the Bledisloe Cup, Super 12 and NPC trophies not to mention the William Webb Ellis, will remain on this planet. They are only material relics, et we sometimes tend to place a higher emphasis on these in life. Anyhow just a thought.

Pardon any typos but this working life coupled with the less spare time, create a monster with less comprehension and literacy than the learned scholar that used to grace the University for so many years of study. Offices pay you so they can suck any original ideologies out of your brain!

P>S> I love the summer BBQ!