Anzac Day Long Weekend

It was Anzac Day last Friday and therefore a public holiday in Australia. There are lots of dawn services in remembrance of those killed in battle and it's a pretty patriotic day all round.

It's also the only day it's legal to play 2up, which you'll remember from last year if you were reading this. Went to the Kirribilli Club this year and once again fell into the same embarrassingly predictable pattern of losing money. Always start well and then go rapidly downhill the more beer is consumed. The only minor saving grace was that Dave Wood lost more than I did. I'm sure I could hear people pissing themselves laughing as we made our sorry exit.

It was definitely a gambling weekend. The Sydney races are on this week so I was out at Randwick on Saturday trying in vain to balance the books again. And failing. This time Darrin was my saving grace by losing considerably more money than I.

Missed the Utd v Chelsea game in the midst of it all, which is no great shame by the sound of it. Will try to get up for the semi-final tomorrow morning - should be a belter.

I think this picture sums up the weekend pretty well.

Engagement Photos

Got sent some photos of the engagement do.

Darrin and I


Lauren, Guinness and Amy


Lia and me


Hmmmm

Balmain again

Went to Amy and Robbie's engagement do on Saturday night. Was at the Welcome Hotel, which was my local when I lived over in Balmain. Decent food and Guinness all round. Ended up in my usual position asleep on the sofa back at their house.

Had arranged to meet Dave on Sunday in Durty Nelly's as we both had a craving for Yorkshire Pudding. Their website reckons they served them, but we were sorely misled and had to settle for Shepherds Pie instead. Couldn't keep my eyes open that afternoon so was in bed for 5:00pm and slept until this morning, which meant I missed Utd again.

Was meant to meet Paula McKnight from good auld Northern Ireland and her fella Mike on Sunday but phone confusion meant it didn't happen so have rearranged for later in the week.

Got this picture in my inbox on Friday morning and nearly threw up my cereal. It's from the Easter weekender - Dave Cropper in action.

Nerd Alert

Finally put pen to paper on my new contract with Austereo this week. They will sponsor me for as long as the 457 Visa is valid - four years is the limit.

Team meet was pretty interesting last week. About 6 of us hung around after it got dark and were literally screaming and shouting over the rooftop railings at people in the street. Not very becoming of us.

Other than that, had a well deserved quiet weekend and did some studying for the exam resit. It paid off as I passed it this time, which means if I decide to stay on the hamster wheel of Microsoft certification I now have an upgrade path that I previously did not have.

Two other things of interest happened. Sam cooked the most amazing lamb shanks for Sunday dinner after which I went into the city to watch Utd play Boro at the reasonable time of 10:30pm. The many Asian supporters got very excitable as JS Park set up the second goal for Utd. The result once again scuppered my accumulator bet - maybe I should give up on those.

SBS show the Champions League games here and are showing each of the daily quarter finals one after the other, one being delayed. I didn't know about that this morning and was very confused about time zones when Liverpool v Arsenal was still on at 8:30am. Thanks t'internet for clearing that up. Means I'll be able to watch the Utd v Roma game tomorrow morning at a reasonable hour as well. Word.

Comedy and Crowes

Had a good weekend last weekend in what now looks like being the last of the summer. Had to wear a jumper to work today for the first time this year.

The Comedy Store was really good on Saturday night. Well, one of the comedians was good - Steve Wilson. Probably the best guy I've seen there. Went with Woody and Whittle, along with an Irish chap from Whittle's work. After the gig we did a pub crawl around the city into Kings Cross. There was some talk of going to a strippers, mostly from me it must be said, but no-one was interested so was tucked up in bed by 1:00am.

The Comedy Club


Steve Wilson and the Homeys


No strippers for this lot


Had lunch with Ros and her flatmates down in Bondi Beach on Sunday afternoon. It's her birthday this week but was getting the celebrations in before some of them head up the coast. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and although the service was atrocious the food was good enough. Had a few more beers in the Hotel Bondi then headed up to Moore Park to meet Dave Wood for the Black Crowes. They were amazing - I was nearly crying. I rang our Dave afterwards and bent his ear for a while about how brilliant they were, which he must have appreciated.

Legends


Failed an exam on Monday afternoon too. A combination of poor preparation and organising the exam for the same day we launched the new Today Network websites. Ah well, re-sit is next week.

Also, made another expensive mistake by smashing the screen on the back of my camera. Taking pictures still works, just no idea what they'll be like. A hark back to the good old days of 35mm film is my positive spin on it.