Lawn Bowling Birthday

First let me say, that I am sorry this post is so late. It has been in progress for awhile, but due to Jess' recent hospital adventure (to be documented soon) this post has been put on hold. And now without further adieu...

For my 29th birthday we decided to have a 'lawn bowling' party. Lawn bowling is a pretty big thing here...they even show it on TV (on Saturday afternoons). Recently the game has appealed to the younger generation due to the easy access to the alcohol and the relatively low athleticism required (a lot like 10 pin bowling in the states). The idea of the game is to bowl the ball closest to the 'jack' (white ball). The bowling balls are not perfectly spherical and are biased to one side so there is some skill and strategy involved.

For this party, we picked the Paddington bowling club due to it close proximity to our place. Several of our friends (some also new Sydney) were able to join the fun. Even Jess (with her crutches) was able to participate (they are usually very strict about the 'green', but Jess was able to convince them that she was no harm). We had 2 lanes which worked out pretty well given the size of our group.

I could see lawn bowling being a big hit back in Houston (or Austin) with the year-round weather capabilities. Anyone interested in starting one with me when I get back? Perhaps 'The Dudes Bowling Ranch'....just a thought.

Back to reality...After bowling we had some deadly delicious cupcakes from The Cupcake Bakery. I used to wonder how a cupcake shop could survive, but these little gourmet cakes are unbelievably tasty and are not that cheap. My celebration continued on through the night at The Centinneal Hotel. I will spare you the details (and poor writing) and just say...

Good friends, great food, and lots of laughs...what more could I ask for my first Aussie birthday.



Mickey's Album

I Fell and Couldn't Get Up...

This happening, of course, after I swam 1000 meters back to shore after wrestling a shark. Really, he was asking for it. I was about to take on a most awesome 40 foot wall of water and show the world my mad surfing skills and bam - shark - totally in my way. So I went black belt on his a$$ and took his dorsal fin as souvenir. Chump.

Not really. Today, I actually learned a lot about the Australian health care system. After beating the shark into submission - err - falling down the stairs at Edgecliff Station, I had my first visit to an Australian ER. Unfortunately, the story isn't that interesting; gravity got the best of me and my foot, snapping "one or more" of the tiny little bones that make up your feet (metatarsals, I think).

Luckily, Chris was there with me and scooped me up off of the train station floor (don't worry mom, the first thing I asked to do when we got to the ER was wash my hands - true story) and put me in a cab to head off to the nearest ER.

Three hours, several x-rays, one cast, and a set of crutches later, I'm on hiatus from the "adventure" part of our Australian adventure. Here are some pictures of my mangled foot and cast. Sigh...I'm such a klutz!

Pun Names

It’s all in the name

I love a good play on words, especially when it comes to eateries. I know it sounds cheesy, but I think it can be quite clever and ambitious of a proprietor to name the business on a pun. I recently ran across this site which lists tons of these type places from all over the world.

One of my personal favorites is Sam & Ella’s Chicken Palace in Talequah, OK (near my parents house). I like this one because it the pun is not obvious until you say it outloud and you have no idea it is a pizza place by the name alone. This is a very daring move by the owner, but the pizza is fantastic and the restaurant has been going strong for years. The owner recently opened another eatery called Ernie Coli’s Chili Pot...also quite amusing.

There are no shortages of "Pun Names" here in Sydney; here are the ones I have seen so far...I am sure there are many more.

Thai-tanic (we actually ate at a similar place in Washington D.C. - surprisingly good)
Thai-riffic
Thai-foon
Thai-nesia
Thai-me-up
Nut-orious

Flugtag meets Air

This past weekend was perfect for me. We took it easy on Saturday morning (due to a stressful week) and then decided we need some "home" food. A trip to Bondi Junction later lead us to make Tex-Mex (namely Fajitas). We spent most of the afternoon preparing the tex-mex meal (something we are getting quite good at) and invited our neighbors (Will and Suzanna) to join us. I cooked the chicken fajitas on our new grill, which I am enjoying more and more every time I use it. The fajitas turned out very nice considering we just made up the marinade. Overall, it was great evening with good food and fun conversation. We ended the night we a viewing of Flight of the Conchords (our pick) and Fawlty Towers (neighbors pick).

On Sunday afternoon, Jess graciously put up with my ongoing want to see a RedBull Flugtag in person. As luck would have it, Sydney is the host for the first Australian Flugtag. The event took place directly across from the opera house, at Mrs. Maquaries Point (for those of you keeping score at home). I am not sure why I am drawn to this event...I guess it is because for some strange reason, I really think I (with the help of many others) can put something together that would fly (any takers?).

Anyway, the Sydney crowd of more than 60,000 exceeded RedBull's forecast by more than triple which cause a few issues getting around. We managed to squeeze our way to front gate (on happenstance no less) and were lucky enough to get into the viewing area (thanks to some folks who gave us their passes). Although we were on the back side of the launch ramp, we were at least able to hear and see most of the action (unlike most of the crowd). The world record distance is 60m and and the closest contest was a disappointed 20m. Regardless of the turnout, we had a good time watching the ridiculousness that is Flugtag...I have a feeling this won't be my last one.



Later that evening we celebrated my birthday (a little early I know) by going to see Air at the Opera House. I have been a fan of Air for awhile and this was a great opportunity to 1) See them live and 2) See a show at the iconic Opera House. We arrived a little early to get a drink in the bar and take in the views of the harbor from the decks of the venue. Surprisingly, the Opera House is quite small inside, with seating in the main concert hall for only ~2500 people. The architecture inside is almost as impressive as the outside with concrete and wood finishes throughout.

The show was excellent, although the lighting was a little "in your face". The set consisted mostly of "hits" rather than new material, which was fine with me. The pinnacle of the show was the last song....La Femme d'Argent (no doubt the most popular song of the night). I can't really describe the live performance, but I found a clip online that hopefully shows some of the song's intensity. Enjoy!