Notepad Scribbles #20070402

Although the first three months of the year have flown by, I am extremely happy with what has happened over the last few months.

Apart from going to a place where I had always wanted to go (i.e Japan) I also recently went surfing. I managed to get an awesome tan (which is still with me) and learnt how to surf at Avoca Beach. Interestingly enough, I managed to stand up on the board even for a few seconds (probably overestimated as well). I got dumped a lot and drank bucketloads of water....but it was pretty thrilling. The worst part of it all was seeing little kids mastering the waves and riding the waves in while I was often left paddling hard through the water - only to realise I had not even moved!
Fortunately, the water was quite nice, the waves were often tame enough not to feel overwhelmed and there was a beginner friendly sandbank which allowed me to stand a fair distance from the beach without having to find my balance on the board. That was definitely an advantage as I could push off when I saw a wave coming.

The funniest moment of the day was when I was resting on the beach after being dumped pretty hard into the sand. I watched as my "instructor", M, went out and she kept drifting out to where the "pro" surfers were. I thought, "Wow, so competent. Maybe she is going to get serious now". Little after I thought that, I realised all was not good as she was continuously dumped hard by waves - at one point with two feet in the air as she was flipped by a massive wave. I thought, "OMG! Maybe I should head out!", however I noticed she was drifting in, so all was good.
"OMG - I thought I was about to die!" she spluttered as she came out.
"Oops - I was going to go out but thought you were going all pro surfer!" I replied.
Next time, I guess I will know.

With all this much fun, this has led me to serious consideration in buying a wetsuit - not just for surfing but for snorkelling.

Interestingly, all the people I have told this story to were very surprised that I actually went surfing. Admittedly, it was not my idea (thanks M!) but is it because I don't seem the type to go surfing? I'm not entirely sure.

One of the other fun things I have experienced this year was to attend my first AFL game - Sydney Swans vs West Coast Eagles. We kicked off the night with a small BBQ (two hotdogs was not enough) but this was closely followed by an ice-block and then straight into the game. The game itself was exciting (although longer than I thought - didn't realise that they played almost 1/2 hr quarters) and apparently much closer to a Grand Final replay than many Swannie fans were looking forward to - another West Coast Eagles win....by a measly one point.
It was a tremendous fight back by the Swans, but I felt that they let this one slip as they had too many missed goals in the second quarter. In any case, I am definitely still supportive and can't wait to see the run to the finals! Go Swannies!

Also, my 5 mths of sabbatical are over! I'm back at work and strangely, some things seem like they have not changed at all.

As I inject all these changes in my life, I really hope that this all works out positively and that I don't regret any of the decisions I am making. **fingers crossed**.