Let the Games Begin!

Trip Start Feb 15, 2004
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Trip End Dec 18, 2004


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Flag of Australia  ,
Tuesday, August 10, 2004

After my Functional Grammar class, my mind is a mixture of many different labels for the same concepts. Linguists seem to like their jargon. And instead of all agreeing upon the same jargon, each linguist feels the need to create their own, thus confusing us poor students. I'm trying to rescue my thoughts from the pool of grammatical terminology in which they are swimming. And they're not swimming like, say, Ian Thorpe will be in a few days in the new roofless Olympic pool in Athens. No, instead they're flailing about, much like I would in that same aquatic centre. (Or any aquatic centre, for that matter.)

Allrighty, I think I got that out of my system. So anyway, only 4 days until the Olympics!! The Olympics are big news in this sports-obsessed nation. Everyone here likes to make fun of how unprepared Athens seems to stage such a huge event (unlike Sydney's "best ever" Olympic Games 4 years ago, which the Aussies will be constantly comparing it to). The news has been taken over by stories of endless drug accusations among the cycling team, which have resulted in more court cases than I can keep track of. For the past few months, numerous athletes have been kicked off the Olympic team and have subsequently appealed the decisions. I mean, they're all on steroids anyway, right?? :) (Ian Thorpe made a similar comment, and received a lot of flack for it.) The latest newsworthy Olympic story has been how Jana Pittman, the 21 year old Aussie track and field star who was favored to win a gold medal in the hurdles, injured herself just days ago. First, doctors told her there was no way she'd make it to Athens, but after a desperate trip to London for a second opinion and last-minute surgery, now she's been given a 60% chance of competing. We've been receiving daily updates on her condition thanks to the Australian media. Personally, I'm just glad I'll be able to watch "The Dream" every night during the Olympics. For those of you who've never spent an Olympic year in Australia, "The Dream" is a talk-show hosted by Roy and H.G., who basically make fun of everything that happens during the Olympics. It's hilarious.

Other than all the Olympic hoopla, it's been life as usual for me. I've been busy teaching, eating lunch on the bus (a big thanks to my Skippy peanut butter suppliers!), and going to class. I'm eagerly anticipating next week, when my teaching days will be reduced from 5 to 3 a week! Hopefully that will give me some free time during which I can sit on my bench, study, and sleep. Last weekend I went on a day trip to the Hunter Valley, the wine region near Sydney, with Christina and a busload of international exchange students from UNSW. We spent the day being antisocial and trying to drink as much free wine as possible during the tastings. I'd like to recommend that people stay away from sparkling shiraz - it's a bad idea. I learned that sparkling wine should always be white, not red. That night I went to see Funkstar with my friend Marie, and even though they rocked, I was so tired I could barely stay awake. So it was a lame evening. The weekend before that, I took Christina and her boyfriend Ryan to Star City. It was their first time at Sydney's casino. We all signed up for free VIP cards, which entitle us to $10 complimentary gambling money and free drinks (coffee, tea, or soda from machines strategically placed all around the casino)! I won $40 off the 5 cent slot machines!!! I think that's a record for me, so I was psyched. I received my winnings in $1 coins, perfect for laundry.

This weekend I'm heading down to the snowfields of New South Wales for a day of snowboarding. Yes, you can snowboard in Australia! It's damn expensive and the mountains aren't all that impressive, but you can snowboard. Should be fun, especially since I'm going with Marie and Masa on an Asian tour. I think I might be the only non-Asian person on the bus. :) Now I just need to remember how to snowboard... Also, Christina and I have signed up for a lawn bowling course! Lawn bowling is pretty popular in Australia. Every town seems to have a lawn bowling club, and it's not just for old folks. When I signed up for the course, the guy told me, "You can drink beer while you're playing!" That's my kinda sport!

I'd like to end with a concrete example of why hot Anthony is snobby and condescending. I now have 2 classes with him, as he turned up in my Language for Specific Purposes class last night. During a class discussion, he actually raised his hand and prefaced his comment with, "This might seem like a facile question..." Did he really need to say facile?? An intellectual snob if I ever did hear one. But he's still nice to look at.

And now I must run home to watch Home & Away and The O.C.
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