Embarking on a new Adventure...

Note the capital A. It's going to be a big, exciting, challenging Adventure. Can't wait. I've always been that person who shies away from hard work; heck, when I first looked up the word procrastination inthe dictionary, I also looked up boondoggle, dawdle, dilly-dally, prolong, linger, retard (not in the less abled sort of way), monkey around, screw off, and formicophiliac. But occasionally, I get bored of finding news ways to procrastinate - there's only so much surfing of bored.com and urbandictionary.com one can do... but then I found kontraband.com and the (soccer) world cup(1), and that gave me a whole new six months revitalisation of fascination with procrastination in this nation. But, like all good things.. the time has come to move on and shift up a gear.

So from one tree hugging hippie bleeding heart socialist pinky do gooder well wishing organisation to another, I will be embaring on a new Adventure in Sri Lanka with a new organisation. Hooray. And best of all, I am going to be a capitalist tree hugging hippie bleeding heart socialist pinky do gooder well wisher, as I am going to start actually being paid for the work I do: No more shackles of volunteerism. After six months, I can now say that I will be here for another twelve months doing the stuff I love. I ought to thank a few people actually: Firstly, Zhera (check out the link to her blog on the right hand side) as she told me to apply; Embo, who surprisingly didn't crack the sads and say "But I wanna go home!", and all it cost me was a trip to the Greek islands in July 07 [I'm still trying to bargain her down to the Carribean]; uhm, and nobody else really - all the rest was me me me me.

The good news for all you lovely Melbournians is that yes, I will be gone for another year; but not without a whirlwind pub tour for the last two weeks of June. My brother is officially moving back from the States and will be there upon my return; my sister is preggers so I want to rub the belly of luck; and I need to fleece my other brother of all his money in our World Cup bet-a-thon. I can't wait to get drunk, act drunk, and be drunk in a familiar surrounding without having to catch a tuk-tuk home. Cascade Beer, Victoria Bitter, James Boags.. that'll do me. Oh, and coffee - goddamn the coffee is good in Melbourne. For those who are from Melbourne, that made perfect sense... for everyone else, you can tell you are not from Melbourne because you are thinking "Who gives a toot about coffee" becuase you either don't drink it or don't know what the good stuffs all about. But yep, in continental winterish Melbourne, there's nothing that can top a coffee as you sit on the street chugging down those cigarettes and freezing your little nannas off.

Before I signout, I have a gripe with the AFL (Australian Football League). I love my footy, and I aint talking about that pansy sport we call Soccer. But recently, the AFL brought in a "split round" where one weeks of games are played over two weeks so that the players can recouperate or whatever.. whinging buggers. And it just so happens, that the split round coincides with my visit to Melbourne. Oh boooooo. But it gets worst. The AFL refuses to give my football team (Carn the mighty Hawks!) money for having the blondest 18 players on the field; so they had to sell their souls to the devil and play games in (gulp) Tasmania of all places. Traitors. And so now, not only is there only _one_ Hawthorn football match while I am in town, but it's not even going to be played in my town! Two Melbourne teams playing in Launceston. I mean, this is exactly what Trey Parker and Matt Stone were talking about in Baseketball. It's just not on!

So, I'm in a pickle. What to do? Australia's not playing cricket. My football team I can only watch for a couple of hours over a two week period. Sri Lanka's even finishing up their tour of England (Go the Lankans, they managed to do what the Aussies couldn't do at the Ashes and draw with them). NHL's played their playoffs, same goes with Basketball not that I care. I guess I could watch Rugby... but I aint a Canadian (north of the border = New South Wales/Queenslander), so who cares about that. Looks like I am going to have to jump on that Bandwagon. Actually, for those who have seen me of late, there's been little action in Ampara and Sri Lanka so the World Cup has reached fever pitch in Sri Lanka. And I'm the first to admit that I am jumping on that bandwagon. And why not.. at least this time we didn't lose to YouAreGay (I prefer Homer Simpson's pronounciation) or some nuclear middle eastern state in the qualifying round. This time we're actually playing, may as well watch it. I don't need an excuse to say "Well, technically I am not a bandwagon jumper, because I once played soccer at lunch time in grade 3.. so it's really in my blood", or "Well, I'm actually 1/314th Serbian, which is why I hate the Croats on the team but still love soccer", or "Well, I've visited America which makes me fickle". So I am on the Socceroo bandwagon, and proud of it. Despite the fact it's played by pansys that spend more time rolling on the ground than kicking and punching each other, it could be alright... there's got to be something going for it, if reports are correct there may even be more people who play soccer than cricket (I find this highly dubious, having spent time in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia.. I can't imagine anywhere else being different?).

So go the Socceroos. Go the Guus. And for those who discount us: Just remember, we beat Greece, the European champions; we drew with Holland, 3rd in FIFA rankings; and we beat the fifth best South American team to qualify! At 100/1, start counting your winnings!!

(1) Man, Australia so sucks at being a soccer nation. Firstly, we rightfully call it soccer.. because obviously a game where you can use your feet and your hands should be called Football. But also, check out the link to the official socceroos website.. and you will see more articles and talk on the Qantas Matildas, our female squad, than you will about the Australian Socerroos.. that little uknown team that has made it to Germany 2006 for the first time since WhoknowsIJustGotOnTheBandwagon 1974. The Matilda's tour of China, whilst I'm all for dykes and spikes (2), surely should take a temporary backseat for say the next 4 weeks whilst we win seven games in a row and a trophy with a lil ball on it?

(2) Anyone who does take offense to this comment will be called a German Dyke (3).

(3) Any Germans who take offense to this comment will be reminded by the outcomes of "Two World Wars And One World Cup" - The Barmy Army do have the best songs, if only you could shut them up.