Meanwhile Back in OZ...

Sunset at Cottesloe Beach from the other day

I was welcomed back to Oz with a stretch where I worked 10 out of 12 days with the other two days being game days. Things were busy to say the least.

The winter break did little to cool off the red hot Bears, as we have continued our winning ways and sit atop the league with a 12-1 record, two games clear in 1st place.

The weather here has been wicked hot as well, with a 5 or 6 day stretch that was pretty much unBEARable.

Some of the highlights since returning from our trip have include:

Australia Day:
The equivalent to our 4th of July, the day was awesome. The morning started with my first round of Golf in about 5 years. Me, Ft, Gabbo, Frank, and Spooner hit the links hard and I am sad to say I still have the nastiest slice in the history of man, which I attribute to my inside-out baseball swing. Despite hitting the netting at a 90 degree angle from the tee box on the first whole, I bounced back to shoot a cool 61. Unfortunately that was for 9 holes, not 18.

The rest of the day was spent poolside and BBQing at Rikki's parents place. We were joined there by the usual crew of ladies, where we lounged, got into some piss, and played beer pong (the way with paddles). I was horrible. We continued the pool party into the night, when we got a surprise visit from Timmy, who was back from the mines for a few days because of a cyclone. That was cause for celebration and everyone got after it pretty good. We capped off the night by walking up the hill to check out the firework show over the river. I also got plenty of practice saying my Aussie phrases, which I have continued to work into daily conversation. It was a great day to be Australian... or at least in Australia.

BBQ at Timmy and Roh's:

Much of my social life revolves around BBQs. At this Q, I had my first experience with Lawn Balls, a bochi ball (i know i butchered that) type game, where the balls are unevenly weighted and you curve them towards a marker ball. My only good bowl of the day was ruined when Timmy knocked it out of the way.

We rounded out the great night with some catch up coins and other games. Shenanigans were in place, as is the norm.

Night at the Casino:

Went to Burswood Casino with some of the boys and had my first winning night...ever. I am off Cash Creek, but Burswood is a different story.


Other than that, I have continued my Monday night dinner tradition over at the Free household, which has featured some excellent dishes of late. I also am finished working at the Uni Sports Camp for Kids, both a good and bad thing.

As for right now, I am about blogged out so it is time to head to the beach. I will try to keep you guys up to speed with what is going on over here so stay tuned and as always, thanks for reading along. Comments/suggestions always appreciated!

Peace and Love,

Ethan