Back from Tasmania...

Feeling the onset of a few habits coming back (i.e. horribly infrequent postings), I will try to head them off at the pass and put up a few thoughts.  Now that the semester has gotten going, I have settled down into a bit more of a routine.  Unfortunately, it doesn't mean I'm any less busy - just that I'm consistently busy now, rather than inconsistently as before.  Only a few more months and the (winter) holidays will be here...

This weekend I went to Tasmania for the ultimate Regional Championships, which served as qualifications for the National Championships to be held in Melbourne.  There wasn't much doubt about qualifying - Chilly will be going for our 3rd straight National Championship - but we still came out and played really well, which was a great feeling (it was also great to play in a competitive game for the first time since Worlds in November.)  We were missing quite a few of our key guys and big players, which made the high quality of play that much more satisfying.  Personally, I thought I played reasonably well, though of course there are things I can still improve upon.  I also took more of a leadership role given the dynamics of the team, which was nice.

I flew over a day early to drive around Tasmania and see a few things that I missed when I was there 2 months ago with my parents.  We stopped at the Bay of Fires, which is listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. (Hard to believe, but with Wineglass Bay as well, Tas has two beaches that usually come near the top of such rankings.)  To say that it was beautiful is, of course, a tremendous understatement; I'll post a few pictures once I take them off my camera.  We stayed at a friend's father's house on Friday night, and shortly after we arrived at  his house he had us out on his boat fishing.  While the hope had been to catch dinner, we had to settle for a (small) appetizer!  But you should have seen the one that got away... :)

In other news, I should (finally!) be moving into Trinity College tomorrow, which will bring my itinerant living to an end.  I'm excited, not least at the prospect of finally having a place to call home for at least the next 10 months.  Living out of a suitcase can get tiring.  I'm also planning a trip to New Zealand for next month to catch up with Aaron Columbus, who will be heading to NZ for a friend's wedding.  I can't wait, both to catch up with him and to finally see a bit of NZ...other international travel plans involve a prospective trip to Indonesia/Singapore in June/July and a potential skiing trip to NZ around the same time (during our winter holidays), assuming that I can get my financial house in order and save a few bucks between now and then...

Comments

[Carrie]

So glad to hear that you are getting to move...a few days earlier than you thought, right?

[Eileen Dietrich]

I will be back in Indonesia this summer so let me know your plans...will probably be there from mid-July to mid-August.