Adventures, Musings, Commentary, and Associated Fun

frisbee and such

It's been a shamefully long time between posts.  Unfortunately, I've fallen into the mental habit of trying to make each post quite lengthy and comprehensive, and the past month hasn't allowed for much in terms of free time.  I'm hoping to be better about keeping posts short and sweet, with perhaps longer ones thrown in when the opportunity presents itself (i.e. procrastination gets worse than normal).  With that in mind...

Basically, the past few months have been extremely busy, in a way that has rather significantly surpassed the enjoyable (and self-required) level of having several different things to do.  It's been hellaciously busy.  The next few weeks before my arrival back home (Dec 4, tentatively) don't offer much prospect of a break, unfortunately...but at least next week is the end of the semester, so no more teaching.  I love doing it, but I can't say that I'll be upset to see the end of this semester.  More on that later, I hope.

Frisbee: University Games was a great time, though our team finish (9th) doesn't really do justice for our overall performance.  I managed to get myself on to the Green and Gold team (essentially, an All-Star team for the tourney) for the 2nd year running, which was a pretty satisfying result.  It might have been because we were such a tough team, as the photo clearly demonstrates. Grrr.  :)  We had Mixed Nationals in Sydney the week after that (Oct 5-7), and I played with a very good and very fun team of fellow Victorians named Station 59.  (We were sponsored by a pub of the same name, which itself was named after - wait for it - a fire station, hence the red/yellow color scheme.  Each time we scored, the receiver had to stop, drop, and roll.  Safety first, boys and girls).  We finished 4th, which was a tad disappointing since we were solid contenders for the title, but it was a great tournament overall.

The biggest news within the Ultimate community over here, at least from the past week, has been the announcement of the Australian national team squads.  From these squads, the final teams for the World Championships in Vancouver next August will be selected.  Good news is that I made it, along with the 3 other Chilly boys that were trying out.  Final team selections will be made in late Jan/early Feb, which means that my December in the US will involve lots of fitness training.  The selection camp will be held in Canberra (ugh - NOBODY likes Canberra, which I suppose makes it a reasonable spot for the national capital) at the Australian Institute for Sport, which is roughly the Australian equivalent of the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.  Our training sessions are being part-sponsored by AIS, which is a pretty big coup for Ultimate.  Competition for spots is going to be very fierce, and I know that I'm not the only one that is galvanized with nervous excitement.

So much for a short post.  Thesis calls...need to get a chapter to my supervisor by next week, and unfortunately "I've been busy writing overdue blog posts" won't carry much weight if I don't get it to him.

to Brizzie...

I'm slowly getting used to the colder weather.  It's amazing how quickly your body can acclimate to summer heat and humidity.  The first two days I was back in Australia were brutally cold...or so it seemed, as my body wondered what had happened to wonderfully warm (and very humid) weather of Singapore.

NTC (National Training Camp), the reason that I cut short (to a measly 24 hours) my time in Bali was really successful.  Typically, the only time we get together as an entire frisbee community is at tournaments based around club play, such as Nationals.  This weekend, the first step in the process for selecting the Australian National Team, was quite different.  Saturday was devoted mostly to drills and exercises, while Sunday involved 8 different games (each about 30 minutes) with players mixed up and swapped around for each game.  The result was a chance to play with a bunch of different people, most of whom I've only played against before.  It was also a great chance to chat and socialize outside of the normal club-based structure, which can be limiting.  I'm surprised at how sore my legs are from the weekend, but then again we all were running very hard...and I'm not very good about taking a sub, so over the weekend I probably played more points than most.  Oops.  My thighs are grumbling at me as a result. 

In 3 weeks, we'll be in Sydney again for a weekend of "real" games (i.e. based around our club teams), followed 4 weeks later by the same in Melbourne.  After this, the Australian "squad" team will be announced, and it's from this group of players that the "Dingoes" (men's team) and "Barrimundis" (mixed team, also a type of Australian fish) will be chosen.  (I'm not sure what the ladies' team is called, but safe to say it's probably some sort of exotic Australian wildlife.)

Off to Brisbane tonight for a tournament on the weekend, then back home to Melbourne late Sunday night.  It will be good to be back home and into a routine again, though I'm less than excited about having my first classes to teach within 12 hours of touching down.  Photos and more commentary about my Asia trip once I get back.

change of plans...again!

Have to keep this one short as there are a number of errands I'm trying to complete before heading to Bali later this evening.  Due to a change of plans - the US friend I was hoping to meet up with in Bali, Eileen, won't be able to make the trip - I'll only be in Bali for about 24 hours instead of the week I had initially hoped for.  While this is of course regrettable (and means I won't be able to do my Open Water SCUBA diving course), it means that I'll be able to get to Sydney for the National Training Camp, which is the first step in the selection process for the Australian Ultimate Frisbee National Team.  I think it's the right decision, even though I do feel the inevitable regret of not being able to do both.

My time in Singapore has been productive and useful, even though I haven't done as much writing as I had originally hoped to.  I've managed to meet several interesting folks at the National University of Singapore (where I'm staying with my friend Angus) and hopefully can build upon that when I come back in Jan/Feb for my official research trip.  Jakarta is also in the cards for that trip, and while visiting the National Mosque of Singapore I even managed to randomly meet an Indonesian academic who seemed quite excited when I told him that my thesis concerned US Foreign Policy towards Indonesia, and even mentioned the possibility of me giving a seminar once I get there.

For a trip that has mercilessly mocked my initial plans, it's still been very interesting and productive.  It's a bit crazy to think I've only been away for about 10 days total as it feels like it has been much longer.  The side trip to Malaysia last week remains one of the big highlights, but having a base in Singapore has been extremely valuable as well.  It's also gotten me thinking about whether I might want to call Singapore home for at least a little bit somewhere down the line...but that's another conversation for another time.  Off to plan my accomodations in Bali!

pre-trip chaos

I've been running around like crazy trying to get everything sorted before my trip to Singapore, Jakarta, and Bali.  No real surprise there...Looking at the 48 hours between now and departure time, I really have no idea how it everything is going to get done.  Yikes.

As Indonesia is heavy on the mind these days (most days, in fact, given that it's a main part of my thesis!), here's an interesting NYT article about the growing religiosity amongst Indonesians, as opposed toan increase in support for political Islam or radicalism.   Unfortunately, the picture often gets muddled by conflating the terms and using them interchangeably.  The article fits with my understanding and reading of trends within Indo.

As of July 1, Melbourne's pubs became smoke free.  Finally, you can go out for a couple of drinks without feeling like you're licked a couple of ash-trays in the morning due to the second hand smoke.  While there were a few protests from the likely suspects, it's been very well-received overall.  Remember a few years ago when the thought of banning smoke from bars was considered controversial?  Perhaps those with longer memories can remember a similar debate when the ban on smoking on airplanes was introduced.  I know Mom (a flight attendant who flies heaps to Europe) was very excited about it...

We had a frisbee tournament here in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday; I won't go into much detail about why it was called the "Boycott City Challenge", but the short version of the story is that Melbourne University finished 2nd, losing the final to Monash University (our main rival).  It would have been nice to win it, but overall I don't think we can really complain too much about the result.  Next thing up for the University team is the Australian University Championships (to be held in late September on the Gold Coast in Queensland - described to me as the "Florida of Australia").  In between, we'll be beginning the selection process for the Australian National team for the World Championships in Vancouver next year.  Unlike last year, only one team from each country gets into this tourney, so competition for slots is very intense.  No doubt you'll be hearing about how it's going for me along the way.  I haven't really had a break from frisbee for a couple of months now, and while I'm obviously geared up and excited to make a run at the Aussie team, the prospect of 2-3 weeks of rest while I'm traveling makes my legs and feet happy.

I'm a coach!

This weekend, I attended the AFDA Level 1 coaching course, which entitles me to be an accredited coach.  It was a pretty awesome thing, with lots of Ultimate talk augmented by discussions of teaching methods and knowledge transfer skills (yippee for being a teacher!).  There were a couple of Chilly boys (and former ones) present, and in conjunction with a lot of familiar faces from the ultimate community it had the feeling of a get-together of friends.  I'm not sure that it was quite the same vibe as being at my 5 year college reunion - which I was very upset to miss, in part because of Charlottesville at this time of year but far more because I haven't seen folks that did, and continue, to mean a considerable amount of time.  That's the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.  Nonetheless, it did drive home "the distance thing", which when you're on the other side of the world can be rather significant.  In Australia they even have a name for it, namely the "tyranny of distance", which refers to both internal geography as well as being a long way away from a lot of things.  More on that later, I suppose.

Other than that, I'm working on writing a chapter for my supervisor, as well as pre-planning my trip to Singapore and Indonesia.  I'm really, REALLY excited about it....

Worlds 2006 trailer

It takes a little while to get going, but this is the trailer for the Worlds DVD from Perth.  Mostly D's to start, then some really big catches.  (If you want to see some more crazy highlights of this crazy sport I play, check out Ultivillage, and click on "Clip of the Day" in the top right - it should answer any questions you have about Ultimate being a "serious" sport!)  There are couple of shots of Chilly (though none of me), found at 1:21, 2:14, 2:52, 3:06, and 3:32.  The last one is probably the most consequential, as it was the winning point in the quarterfinal.  The guy who caught it, Lee Baker, is one of my closest friends on Chilly; here's a photo of us following Nationals.

Basically, for those of you that are wondering what it is that I do with all my time, here it is. :)  We had a viewing party of the DVD following Nationals, and while it doesn't change the overall result from Perth (and yes, we are still bitter about losing a very win-able semifinal), it was nonetheless pretty damn cool to watch all the same...last post about frisbee for a while, I promise!

I've booked my flight to Singapore in July, and it looks like I'll be able to stop in Bali for a few days on my way back, where I will be catching up with my good friend Eileen.  From there, I'll be heading straight to Brisbane for a(nother!) frisbee tournament; by the end of this year, it's likely I will have traveled to all of the capital cities of Australia (save Darwin, capital of Northern Territory), in the name of chasing plastic...

(I've used the YouTube link because it embeds easier, though the version of the Ultivillage site is better quality.  Check out the original!)

We are the Champions...

Yes, it's a shameless self-plug.  Chilly won the Open Division title at Australian Ultimate Frisbee Nationals; here's the write-up.  Unfortunately, the official photos are not available yet, but 2 guys on the B team have put their collections up at Flickr, here and here.  Enjoy!  My personal favorite is the one below, which is why I always say that Ultimate is non-contact "in theory".  Nonetheless, he didn't call foul - perhaps because he was too dazed!

The tourney was fantastic, and to win a third straight title on home soil was great.  Even better, Dad came over for the tournament, and watching 3 out of the 4 days of the tourney really allowed him to get a feeling for the team and the sport, in a way that watching a one-off game doesn't.  I was happy with my performance overall; I feel like I've managed to make a role for myself on the team, and to be expected to make big plays and contribute makes for lots of nervous excitement (in a good way!).  University ultimate is just starting to really get going, which ensures that I'm never too far away from throwing a disc. :) We had a few beers Wed night to celebrate the win, needless to say.

Unfortunately, with New Zealand (photos on Facebook here and here) and Nationals both just memories - though very, very positive ones at that - I now need to get back into work mode.  My next chapter is due in about 4 weeks, which is somewhat daunting.  Nonetheless, I am excited about it.  I'm hoping to go to Singapore (and Indonesia if I can swing it as well) for 2-3 weeks in July as a sort of reconnaissance trip for my "real" research trip in Jan/Feb.  It looks like the cost of flights will be will be around A$1300-1500, which is a bit steep, but I figure I really need to get there to check things out.  It will be my first trip to Asia, which is reason enough to get pretty stoked...

Semifinals, finals on today...

Yet more ultimate talk...things have gone really well for Chilly thus far at the National Championships. We're undefeated so far, down to the final 4 teams (2 of whom we've already beat this tourney), and feeling good about our chances. The other team we haven't faced, "Barefoot" (Sydney-based), is built around largely the same core of players that formed "Thong", which those with good memories will remember upset Chilly in the semifinals of Worlds in November. If going for 3 straight nationals championships wasn't enough motivation, the prospect of beating those guys adds more than enough.

I'm pretty happy with how I've played in the tournament so far. I've scored a fair number of points through either receiving or throwing the disc, and with one or two exceptions I'm reasonably pleased with the defense that I've played too. My role on the team is largely to be a constant threat on offense (both through throwing and running the guy guarding me all over the field) and provide some hard, tight defense. I haven't had too many blocks this tourney, but I feel like I'm really stepping into a leadership role. It's been good fun, I love playing with the guys on our team, and if anything is bad about today it is that tomorrow it's all over. If things go well, we'll have a national championship and a lot of partying before that happens...

It's been great to have dad (a.k.a. The Rog) here, and he's been a big hit on the sidelines. He's seen me play games before, but he's never been to a full tournament and hung out on the sidelines with everyone to this degree. At last night's party (I was restricted mostly to ice water, unfortunately!), a bunch of people told me how "cool your dad is", etc. If you know my dad, you won't be surprised. Most of the time such a comment was followed by amazement, both by the speaker and me, that such a fun set of parents could result in a boring sod like me. :)

Off to the fields now, excited and nervous, knowing that the next 8 hours of the day will be pretty pivotal in the memories and athletic motivation I take from this tourney, as well as the overall impression I make within the ultimate community. With selections for the World Ultimate (country-based, rather than club-based like Perth) Championships in Vancouver 2008 not too far away, the last part is both important and too general to be my first priority at this stage. Updates to follow!

so far so good...

Yesterday was the first day of Nationals - it's wonderful to finally be playing! Our first two games were both walk-overs against low seeds, but our last game of the day was against the 4th seed and possible competitor for the title. Tight game, but we were in control for most of it and won 15-11. If you're so inclined, you can check out the scores at...

http://afda.com/trashtalk/showarticle.php?articleid=425

(Chilly is my team, not to be confused with Hot Chilly, which is our "B" team.) 2 more games today and at least 1 on Tuesday; if all goes according to plan we'll then have the semifinals and finals on Wednesday - which has the added benefit of being a public holiday here.

In other news, the Princess of Denmark recently had a baby girl, which is all over the news. The reason? She's from Tasmania, and met the Prince during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Cute story, really - and there's been considerable talk that Aussies prefer the understated Danish royalty more than the insufferable British versions that are still officially the Australian head of state. Here's an article and some background.

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...