It's official, I am leaving the nest. Ya, I am moving away from my adopted Aussie family because I have found the house of my dreams. Sure it will cost me $600 a month, but you can't buy the view I have. I am a 2 minute walk from the beach, and I can see the ocean from my bedroom window. It is gonna be great, my landlord is chills as well, but no match for Bill Simpson, I will miss him. If any of you are going to be in the area in the next 6 months you are more than welcome to stay with me!

Other than that, the weekend was pretty slow, just took it easy, lived the Aussie way. So basically just watched rugby and drank beer, good times.

My 3 year retirement from baseball ended on Saturday. Very emotitional day for me stepping onto the field without the blue and red and number 6 of the Aurora Jays on but it was good to get back out there. It was a top of the table clash, with my new club, Forest Hills coming out on top in a nailbiting last inning comeback.

Well I have finally made it back to Sydney after two weeks of utter debauchery on the beautiful Australian coast. Let me tell you, it is tough getting back to uni life after a two week holiday, I am struggling. It has hit me that for the next 5 weeks until exams I have to do work, very depressing.

It all started in Airlie Beach, the one fateful night I spent on land. I went to the bar around 9, just in time for happy hour. Now happy hour led into 2 for 1 drinks at 10:30, by which time I felt very happy. The 2 for 1 drinks were probably not necessary at this point but who am I to turn down a bargain? Needless to say that night was interesting, I met a bunch of random Canadians which is always good fun. The next day I was off for 3 days and 2 nights of sailing around the Whitsunday Islands. It was awesome, I got to sleep on the boat, and the days were pretty much a cycle of lie on the deck, sail, snorkel, lie on the deck, and repeat.

My next stop was Brisbane which was pretty good as well. The city itself wasn't too exciting but had some good crazy nights on the town. From there I went up to Surfer's Paradise which looks exactly like the start of CSI Miami when they show the beach. There is a long stretch of beach, a road right near it, and condos and apartments everywhere you look. After Surfer's I went to Moreton Island for a 4WD adventure tour. The island is made of sand so we went sand surfing and sand toboganning which is very dangerous. They sent 10 of us down in a row which was a terrible idea. I had a front row seat as one of the guys got drilled by a girl on her sand toboggin. Poor guy sprained his shoulder and fractured his finger. Then a girl fainted and some other guy sliced open his foot and I had to carry him back to our truck. I was talking to the tour operator and it sounds like this injuries are quite common, I can't believe they can still run this things. I managed to escape the day with some sore ribs and shoulder, shocking considering what I was doing.

After that I headed to Tweed Heads to meet up with Robin, a friend I met on the plane over to Australia and we travelled to Bryon Bay together. We did some sea kayaking and some lying on the beach, and some bar hopping. Best bar would have to be Cheeky Monkey's where I ended up on stage with minimal clothing, and came away with the grand prize of a 4 day diving course. I couldn't do the course because I had to leave, but I was able to score a sweet t-shirt, well worth it I think!

Now I am back at uni, not totally hating my life but not quite liking it as much as during my vacation. Oh well, I suppose I can't live like a bum the whole time I am here can I?

We finally got some new recruits for touch footy, Captain Iron Mike now has 2 wins under his belt. We are just hitting form, hopefully we can make a late push towards the playoffs!

Yesterday I was exposed to yet another great Aussie tradition. Easter Races at Randwick Racetrack. Or more appropriately, going to the races, losing lots of money and drinking. I accomplished all 3. I even consulted with an old man who looked like a professional horse better and he still led me astray. By the end of the day I was reduced to screaming at a certain horse and then pretending I had won, it was good times. The day degenerated into chaos from there as you can see by my previous posting. I had a bit of an emotional moment last night.

Anyway, I am off travelling the coast for a bit on Tuesday so you may not hear from me but let it be known that I am out to set the coast on fire. My mantra will be "no excuses, play like a champion." Make it yours as well.

I'm not at my best, I;ve been drunk for a month....

Hello, currently it is 11:41 Aussie time and I am drunk. What a weak nught. I am disgusted with emsyelf but everyone went home tonight and my hand was forced. We spent all day at the race tracks, I los tmoney, then got slammed at the bar and everyone watned to come home early. I am disgusted. And I am passing on my disgust to everyone. But I hope u have a happy easter and just want u to know i though of u.

alex hoevenaars u will know this reference, 2 night was worse than losing to bolton under the tutelage to mike knox and bob burman. by the way, nbest game i evber saw was u pitching a 2-0 shutout vs. erin mills. Pete Inclaviglia is dirt, 1992-1993 blue jays is all we hav eto hang on too my friend.

Oppie, bud what can i say my man. Keep plowing away, Nhl 96, hereos, red alert, and warcraft. many good times my friend, see u soon in the sweet sweet aveo. keep tha tnew car smell; in there for me. Nice call on the raptors, they saved your dirty ass $20, u must have called up darrell mitcheell and told him he was shit. Too bad about th epens and eddie olczyk, that was a dirt pick. WE are even i think, no worries i will get u a beer anyway, keep this as documentation. Turn greenwood into a worhorse for me i know u can force him to turn that leafe.

Greenwood, u dirty bastard. What can i say about u. HEard u got a job for the summer, be a workhorse for me and make me proud. Try not to bring home too many whales from the coaast of france to your hot tub because the sweet deck craftsmanship by eric greenwood may be ruined due to largeness.

Lauren Prisco, my sister. Your 19th bday is on the way in just over a month. Please acquire a shot of tequila on my behalf and enjoy it. IF i was there i would get u one. When i get home we will have a massive one. Please enjoy yourself on your 19th bday, mine was dirt so i wan't u too have a good one. If u must throw up in the sewer not in the house, especially not on the new floors or mom wil be pissed ad the dog will eat it. Speaking of he mother tell her she is a good person and my fav mom, say hi to the fam and the nonna's and such.

Daveed, the Ambassador of Southeast Asia, hope things are good with u back at th embassy. Did u ever tell tony what happened to his toilet that night? Keep working out and become massive! Dominate dodgeball 4 me.

Tony, r u still dating mel? If not I am in on that once i get back! Cheers bud make me some dinner and save my portion or i wil stab u!

Hiro, you are mny hero, that is all.

Julie, what can I say. I miss your delicous rum balls and your delicous food and being in all of the same classes. I miss u taking me to india food and trying to assassinate me, i think that was the 3rd time but i fogrgive u. don't worry 4 foruth year we will take all the same courses but i will copy everything off of u because i am now a slacker.

Laura, what can i say about the first girlfirend that ever meant anthing to me. the day u broke up with me before that exam was the worst. please considerd getting back to gether with me when i come home, if not, too bad for u! ahahahah, just kidding! don't break up with me befor eexams though!

Russell, I don't even know what to say to u. I watched the new years video today and almost had a stroke, muahaha. eat some sweet schwarma for me and visit ana for me as well, tell her i say hi adn that whjen i comebnack i will go there for bacon!

Arija, i had a veggie burger today. that is a total lie bt i did not eat meat yesterday for good friday. but i had meat today. it was tasy u should try it!

Andrea, hoipe u have finisheda ll 8000 of your essays, they are poo. I hate writing essays thank god i don't write them anymroe!

Colleen, happy birtyhday we will go to the stampede when i get back, hopoefully it is not -80000 degrees again!!

Happy Easter everyone, speak to you soobm gotta break the seal again!

I love Easter Break. I have only been in school for 6 weeks, and now I get 16 days off. How great is that, honestly? I don't know how I am ever gonna get used to school back home again, but I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there.

So the cruise last week, total debauchery. The boat we were on looked like it just dropped off some refugees before it picked us up. It was really dodgy actually, I really don't think it was seaworthy at all. But then I found out they were serving hamburgers for free and all was good with the world. Sadly I was unable to go as Venus or Serena Williams as I could not find a skirt that would fit me. I went with the Payne Stewart look, high socks, plaid pants tucked into the socks, it was pretty sweet. I also had a set of kids golf clubs to top it all off. I learned a new rule for drinking which is definately being imported to Canada. Guy drops his beer on the ground, all of sudden everyone starts singing this song which I have no clue what the words are. But the key part is this: someone took of their shoe and everyone poured some of their drink into it and the guy had to chug it. It was hilarious. There was beer, wine, and vodka in that thing, not to mention someone's foot! I can't wait for someone to drop a beer when I get back, ahahahaha. As for me, well I was in the bag by 9:15 but I kept at it. Ended up in a Kebab shop after, which is sweet. Nothing like a kebab after a night of drinking. Best part of the night though, I ask the guy where the bathroom is and he directs me through the kitchen. My balance and coordination not being up to my usual standards I turned to ask him again where the bathroom was, and when I turned back to my horror I collided with a bowl of freshly cut mushrooms. The mushrooms hit the floor, I apologize profusely. The guy smiling says to me "No problem my friend, go to the washroom, it's ok." So I keep walking, turn around and see the guy sweeping the mushrooms back into the bowl. Good thing I already had my kebab!

I went to an Aussie Rules Football game on Sunday which was pretty cool. Crazy sport though, but good times.

Speaking of football, I should be finding out if I made the touch footy team soon. Word on the street is that I should make it, but if not I will try my luck at Rugby 7s. That would be cool cause there is hitting involved. I find that after playing so much touch you really want to flatten people sometimes. We just played our 4th game tonight. We got flattened 6-2. I continued to pad my stats though, put up another 2 tries but it is really getting annoying now. I hate losing. It really sucks. We aren't in last place though, I think tied for 3rd last. If you come in last you get this thing called the wooden spoon which means you suck basically. That is not how Captain Iron Mike wants to end his first season as skipper. I am missing the next two games though, so unless someone else steps up to the plate it won't be good. The Americanos don't even show up anymore, even if they do they will ride pine.

I hope everyone has a nice easter, I will be on a beach somewhere warm, or snorkeling or something. I will be sure to send pics though!

Some pics from the cruise are below, I am sure all those people I have pics of are great people. Too bad I only know 3 of the guys.

Another week down, can't believe how time flies down here. I know it is only Wednesday, but Wednesday is my Friday down here, muahahaha.

So I spent this weekend at Rohan's (Laura's bf) uncle's cottage in Mayana which is 3 hours down the coast from Sydney. For the first time, I was cold in Australia and I had to put a sweater on. Shocking, but it happened. It was nice to get in a nice relaxing weekend for once, did a lot of surfing, lying on the beach, and just napping. Except for Saturday night where it ended up being Rohan's uncle and I pounding tequila shots, that was good times. All in all it was a quality weekend, a nice calm one to get me prepared for the storm that has been brewing and will touch down tomorrow.

Just got in from touch footy tonight and we are finally on the board. Not a victory, but a well deserved 2-2 draw. The Americanos didn't show up so that is why we are doing better, I am gonna start recruiting more players next week, but let's be honest who would not want to play for Captain Iron Mike?? Too bad TSN was not around tonight though, I scored what may turn out to be the try of the season. Just turned 3 of their players inside out and made them look absolutely silly out there. Not sure if they appreciated me brushing the dirt off my shoulder a la Jay-Z afterwards but I know for a fact Gino Reda would have, and so would Jennifer Hedger. This was highlight of the night material and my brief moment of glory so far this week.

The week is only gonna get better though (or worse??) because tomorrow night is everybody's favourite night, Booze Cruise Night. Gonna go to the local Vinnie's which is like a Salvation Army store and get me some nice old school golf attire and then get the festivities started at 3. It is gonna be a long night, and I already see how it is going to turn out. Our boat docks right outside the casino which is open 24 hrs so I will most likely end up there. I might as well go gamble while I am on a winning streak though. I took down $220 last Friday in a poker tourney at some guy's house who I didn't even know. That is the best feeling ever, walk into someone's house, meet them for the first time and then take all their money. It felt damn good.

Friday and Saturday night are going to be large as well, and then I have an assignment due Monday and an exam Tuesday so that should be interesting. Easter Break is only one sweet sweet week away though, so if I don't end up overboard tomorrow night it should be good times.

On a totally random note, I have noticed that mullets are huge down here. I see tons of mullets on a daily basis. Are they getting back in style back home as well or is it just an Aussie thing?? I am not talking dirty Tennessee Waterfalls or Kentucky Mudslides, I am talking about perfectly coiffed mullets. Like you see one, you look and say "damn that is a sweet, sweet mullet." You can't help it. Mark my words mullets are coming back with vengeance. I kind of want one. Maybe I will get one!

We did it. We scored a try tonight, and only lost 7-1. I knew it would happen. What this means is that next week we are going to start dominating. We are just slow starters that is all. I only had to spill a bit more blood than last time in order to get on the scoreboard so it wasn't so bad.

So touch footy trials on Monday. I could not believe how intense they were. Crazy. We had 3 coaches carrying around clipboards watching us play. I could not believe how serious they take the game. I played alright, I think I have figured out all the rules, now I just need to work on strategy and stuff like that. Good news is I made it through round 1 so I only need to hang in there for 2 more trials and hopefully I can crack the lineup. I am the only non-Aussie there so the odds are somewhat stacked against me but I have no choice but to just make it happen.

Thank god I am starting work next week. I really need it. At my current pace of spending money I will be living in a gutter and not eating by month 5. I go through money like paper down here it is nuts. I may have to start gambling more as a second source of income. If you are feeling generous, please send donations in the form of a cheque in my name to me. Or just give me your visa or mastercard......

I had my first test last night I think it went alright seeing as I barely studied. The saying down here "P's get degrees" (P as in pass) is definately rubbing off on me, I am gonna be so lazy when I get back home. I have a feeling that I am going to be battling for a P in my econometrics course. I know nothing at all and I have a test next week and at this moment I would get dominated. Seriously, I sit in lecture and the prof might as well speak Swahili and I would comprehend the same amount of material. I come out of that course and I am so depressed it is shocking. My only consolation is that everyone back home who is taking Econometrics is also doing poorly, so glad to know we are all in the same boat even though I am on the other side of the world!

Other than that, things are good as usual. Not sure what is happening this weekend yet but I am sure it will end up being pretty large. I may end up in Canberra, we shall see how I feel tomorrow. Next week is gonna be massive though, gonna be running the gauntlet from Thurs-Sat. Highlight will be the booze cruise on Thursday night, I can't get enough of them. The theme is golf pros and tennis hoes. What do you guys think, Venus Williams or Serena Williams??

So flashback to last Wednesday the 22nd. I just got in from touch footy after we suffered another loss. We got steamrolled again, put up a total of 0 points while giving up a ton. I really didn't know what else to do, I came home bleeding this time so it wasn't for lack of effort. This week I am guaranteeing victory, Captain Iron Mike will not go 0-3. So I was sitting on the floor watching the Commonwealth games and decided I should go. I booked a flight, bought some tickets and headed out to Melbourne on Thursday afternoon. Best decision I ever made. The atmosphere there was unbelievable, I was sitting in the Melbourne Cricket Ground, otherwise known as "The G" with 81,000 people just going wild. The place was massive. I watched the Kenyans dominate the 3,000 metre steeplechase, saw some good hammer throw action, and two Aussies break records, one in the long jump and one in the pole vault. Weirdest thing though is that you can bet on anything down here, even amateur sports. Too bad I figured this out afterwards, or maybe that is good. If I had known I would have laid down so much cash on all the Kenyan runners, I would have cleaned house. I also watched the doubles squash which was pretty cool as well. The reflexes of these athletes is insane, they are so quick, it was really cool to see live. I saw the Canadian men play the English and unfortunately they lost. It was even worse because I was alone with my Canadian flag with some damn limey bastard kids from England in front of me and they would not stop chirping me. Good thing I made friends with this aussie girl because I was running out of ammo but she was giving it right back to these limey's. It was hilarious, she was 9.

The atmosphere around the whole city was great, I spent most of the days just wandering around all of the venues they had set up and watching different events on big screen TV's. As for the nights, now that is a different story. The hostel I stayed at was pretty weak, and the people were no fun at all. I ended up going out on the town by myself and I had a pretty good time, mingled with some locals and all that good stuff. Doing random things at the spur of a moment is great, I wonder where I am gonna end up next weekend. Hopefully not in a gutter or anything!

Oh yeah, tomorrow is also a big day. There are touch footy trials for the Aussie University Games. So if I make the team I get to represent my Uni against other ones from this area and we can then move on to the state finals, should be exciting. Time for more Eye of the Tiger!

Captain Iron Mike (0-2, 0 points for, tons against)

So Wednesday night was opening night the Macquarie University Touch Football (meaning Rugby) league. I was pumped to get in there and mix it up, ready to dominate as usual, had the cleats on, rocking the team uni, and then I met the team. Couple of American guys who have no clue how to play, that's fine I think to myself, Aussies will come and teach us. Two Aussie girls show up, they have played before but apparently "forgot" the rules. Aussie guy strolls onto the pitch, I ask him if he has played. He says yes. I said can you explain the rules to the Americanos. He says he has to put his shoes on. So we only have 7 players, you play 6 on the field, 4 guys and 2 girls, so we had one sub. Girls had no sub. There I am immediately thinking that things are not looking good. With my one career game of touch footy under my belt, I am trying to explain the rules, then the ref asks for team captains. So I look at my squad, nobody wants to be captain, I think to myself, this team needs a leader, so I immediately annoint myself Captain Iron Mike. No voting, I just said I will be captain, they said cool, and all was good. So the game starts, I line up at the center of the field ready to start the play. I look behind me and my team is leaning on the face like 50 yards back. It was then that I knew was going to be a very long game. We got degraded. The other team just steamrolled us. I was hating every minute of it. I was trying to make things happen out there but I am only one man. At one point I danced through 3 players on their team, only to see the rest of their team closing in on me with nobody from my team in sight. In the end we lost like 9-0. And I am pretty sure my lung collapsed from the motivational speech I tried giving at halftime. I think I played 37 minutes of the 40. Oh ya, 3 girls on our team turn up late, and say they will play next week. Play, hahaha, not when Captain Iron Mike runs the show. They will be riding pine, muhahaha. I kind of feel like Charlie Conway from the Mighty Ducks movie, except I am lacking an Emilio Estevez-like figure to guide me to the promised land. Emilio where are you?

So after that debacle of a Wednesday night we can move on to my debacle of all of Thursday. So Thursday was wine tour day. Nice day in the Hunter Valley, have some wine, enjoy the weather, sleep on the bus and go home right? Not at all. Start getting into the wine tasting when I immediately figure out the best way to go about this. Just point at bottles, say you want to buy stuff for your parents, and just taste everything in sight. So by the end of the wine tour I was feeling quite good. This is when I arrived at a crossroads. Do I go home or go to the bar? Well, I was gonna go home, when I heard the voice of an angel say "Beers are $2 at the bar." I did some quick calculations in my mind and realized it would be more expensive for me to go home than to go to the bar. So I went to the bar. And then we descend into chaos. There are those nights where you are on fire, well last night was one of those nights. Actually, it was more like a bonfire. I was still feeling quite good from the wine, and 6 double fists and $24 later, feeling even better. Then it was time for the dancefloor. I pulled out everything I had, I was absolutely dynamic out there. I wish I had video footage cause it was unreal. I had a circle formed around me at one point and when I left the circle I had a girl ask me if I had any more dance moves left. Well I looked her right in the eye and said "I've got more tricks than Houdini out here baby." And I strutted (stumbled) away. Best thing ever. That was definately a night for the books, wish I could have had some support out there, could have used a wingman.....

Well I have almost been down here a month, can't believe how fast the time has gone. It feels like I have been here for a while now with all the running around I have been doing, it just never ends.

Last weekend was another cracker as they say down here. Had a big night on Friday night, me and the shirt had a big one at the Surf Rock, it was a pretty good performance in my opinion. Didn't end up getting to bed until 6AM, but for some reason you feel much better on no sleep down under. Maybe it is the getting up and jumping in the ocean, not to sure. Almost forgot about Wednesday, went for a little booze cruise out on the harbour. That was good times as well. It is true what they say, it is easier to walk on a rocking boat when drunk.

Saturday was my first experience at a NRL (National Rugby League) game. It was hilarious. The home team (Manly) got spanked, but that was not important. There was a streaker, which was pretty funny, and then a guy went on to the field and tried to fight the security guard and got pummelled. It was hilarious, then everyone in the crowd starting chanting "the securitiy guards take it in the ass" and throwing beer at them. Apparently that is normal around here. I spent all day Sunday on the beach skim surfing, which is awesome. It involves a small wooden board and then trying to surf on the thin layer of water as the waves pull back from the shore. It also involves a lot of pain. I am hurting a lot today, but it was worth it. I also got initiated by some bluebottles, which are thankfully non-posionous jellyfish. The bastard stung me good but I laid a beat down on his jelly ass.

I have also finally be christened with an Aussie nickname, which is a pretty big deal down here from what I am seeing. Everyone has at least two nicknames. I am now "Iron" Mike. So from now on, I will only respond to Iron Mike, just so you are aware.

On deck for this week is a Hunter Valley Wine Tour, which I will actually partake in. My last tour to a winery was in France and I could barely inhale the air due to events that occurred the night before. After that is Friday night in Sydney for St. Patty's day with some Irish guys from the Uni, that will be interesting to say the least.

One more important lesson that I have learned down here is a very important phrase It is very versatile and pretty much applies to anything, so I suggest living by it.

"Just make it happen...."