March 11th, 2010 13:12
tags: adventure, sports
So while in NOLA we rented the movie Whip It, which I thought was just awesome. I bet I’d be great at roller derby. I wish they wore roller blades, not roller skates, but still. What a fantastic sport.
Anyway, watching that movie kind of rewoke all my old skate-yearning. Of course, I always played ice hockey, not inline, except for a bit during that first Fall that I knew Mike when we’d go all the time and play on the basketball court near his flat in Cambridge, but it’s close enough.
I miss playing ice hockey so much it hurts, when I think about it. Usually I just try not to think about it.
Anyway, there is a (roller) skating rink (actually, two) in the vicinity of Brisbane, and they both have both roller derby AND inline leagues! And I want to do it, so badly. The roller derby is a bit unrealistic since I don’t have roller skates etc. but it would be easy enough to pull my beloved inline skates out and dust them off… I want to skate again so badly I can taste it. I wish so much that Mike still would play with me, but he lost interest, years ago. I wish there were a court nearby like there was back in Cambridge. Only 11000 miles away now, or whatever it is.
The real problem is one of scheduling. It’s so hard to get an evening free, what with band, home group, and the like, especially now with a 3 month old baby! The games are Monday nights… maybe I could pull that, but I don’t know. Babysitting costs in Brisbane are obscene.
March 10th, 2010 11:01
tags: music, wildlife
Last night our old sax quartet from last year got together. We’d really been looking forward to starting up again now that we’re home, but the lead alto just got a job in Cairns and is leaving today, and the bari has been having neck pain so he isn’t playing at the moment. Still, it was nice to get together one last time and play a bit and catch up.
Anyway, when the alto left at about 11pm, there was a huge carpet python lying under her car which was parked in our driveway. I’ve never seen such a huge snake outside of a zoo. It was about 11 feet long — more than 3 metres!
We watched in awe as it slithered slowly up the driveway, by Clyde. Mike raced into the garage to block off the door (there is a big crack between the sliding doors that Elma goes in and out of all the time). I raced inside to lock Elma in the laundry. The python slithered up to our front door, around the corner, and then started climbing up the huge hibiscus bushes that grow all along the side of our house. It was climbing the bushes right next to our bedroom window.
We were kind of in debate about calling a snake catcher to come get it, but it was the middle of the night so we didn’t bother. Now I’m sorry we didn’t, just for the safety of Elma and the dogs, but particularly Elma. She’s such a small little cat. The dogs at least would make a lot of noise if it came anywhere near them.
This morning we went out to look for it and couldn’t find it, but it left its skin hanging in the hibiscus bush. Ugh!
Here are a couple of…
