Good Neighbour 2006
Ok better late than never :P so here are the updates from my
Good Neighbour weekend in Canberra (24 - 25 Nov) which is an annual national volleyball tournament for volleyball teams from all over Australia of different levels. For the tournament, my group formed 2 teams - a mens (Team Soba) and a ladies (Spicy Soba) team taking part in their own divisions. There was also 'groupies' who joined us on this weekend, basically to support the teams and for entertainment purposes haha (thx guys/gals)...altogether there was a group of 20 of us who set out for Canberra. Thank you to Nick for driving the 2+ hrs to Canberra, and here is the pre-road trip photo of the occupants in the car: Lysa, Leo, Nick and myself :) Here are some other photos from the road-trip (in the karaoke kamry..haha):
Our first and only 'toilet' break on the trip...and we made it a moment to remember :P haha j/k
After a long drive we finally made it to Canberra, to be met up by some of the other players (and groupies ;) After a late dinner, and when settling in to the serviced apartments (20 ppl - we booked 3 rooms meant that there was a bit of a squeeze and guys/girls sharing beds :0 haha). There was also a 'little' bit of pre-tournament drinks from those who were in (surprise surprise) my team's room and some of the players and groupies joined in as well :P here haha..all good fun :)
The last photo is a 'glasses' photo of Team Soba...
Next morning...it was the start of the tournament, and we had stocked up on bacon, eggs and bread (we would be having that for bfast for the nxt morning too :P)...oh and I should also mention the sheer quantity of food especially snacks we had brought up from Sydney that day (we had to feed and snack for 20 ppl...and Maz had bought soooo much you just don't believe its possible to finish it all :P haha) we pretty much filled up the fridge and cupboards in our apartment :P...a guy heaven! After bfast, we got into our uniforms, took some team photos, went into a briefing about the tournament (that was how serious it was)..ahaha. Oh did I also mention as part of our 'uniforms' we had to wear these long red and white socks, white headbands, and dye our hair red :P This is the 'fun' aspect of the team to show we weren't all serious :P thats pretty much the aussie way of life during competition...some light heartedness :)
Spicy Soba
Everyone playing volleyball
Here are some individual 'posey' type photos of team soba (remember we were dressed up in those socks for fun...I think we looked like those Jap Tepanyaki chefs with our headbands):
So how did we go on that first day? We played 4 games (won 2, lost 1 and drew 1...due to the time limit imposed on the game). It was really exciting and fun to take part in it all as well as having won the very first game..that was a moment to remember! :) haha. The rest of the time was spent either watching the girl's game or having referee duty :P or just lazing around and getting sleep. But when it got to game time...we were all turned on and serious...haha. Here are some of the pics from the games and the day:
Our first game was at 9am and last game was 5pm...so we all had to spend pretty much the entire day there on the volleyball court (which was in Australia National University - ANU). Went back to the apartment for a swim and sauna :) which was nice. Needless to say we were pretty tired and hungry...I could have eaten a horse haha...so the entire group then went to this Thai/Chinese resturant in Canberra (for those who have visited Canberra...they would know that there is pretty much a limited variety of food there so resturants tend to combine cultures..haha)...food was ok :P
After dinner, and a quick walk around the Canberra CBD (again...for those who have been to Canberra...this is quite possible :P) we went back to our apartment (again to our room :P) where the girls thought up some 'party' games haha...pretty fun...and well the photos below only tell part of the story...trust me nothing rude was happening (but there were lots of laughs and involved vegetables...haha)...
A large group photo of all of us with some of penalties we had to wear if we'd lost the games :P haha...
After the fun and games, some of us stayed in the apartment to play (boring) cards...while the brave few of us (me, Dave, Nick, Leo, Lysa, Alicia, and Lorris) all went out to sample the Canberra clubbing scene. It was pretty ok and there were lots of Asians around (probably students studying at ANU) all dressed up...we went to this R&B club, after seeing the long line at our first preference...still had a good time and partied until about 3am (conveniently forgetting we had a volleyball game the nxt morning) ahha.. As usual what could be better than maggi mee at 3-4am in the morning before going to bed and after a hard night of clubbing and partying :) Best maggi mee I have had for awhile...
The next morning, we had bacon and eggs again...and got ready for our final game...but this time a little more relaxed :). The girls team won a few games after some initial gelling problems...and we unfortunately missed out on the semis, losing to a team that had the current Australian volleyball team's head coach :P needless to say they were really super super good...*(wonder what they are doing in Div 3) haaha...
We had a late lunch in Canberra and drove back to Sydney...with plenty of memories and bruises to show for it (I had both of these severe bruises on both my hips :P)...
Office X'mas Party #1
Before leaving for Canberra, we had a small office X'mas party (for Finance staff) at this up market (this is Sydney :P) pub/bar/resturant in Wooloomooloo (yes I did spell it correctly...its actually called that...and no I am not drunk atm). As usual there was an endless supply of wine, beer, drink...the food was average (had a choice of sirloin or salmon) and so I got pretty drunk for the drive up to Canberra a few hours later (see previous post). Anyway here are some of the photos of myself, my meal, colleagues and the Treasury team :)...my team is mainly dominated by guys. So the usual topic of conversations are sport, sport and more sport ;)
My team at Westpac...a great bunch of guys...and everyone of them you can joke around with (yes even at a large bank)
Unfortunately because of the time constraint (we had to go to Canberra by nighttime) Leo and myself coudn't stay longer (and get pissed even more)...so with a heavy heart we left the party early (although I have heard stories of some of my mgrs staying on all the way until 11pm!...we started at 2pm) haha...but at least we got quite a few drinks in :)....
So tired n hurt...no time to blog
My dear friends, I am totally mentally and physically drained...as you may be aware I have just returned from a weekend volleyball trip in Canberra. The details will be in my next post. Needless to say there were volleyball games (we played 5 games over the 2 days), injuries (both my knees got knocks and bruises and I got a particularly nasty ugly looking bruise and cut on my hip from diving for loose balls...too committed), lack of sleep (from drinking and went out clubbing in Canberra till about 3am and woke up at 6 coz we had a vball game to get ready for)...and I didn't take the day off on Monday so reported for work :P *dumbass*. My brain is like in zombie mode and cannot really think properly :P work was torture!
Also I am going to Queensland (again) tomorrow for the week (this time for a holiday) so will have no time to blog at least for the week...fingers crossed for good weather...
Ok...rambled off enough now...time to zzzzz :)
Knees hurt (again)...
Just got back from a UNSW volleyball 'training' session with some of the UNSW Div 1 and 2 mens and female players...this is also for training for Good Neighbour tournament in Canberra this weekend. Although I am not playing in either of their teams...they were nice enough to accept me and allow me to train with them. Its interesting comparing my actual GN team to this...I mean all of them are super good *Div 1 and 2* yet there is such a relaxed atmosphere and they are actually good enough to cover up for each other's (even mine) mistakes...so much so it seems like whatever you did wrong (ie. mishit bump or set) actually seem ok. Haha...there is actually no pressure to perform, so I quite enjoyed it :). Have been going to this training for about 3 weeks and in that short space of time got to know most of the guys and girls on the teams...even after the training we all went to a pub for a steak and beer :P whilst I am not actually in the group yet (another volleyball group :P)...its a step in the right direction to meet new people who share the same interest.
Now that indoor volleyball season is winding down...its onto beach volleyball! haha...Manly beach here I come! Looking forward to hopefully meeting up with this group in Canberra and in the near future when the season opens up again, they are really such nice and friendly people. Thats the good thing I find about Aussies or anyone who actually grows up in Australia, they are just so easy going, relaxed, out going and not definitely not kiasu :P
Another interesting thing has also happened...my FC (financial controller) whom I have known for 6 mths (ok its not a long time...but its the amt of time I have spent here in Sydney) has tendered his resignation...not to go to another job...but to "spend more time with his family" and take a break for a year. Good for him! He is probably earning about AUD 10K+++ per mth, and he doesn't actually work late (latest I have seen him leave is 7pm)...haha...if it was SG and he was an FC in a large bank...I don't think he would leave at that time...yet he felt that it was too much time spent away from his family *ahhhh...sigh* Hahaha...I cannot imagine what he would have thought if he was working in SG :P you get what I am meaning?! ok...maybe not...its late, and my knees hurt again, too much volleyball perhaps :P
Good night my friends :)
Now listening to:
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars (Acoustic)...sigh :)
Time to recruit some merry men...
On Fri night, Ant and myself went to watch the basketball (again)...this was (again) because my other home team (Perth Wildcats) was playing against the West Sydney Razorbacks. The Wildcats (in white) were top of the ladder while West Sydney was last :P needless to say I did put a small bet on the game (which such a sure thing....how could I not bet :P) haha.
The end result? well I won my lunch money for the week :) and the Wildcats easily won by 35 points! I was a happy man. A good start to the weekend! Now looking forward to when the Sydney Kings (Sydney has got 2 basketball teams) play against the Slingers and Wildcats at the Sydney Entertainment Centre (just around the corner from where I am staying...definitely a must watch game coz of the teams playing and the convenience of it) haha...should be a tougher and more competitive game.
The next morning, I felt like having a big breakfast (can't remember when was the last time I had a typical big aussie breakfast...haha...errr...last week?). Anyway we went off to this cafe in Glebe that made some pretty delicious breakfasts, all reasonably priced ($14...but it also includes a coffee/tea and an orange juice). I also discovered that they make a pretty decent chocolatey hot chocolate. Notice the cup below on the right...you can see from the scale, its a pretty massive cup (and that is what impressed me..coz usually hot chocolate is like in a cup half that size). Altogether I reckon, both the hot chocolate and OJ combined...totalled slightly less than a litre of liquids. Value. Taste. Yummm...quite a nice place with the decor and all. Will definitely bring you down there for breakfast when you are in Sydney ;) (reminder: its called Well Connected)
Let me get back to the title of this post...as some may have guessed (pbly not :P) the title is in reference to Robin Hood and more specifically...Archery! Yes, after breakfast, Ant and myself drove to the Sydney Olympic Park to give a go at the ancient and hmmm...macho? sport of archery. We signed up for a one and a half hour 'lesson'/shoot around and as you can see from the pictures below we had some pretty interesting results (and some pretty good memories).
As beginners, we were pbly given the 'lightest' bows around...meaning that the tension in the bow strings pbly wasn't as high as it could have been. Let me just say that my three fingers have never been so sore before and even when I slept that night...there was a little of a reflex action going :P meaning when I curled 1 of my fingers the rest of the fingers curled too (as if I was drawing the bow string) haha...
So who was the better archer? haha...well ask me that when I next see/talk to you coz there was this little test at the end of the day where the instructor put up a small balloon on the bullseye of the target...the aim...you had 6 arrows to pop the balloon...always good to have something to aim for :P haha...lots of fun! just thought of the idea when figuring out what to do on the weekend...beautiful weather too! watch out Robin Hood! ;)
After archery, since the weather was still so good, we decided to try out this new place for snorkelling. This was meant to be pretty popular and not as crowded as Clovelly (see prev post) with clear blue waters. It was called Gordons Bay. I must admit it wasn't as nice as Clovelly (mainly coz there weren't the people factor) but it was a nice place to just to chill and enjoy the sea breeze and cold cold water...ahah...the sun may have been hot, but the water is still cold :P We saw a large blue (I mean really blue blue) grouper also slightly less than a metre long just swimming along and minding its own business...haha...which is really nothing :P also saw the usual marine and sea life that you would expect from Sydney waters..
Water was very cold...
Thoughts are of faraway places..
SpiderAnt?
Ok better late than never :P so here are the updates from my Good Neighbour weekend in Canberra (24 - 25 Nov) which is an annual national volleyball tournament for volleyball teams from all over Australia of different levels. For the tournament, my group formed 2 teams - a mens (Team Soba) and a ladies (Spicy Soba) team taking part in their own divisions. There was also 'groupies' who joined us on this weekend, basically to support the teams and for entertainment purposes haha (thx guys/gals)...altogether there was a group of 20 of us who set out for Canberra. Thank you to Nick for driving the 2+ hrs to Canberra, and here is the pre-road trip photo of the occupants in the car: Lysa, Leo, Nick and myself :) Here are some other photos from the road-trip (in the karaoke kamry..haha):
After a long drive we finally made it to Canberra, to be met up by some of the other players (and groupies ;) After a late dinner, and when settling in to the serviced apartments (20 ppl - we booked 3 rooms meant that there was a bit of a squeeze and guys/girls sharing beds :0 haha). There was also a 'little' bit of pre-tournament drinks from those who were in (surprise surprise) my team's room and some of the players and groupies joined in as well :P here haha..all good fun :)
The last photo is a 'glasses' photo of Team Soba... 
Next morning...it was the start of the tournament, and we had stocked up on bacon, eggs and bread (we would be having that for bfast for the nxt morning too :P)...oh and I should also mention the sheer quantity of food especially snacks we had brought up from Sydney that day (we had to feed and snack for 20 ppl...and Maz had bought soooo much you just don't believe its possible to finish it all :P haha) we pretty much filled up the fridge and cupboards in our apartment :P...a guy heaven! After bfast, we got into our uniforms, took some team photos, went into a briefing about the tournament (that was how serious it was)..ahaha. Oh did I also mention as part of our 'uniforms' we had to wear these long red and white socks, white headbands, and dye our hair red :P This is the 'fun' aspect of the team to show we weren't all serious :P thats pretty much the aussie way of life during competition...some light heartedness :)
Spicy Soba
Everyone playing volleyball
So how did we go on that first day? We played 4 games (won 2, lost 1 and drew 1...due to the time limit imposed on the game). It was really exciting and fun to take part in it all as well as having won the very first game..that was a moment to remember! :) haha. The rest of the time was spent either watching the girl's game or having referee duty :P or just lazing around and getting sleep. But when it got to game time...we were all turned on and serious...haha. Here are some of the pics from the games and the day:
A large group photo of all of us with some of penalties we had to wear if we'd lost the games :P haha...
After the fun and games, some of us stayed in the apartment to play (boring) cards...while the brave few of us (me, Dave, Nick, Leo, Lysa, Alicia, and Lorris) all went out to sample the Canberra clubbing scene. It was pretty ok and there were lots of Asians around (probably students studying at ANU) all dressed up...we went to this R&B club, after seeing the long line at our first preference...still had a good time and partied until about 3am (conveniently forgetting we had a volleyball game the nxt morning) ahha.. As usual what could be better than maggi mee at 3-4am in the morning before going to bed and after a hard night of clubbing and partying :) Best maggi mee I have had for awhile... 
