Aussie Aussie Aussie !!!

Life in Korea has taken a back seat to all the World Cup festivities these days. I work in a hotel that has the following nationalities -

Korean 1792 staff, Geman 1 staff, French 1 staff, British 2 staff, Australians 4 staff.

So as it happened everyone in the hotels has a team represented in the world cup! Of course plenty of excitement around the hotel, lots of joking, and even more World Cup discussion than work discussion!

Okay, so lets rewind with a few updates on Aussies -

1 - Jeff Ogilvy won the US Open Golf over the past weekend! Great stuff
2 - Australia kick Englands ass again in the Rugby.
3 - Leyton Hewitt won Queens Tennis Tournament
4 - Australia 2 drew with Croatia 2! Giving the aussies a place in history to make the sweet sixteen! Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi !!!!

The following is an article written by a French reporter, Pierre Littbarski in Germany. I took it from smh online, and I thin kit is a great article written by a non-aussie -

AUSTRALIA have made significant leaps forward at the World Cup, with many of the world's best judges believing the adaptable, high-energy style of football they play is emerging as a leading trend in the game.

While some have tried to portray the Australians as an over-physical side, the reality is they have played some very good football and have impressed everyone in Germany.

The performances against Japan and especially Brazil have been very impressive. They are tactically and technically very good and have been playing without fear.

Against Brazil they went onto the field thinking they could win. A lot of teams don't do that. Sure, Brazil won the match - but with a bit of luck, Australia could have drawn or even won the game.

They are not intimidated by anyone, have an attitude that is typically Australian and play with a smile on their face - but a sting in their boots. It is an ideal mix. But Australia's game is not just based on attitude. They have also played some very good football. It has surprised many people who thought the old Australian style of chasing and defending would still be alive.

Instead, they have been very positive in their play and win, lose or draw against Croatia, they have made many friends and new admirers in high places.


Great photo of Harry Kewell, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald as the other one on this post, and the last post.

Aussie victory in World Cup

Australia 3 Japan 1

Let me start by saying! You bloody rippa!
Ok, so the bad thing was I did not get to see the game. Can you believe I was actually working at midnight in Manila! Oh well. When I got back to the hotel, I caught the highlights and went to sleep very satisfied.

Here is comments and photos of the game -

Let us summarize the last 10 minutes of the game! Unbelievable -

84mins GOAL! Japan scrambled the free-kick away for a long throw-in but Kawaguchi flaps at it and Cahill is there to pounce and score Australia's first ever World Cup goal.

86mins Right down at the other end Japan look dangerous as Cahill definitely commits a foul in the box but he gets away with it as the ref awards a corner rather than the penalty it should have been.

88mins Fukunishi has the chance to end it as the defence opens up for him but he cracks his shot wide.

89mins GOAL! Unbelievable hit from Cahill. What a five minutes he has had. This time, he picks the ball up on the edge of the D and smacks his shot in off the post. It's safe to say he is better in the opposition's half.

90mins +1 Moniwa is pulled off to allow Masashi Oguro, the Japan forward, on.

90mins +2 GOAL! Aloisi makes sure of the three points. Cahill was involved again, feeding him 20 yards out and the big man just ran and ran before slotting into the bottom corner.

FULL-TIME. That's it, Australia somehow snatched victory in the final moments of the game. Tim Cahill completely turned the game on its head after coming on from the bench. He scored two, set up another one and could have conceded a penalty. It's Australia's first ever World Cup win. Japan do not deserve to lose by such a scoreline but they paid for not taking their chances.

Aussie victory in Rugby

Wallabies 34 England 3

I know I am late in announcing this, but have been so busy since returning from Philippines. So it was extremely positive to have the aussies have such a great performance against England, especially after having so many new changes to the line up. But then again Coach Connolly is the man, and he knows we have to put new blood in the team. And there is 5 more changes for the 2nd test tonight!

Thank you SMH & Getty Image for this shot of our new big man on the aussie team Rodney Blake! Damm big boy!

New Bloody Australian TV Commercial

Australia has just released their laterst television commercial that will go all over the world. Now I think it is great, but the last sentance - "where the bloody hell are you" has created a heap of controversy. It is just Australian slang, and has no hidden meaning. Often we say how the bloody hell are you? ... for example. It just means how are you. Anyway, the funny thing is the British have banned it, but dare I say typical pompous attitude from the POMS! Oh well, be the judge for yourself. Click on the photo, and then click the appropriate buttons to watch. Would love your opinion! Heck if you asked me it is quiet refreshing, and original.

Australia Day!

God bless Australia!

WE ARE ONE!

We are the people of a free nation of blokes, sheilas and the occasional wanker.
We come from many lands (although a few too many of us come from New Zealand), and although we live in the best
country in the world, we reserve the right to bitch and moan about it whenever we bloody like.
We are One Nation but divided into many States.

First, there's Victoria, named after a queen who didn't believe in lesbians.
Victoria is the realm of Mossimo turtlenecks, cafe latte, grand final day, and big horse races.
Its capital is Melbourne, whose chief marketing pitch is that "it's livable". At least that's what they think.
The rest of us think it is too bloody cold and wet.

Next, there's NSW, the realm of pastel shorts, macchiato with sugar, thin books read quickly and millions of dancing queens.
Its capital Sydney has more queens than any other city in the world and is proud of it.
Its mascots are Bondi lifesavers who pull their Speedos up their cracks to keep the left and right sides of their brains separate.

Down south we have Tasmania, a State based on the notion that the family that bonks together stays together. In Tassie, everyone gets an extra chromosome at conception.
Maps of the State bring smiles to the
sternest faces.
It holds the world record for a single mass shooting, which the Yanks can't seem to beat no matter how often they try.

South Australia is the province of half-decent reds, a festival of foreigners and bizarre axe murders.
SA is the state of innovation. Where else can you so effectively reuse country bank vaults and barrels as in Snowtown, just out of Adelaide (also named after a queen).
They had the Grand Prix, but lost it when the views of Adelaide sent the Formula One drivers to sleep at the wheel.

Western Australia is too far from anywhere to be relevant.
It's main claim to fame is that it doesn't have daylight saving because if it did,
all the men would get erections on the bus on the way to work.
WA was the last state to stop importing convicts and many of them still work there in the government and business.

The Northern Territory is the red heart of our land: Outback plains, sheep stations the size of Europe, Kangaroos, Jackaroos, Emus, Uluru, and dusty kids with big smiles.
It also has the highest beer consumption of anywhere on the planet and its creek beds have the highest aluminium content of anywhere too.
Although the Territory is the centrepiece of our national culture, few of us live there and the rest prefer to fly over it on our way to Bali.

And there's Queensland.
While any mention of God seems silly in a document defining a nation of half arsed sceptics, it is worth noting that God probably made Queensland, as its beautiful one day and perfect the next.
Why he filled it with dickheads remains a mystery.

Oh yes and there's Canberra.
The less said the better.

We want to make “No worries mate" our national phrase, “She'll be right mate" our national attitude and "Waltzing Matilda“ our national anthem (so what if it's about a
sheep-stealing crim who commits suicide).

We love sport so much our newsreaders can read the death toll from a sailing race and still tell us who's winning.
And we're the best in the world at all the sports that count, like cricket, netball, rugby league and union, AFL, roo shooting, two up and horse racing.

Stand proud Aussies - we shoot, we root, we vote.
We are girt by sea and pissed by lunchtime.
I am, you are, we are Australian!

PS. We also shoot and eat the two animals that are on our National Crest!!!!
No other country has this distinction!

Happy
Australia
Day

We r in Australia

Hi there, Well I took some crap from a friend today who lectured me as to the lack of updating on the blog.... and he is right! Again, it is not so much a lack of motivation, but rather the past 5 days we were in the province in Philippines were there is no internet. Now, as it happens we are in Sydney, Australia, about to celebrate Christmas with family here. It will be my first family Christmas since 1999! And for the two of the first time in Australia. Last year was Philippines, and year befor was Dubai! So Dac, sorry mate, will work on it much more ok. We are taking lots of photos, so when we get back to freezing Korea, we will load them up.

So I will summarize, we spent a week in Philippines between the province of Batangas and Manila, where we did a lot of shopping, eating, and hanging out with all our nices and nephews. I love hanging out with all the kids ranging from 2 years old to 12 years. The time went by so fast, but again it was nice to spend time with the family and get away from the freezing cold of Korea. So after a overnight flight from Manila, via Melbourne, we are now at mums in Sydney. It was a scorcher in Sydney today, getting close to 40! We slept a little through the day, some last minute shopping this afternoon, now we are at home wrapping gifts, and relaxing.

Well merry Christmas to all, and hope that I will have some more photos and updates in the mear future. Alohaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Australia in the World Cup

YES, after 31 years Australia has finally qualified for the World Cup! You know us aussies are supper patriotic and even though I am not the biggest soccer fan, I am still so happy. It was not covered on TV here, so I had to get live updates thru the internet!

But I guess the ironic thing, and the link to Korea on this is that the coach of the Australian team, Gus Hiddink was the former South Korean coach!

So, after a shitty weekend where we lost the rugby to England, this was a very nice mid-week gift.

Oh, and sorry for no updates on the blog for a while. Just super busy, and to be very honest not that much exciting going on. The weather has dropped to close to zero (0) at night and max 8 - 10 in the day. So I walk to work at 730am freezing my ass off and go into my office to thaw out for 15 minutes. Now I know most people say what is the big deal, but after living in places like Middle East for 3 years, and Hawaii for 8 years, then you understand I am not used to the cold!

News from Australia

Well it has been a big week in Australia, and in particular Sydney, my home town. And how do I know what is going on, well I read the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper every morning. My day does not start unless I catch the headlines from home. http://www.smh.com.au/

So the first news was the AFL Final. Victory to the Sydney Swans! Yes, it is almost unbelievable since they had never won in over 70 years. I am not the biggest Aussie Rules fan but I have always been a Swans supporter. So I was very excited about the news!
http://media.fairfax.com.au/?rid=16893
I hope it works. It is the final minutes of the game. Gripping to the very end.

And then today I read that Sydney has been Voted for the Worlds best destination for food. Not just food, but culinary delights from some fantastic restaurants. Now anyone from Sydney is saying oh come on, must be better places.... but I don't think so. And it wasn't Aussies that voted on this! Read the article below;
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/09/26/1127586779109.html

Well that's all for now. Speak soon!

Australia Dedication

I thought to myself that this site has to represent more than just our time in Korea. It is a great way to even set up blogs about the countries we are from, the places we have traveled to and lived etc..

So the first dedication is to Australia. Like most people, I am very patriotic about my country and very proud to be Australian. As I have been very fortunate to travel a lot in my life, I know one of the greatest assets I have in my life is having been born in Australia and carrying our wonderful passport. See, until I went to the Middle East for work, little did I realize the traumas so many people have in traveling the world. Even more so, I had several friends who were Palestinian, and they live with no passport. They often had taken up citizenship in other countries like Jordan and Egypt so they could live with more freedom.

Getting back to Australia, I have decided to make this more of a pictorial rather than my verbal rambling. In time I can expand the amount of photos I put on here and I guess information. I hope that those non-Australians who do visit our site do take the opportunity to visit Australia. It is a magnificent country, with so much to offer, from every corner of the continent. We may only have a population of 20 million, but we sure do kick ass in sports. Enjoy.

Sydney Harbour and the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge that links the north of Sydney and the city.

Sydney Opera House on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour.

Manly Beach. Take a Ferry over from Circular Quay and walk the esplanade to the beach.

The twelve apostle's on the South coast of Victoria. Actually one just fell into the ocean a month ago! About 2 hours drive from Melbourne.

The great Ayers Rock. Located near Alice Springs in the centre of Australia. A historical landmark in Australia, which is sacred grounds for the aboriginals of Australia. Should never be walked on as a sign of respect for the ancestors of this country.

Koala! Beautiful to look at, hard to spot in the wild, and if you get a chance to hold one, do so.

Kangaroo. Are tame in the sanctuary of a zoo, but don't corner one in the wild!