In Action

The picture is kind of small, but its from the Uni Games website so its legit. This is from the Griffith game this morning.

Australian University Games

Day One:

Game 1 Bond v. University of the Sunshine Coast

First Game, I started at Center Back and played the entire match because we are seriously short sided on defense. We went down early, but the team responded well in the second half. Salvaging a 2-2 draw with a team that had been together for a while and played well.

Game 2 Bond v. New England University

Coming off an early morning draw we looked to take three points in the afternoon game. I started at left back and went the full time again, I also got a look at holding mid in the second half. We were not very sharp, and missed a lot of chances. The other side was physically very strong and held off our possession and counter attacks. I had a great look at goal late, but was denied by a great/lucky save. We ended up settling for a 0-0 Draw.

Day Two

Game 3 Bond v. Australian Catholic University

After picking up two draws in day one we need to come out and pick up some points in a big way. I started at left back again, and had my best game overall to this point in the tourney. ACU was somewhat hung over, and probably the weakest side in the field. We absolutely ran them off the field. Six to nothing. I should have scored, but I was taken out from behind inside the six. No love from the ref either seeing as how we were absolutely raping the other team. Anyway it was a great start to the day.

Game 4 Bond v. Murdoch University.

Riding the wave of success, the Bondie Boys throttled Murdoch 4 to 0 in the brutal Australian Heat. I played well again at the left back spot, and went the full match for the fourth straight game. I also played the holding midfield spot at the end of the second half.

Game 5 Bond v. University of Southern Australia

They Forfeited, we take three points. Simple. That also meant that we picked up 9 points on the day with a 10-0 goal differential. Great stuff. We found ourselves in a tie for second out of seven within our group.

Day 3

Game 6 Bond v. Griffith University

The crosstown shoot out that everyone had been anticipating. Number One Griffith against number two, Bond. We came out and conceded two early goals as they showed why they are the team to beat in the tourney. Down three-nil at the half we were unlucky not to score. I played my worst game of the week which was probably due to the fact that we were tactically beaten. They picked apart our offsides trap a number of times. The final score was 3-0 Griffith, and now we were in a fight to make it through to the quarters.

Game 7 Bond v. Deaking University

This was a huge game for us because if we won we would be the second seed in the quarterfinals, and if we lost we would either miss the quarters or advance as the 4th seed and have to play the overall number one. I started at left back and went the full time as usual. We were able to put together a great game and beat one of the best teams in the field 2-0.

Tommorow is the quarterfinals at 8am against University of Western Australia. Hopefully we will be able to advance so that I can miss more class and keep playing soccer. Seriously though, this week has been an absolute blast, but I am exhausted.

Here's a little rundown on the squad:

GK Dayel, Crazy Saudi who screams out "Do not be Afraid!!!" at all opportunities. He is doing well in goal, but has his moments of ultra suspect-ness

RB Mitch, Aussie who plays with a lot of heart, and is the team jokester of sorts

CB Jonathan, Aussie-Team Manager, great leader and great player. Also has super speed.

CB Jacob, Insane Dane, the most serious person I've ever met. Nasty in the Air.

LB Me

LM Pasqual, Laid-Back Swede, looks like he would suck, but is filthy on the outside, Plays great crosses.

RM Fahad, Saudi who use to rock the maryland shuttle (Arlington, VA) and has been to Clemson. Good player with impressive skill on the ball.

CDM Iaumu, Asian Censation who is strong on the ball, and hits sick free-kicks

CAM Andre, Middle East, great vision, plays great deep balls in behind the D.

ST Harry, Middle East, Unbelievable speed and skill. Just a straight up burner.

ST Rasheed, Saudi, The star of the team, great finisher, great skill, scores the majority of the goals.

BN. Eiven, Norweigen Team Captain, normally starts but hurt his knee early in the tourney

BN. Brom, Aussie Midfielder, plays with unbelievable white man hustle which I respect

BN. Ahmed, Saudi, Rasheed's slave, good guy, crazy mustache, decent player

Surfs Up or Not

Saturday was the first game of the Bond World Cup, and the Mighty UN side lost 3-2 to the Germans in added time. I had to play center back for most of the game because the team has been together for a few semesters and everyone has a place. Not a huge fan of playing D, but it was alright and I didn't get burned. I moved up to midfield in the second half so that was alright. After the game, I watch the AFL grand Final which is like the Super Bowl in OZ. It was pretty cool because Aussies are so passionate about their sports and most importantly there trash talking. The Geerlong Cats outlasted the St. Kilter Saints in a Defensive struggle. Next up was the Bond Revue which was a comedy show put on by BUSA to cap of the end of Bondstock. Australians can heckle like its nobodies business. This is a school event with professor and school officials in attendance, and kids are drinking, cussing, and mooning their way through the whole performance. Gotta give 'em credit, they are flat out insane. The rest of the night was pretty low key because we decided to get up early and go surfing.

You can't really surf in one foot waves....Yea it just doesn't work. So pretty much our day of surfing became a day of relaxing on the beach. I also had a great burger in Burleigh Heads. Two Patties, Canadian Bacon, and Cheese. Pretty solid stuff. I came back around 2 for a University Games Meeting and Team BBQ. I was there for about 2 hours or so, and then came back to take a nap. Side Note: The Danes decided to go to Byron Bay for the weekend so they couldn't lose to us for the second straight week. Get Some!

Heres my schedule for the Uni Games;

Monday

Games at 8am and 12pm in South Port

Tuesday

Three Games, Time TBD in South Port

Wednesday

Two Games, Time TBD in South Port

Thursday

Semifinals

Friday

Finals and Closing Ceremonies

Alright Kids, I got 7 games in three days ahead me so I'm gonna be beat for this week for sure, but Keep doing Work! Later

I'm Bear Grylls...

Bear Grylls Jr. Wading into a Sand Bar, About to kill a Bullshark for dinner with his bare hands
Jungle on the hike of Burleigh National Park
View from the top of the volcanic rock formation, looking down towards Coolangatta

Seeing as how I don't have class on Thurdays I decided it was a great day to Bear Grylls' it. Evan, Vito, and I walked from Bond to the Burleigh Heads National Park which is right next to Burleigh Heads Beach. It was about a 30 minute hike through the suburbs of the gold coast. Burleigh Heads National Park is awesome though. It is a volcanic rock formation that has not been developed right at the end of the beach. You can hike to the top and see all the way to surfer's and coolangatta. There were some awesome views at the top; then we hiked down to the otherside to this inlet where there was a dolphin swimming around and a huge sand bar. I snagged a little piece of volcanic rock as a keepsake. I was hoping to see a crevasse or a glacier so I could get my Bear on, but obviously I had no such luck. We did see some crazy looking turkeys that are everywhere and a few lizards. The wildlife here is pretty interesting because its so much different than home. After an hour or so, we trekked back to campus so we could eat. The rest of the night was uneventful, and I crashed early because I have an 8AM on Fridays.

8AM Rise and Shine. Chocolate Chip Muffin + Red Bull = Success. Class went well, and after that I had a 2 o'clock practice to look forward too. Heads up, If you have a practice in the hot sun do not order a meat pie from the dining hall. It was on par with tater tot bake for the Clemson people reading. Everyone else just use your imagination. Practice was a lot of fun; other than the fact that I was playing with the meat pie in the stomach. No I didn't puke, I'm a Champion. I'm starting to really get on form for the team which is great, and hopefully I will get the start come monday. I'll probably being playing somewhere in midfield, but who knows. We have a team dinner and meeting at a local hotel on Sunday where they will announce the draw for the tourney. Bond v. rival Griffith should be an absolute derby. I'm also going to be playing in the bond world cup. It's a semester long tourney where each week kids play for there country squad. There's a Australian, Middle East, German, Scandanavian, US, Canadian, Latin, and UN team. I'm playing for the UN team because a lot of the guys from the bond team play for them, and they asked me to play with them. Also the US team is supposed to be garbage, so yea, I don't like to lose.

Alright People, Thats all I got for now, but look for some great things to be coming in the next week. I will see you there or I will see you on another time.....LaTEr.

There's a (Dust) storm a brewing

Goals, Goals, Goals

620AM-wake up time my friends, and yes, that is local time for all you haters. Why you ask? Water Aerobics. I got roped into going with Evan and Ashley, but I gotta say it was a great workout. The 85 year old women also thought it was great. Although I have to say, I don't think the were putting in the same effort I was. Just saying, they were slacking. So then it was shower and 8'clock class. It's a psychology class thats actually pretty good. The professor is old and off his rocker, but its not a powerpoint and takes notes kind of deal so its all golden. I'm not sure if this made it to the US, mom don't freak out, there was a massive dust storm in OZ the last two days. The world was just covered with red dust; I felt like I was an impoverished farmer during the dust bowl for half a second. It was wild, you couldn't see more than 100 feet in front of you at one point. My other two classes were a little boring, such is life. I had soccer training at 5. I scored a sick/lucky goal too. I made a long, overlapping run down the right side and was played through into the six. The ball took a bad hop which I recovered from with a spin-a-rama followed by a pull back. I then megged the keeper for the goal. I'm still loving it if you can't tell. The University Games are going to be held next week. The team has 2 games a day for five straight days, and there are a number of team events. I also get to miss class, university approved excuse for athletics...Clutch. The rest of the night was just volleyball and dinner. I'm not gonna lie my legs are absolutely gassed. I'm looking forward to a beach day before things get crazy monday with footy. News of the day: I scored twelve free packs of australian ramen at a promotional giveaway. Thats twelve extra meals people. Never a wasted day, Never. latER.

Finding My Will Hunting

I think I actually had a day that was a grind in Australia which kinda sucks, but its all good. I got up at 9 to go to my Australian Geology class. I don't think I've ever been enrolled in a more boring class. Again all good. I got a little lunch before my next class and looked into buying my books. I went to Econ and stayed there forever. Forever, ever, Forever, ever as my boy Andre 3k would say. I made it through that, barely, and then went to workout. The gym was packed, but I was feeling extra motivated so I dominated. Then I went and played ball with Boston Dan for a little while. I also played 3 v. 3 with some asians that didn't speak english. I don't think they were ready for my rucker park, bruce bowen "D" because they were straight soft. Anyway I played ball for a few hours then I went to the 'brary to do my first set of homework in OZ. First Econ Problem, Differential Calculus..uhhhh I definitely deleted that from the Brain as soon as left my Last Calculus final. Lets face it, what knowledge do you need more on a Daily basis: Clemson's basketball stats, how to look both before crossing the street, and kanye lyrics or partial derivatives....So basically I spent 2 hours relearning calculus. I also outlined a few psychology chapters which was cake in comparison to figuring out the chain rule and all that other crap that some people call calculus. Side Note: I actually really enjoy doing calculus because you feel like a champion after cranking out a problem that takes up a whole sheet of paper. What, I like being smart. You probably knew that. Ok. Dinner...Right. I ate with Cody, Evan, Jaime, Ashley, and Susie. We all decided to play some indoor soccer after dinner because clearly I don't play enough footy. Now I'm laying around doing laundry and thinking about getting up at 6 am to workout before my 8 o'clock class. Why not. I'll sleep when I die.

Things I Miss about Home:

College Football

Paws Diner

Clemson People

Things I don't Miss about Home:

The "R" word

Lou Holtz

Sitting at Home Doing Nothing

Cash For Clunkers, stimulus packages, bailouts

Not gonna lie, I could see myself moving to OZ later in life. Its just an awesome place. The people here are so laid back, and having a bad day is just not in the works. When things go bad you just roll with it and say No worries. Gotta love that! LaTER!

Def Comedy Jam

From Left to Right: Ashley, Jaime, Cody, Me, Lauren, Valerie, Vito

Normal day in OZ: Class, Hunger, Vball, Swim, Sauna, Class, Hunger, Comedy Night. Yea thats right, Bond put on a comedy show to kick off Bondstock. A week of events that culminates in a big concert on campus. The comedians were decent. One of them was the IRL driver Will Power's baby bro. He wasn't the headliner, but I thought he was the best. Another guy did some musical stuff, and the main guy was Tommy Dean or something. He sucked, however, by the time he went on stage everyone was pretty tipsy so he got the most laughs. It was a fun night that took almost three hours. When I got back I watched two episodes of entourage that took me about 3 hours to pirate. Thank Al gore for the internet. Thats about it for the day; I'm kind of exhausted and I don't feel capable of writing anything witty at the moment. I can only crank out so much greatness a month people. You're spoiled....yea I said it. Heres a few pics to make up for my lack of focus tonight. Be Easy America. Later

Redemption

AFL or Aussie Football is quite an interesting game. I had the pleasure of watching the national semifinals last night with some Australians. It's pretty easy to understand, but I don't know if I really enjoy the game. There isn't much obvious skill or creativity so it's kinda dull if you don't appreciate the little aspects of it. Think baseball without web gems.

Today:

10 AM workout

Nothing to interesting here just working on my fitness as Fergie would say.

1130 AM breakfast with Evan and Boston Dan

Had a nice brunch that didn't fill me up, but enjoyed the conversation. Every other kid from Obamaland is from the North East here.

3 PM Volley Ball with the Danes

The ameriCANS remembered the Alamo, WWII, The Gulf War, and of course that we are best country since ever. We thrived off our nationalistic sense of arrogance and throttled the Danes in volleyball. Misty May Trainer and her girlfriend would have been so proud. I gotta say the Danes are some straight up competitors. They hate to lose. Unfortunately, thats what happens when you play with fire. Just ask Saddam. All the jokes aside, nutella sucks cough cough, V-ball was a lot of fun. We decided that we are going to play every sunday at 3 for the rest of the semester so I will keep you updated on our dominance.

6 PM Dinner

The quality of the food here isn't bad its just not enough. I don't get how these big up rugby kids get full on 1200 calories a day. I hate to complain, but can I seriously get a golden corral or something.

9 PM Fireworks

Its only 846 so I don't know what to say about the fireworks other than I'm about to go to them. That could have been the most uninteresting sentence I have typed since I arrived. Sorry it happens. Even Adam Sandler made Spanglish.

I also wanted to throw out a thank you for everyone who comments on the blog! I really appreciate the fact that people read this stupid thing who aren't related to me. Hope all is well. LatER

CRIKEY!!!

Today was our first real adventure outside of the Gold Coast. Our trek started at 6am when we caught the bus to the Robina rail station. From Robina, we took a commuter train to Brisbane central station, and switched trains there so we could get to Beerwah where the zoo is. Not any old zoo because believe me I have been to the San Diego Zoo, and I would not get up at 6 for some cookie cutter zoo mess. The Steve Irwin Zoo, Boom! Back to the travel details...It was about a 2 hour train ride, but it was good to see some parts of OZ that weren't perfect like the gold coast. We road through the Glasshouse mountains which were awesome, however, not as awesome as our fellow train passengers. One chick looked exactly like Amy Whinehouse except more strung out, and this other kid, who was self-proclaimed volcanologist, was just getting mocked merciless by our American Gang. The Zoo was pretty Balling because they had these areas where you could just walk around with Kangaroos and Koalas practically unsupervised and take pics and what not. I also saw a huge tiger throw up...sounds gross but it was insane in the membrane. Later in the day we caught the Crocodile show which is led by Steve Irwin's Wife and kids. I also saw a dingo, and unfortunately it didn't steal or eat anyone's baby. The rest of the animal rundown was as follows: Wombats (Ty Hansboroughs Relatives), OZ's deadliest snakes, Emus, Crazy Birds, Tons of Crocs and Gators, Elephants, Otters, and some others that I can't rattle off at the moment. Anyways, the trip back was pretty uneventful and everyone was just hungry/exhausted/smelling of zoo/sick of trains. Overall it was just an awesome trip and a great day. If you ever find yourself in Beerwah, OZ check out the Steve Irwin Zoo.

Beach Day and "D" Day

No Classes on thursdays are probably going to mean Beach Days the rest of the semester. I know everyone back home is grinding through exams and work, but grinding is overrated. Bronzing is where its at. I wouldn't say I'm george lopez or eric estrada brown jus yet...I'm on my way though. The beach was really relaxing Evan and I just kinda layed around, and then threw the frisbee for a little while. I actually almost randy johnson'd a seagull (If you haven't seen the video where the Unit hits a bird with his heater and it explodes like an atom bomb you may wanna get your google on). Around two-ish we decided to come back and play some more soccer. We ended up playing 4 v. 4 with the numnut asian-ronaldinho from the team practice. Evan and I were on a team with our two friends Cody and Vito (Cody is from OZ and Vito goes to the Citadel). We absolutely slaughtered these kids. At one point, the score was 8 to 1. Whoever says Americans can't play soccer is on crack. It was the most fun I have had playing soccer in a long time because we all just wanted to beat this asian kid so bad. We even had to give them a fifth player after a while because we were beating them Rodney King style. Ike turner was sitting in the corner saying, "Man I've never seen anyone get beat like this." You get it...USA All the WAY! Later on we ate dinner with the Danes and some other kids which was fun.

I didn't have class today, so I woke up early and worked out. Then evan and I snagged a late breaky/ early lunch. Today was club sign up day at Bond, and I signed up for more soccer, indoor soccer, and of course surfing. BUSASA-Bond University Surf And Social Association. It's completely free and they take you to the beach, hook you up with a board, and teach you how to ride giants. I can't wait...That excitement was followed by some skyping and a couple hours at the pool. Man Life is Tough. laTer!

A Photographic Epic

Soccer Training

Just finished my first official training session with the Bond Team, and pretty excited about the upcoming season. I'm probably somewhere in the middle of the road as far as skills go, but some of the the kids are just retarded. Most of the guys are pretty cool, and the team definitely has an international flair to it. Kids from Denmark, Japan, China, Iran, South Africa, Norway, Germany, OZ, and of course Clint Dempsey Jr. here repping the USA. One of the Asian kids is pretty gay he thinks he's christiano and doesn't need to pass. For the most part I really like the team. We have a few more training sessions scheduled before the Uni Games. Also the head guys invited me to play indoor with them on monday nights so that should be fun. Overall it just feels good to be on an organized team again. Hopefully we will be able to bring home some hardware as well because as Herm Edwards once said, "You Play to Win the Game." Amen Herm, hope the broadcast booth is treating you well. Stay Fly. LATEr.

Kanye,Class, Etc

Heres my two cents on Kanye. The kid wears sunglasses inside; of course he did what he did. Yea he made himself look like an idiot, but he makes better music than Taylor Swift so I don't care. Kanye > Taylor Swift.

Yesterday, I had my first tutorial and another econ lecture. The way classes work over here is you have one, two-hour lecture per week, and a corresponding tutorial. The tutorial only has about 10 people in it, but the professor leads it instead of a TA or something. It's hard to stay still for two hours thats for sure. I like the system though, the tutorials have been pretty interesting so far. After classes, I took the bus to Robina because I have my first soccer practice today and I was in need of some boots. I have been trying to get some practice in on my own this week so that I will be ready to go...we shall see. What else is new....I'm still hungry. Dinner was a joke again last night. As "Boston Dan" so eloquently put it, "This place is like an amusement park, everything is over priced and under proportioned, but your stuck here so you have to deal with it." My temporary solution to the problem is as follows: Buy a huge tub of peanut butter and stash it in your room, and after every meal come back and just Bear Paw about 4 scoops of it. And yes, it does work, sort of...

Today marked my first 8 o'clock class which normally would have been a nightmare. However, I was the first person to make it to class. Oh Yea my go-getta streak is alive and well. Blah Blah Blah I ate after...(see above and prior entries about eating in OZ)...now I'm gonna take a nap so I can hit soccer training at 100%.

More Randomness for your Minds:

• Popsicle = Icy Pole
• Jello = Jelly
• Jelly = Jam
• Cookie = Biscuit
• Aboriginal People do not keep time
• Kanye Still better than T Swift
• Still Hungry
• Rematch Against the Danes this Sunday, We Will Win

Stay Thirsty My Friends. LaTER

The Last Day, The First Day

I don't know what is in the water down here, but I'm absolutely hitting life on all cylinders. It probably has to due with the fact that this summer was so boring that it began this life metamorphasis that has set me into permanent beast mode. I got up today at 7am to workout, and guess what, the gym doesn't even open til 9. So I was the first person in the gym, and yes I did work. Afterwards, I met Evan for breaky, as its called down here, and had another calorie deficient meal. I got the word that there is a krispy kreme in one of the malls near by so I'm probably gonna get five or six dozen doughnuts. That way after every meal that doesn't satisfy my kobyashi-like diet I can pound down a few doughnuts and be right as rain. Being the go-getter that I'm am, I also played Bball after breaky, and found time to scout out where my classes were gonna be held. At 4 o'clock local time I had an epic beach vollyball match with the Danes. The US squad was defeated handedly, but we were completely hustled by the Danes. Thankfully we still have Obama, Petsmart, QVC, and a bunch of other crap that won't make it to their neck of the woods for another few generations. Dinner was uneventful, but later Evan and I trekked to Varsity Lakes to pick up a little snack called a Tim Tam. It is a cookie or biscuit to the locals. Regardless of what it is, its freaking amazing.

The first day of class is upon us, and I have already established myself as the smartest man in OZ. Seriously though, I dominated my first two hour econ lecture this morning. Two hour lectures are pretty long, and Imagine being in a class where the pre-class conversations are held in 10 different languages. I have another class at 4, and I'm probably gonna go workout here in a few minutes. Also someone please fill me in on what happened with my boy Kanye at the VMAs. I heard something like he put taylor swift in her place....Put On People! Later

One Day away from Reality, Sort of...

Saturday marked the last day of pure freedom, which meant no one even noticed that class will be starting monday. Everyone at Bond took a charter bus to Broadbeach for a "beach day" which was pretty cool. I saw an albino student from antarctica or perhaps Siberia, not sure, all I know is that she was the whitest person I have ever seen and then some. She was powdered doughnut white, she was Drew Carey white. Anyway the beach was fun, and we did a lot of swimming and body surfing. Next I found myself having a BBQ with the Danes at their place on the beach. I had a legitimate good meal in OZ, unfortunately, my stomach requires three legitimate meals to be full so I have a ways to go. I had a good time shooting the breeze with the danes though, I'm in the process of teaching them the man points system. Fanny Packs and putting sunscreen on another guys back....BAD. Doing work on the grill while bumping Lupe Fiasco....GOOD. Its a long process. I got up this morning to see that MSU lost to central michigan, Wonderful. Not a great sports week for the Tiger/Spartan Nation. Today should be a relaxing day before class gets going manana. I was gonna go workout, but the gym doesn't open til 9am....Thats all I got for now, Keep on Keeping on. lATeR

Getting My Johnny Tsunami on at Surfer's...I Love Australia

Time to Grow Up

Ok, so I have a whole new appreciation for the Danish people, and I don't really get techno clubs. Last Night I met a whole bunch of kids from Denmark, and they changed my opinions of an entire culture and country. They were the anti-christine (wierd foreign exchange student who hated obamaland). They showed me the legendary Bass Arm, and I had to fill them in on the intracracies of the stanky legg. Yea I trade dance moves all the time...NO HOMO. We also went to a rave in surfer's that was by far the craziest night of my life. Techno music is wierd no doubt about it, but it was a cool experience. It sort of this wierd form of dancing where guys and girls dance interchangably, its really european. Also Australians are nucking futs, their drunken singing at 4am was something out of a Man U derby. I got up early and went to varsity lakes to try and watch the tigers do their thing, however, I was unsuccesful so I got it streaming on my laptop. Right after kick-off Evan and I decided to go to robina with her roommate and her friends to get a phone. 100 dollars later I'm back in the 21st century, and it's about time. This afternoon I played bball with some boys from the USA. That was followed by a much deserved shower and nap. Now it looks like I'm off to an outdoor movie under the stars...No Homo. Be Easy Folks, don't let the swine get at ya.

This Chapter Won't be In the book

Just a day in the life...Woke up around 9am and hit the gym for a much needed workout and to set up my gym membership. Kilograms on weights is just not a good idea, In fact, the metric system is for gay boys...yea I said it world. Later in the day I grabbed some lunch with the roommate, and I found something decent to eat which was grrreeattt. After Lunch, I went out and played soccer with these two guys. One is Australian and the other is actually from the citadel, but we had a good time. It was good to get some work in on the game since I will be a collegiate athlete come next week. Here's some randomness for your mind:

• I have yet to see a toilet that spins in reverse, but the toilets have two flush settings. One for number one, and another for that holy crap I just ate paws and schilleter in the same day stomach splintering, change the world mudbutt.
• Someone from Connecticut said I had a southern accent....
• Candy is referred to as Lollies
• I don't have an alarm clock or a phone yet
• I officially polished off the trailmix that was responsible for my fun day with the Australian Customs Folks
• I need to get a phone
• Clemson is going to run the train against GTech
• The are two completely different types of Rugby, Rugby League and Rugby Union. I don't really get either of them completely
• I may be buying a surfboard this weekend
• I got locked in a stairwell the otherday, loads of fun
• Australia now knows of the Bo Dow, Big Dawgs stay strong, you know who you are
• I got bit by some australian ant...CRIKEY
• Australians don't even say shrimp so how could anyone ever come up with shrimp on the barbie.... enlighten yourselves.... prawns on the barbie
• The birds outside my window show no mercy
• Clint Dempsey scores again, Stanton blows another knee, you can't win them all boy

Alright people be easy, lateR

Myrtle Beach and Beverly Hills had a baby...

Surfer's Paradise is pretty sweet, there are high rise hotels as far as the eye can see, cool restaurants, stores, and oh yea the ocean right there boom! I'm not gonna lie, its a total tourist city. Everything you could possibly want is right there, from stunner shades to boomerangs you can get it all. Last Night Evan and I rolled through and scoped the whole place out. The highlights were as follows: a store called the condom king, checking out some australian outback head wear, and of course people watching. Today, we woke up to catch some orientation seminar where they showed us pictures of a Bull Shark that was found in the lake right on campus, and gave us the college speech...a time to learn how to learn....a time of self-discovery....a time for me to catch up on some sleep. Afterwards we checked out a BBQ they had at the pool where this kid we met a couple nights ago from the citadel invited us to go to the beach. So we jumped on a bus to Burleigh beach with 20 kids from the house that obama built. Burleigh is much more of a local spot with tons of surfers and local stores. The waves were huge, and me and a couple other guys swam out to where they were breaking. It took about 20 minutes; no joke it was the most intense workout I've had in a while. The rip tide is redonkulous, but it was all worth it to dive through a monster wave. Hopefully, I will be surfing giants with kunu and Johnny Kapahalla any day now. I also got my schedule for the Bond University Soccer team, I have practice 3 times a week so we will see how that goes. It's def gonna be put on for my city time if you know what I'm saying. Well I'm about to grab a shower and head out to get some food because your never full in OZ. Rub Yo Face In It! LATer

Dorm Views... Don't Be Hating!

If you look out my window to the right you can see the lake and the mountains...pretty awesome. The town of Varsity Lakes is down the road over the bridge about 5 minutes away.

The lake is actually full of fish, I can see them jumping out of the water from my room, and people are always fishing.

Here is the view out my window. Evan's room is the second open window looking from right to left. The gym, university offices, security center, and some other stuff are all in these combined buildings. Just think if Johnstone and the Union were cool instead of looking like south central.

I'm Gelling Like Magellan

The last couple days have been all about exploring the gold coast. Yesterday i got pretty familiar with the town of robina which is pretty sweet. It has a huge mall that starts out as an open air mall then becomes just a normal mall. It had a bunch of Aussie stores and a bunch of stuff from obamaland as well. I've pretty much decided theres some stuff you can't escape: Macdonalds, Target, The ford motor company, and starbucks. Sidenote, people drive these crazy whips down here that look like ford focus' but instead of a back seat and trunk they have a truck bed. Its like an El camino except newer and gayer. Also Burger King is called Hungary Jacks, which is a sweet name if you ask me, and Macdonald's has triple cheeseburgers. Australia is also on the european portion plan so I haven't been full since i got here. Back to the story, Robina is balling and taking the Bus is pretty easy. I also set up my bank account which was a freakn hastle. I ended up having to withdrawal all my tuition money and carry with me to the receivables office. I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to throw down 3 stacks at this place, but Like Jeezy said, "Yea First Round Draft Pick, Yea I'm A Fricken Baller!" Today has been absolutely awesome. I woke up early and went for a run around campus and down to Varsity Lakes. Afterwards, Evan and I hopped the Bus to broadbeach which is crazy. The waves are huge, at least 7 to 10 feet. We hung out on the beach for a few hours, and I'm pretty sure I may be the tannest Scottish Jew in the history of this earth. Yea my ancestors were straight up pasty...Getting back to Bond was an adventure because the bus system is kinda confusing. Some buses are marked to go places that they don't actually go to. Thats not a rationalization to keep from deducting man points for getting lost either. So it took about an hour and a half, then we went on a short tour of the campus which showed us where the actual classes are held. Following that, We ate our first meal on campus. Heed my warning, If you find yourself in OZ and you are hungry don't order a burger. Whatever they feed the cows down here is beyond me, but the beef is just gross. Now I'm back in the room and I'm about to head to surfer's paradise because our bus pass is good for the whole day. Don't Let the recession get ya down! LaTeR

Going Off the Grid, And Coming Back From the Dead

Bare with me as we take a little trip to negative town because I swear there will be a happy ending at the end. So 13 hours on a plane, cramped up like an illegal crossing the border in an apple box, just is not very fun lets face it. The flight had its ups and downs. The ups were highlighted by this cool australian lady who sat next to us and gave us a good run down on the Australian way of life. She gained my respect when we first met her, and she said that she was so glad that the people sitting next to her weren't fattys. The In-Flight entertainment was pretty legit to, You get your own LCD screen loaded with all sorts of new movies, tv-shows, and music. So naturally I caught up on some Bear Grylls, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, The Hangover, and I love you man. Yea, 13 hours is a long time when you don't sleep. I'm not a big proponent of medicating for anything unless I'm really hurting, but on the flight home I'm buyn a smoothie with a box of ambien mashed up in it. The food was ultra suspect on the plane, however, I discover aussie lemonade which is kinda like sprite except way better. The moral of the story is I didn't sleep a wink, and I was not prepared for the day I was about to have. Moving On, I got off the plane in Brisbane which looked like a pretty big and industrialized city from the air, and I got down to the Visa Check point only to find out that my visa didn't match my passport so I had to get that fixed. Then, like a total idiot, I declared that I had food in my bag. So as Evan jeted right through customs, I got the Osama Bin Ladin look a like shake down. Everything I owned was scanned over a stinking bag of trail mix and a few cliff bars. The end result being that the head security official asked me why the trail mix had M&Ms in it, and if that defeated the purpose of TRAIL mix. Next the shuttle company lost my reservation and that was a huge hastle. I finally got out to the shuttle to find out that Evan was gonna get on, but I had to wait for the next one. Which seemed alright, but it turned out that I had to wait it out through the next four. I got into it with the shuttle guy because he was a total idiot. I mean any man in a leather jacket probably deserves a verbal smack down. So i get on the shuttle with the asian invasion, and it seemed like my worst nightmare was becoming a reality. I was stuck on another continent with a bunch of other non-english speaking foreigners separated from evan, and completely hating life! Things started to look up again once I got to Bond. The campus is even better than the pictures, and my room is pretty cool. If I look straight across to the next dorm I can see Evan's dorm. We have been communicating with hand signals and screaming because we have been internet and phone-less. I have yet to get a room mate but I have met people from all over the world which has been pretty cool. We also went to this BarBQ last night where they had Shrimp on the Barbie! SIKE, they had wierd tasting burger patties on white bread with ketchup and onions. Oh yea and they played Matchbox 20s greatest hits the whole time. Rewind, before the barBQ we checked out the town of varsity lakes, its about a 5 minute walk from campus. Its all brand new and has a bunch of restaurants, cafes, and even an IGA. Australia is the wierdest mix of cultures. Theres a huge american influence, but there are a lot of things that seem to be European. And from my personal census, half the population is Asian. Also You group Australian people into 2 very distinct physiological groups. The dichotomy pretty much goes like this: there are a great number of modern professional looking people who seemed polished and sharp, then there is a huge contingent of them that look like the most inbreed hicks on the planet. The look like haggard englishmen and dress like ANdy Milonakis, wierd I know. I found out from this aussie today that they call those austrialians, Bogans. Any way I'm still ultra jet lagged and I cant type anymore so I'll finish this up tommorow. Hope all is well in Obamaland! LAter

Nothing Like a Day of Air Travel

So far I'm just having a great day, no delays, free vitamin water on both my flights, got a free pair of headphones, and now I'm recharging at the LAX Holiday Inn, and no I haven't seen Chingy. Pretty much just having an uneventful day in terms of craziness which is good. I'm gonna get a nap and a shower in, then I will roll back to the aeropuerto and meet up with Evan. Whoa, College Football Preview is on in the background right now and I forgot how annoying sweet lou holtz is. I mean someone needs to up his meds for real! On the subject of College Football, look for the Tigers to come out strong tomorrow with a dominating win over MTSU. Until next time, Stay Classy.

Today LAX, Tommorrow Van Nuys Part I

Let the real blogging begin, I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport waiting to head out to the A T L. Then its off to LAX, and at midnight I'll be jumping across the world. Not gonna lie I'm really excited, although, I may change my mind after my 10 hours of sitting in the airport doing absolutely nothing because my freaking headphones died! Anyways I'll be in OZ manana (4 US time). Its entirely possible that I will be getting my Chad "Ochocinco" on for the rest of the day so stay posted for facebook messages, blog entries, tweets, and so on.....LATr