Canberra, Australia via SCL - Daniel Boyle

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 04 Oct 2010 07:02

Did some tours today at the AIS, 4 actually. Would have showed about 300 people Footbag.

I'm working the night audit shift at the hostel at the moment. This is day one of four, it's not that good. I had to clean up spew before.

Went up to the Blue Mountains on the weekend for my Dad's 50th, it was a pretty good weekend, but very poor weather.

This weekend I'm heading to Sydney and Melbourne, it should be a lot of fun, seeing Alexisonfire and Break Even twice and going to a wedding as well. So it will be quite a busy couple of days.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 04 Oct 2010 18:20

Here's a little run I did on the weekend. It's nothing particularly exciting in terms of shred, it is however, filmed IN A CAVE.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KllsnaiV07E[/youtube]

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 05 Oct 2010 07:42

Played today with Caroline.

I'm on day 2 of these graveyard shifts. After dealing with spew the first night, tonight was fight night. I had to kick a guy out who was way too drunk and was starting fights with everybody. He was an old Asian guy (50+), he accused me of being racist.

Then some other crazy guy, who earlier had not be allowed to check in because he looked a bit too wild, he came back and abused me and suggested I was racist against Australians.

So Caroline and I have been talking about a little plan for a while. We want to do some kind of Australian Footbag Tour. It's still in the early planning stages, but it will work something like this...

Start in Brisbane on the first weekend of Feb, which also happens to be Caroline's birthday. Then spend the week travelling down the coast, arriving in Sydney for the next weekend. Have a jam/comp, then travel again through Canberra and down the coast to Melbourne.

The ideal situation would be to get some all star international players, but it's pretty far to get to Australia, but you never know.

So I'm going to put a bit more planning into that one. It's still in the very early stages of planning, so we've been keeping it on the downlow. I don't think anybody really reads this, so it will probably stay the same way...

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 06 Oct 2010 09:02

Hit a couple of new links in the last couple of days

today- pixie diving osis>tomahawk
few days ago> terraging clipper>down double down

yesterday, nemesis>nemesis..unfortunately this was not in real life, however it was in that game Shred Session which I have been playing to pass the time in the late night hours.

It's coming up to 5am, tomorrow will be the final night shift. That is great news.

Francisca's mum and aunt arrived today, they are staying at our house for the next week. My mum and Dad are coming up tomorrow to visit for the day.

They have actually rented a house by the beach for Dad's birthday, I was hoping to make it down, but I ended up having way too much on my plate to do that. So Mum didn't get to meet the ladies when we had the lunch and announced our engagement.

We showed the ladies the book we made for Dad, they were very impressed. They both cried actually.

Just ate some leftover Pad Thai which one of the other staff members left for me yesterday. I was just thinking that personally I would have put it in the fridge and ate it myself another day.

I don't know if that just means I have no heart no generosity and am an areshole, or that he is too frivolous with money and why did he buy so much in the first place...

I think the case is definitely I am thinking too much about this free meal that I just ate, and that I shouldn't really care because it was a free meal.

I am keeping track of all my expenses for this month, so that I can try to make a reasonably accurate budget for the next few months. I'm also keepign track of what I'm eating and the exercises that I'm doing and how many beers I drink.

What I am hoping to do for each day is to have a zero dollar day. I have now got three of them for the month. Some of the other days were on the opposite end of the scale though, so the average is up a bit high. It will be interesting to see my final figures.

I am a bit concerned the weekend ahead could be a bit of a blowout, but we'll see about that. I guess if I'm so concerned, then I won't make it a blowout.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 06 Oct 2010 09:24

I had a weird footbag dream the other day.

It was at Worlds with that same green floor which doesn't really give me such pleasant memories.

So anyway, my routines on next, but they've announced that there's some technical difficulties. Everyone's gone away as it seems it'll be some time. I'm up next, so I want to stay in the space.

When people have come back in, although a lot of them probably stayed in the bar across the road, but I decide for some reason that I'm going to do my routine with an egg.

Also for some reason I have an egg handy, but they're announcing me and I realise I haven't boiled my egg, which I need to do if I want to do a good routine.

So they announce me, I walk to the centre, drop my egg down for a clipper, it smashes and I walk off frustrated.

This dream I had sometime last week, before I started doing these crazy night shifts.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 07 Oct 2010 05:46

The Australian Dollar is really strong at the moment, pretty much 1 for 1 with the US Dollar. Sounds like it's time to buy some new lavers.

What do you know, World Footbag have lavers on sale.

So my last of 4 nights in a row. I guess my body is feeling ok because I don't feel too tired. Actually that's a lie, my body doesn't feel ok, I think I'm getting a cold or something which is not so pleasant.

So straight after work I'm going to Sydney, so I should be able to sleep the whole way on the bus. It'll be just like clicking my heels 3 times and I'll be there.

Not sure what I will do about how little I will have slept, probably just start drinking once I arrive, maybe go to the beach or something.

Looks like I will kick in Melbourne and that should be good.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 07 Oct 2010 18:48

Played solo in Sydney in the park near Sydney university. There were a lot of girls sitting around in the park and of course they would have all been watching me....

Was playing pretty well, hit a few pdx torques, came closer than usual on the flipside, and finished off with a vortex that felt super smooth, laidback and easy.

Hopefully will play tomorrow and the next day in Melbourne.

Uranos · Post by **Uranos** » 08 Oct 2010 03:00

hey mate. good to c u playing well. gimme a call 0433 251 906 wen ur in melbs

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 08 Oct 2010 08:28

I laughed really hard at your Worlds dream. I think it's funny you still have nightmares (if you can call it that) about your routine. If it's any consolation to you, you've gotten a lot of comic mileage out of it.

I looked at fares to Australia in February, and they are crazy (in a bad way). Have fun though.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 11 Oct 2010 11:42

Hey Alex, didn't see your post until now. I was only down for a short time, we got in a good kick with some old heads (Dan, Scott, Olly) it was pretty good.

Ken, I think I've got all the comic miles I can out of the worlds experience, guess I'll just have to wait until next year.

Played touch footy last night, I played one season before a long time ago, maybe 4-5 years ago, and our team was very bad.

Not much has changed, although it's a different team. It was our first game last night and I'm feeling a little sore today. In the end we lost 5-1, but I had some good runs and played a big part in setting up our try.

I think this team has a lot more potential than the previous one, and I had a lot of fun playing.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 16 Oct 2010 21:42

Just had a quick kick, about 30 minutes.

There were some guys doing capoeira just down from me and their music started getting really annoying, so I decided to come home.

My last run was ripped warrior>ducking clipper>ducking clipper>spinning clipper>spinning whirl>handcatch.

Probably won't go to Worlds next year. Just booked some plane tickets for July/Aug next year, we're going to spend a couple of months travelling around Asia.

Booked flights so far for Gold Coast-KL and KL-Mumbai

For 2 x each, it cost $500.

I drank way too much beer this week, time to cut down.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 18 Oct 2010 17:18

Just had a little lunch time session in the park, played for about 20 minutes.

My last trick was a new one- gyro dlo.

Been pretty sporty of late. Played indoor soccer on sunday, it was a 3-3 draw, thanks mainly to me kicking an own goal on the buzzer...oops.

Played touch last night, at the end they decided it was an 8-8 draw, due to the ref make an error with the counting of the tries.

I scored my first try though, a nice break down the sideline, and had a hand in at least 3 more. So I think the error was in our favour and we should have lost, but it's good fun.

Playing squash this arvo, it's been very sporty indeed actually.

Going to put on a bit of a jam next month in Canberra, should be a bit of fun, and hopefully we get a bit of a turnout, that would be good. At least this time the temperature should be better than the one we did last year.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 27 Oct 2010 12:16

haven't posted so much lately.

Played most days in my lunch break last week, had a couple of proper sessions.

We played dodgeball as part of that three sports thing on Sunday, that game is so stupid. We ended up filling in for another team to play soccer as well.

Last week I did a few tours, probably showed footbag to about 300 people. I did a tour last night, it had 50 people on it. I couldn't play so well because I hurt my leg at touch footy this week, which is kind of embarrassing, more annoying actually. It's feeling a bit better now, so hopefully I can kick with Caroline tomorrow.

The weather's been great lately but I've been mainly stuck indoors working 9-5.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 31 Oct 2010 03:14

Managed to play a little bit of the weekend, 2 short sessions with Caroline.

So we played on Friday after I finished work. It was a nice day but my leg was still sore so I didn't want to kick much. I couldn't play very well because of my leg so we finished up early and went to the pub.

That night turned into a big adventure with Ben and Jonathan, we went to a Pantera tribute show, it was pretty crazy all round. There was this girl I used to go out with 5 years ago, she was giving me some pretty mean stares, she was also at the previous pub as well, so that was kind of weird.

There was also a guy I worked with 2 years ago, I barely remembered him but he bought me a beer. The bands were actually pretty bad, but the night will have plenty of funny stories to keep us going for a while.

I woke up with a mean, mean hangover. There was a zine fair on at the national gallery so I had a stall there, no one really paid much interest to my little stall. I was planning on making a zine about Footbag to finish in time for this, but once again, I still haven't done it.

After the zine fair, I picked up Jonathan and we drove to Sydney. It was a whirlwind trip, I exchanged passengers with Francisca coming off the bench, Jonathan got on the train to meet his mate somewhere else.

We went to visit her cousin, they live in a really nice house. Then we went for dinner at my Grandma's, a big feast. There was no room at the inn there, and my mum was in town, so we all stayed together in a dorm at Railway Square YHA.

We got a good breakfast in the morning, mum left and we went to meet the celebrant for our wedding. He was quite nice, a bit cheeky, which I liked, and he gave us plenty of options for the big day.

After that we went to visit my Nanna, then we picked up Jonathan, stopped for a hamburger and drove back to Canberra.

On arrival I played Footbag again with Caroline. My leg was feeling better, I had some nice long runs but avoided most tricks with the right foot. I guess it's a good thing, as that's my strong side for most tricks.

I played volleyball in this three sports team, we won, by a lot actually, that was quite rare, but I guess it was fun. When everyone is that crap it's not all the fun, but I had some really good shots over the net.

I was just doing some short little running exercises today and I think I should be fine to play touch footy, so that's good news, the leg is on the improve.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 01 Nov 2010 14:01

Going to have a bit of a jam/not so serious competition in a few weeks

http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1288652104

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 08 Nov 2010 15:20

Not too much news of late. Jonathan got lavers, that's pretty good. That's the first time I've ever convinced someone that they should get lavers, then they've actually gone and got them.

He's improving quite a bit as well, he can do a few different stalls and stuff, and he's started working on around the world and stuff.

We played on the weekend with Caroline at Woden. There was some kind of community festival there. Unfortunately it was raining. The rain eased off a bit and we played on the side of the skatepark. It was a pretty good little session actually. The rain stopped and we ended up with a pretty good spot to play.

The next day I had a kick with Caroline just at the Lyneham shops. We were both playing pretty badly, but it was good because the sun was out, finally.

I played indoor soccer as well that day. We lost 3-0, the team was much better than us, but it was a reasonably fun game.

That leads me on to touch footy last night. This one, I knew we would lose, as after four rounds the team has a for and against of 45-4. So an average win for them of at least 10-1. We are yet to post a win, though we did have a draw a couple of weeks back.

This team were just a bunch of jokers though. Not only have they entered a division that's too low for them....I don't know of too many beginners teams where the girls where gloves and those skins under their shorts. Most of our team don't even have boots...

So apart from them being in the wrong division, they were also incredible cheats. One guy went for an intercept, clearly dropped it, but the ref didn't see it. The ref asked if he touched it, he said no. They got the ball. There were many similar incidents, plenty of times where they dropped the ball in the play the ball, but just played on as well.

Anyway, the final score was 11-1. I scored our try. We had a tap, so I took it, there were a couple of players offside, one guy was pretty fat, so I ran straight at him and dived over the line. He claimed to have touched me, but the ref said he never went back to the line. Try time.

It just wasn't fun though. They were such jerks about the game, it was unpleasant to play. I hurt my hamstring a few weeks back, and did it again last night. It doesn't feel anywhere near as bad though, so that's good news for me.

Hopefully next week we will notch up our maiden victory. I think our team is improving quite a bit each week, which is good.

Might go to Sydney on the weekend to play Footbag at the newtown festival. I reckon that would be a bit of fun. The next day Francisca will be finished her masters, and Caroline is done for the semester, so we might do something to celebrate that.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 10 Nov 2010 14:15

This is perhaps one of the kinds of cheating tactics you're complaining about, but regarding your score - whenever you put the ball down over the line and it's close to being a score, celebrate and run back to the middle - don't wait for the ref to blow the score. It doesn't have to be over the top exuberance - just a calm satisfied; "I know that was a score" kind of attitude.

Anyway it's good to see that you're playing touch, and mainly enjoying it.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 10 Nov 2010 14:52

That's pretty close to what I did. I just got back and started walking back towards the halfway. They were so cut about it, even though the score was already something like 7-1.

I'm really enjoying playing actually, our team is pretty bad, but we're improving each week.

I don't think I will be in the state team anytime soon though!

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 10 Nov 2010 20:06

Played with Caroline today in my lunch break. It was unfortunate I could only stick around for half an hour, as it was a nice day to be playing, the sun was shining, and I had a few nice tricks.

I hit blender from an outside set, which I guess is new. That's a pretty fun trick actually.

My last trick of the day was flapper set legover. I think I might try something like torque from a flapper stall. It would be pretty hard, but I think I could hit that. Let's see.

Going to drink some cocktails this evening, only a couple, but they're on work. Then my Dad is coming to Canberra and he's staying at our house.

Hopefully can get in a similar lunchtime session tomorrow.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 11 Nov 2010 00:32

Will playing in skateparks bring a "cool" element to the sport...I don't really think so, especially if they're as popular as this place.

There has been some really good discussion in the General Footbag section about where Footbag is going, what people are doing for it. I've really enjoyed a lot of the responses.

I would like to write more on my thoughts about it, but I guess I will wait until I have a really coherent idea of what I would like to say.