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Last weekend had to be one of the most…eventful…weekends of my life so far. Down in Geelong, surfing with some mates, when all of a sudden it starts pissing down. Giving up for the day, we make our way back to the car, to hear that half of Victoria is on fire.

Hightailing it back home, headed over to Julian’s place out in Whittlesea to help our where I could. After all the hubbub, we retired to Jess’s place in greensborough to get thoroughly drunk and belatedly celebrate Mel’s birthday.

Next morning I get woken by a call saying Sam had perished in the fires. While still taking this in, I receive another call telling me to make my way to Watsonia barracks asap, to join operation VicFires Assist.

Needless to say, not the most pleasant of weeks I’ve ever spent. Nevertheless, the ability to actually get there and do something, help people, was great. Don’t regret a thing.

After long deliberation (about 5 minutes of trying to find my phone), I bought a motorbike.

K7 GSX-R 600 with just over 2000km on the clock, 11 months rego, Oggy knobs and a fender eliminator, all for $10,000. Pretty damn happy with that, and it runs like a dream. Can’t wait to take it to a track day

That time of year again, my birthday. A day classically occupied with copious amounts of drinking and revelry. Not wanting to break with tradition, that’s what we did.

Fired up the bbq, chucked a couple of slabs in ice and had a good time. I apparently skulled a bottle of vodka, but I really can’t remember that. The empty bottles of gifted Jaeger next to my bed worry me somewhat though…

Middle of summer, on uni break, high 30’s…why not go camping next to the Murray.

For a good week we’ve been relaxing in Tocumwal, drifting down the river on home made rafts drinking beers, playing countless games of cards, and generally larking about.

My birthday fell on the first Saturday up there, which coincided nicely with a Creedence Clearwater Recycled concert playing at an RSL nearby.

After getting way too drunk and dancing to CCR, a quick nudie run through centre of town with Chipper and a more appropriately atired James was a fitting end to a random night.

So uhh…I didn’t take it easy. At all. oops.

After rocking up in fairly poor shape, I decided that hair of the dog could help my state. A stein of 50/50 Bacardi/Semi-frozen Coke later and I’m back in the zone, goin hard. Back onto the beers, day starts looking up.

Then Devin made a Kaluha Mudslide or something. Was pretty horrible. So mixed beer into it. Wasn’t much better. Skulled it. Cause it was half beer already, decided to skull beer at the same time. Honestly, wtf.

Anyway, after that shit just kinda went worse. At one point I think Matty and I were having monkey fights on the playground outside, which could explain some of the random pains I had.

Some time later Jimmy rocked up and we started the drive to Tocumwal, me still fairly pissed. Feeling the need to urinate but not willing to sacrifice time, I pissed out the window of his car. At 120km/h.

Needless to say, not 100% sucessful. Highly amusing though, especially when the dust got caked on in the shape of the spray

God. Last night was perhaps slightly to big. ugh, my head hurts.

I started at Pottsy’s spa party. Somehow ended up at Fuhrmans, watchin Dan, beer in either hand and cigar in mouth, take a piss on the tennis court. At some point I think he jumped over a firework while it was going off too, not 100% sure about that one. Oh, and ping pong gets dangerous after the empties of 4 hours of drinking are lined up on the edges of the table.

ergggh, gotta go to a new years day celebration. Think I might take it easy, try to recover a bit

About a week ago, following a fortnight of amazing weather (and an awesome couple of days in Sydney) I decided to get a surfboard. Not wanting to pay the $700+ that it would cost new, I decided to hit up ebay and scored a damn good board in pretty decent condition for $160.

Since then, the weather has been shitful every day, the best being mid-low 20’s, overcast and often as not rainy.

Until yesterday. Stroke of luck, although forecast to be dull and dreary,  Monday turned out sunny and warmish, enough to pack up the car and head down to Torquay for a day of surfing. The waves cooperated too, giving some steady 4 footers compared to the past 5 days of 1 footers.

Unfortunately, sunscreen in salt water does not last long, and I managed to sunburn myself fairly badly – but it’s funny as hell, cause the wetsuit left me with some really retarded looking tan lines.

Surfing itself was pretty good, learning to ride a 6′4″ fiberglass board is vastly different to a 8′ foam board, and I stacked often – the major difference, apart from the board being lighter and a LOT more manueverable, is that when it smacks you square in the nuts it hurts. A lot.

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids,
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain,
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day,
On the fly?
When you ask “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done,
Do you lie in your bed,
With the next hundred chores,
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die,
Cause you never had time,
To call and say “Hi”?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.
Hear the music.
Before the song is over.

R.I.P. Andrew James Lancashire
14 August 1986 – 23 November 2008

An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says “You’re all idiots”, and pours two beers.

So, the concussion I received from what I imagine would have been a bloody funny crash, had I been watching and concious, has faded. Unfortunately, the back pain hasn’t.

Getting a man to run his hands up and down my back for 10 minutes plus some light radiation (a round about way of saying a Doctor x-rayed me) revealed I had torn a ligament off my spine, and the surrounding muscle was staying stiff due to it.

Luckily, some good physiotherapy combined with a couple of fun drugs helped, and I was told today my spine and the estranged ligament had made their peace and decided to get back together.

1 to 2 weeks recovery, so I guess I’ll take it easy dirtbiking this coming week…