Month completed: August 2008

At the start of last year, my younger brother Nicholas was accepted into the primary school teaching course at Deakin University that he wanted.

Just one hitch - it was in Warrnambool (about 3 hours away from Melbourne).

After some early hesitation, he is now loving Warrnambool campus life. The campus even has a golf course that is free for students!

Last weekend I went down to pay him a visit, and we took Warrnambool by storm (although Warrnambool is usually in a stormy state anyway).

Here is what we got up to:

We went whale-watching and seal-watching, but saw neither.

We tried a bunch of different cheeses at CheeseWorld. My favourite was the Vintage cheddar.

We tried to take a photo of us ‘drinking’ the milkshake out the front of CheeseWorld. We did get better after a few tries. I look as if my milkshake was made with rancid milk.

We went back in time at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, which was actually much cooler than it sounds. It was a little like Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, with olden day buildings and history. There was a treasure hunt designed for children that we did as well (you are never too old for a treasure hunt). The building shown is the Ship Chandlers, which was our favourite of all buildings. We were even offered volunteer roles at the Village, as policemen, barmen, bankers or whatever we wanted to be.

While at the Maritime Village, we had an olden day photo taken.

We visited a market that sells all kinds of vintage items, including turtlenecks…

…and blue caps.

Nicholas managed to smash a smash-proof glass at the local Safeway.

We made fish and chips, which turned out a treat.

The Saturday night was spent at a multi-million dollar sound and light show. The highlight of the show was the extremely non-enthused tour guide, who avoided all eye contact with the group and spoke in the most monotonous tone EVER. She was so bad that she was good.

After the sound and light show we went back to his dorm, ate Cheeseworld cheeses, and watched old episodes of Sooty and the IT Crowd.

And to any Warrnambool locals reading - yes, we did visit the Dirty Angel.

What was my number one highlight of our brotherly weekend in Warrnambool?

The massive fly that did the backstroke in Nicholas’ milkshake while he was drinking it. So very, very funny.

Month completed: July 2008

I love throwing the frisbee around. It is not only great fun, but can also be great exercise.

I had heard about Ultimate Frisbee years ago, had always wanted to give it a go but never got around to it. That is why I put it on the list.

And quietly this goal sat, patiently waiting its turn to be completed.

That was until last week, when the following comment was left on another post by Simon. Here is what he wrote:

Heath,

For goal #171 - head down to Albert Park (south end of the pit straight, near the hockey pavillion) on a Monday night at around 7:00pm. Melbourne Ultimate League Division 2 is played there every week. Ultimate frisbee players are a friendly bunch, so if you get there about 20min early and ask around, someone will have a spot on their team for you!

Simon
(ultimate frisbee player)

Who am I to not take up Simon’s offer? So I dragged my sister Melanie (who had played previously) along last Monday night to give it a go.

We turned up 20 minutes earlier, and found a team that was missing most of their players. The team was called Best Friends, and they were taking on the Melbourne University team. So I jumped on with them, and Mel jumped on with the Melbourne Uni team.

Having not done much research into Ultimate Frisbee (or just Ultimate, as it is known to those in-the-know), I expected a leisurely game involving leisurely throws and minimal jogging, let alone running.

Boy, was I wrong!

The game goes for 80 minutes approximately, and about 70 minutes of that was spent absolutely sprinting my guts out. I have played competitive basketball, football and tennis in the past, as well as competing in cross countries, but this was easily more physically draining than any of those sports.

Here are some shots of me running pretty aimlessly back and forth to get into the play. I am the one in the short black shorts and white t-shirt.

In this photo above you can see my sister Mel (in the black jumper and purple beanie) struggling to keep up my extreme pace.

In the photo below you can see me and my team waiting together for the game to restart.

The game is very similar to Gridiron, and starts with the two teams at opposing end, both trying to get the frisbee to the other end and catching it in their end zone. I won’t go into any more detail than that - you can read more for yourself if you want.

What I can tell you is that Simon was correct when he said everyone is really friendly. We were welcomed with open arms, and one thing I enjoyed at the end of the game was that everyone from both teams got into a huddle, and the two team captains both spoke on behalf of their team, congratulating the other team on a job well done. It was a great way to end a competitive, physical game in the right spirit.

Did the game wear me out? Yes.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

p.s. It didn’t cost a cent to play. Great exercise, great fun, and no cost. How good is that?!

p.p.s. Thanks again Simon for the tip. Sorry I didn’t get to catch up with you on the night.

p.p.p.s. The photo at the start of the post was a set-up, so that I could get an action shot of myself. It took about five photos before we got one that looked half normal!

Month completed: July 2008

Ages ago (at least two years now) I was reading a magazine that had a feature on a variety of different ninja forms. Most of them seemed similar, and held no appeal for me. And then I read about ninjutsu.

What is ninjutsu, you ask?

Quite simply, ninjutsu is the art of invisibility.

The art form seemed to be more focused on stealth, and remaining hidden, rather than fighting techniques. And given that I like to sneak up on people and give them a fright, and that I am not too keen to get whacked with a sword, this seemed like the ninja form for me.

Last week I went along to my first class, in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. It was a two-hour session, and I initially thought it would be a very long two hours. I was very wrong.

The first thing we did was meditation. Excellent. Hard to fully concentrate though, as I had just come from work.

Next we worked on weapons training. Cool. I had a long stick called a Hambo, and I was partnered with Mr Beattie (everyone was addressed as Mr, so I was Mr Tully - very Matrix-esque) who had a plastic sword. We did a series of moves that involved Mr Beattie coming at me with a sword, and me dodging the sword and then whacking him with my Hambo. He invited me to whack him pretty hard, which was fun. Less so when the roles were reversed, and he did it to me though!

By the way, Mr Beattie has a black belt in ninjutsu. Also by the way, the picture below is not of Mr Beattie, but just a random ninjutsu image I included to break up the text. Just thought you should know.

After weapons training, we moved onto street survival techniques, and specifically using our elbows to knock someone out (plus a bit of reverse kicking, for when the enemy is behind you).

Most people wear a groin guard during the class. Being my first class, I didn’t have one. Mr Beattie forgot this, and kicked me not once, but twice in the groin. Both times it hurt heaps (remember, he has a black belt).

I did survive street survival, which was lucky because the final part of the class was on reflexology, which is a technique of massage based on the belief that different parts of the sole of your feet represent different parts of your body, so massaging that part of the sole will ease any pain in the related body part. Not sure about it, but happy to go along with it if it meant a free foot massage.

Until I realised that after my massage, I would become the massager. Luckily, I only had to use my feet to do the massaging, but regardless I am not a big fan of massaging another man’s feet!

Shortly after, I looked at the clock. We had run overtime, and the two hours was over. I was impressed; the class had run quickly and that probably had something to do with the variety of things we went through.

When I land in London in late August, I now plan to find a club to join, and continue a new-found interest in this very interesting form of ninja. I would highly recommend it to anyone - after just one class, I already feel that I could better defend myself in combat.

Month completed: July 2008

A boy’s weekend in Noosa last weekend gave me the opportunity to head to what is probably Australia’s most world-renowned zoo - the Australia Zoo. Perhaps better known as the home of the Crocodile Hunter, the late Steve Irwin.

The day we went was a little wet and rainy, which was a bit annoying but good for keeping the big crowds of people away.

It was fantastically laid out, with really simple information plaques that didn’t drown you in facts, but instead just gave you some interesting tidbits about the animal you were looking at (there is an example below).

The only thing missing were animals. It just felt like, for the amount of space in the zoo, and the $52 entry fee, there could have been many more animals. And maybe one lion (there were tigers).

Overall though, well worth a visit. We still had a really great day.

In the style of Bindi Irwin, here is the highlight reel of my big day at Australia Zoo:

At Australia Zoo, I patted a koala! How cute!

I posed with a wedge-tailed eagle! Scary!

I drove the Crocodile Hunter truck! Vroom vroom!

I went to the Crocoseum! Snap goes to crocodile!

I avoided the dangerous Hose monster! Watch out!

I read interesting facts! Wow!

I watched my friend make a fool of himself! Funny!

I saw one of my favourite animals - the tortoise! Look at that shell!

My friends Isaac (middle), Andy (front) and Johan (right), and I (left) met the Irwin family! Excellent!

Crikey, we had a great time at Australia Zoo!

Month completed: July 2008

Sometimes the nicest gifts are the ones you don’t expect.

So this was on the list for that reason. To surprise and delight someone.

My Mum is the best Mum ever, so who better to be the recipient of the gift than her (Nat might have a case to put forward though!)?

And flowers are always a winner.

I went for the most colourful ones, as colour always brightens a room. Judging by the photo, I think she was happy with them.

A nice bouquet of flowers - under $100.

Being the favourite child - priceless.

Month completed: July 2008

Last Christmas Nat and I received vouchers for doing the Bridge climb. With an expiry in November, we had to find a weekend to use them prior to us leaving for London at the end of next month.

Sometimes things just fall into your lap.

When Sunrise set me the toilet challenge, I saw an opportunity to get us up to Sydney for free. And amazingly, it worked.

Sunrise paid for Nat and I to fly up, and they also paid for us to stay at the Hilton for two nights. Go Mel and Kochie!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the bridge for the three-hour journey up to the top and back. We were able to do the twilight climb, which means you go up during the day, watch the sun set, and then climb back down at night so you can see the city lights.

How about that view!

Here is a Sydney Harbour bridge fact to finish off with - Paul Hogan (a.k.a. Crocodile Dundee) used to work as a rigger on the bridge.

Month completed: June 2008

This goal was on the list because of all the movies I haven’t seen (and there are lots I haven’t seen), the Matrix is the one that really surprises people (”You haven’t seen the Matrix? I can’t believe that”).

And any “Hello Mr Anderson” reference would go straight over my head.

So Saturday was spent watching all three movies from the Matrix trilogy.

Here are my reviews:

The Matrix - a benchmark for all future science fiction movies - 5 out of 5

The Matrix Reloaded - not as good as the original, but still a strong story - 4 out of 5

The Matrix Revolutions - a shocker. The plot was lost in a sea of (albeit) impressive special effects - 2 out of 5

I would recommend seeing the first movie, but perhaps not the others, because if you see the second, you will have to suffer through the third.

Now, where’s my exit?

Month completed: June 2008

I can officially say that the achieving of this goal has been fantastic for a few reasons:

1. Goal 141 is now achieved;

2. The benefits of public transport have been pushed into the public eye, at least for one day, which is important as the price of petrol continues to skyrocket;

3. Others have been inspired to start their own lists - click here to see the site for someone has started their own list to do before turning 30;

4. Project 183 has now had its 15 minutes of mainstream media fame!

Apart from achieving the goal, I learnt that there seems to be a strong interest in positive news stories. In separate posts, I will include samples of the TV, radio and newspaper articles done on Project 183.

To summarise the trip and the interest that followed, here is my 7-point summary:

1. Trains tend to run pretty much on time, shown by the fact that I arrived at the end when I said I would

2. Toilet stops and a big breakfast are vital

3. So is an iPod full of music

4. Oakleigh and Alamein are my two favourite stations

5. Werribee is the most scenic line

6. There are lots of people who want to give the trip a go

7. And an equal number that have already done it

My trip highlight? Riding in the driver’s carriage for about 5 stops. Not something everyone can say they have done. Here is me in the front carriage.

To finish with, two final points require some clarification:

1. No, I didn’t do the Stony Point section or the Showgrounds and Flemington Racecourse stations. The latter stations are only open on certain days of the year, making it hard to include them, and the Stony Point part is a diesel service. But the challenge is open to anyone to complete the network PLUS these lines. If you can do it, I take my hat off to you.

2. Connex confirmed that since the Craigieburn line started operation in September last year, no one has come forward to claim that they have done the whole network, until I did it on Tuesday. That’s why Connex made the claim that I was the first. Not that being the first was ever my objective. I just wanted to do it. In fact, if other people have already done it, that’s awesome.

Thanks again to everyone for your interest in Project 183, and I hope that you can all stay in touch and cheer me on to keep achieving. Maybe you have even been inspired to start your own list, in which case I say best of luck.

Thanks to Connex for putting out the media release that generated all the media interest, and to Telstra for the phone and laptop I used on the day.

And thanks to Nat, the love of my life, for putting up with the craziness the last week has been.

Month completed: June 2008

Into the bin goes my L-plate!

Because last Friday I passed my motorbike license test.

Given I have already done my probationary period on my car license, I don’t even have to display a P-plate.

This was a long-term goal (get my learner’s permit, buy a scooter, wait until I had ridden 1,000km and then go for my license) so this was a very satisfying goal to achieve.

Month completed: April 2008

I always thought I was a positive guy. Now I know I am - literally.

My blood donor card just arrived in the mail yesterday, along with a thankyou letter for donating blood, which I did a couple of weeks ago for the first time.

The blood type written on my donor card? A Positive.

So yes, I literally am ‘a positive’ guy.

Corny enough? I think probably.

I have always had a love hate relationship with needles (I love to hate them) so have never put on a brave face and donated blood, even though I know how much benefit there is in doing it (you potentially save three people every time you donate, plus you get free cookies afterwards).

So until I donated a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea of my blood type. Now I do.

The whole experience was actually better than I thought. The worst part was the finger prick I received to make sure I had enough iron in my blood. I was told that it hurts because there are many nerve endings in the fingers. It stopped stinging after a couple of days.

Only when the needle came out was there a slight problem. I think the nurse who took the needle out did it a little quick, as I was left with a big bruise that is still with me now, two weeks on. Nothing worth doing ever came easy I guess.

The key question is - would I do it again?

Yes, definitely. Only a selected group of people can donate blood (the screening questions they ask prior to donating are lengthy and full on - not often does a complete stranger ask you if you have had sex with a prostitute recently!), so I feel an obligation to do my bit.

You should to, unless perhaps you have been down to Grey Street in St Kilda recently.