Well, eleven years is a looooonng time - 16/08/99

Bit of a quiet week in many respects.
Had the anniversary on Friday, black Friday. Seemed quite appropriate, wedding anniversary with all television channels running horror movies. Who'd have thought it would last that long, eh? Anyway, took both Rory and Hannah to school and kindy in the morning, Hannah wouldn't let me leave. Had a coffee with Diana back at home, then went to work. Met her for a comedy show that I was attending for work reasons in the evening (free food, free Deutz for Diana, needed to carry her out almost) then we went to see "EVEREST" at IMAX (caps denote size here). I have already seen it, but was happy to repeat. After reading the book Paul lent us (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, worth a read) about the disastrous trip up with Rob Hall, the movie sort of added to it but the book is still pretty good.

Finally got training with the team on Thursday, although down four players. It was wet, so we had a practice game against the Polar Bears and it got real muddy. I gave permission to the Polar Bears to get dirty and Andy (their coach) gave the Orcas permission (this way, the parents couldn't tell us off). Told them the winners could roll around in the mud, they had a wonderful time. Took some parents about ten minutes to get the kids into a condition were they were prepared to let them into their car to take them home.
Then, we managed to get a game amongst the showers on Saturday. It was "school of origin", Pt Chevalier against St Francis (the private school at the other end of Pt Chev). School against School, Cool against Fool, we won two-nool. (sorry)
The field was not particularly level, in fact very uphill. I maneouvred the Orcas to the downhill end for the first half. Torrid first half, with a good shot that nearly scored for the other team, stopped by Joseph's foot just in front of the goal. Nil all at half time, most time spent in our half with a few short forays into theirs. Second half, we were on the downhill stretch. We were tired but ready for the second half, we had Denham, one of the kids from the other team, given to us as the numbers were 10-8 to them. We spent the second half in their side, and Joseph nabbed two good goals. Missed a few opportunities as well, and Rory was very unlucky with a shot just stopping on the line in the goalmouth. He did some good work but camped in the enemy goal a bit towards the end. Adam was player of the day, excellent defense including a goal saver in the second half.
Diana took some photos with the Mavica camera I have at the moment, including a goodie of Rory in action surrounded by the team.
I went to see Paul Chambers play at Avondale, last game of their competition. They were playing Onehunga, and won 7-0. Paul got a goal, and played well and for most of the game for a change. Saw Ross Hickey at the school, said hello to him, he is a DP now (and about four million years old). The team came second in their competition, I think.
In other sport, was the kickoff of the NPC. Auckland thumped Wellington 45-6 (most results approximate), Otago just beat Northland 21-14, Waikato drew with North Harbour 18 all (Botica played well, with zimmer frame and everything, rumour last week Ridge was going to join Harbour along with Botica and Mark Ellis, the ex-Warriors). Counties beat Southland 31-10, Canterbury beat Taranaki 34-16, no surprises there.
Big news, the Springboks beat the Wallabies 10-9 over the weekend so the AB's win the Tri-Nations with a game in hand. Didn't see the game, apparently riddled with errors, wind may have played a part. AB's have to win the last game in Sydney in two weeks to regain the Bledisloe Cup, but the Tri-Nations is theirs, regardless.
Man U won, Watford beat Liverpool, Newcastle lost (again, three in a row now I think). Quinn will be sad, so will Peter.
Warriors beat North Queensland, but that is like kissing your sister. 40-16 or something.
Dunedin Technical and Waitakere will meet for the Chatham Cup final. Dunedin Technical came second last season.
Cricketers are in trouble in a meaningless county game before the last test kicks off on Thursday night.
In other news, a woman was appointed head of Telecom. 37 year old Teresa Gattung is now the new boss. Putting a woman in charge of a phone company is a bit of a worry, luckily they have developed call waiting for that eventuality.
News this week was pretty pathetic. A millennium concert for Gisborne with David Bowie and Split Enz and Kiri was struggling for numbers, then in trouble, then defunct. Tickets went from $400 each to $150 to nothing. Now Bowie and Enz are going to play at Bastion Point, hang on, no that's off too. Yawn.

I have been thinking about what I want to do for the millennium. Be the first to do something for the new millennium. Choices include:
- first and fastest 100 metres (even if for a very short while)
- first bluescreen crash in NT (should be pretty quick)
- first orgasm (hard to prove)
- first faked orgasm (is proof even necessary?)
- first obscene phone call to a female chief executive of a phone company
- first soccer game
- first royal flush
- first to install Windows 2000
- Fastest lap of the test ring in Gran Turismo
- eat the first pizza
- the first to watch Casablanca

Others that were discarded as too many others will be claiming them include:
- first kiss
- first chunder
- first pint of beer drank
- first pint of chunder drank
- first to kiss a pint of chunder
- first to chunder whilst kissing someone who had just had a pint of beer

I will keep working on the list. I think I need to lobby the Guinness people to restart their book of records for the new millennium. Perhaps everyone in the world should be allowed to nominate one thing they can do first, and we all get our names in the Millennium book, compiled electronically over the web. All six billion of us can have a moment of glory for being here.

The people in Hawaii, being last to see the new day, will have to do things like:
- first to juggle five diesel powered chainsaws running a little rich whilst gargling a raw free-range egg and singing the Marseilles backwards out of tune whilst wearing the Watford away strip with matching soiled Liverpool underwear, cross-eyed, with broccoli in your ears, while standing on a pink morris oxford with unmatched mag wheels and fluffy dice.

As you can see, things are going to start getting a little desparate. Better get in early.
Did anyone of you folks actually see the eclipse? We saw artists impressions for days beforehand, then the eclipse from England, France, Turkey, Eqypt, India, Pakistan, and some little island. An Australian woman was interviewed who went to England just to see it (well, clouds in front of it).

Griffins unveil their millennium biscuit today, I have heard it is a mallowpuff with ecstasy in.
Phil Raffills continues as a National Party candidate for Roskill, despite having leukaemia.
A woman was acquitted of raping a boy. Sounds like it might have been completely fictitious but would it have been dismissed so easily if the genders were reversed?
Kiwifruit vines are now growing like weeds around Te Puke.
The trial of Scott Watson with the Ben & Olivia murder continues. Election stuff happened, nothing interesting.
Big fight in town on Saturday night, one seriously injured. There were about 20 people involved, none were NRL players.
A trial of an obsessive compulsive boarder that put industrial strength insecticide in the drinking water and nearly killed her landlady was abandoned, after it was pointed out the OCD sufferer was trying to kill germs.
An Anti-porn activist who was filmed paying for six lap-dances in what many would term "incredibly dedicated research" has been made to pay $6000 in costs to the company he sued for invading his privacy with the filming. He visited on 15 occasions. "Such commitment to the furthering of our countries morals is laudable" said Patricia Bartlett. "even if not particularly plausible" says everyone else.
It is becoming clear that student loans are driving students out of the country once qualified. I hope you feel guilty Jono (by the way, thanks for letting me know Steph is pregnant - not!)
Oh, yes, Thomas had an ear infection, Charles, and was a pretty unhappy chappy on Friday night. How I don't miss that sort of thing.