December Events

The Melbourne Hat tournament ended up being a lot of fun. I don't know if it quite lived up to the high expectations that were set, but we certainly had a good time. My team came in 5th, which is better than one can usually expect out of 24 teams. Michael's team didn't fare as well, but he had a decent time too. The fun thing about a hat tournament is you end up getting playing other teams that you have friends on, and we ended up seeing quite a few familiar faces.

This tournament also supplied a lot of meals, the best being breakfast on Sunday morning. Fried eggs cooked into toast with a side of bacon really hits the spot when you've burned a lot of calories and have a lot more to go. 

The Saturday of the tournament was very sunny. I always wear and reapply sunscreen, but this time it was such a long sunny day that I ended up sunburning a little of my scalp near my hairline, because who puts sunscreen in their hair. I learned my lesson; there's a reason Australians are known for wearing hats all the time. 

Switching gears, if you've watched the news lately, you've heard about the crazy siege that went down in Sydney yesterday and early this morning. Personally, I was affected very little by the ordeal, other than the fact that most parents picked their children up early from the center. Michael was downtown when everything happened, and was mildly inconvenienced. He wanted to workout at his gym but the gym was fairly close to Martin Place and was closed. He left work early and was unable to take his regular bus home, but was able to catch a train after a slight delay and work the rest of the day from home. 

Obviously it's sad that this happened, period. It hits close to home when it literally happens close to home, something many DC area natives like us faced during 911. My heart goes out to all who were affected and I am happy and proud of everyone involved with #illridewithyou. I would participate but my commute is not long enough to help anyone. It would be more like #i'llridewithyoutwobusstopsthenyoureonyourown. 

I noticed in my groupon email today that the Lindt Cafe (where everything went down) still has a deal right now available to buy. I wonder if the cafe will be able to bounce back from everything, or if they'll be shut for some time. 

Anyway, this time next week we'll be in Thailand. Hopefully the rest of the week will be smoother than the start.