ANZAC DAY

Australian New Zealand Army Corps Day was friday
It's a national holiday and it's a BIG deal! Starting out all I knew about it was that everyone gets the day off and that a gambling game called 2-Up is played at all the RSL (return service league) clubs.
It's the only day of the year that it's legal to play so I had to check it out!
So I made my way to the local 'Diggers' (referring to men digging ditches at war) where I queued up to show ID and sign in as a guest. I then proceeded to walk around the place and learn the ropes while trying to look as tho I'm not gawking and/or sticking out like a sore thumb. (aka- American girl with out a clue) all I could figure out was that you got a drink and then joined a crowd of people outside where there was yelling, money being waved around in the air and passed between people while the attention seemed focused at the center of the circle which had some undetermineable action taking place that resulted in cheers or booing and more money passing.

Wha?!?! I had the brilliant idea to scout out a handsome fellow (because there were plenty!) strike up a convo and get the inside scoop ;) But... I didn't! And then my friends showed up and taught me the ropes. This is what I learned:

The holiday is actually quite celebrated by everyone (with more than just a party) there are dawn services everywhere, a big parade in the city, singing, flags and everyone posts "lest we forget" etc. Even most of the servicemen will go to Europe for Anzac Day sometime in their life because it's a big deal. No matter how many times I had it repeated (and even spelled) for the life of me I couldn't understand the name of the place/battle (their equivalent of D-day or Pearl Harbor. It's european) I have found over three months that although Americans and Australians both speak English, it is NOT the same language! Anyways- apparently Mel Gibson is in a movie about it that I will have to watch. (Since then and for this blog I found this site http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac-tradition/ and learned is Gallipoli)
So back to 2-up now:
The game is basically a coin toss. In the center of the circle a "spinner" (even I had a go) flips three coins at once and 2 out of 3 showing heads/tails wins it. The spinner always bets on heads and they have to 'hit' three times in a row to make any money. But it is 8 times their initial entry because it doubles on itself with each toss. Basically- I saw some bets get up to $400+ But most people (everyone around the circle) plays with smaller bills and it is toss for toss you either double your money or bust. If you wanna play you just hold your money above your head and holler what you're betting "ten for tails"  or "tweny-ed" (which is Aussie short for "20 head") and then you find someone else around you who is playing with the same bills (it's helpful each denomination is a different color) with the opposite wager. Then the flip happens and there you go. Everyone once and while everyone breaks into a chant "heads, heads, heads" or some song  "Olay, Olay..." I don't know why they did that! Maybe it still sounds confusing. This description and pics really can't capture it at all. Could be one of those things you say "you just had to be there" So may I recommend you experiencing an ANZAC day for yourself some day :) So glad that I did- in the end, it was very enlightening, quite a bit of fun and a very Aussie thing to do

"what's it gonna be....?"

this is a random part of the program where people
throw coins at the bucket (fundraising for the club)

The scene I walked up on, having NO IDEA what was goin on

Baby Steps

So I've settled in a bit down here. I've got my place dialed in. I know the "lay of the land" I have a little routine: Church sunday night, small group on tuesday night (pronounced choose-day) catering friday and/or saturday, and for the last three weeks I've been working M-Th and for the last week- going out for a morning surf at 6:15. YIKES! Hard to believe, but it's true- I'm converting to a morning person.
I've found it's practically a requirement down here because there's no sense being a night owl and starting the day late because nothing is open! Gone are the days of going to a coffee shop at 7pm to do some computer work. Heck, even starting at 2:00 is late because some places start closing at 4:30. There's only one night a week that shops (the mall) are open later. Overall it reminds me of being in Haiti, or a small town (I guess I've fully acclimated to San Diego's way of things) On top of that, my surfing girl friends all rave about the wind here in the arvo (aka- afternoon) and just swear that surfing is better in the mornings and that's why we haul ourselves down to the beach at 7:30 on a Saturday morning for a girls group paddle out. Well. Fine! Be that way! But it's not going to work with my night-owl tendencies, so I told myself I'd better switch over to being the early-bird. I used to do it for the fishing boats, so I know it's possible, and believe me- I have to remind myself of that every morning still when the alarm goes off and it's dark outside. But I must admit, I've enjoyed it.
shhhh
I almost can't believe I'm saying it. But yeah, to have a surf then come home to shower, make breakfast, read my bible, pack a lunch, maybe even start dinner in the crock pot and get out the door in a non-rushed-putting-my-make-up-on-on-the-way sort of manner is quite amazing! Of course, it helped that work didn't start until 10:00, but still. The previous Sara would have slept until 9:00 :S I certainly haven't fully arrived yet, because on saturday and sunday when my body woke up too early for the day's requirements I wasn't happy about it and just rolled over because I couldn't convince myself to get up so early with "nothing to do" (I'm pretty sure that's not how true morning people think!)
I'm not sure how long this trend will last, but I'm gonna keep "having a go" because a friend of mine has committed to 40 Days of Surfing and I've been joining in (except that I'm sick right now so I've allowed extra rest) I did 8 days in a row, which is probably a record (another thing to be proud of!) and I can really feel the difference in my surfing. It's only obvious really. I would have never settled for shooting hoops once a week back in my basketball days. But surfing is weird. One, because it feels more like a hobby than a sport. And two, because you can't really just practice like you would with most other sports. The whole sequence can happen so fast from paddle, take off and ride, to fall and recover that there are times I get back in position to wait for another wave and think "what happened on the last one?!?" and that's another thing- waiting! you can't just pick up the ball and try again. You're waiting for the next 'good' wave which could be awhile, and even then that wave is probably quite different from the last one so it's not just a repeat the exact thing and get the muscle memorization working. Despite all of these drawbacks, I'm still rather "keen" for it (which is a very Australian thing to say and means different variations of "interested" I guess) And my 'stoke' is renewed because just these last two sessions I've started to walk up my board :o I'm not to the point of hanging ten, or even five yet, but someday!! So for now, just as it was with finding my way in Sydney- with circadian rhythms and with surfing- BABY STEPS