Monday Night

I haven’t written here in a while. So here’s a quick update:

- Still very into the World Cup, still despairing at the US coverage of it. This was not helped by texts at the weekend telling me what the mighty Beeb was doing. All I can say is hurray for Five Live.

- Delighted at the progress of the Ukraine. The boys from Kiev* did indeed qualify and progressed through to quarter finals after penalities today. I didn’t predict them to go further than that so that’s enough now chaps, if you could see your way clear to get beaten by the Italians I would be most grateful. Predictions are a great way to make me care about every match.

- I wish I could be delighted at the progress of England, well I am (probably confusing it with amazement). I wish they wouldn’t make it so painful on themselves. Oh come on, you know it’s more exciting when England are still in. I hate it when people will a home nation to lose.

- I am enjoying being mosquito bite free. Yes!

- I learnt how to throw an American football at the weekend. I’m hoping I can transfer this skill to a rugby ball, a skill I never managed to learn despite working with Nicky for the best part of a year and getting it thrown at me approx. 5 times a day.

- This however has resulted in me straining a (must be) much underused muscle in my hand, making it hard for my little finger to hit return.

- I totally embarrassed myself in the swimming pool when I was challenged to swim a length/as far as I could under water. Thankfully I pre-empted my challenge with predicting where I would get to which turned out to be spot on. I put my inability to go any decent distance down to my deep deep hate of water up my nose and around my eyes. Let’s not forgot I was on the Grammar Swimming Team. Alright so it was first year, but still! I am so an athlete!

- It poured from the heavens today. It’s funny here, people are actually glad when it rains, the weather people, sorry meteorologists usually refer to it as ‘much needed rain’. I am still in NI mode, rain is depressing.

*Other Ukrainian towns are available…I’m sure.

The new great scent, eau de bug spray

So help the next person who tells me I have sweet Irish blood when they see my bug bites. I hate that. Really I do. It has nothing to do with it. I think the reason why I react the way I do because I’m not used to it, my body hasn’t spent years building up resistance to them. I might also have some sort of mid allergy or something. But, even though I have no medical qualifications, I highly doubt it is because of my ‘sweet Irish blood’. Like the mosquitoes can tell that before they bite me. I think they think they are the first person to tell me that when they say it which results in my having to do my fake laugh as if this was the first time I heard it (which even then, wasn't that funny).

I’d take a photo of a bite for you, but in the interests of taste and decency I’ll just tell you that they are red and are about the size of circle your thumb and fore finger make. They also itch like almighty.

Oh woe is me.

Is today Saturday?

Crazyness! A Saturday post! Has the world gone mad?! I just thought I'd take the opportunity to write a wee update.

-Had probably the most stressful week so far. It all kicked off on Wednesday and it was one of those times when you don't know what to do first. But yadda yadda yadda, boring for you to hear.
-Maggie and I went to the Lake, yes I am aware we live at the lake but this was a different lake with a beach. Very nice, very hot. It actually made me miss camp. Oh to spend a summer swimming in a lake. Well, miss it except for the mosquitoes.
-Which reminds, the bites have healed. Must try harder to avoid more bites. They ruin the tan.
-Doing surprisingly well in the Fantasy team league, although I had to change my team a bit after the first games. I have managed to stick with Ruth (a major success, she is a true footballing knowledge) and am kicking Nicky's butt (not Nicky Butt...he's not playing...never mind).
-Made June's playlist and realised just how country I have become. Let me give you the tracklist so you can agree:

Standing Outside the Fire - Garth Brooks (classic!)
What Hurts the Most - Rascal Flatts
Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts
Life is Highway - Rascal Flatts (from the new Pixar film 'Cars', very good, aren't they all)
Breathe - Faith Hill

I think Rascal Flatts are my favourite country group. However, I find the fact that I have a favourite country group slighty disturbing.

But providing me with a small glimmer of hope that things are not all that bad, also making an appearance on the playlist are:

Never Went to Church - The Streets (see my previous appreciation for The Streets)
Rooftops - Lostprophets (you can't help but sing this at the top of your voice)
Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (amazing song)
Three Lions - Baddiel & Skinner and the Lightning Seeds (well you've got to, the World Cup is on!)

Only three weeks to til I leave for the conference now. Time is a-ticking.

It’s only going to get worse

I got my first bites of the summer. Ten of them to be exact. I hate mosquitoes. They are only on my right side because of the protection of the citronella thing guarding my left side.

I think I may have shown a bit too much faith in Ukraine qualifying for the next round. 4-0 to Spain. Oh dear. I watched the second of the Tunisia-Saudi Arabia game at lunch time today. I had Tunisia winning that. Dammit. Incidently the American commentators called it Tunisya. Also I’m fairly sure that Paraguay is not pronounced with a ‘k’ sound.

Other things annoying about ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup.
-They list match results W-L-T not W-D-L throwing off any quick glance at a table. And it’s a draw, not a tie!
-They talk about goals being points. No really they do. Points are the result of the match, three for a win, one for a draw, not what you score in a match.
-Adverts and telling us who the programme is presented by.

So in conclusion the presenter might say something like this:

(Imagine a loud American cheesey voice) ‘Welcome to the FIFA Soccer World Cup presented by A-dee-das. Today’s game is Parakauy versus Tunisya. Parakuay have got to score a few points in this game, a tie isn't enough for them. And later we have an interview with England’s Michael Beckham. But we’ll be back after the commercials.'

I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much, at least now I can watch the games in English.

We’re on the slippery slope towards the conference, time is running out and we have an awful lot of work to do. That boring for you to hear, but it goes some to explaining why my blogs might be MIA (missing in action) over the next few weeks. I’ll do my best to carry on writing at home but sometimes life stuff gets in the way.

Come on Ukraine! You can do it, you can still qualify!!

The Soccer World Cup

I think it’s fair to say that most, if not all Americans know nothing about football and I am in the unique position, for the first time in my life, as being regarded as a footballing knowledge. Now, don’t get me wrong, I keep up an interest in the game, but I will be the first to admit I actually know comparatively very little. I like to watch the FA Cup, and could probably tell you who won the Premiership for the past few seasons. But as for watching Match of the Day religiously, no, not so much. However when it comes to the short sharp tournament, count me in. Add to that the national event aspect and I am so there!

So I’m quite enjoying the World Cup thus far. I have seen loads of games, despite the kick off times here (9.00am, 12.00pm and 3.00pm). I have downloaded podcasts from Five Live and I have made my predications on who will beat who. It’s kind of a competition with the people in Greenville. I hoping I won’t let down my European heritage by coming last in that.

But back to my point, Americans know nothing about football. I was watching David Letterman last week, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Anyway in his little stand up bit he said, and I quote, ‘later this week the soccer World Cup starts, it’s on every six years…’. Every one of the 5.75 billion people in the rest of the world know it’s every four years. And in what other country, with a team in the finals I might add, needed to be reminded that it started last week? And where else but America do they have to define the World Cup as being soccer? During the England game there were some remarkable statements made during the commentary. England were referred to as ‘Germany’ and he actually called the captain ‘Michael Beckham’. That’s when the first tear slowly fell from my face.

The coverage here really isn’t that far away from that piss take (at least I thought it was a piss take) of an advert that we had when Budweiser took over sponsorship of the Premiership. Sorry the ‘Premiere League’.

I suppose I should just be glad they run the full 45 minutes without an advert. I do miss the punditry at half time though, no diabolical defending here.