Sorry it has been a couple days since our last post. We have just been busy...ha ya right. Actually we have just been lazy. First off I wanna say thank you for everyones prayers about my hamstring. I have sat out for two weeks and practiced full go tonight! Everything went well and I felt really good, so thank you. The next thing I want to do is give kind of a shout out to Jerry and his family. Some of you never got a chance to meet Joe (Jerry's dad) but you honestly couldnt imagine a better man. I can remember seeing Uncle Joe at games and everytime you talked to him you couldnt help but smile. The best part about Joe was that no matter what was going on in his life, if he was feeling bad or had other issues, you wouldnt be able to notice. He always had a smile on his face and took close care of his family. What an honor to say that Marcus and I had a chance for him to be a part of our lives! Our prayers go out to you Jerry and Lisa, along with the rest of the family. With all that being said, you can imagine how happy he is now that the pain is gone. Our prayers are with you guys...
Well I woke up this morning and turned on the broadcast...to hear the game. Yes you know the one we are talking about. I have to be honest. I CARE about a LOT of Huntington people. I mean I really do. Between Shives, Sheckler, Eames, Krista, Kock, Kendra, Gower, Mock, Logan, Alyssa, Chase, on and on, I really enjoy a lot of them. But I still have to say...I HATE Huntington lol. I mean I know hate is a strong word, but it seriously may not be strong enough. KJ always had a thing about Bethel, and I know everyone has this thing about Bethel...whatever. For Marc and me, HU is our rival. Which is strange since we both have so many friends that go to school there. I think its all the old timers who sit in the stands and dont have any clue about basketball but think they are all head coaches. Sure every place you go has bad fans, I mean I'm sure there are some Gracies right up there with the best of them. But ahhh losing to HU just puts me in a bad mood! We'll see where the rankings put us now, it might be REAL close whether or not we go to Branson. I hope so though, there really is nothing like the National Tournament in Branson. What an experience!
Alright ending this post I am going to do a top 10, well two top 10's. Things I miss and things I dont miss about home. So sit back, and enjoy. Yeah even you Huntington people too ;-)
THINGS I MISS ABOUT HOME (aka the US in general)
Receiving votes...television. I never watched too much as it is, but I do miss movies. I'm sick of having three channels and they all suck. If anyone needs to know about the cartoon Larry the Lawnmower I can explain in GREAT detail. It sucks, but I find myself watching about 2-3 episodes a day. I'm embarrassed.
Also receiving votes...girls that dont wear there pants/shorts/skirts above their belly buttons. Apparently its cool to wear your pants really really high. Umm yea not sexy...not sexy at all actually. I dont know who decided that it was 1983 in Perth, but they need to change that rule real quick!
10. Driving my car...and driving it on the RIGHT side of the road. Ha today Marcus drive a pickup truck, shifted gears left handed and everything. I was impressed.
9. Being near EVERYTHING. Sure there are a ton of things to do here, I mean there are 2 million plus people. Shopping malls, the beach, movie theatres, and entertainment all over. However everything is spread out about 30 miles. It's kinda crazy.
8. Basketball. I know I know, I'm playing basketball here. But I mean BASKETBALL! March madness is coming up and there is nothing like it. All these Aussies do is talk about cricket and rugby!
7. American sports in general! Seriously, I would probably even go for watching a soccer game at the moment. Ok maybe not that extreme but I need some baseball, football, and basketball in my life. Not cricket, rugby, and Aussie rules football (better known as smear the queer for lack of a better word).
6. American conversations. Its amazing how much you miss having a conversation with someone that actually knows what you are talking about. Sure there are similar things here, but you get the idea.
5. Variety of restaurants. There are a ton of different places to eat here, but a LOT of cafe's. I'm sure I havent found the best places yet so this will probably change at some point.
4. Paying 5 bucks or less for a meal! If I spend under 10 dollars I have got myself a deal. Everything here is expensive...from food to clothes. For example, I ate subway today. A footlong meal cost me 13 dollars. No 5 dollar footlongs here baby!
3. The comfortableness of knowing where I'm at. I decided to go down town yesterday because I really wanted to go to the library. As I walk in to the so call library (Ahmed the security guard told me it was this big building...apparently Ahmed didnt graduate primary schools because someone doesnt know North from South) I noticed that it was def NOT the library. It was museum that was closed. And somehow I MacGyvered my way into the locked building where I was about arrested and charged with breaking and entering. Thanks Ahmed! Real cool.
2. My friends. I dont exactly miss home but I miss my friends like craaaaaazy. Its nuts because you dont realize how important these things are until you dont have them at your side. I miss all of them like you wouldnt believe and I cant wait to see there faces in 6 months!
1. My family. Its tough being away but I know that God has us here for a reason. We think about our family a lot...and its tough when you can be there for things like what happened to Joe. You almost feel useless...But soon enough! No worries mom :-)
THINGS I DO NOT MISS ABOUT HOME
10. Working...ha. No not working, but I wouldnt have the chance to play basketball as a profession if I was home. Not exactly what you would call NBA material so, the international basketball is fine with me!
9. The cold. It was cold here the other day...it was 78. Yes 78 is freezing. I laughed at a bunch of ladies in think sweaters walking along the beach. I'm sittin here sun bathing and it feels like winter to them haha.
8. The snow. This goes along with the cold but snow is boring after Christmas and New years. Just bring on spring already.
7. People who are rude. Seriously, everyone is nice here. I feel like it is a huge Grace College. No one is angry. I think Americans need to come take vacations here and check out Perth. People are almost too nice.
6. Paying for healthcare. Its sweet over here. The team will take care of us if we get hurt, and there seem to be no extra costs. Go figure first time I get sick or hurt I'll probably be sent home on a boat. Lets hope not!
5 thru 2. The business. Everyone is go go go, and I felt like the last 4 months in Bloomington I was on such a tight schedule to get everything in. It's almost like I didnt even have time for myself. I remember in Bloomington I was pumped when I was able to rent a movie and just sit down alone in my apartment to watch it. I was ALWAYS working, lifting, running, with friends, going out, on and on. My Christian walk has been the best it has been in a while here, and that is because I make that a priority instead of those other things.
1. My cell phone. Ha I know, terrible number one right? Ok I miss the simple things like getting a text from a friend, or being able to just pick up the phone and make a call to anyone. But it has almost become a necessity for us to carry around our cell phones. It's like we are naked without them. Seriously, leave your phone at home one day and see if you actually can go throughout the entire day and not seriously wish you had it with you. I have been forced to live without it and I really dont miss it that much!
Alright this is long enough (thats what she said!) ha, I am the funniest person I know. Time to bounce though, hope everyone is doing well and miss you guys! Outdoor movie theatre tomorrow! Marley and Me, I heard it was a good one. And yes I'm actually bringing friends this time haha!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Pilot and Lancers Unite? Can it be possible?
So today was an interesting day to say the least. We scheduled our weekend plans and got set. Coach called and said that everything with the team is a go, now just finalizing paperwork. Sunday we have a camp that we have to put on for about 75 younger kids, then scrimmage afterward. After lunch today we got a long expected visitor. Natalie Young (former Bethel Pilot standout) came to our place today. She plays for Lakeside which is another team in the same league that we are in. She arrived a couple days after we did, but she hadnt even seen the ocean yet. So we decided we would take her. Conversations were really easy and we had a blast. She is absolutely hilarious and I'm not sure why we havent met before. She graduated with IWU forward Landon Adler at Adam Central, who played with Marcus and I in China. The weather today was HOT as you can probably imagine (100 degrees) for the 2nd straight day. Unfortunately I got burned so sleeping might not be easy tonight. As we are getting to the beach Marcus and Natalie go and get a spot while I went to change. Before I walk in I got attacked by a huge spider web. Stepping back and moving the web out of my face I look up...I was staring in the face of the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen. And this is by no way an exaggeration. It was probably about 4-5 inches from head to rear, and was camo looking with white and black spots. Just like the stingray, my body was jumping faster than when dad saw Jaws in movie theatres!
After the beach and waves, we bounced and decided to check out Natalies place. The family she is staying with has an AWESOME house. She lives in the pool house where you can play ping pong, pool, video game it, or go outside for a quick swim. Plus they have a half court basketball area which is really nice. The family has two kids...a 16 yr old boy and a 13 year old girl. I really dont remember their names so I made up a name for both of them and called them by it the rest of the night. I called the boy Dougie because he reminded me of the character off 50 First Dates. He is only 16 and I think he takes steroids. Plus he talks like that guy on the movie, crackin me up. He had a dance last night and came back at like 2 am drunk apparentally. Hmm? I guess this drinking thing is NOT a big deal here like it is in the states. Kind of sad actually. Anyway, I called the girl Alyce just because I like that name. I think her real name is Megan though. They are great though. I tought Dougie a few things about baseball and showed him how to throw a curveball. His is actually a lot better than mine now! He then decided to show me how to play cricket. You stand back and throw it to a batter just like in baseball, only difference is that you bounce the ball...then hit it. And you can hit it in any direction. Plus you score like 200-300 runs a game. Yeah real strange right? So the first pitch he throws, that little punk says, "I'll show you the bounce curve first." Bounce curve my ace! Damn thing hit me in the shin! I dropped immediately! After telling myself I wasnt going to go out by a 16 year old, I shook it off and put a DISPLAY on his butt! Bounce or no bounce, I was putting this cricket ball outta the yard! For all of those who were wondering, cricket is the worst game ever invented. And it can last 5 days. No...I'm serious. Matches can actually last 5 days long! I'd rather go out to a nice sit down breakfast with Coach Paul Patterson...ok maybe not haha.
After whoopin up on 16 yards olds (mom would be so proud) the kids decided they wanted to take us squid fishing! A little skeptical at first we arrived at a pier about 10 oclock at night. To my surprise the pier was packed out, probably around 100 people fishing. We didnt catch anything but it was easily the coolest thing we have done so far. A neat experience...and no worries, Natalie took plenty of pictures so I'll be sure to put them up for everyone. Well it's getting late and I'm gonna crash.
P.S. the guy import on Natalie's Lakeside mens team got in his car, and crashed it RIGHT AWAY! Driving on the left side of the road isnt as easy as it sounds! Ok so a friend of mine told me a joke...and it is terrible ha but sorta funny. What did the gardener name his two sons? Jose and Hose B. Haha peace!
After the beach and waves, we bounced and decided to check out Natalies place. The family she is staying with has an AWESOME house. She lives in the pool house where you can play ping pong, pool, video game it, or go outside for a quick swim. Plus they have a half court basketball area which is really nice. The family has two kids...a 16 yr old boy and a 13 year old girl. I really dont remember their names so I made up a name for both of them and called them by it the rest of the night. I called the boy Dougie because he reminded me of the character off 50 First Dates. He is only 16 and I think he takes steroids. Plus he talks like that guy on the movie, crackin me up. He had a dance last night and came back at like 2 am drunk apparentally. Hmm? I guess this drinking thing is NOT a big deal here like it is in the states. Kind of sad actually. Anyway, I called the girl Alyce just because I like that name. I think her real name is Megan though. They are great though. I tought Dougie a few things about baseball and showed him how to throw a curveball. His is actually a lot better than mine now! He then decided to show me how to play cricket. You stand back and throw it to a batter just like in baseball, only difference is that you bounce the ball...then hit it. And you can hit it in any direction. Plus you score like 200-300 runs a game. Yeah real strange right? So the first pitch he throws, that little punk says, "I'll show you the bounce curve first." Bounce curve my ace! Damn thing hit me in the shin! I dropped immediately! After telling myself I wasnt going to go out by a 16 year old, I shook it off and put a DISPLAY on his butt! Bounce or no bounce, I was putting this cricket ball outta the yard! For all of those who were wondering, cricket is the worst game ever invented. And it can last 5 days. No...I'm serious. Matches can actually last 5 days long! I'd rather go out to a nice sit down breakfast with Coach Paul Patterson...ok maybe not haha.
After whoopin up on 16 yards olds (mom would be so proud) the kids decided they wanted to take us squid fishing! A little skeptical at first we arrived at a pier about 10 oclock at night. To my surprise the pier was packed out, probably around 100 people fishing. We didnt catch anything but it was easily the coolest thing we have done so far. A neat experience...and no worries, Natalie took plenty of pictures so I'll be sure to put them up for everyone. Well it's getting late and I'm gonna crash.
P.S. the guy import on Natalie's Lakeside mens team got in his car, and crashed it RIGHT AWAY! Driving on the left side of the road isnt as easy as it sounds! Ok so a friend of mine told me a joke...and it is terrible ha but sorta funny. What did the gardener name his two sons? Jose and Hose B. Haha peace!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Water so clear you can see to the bottom...hundred thousand dollar cars AINT nobody got 'em!
So of you may have heared the title of this post from Will Smith's song Miami. Only his goes, "water so clear you can see to the bottom, hundred thousand dollar cars everybody got 'em." This place is somewhat funny because it is a "rich area" because of the mining and ocean area. But everyone drives camry's and pedophile vans haha. I'm waiting for someone in a white van to roll down their window and as me if I want some candy! For as nice as the houses are and stuff you would think people would be driving mercedes, jags, and bmw's but I guess they dont care about that. Yesterday was more than eventful. Here's what took place...
10 AM
I wake up (a little before this actually) to another beautiful day of sunshine. And ANOTHER day of Marcus and Julia talking on the computer! I'm starting to realize that it's a good thing we didnt get a phone for overseas, otherwise they would both be broke! Or at least both sets of paretns would be. As much as I love sitting there listening too, "haha ur so cute...no, you are! haha you stop it. I miss you...aww but not as much as I miss you. (giggle) You complete me (finger pointed at the computer then to the heart)" I decided to take this party elsewhere. What do you know, beach time!
11 AM
Decided to go for a swim and read a book. This seems to be feeling more like a 7 month vacation everyday hha. I went on a short jog to the ocean and found a spot between two coral areas. The cool thing was I was the only one in the area, so I decided to lay out completely naked to get rid of any tan lines...haha yeah right. Just kidding. I spent some time reading "The Shack" that my buddy Mikey gave me. What a good book. If you havent read it I recommend it. I am about halfway through and I will probably finish it in a couple days because it's so interesting. A man's little girl is taken on a family vacation and brutally murdered in a shack in the Oregon wilderness. However years later he gets a "note" from God that brings him back to the place where all his nightmares are. I am about halfway through but it is an interesting book on faith and dealing with tragedy. After reading a chapter or two I decided to work my hamstring out in the water. The water is sooo clear, well you can see to the bottom. I found myself chasing after small fish underneath me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of a ton of bigger fish! As I approached within about 3 or 4 feet from them, the sand shifted and the area took off. They werent a lot of fish at all, it was one BIG one. A stingray to be exact. He glided away as I saw his tail follow behind. No I didnt not watch in amazement. Lets just say Michael Phelps might have lost in a swimming contest this day! I was back on the sand in about 7 seconds! I almost pissed in my board shorts! Oh well, at least I havent encountered Jelly Fish yet!
3 PM Some of the people picked us from the church and took us downtown in the city. I got to take a lot of cool pictures and will add them as much as I can. We needed to get a new phone while we are here so we thought today would be the day. Seeing as, we dont have practice...hmm imagine that! We went to the outdoor mall which was sweet. After that we walked to the river and saw the best sight in Perth! The river walkway is unbelievable. Everything is so clean and nice. They have a large ferris wheel that sits on the river to overlook the city area. They are also setting up for the arts festival that is a big deal here in the city. They have independent movies, and a lot of artistic world from all over the world. Nikki would be in heaven here. I actually went to a movie where you sit on the grass. It is like a drive in theatre but without the cars. And yes I did go by myself because I have lots of friends and apparently am very interesting :-/ haha. But it was a cool experience. If you have seen the Wedding Planner, it was a lot like the movie they watch in the park. We got to see "The Bell Tower" which is nothing special but it is supposed to be a big deal here. I think the bells are from London and they show the connection of Australia with England. I honestly could be making that up but hey that's what will make me a great teacher! It's not what you know, its how well you can convince your kids to believe what you are saying! haha That's terrible and not true. Hopefully Dr. Gaerte isnt reading this blog lol. We then visited a sweet place. It was an Indian restaurant named Annalakshmi. It's a vegatarian place that sits on the river. The catch is that you pay them whatever you feel the meal should cost. They ask for at least a 1 dollar donation but the rest is up to you! How cool is that! Needless to say guess where we ate? Ha nope we ate at McDonalds! Shoot vegatarian? Good one! But I'll try it soon enough!
7PM
Marcus went home to chat with his better half, and I decided to pub it with some of the people. I always enjoy meeting new people and drinking is almost like a cultural thing here, a lot like Europe might be. The age limit is 18 and it's not uncommon for most of the kids to start earlier than that. It's a lot different here tho. It seems to be MUCH more casual than party scene. However, talk about expensive! Wow, I got a pint of beer and it cost me 9 dollars, my identification, my left hand, 3 toes, and an internal organ of my choosing. I gave one of my kidneys because they arent good anyway haha. Seriously tho, 9 dollars for uno drink. Probably will stick to water and juice most of the time here!
10PM
This is my favorite time of the day. I usually walk down to the beach and just relax, listening to the waves and watching the moonlight bounce off the coral rocks and sand. It's the most relaxed I have been in a long long time. It is probably the place where I feel the closest to God as well. Tonight my prayers went out to a few people in general. First off to Jerry and his parents. I know they are having a tough time and it's not easy to experience that. I know how hard dad took it when Gramps Moore passed away. Another prayer went out to the Slavicek family and Conner and Kennedy's Grandpa. He is a good man and I pray that everything will turn out ok. I also pray for my teammates. No...not my wolves, but My "teammates!" I pray for Kais, Gaff, Mike, KJ, Winks, Eaks, Swanny, Plums, Hughie, Briggs, Sheck, Shives, Drake, and on and on. I miss those guys a lot and basketball isnt the same without THEM. Alright I suppose I will wrap this up. I pray quite a bit but dont have enough space to share them all! Miss everyone more than you can imagine.
P.S. I realized that even though I live in Australia, I'm American baby! And I dont feel that's changing anytime soon! By the way, what do you call two guys hanging out on the wall? Kurt & Rod haha. I need to find a new joke. Later
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Typical Day
So we are starting to get more familiar with everything here. Church yesterday was good, it was in Subiaco which is just west of the city, a couple blocks from the ocean. It's cool cuz everything is along the coast here. Up north is Joondalup, which is where we have practice and our stadium for Wannaroo is. 10 minutes south of that is Trigg Beach, where we are staying. 10 minutes south of Trigg is the main city of Perth, and the massive lake and river that it sits on. Then Subiaco is just a bit west of that. So everything is a little spread out, but easy to get around on. Marcus did go to church yesterday morning because he felt sick, so I went with another guy. It was a typical church service with worshipping at the beginning, we had communion, then the sermon. The main pastor is actually from the US and he was very excited that we were here and wants to help get us involved as much as possible at the church. With all of our free time it should be a good situation. They want us to lead some basketball programs and get the church started in some leagues for the young kids. I was talking to Kaiser the other day as well as Didion, and I told them it kinda feels like Lancer Camp (just on the ocean lol & of course without the legend Coach). We practice 2 days a week and then I have the opportunity to coach some younger kids teams at our same facility. Looking forward to it actually! Also I think I might get a job at a fitness center or something, just to add some more stuff to the list. Right now it's mostly beach, practice, beach, church, beach, downtown, beach. I'm sure that looks pleasing to anyone but I have a feeling that after 6 months from now the beach might not be something I do everyday.
It's nice to talk to people back home. Anyone who can get a webcam and get skype would be great. It's a neat way to talk to people. Otherwise email seems to be working just fine! We are staying in the beach house until the end of March, then probably changing scenery. You know me, I dont like to stay in one place too long...which could be good or bad depending how you look at it. Last night we went to the youth group but its quite a bit different than back home. The youth group here consists of people ages 17 all the way up to 28. So much older than you would think. A lot more creepers here! ha just messin. We worshipped a little bit, and then got introduced to all the youth group (probably about 20 or 30 in all). Most of them were my age. One of the girls who picked us up from the airport (Desiree) picked us up along the way and brought us. I feel bad because she always seems to take us places when we need to or when we dont want to wait for the train. Anyway, I met her sister last night (Cheryl) who is a 7th grade teacher. Since we both have education degrees we talked for quite a while. They are from Sri Lanka which is interesting, and it was neat to learn about education in Australia. Much different than in the US. We also met a guy at the professional basketball game the other day from the US. The main professional team over here is the NBL which is like our NBA, just not as good. The league we play in is the feeder league into that, which is like our D-League.
They had a game the other day and our head coach is also the assistant coach for the Wildcat team. We got tickets and met the players along with the coach. We toured the locker room and even got invited to continue practicing with the team the rest of the year. Anyway, the American we met sat right beside us at the game and he has been here since December. He is 26 and just packed up his things to travel. Definitely my kind of guy and it was good to chat with another person from the states. He went to school in Oregon. Not sure how long he is planning on staying but he should be fun to hang out with. Another person we met plays on one of the other teams in our league. We have been working out with him and he's pretty good. His name is Jacob and he is looking to go to a college in the states. I think we will def be able to help him out, plus he could be a big time player in our league. He's only 19 and has All-American status all over him, he just doesnt have game film or contacts in the US so he's not known. This Australia thing might work out for more than what I planned on! Maybe this is a good recruiting place ;-)
Well that's about it, I will continue to add as many pictures as we can. P.S. did anyone see the crazy lady who missed her flight in Hong Kong? If you havent then youtube it. Talk about nuts! For those of you who werent there, it is similar to how mom reacted when I got on the plane to leave Chicago. No worries mom, be back in about 215 days or so! P.S.S. My skin was becoming a nice bronze color, well as bronze as a Moore can get. However, I decided to try my luck at body surfing yesterday but accidentally fell asleep on the beach for, I dont know 2 HOURS! Lets just say the front part of my body looks nothing like my backside. If you look at me sideways you can see a nice line. Let me tell you how sexy that looks! :-)
It's nice to talk to people back home. Anyone who can get a webcam and get skype would be great. It's a neat way to talk to people. Otherwise email seems to be working just fine! We are staying in the beach house until the end of March, then probably changing scenery. You know me, I dont like to stay in one place too long...which could be good or bad depending how you look at it. Last night we went to the youth group but its quite a bit different than back home. The youth group here consists of people ages 17 all the way up to 28. So much older than you would think. A lot more creepers here! ha just messin. We worshipped a little bit, and then got introduced to all the youth group (probably about 20 or 30 in all). Most of them were my age. One of the girls who picked us up from the airport (Desiree) picked us up along the way and brought us. I feel bad because she always seems to take us places when we need to or when we dont want to wait for the train. Anyway, I met her sister last night (Cheryl) who is a 7th grade teacher. Since we both have education degrees we talked for quite a while. They are from Sri Lanka which is interesting, and it was neat to learn about education in Australia. Much different than in the US. We also met a guy at the professional basketball game the other day from the US. The main professional team over here is the NBL which is like our NBA, just not as good. The league we play in is the feeder league into that, which is like our D-League.
They had a game the other day and our head coach is also the assistant coach for the Wildcat team. We got tickets and met the players along with the coach. We toured the locker room and even got invited to continue practicing with the team the rest of the year. Anyway, the American we met sat right beside us at the game and he has been here since December. He is 26 and just packed up his things to travel. Definitely my kind of guy and it was good to chat with another person from the states. He went to school in Oregon. Not sure how long he is planning on staying but he should be fun to hang out with. Another person we met plays on one of the other teams in our league. We have been working out with him and he's pretty good. His name is Jacob and he is looking to go to a college in the states. I think we will def be able to help him out, plus he could be a big time player in our league. He's only 19 and has All-American status all over him, he just doesnt have game film or contacts in the US so he's not known. This Australia thing might work out for more than what I planned on! Maybe this is a good recruiting place ;-)
Well that's about it, I will continue to add as many pictures as we can. P.S. did anyone see the crazy lady who missed her flight in Hong Kong? If you havent then youtube it. Talk about nuts! For those of you who werent there, it is similar to how mom reacted when I got on the plane to leave Chicago. No worries mom, be back in about 215 days or so! P.S.S. My skin was becoming a nice bronze color, well as bronze as a Moore can get. However, I decided to try my luck at body surfing yesterday but accidentally fell asleep on the beach for, I dont know 2 HOURS! Lets just say the front part of my body looks nothing like my backside. If you look at me sideways you can see a nice line. Let me tell you how sexy that looks! :-)
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