When I was Twenty Years Old

When I was Twenty Years Old I made one of the best decisions of my life. As Anna and I married at St Mary's Church in Waverley in Sydney. A 'quirky fact' not well known is that this is where the wedding scene in the 1994 film Muriel’s Wedding was filmed.

This church St Mary's is a few kilometres from the finest beaches in Sydney and the stamping ground of my teenage years. We had lived in a 'great' house less than 5 minutes walk to Tamarama beach (better know as Glamorama beach - for the models and topless bathers that frequented the place)

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Rev Terrence Dicks presided over our ceremony, I've since learnt that the very youthful looking Rev Terry became a quadriplegic only three years ago from a surfing accident. With him by my side I remember how I glanced nervously down the aisle as 'Here comes the bride' played on the 31st of March 1979.

Anna and I had first met when we both were in High School she was at Petersham Girls School and I was at Newington College. Our initial meeting was memorable and a story in itself, of course our versions aren't exactly the same. The fact that I even that I bothered to call her back (which astounded my mates) as they wondered who was this girl? that I playfully had told them that her name is "Margo' to play a little trick on them.

Here we are thirty years later plus Nathan, Amber and Jeremy. Hey I realised that I've been married longer than I have been single and with Anna for most of my life, Those of you that know me will agree what a great decision !

As you would expect Anna has changed me in many ways, at first she inspired me to study hard and my goal became to stop playing sports - giving up my beloved rugby and a chance for glory in the top teams to study. For the first time in my life I focused on my books and my undergraduate and masters degrees would never have been attained without her positive influence.

The international experience that I have as a career I would also attribute to Anna who asked me one day wouldn't it be great if you had a opportunity to live and work overseas?

So let me say a first words about my babe (Anna). First of all Happy Anniversary - Anna is a very easy person to love, she is the most kind, giving and thoughtful person that I've ever met. If Anna was a rock she would be a 'diamond', she has natural brillant side to her and at the same time her industrial side (when she chooses to apply) can cut through any problem to get things resolved.

Anna has a great eye as those of you that know us and have seen Anna's collections (shoes, clothes, furniture, art etc). She loves her kids and family dearly. For many of our friends I know that she adopts you as a 'family' member whenever you are around her.

Together we have travelled the world and met many great friends.I look forward to the next 30 years of love, life experiences and amazing food with you - Anna.

What is important?

Last year I fulfilled a long wish that is to buy a 'toy' car. When we were in Shanghai we had a 'Driver' (Fen) which was wonderful for those late night parties and dinners when you never had to worry about drinking and driving. Our trusty Honda < took us to many cities in China. Later when we moved to HongKong we leased through the company scheme a Volkswagen (a great car with oomph) all was missing was the Audi A4 badges and Fen to drive us. What we did lack however was many places in HK to drive to except the Airport or Clear Water Bay Golf Course. So that vehicle spent more days in the garage than on the road. Fast forward to our time in Kobe and the standard issue Toyota Harrier (Lexus) 4 Wheel Drive was just great with a amazing GPS Navigation system and TV (all in Japanese of course)



For me arriving in the USA meant a chance to really select the car that I wanted rather than from a short-list of cars. The opportunity to drive a sporty BMW 328 was too much of me to deny and that was my choice. For Anna after much deliberation about the planet and focus on the Toyota Prius, with the lack of stock of that vehicle she adjusted her focus ever so slightly to purchase a Mercedes C300.

Now after a year these are just cars....they get us from A to B. We have used the cars to take us to Chicago (the city) and also to the countryside to see Chicago (the band).

But to the real point of this story - what is important?

I've learnt that gas mileage is quite important as we have seen in the past year at the petrol pump. Seat Warmers in the cold of Indy are also quite handy. The All-Wheel drive transmissions that our cars have has proved useful when the roads are slipping and sliding. And the split fold seats for carrying golf clubs and buggies has been an absolute godsend.



However what is really important - is that I'm over the idea of toy cars. I looked at my car the other day and said I have a 'BMW' - great !

So I started to wonder although Buddhism does not take issue with of material goods, it does find fault with people’s attachment to material goods. According to Buddhist theory only greed and desire for material items brings suffering,

Pacers take the Heat

Last night we watched Pacers play the Miami Heat. The game featured the Allstars Dwyane Wade, ex-Pacer Jermaine O'neal and 2008 2nd Draft pick Michael Beasley up against Danny Granger with a bunch of rookies.

The game was won by the Pacers by 2 points and I was surprised how competitive the match was as it resembled an arm wrestle. Up until the final 1.3 seconds it was there to be won or loss and Dwyane Wade through up a 3 pointer that rimmed out.

I was also amazed at the extent of the hype and the parade of extras that proceeded through each quarter break and even during the timeouts. There were the obligatory trampoline dunking, cheer-girls and free t-shirts, balls etc projected into the crowd.

Desperado for Eagles

Tonight we went to see the Eagles. They did not disappoint their many fans and were just so professional and the quality of the music was amazing. From (Hotel California) when bell bottomed jeans, clogs and a silver belt were in fashion we fast forward to the Eagles with their most recent Long Road Out Of Eden album.

These guys have been clearly "Busy Being Fabulous" over a long period of time a (Long Run).
We so many good songs and memories I is truly hard not be cliched. So with restraint here goes

As a (New Kid in Town) Indy I clearly enjoyed this show as I've grown up with this music. Some of my favorite one-liners include:

"Desperado why don't you come to your senses."

"Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy."

"Four that wanna own me, Two that wanna stone me, One says she's a friend of mine,"

"On a dark desert highway Cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas Rising up thru the air "

"But he knows where she's goin' as she's leavin' She is headed for the cheatin' side of town"

The guys did alot of old and new material during the three hour performance. This included many songs from their solo careers.

STOMP

Last night went to experience STOMP - which is a dynamic combination of tap dance, percussion and comedy. Was unlike anything I've experienced and seemingly combined Street (urban), Calypso, African and Asian themes into the one performance.

The beauty of the show was in synchronised percussion using 'whatever' and I mean just that. From tins, pots, signs, cigarette packets, tire tubes to the kitchen sink was utilised for making a rhythmic tones.

As we had scored third row seats the impact of the drumming was felt to the core of our body. The STOMP crew had really great interaction with the audience and while they never spoke and limited their communications to their eyes, expressions, hand signals and grunts. A international language but they have everyone tapping, stomping and clapping in 30 different ways and patterns. STOMP out to see if you you get a chance.......