The Old man and the PE

Had a wee bit of a scare there when I got an email from my mother saying that pops had to go to the hospital "for a cough or something" and had to stay the night. That smelled enough of parental bullshit I gave my brother a call (where the folks were spending Christmas) for the real poop.

Apparently the Senior had "multiple pulmonary embolisms" and if you google that you will discover that a) their nasty f###ers and b) triggere by long flights.

This just a few days before they were supposed to hop on a plane and fly to Oz.

Well, a day or so later and it appears that he'll be just fine, except for the fact that he has to be on blood thinners for a long period of time and needs to spend a week going back and forth to a doctors office for preliminary treatment.

The main drug is something called Warafin, which some of you may recognise as a rat poison. (Too much and you'll bleed to death. Or forage in the garbage for scraps.)

So, good news that he's fine (and that a beer will now go a really long way now)

Bad news that he will have to delay his trip a week, missing the glorious Sydney Fireworks from the roof of my office building.

Better than the alternative though...

moving on up

Quite a day Thursday.

Amy and Lin both moved up a level in theit taekwon-do belts, Amy to the halfway point bewteen blue and red belt and Lin to the halfway point between red and brown.

Fortunately I can still outrun the both of them.

The same evening Charles was selected for a regional repesentative football (Soccer to you in North America) team, Hills United U14's. I've heard, subsequent to the trials and selection, that the team was only looking for two new players, so he's prett chuffed. Two friends that are in the Central Coast Mariners Academy with him also trialled and were cut, boosting his confidence (since he thought both of them were better than he was).

Of course that means I won't be coaching him this year, for the first time in quite a while, but I'm sure the level of coaching he gets this year will be better than I can offer.

He said WHAT?

More Aussie English to Canuck English translations

Big Bikkies: Means lots and lots of money as in "That guy just won the lotto. He got big bikkies now.

Boomer: Big male kangaroo (popular Chrismas song here in Oz -- Six White Boomers)

Old Cheese: Mum. (Sorry, old cheese)

Galah: It's actually a very loud and pretty bird, but if someone calls you a galah they're calling you loud and rude.

Cow Cocky: Calm down! We're just talking about a dairy farmer here. Sheesh.

Spit the dummy: lose your temper, as a child would when having a tantrum and spitting out their dummy (soother)

A few kangaroos loose in the top paddock: A few fries short of a happy meal

Verandah over the toy shop: Beer gut (I love this one!)



Study, boys and girls. There will be a test.