Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sidetracked

It's funny what curveballs life will throw at you (or insert other clichéd comment about life). As a diehard Collingwood supporter, I was very nervous about Saturday past, only a win would ease my discomfort. From there, I had a win-win situation in front of me: if we won, I could bask in the glory whilst I previewed the UCI World Road Cycling Championships with a relaxed and happy outlook; if we lost, I could use the World Champs to distract myself from the pain.


As it happened, neither occurred (typical) so now I have to preview the races with no real information and without the chance of being able to get down to Geelong to watch a single race. Nevertheless, here is my best effort.


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

It's about time

I was very excited to read in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago that Robbie McEwen has signed on to the new Pegasus Racing/Fly V team for next year. Of course, one has to take this with a grain of salt as it is likely that he has a clause in his contract the stipulates he can bail if the team isn’t granted a ProTour license. Given the fact that CEO Chris White has yet to announce who the major sponsors of the team are, there is some speculation that the team may fall through. However, with the signing of McEwen virtually guaranteeing them a start in next year’s Tour de France and the fact that White plans to unveil the major sponsors for the team during or shortly after the World Championships later this month, the team is gathering momentum.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ain't Misbehavin'

As is the case this time of year, university has taken over my life, with mid-semester exams leaving me a slave to the desk. Thankfully, these are done and dusted so we can get onto the more important things in life.

Recently, Dad and I were watching the Ben Cousins' doco on his drug abuse problems. Afterwards, when discussing the saga, we were both struggling to work out why people are claiming that he's such a hero for beating his addiction. Also, we both agreed that it's unlikely that he's changed at all and still has the smug arrogance about him.

My dad is a psychology teacher and student counsellor at a public high school. It's clear that, at times, he is personally affected by what he's witnessed, particularly in relation to drug use. It's at this point I feel particularly humbled (being privately schooled and living in a high-income suburb) because the conditions that these students live in manifests this behaviour. Often, they live between divorced parents, experience abuse or mix with the wrong peers.