Birthday Eve, D Day Looms

Birthday week minor crisis. It's an annual event in my life. It just comes with my birthday. I don't know how to get rid of it but I just get this sad feeling about the fact another year has passed by. Regardless of the milestone I think it reminds you of those idealistic dreams you had as a 10 year old about how amazing your life would be when you were older. And what you thought you would have achieved by now. Back then you always wanted to be older. What happened to that? 

And so it looms. D day Is practically upon me. Or "B"day as it is better known to most. Like that moment just after you've finished consuming that amazing coffee or delicious piece of cake I dread its occurrence. It's presence fills me with a kind of dismal disappointed feeling. 

Birthdays are just no fun when there's this pressure for it to be such a good day. The best day! But it's just another day with a painfully present reminder that another year has run past and the next one is sprinting at you even faster, it's going for a personal best. 

Okay. I'll quit the complaining now. Four hours left of being twenty-one. Better soak it up!

First world problems!

I did get rather spoilt today on my birthday eve though! At work they had a some lovely cakes and a cute card and present for me. And one of my co-workers left me a cute note. But what really made my day was coming home to a gorgeous bunch of flowers on my desk that my wonderful mother organised for me. I think part of my birthday dread is tied into not getting to see my family tomorrow. It'll be my first birthday that I'll spend entirely away from my family. Definitely beings on a serious case of homesickness! So I'm just gonna postpone my birthday until next weekend when I get to see my family. 

Dread indeed.

Time Bomb

Gosh. It's practically Saturday an I'm barely ready for Tuesday to be over?! I feel like time is a ticking bomb right now and before I know it the remaining weeks of my folio preparation are going to be over and it's just going to all blow up in my face!

Colour United

So last week was the biggest day on anyone's AFL footy calendar. Especially if your team dominated the season enough to get through the finals and get their shot at premiership glory. This year the Hawks were pitted agains Fremantle. Hawthorn against Perth. Brown and yellow against the purple army that flooded into the most liveable city in the world. 

Being a Richmond supporter at the root of it all I was shattered when Carlton wiped us off the board back in the qualifying finals. You might not think I would be too fussed on the outcome of the grand final.

But as I sat in fed square watching on the big screen I was definitely a little more than vaguely invested in the birds taking out the title. The week before when they scraped through a close struggle with Geelong you may have enjoyed seeing me jump around and do a little dance when the final siren confirmed the hawks chance of contention the following week.

But with Hawthorn as a very close second team (and as I say this I hold up my thumb and index finger to show you just how close a second they are) I swapped my black for brown and donned a hawthorn jersey and scarf borrowed from my cousin to support the boys. And it makes me think how connected we are by the design of this. Whether its an official jersey or you've knitted your own scarf of your teams colours, we paint ourselves with this coding system that defines your interest. Instantly as you pass a total stranger the fact they are wearing the same colours almost invites a friendship, even if only momentarily. Side by side you cheer on your team, united in supporting your favourite side to a victory and when they do fall, commiseration together commences. And it's just such fun. To be united as strangers by a few stripes of colour.

Anyway, it was certainly an exciting occasion and an experience to be had in amongst the excitement of it all. Fed square was full of committed and passing by onlookers. i even manage to make friends with a cute little family that generously shared their umbrellas when it got a little drizzly. We were all very excited and relieved when the siren finally went with the hawks on top abd we rushed down to the MCG to go into the ground and soak up some of the atmosphere  passing a flood of purple people as we made our way. The atmosphere was amazing!

This year is the closest I've ever followed the AFL and I'm already missing the fact that there was no footy to watch this weekend! It's going to be a long off season!

Go Hawks!