Stefan Net

 
Uni Holidays approaching
As the uni holidays approach so does the promise of another update from Stefan. It is THIS close people THIS close. I can almost smell it! keep up the support on the tag board!
- posted by dale @ 6:28:00 PM

 
Lack of Postage
Due to insufficient postage from the Stefan half of this blog I have been left to fill the entertainment void. Unfortunatley I don't have anything of an entertaining nature to say, and hence I will be unable to fill the gap. Enjoy the rest of April folks - Not long till May now!
- posted by dale @ 3:01:00 PM

 
Bombers again don't win
Well, Stefan's favourite footy team, the bombers again succumbed to the might of another footy team, in the blues last night at the MCG. It was an exciting game for many, with the blue baggers staging a miraculous comeback in the final minutes - much to Stefan's dissapointment.

Keep posting on that tag board and Stefan will return very shortly with his wit, charm, intelligence and humor.
- posted by dale @ 1:29:00 PM

 
Bombers are Downers
The Essendon Footy Club has started the season in great fashion with a first up loss to the Deamons good work boys.

In other news Stefan continues to work at Big W and attend Flinders Uni - so life is certianally very exciting.

More news from the world of Stefan comming up soon - maybe even Stefan himself!
- posted by dale @ 7:13:00 PM

 
The Stefan Will Return
Due to overwhelming demand from the tag board - a total of two posts have been received thus far, one from SammyB and one from someone calling himself Marty, Stefan has announced that he will return to the Blogging community almost immediately.

I can assure all you fans out there that this is no communist plot to overthrow the world through Blogs, I am just one concerned citizen trying to make the world a more entertaining place by returning the exploits of one this meaty individual to prominence on the world wide web.

Stay tuned - Stefan Net will be back up and running before you know it!
- posted by dale @ 2:14:00 PM

 
Get Me 10 Milligrams of Stefan - Stat!
Well folks it appears that stefan has more than neglected this blogging institution - so it has been left to me to fill the void and push for his rentry to the blogging fraternity.

Now that Uni has gone back one would estimate that the meaty individual would have plenty of time on his hands to return to the fray - so what we need to do is petition the young man to return this site to the glory days of old.

Simply post your comments of support in the Tag Board and hopefully we'll have the blog up and running again very soon. So what are you waiting for? Tag!
- posted by dale @ 2:14:00 PM

 
No Old Priests Please
This blog is not dead nor am I. We two simply lay dormant during the peak academic season when I try to learn a semesters worth of academic program in about 1 week of swot vac. I have not been granted much blogging time due to the trials and tribulations that have taken grasp of me during the transition of learning to holiday modes. Now I am on holidays, and I will find myself with many a day free, I will be able to maintain this blog as it was back in the day of frequent posting. It was good to see Snowman holding up the blogging fraternity, doing his bit to keep the blogging dram alive. I also apologise for any misspelling in the upcoming blogs, but my brain has shut down for the holidays. Do not expect any coherent posts or correct spelling for about 4 months. This blog is now entering its 12 month of being up, and I am glad that there are many more visitors than what I had thought I would ever get.

So many things have happened in the two months since my last post, it is hard to list all of them. Many people have come and gone, and I have been busy with the usual: Work, Wrestling, Mates, the good old X-Box and the women of course! There are too many things going on, and my head is a crowded mess of everything. I am unable to separate things from what I have written and things that I haven’t, so I won’t confuse myself with trying to do it, simply putting down the new things that will happen in the not too distant future. Just to let all of you know, I am doing extraordinarily well, with many, if not all aspects of my life going great! I love what’s going on right now! I hope all of you find the same happiness that I do! Anyway I got to do plenty of things before I head to work in a couple of hours, so peace out!

-Stefan-
- posted by Stefan @ 2:17:00 PM

 
Rice Returns!
Finally I have found a spare moment to write an update. My life has stepped up a notch in terms of intensity in the past few weeks due only to the culmination of heaps of work at the end of the year. I done a lot in that time, gone to Bathurst, worked, studied, loved and lost, but with such a pace I was used to last year, but find foreign now. The ferocious pace has had my little time to sleep, of which I am feeling now, so that’s why I haven’t been able to blog. Also, as much as I would like to, I have been unable to even draw the files from my digital camera from Bathurst to let my family see, due to the amount, or lack thereof, that I have experienced lately. I am currently writing this at uni during my 1 hour off today, as Mr Burrows finishes his essay on the budgets and policies of the Commonwealth. I had only just finished that this morning, and unfortunately will have to assume the late penalty of 5% off for a late submission. This day is a busy one for me, but in an effort to control my circumstances, not to let them control me, I have taken the night off work to get some much needed R & R. It simply isn’t worth working to earn a measly $50 when I feel like I have sold my soul come Thursday morning. I am finding out the value of time right now also, with running around trying to solve problems plaguing Dolphin’s PC also taking up a lot of my time. With Omega Technologies in the city selling Nick a damn good computer at a significantly reduced price, there have been some issues, the main one being constant resetting. I have attempted to rectify the problem, but will inevitably have to seek specialist help if the problem persists. I can understand the frustration that the Dolphin family have. They have paid good money to receive a computer in good working order and no such delivery has been made. Its hard telling them that I’ll have to take it away for maintenance, and no definite time of return is available. It’s also hard for me to convey the technical aspects of the problems, which have left me nothing but dumbfound. Oh well she’ll be right.

Bring on the weekend I say. With my weekend starting Thursday, I plan to have a night out on the town with much revelry and tomfoolery being produced. For the weekend our family will be retreating to the holiday house down at Carakalinga for some seaside fun on one of the best, if not the best beaches in the known world. I going to and fro between there, work and home, and will be taking the rice mobile HKS Telstar down there Saturday making for some good times. The old girl had he wings clipped the past few weeks, and is now back to good old ultimate rice fashion, with the performance drift wing firmly back in place. Hopefully it’ll feature on Ausrotary.com again. My quest for a new car, namely the Turbocharged TX5, is still on track, but I need to come up with $2500, so if there’s anyone who wants to make a tax-free donation, feel free. Speaking of cars, Andy Lee has acquired an ex-import pristine AE92 Toyota Corolla Levin GTV for a good price, recently. The power of the 4AGE engine is being felt through the Big W car park, but there is nothing quite like the burble of a straight through exhaust, one of the first things needs

I have received word from many people overseas who read this site, namely people in the freaky Dutch capitol, Amsterdam, those damn Canadians and plenty of USA’ers and UKites. Good to hear that the site has some international recognition!

Anyway, gotta go to my tute now.

I’m Out
-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 11:23:00 AM

 
CSI: BIG W
The early shift on Friday started out like any other, breaking down the load of 20 something pallets into the relevant departments ready for filling by 7:30 by the crew that would enter at that time. Kris Mooney had returned from his stint up at the Elizabeth store on Thursday to take up the position that Nathan Pink had vacated and put my in charge of the back loading dock that night, a responsibility that I had never fully undertaken on my own before. Anyway, since 3:30, not much but the usual was happening, and at about 5pm I noticed the man across the road, burley and already looking somewhat incensed, load something into a waiting car. Under his arm was a six pack of VB, but I thought nothing of it, as I assumed he was just getting ready for the long weekend, of which I only heard of about 2 hours earlier. I took no other notice of this man and went back to doing my job. At about 7:30, one of my fellow fillers, Orran, was using the forklift to move a pallet from outside in. As he was doing so, he made an error that anyone could have and left the fork a little high when going under the roller door, morphing it out of shape. Although he and I futilely tried to bend it back in it was in vain, and Kris called roller door specialists aptly named “The Roller Door People. These people rocked up at about 10 to nine to do the job. Everything was normal until about 9 pm, at which time I was just coming off my break to relieve Rory Lusty who was looking after the dock until I returned from my break. I went out to the dock and heard a bit of shouting, but I just thought it was the guys from the roller door company just fooling around. I spotted Rory, and began to ask him what was going on in relation to the dock. He didn’t reply, his attention held by the men shouting. I saw one of the guys dart round Rory and I holding a crow bar and onto the shop floor, something a contractor fixing a door out the back usually isn’t allowed to do. The man from across the road that I had seen earlier chased after him with a cricket bat yelling obscenities and telling Rory and myself to “stay were we were” – with a few swear words mixed in for good measure. I just left the dock and walked just outside the door to the back aisle of the Manchester department. Rory wasn’t able to move since the seemingly rabid guy was yelling waving around a cricket bad was so close to him that he didn’t feel like moving was a good idea. As the guy with the crow bar ran further and further into the store, the man with the cricket bat chased after him, bleeding from the left arm.

At this point I had no idea what had gone on to provoke this, but I later found out that a whole palaver had occurred without my knowing. Since the guys were banging the door back into place, they were making a lot of noise. The guy across the road didn’t like the noise and came over with a cricket bat and told the guys to be quite. The replied that they were only doing their job, so the man punched one of them in the head. He avenged the blow by hitting him with the crow bar he was using across the arm, but then received a blow to the head with the bat. Then I walked in and saw what was going on.

Ok, so back to what was happening. So guy with the crow bar had run into the store down to the Cosmetics counter away from the raging psychopath with a bat, who by this time had followed the guy out onto the shop floor, but only as far as the junction out of the back loading dock. Jodie, one of the ladies that were refitting the Christmas section, was confronted by the guy with the bat, and she just backed away, not knowing what was going on. As she backed away, I could her people saying “someone call triple o”. Still swearing and shouting, the crazed guy asked us to “Get the F***ing manager.” When Kris saw this, he just turned around and called 000. The man paced around for a while, forcefully asking where the “man” (substitute any swear word in here and he probably said it) was and then turned back and headed towards me and the dock. I just backed away letting the guy walk past me, as I didn’t feel like being hit in the head with a cricket bat particularly much. Rory, still standing in the same position as from the start, was approached by the man waving around the bat, then he cracked it on the pallet racking, causing the bat to split in half, with a huge chunk flying off towards me. Rory ran out, but as he ran out, Lorraine, a forty something lady that works at the Home Entertainment counter was about to enter the dock, unwittingly putting herself into a dangerous and volatile situation. I told her to come with me and she had no idea what was going on. Emma, another girl from Home Entertainment was about to do the same thing, and I ushered them away, telling them what was going on and led them down to the front of the store where everyone else was, but then leaving them there and heading with Wade to walkway leading to the back dock to see if the man entered the store again. We didn’t see any more of him, but the police soon rocked up, and as the call came across as a hold up, a lot more followed. The officers standing around called on the radios for “the cage” to be brought in, and within minutes the Canine Squad had two officers (including the dog) there looking for the assailant. It was scary to see a huge German Sheppard about to be let loose on a man, and funny to see how all the other big tough officers scared of it since it only answers to their master. There was a globule of blood in the dock and on the shop floor, and that section of the walkway had to be cornered off so that the Forensic and Crime Scene Investigating branches could come and do what they had to do i.e. take a swab of the blood and photos of the scene, etc. I had to give a statement, and “may be contacted at a later date to give evidence”. That set us back about an hour an a half, and then I returned to my work, only to leave the store round 2. Exciting stuff eh?

Although I would like to post more on what has been happening and my thoughts, I have no time. I will soon, that’s a fact. Homework beckons before I go back to Uni, so I better do it. Peace out!

-Stefan-
- posted by Stefan @ 1:00:00 PM

 
LAN of the Free, Home of the Brave
After the most recent addition of Dolphin to the world of high performance computers, the world has once again revolved to the one of Local Area Networks and the violence they create. It has been decided amongst those few clerics in the world of LAN’s that one shall be held, and held soon. Once more the torrent of shouts, jeers and abuse will for another time, reign supreme among those who enjoy killing the cyber-ego’s of their friends. Many a “shoot-em-up” game is on schedule to be played, namely the ever popular Counter Strike and its variations, Battlefield and its variations, old favourites such as Medal of Honour and new beloved inclusions such as Call of Duty. Some say they can’t be bothered, other no longer interested, but there are a few die hard fans still around to keep the LAN faith going. For we remember the good old days where there was no sight of a game that could not be played, and the ability to host a LAN was in abundance. Not much has changed but people’s attitudes towards the ever fun and popular LAN. I have kept my faith because I remember reigning supreme over other games, the battle I fought to get there, and the desire of others to topple me from my pedestal. So in conclusion I send out a pledge to all possible LAN’ers out there. Don’t let the LAN die, and participate in the upcoming festivities!

I have an early shift at work today. Not really pleased about that, but not to unhappy bout it either. It’s a good thing to get out of the house. For the past two days I have enjoyed the first portion of my holidays, doing nothing but watching DVD’s and the victorious Port Adelaide Power and Brisbane Lions earn their spots in the first non-Victorian Grand Final ever even though it still will be held in Victoria. I surely hope that the capacity of the stadium are taken up, and there is not a vacant seat in the house, for it will be a huge disappointment to those Power and Lions fans that have tried desperately to get a seat, but have been snobbed off to the members that may not go. Regardless, this changing of the guard shows growth and a new era for the sport which is now undoubtedly national.

When I finished watching “Zoolander” last night, I thought it would it would be a good idea to have an early night. Things didn’t really turn out to plan, as when I read “Fast Fours”, I sent my head into a dreaming manifestation that prevented me from sleeping. Going to bed at about 20 past ten, I did not go to sleep to some time after 1:30 AM, as my thoughts of my “dream” car run rampant in my mind. This dream car is one in some kind of grasp of me, an hopefully may be achieved some time in the not-too-distant future. This dream car would be the 1986 model of the Ford Telstar TX5 Turbo Sedan, like mine in the front, but with a coupe style hatch rear and a gutsy 2.2 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder. Purchasing this kind of car for about $5000, I would then get it painted in a nice deep red colour. Mags would be 15 inch white powder Enkei-like Racing Rims, which would set me back about 1.5k. A 3.5 inch dump pipe into a smaller 3 inch exhaust system with a high-flow catalytic converter and cannon style muffler at the rear would be the exhaust system. I would add a pod filter and intercooler, setting me back about $1500, and then have a 45mm waste gate, and Turbo timer, boost controller and nice ECU to keep everything boost related running smoothly. Alarm would also be needed. A nice cheap but good stereo, with a few subs. I’m there. I can imagine it now….. Maybe if I get bored I’ll post a graphic of what I imagine up for good measure, which I no doubt will.

For now, it’s off to work. Peace out, and have a glorious day on this fabulous one!

-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 1:53:00 PM

 
The Golden Boy... Just
We got back into Adelaide last night at about 2:30 AM after a long and arduous competition in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. When all was said and done, and all the smoke cleared, I once again walked away with a gold medal for my 6th nationals and 5th national championship. All did not go according to plan however, as to me the gold medal was a shallow victory. Having wrestled in the junior and senior division I should be able to run rings around the less experienced school aged cadets, but sadly for me this wasn’t the case. My matches were hard fought, and I unfortunately was even found on the back foot on a number of occasions. I simply wrestled bellow my capabilities and that dismays me. For me it was a shallow victory, as I was expected at this competition not to even lose a point, but in fact I let many slip through my defences, scraping by in only the narrowest of margins to retain the national championship. I’m sure all of the other readers out there will sympathise, where either in a sport such as soccer, footy or swimming, or just in your studies or work, that you may done just enough to get something done, you may have just achieved your goal, but you feel like you could have done so much better if your heart was in it, and could have excelled to a new level given more exertion. I just really want to wrestle well, and I plan to do a lot better come next year’s junior nationals.
The trip was long, but enjoyable with the company on hand. Our team was the most successful one there in terms of medals per competitor, with all but one of our wrestlers walking away with a medal, and of all the medallists, all but three being gold. Acascia, Brett, Peter, Rosella, Craig and I won gold, Russell and Hardip with silver and Adam bronze. Nick from Christies Beach got a gallant and hard fought fourth. There were some really good matches on display, and for the most part our team dominated when on the mat. It was really good to see young Peter walk away with a gold, as in the past 3 nationals he has never been able to muster any better than a silver, but it was his turn this time round, as his training prior to it was a testament to it.

Before the competition, the traditional Thursday night shenanigans which I am involved in regularly, saw many an old and drunk Mercedian and much boogieing it down on the dance floor of the second rate club known as the East End Exchange. Going there because it is the only thing open on Thursday nights, people such as Brandon Regowski, Teresa, Elspeth, Sarah Brougham, the Emily Bourne Identity, Sarah Fazz and her 2 blimps in a dead heat, Adriana, a whole bunch of glazed eyed 2002 students, Julia Goolia, Angela Freeman, Burrows, Ezy, Andy, Donny, Boydy and Leah, Rob ‘Bizzy’ Carbona, Frosty, Kasssun Jaysseria, and many more, who joined in the fun. The award given for “Token PC of the Night” goes to James Burrows, who after too many shots of cheap whiskey could not remember a thing, let alone hold himself up/sit up straight, had a night he can’t remember. The shenanigans included those of the drunken variety, but also those of the automotive variety. My car’s battery screwed itself royally, and declined to start when I turned the key to begin our trek to the east end of the city. After trying to jump start my car with dodgy 900 year old jumper leads with Kassun’s EFI AWD Turbo Mazda Familia, the only thing that started was a fire in my engine bay. After that was put out, it was Andy who we turned to for some auto-bred genius. He did not let down, and after having his hand in my carburettor for about 5 minutes, my car roared to life once again. Andy is definitely the man when it comes to all thing cars. I, in due course, got a new battery on Friday, and attached it without incident.

I think I’ll take the night off work, as I am in some serious need to recharge my batteries. A day in front of the box is in good order, and I think I’ll journey up to blockbuster to get myself some DVD’s soon. Some of my favourite indulgence, Ranch Style Dip, is also a definite possibility. As I go off to be the best slob I can, I bid you farewell and good bye.

-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 1:04:00 PM

 
Dumb and Dumber

Every Thursday at the stroke of noon, I along with the rest of my Quantative Methods tutorial participants are treated to a comedy festival. Two people that try not to be funny define irony every week in this small, relatively dark tute room. The tutorial leader, nick named “Egg Head” is funny for a number of reasons, the primary one being the fact that his head is shaped like an egg. The second is that he is a man of monotone dialogue, of which makes me all warm and fuzzy inside as I quickly drift off to sleep when begins to tutor us. The second is a guy we know as “Goofy” due to his uncanny appearance and intelligence level of the Disney character. This guy is a testament to people that try to get into uni but think they are too dumb to get in. Usually this isn’t the case and they get in, but one of those that were never meant to have a tertiary education, instead cleaning toilets or a tester of shark repellent for 60 years, slipped through the cracks and ended up in my tutorial class. “Dumb” is a person defined as “one lacking mental power” and an Idiot as “intelligence inferior to that of a child of three”, of which would be both able to encompass this kid. Always wearing the same bright blue “Brazil” cap, he never fails to amaze us with new ways of making himself appear dumb to the rest of us. In situations such as today, he asks after being in university for about a total of 20 or so weeks: “so wait, we were supposed to do the tutorial questions?” said with a bewildered look on his face. Another comment he let fly was last week during the weekly tutorial test. Egg Head was clearing the board of the formulas that were discussed earlier in the tute, getting ready for the closed book tutorial test. Goofy then pipes up “Wait, can you please not do that, I need them to answer the questions… I think.” Egg Head just looked at him blankly, like the kind of look which is similar to “what the hell are you saying” and continued to wipe away. Goofy then opens his book up and looks for the formulas in the book, enraging Egg Head accordingly. I couldn’t help bursting out into laughter, but thankfully I was not alone as a chorus of hilarity from everyone filled the room. There are many more funny moments, as the social retardation and awkwardness surrounding this kid is phenomenal.

Other students at uni are funny. There is a hobo going round uni at the present time with a tie dyed shirt, no shoes, track pants and a beard that would make Tom Hanks in Cast Away green with envy. The “Protégé” is a kid that is in everyone’s shadow, never leaving particular people alone. “Grizzly Adams” is a bearded mature aged man who has no need for the lecture theatre desk, as he is so extremely rotund that he has his own tray table, so to speak. The “Master” is another mature aged student that tries to sport youth like facial hair, but there’s just one problem, its all grey. He can often be seen with the “Protégé”. There also are various “Paris Hilton” look-a-likes, as well as Burrows’ infamous “International Business” hottie. Good times. Then there’s Dale…

Its Dales 19th today so Happy Birthday Bezza! May you have a great day and may all the Ansett or Australian Labour Party gifts fall at your feet. I certainly had a mixed day as I had a doctor’s appointment for a medical certificate for the competition i will be wrestling in. Finally found out that my weight division is 76kg so I don’t have to loose weight. Lost total battery power in the Blackwood Foodland shopping centre, waited 30 mins or so to be told by the RAA that my battery is FUBAR’d and I’ll need a new one. I also asked for an early shift tonight, but was declined. Hopefully tonight will be one of great hilarity as I journey as designated dero for the second consecutive week. I hope these guys appreciate it as much as I do.

Renee Palletjack (Cutajar) also has a new blog. Click on it to find out about her.

It’s O.K, I’m a limo driver!

-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 5:15:00 PM

 
Election Engrossment
Scary occurrences um…occurred today. Whilst finally passing a Quantitive Methods tute to finally realizing that my login to the good old web based computer system know infamously as Web CT all was right in the world of Stefan. Note the “was” in that sentence, as the suitability of this day to me was at all time highs and happiness was rife. Making my way down to the courtyard for lunch, I was telling Mr Burrows, of old school Mercedes fame, of my most recent attempt to drift which almost lead to the same fate as a good friend by the name of DC Donald of 'drifting-off-a-cliff' fame, when I was ambushed without warning by a small nerd-like university student. I was about to write “typical” instead of “nerd-like”, but an interpretation would have undoubtedly have been made that this student of sorts wasn’t clean of alcohol in his system, and causing a general ruckus to society through many felonious acts. He was in fact causing a ruckus to me, as he ensnared me into a vice-like grip, confronting me and persuading, arguing and pleading for me to vote for him in the upcoming uni elections. I then looked around for Burrows, as he was no longer by my side. I finally found him, trying to escape from his own band of captures, and who were leading him to quite an uninviting and hastily erected tent. Oh no, it finally dawned on me, I’m being made to vote. NO! I wish someone would invent a way that would just take away my responsibility as a voice and just make good decisions. This fascist environment sounds kinda good. Democracy = bad, Fascism = good! I mean, look how good it made places like Iraq and places like the good old US of America. In all of these countries, a dictator has assumed power and controlled the country without the love or whim of the people, and they’ve gone pretty fine. Why can’t they do it to uni? I mean my voting was pretty much a waste of time, because in an effort to just leave these people that didn’t really care about me, these politicians, I just numbered the people that told me to number them, and then chose the hotter ones that were left and then left all others blank. Man I can see why people hate voting. Don’t get me wrong, I intend to vote and vote with much enthusiasm and gusto at the Federal election, hopefully installing a better government to fight for my right to party, its just that uni elections can be so damn inconvenient.

Disclaimer: Drifting on open roads and not voting in elections is not condoned or excused in any form and anyone that does any and or all of these is not bright.

Does that mean I’m in the clear now? Hope so, because I don’t want any one to be more than or as stupid as me and to do something really bad to themselves or someone else, like crashing into a front driveway on Old Belair Road or installing another bad Prime Minister at the cost of sheer brainlessness.

I hope everyone checks out Nick’s new site, of which he has a lot of time on his hands to continuously update. It may be one of the many “Burrows-like” fascinations which last all of 2 weeks or less, but you can find the link on the sidebar. He’s only just starting out in the world of Blogging, but give him a chance and some time and he’ll be up here with the best Blogging fraternity has to offer. A few bugs are still being ironed out, but like I said, give the kid a chance. He’ll stop making those stupid sounds one day… we hope, but self consciously deny.

-Stefan-
- posted by Stefan @ 11:38:00 PM

 
Mayhem of Melbourne, Movies & Mankind
As of today, 4 days before a competition I am confronted with a problem that is plaguing me. Thinking of wrestling non stop thanks to the proximity of this competition, I still don’t know what division I am competition in for the upcoming defence of my national title in Melbourne on the weekend. Now to many people this may sound trivial, as being a few kilos each way shouldn’t really matter, but to me it does. If I am more than 10 grams heavier division, being 74.10 kilos or 76.1 kilos I am then pushed up to the 85 kilo division. Now this is all well and good, and I most likely will even be able to claim victory there, but I would have to fight on my best, and for this competition, I would like it as easy as I can have it. Also, if I wrestle in the division above, I get all the guys coming down to 85 kilos from 90+, and there is a big distance between 74 and 90+. I just don’t want to overexert myself unnecessarily.

Saturday morning I, along with about 10 other members of the South Australian Amateur Wrestling Association will make the 8 hour trek to Melbourne to compete on the national stage for wrestling glory. This is my 6th national competition, but for a few it is their first. I can remember my first nationals, which was an event of mixed feelings and results. Full of self-confidence, or as it showed over-confidence. As I stepped out on the mat for the first time, I was full of hope that I would be victorious, and walk away from my first nationals with a gold medal hanging round my neck. These hopes ended up being dashed wen I was beaten 10-0 almost as fast as Australia’s only Olympic representative in wrestling, Ali Abdo, was this year. I was not done yet, and proceeded to line up again against my second opponent. Again, I was beaten in convincing fashion in a slender time. Distraught, I left the venue, vying not to wrestle my final match; the match that I thought would be for third with a now more than likely chance that my losing streak would continue. I thought, “No! I will not be beaten this one last time!”, and I tried to muster up the courage to step out on the mat for the final time that day. Spurred on by the entire South Australian contingent of wrestlers and supporters, including Bill Gaynor, the man that inevitably brought wrestling to me, of whom I was desperate not to disappoint. I didn’t, and ended up winning the match so convincingly that I was bumped up to second by the FILA system of scoring points. For the next year until I was standing in the Homebush Bay Indoor Sports Stadium, my mission was to compete in the gold medal match for my division. My task was unfulfilled, the puzzle incomplete. I did win the gold that year, and ended up being undefeated for about a year an a half after that, a feat I hope to emulate this competition. I wonder how many of my fellow competitors will be able to hold unforgettable stories of trials and tribulations come Monday. I also dream that this will be a story of an Olympic champion one day. We’ll wait and see, eh?

Saw “The Butterfly Effect” on the weekend. I was adamant that if Aston Koutcher was in the same “acotrial” formthat he was in “Dude, Where’s my Car?” or for that matter any other of Mr Koutcher’s movies the DVD would be take out of the player, and placed on the train line, used as a Frisbee, a coaster, circular saw or any other method of destroying a CD, as would be justified completely. Infact, it was not anything like his previous movies, which was welcomed with me watching it, and actually liking it. Yes, I know it may seem a little odd, but I actually liked an Ashton Koutcher movie after “Dude, Where’s my Car”, one of the biggest wastes of Hollywood’s time and money since such pieces of junk as “Biodome”, “Savior”, and “Jeepers Creepers”, both the first and the second. I personally think the movie was actually titled “Jeepers Creepers, This Movie’s Crap!” but the title was renamed at the last minute. God forbid they create a third, or Beverly Hills may find itself being targeted by every terrorist faction all over the world not to mention the one I would start to make sure there wouldn’t be a fourth. Anyway, “The Butterfly Effect” deals with the age old question of time travel and what would you do? If you could go back in time and change something, then go forward, what would happen. “The Butterfly Effect” is that in one nutshell quote “A flutter of a butterfly’s wings can cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” One great movie that could be so true given the possibility of time travel was real. The question still remains: what would u do?

Uni is going alright, nothing really much to report there. The same old thing, assignments and what not due in, but I have actually got the majority of them out the way, with something like only 4 assignments due in for the rest of the year. I am currently in a trough of work for the subjects that I am doing, which brings a welcome relief. One cannot totally slack off though, with tute preparation and lecture revision becoming my preferred methods of study. I feel for the people that have lost the discipline or desire to work totally, as they are only putting themselves further behind the eight ball. There are people at work that say “oh, I think I’ll go for a TAFE course or something. I, along with many of the other good people at Dubs, try to steer the young, naive adolescents away from this and towards a university career. One should always aim high, because if they don’t get to the stars, they’ll still be above the clouds.

There are a few aspects of life that get everyone down, but it is more obviously shown on some people than to others. I don’t know what you think I’m talking about, but I’ll try to explain. You see some people, and you ask them how they are, they reply not bad, alright, tired or a number of other negative responses. That negative mindset is holding people back from the happiness that can be experienced in everyday life. If someone was to reply “GREAT!” to a question on how they are going, it would make the whole conversation lighter, instead of asking what is wrong. It is the constant subconscious transfixion on the negative that holds people back. This mindset starts the moment you awake in the morning. If someone wakes up, feeling like they really don’t want to get up, why do they? Why don’t they just stay in bed? If someone wakes up, with a mindset of going out there and having a good day, then they more often than not will. You can see it simply when you go out. If someone is not in the mood, no matter what happens, they will not have a good time, whereas if someone goes to themselves “Yes I’m going to have a damn good time no matter what tonight” they will. You may think that it is a whole bunch of codswallop and pure unadulterated nonsense, but trust me, it works. In the words of Dilma “Do try it!”.

Go out and have a great day!
-Stefan-
- posted by Stefan @ 2:08:00 PM

 
Priceless
Despite all my efforts to the contrary, we ended up going to the Exchange last night. It is never a pretty sight, but let me start from the beginning. After doing an early shift courtesy of my manager Nathan, I went and picked up Boydy and Burrows when then accompanied my to the Ed. Being the designated driver is never fun, but it a responsibility all of us must take at one point during the partying season. It also should not be delegated, but instead volunteered, so that a fair go is given by and to everyone. Also, as is the case with me, its more often than not that a lift is given by someone, then forgotten, so this is the opportunity to repay the forgotten debts. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when surrounded by the merry type of individual like I was last night, the type that, inebriated or not, is having a good time, I tend to vibe off them and in turn feel a little ‘intoxicated’ myself, when the music is blaring, the people are swaying and the problems of the earlier day is forgotten. We all went out that night for different reasons; however for the majority of the 4 other guys being ferried around in the HKS Telstar it was due to the pressures and strains of the rather lacklustre uni life. Anyway, we got to the Ed, greeted friends past ad present, and after a few hearty brews, namely 14 by the cohort of 4 drinkers, we left about half an hour later. I, adamant not to go to the exchange, in need of something new, conceded to public pressure and ended up entering the exchange at about 12. We were there on rather a slow night; however I did manage to meet Hockeyroo and Olympic Gold Medallist Grant Schubert, of whom Burrows hooked up with in an effort to get a free drink. The man with the gold ended up saving the day when a fight broke out, only to have it broken up by him. He was fair paro, and the caption on the back of his group’s drinking shirt was apt “Seeing a gold medallist more wasted than you…priceless!”.
-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 1:00:00 PM

 
Return of the Wrestler
Well I’m back in action. Finally, after a more than a month of absenteeism by myself, I finally have found the time to do a post, due mainly to public demand, or just simply and more realistically to dispel the general consensus that I am dead. In fact I am quite the opposite, with plenty been done in the previous 6 weeks of my life. Wrestling camp, new topics at uni, more wrestling, run ins with the cops due to my wing and many more. I unfortunately have parted separate ways from my previous girlfriend, Erin, but hope to maintain a healthy relationship with her. Wrestling has come a long way, and I am continuing to win matches. I don’t know bout you guys, but I LOVE the Olympics! The showcase of the worlds best on display simply cannot be beaten, and I am so unimpressed that it is already over! I hope to compete at the next summer Olympic games in Beijing, and want to get there desperately. I have to compete in the world championships and get in the top 19 at least, so that’s my goal, of which I have to work hard for. Work to is getting busy once more, with the new Christmas load of products and people coming in, rushing is a way of life. I have been trying to broaden my horizons with the various hotspots for youth on Thursday nights, but simply cant find any place but the exchange, which make no mistake about it, isn’t the best. I then again, may not be looking hard enough. Anyway, to quickly summarize, my life is on track and good, and hopefully will get better in the coming weeks. I think things will start to slow down when I come back from a competition in Melbourne in a little under 2 weeks time. Until next time, which will be sooner than the last post…

Peace up, A-town!
-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 5:14:00 PM

 
I AM ALIVE!
I am alive, but i am very busy with little time to post. I will post sometime soon all the events of the last few weeks.
 
-Stefan-

- posted by Stefan @ 12:23:00 PM

 
Racing Round Rarotonga
What is up y'all? Well I have found a few minutes of time to write a VERY short post and I hope that this dodgy back alley place in downtown Raro will be able to publish it correctly. After watching "50 First Dates" on the 4 hour plane trip to Rarotonga we got into our small house on the southern side of the island, and crashed since it was about 2 in the morning. We got up the next day with a greeting from our NZ neighbour named Bruce and were told of all the places of interest round Raro. I was hanging out for a bike, but we spent most of the day either on the beach in front of our little house or inside, as it was blowing a gale. The next day (Wednesday) we took a 40 minute bus trip round the island and Dad, Mum and I got our driver's licences, with myself getting a motorbike licence. I also got a motor bike funnily enough, and have really only been hooning round the island on that since. It is only a small 50cc postie bike, but tonight I am upgrading to a 125cc beast. I havent wiped the smile off my face. The food here is really nice but the people are mixed. Some are as friendly as can be, but some are just downright rude. Everything here is expensive, but it is on an isalnd with only 1, yes 1 TV station which only operates for about 3 hours of the day. We have had to make do with 3 videos in our place, being "BEAN", "The Pelican Brief", and "Bedazzeled". We have bought a couple of momentoes, mainly being some figurines of their God here, the God of Fertility. It has one main ... attribute which made all of us laugh. Lets just say its a tripod. I will take a picture and post it here as soon as I can. There is a lot of seafood here, and I have enjoyed many a serving of classic battered fish and chips. I need to get my hands on some new magazines, as I have read all my current ones at least 3 times each. It is really nice here, but ALOT less advanced than anywhere else I have been. There are a lot of stray animals here, and the technology here is lacking. But all is good and enjoyment is being had. I have noticed that PicServer is rooted, this time almost beyond return, so I apologise for the rooting of my site, and will have to transfer all my pictures there to something more reliable like what Eddie and co have. I hope to write again soon, but I think my time on the internet is almost up! Catcha guys soon!

Kia Orani! (Word up!)
-Stefan-
- posted by Stefan @ 9:43:00 AM