22.8kgs

photo.JPG, a photo by Shellenski on Flickr.

So after days of packing and repacking and emptying out the suitcase and starting again and getting my sister over to cull mercilessly.....I'm finally on my way, weighing in at 22.8kgs. And after all that, the limit was 20kgs! But with a bit of charm and a bit of feigned stupidity (yes, feigned!) the lovely desk attendant let me go. So now I sit in the Sydney International Airport waiting for my travel companion who is flying in from Brisbane and she's not only late, but hasn't turned her phone on........ How long does one wait?

And it's GOLD GOLD GOLD for Australia!!!

Yesterday I watched the Opening Ceremony in 3D and was in awe at how the drummers could still move their arms towards the end.  I also wondered if the dancers/performers were a little peeved that after all their hard work with rehearsals and all the late nights they put in that on 'game day' they had to remove the set themselves?  But all in all, they did a great job.  Well done David Cameron and well done Boris (did they have anything to do with it?)  

There were a lot of excited people in the stadium and Madds and I were just discussing how excited we were knowing we were going to be in that same stadium in just a matter of days.  One lady however didn't seem terribly amused by any of the goings on.......

Perhaps she wasn't given a very good seat?  Perhaps she's just a bit bored with all the pomp? Perhaps she was annoyed that her seat was so cramped and close to those around her? Perhaps she was rethinking the appropriateness of that hat? Perhaps she'd like to swap her box for our nose bleeds?  Tans..... look into that will you?

Today I watched as the relatively unknown ladies of our Swimming Team swam and won the 4 x 100 relay.  It's amazing how every 4 years something inside me swells with pride and I become this completely patriotic, Australian flag waving, fake Australian tattoo wearing, sophisticated larikin!  The win brought a small tear to my eye (you'll be happy to know you weren't the only one Col! :-)) when the last lady got out of the pool and they all hugged, relieved and elated.  However, I was slightly disappointed in the height of the podium that this well deserved gold medal winning team were given to stand on.  Surely f you can win gold you should be able to step higher than 10cm!

OS&H?

But nevertheless, it was GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! for Australia on the first day of the 2012 London Games and I, for one, was as proud as I could be.  I sure hope the rest of the country feels like this when we pull off the same medal feat in our audience events.

Look to the nosebleeds for glimpses 

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE

OI! OI! OI!

Let's Do The Time (Zone) Warp Again.........

Well it has just occurred to me that over the next 10½ weeks, I will travel through 36 time zones.  How is that possible? I hear you ask as I imagine your mind ticking over, wondering how many hours there actually are in a day. Some days seem so much longer than others, so will this be like one of those days that seem endless? 

So it is possible that I may suffer from a bit of jet lag.  

I plan to combat this issue by limiting my awake time to just a few hours a day.  

Over the past 40 years or so I've put a lot of time and effort into training for these exact conditions.  There have been sacrifices.  I've only seen a small percentage of early mornings in that time and for those of you who have been with me late at night, I was there in body because I never want to miss out on anything, but I was asleep inside!


Once on a flight from London to Perth I put in quite a few hours or practice in order to hone my craft and the couple in the seats behind me commented as we taxied into Perth Airport and stretched and tried to come alive (thank you for the words Dolly) that they had never seen somebody sleep for that many hours straight on a plane before.  I replied, "If you're impressed with that, you should see me at home in my own bed!"  I also assured them that it's probably not something I recommended they try at home without the proper training and supervision.

My rigorous training schedule came under the guidance of my trainer/mother who as well as setting bedtimes in my younger years also had a very gentle way of waking me in the morning.  She would wet a flannel to an acceptable tepid temperature and place it on my face.  Then she would sit on the edge of my bed and talk to me until I was awake enough that she was confident I wouldn't just roll over and go back to sleep, making her job a little more tedious by having to come back to my room a number of times until I was running late.

I am fortunate enough to have my lovely mother with me on the majority of this journey, so I've packed the flannels knowing I'm in very good hands.

A future world leader in the field of Sleeping In.

The Final Countdown

This trip has been a long time in the planning and we're finally down to the last 2 weeks. 

Well, let me tell you, this is going to be the longest 2 weeks in my life...... I've been packed for a couple of weeks already.  I'm obviously trying to train myself to live out of a suitcase.

 However, it has been hard to be super duper excited until now as two of our Team Members, Madds and Lu have been very busy climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and going on safari in Africa.  I've been told that this was a new form of training for our Audience Participation Sport.... something to do with the high altitudes of our seats in the Olympic stadiums.  So Tans and I were left to keep the excitement fires burning and we've done our best - truly we have, but with the time difference and what not, it's been a difficult time.  

Now the girls are back and we are once again a full contingent, the excitement is beginning to build.

The checking and double checking of paperwork and travel documents and bookings and confirmations has started.   Although I would be completely surprised if something went amiss on this trip, for I am a planner.  Even though a very wise Travel Agent once said to me "something is always bound to go wrong on a trip like this....." but let me tell you, if something dared go awry after the plethora hours I have put into the organisation of this jaunt there will be some big big trouble.  And ladies... look out, as it will be the fault of the nearest person to me at the time!  Hey, everything's going to be fine.  Just don't say you weren't warned.

So..... back to the checklist.

* Toothbrush
* Gum boots
* Umbrella
* Australia Flag
*
*

The Living the Dream Tour Team Members

Rings of Olympic Rings!

There is no doubt in my mind - I am NOT an athlete.....well, not anymore. There was a great time in my youth, around the mid 80's where I did pretty well but now, I don't have the knees for it and to be honest with you, the thought of sweating makes me perspire a little.  So you can imagine the confusion in my mind when my doctor suggested I wear "skins" on the plane so as to not inflame the blood clot behind my knee and turn it into full blown DVT.  I mean cyclists and runners wear skins, right? I've seen them flying past me as I sip my morning soy latte and read the paper on my iPad.  Perhaps in my "skin" ensemble, people might think I'm part of the Olympic team?  Well, they won't be wrong, because this year London is going to see a whole new chapter in the Australian Team.  We will be representing our country in Audience Participation.  The new demonstration sport, that we're hoping will be introduced as a regular event in the years to come.

(sampling the finer things in Prague)

Let me introduce The Team that is sure to take GOLD in London for the best applauding and whoop whooping.  Our first member is a lady who owns more than 1 pair of skins and wears them on a regular basis whilst cycling and doing fitness training, you know that early morning stuff in the park with a trainer! What she lacks in holiday organisational skills, she certainly makes up for in "get up and go" once she's there. I'm sure we'll see a great deal of that from her this year. She makes a mean breakfast ,loves to laugh and has access to some spectacular hangover cures. Some may know her as my ever enduring travel partner, and the ultimate Queen of the "Oh What a Feeling" jump, but to me she's my very good friend, The Magnificent Madds.

(after riding 240kms in the Ride to Conquer Cancer)

The second Team Member on the Living the Dream tour is a fabulously adventurous lady who when she's not climbing mountains with Madeline, is donning a frock and heading to the races or taking her rightful seat in the MCG Member's stand to cheer on Carlton.  Never one to miss a sporting event, this gorgeous lady has acquired the most tickets to Olympic events out of all our Team Members this year and has even doubled up on herself.  It will be interesting to watch her literally be in two places at once!     With her knowledge and expertise in the medical arena, she will be a very handy asset to the Team. She's fit, she's resourceful and she's one of the funniest ladies I've ever met, ladies and gents, I give you -  The Lovely Lu.  

 (at the Australian Open with her lovely Mum, Leah)

Team Member No. 3 this year is a lady who is taking advantage of her (faux) dual citizenship.  Even though she resides in England and is in fact, English, we are allowing her to be part of the Australian Team due to her wonderful sportsmanship and talent for snagging all the good tickets.  Some call her our good luck charm and wonder if we should maybe lend her out to the English Team for limited, preselected events. What this little pocket rocket lacks in upper arm strength she certainly makes up for in spirit, enthusiasm and accommodation!  She is super creative in the field of Arts and makes a great cup of tea.  Australia, please welcome - The Talented Tans.

(A real English Rose in the Queen's Garden - London)

Wish us luck fellow patriots.  We're not doing this just for us, but for all of you back home.

But mainly for us.

xxx