Aaah, sweet context...

What a week it's been so far.

Normally I'd write this sort of personal account on my LJ, however given that I've decided to start usng that for other purposes I'll be venting here.

There's something to be said for the cold grip of aged adrenaline. It's a queezy, sickening ice cube that sits somewhere between your stomach and your balls, causing you to start at every shadow and every sound. Whoever said basketball is not a physical game is working without a clue. Unfortunately it can also be a game that brings out the idiots and the schoolyard bullies.

Monday night was the regular Veterans League over 35's game at Carina. Our team, the Turtles (the name alone should give you an idea of how seriously we take all this), was ready for another fun event to start the week with a bang. W play a physical, yet fair, style of play, knowing that not even the refs take the game too seriously. So it was a bit of a shock when the first play of the match had one of our guys and one of theirs tangled up together, with our guy being shoved to the floor.

I am a man not given to violence. I abhor displays of machismo and testosterone-laden stupidity. There was a time when something like that would have had me going over to our guy, picking him up off the floor and ignoring the other team. However, one thing I realised playing with my old team is that once you are on that court you are bound together; you need to trust each other and stand up for each other. it sounds kind of stupid, but I guess it's kind of like, in an insignificantly minor way, the bond that builds between soldiers in a war zone. You need to know that you can trust the people around you when push comes to shove.

And while it didn't quite come to shove (at least not with me) I felt obliged to stand up and say "not on. Not with my teammates. You attack one of us you attack all of us."

O.K., maybe I didn't say all that, but the squared shoulders and the stare kind of made my point for me.

I don't know what it is that can turn some grown, mature men into school kids. the rest of the game was spent with taunts and threats of carpark violence. Just pathetic. However, the best bit of the evening was that we came back from a deficit, took the lead and held it in the last minute to score the win. The worst bit? Smallest player on their team, with the biggest mouth, misses the game winning shot just before the buzzer. Grabs our guy who's been the target all game and throws him to the floor. A one week ban from the ref means he ain't playing next week.

Adrenaline's fine in the moment, but knowing that you've just come off the court with a bunch of guys who not ten minutes before were ready to king-hit anyone in a black and red singlet kind of applies the freezer to the breadbasket.

Went to bed sweaty and couldn't sleep (partly residue adrenlaine, mainly running around in near-Summer humidity all night).

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The worst possible thing you can say when you wake up and look at your alarm clock;
"That time I'm looking at right now. That's the time I'm supposed to be at work."

Welcome to Tuesday.

Lunch and a meeting with the new Head of Development for ABC New Media, Dan Fill. Looks to be a cluey guy and it should be good working with him (even if he is Canadian ;-p ).

Coffee after work with Col who's just back from a three week holiday to Middle Earth. He and Kel spent the whole time scoping out locations from the movie. I'm now looking forward to having a large dollop of the "Kiwi Fruit Chili Sauce" he brought me back.

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Second worst thing you can say when you get up in the morning;
"You mean that front door's been open all night?"

Batting 0-2.

It's all because I tend to fall apart when I'm by myself. Ellen is spending three weeks at a Pain Clinic trying to deal with the ongoing nerve issues with her cheek. As a result she needs to stay at a hospital as an inpatient for the Private Health cover to pony up the dough. As a result I'm spending my weeknights alternating between visiting her in the hospital and heating up pre-cooked dinners.

I really miss her. I can't wait for the weekend when I get her back for three nights.

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The one shining light is my new purchase. After much searching I am now the proud owner of the first (and only) series of the Joss Whedon production "Firefly." This is the series that leads into the recently released movie "Serenity." As a result I now find myself getting to know the characters in that wonderful manner which makes Joss Whedon such a gifted storyteller, learning the backstory and the motivations that play out in the film. I'm already telling people, after having watched 4 episodes, that it's the best TV show ever made. I'm loving it that much.

Enough! Time to go and pull my pre-cooked dinner from the oven and enjoy another episode!