Preguntame
I got some questions here from newmistakes - if you answer with your favourite colour (no favorite colors allowed, porfa), I may deem you worthy of some similar questions.
Here we go.
Your questions:
1. What are your three favourite places in all the world and why?
1. Middle Beach, Tanja, Australia. This was always our "local" beach. It's probably not my absolute favourite place in the world, but it has a lot of memories, and a lot of associations with growing up near the coast. When I was quite young we lived just down the road from there, but this was always the first port of call.
My Dad has told me about some guys in the 80s who actually moved from Margaret River because they thought the surf was that amazing. That was clearly a mistake.
2. Berlin, Germany. Berlin is SO COOL. Something I have talked about with various people is that everything that is underground anywhere else, it's just a normal thing to do in Berlin. I went there for Worlds 2009, and had such a great time. That was just one part of the trip, but a great trip all round and I don't know if it made the trip, but it was a big part of it.
3.Patagonia, Chile.I'm hoping we can go and spend some more time down there, and also go to the Argentine side. Both Patagonia and the Atacama Desert are places that everyone goes onandonandonandon about OH IT IS SOOOO AMAZING, STUNNING blah blah blah blah - the thing is they're right. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by both after all the too many positive reviews. I think Patagonia is just that little bit more incredible as you are really going toward the end of the world.
2. You’re a very goal oriented and driven person. How do you make sure that you stay focussed and on track to reach your goals?
He, he, he...you got me there. I don't... No, I don't know about that. But at the moment it feels like I have really been driving in neutral or something, just not "making it happen". Things REALLY feel like they're coming together and I know that I need to be patient, but my patience is running thin.
This dear journal is actually the main place where I continue to review my goals and all those kind of things. I haven't also been so goal based. I have always written a lot of lists, but I feel that in the last year or so I have really been creating goals which are meant to achieve something. I feel here in Chile that I can really achieve a variety of things, though I have another feeling that not many people have the faith that I can achieve them.
3. When did you first develop your passion for footbag and how did it develop from there?
Well - there could be the long or short version. I got right into "Hacky Sack" in high school, pretty early on. Just kicking. There was a kid, Riley Steinki was his name (are you serious you stupid hippy parents, he was already going to be called "Stinky", so you made sure that he would be called "Really Stinky". Anyway, these hippy parents had a shop that sold hippy things, including Hacky Sacks from Guatemala. The first time we played, I was the best. I got 3 kicks. I was the WORST at everything else, but I really enjoyed sports. I really loved sports (and still do), but I really, really sucked, particularly at team sports. I had been 12th man in the grand final of the cricket and our team came close to dead last in footy, so I kind of gave up on team sports.
Let's skip some years of consecutive kicking and hacky sack, and making the English class wait for me to break my record and then having to make a speech about why I was so obsessed with this stupid little ball. In 2001 I went to the first ever Australian championships, which were at the XTREME Games. Yeah! Extreme!!! XXXXXXX. Footbag is not extreme and never will be. We weren't invited back the following year. I won the consecutive kicks tournament and thought I was awesome. However, nobody cares at all. I still care a bit, which is why I was pretty stoked this week when I broke my record (now 2123). That was actually a big goal of mine, maybe not for the year, but for my time in Chile.
Ok, so then I was just a beginner, then at that competition I started to learn some tricks, then for about a year I was playing and then I kind of stopped. Not completely, but I didn't have much equipment or anything. When I started to really get back into it was late 2004, early 2005, when I got my first pair of Rod Lavers. These shoes are the best for footbag, and despite being AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME (not and maybe the world's, you can't buy the shoes in Australia. From there I got back into it. This is getting pretty long, but whatevs, let's talk about international travel through footbag.
Ever since I started playing I wanted to go to Worlds. I knew that was where you had to go - that was the Mecca. In 07, Dan Ednie made finals at Worlds. He's still the only Australian to do that. In 08, Copey and Caroline, my partners in crime in Canberra both went. We had all started the year on the dole and playing lots. From there we eventually got jobs. I never managed to save enough for the ticket. I was pretty cut that winter.
The next year I went, in Berlin. It was so good. That is still, without a doubt the best trip I have ever done. It was my first, and by far best organised, and barely anything went wrong. The next year I went to Worlds in Oakland, USA. Oakland is not a nice place. I got a grant to go. I played really badly. I was angry about that the whole week. Then I went back home. I haven't been to Worlds since, but maybe this year. In 2011 I went to Malaysia (Adidas paid for me...thankyou, please come again). I was judging and coaching for a competition that probably had more money than any footbag event ever before or since. Like the first prize was $3,000. These guys could barely play. I thought that was pretty impressive.
Last year I went to the South American Championships in Colombia, finished with 2 silver and 2 bronze. What I am really hoping to do in South America is use footbag and a variety of sports to build skills for people. Not just for children, but for anybody. It has taken me this long to know exactly what I want to do, but I came to the realisation the other day that I am doing what I want to do with my life. I am doing the "dream job". BUT, I need to make it financially feasible and I need to make it global, because I don't think we will stay in Chile forever.
I guess that was longer on what I was planning on. Footbag has become such a big part of my life. I used to rollerblade, and actually I would like to again, but I'm a bit concerned about injury and more concerned about the price of the skates. And even though it's a small community, I never, ever got the same feeling of community that I get from Footbag.
4. Is there anything worth suffering for?
Here we go. Deep and meaningful. In essence, yes. I was actually reading an article, in Spanish no less, yesterday about the comparisons between "The Dude" and a Zen Master. That "The Dude Abides" is essentially relating to the Buddhist principle which is something like all of life is suffering.
There are so many ways that we suffer - physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever. You can put that into so many contexts. Is it worth walking up a hill, even though you will be sore in the morning the next day. Yes, that's easy. Is it worth having your leg chopped off because a drunk driver ran you over? Hmm, maybe not, but it's better to have a leg chopped off than to be dead.
As we have just been through the whole baby loss thing, the suffering is still close to the heart. Whether by reason or just by chance, we will come to know the value in this suffering. It will let us focus, reset our goals and plans. In answer to the question, yes. Even if you are suffering from a need to go to the toilet, busting, busting, busting, the relief (if you make it to the bathroom), will be well worthwhile. So there's a wide variety of ways to suffer in there.
5. What have been the five highlights of your time in Santiago de Chile so far?
I am going to limit this to only within the city boundaries of Santiago, not to things we have done to Chile, or that we have gone from Chile to do.
1. Starting education programs with sport - both for the Olympic athletes and for the kids. This has been a really great experience and a lot of fun. This is me using a skill that I have, making my own programs and really helping people. I hope I can get this going further.
2. Learning Spanish. When I arrived here I could only speak a few words. In reality I was a lot further behind than I thought. While I am still no expert, I can easily hold a conversation with people and have interviewed some important people.
3. Interviewing important people - Some of the ministers know be my name, I have interviewed a Nobel Prize winner, I get invited to different things sometimes, other times I invite myself, particularly when I am of the belief there will be a free lunch on the table. While I am not making any money (this I really hope to change), I have really made a bit of a name for myself - for example today the BBC linked to one of my stories. That was a pretty good feeling to wake up to!
4. Meeting Francisca's family -This doesn't always take place in Santiago, and sometimes I complain about it, but all of Francisca's family have been so nice to us. Very supportive, always inviting us to things. I guess that can be a problem for the gringo, there are always things you are being dragged along to. But it builds you up a network, lets you know some people and is just a help in general.
5. Living on the 23rd floor - Oh, the view. I think this is the most impressive. Opening the door casually for a friend and they say WOW. We can see most of the city from our apartment and that's pretty awesome.
Now that's pretty long and I should cut it, but I don't want to as I'm off to a meeting and I really must head out immediately.
Here we go.
Your questions:
1. What are your three favourite places in all the world and why?
1. Middle Beach, Tanja, Australia. This was always our "local" beach. It's probably not my absolute favourite place in the world, but it has a lot of memories, and a lot of associations with growing up near the coast. When I was quite young we lived just down the road from there, but this was always the first port of call.
My Dad has told me about some guys in the 80s who actually moved from Margaret River because they thought the surf was that amazing. That was clearly a mistake.
2. Berlin, Germany. Berlin is SO COOL. Something I have talked about with various people is that everything that is underground anywhere else, it's just a normal thing to do in Berlin. I went there for Worlds 2009, and had such a great time. That was just one part of the trip, but a great trip all round and I don't know if it made the trip, but it was a big part of it.
3.Patagonia, Chile.I'm hoping we can go and spend some more time down there, and also go to the Argentine side. Both Patagonia and the Atacama Desert are places that everyone goes onandonandonandon about OH IT IS SOOOO AMAZING, STUNNING blah blah blah blah - the thing is they're right. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by both after all the too many positive reviews. I think Patagonia is just that little bit more incredible as you are really going toward the end of the world.
2. You’re a very goal oriented and driven person. How do you make sure that you stay focussed and on track to reach your goals?
He, he, he...you got me there. I don't... No, I don't know about that. But at the moment it feels like I have really been driving in neutral or something, just not "making it happen". Things REALLY feel like they're coming together and I know that I need to be patient, but my patience is running thin.
This dear journal is actually the main place where I continue to review my goals and all those kind of things. I haven't also been so goal based. I have always written a lot of lists, but I feel that in the last year or so I have really been creating goals which are meant to achieve something. I feel here in Chile that I can really achieve a variety of things, though I have another feeling that not many people have the faith that I can achieve them.
3. When did you first develop your passion for footbag and how did it develop from there?
Well - there could be the long or short version. I got right into "Hacky Sack" in high school, pretty early on. Just kicking. There was a kid, Riley Steinki was his name (are you serious you stupid hippy parents, he was already going to be called "Stinky", so you made sure that he would be called "Really Stinky". Anyway, these hippy parents had a shop that sold hippy things, including Hacky Sacks from Guatemala. The first time we played, I was the best. I got 3 kicks. I was the WORST at everything else, but I really enjoyed sports. I really loved sports (and still do), but I really, really sucked, particularly at team sports. I had been 12th man in the grand final of the cricket and our team came close to dead last in footy, so I kind of gave up on team sports.
Let's skip some years of consecutive kicking and hacky sack, and making the English class wait for me to break my record and then having to make a speech about why I was so obsessed with this stupid little ball. In 2001 I went to the first ever Australian championships, which were at the XTREME Games. Yeah! Extreme!!! XXXXXXX. Footbag is not extreme and never will be. We weren't invited back the following year. I won the consecutive kicks tournament and thought I was awesome. However, nobody cares at all. I still care a bit, which is why I was pretty stoked this week when I broke my record (now 2123). That was actually a big goal of mine, maybe not for the year, but for my time in Chile.
Ok, so then I was just a beginner, then at that competition I started to learn some tricks, then for about a year I was playing and then I kind of stopped. Not completely, but I didn't have much equipment or anything. When I started to really get back into it was late 2004, early 2005, when I got my first pair of Rod Lavers. These shoes are the best for footbag, and despite being AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME (not and maybe the world's, you can't buy the shoes in Australia. From there I got back into it. This is getting pretty long, but whatevs, let's talk about international travel through footbag.
Ever since I started playing I wanted to go to Worlds. I knew that was where you had to go - that was the Mecca. In 07, Dan Ednie made finals at Worlds. He's still the only Australian to do that. In 08, Copey and Caroline, my partners in crime in Canberra both went. We had all started the year on the dole and playing lots. From there we eventually got jobs. I never managed to save enough for the ticket. I was pretty cut that winter.
The next year I went, in Berlin. It was so good. That is still, without a doubt the best trip I have ever done. It was my first, and by far best organised, and barely anything went wrong. The next year I went to Worlds in Oakland, USA. Oakland is not a nice place. I got a grant to go. I played really badly. I was angry about that the whole week. Then I went back home. I haven't been to Worlds since, but maybe this year. In 2011 I went to Malaysia (Adidas paid for me...thankyou, please come again). I was judging and coaching for a competition that probably had more money than any footbag event ever before or since. Like the first prize was $3,000. These guys could barely play. I thought that was pretty impressive.
Last year I went to the South American Championships in Colombia, finished with 2 silver and 2 bronze. What I am really hoping to do in South America is use footbag and a variety of sports to build skills for people. Not just for children, but for anybody. It has taken me this long to know exactly what I want to do, but I came to the realisation the other day that I am doing what I want to do with my life. I am doing the "dream job". BUT, I need to make it financially feasible and I need to make it global, because I don't think we will stay in Chile forever.
I guess that was longer on what I was planning on. Footbag has become such a big part of my life. I used to rollerblade, and actually I would like to again, but I'm a bit concerned about injury and more concerned about the price of the skates. And even though it's a small community, I never, ever got the same feeling of community that I get from Footbag.
4. Is there anything worth suffering for?
Here we go. Deep and meaningful. In essence, yes. I was actually reading an article, in Spanish no less, yesterday about the comparisons between "The Dude" and a Zen Master. That "The Dude Abides" is essentially relating to the Buddhist principle which is something like all of life is suffering.
There are so many ways that we suffer - physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever. You can put that into so many contexts. Is it worth walking up a hill, even though you will be sore in the morning the next day. Yes, that's easy. Is it worth having your leg chopped off because a drunk driver ran you over? Hmm, maybe not, but it's better to have a leg chopped off than to be dead.
As we have just been through the whole baby loss thing, the suffering is still close to the heart. Whether by reason or just by chance, we will come to know the value in this suffering. It will let us focus, reset our goals and plans. In answer to the question, yes. Even if you are suffering from a need to go to the toilet, busting, busting, busting, the relief (if you make it to the bathroom), will be well worthwhile. So there's a wide variety of ways to suffer in there.
5. What have been the five highlights of your time in Santiago de Chile so far?
I am going to limit this to only within the city boundaries of Santiago, not to things we have done to Chile, or that we have gone from Chile to do.
1. Starting education programs with sport - both for the Olympic athletes and for the kids. This has been a really great experience and a lot of fun. This is me using a skill that I have, making my own programs and really helping people. I hope I can get this going further.
2. Learning Spanish. When I arrived here I could only speak a few words. In reality I was a lot further behind than I thought. While I am still no expert, I can easily hold a conversation with people and have interviewed some important people.
3. Interviewing important people - Some of the ministers know be my name, I have interviewed a Nobel Prize winner, I get invited to different things sometimes, other times I invite myself, particularly when I am of the belief there will be a free lunch on the table. While I am not making any money (this I really hope to change), I have really made a bit of a name for myself - for example today the BBC linked to one of my stories. That was a pretty good feeling to wake up to!
4. Meeting Francisca's family -This doesn't always take place in Santiago, and sometimes I complain about it, but all of Francisca's family have been so nice to us. Very supportive, always inviting us to things. I guess that can be a problem for the gringo, there are always things you are being dragged along to. But it builds you up a network, lets you know some people and is just a help in general.
5. Living on the 23rd floor - Oh, the view. I think this is the most impressive. Opening the door casually for a friend and they say WOW. We can see most of the city from our apartment and that's pretty awesome.
Now that's pretty long and I should cut it, but I don't want to as I'm off to a meeting and I really must head out immediately.