The Results!

Yes, after 13 weeks of study and a few weeks of hibernating afterwards, I have results!

Financial Management - 70
Economic Analysis and Asian Economies - 82

82?!?!?! Unheard of! I never would have gotten anywhere near an 80 in my Engineering degree and all of a sudden I've managed to rock a High Distinction. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing, it was just a little unexpected. Anyway, good news all round as I can now continue on with my studies and rip into some more WASM units in November and December.

One More...

I promise to update my blog soon.

I've been busting my chops with uni work. My last exam was on Sunday and I have one more assignment to go, due this Sunday.

I promise I will.

Hail Storm

Not since Sweden in March 2008 was I this excited. Not snow this time, but it was pretty close.

I'm pretty familiar with the sound of rain on the rooftop, but this was much more noisy. I bolted outside in nothing more than my pyjamas running around the ice with bare feet. It was so cold but I just didn't want to go back inside and put shoes on. Robin also came outside and before we knew it, we were making ice balls and throwing them around and at each other.


With harshly cold temperatures all week and with record rainfalls, it wasn't surprising to have so much hail fall. It collected in the gutters and drains and eventually caused them to overflow. Much of the water started to flow into the house and down the walls near the garage.

The towel bunds we created helped keep a lot of the water off the floors but the damage was already done; the water was in the roof and it had seeped through the ceiling and through the joins in the plaster.

Hockey Stops

I have been going ice skating more and more often over the last few weeks. I went on Tuesday evening and last Sunday morning. With the my new hockey skates, I have put my figure skates away and started spending more time attempting hockey stops.

What is a "hockey stop" you ask?

^^^ That is. And with a failed one on Tuesday night, I landed square on my butt and my right elbow. I overbalanced backwards and up went the legs, and down I came. I lay on the ice for a moment to settle myself until I started feeling the cold again. At this time, Joker and Mirkz had seen my lying there and came to help me up.

This morning (at 4am), my neck is still sore and the graze on my elbow has started to scab up nicely. I'm still keen for skating around, I think I might just have to get used to falling over, or being more game to try things out. For now, I'm just going to practice and keep checking out YouTube for tips :)

Working on Assignments

Its the business end of the trimester and Ive been working on two assignments, one for my Financial Management (FM550) class, and one for Economic Analysis and Asian Economics (EAAE551). As usual, I had good intentions of getting them started early, only to have life get in the way and cause me to do a fairly last minute rush to complete them.

The good news is that I got 16.5 out of 20 for my FM550 assignment, with the results of EAAE551 yet to come in. Also banking for over 70% but I guess we'll have to see!

Big thanks to Robin for the motivation and to Harry for proofing my work and pointing me in the right direction with the dreaded balance sheet! *hugs*

Part Two of the National Fencing Circuit, 2009

And welcome to RADelaide!

So it was time for AFF #2 for 2009, this time in Adelaide. The forecast was for showers, storms, wind and cold weather, but the fencing was heating up for the season with more top names in the mens events.

Robin winning his poule bout (nice lunge!)

That being said, both Robin and I did pretty average, both of us coming second-last. I managed to win my direct elimination and then face Min Du who went on to grab second place in the tournament.

As the taste for fencing went sour, Robin and I decided to spend the day checking out the Barossa Valley and having lunch at Jacob's Restaurant at the famous Jacob's Creek winery.


We cruised around in the hire car and took some snaps. FACT: You can fit 3 jumbo Uhlmann fencing bags, 3 pieces of luggage and 4 people into a 2008 Toyota Corolla hatch!


Also note, that Adelaide drivers don't drive like Perth drivers. No-one speeds. Seriously, if it was a 60km/hr zone, everyone would do 60. Not 57, not 65, but 60. Every artery was a triple carriage way (much like Canberra). *cough* Excuse me Mr Department for Planning and Infrastructure, do we see a trend happening here?

However, nobody indicates. It's not all a bad thing because realistically, you don't have to. Drivers leave enough room for each other on the road to accomodate such lazy driving. An interesting but refreshing change. In all, Adelaide isn't rad. But its still about 10 years ahead of Perth.

Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX

Mirkz and I went out the other day to Cockburn Ice Arena to check out the latest range of ice hockey skates and try a few pairs on. We basically just went there to get sizing as I knew the prices would be substantially more than buying online.

I tried on a pair of Nike Bauer XXII's for $449 and some Eastons for $249 (which felt pretty cheap and nasty). I found out that my sizing was around the 4,5 mark which was also a bonus as I am a junior boot.

That evening I jumped on eBay and started checking out the higher spec boots in the hope that I could get a better pair for less. And I did.

I bought a pair of Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX (called X 40's) off eBay and received them within 10 days at AUD 305 landed. Mirkz struck up a similar deal and scored the Nike Bauer Supreme One15's.

Now to head out and get them moulded and have a go at them!