My last day

I am typing the last post that I will be making in America, sitting in the Osborns basement listening to Troy playing Tony Hawk 3. Yesterday night we took advantage of Steve's Season tickets to the Jazz and went and saw them play the Boston Celtics. It was a good game for the first bit, then it was just painful to watch the Celtics and Paul Pierce score and score and just keep scoring until the Jazz where down by 20 odd with 8 minutes to go in the final quarter. Today I slept in some and then went to lunch with Hannah and Kathy Clay and Taylor and Suzan at the training table- that novel place where you order by phone. Then it was back to the house for some rest and to get ready to fly out after taking some pictures of the mountains and such, as it is such a lovely day today.

140, 159

Tonight we went bowling after a dinner of Cafe Rio with one of Luke and Lizzies friends. Luke and I matched up for a last game of epic proportions, with him emerging victor with a score of 159 over my 140. It was fun, perhaps the last time I will have with him before he flies out tomorrow morning at 11. Tonight all there is to do is pack, and with that almost being done I just await tomorrow when the Osborns will pick me up to stay with them for the conclusion of my trip through these states. After that I may not be able to get to a computer until I get home, but to all who have read this blog- thanks for reading and keep your eyes peeled for a note on this page sending you to my next blog- something more regular and of my life at home.
sam

Our Birthday and more

So much has happened in the past few days, this should be a post full of excitement. Friday was not as exciting as the next few days, but I relaxed for most of the day and then at night we went bowling at the student centre. It was good times, we got two games in before a quiet night before Saturday. Saturday was the day of the game and it was a long wait til the hour came up. It began to snow again in the morning, so by gametime a fresh layer of powder was all over everything as I walked down an hour early to get one of the memorial pins that they were handing out before the game. Bogut arrived a little before tip-off and arrived to a standing ovation from the crowd. The game was a good one, Luke playing one of the best games he has played with 21 points and 8 rebounds. The lead danced from one team to the other for most of the the game, but after halftime and the ceremony retiring Andrew's uniform the Utes spurred a comeback , only to be felled by a 3 pointer late in the 2nd half. Afterwards we tried to go out to a place that Andrew and Chris had organised, but they would not let some of us in so we went back to the dorm and on route got some free pizza from Little Ceasars. That done, the next day was to be our birthday. We woke up early at 9 something and then went onto Church with Steve Osborn. Somehow it was let by that it was our birthday so we had a round of "happy birthdays" from many people before going off to a lunch with the Osborns, the Clays, Wilsons, and a few others. We went to Famous Daves and ate some good ol' American Barbeque before we dropped off Luke at the dorm and I went with the Osborns back to their house for an afternoon of rest and TV. At 6 there was the party that was organised at the Osborns house and many people from Church and Lizzie came for a few hours of fun, poker, the NBA All-Star game and cake. I watched as Coach Wilson taught all the kids how to play Blackjack and Luke teach them all how to play Texas- Hold Em'. It was fun, but a little slow paced with everyone learning. Susan made a chocolate cake with both white and milk chocolate. What was more special was the fruit platter that was made for us "Fruit loving Australians" Pineapple, Honeydew Melon, Strawberries and grapes all adorning a plate- reminded me of home some. And to top all of this, some familes gave both Luke and I some candy and cards for our big 20th birthday. It was a great way to spend my 20th birthday, but it was a little different- there isnt any snow in Australia in February and I usually do not need to wear a whole bunch of clothes to keep warm. Change is good though, it was a nice way to spend the day in the cold.

White everywhere

I flew in to Salt Lake City a half hour late due to some nasty weather. It was snowing in droves and gusting horribly as we dropped below the ceiling which ensured a very bumpy ride. I arrived though, with heavy bags and a hunch from the plane and met with Steve Osborn at the baggage claim. A short ride back to the dorm and then we were dropped off at Luke's game against Colorado State. I got in at about halftime, so I only saw the better half of the game. They could of won, Luke did really well with 18 points and 9 boards but a last second shot by one of their guards forced overtime and the Utes went downhill from there. The next day I awoke to snow, and alot of it. Before Luke and I drove to Fashion Place, we needed to take about 6 inches of snow off the top of the car before we could even see the body. The whole valley was covered in a thick white blanket and still is as I write. This has been nice weather for me to see I suppose before I go back to the heat and eternal sunshine. Tonight I went with Lizzie to see Luke do some baskeball refereeing which was interesting- he is actually working a job and in a tiny little striped shirt.

Goodbye, Nashville

This is my last post in Nashville. I have organised all my bags and everything is ready to go. Last night I went to Jonothans Senior Night basketball game at Goodpasture to watch them destroy this other team of kids who looked like they were only Sophomores against a 5 or 6 strong Senior class at Goodpasture. The night before the Ansteys came over with Jonothan and we talked for a while and Mama Ruth gave me some Anzac cookies in a tin! I dont know how long they will last, but as of now they are sitting in my bag so I cant get to them. I had a great time here and met so many people that I will not forget, and caught up with old friends who I hope I will see again. After this it is Utah for one more week, then time to go home to Perth.

Sunday shambles

I am now back at Old Hickory at the Nipps' and I dont think that I will be going anywhere else until I fly out on Wednesday. I have posted the pictures for the posts that were promised to have some and will now update the rest. Yesterday I went and had lunch with Eddie and Amy at Outback Steakhouse, which is a joke if any Australian were to walk in. Nevertheless, I had a good lunch and a good time catching up with Eddie after nearly 4 years. The last time I saw him was in 2002, when he came over with a Lipscomb team. It was snowing a little the whole time we ate, and afterwards we got this old lady to take a picture of us standing out the front. Well, safe to say that she could not use a camera and when we instructed her to turn it sideways to get us all in, she turned it 45 degrees and snapped away. After I was dropped off, I went to an art show on Campus and met with a lady who knows Melody Peel, who was married recently. It is indeed a very very small world. ( For those who dont know who Melody is, she came to Australia in 2001 as part of a Lipscomb mission team ) After that it was the meeting/dinner at Mazitlans. Most of the team was there, and Mark and The Ansteys turned up as well. We just found out that one of the people have dropped out, so the team is smaller already. Then it was sleep for me, I was exhausted and I drove here with Justin earlier on this afternoon after a lunch at Baja Burrito with Mark Ott.

Snowed in, Homecoming 2006

This may be the last post I make from Lipscomb, with my ever increasing need to get back to the Nipps' to get some important things done before I fly out on Wednesday. Last night I was lucky enough to experience something called the "Running of the Bison" where the crazier students of the Lipscomb run through the local streets making as much as noise as possible, hoping to get the police called. Well, mission successful in wonderful style. It was flurrying snow last night and this means people here in the south go crazy with panic about the frozen water falling from the sky. I could not get a ride out as it was deemed "too dangerous" to go anywhere too far in the weather. I did however go and do some iceskating with a few friends. It was not as fun as I thought it would be. They did not have skates in my size, but that never stopped me from going out there and falling several times. 14 in fact. There were people in the main square of Lipscomb living in a built up shantytown last night and the night before and this all ended after the Bison run in a frenzied CoC party dance thing with some fireworks to top it off. This afternoon was the Homecoming game against Jacksonville, and in typical Homecoming fashion the home team had an "easy" team to play so they could win. And win they did- 101 to 75 I think. There is one thing that I may miss if I go back- a social in the gym between the two largest dorms, Elam and High Rise. It would of been interesting to see the organised mingling of a Lipscomb social dance. Tomorrow is church at Woodmont then a lunch with Eddie Anstey.