Australians love to attend sporting events like “the Cricket” and “the Footy”. The city is really charged now for the Australian Open. Now, I don’t know from tennis, and God knows, there has been at least one brave soul who has tried to teach me how to play…but let’s face it. I’ve got poor hand-eye coordination. That’s the solemn truth. I don’t think I’ll ever play, but after a full day spent watching some of the world’s best play some great tennis here in Melbourne….I’m hooked. I’m a fan now.
The day was a gorgeous 31 degrees, and I decided to find a sunny seat (they all were!) in the stands of Margaret Court Arena and watch Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia play Vania King of the USA.
Daniela won and progressed on to the Second Round. She was OBVIOUSLY the crowd favourite. Perversely, I decided I'd cheer for the American. I was one of about three people who did!
You know, here's what I think...not to put too fine a PC point on it, but it's gotta be TOUGH playing a match against a tall, blonde, beautiful Slovakian when you're a petite Asian-American. The crowd kind of forgets that you're a world class tennis player too, and it could be anybody's game.... and there you are: an Underdog simply because you are an American without the long blonde hair AND you DON'T have long legs "up to HERE"! (Imagine a level somewhere around your shoulders, regardless of your height!)
Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!!
With Australians like Leyton Hewitt, Peter Luczak, Rob Smeets and Chris Guccione playing on Tuesday, the Aussie Fan population was out in all their glory!
Check out the luck of the draw! My ticket to the 7:30 p.m. game at Rod Laver Arena turned into a fantastic double bill!
Even with an upset tummy and a bum wrist respectably, both Roger Federer and Venus Williams won their First Round Matches, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself up in the nosebleed section!
Cutting edge interviews on the court after each match demanded the athletes answer these pressing questions: "I've notice the size of your earrings. Do they bug you? Where did you get them?" AND "Where does "Fed" spend his vacation and what do you do on vacation?" Hard-core sports journalism this is not!
Venus (in all white) in play against Zi Yan.
Roger (in all black) about to make short work of Diego Hartfield.
At the end of the day, I didn't get to see the yobo Greek fans get pepper sprayed, and, as t.v. commentary isn't heard in the arena during a match, I didn't get to hear the t.v. commentator's assessment of Venus' bum. It's okay...I didn't miss out! I heard all about the bad stuff today. Perhaps not everyone has good times at "the Tennis". I sure can't complain!
New skin continues to grow, and most miraculous of all: the hole in my leg has all but disappeared as new tissue has grown up to fill it!(You can't really see it in the photo, but trust me!)
The "good" news: no skin grafts required and a pretty cool scar that will look like a cigar burn. The "sad" news: no crazy body shots out of my leg to amaze crowds at parties!
Jas and Matt are renovating a farmhouse in the Otways, about a 15 minute drive from their present house near the beach.
Matt and his workshop.
My roommate Chris and I visited the construction site of his new boutique apartment in Elwood, 5 minutes away from our flat in St. Kilda, which he rents.He hopes that we will move in to the new place by April. The new apartment is off the back of a renovated heritage building.
Lots of time was spent on the beach with water lapping my ankles. Some beach highlights: 
Early mornings on the beach tossing the ball to the dogs, Zephyr and Emerson while Jasmina surfed. 
A note about the food for those of you who are interested: we enjoyed an Aussie BBQ on Saturday night complete with the choice of BBq’ed Lamb, Chicken and/or Sausages(Snags)! Aussie beer and wine was enjoyed also.
We were joined by more Irish ( Joanne and Yvonne) some Aussies (Heather and Allia) and a Brit (Rose). It was a fun evening of good food and drink, even better stories and big laughs!
As you can see, there is some new skin growth, and I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but... the tissue in the wound itself has grown up a lot from the bottom. It's still an open wound though, so there is still a risk of reinfection if I spend three days surfing. (Yeah, I know. Duh, Paola!)
Fair enough! I will not soak my leg in seawater this weekend. Fingers crossed for next week!
Me and Monica, the wound nurse.
People come from all over to sample a Vanilla Slice, a Lamington or a Fairy Cake.
Note: At least one of these cake shops is not living up to its high acclaim. I had to resort to “freshening up” a Vanilla slice in the microwave after taking a bite! Sadness!
However, I am healing well, and you can see that there is nice, bright and healthy pink tissue in the place of nasty, black necrotic tissue. 
Yep, there’s still a cavernous hole in my leg. I can’t drink alcohol because of the antibiotics, but if I could, there's enough of a trough there that I might consider doing a half shot of Jagermeister out of my leg!
Picky sidebar: Damn the man in the Gilligan hat in the corner. I should have snapped the shot when he went to get a beer.
Australians love to attend sporting events like “the Cricket” and “the Footy”. The city is really charged now for the Australian Open. Now, I don’t know from tennis, and God knows, there has been at least one brave soul who has tried to teach me how to play…but let’s face it. I’ve got poor hand-eye coordination. That’s the solemn truth. I don’t think I’ll ever play, but after a full day spent watching some of the world’s best play some great tennis here in Melbourne….I’m hooked. I’m a fan now.
The day was a gorgeous 31 degrees, and I decided to find a sunny seat (they all were!) in the stands of Margaret Court Arena and watch Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia play Vania King of the USA. 
Daniela won and progressed on to the Second Round. She was OBVIOUSLY the crowd favourite. Perversely, I decided I'd cheer for the American. I was one of about three people who did!
Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!! 
Even with an upset tummy and a bum wrist respectably, both Roger Federer and Venus Williams won their First Round Matches, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself up in the nosebleed section! 
Venus (in all white) in play against Zi Yan.
At the end of the day, I didn't get to see the yobo Greek fans get pepper sprayed, and, as t.v. commentary isn't heard in the arena during a match, I didn't get to hear the t.v. commentator's assessment of Venus' bum. It's okay...I didn't miss out! I heard all about the bad stuff today. Perhaps not everyone has good times at "the Tennis". I sure can't complain!
District Nurses come every day to check on me and change my dressing. I am learning to clean and redress my wound. Today, Chris hung around to watch and check out the gore…and provide some moral support too, I guess.
Apparently, it looks much better and new healthy tissue is starting to fill in. Today is the first day I have been able to bring myself to have a picture taken of it. This is just after I've taken the dressing off.
I’ve been confined to the apartment …sorry, “flat”… with my leg up for the last three days. I’m not really a good patient, so I’ve gone on little missions to the shops and the video store.
I even rented crutches at the chemist’s downstairs thinking that they would make me more mobile. Yeah, THAT lasted one day. I got “crutch burn” under my arms and they’ve sat by the door since!
On Sunday, it was a stroll in the Dandenong Mountain Range. These are pictures along the LyreBird Trail near Ferntree Gully.
And by the way, who DOESN'T love the place name "Ferntree Gully"?
