Friday 31 August 2012

The Olympics

Yes, I do realize that the Olympics are long gone and this post is a little behind the times.  But hey... it takes about 4-6 weeks for a box containing DVD recordings of the games to get to PNG.  So I am actually ahead of schedule!


I followed the progress of our PNG team via their page on Facebook.  We had competitors in weight lifting, Taekwando, swimming, running, and who knows what else.  While I don't think they won any medals, PNG was certainly proud of the athletes and their incredible effots.

Toea Wisil was the PNG flag bearer in the opening ceremonies.  She is a runner who competed in the 100m sprint.  At 11.6 seconds, she won her first race and was the fastest qualifier from the qualifying rounds.  Her second run was a personal best at 11.27 seconds (and I think a regional record for the Pacific).  She came in 4th and missed advancing to the semi-final by a fraction of second.

Toea's home place is just down the road from us in Banz!  Here are a few pictures of our local hero...





















"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
~ 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Sunday 26 August 2012

WONCA Women's Working Party meeting

Start:     Sep 2, '12
End:     Sep 8, '12
Location:     Canberra, Australia
I'm going to Australia for a medical meeting!!!

Friday 10 August 2012

OSU vs. Texas

Ohio State and University of Texas aren't what I would consider traditional rivals.  For Ohio State it is the University of Michigan.  And Texas does battle with both Texas A&M and Oklahoma.  Both football teams do have quite a reputation and have made it to the national championship on more than one occasion.

As a Buckeye living in Longhorn territory, I was subject to just a bit of harassment for my loyalties.  All in good fun, of course.  Most of the teasing came from my friend Jake, who is a die-hard UT fan.  Bordering on insanity, in fact.  The Carters, my adopted family in Fort Worth, also liked to give me a hard time.  Once upon a Ohio State game they kidnapped Brutus the Buckeye-head and threatened to sell him on e-bay to a fan of the opposing team.  Poor, poor Brutus the Buckeye-head.  But the effects of the trauma were only temporary.  He became friends with mini-Bevo and they now share a spot on my bed in PNG.


Well it so happened that in 2005, our two teams got to go head to head in Austin.  Jake and his wife Lisa invited me to the game.  I was a tiny speck of scarlet and gray amidst a sea of burnt Orange.  Oh, what fun!  If my memory serves me correctly... the Longhorns, who were used to blowing away every team they played, got spanked.  Unfortunately they returned the favor the following year in Columbus.


I was seeing patients in clinic last week when this guy walked into my room wearing a Longhorn t-shirt that he bought at second hand.  And on a day that I was wearing my Ohio State shirt.  I couldn't help but take a picture.  This one is for you, Jake :).


O-H... I-O!!!