The City good times

Well after a dissapointing finish to youth Olympics I chose to take abby into the city.I dont think she had seen the harbour before so we caught a train to central and then went to cicular quay.We then went onto the ferry that took us to darling harbour.It was a great boat trip as we went under the harbour bridge and she saw luna parkand just the beautiful harbour in general.Once at darling harbour we went into the aquarium.Havn;t been there for about six years abby had never been in an aquarium period so she enjoyed it seeing heaps of sharks seals sting rays (argh you killed a national icon bastards!!) pretty fish ugly fish and penguins haha.Afterwards it was to centrepoint tower and we quickly ascended that.I forgot how awesome it looks from up there sydney is awesome i would never leave it.A quick bite to eat for lunch and hen it was back onto the ferry and back to penrith.The next day it was that time again a trip to hornsby teary goodbyes for now and watching cityrail speed my girl away from me :(:( I miss her! Counting the days til im with her again like 15 i think :)

Long Time

OMG there is so so so much to tell and i have not updated my blog since the U2 concert that was like in november well whats happened since then.Ok firstly I have been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend abby and there has been multiple trips to and from newcastle all is good and we just spent 10 days together in melbourne at the national championships.Well i scored some neat stuff for xmas a flask a awesome engraved keyring some cologne some money some gift vouchers some dvds and some other little stuff like that.On Xmas day i spent time with my mum in the morning and dad in the evening.THe next day I drove to hornsby to pick up abby and seeing her again made me so happy then we got all packed for the nine hour haul to melbourbe to compete on the goulbourn river otherwse known as eildon. Okay down to racing.The competition started with the national schools championships.I pulled out two good runs but had 2 seconds of penalties both runs.I felt strong for this race and my preperation for the race was awesome.In the end I sat 2.5 seconds in front of mingerulli and ben miller sat in third.I was extremely happy with the end result.After a couple days rest that was filled in with cricket swiming cards videos food lol and just socialising in general it was time for the pre aussie championships first of the selection events.It was a short course,a sprinting course and i was feeling good about a positive result from the start line to gate 9 i felt good until i came into gate 10 and my paddle clipped a rock and tipped me instant 50 race over!!! i was feeling pretty bad but turned to nationals.I approached nationals with an all or nothing attitude.
After first runs i was in third with 2 touches second runs i pulled out a fast clean run to win the race a good end to the competition. Still the rankings seem to dissapoint me and continually remind me of pre aussies well everyone has a bad race and it was my time unfortunately.
I had a great time in melbourne catching up with everyone racing socialising and spending time with abby.It was all positive and it will suck next year as aussies are at penrith so no camping but luckily no 10 hour car trip or 24 hour boat trip :):) well youth olympics is on in a weeks time and i am feeling nervous already we go into camp on the 16th and racing is on the 19th and 20th
Thats it for now cya

U2 BEST BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!

As you can tell from the title I went and saw U2 last night for there third and final concert.It was such a great show and it was a sell out which made it even better.Show started at 530 with Kanye West being the supporting singer he was great to, singing several songs but the best had to be gold digger and Touch the sky he was also supported by percussion. At around 800 oclock the stadium lit up and around 845 the lights in sequence turned off leaving the whole stadium in darkness then the music hit and there came bono wrapped in an australian flag he sure knows how to please the crowd.Great Entrance.
They performed songs from all there albums with several from joshua tree some from ruttle and hum and only vertigo from there latest album :((
From memory they performed the songs vertigo,elevation,pride,one,with or without you,mysterious ways,beautiful day,angel of harlem,I still ahvn;t found what im looking for and the saints are coming.But they played some other great hits couple i have never heard before.Anyways they rocked and next time i will have to get a mosh ticket because that would have been so sweet.
Well here are some pics of the awesome concert

COCA COLA LIVE N' LOCAL

COCA COLA LIVE N LOCAL went off with 5 great bands playing this year ,The Veronicas, After The Fall,Evermore,The Hot Lies and End of Fashion.Went for about 6 hours was best show in ages.Call me gay but the best bands of the night were The veronicas and After the Fall.especially after the fall they were the bomb,evermore was also a smash.
It was such a great night with Ben Ben M Gage Karl Cj Toohey Laura Shrud Ian Ethan Aram Karel Tim Duncan Sam and Guy going,such a big group.Unfortunately we were in the second half of the general admission but it was still a great view ,we were all cut as the front section could have held more.Tim was the first to succesfully gain access to the mosh as he jumped the barricade ,we were all at a loss of how security did not pick him up. Well around 20 mins into the concert I met a girl called Abby and ended up spending rest of night with her but her friend would not budge from her side which was heaps annoying hopefully next time she wont be lol but hell it was good nonetheless. As we were leaving we met with Karel and tim after they were kicked out of mosh and they had been bashed by 5 guys who had to be on drugs so that was not the best end to there night.
GREAT NIGHT CANNOT WAIT FOR U2
here are some pics of night

One down 4 to go

I Need A Secretary!!!!

Wow I have been so busy in the last few weeks so havn;t had chance to update the blog.Well Ill get paddling news out of the way first.The zigzag is finally finished and only some padding to put in now.It feels really sweet on the whitewater turns easily and keeps the speed suprisingly well compared to the flatwater but its speed does not even come close to the scorpion....but the zigzag spins on the spot unlike the gala that will start to turn after i have hit the bank.Overall its a great boat and it was well worth the wait.

Well im officially 17 and i am going for my p's next monday and i cannot wait to get my liscence it will be so good.Seems like only yesterday that i went for my l's.
Also I have so many concerts coming but and I suprisingly have a large amount of my money.My line up is currently : Coca-cola live n local -2 great bands playing after the fall,and veronicas others are alright,U2 cannot wait to hear these guys live,A.F.i. well this would be probably the most emo band on my line up but still great band but probably crap live so lucky im going to WSAS graduation,then Big day out featuring several great bands like jet my chemical romance,tool,killers and eskimo joe next day my chemical romance and then the best band of all time to finsh off my line up the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS hell yeah

Other then that school has been rather demanding with the workload increasing in each subject,these are my subjects that I will be doing my Hsc on Biology Pd/H/Pe,Religion,Ancient History Maths,English and History Extension $h*t im going to be busy well anyway thats it for now

NSW Champs and AYOF

Well........The races on the weekend were awesome,a great result for me and several other juniors.I approached these two races differently to other selection events .In past races that were qualification for a team I always had the thought "I must go fast and beat others so I can make the team."However for this race I chose not to think about the youth olympics team but rather on how I was going to paddle, lines tempo edging etc etc.I believe that this different approach was what kept me calm on the startline,usually I am really nervous until i cross the startline but on the weekend I was rather calm.

Okay so the races on saturday were proabably the best in my paddling career to date.After first runs I was in second place behind benny.I was very cautious with my first run making sure I stuck the lines and was not on the back of the boat.Wayne said to me that that style of paddling does not suit me and that I need to race how I train.Second runs I let loose and paddled at 93.67 which was like 3rd fastest raw of day to win the junior mens .I was very happy and as this new method of approaching a race worked for me I turned to preparing for sundays races.

On sunday I had poorer races runs ,i was not clean and i did not stick my lines.This slipped me to fourth place after 1st runs.Not happy jan!!I semi redeemed myself in second runs and achieving a 3rd spot.Once racing was all over I then chose to turn attention to rankings.As i had a first and a third i was sitting on 3 points while phil and phil were equal on 2 points.

Copy pasted from Katies blog-final youth olympic team
Womens Kayak - Emmie Barrat, Kate Mollison and Roslyn Lawrence
Mens Kayak - Josh Williams, Phillip Gibbons and Phillip Mingerulli
Mens Canoe - Ian Borrows and Ethan Hodson
Mens C2 - Karl Hageman and Chris Horlyck

IT IS HERE!!!!!

Well yesterday the long awaited Zig Zag Aska arrived in one piece.This was the hardest boat to firstly order and then to get it into australia.In the end Mark travelled to europe and picked up the boat after visiting a couple countries like Austria England and France What an effort!!!! I was just dying to try the boat out so this morning i took it for a paddle without the foot rests.Even without them it still was great to paddle a boat that glides and turns so well.Well rest of holidays has been awesome better then the previous holidays,just cause ive done so much stuff
Well here are some pics of my baby

Holidays they are great

It has been so long since my last post.In that time so much has happened.To start off the school term for me finished on a high note with a good report giving me some reassurance of my academic abilities.I was happy that I finshed in top 10 off each subject except chemistry which i failed lol.According to my chemistry teacher Mr Fuller->shit... I have attended his classes sporadically a fact that I know is not true but hilarious. So far this holidays I have done heaps and heaps of stuff. Last friday saturday sunday and monday I was home alone and had to ride down to the stadium for training and mondays race. Saturday went to the horlycks to watch the swans lose by 1 then went bowling which is always fun.On tuesday I went into the city with kate and just walked around the city which overall was a good day. Will post more when i can be bothered

Never Never..School..and Other Stuff

So much has been happening in my life the last couple of weeks.Well exams for year 11 are finished and i feel really confident with my results passing every subject except chemistry but i dont care about chemistry it is a waste of time.I also got my mark for my Historical Investigation that accounts for 20% of year 11 Ancient history it was out of 50 and i got 50 and was the only one out of 50+ to get that mark.I was happy with that and my teacher gave me the choice to pick up history extension for year 12.....should be interesting.

After a 4+ hour drive we arrived at barrington where a slalom race was held on the never never rapid.The racing was good with Ian showing that he still has the skill in the Kayak coming second.The day before the race about 15 of us did the river trip,Ben H Cj Ian and I was just so bored of paddling stupid k1 and c1's so we chose to paddle a wombegong.This proved to be quite a challenge as the boat is only made for 2 people and definetly not for whitewater or even moving water.In summary of that river trip we had heaps of fun and laughs but also sunk several times and had to empty the boat in very cold water.

Well today I bought tickets to two concerts AFI and U2 ..Yes U2 i could not believe it when I saw that they were doing a third show.However I will proabably have to miss AFI's concert as i have a WSAS graduation dinner dammit!! Other then that everything at school and on the water is going great.

Exams are soon..I am so depressed

Well the title explains it all,my final exams for year 11 are due to start in 3 days and I am not happy about that fact.What I try to remember is that these are not my HSC exams and that they practically go towards nothing apart from the right to boast about who beat who.This three day weekend was a bit tough for me both highs and lows.Friday i took off from school so I could go and buy tickets for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.A rough outline of that day - joined the line of 50 or so around 730 am-after about 30 mins of lining up there was an announcement saying the 1st show had sold out but a second show was going to occur so hopes were still alive.As there was only one computer and an elderly lady opperating it the 2nd show sold out when i was 3 places from buying tickets.Around 11:30 a third show was announced and I got two tickets for me and Ben Miller.
I have semi modified this pic just in case,yes i am paranoid someone will try to rip it off

After that I caught a movie with Ian and Ethan-fearless great movie it is subbed but really great fight scenes. After an average training session and an entire day of playing Xbox with Cj and Duncan several of us went to Chris johnsons 21st.Overall awesome night off socialising.Today after a better training session I enjoyed bumming in front of the tv with my dad while doing a little bit of study.I was still really tired and was feeling a bit depressed.I guess ive got a lot on my mind but anyway thats life.

Great Start to Season

Been a while since my last entry but in that time a lot has happened both in and out of the boat.Well I made a good start to the racing season by placing overall 1st in the Pws Slalom Series,hopefully this will make my self confidence a little higher but probably not lol.That weekend I also went to the footy to watch Roosters vs Panthers with Maddy Johno and Duncan,overall a good night and a good weekend.

Ahsleigh flowers had her house warming party last week which was a great night of drinking and socialising.Well nothing much else is happening at the moment heaps of school work heaps of training and getting ready to finish year 11 not long now til im free of school forever

Start of Race Season

Well the racing season has come around so quickly with it starting this weekend with a small double header slalom.It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting on the startline at the Junior Team selection races.At the moment I am padlding really well,I have finally broken out of my slump couldn;t have come at a better time aswell with some BIG races coming up.Firstly their is State titles which usually is not that important but that race will ultimately decide the AYOF team with only 3 spots allocated for Mens K1 (I am not going to settle for 4th spot I was 4th for Juniors and I so want this). The next big race after youth selection is probably the Junior selection race itself that surprisingly I am looking forward to however im sure I will feel quite the opposite come race day.Well thats it at the moment pupil free day tomorrow Yes

Worlds 2006

A year has gone by so quick and it is time again for the world championships.Some interesting results so far and some really sick pics.
Had a fairly laid back weekend with my dad which I really enjoyed and let me recover from everyhting thats going on ,had a really good session on saturday which i think sees me out of my dip and a session this arvo which was hard and Im still feeling the effects of.Im just about finished my Year 11 assesments for the year with two assesments due tomorrow and then it yearly's and then year 12. Having some difficulties with uploading pics will try again laterz

2006 World Cahmpionships Prague Troja
Mens K1
1st Stefano Cipressi ITA
2nd Julien Billaut FRA
3rd Campbell Walsh GBR (the real winner of the comp, stefano got a 50 and Julian a touch)

Mens C2
1st Volf/Stepanek CZE
2nd Becker/Henze GER
3rd Hochshorner/Hochschorner SVK

Womens K1
1st Jana Dukatova SVK
2nd Fionna Pennie GBR
3rd Jennifer Bongardt GER

Mens C1
Tony Estanguet FRA
Michal Martikan SVK
Stanslav Jezek CZE

Been Busy

All is good at the moment,been heaps busy though .At the moment I have hit a bit of a slump with my paddling but Im sure ill come back in time for the start of the racing season.Yesterday I had a paddle of benny jones zigzag and im currently planning to steal it,not really but I just cant wait to get mine.

This afternoon after visiting my nan I was looking through some photos and came across this pic of me from preschool.What can i say..well all the chicks were chasing after me.Also going to see pirates 2 tonight for the second time which should be good.Been heaps busy at school and padldiung has been taking it out of me.

78 Days and Counting

Well its been a while since my last post and a lot has happened.The junior team got back from europe and it was great to see them back on home soil.At the moment I am a bit Jealous of Ben and Tash who got their new Zigzag Aska's well only another 78 days til I get mine seems so far away however I dont think ill be hard pressed making the change from my old boat to the Aska.

On Saturday I had Full length runs session in the morning which really took it out of me and at night there was a fair well dinner for peter who is leaving PWS and going to a principals job near dubbo.It was a great night and afterwards a couple of us went to duncans where we crashed for the night.Another coaching clinic on sunday followed by school work how interesting.

BACK TO SCHOOL. NO NO NO ......NO

Well I am going to kill myself.......Well only one thing can take away the feeling of going back to school and that was reflecting back on how much fun I had in the holidays.To be honest it was probably the best between school term holidays I have ever had.On saturday night Craig and I went to duncans to join him and ashleigh watch the rugby.After the rugby we played a little poker then some halo and then decided to crash there for the night.

Now its time to knuckle down and do some work(lol yeah right).This time next year I will be in my final term and getting ready for the HSC.Its a bit scary but I think of how good its going to be when i finish school.PARTY TIME!!

Some late nights

Training wise this week has been fairly tough i have already done 11 sessionjs and it is friday wioth fulls and tech on saturday and sunday.After creasing my tail of my boat last week Craig and I repaired it and is now strong as before.

Im pretty tired at moment after a couple of fun late nights.I should be using this time to rest seeing as Im about to start year 12.Anyways on monday night Gage,Tim,Chris and I went to Bloc under 18's nightclub which was an awesome night,it went off.About halfway through the night a guy who had to be on Ecstasy wanted to fight Tim because he has emo hair.Its amazing I didn;t know how much some people hate Emos.

Anyway we had to step and he ended up disappearing into the crowd.After whitewater training on wednesday Craig Tash and I went rockclimbing which was a good cross training session as always.Last night was a Pws staff dinner at Dannys on High which was a great night of scoffing free food down..After dinner Me Duncan Ash Mel Chris and some of the cafe staff went bowling which was great fun.I won of course so Duncan got cut and dropped a bowling ball on my foot missing the largest part and squashing my little toe argh!!.I was a bit cut! Anyways everything is all good Here are some pictures of Junior Team on Tacen.Ohh I wanna paddle that so jealous

All Over

The Junior World Championships are over.The K1 class was won by Mateusz Polaczyk from poland who raced two clean runs to become Junior World Champion.Dawid BArtos again from poland won the C1 class beating last years winner Benn fraker by 8 seconds.My good friend Casey Eichfeld of the US came 10th in the final well done mate.Ursa Kargelj from slovenia won the Womens class.

Well done to the australian team you did us proud.Our results in the semis were Kate Mollison 24th Rosalyn Lawrence 30th Emmie Barratt 33rd, Philip Gibbins 21st Phil Mingerulli 30th Talis and Tom 18th.

Europe Results

Here are some results from over in europe.Badluck to the C1 boys who had some fast times but touches unfortunately let them down.All our aussie girls are through to the semis.Phill Minger and Phil Gibbons are both through to the semis unfotunately benny jones 50 in his second run bad luck mate.Well done to our C2 crews with tom and talis making the semis.Well done team

Mens C1 Qualifications - Results
1st Norbert Neveu Fra 92.92 0/0 91.08
41st Jono Davis Aust 110.57 4/2 111.36
49t Ian Borrows Aust 104.92 2/50 105.41
51st Richie Merjan Aust 149.91 6/54 140.97

Womens K1 Qualifications - Results

1st Michaela Grimm Ger 99.96 0/2 98.6
20th Rosalyn Lawrence 106.58 2/2 109.22
26 Emmie Barratt 112.64 2/4 108.27
35 Kate Mollison 115.25 2/6 112.19

Mens K1 Qualifications- Results
1st Jan Vondra Cze 87.94 0/0 86.75
29th Phil Minger 93.77 0/0 93.60
38th Phil Gibbons 94.67 0/2 94.51
78th Ben Jones 94.67 8/56 98.80

Mens C2
Tom and Talis 120.46 6/4 124.30
Cj Karl 127.37 10/124.32

Blogthings-THEY NEVER LIE

You Are Smokin' Hot

You're a terrible flirt, a sharp dresser, and a party animal. Of course, you're totally sizzling too. And for you, being hot just comes naturally.

Are You Hot?

You Are Bart Simpson

Very misunderstood, most people just dismiss you as "trouble." Little do they know that you're wise and well accomplished beyond your years. You will be remembered for: starring in your own TV show and saving the town from a comet Your life philosophy: "I don't know why I did it, I don't know why I enjoyed it, and I don't know why I'll do it again!"

The Simpsons Personality Test

Your Power Level is: 83%

You have all the tools you need to be a success - both professionally and personally. You'll probably go beyond reaching your goals. You'll change the world (at least a little).

How Powerful Are You?

You Are 30% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

Holidays are great!!!

I have been having so much fun with my mates since the holidays started.After training on Sat Gage,Ben,Tash and I went bowling for a couple hours to celebrate bens 15th bday.Afterwards we went to hogs breath cafe in the new section of the Plaza which was a great evening.IT was an early start on sunday morning with another coaching clinic which ran again for the whole day.In the afternoon session I had to much faith in myself and slightly creased the tail of my boat.It is not bad at all and should be easy to repair but still it is now a weak point in a crucial part of my boat so I might need to be careful going down last drop til my new boat arrives. Tonight a couple of us are going to see a movie which should be fun.Here are some pics from the weekends activities.
Aren't I radical,well im sick of everyone going down the left now, the left is to easy the right is for true daredevils . Me and Gage waiting for our 430 reservation for bowling.Gages trick