Games People Play

The lobby of Rydges at Cronulla the
day after the 2016 grand final

The bar fridge in my motel room
with the games for sale on the bench

Last year I booked a motel room for one night at Cronulla hoping my team would have won their first ever NRL grand final trophy the night before.

Me on grand final night 2016

Luckily they did, because my mood would have been the exact opposite to the mood I was in on the day.

In fact I doubt any drug in the world was capable of putting me in the euphoric mood I was in for the next week after grand final night.
Or the week before for that matter -
My Happiest Birthday Ever

The Cronulla Shire was on fire with celebration, and I couldn't ever think of a better day to be in Cronulla with the waves of celebration in the air.

Now if any motel chain was going to get me to buy something off their bar-fridge menu then today would be that day.

I noticed there were retro games for sale on the bench like this $16.95 instant beach ball.
Bargain.

Not ... but I bought it so that I was "prepared for future fun".

Ironically beach balls are plastic spheres that could potentially blow out to sea.

The tin had a recycling symbol on it, but I don't know whether that was for the beach ball and the tin, or just the tin.

So that toy beach ball has had me conflicted since I've bought it, as I don't know whether I'm a guy prepared for fun, or just a potential environmental terrorist. 

I also bought a set of wooden dominoes, not that I like the game of dominoes (I don't even know how to play it), but I love "the domino effect" metaphor and love watching falling dominoes.

I guess it teaches me that once you put something in motion you never know where it will end and how many people or events it will effect.

I also bought a set of Pick-Up Sticks, not because I like playing the game so much, but they remind me of yarrow sticks used in the I Ching.

They reminded me also of an art exhibition that was on with 
David Lynch's paintings, which I wrote about in this post -
My Sunday: Between Two Worlds and Trying to Catch the Big Fish
So, apart from the beach ball, all of the other things I bought were eco-friendly and dirt cheap to make and sell on to suckers like me.
I may never play with the souvenirs I bought on the day, but when I see them sitting on the shelf it will give me something metaphorical to think about.

At least I can say that I had a ball down in Cronulla in 2016 ... and have still got it.
One couple's mission to live plastic-free and fight the war on waste

"Days, weeks and months spent picking up marine debris along Australia's coastline has Natalie Woods and Daniel Smith determined to live a plastic-free life.
And the founders of Clean Coast Collective are now on a mission to draw attention to the amount of plastic we use unnecessarily every day."

The Shining turns 40 in 2[0]17, as Does PSY

"The Shining is a horror novel by American author Stephen King. Published in 1977, it is King's third published novel and first hard-back best-seller: the success of the book firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre.

The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his recovery from alcoholism.

The novel was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013.
The Shining centers on the life of Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies.

His family accompanies him on this job, including his young son Danny Torrance, who possesses "the shining", an array of psychic abilities that allow Danny to see the hotel's horrific past.

Soon, after a winter storm leaves them snowbound, the supernatural forces inhabiting the hotel influence Jack's sanity, leaving his wife and son in incredible danger.
The novel was adapted into a 1980 feature film of the same name directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with Diane Johnson.

Although King himself remains disappointed with the adaptation, having criticized its handling of the book's themes and of Wendy's character, it is regarded as 
one of the greatest horror films ever made."

Park Jae-sang (Hangul: 박재상; Hanja: 朴載相; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (싸이, IPA: [s͈ai]; /ˈsaɪ/ sy), stylized PSY, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer turns 40 this year also.

And Stephen King turns 70.

Coincidence?-)

The Present Can Only Be Viewed from the Past

Red Rum's grave at Aintree

April 2 1977 – Horse racing: Red Rum wins a record third Grand National at Aintree Racecourse.

Park Jae-sang (born December 31, 1977),
known professionally as Psy

Donald John "Don" Trump Jr.
(born December 31, 1977)

Donald John "Don" Trump Jr. shares the same birthdate as Psy and turns forty on the same day, December 31st.

Hello Kitty Kat?

I went into a local Korean supermarket the other day to check out and buy some food that is popular in South Korea, but rather alien to Australian supermarkets.
I came across green tea flavoured Kit-Kats, which to me was like a bizarre hybrid of the western Kit Kat with Korean cuisine.  

I love the little gold sigil like Korean characters on the individual packets.

I also bought some shrimp noodle cups which came in handy this week when I came down with a real bad flu, because this stuff was all the food I could really stomach, plus it helped to relieve my sore throat for a while. 

I only bought the shrimp noodles because I had been noticing a lot of shrimp/prawn synchronicities the week I bought them -
Plate of Shrimp/Prawns and the Raw Prawn/Trickster
But I was glad I had these in the pantry when the flu hit me, as I don't know what I would have eaten when I was sick.
These were a Godsend to me.

Checking out these foreign food supermarkets in my hometown is like going on a little cultural holiday without leaving home ... or time traveling;-)