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Showing posts with label Australia Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia Day. Show all posts

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Happy Straya Day

I was lamenting the fact (I lament a lot!) that I never celebrate Australia Day.
I never feel that nationalistic pride that makes me want to do something special.
And then I read this on Facebook.
I was nodding my head and chuckling so much that I realized...
I'm a damn good Aussie after all.
And it's not really Stray'an to celebrate Australia Day anyway, is it?
So anyhow...have a read, a chuckle...and ava good Australia Day!

You know you're Australian if:
* You believe that stubbies can be either drunk or worn.
* You're liable to burst out laughing whenever you hear of Americans "rooting" for something.
* You pronounce Melbourne as 'Mel-bin'. You believe the 'L' in the word 'Australia' is optional.
* You can translate: 'Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas.'
* You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep.
* You call your best friend 'a total bastard' but someone you really, truly despise is just 'a bit of a bastard'.
* You think 'Woolloomooloo' is a perfectly reasonable name for a place.
* You're secretly proud of our killer wildlife.
* You believe it makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin.
* You understand that 'Wagga Wagga' can be abbreviated to 'Wagga' but 'Woy Woy' can't be called 'Woy'.
* You believe that cooked-down axle grease makes a good breakfast spread. You've also squeezed it through Vita Wheats to make little Vegemite worms.
* You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis.
* Beetroot with your hamburger...of course.
* You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again' And "Living next door to Alice".
* You believe that the confectionery known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year.
* You believe that every important discovery in the world was made by an Australian but then sold off to the Yanks for a pittance.
* You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them.
* Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language.
* You understand that 'excuse me' can sound rude, While 'scuse me' is always polite.
* You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasion via your nose.
* You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle and a seat belt buckle becomes a pretty good branding iron.
* Your biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules for beach cricket.
* You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call 'Anzac cookies'.
* You still think of Kylie as 'that girl off Neighbours'.
* When working on a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer.
* You know how to abbreviate every word, all of which usually end in -o: arvo, combo, garbo, kero, metho, milko, muso, rego, servo, smoko, speedo, righto, goodo etc.
* You know that there is a universal place called "woop woop" located in the middle of nowhere...no matter where you actually are.
* You know that none of us actually drink Fosters beer, because it tastes like shit. But we let the world think we do. Because we can.
* You have some time in your life slept with Aeroguard on in the summer. Maybe even as perfume.
* You've only ever used the words - tops, ripper, sick, mad, rad, sweet - to mean good. And then you place 'bloody' in front of it when you REALLY mean it.
* You know that the barbecue is a political arena; the person holding the tongs is always the boss and usually a man. And the women make the salad.
* You say 'no worries' quite often, whether you realise it or not.
* You understand what no wucking furries means.
* You've drank your tea/coffee/milo through a Tim Tam.
* You own a Bond's chesty. In several different colours.
* You know that roo meat tastes pretty good, But not as good as barra. Or a meat pie.
* You know that some people pronounce Australia like "Straya" and that's ok.
* And you will forward this list to other Australians, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand

And one more thing.
Is Australia Day really Australia Day without Sam Kekovich?




PS I just remembered I don't like pav...or lamingtons! Perhaps I'm not a damn good Aussie...???

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Aussie Aussie Aussie

This is an old post, rehashed, because it's perfect for today
Australia Day
and I'm too lazy to write a new one.
(Typical Aussie!!)


Here is a list of Aussie things.  The ones I have done are bold.

1. Heard a kookaburra in person. (I love the kookookookookooaburra)

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Seen a koala. (They are gorgeous, but they really do stink.)


4. Visited Melbourne.

5. Watched a summer thunderstorm. (A favourite pastime with my Dad as a kid.)

6. Worn a pair of thongs. (That's what my house shoes are, and I even wear them with socks sometimes...only in the yard!!)


7. Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)

8. Visited Cape York.

9. Held a snake. (I have ophidiophobia, not a chance!)

10. Sang along with Khe San. (Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone.)

11. Drank VB. (Not my first choice, but I have.)

12. Visited Sydney.


13. Have seen a shark. (Underwater World and Seaworld count, right?)


14. Have used Aussie slang naturally in a conversation. (Bloody oath)

15. Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian. (My ex-mother-in-law was a Torres Strait Islander so yeah, lots of conversations.)

16. Eaten hot chips from the bag at the beach. (Coogee with all the seagulls, it was beautiful.)

17. Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (Not yet, but I'd love to climb it!)

18. Used an outside dunny, and checked under the seat before sitting down. (Probably should have checked under the seat, huh?)

19. Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s. (What?)

20. Slept on an overnight train or bus.

21. Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras

22. Have gone bush-bashing.

23. Taken a sickie. (shhhhh)

24. Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football. (And I actually enjoyed it!)

25. Have seen wild camels.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Done a Tim Tam Slam. (You can do it with KitKats too, it's not as good, but.)

28. Ridden in a tram in Melbourne. (Must get to Melbourne one day.)

29. Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service. (But have been woken by one.)
.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.


31. Held a wombat.

32. Been on a roadtrip of 800km or more. (From Brisbane to Cairns and back in a Tarago with 8 people.)

33. Seen the Great Australian Bight in person.

34. Had a really bad sunburn. (I still remember how it feels to peel large patches of skin off, yikes!)

35. Visited an Aboriginal community.

36. Seen a redback spider. (I found 5 in the Big Red Car, yes the Wiggles one that the kids drive!)

37. Have watched Paul Hogan. (Struth, who hasn't?)

38. Seen Blue Poles in person.

39. Wandered barefoot in the bush/outback. (Do you know how hot the ground gets?!)

40. Eaten Vegemite. (Every day.)

41. Thrown a boomerang. (But it didn't come back...wrong technique, obviously!)

42. Seen the Kimberleys.

43. Given a hitch-hiker a lift.

44. Been to Perth.

45. Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters.

46. Tried playing a didgeridoo. (As an ex-family member of an indigenous family, I would never out of respect. Women are not allowed.)

47. Seen dinosaur footprints.

48. Eaten Tim Tams.

49. Been to Darwin.

50. Touched a kangaroo.


51. Visited the Great Barrier Reef.

52. Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson. (Not intentionally.)

53. Killed a Cane Toad. (Ewwww, they're gross, but I wouldn't kill one!)

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.

55. Have read and own books by Australian authors. (Loved this one by Kylie Ladd.)


(And this very Australian one by Fiona Palmer.)


56. Visited Adelaide.

57. Know the story behind “Eternity”. (I don't even know the story in front of it??)

58. Been camping. (Very reluctantly and will resist doing it ever again.)

59. Visited Brisbane. (Lived there, love it!)


60. Been in an outback pub. (so.many.times)


61. Know what the term “Waltzing Matilda” actually means. (I have heard this but my memory has lost it.)

62. Gone whale watching. (Please, don't remind me)


63. Listened to Slim Dusty. (Unfortunately)

64. Own five or more Australian movies or TV series. (I have no idea and I'm not counting.)

65. Sang along to Down Under. (It's stuck in my head now)

66. Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road. (Things you do when you're dating.)

67. Eaten a 4′n’20 pie.

68. Surfed at Bondi.

69. Watched the cricket on Boxing Day. (Probably, but not by choice.)

70. Visited Hobart.

71. Eaten kangaroo.

72. Seen a quokka.

73. Visited Canberra.

74. Visited rainforests.


75. Used a Victa lawnmower.

76. Travelled on a tram in Adelaide.

77. Used a Hills hoist. (I have one but its up-and-down is broken.)

78. Visited Kata Tjuta (Uh no, I've never heard of this one! Ignorant Aussie.)

79. Used native Australian plants in cooking.

80. Visited the snow. (Not in Australia.)

81. Chosen a side in Holden VS Ford. (How embarrassment, we were a Ford family, yet my first car was a Gemini!)

82. Visited the desert.

83. Been water skiing. (I've watched but have never had a go.)

84. Read The Phantom.

85. Visited Parliament House.

86. Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting.

87. Crossed the Nullarbor.

88. Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles.

89. Listened to AC/DC. (Again not by choice but they're hard to avoid in outback pubs!)

90. Called someone a dag. (Ya dag!)

91. Voted in a Federal Election. (You have to! I would anyway.)

92. Have been swimming and stayed between the flags.




93. Had a possum in your roof. (OMG, how loud are they??)

94. Visited the outback. (Lived there, too)

95. Travelled over corrugated roads. (I really want to type that sound you make when you're driving on these roads but I don't know what letters to use)

96. Hit a kangaroo while driving. (Never, thank God! That was a major worry living in the outback)

97. Been well outside any mobile phone coverage.

98. Seen an emu. (Again, Australia Zoo counts, right?)

99. Have woken to the smell of bushfires.

100. Patted a pure-bred dingo.

101. Seen the Oils live.


Now it’s your turn, what Aussie things have you done?
And
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!