Cheers and Tears: My Round of 16th

Being Italian means to re-discover, every four years, a national spirit and union, a three colors flag, a passion that don't look into regional dialects and economical differences: being Italian makes the soccer world cup a HUGE event.

Being in Australia makes it tougher!!
Waking up at 4.30 in the morning... or maybe not even going to sleep at all: the eight hours of difference are giving this world cup a different taste: a breakfast taste with a coffee I don't drink
but in those working days where the night awake has merged two days in one.

It's definitely not just about Italy: Australia is in too.
Again after 32 years, everyone here down under re-discover the beauty of the most famous sport world wide; and when Australians get into a sport, they do it properly!!

So, I'm there, entering the pub in Bondi: it's 6.15 in the morning, a third of the second half is gone already. Australia is playing Croatia... Australia is losing 1 to 2... but what's more is that Australia needs just a draw to go though the historical round of 16th.
Pressure in continuous... the pub is full of green and gold, alike Brazil, the color of the Australian teams! Everyone is cheering, whistliling, shouting, singing... every action is a big hope, every Croatian counter attach is a fear.

I have 2.5h sleep: Italy has just gained is passage through beating Czech Rep. But I'm not tired, not sleeping, the atmosphere is way too high.

The goal arrives!!! Everyone is just crazy... me too!!
Wow... the goal is re-played a first time... a second, a third... we all cheers like it was a new goal every time... It's now that I have problems to hold my tears back: I'm fascinated, happy, overwhelmed with the Australian enthusiasm for a secondary, maybe not anymore, sport. And I do miss Italy, the way we would be celebrating for hours, shouting, hugging... the real latin passion for a sport which is more in our culture and blood rather than an intensive past time!!

Few minutes to the end... and then the end: Australia is through!!!
Round of 16th... no bad for a team whose first appearance 32 years earlier saw no points and no a single goal.

And the best part?! The round of 16th is Italy vs Australia!!!!!

I'm going to enjoy that, I'm going to be Italian has never before... flag is ready, the Italian suburb is alerted... watch out though: Australian has nothing to lose and enthusiasm to sell!!

Forza Azzuri...

10,000

The 20th May of 2006, a few weeks ago, I celebrated my 10,000th day of life. How I came up with that it's not relevant: just a boring day a work a few months ago.

What's important is the celebration I decided to give to the event.

Playing a lot with the natural curiosity of the human being (and with emails, voice spread and months of promotion) eventually quite some people showed up at the party I gave with Jerry, my flat mate who was also celebrating his birthday.

I had decided I wanted to have a special day: although many options fell apart (getting a tattoo and a massage for example) I soon realized that the best way to celebrated, beside the party, was having a pretty regular day, but enjoying it: I went for a nice breakfast, a great walk on the cliff beside the ocean. I bought myself 3 books. So I spent quite some hours by myself: it's always good company and nice reflection time!!

Then I went home helping Jerry preparing for the party: I believe we set a very nice environment, or at least the best we could do with the means we had!

At the party I saw most of the people I wanted; a bit a drinking and some good fun (especially when I eventually stood on the sofa to announce to our guests the reason of my celebration which I had kept quite secret) made all a very enjoyable night... at least for me!

Maybe disappointment was a quite common feeling when I announced the reason of my celebration. There had been any kind of guesses, from my sexual orientation to my wedding, from the news of leaving Australia to my hidden child in Sydney. Anyway I now believe that many people under or around the 27th years of age would be soon calculating their 10,000th day of life: a number of day so round that deserves some attention.

So, if you want to calculate that as well, my dear reader, have fun with the calculator (there is a much faster way using excel) but pay attention to the additional day we all live every forth years and also time you were born and time difference if you are not in the same time zone of the place you were born!

You see, it's serious matter!!