After four days in our shit-stained, pot-smoking Coogee Beach hostel, Liam
and I moved to the Sydney YHA right in the middle of Sydney. It's a
beautiful place, almost like a Holiday Inn. It's also the largest hostel in
the world (although someone told me about projects in Harlem which are a bit
bigger).

Our roommate, who was laying in bed and surrounded by various bottles and
packages of medication, looked just like James Spader but spoke like Vincent
Price. Kind of a strange fellow. After I got out of the shower one day, he
described for me in detail the first time he hit a kangaroo with his car on
a small stretch of road between Canberra and Sydney.

But the next guy was even weirder. He was an older guy, and by the looks of
his suitcase, it didn't seem like he had spent a lot of time in youth
hostels. When he moved in, he immediately took my bed, which was messy and
probably still warm. As he laid out his stuff, I told him that he was
taking my bed and suggested that he take the unoccupied, freshly made bed on
the other side of the room. A short discussion ensued, but he insisted on
taking my bed. What a weirdo.

The 2000 Olympic gold-medal baseball game. USA vs. Cuba. Liam and I had
tickets. We made a sign. SMOKE THE CUBANS. And we were determined to make
it onto international television.

I hung around the seats near first base, hoping to have Doug Mientkiewicz,
hero of the game the night before, to autograph my ticket. I had to settle
for washed-up, ex-Major Leaguer Ernie Young. Oh well, at least it was
something.

Although we had snuck by the playfully dressed and conveniently unobservant
ticket-checkers at the top of the aisle to better seats behind home plate
for every other game, this time they were full. Instead, we sat on the
outfield lawn behind right field. For eight innings, we watched USA trounce
Cuba. Liam got drunk, while I was frantically waving the sign around at the
end of every half inning or whenever I noticed the scoreboard camera wander
off for a shot of the crowd. No dice. I was definitely making myself
visible to the entire stadium, and I was beginning that maybe our SMOKE THE
CUBANS sign was somehow not PC enough for the TV cameras.

Then when we made our move. Liam had spotted a couple of empty seats right
behind home plate. We slithered our way through the crowd, down the aisle,
and took them. The game was almost over, but I made sure to keep the sign
up in my lap in case a camera caught it. Between innings, I even hopped
down in front of the crowd and waved the sign around. SMOKE THE CUBANS.
They loved it! Laughing and cheering, they all pulled out their cameras and
took pictures of me.

For the last play of the game, I snuck down to the first row to take a few
photos. Liam stayed back at his seat, waving the sign around and screaming
for the win.

Here's Marcas' account:

> ...in the bottom of the ninth after the second out was recorded, there was a
> quick cutaway to a man wearing a gray Cubs jersey [Liam] flashing a sign.
> Unfortunately, they didn't get the message on the sign and I couldn't quite
> see Jeff...

Here's Steve's account:

> If you were wearing a gray sweatshirt and a white hat backwards [Liam] holding
> a sign that said "smoke Cuba" on one side and "Go USA" on the other then I saw
> you during the gold medal game. If you weren't then never mind.

Here's Shamus' account:

> ...some lame-o flipped through the channels past the olympics to stop at some
> sit-com. He paused long enough to show the US about to win the game and I see
> this person on TV and as he flips past it. I tell him to turn it back since I
> think I saw Liam, well he did not know how to use the channel changer in the
> other direction...

This sucks.

On the way through Olympic Park and back to the train station, we joined a
crowd around the portable set of the Today Show. Peering between the
shoulders of annoyingly tall fans, I could see Matt Lauer and Katie Couric
on stage filming a segment. The camera would occasionally swing to the
crowd, and everyone would go apeshit. Liam and I were at the back, and it
didn't seem like we had much chance of getting on TV. Even if we did, it
would be for a split second.

I left Liam to meet up with friends of mine in the city for a few drinks.
Liam and SMOKE THE CUBANS got on TV. Then, he was personally invited to
stay for the next segment, standing front and center, right in front of the
cameras. And just before leaving, a couple of stars from the USA team,
including Doug Mientkiewicz, autographed his ticket.

This really sucks.

Our last few days in Sydney, me and Liam walked around, stopping to relax in
front of big-screen TVs around the city to cheer on the Aussies or the
Americans. We met locals, took a lot of pictures, and soaked up the Olympic
spirit. At night, we hit trendy Darling Harbour. Much to Liam's dismay, we
didn't hit the Heineken Bar. But I think we worked the town pretty good.

Liam left, and I had one last day in Australia to myself. I bought some
gifts for friends, packed my bags, and fondly remembered my last ten months
in Australia. The sun was shining. A beautiful day.

I spent my last evening in Sydney with Lori, an old friend from home. We
went out for a nice dinner and a pleasant stroll around Darling Harbour.
Before I knew it, the morning had come, and it was time to leave.

Although I've enjoyed my time here in Australia, it's time to move on. I've
seen all the sites and met all the people. It's time for a change. But at
the same time, I can't help but miss Australia already. The place has got
real character. And millions of people who were happy to have me there.

So I say fondly, Good-bye Australia.

Now I sit on a 767, flying across a small bit of ocean to New Zealand. The
captain just announced that the flying time will be only two hours and 15
minutes. And so begins another chapter of my journey, one which as been as
much an intellectual and spiritual one as a physical one.

In a few days, I set off with Kiwi Experience on a huge tour of both islands
of New Zealand, run by the same company as Australia's Oz Experience.
Everyone who has done both tours has told me that Kiwi Experience and New
Zealand was even better.

Bring on New Zealand.

No Regrets (except for not hanging around the set of the Today Show).

Jeff