Life + Times of Fenton et al.

  • Rugby 2009

    Being Australian we do enjoy a lot of sports and, having left the country, we often go to some lengths to ensure our children receive a good sporting education. This usually involves grabbing relevant sporting events — Tri Nations, Super 14, State of Origin, AFL Grand Final — from the internet since they don’t receive a whole lot of coverage here. While the education is a whole family affair, the boys, in particular, also enjoy playing. So we felt relatively fortunate to have found a rugby club within half an hour of our place.

    The club itself has only been going a couple of seasons, this season fielding both U16 and U19 sides for the first time. Rugby has an odd reputation here in the US, at least here in southern California. It is generally viewed as a brutal game without rules. Generally, American football high school coaches don’t want their players playing it for fear of injury. So consequently, the first practice of the season — which runs January to April — was bit light on with only six boys. I chatted with the coach, who had supplied a couple of the boys, and appreciated that he was working hard to develop a club with a traditional rugby team culture. I was a little concerned before hand that even rugby might have been infected by the American competitive hype and drive in sports. There were a couple of teams that we played who seemed to have bought into that but, by and large, it was usually sane.

    Elijah has always been the most keen to play but Joshua — who revels in being a bit different from many of the other teenagers in some ways — also joined in, preferring fly-half to Elijah’s wing, centre or fullback. Unfortunately with only a U16 side available the boys were punching above their weight most of the season. The good news is that by the end of the season the club was sporting a roster of over fifty. Our boys did their part in spreading the word with a total of five friends training and playing for the season and a few more who came along to check it out. Too much running for some of those however. The ones who did stick it out loved virtually every minute of it, even when the team didn’t perform so well. The fact that rugby allows most of the players to be involved most of the time (well, except for those glory wingers) makes it a fun game to play. I’m hoping they’ll get involved again next season too. They’ll only enjoy it more with a season under their belts. Oh and Elijah and Josh managed a try each during the season. 😀

    I also got involved in the administrative side of things. There were three coaches for the club and one of them was handling all the paperwork so it was the least I could do. Having never really played myself, I don’t feel qualified to coach but administration I can usually do without too much trouble. We ended up with some great parents contributing to the club and we will only have a better season next year. I can’t wait. In the meantime, we’ll just have to get by barracking for the Reds and the Wallabies.

    Joshua looks for the ball.

    Elijah with the ball in hand.

    One of the boys’ friends (back left) who took up rugby after hearing the boys rave on about it.

    More photos of the team.

  • Broken Boy Elijah

    The wrist was first (aggressive inline skating). The knee came after coming off a scooter he wasn’t supposed to be on.

  • Movie Insufficient for Gaynor

    Even though we’ve lived and travelled across different parts of the globe now we still pine for the fjords of Australia.[1] Though it has only been just over four years, sometimes it feels like a different life. A couple of months ago we went along with my visiting brother Martin — who has been out of Australia much longer than us — and his wife to see Australia. We quite liked the film; fabulous cinematography, great story and what’s not to like about Hugh Jackman? But it also didn’t help Gaynor’s missing-Australia itch, which she’s had for a while now.

    So when some relatively cheap tickets to Australia became available we had to make a decision. And the decision was that all children who had lived more than half their lives outside Australia were eligible for a return visit. Conveniently, this meant that the youngest (and therefore, cheapest) two would be heading back and Gaynor, obviously, would need to accompany a still-breast-fed Micah. So it was a win all round — except for the older children, whom we considered already fortunate having lived more than half their lives in Australia. The next part of the conversation at the family meeting went something like this,

    “Well, we would all very much like to go back to Australia but unfortunately that’s not financially possible at this stage. So those children who are staying here, not only won’t be able to go to Australia, but you’ll also need to do extra work, picking up those jobs that your mother would normally do — cooking, a lot of the cleaning, most of the washing etc. We realise that this is a tough ask, so what we’d like to do is shamelessly bribe you.”

    To this they all agreed and eventually — after much negotiation, as is the norm in our house — they decided on a new computer, primarily for the children. And so, yesterday we picked up a new Mac mini. This bribe also has the added benefit of getting the children out of my study.

    Thus Gaynor is now set to fly back into Australia on the 4th of May and will be there for the entire remainder of the month. She’ll spend most of that time in Brisbane with a week in Canberra. So while she may not be able to catch up with Hugh Jackman or Nicole Kidman, she will be spending a reasonable amount of time with family and close friends. And I believe that’ll be sufficient for the time being.

    [1] Though we do prefer kipping on our backs.

  • Easter 2009

    While Good Friday is currently sacrosanct as a holiday in Australia and Germany — indeed in many other countries that we’ve never experienced it in — that’s not the case in the U.S. At least, not in California. I’m told some other states do have it as a holiday but, well we don’t live there. So as such, Elijah, Mara, Ariana and Bryna all had school that day, while Joshua is currently on spring break. Well, not so much of a break as an exaggerated bend — it’s merely a week off. Unlike many other general populace workers though, it was a company holiday for me. Not sure why exactly but it’s good just the same. 🙂

    So we had to be on our toes in order to continue one of our Easter traditions — freshly baked hot cross buns on Good Friday. When I say ‘we’ I really mean ‘Gaynor’. She was up early and had the buns baked in time for us to enjoy a good couple before dropping Ariana and Mara at school. Usually they catch the bus but driving them myself gave us just that bit of extra time.

    The Devourees – the hot cross buns all prepared to fulfill their Easterly duties.

    The Devourers – the family gathers for our Good Friday tradition.

    Of course, the traditional condiment to accompany these delectable delights is nothing less than slatherings of butter. There are some things we are glad we have taken the time to carry on. 🙂

  • A Recent Vote

    We’ve always done our best to include the children in family decisions. We believe it is good for them and good for the parents. Matters such as, where we’ll go for holidays, where we’ll eat and what we’ll be watching. When there is no real common consensus, we’ll usually take a vote. However that sometimes doesn’t work out with the overall desires of the parents. A recent vote while travelling in the van helped the children keep some perspective. Fenton: “OK let’s vote. Hands up who thinks this is a democracy?”

  • I was walking down the street …

    … when suddenly my spectacles’ prescription ran out. So said Steven Wright[1]. I always thought that was funny in an new-way-to-see-it kind of way but as with a number of things that reference US culture — usually The Simpsons — it’s funnier (and in this case, sadder) when you have even more knowledge of the environment from which it comes. To wit, corrective lens prescriptions actually do run out in the US.

    Glasses — though I’m not sure about general reading spectacles — are treated more or less as a drug. Contact lenses are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and cannot be purchased without a current prescription, with lens prescriptions being valid for a year. This contrasts with my experience in Germany — not exactly noted for its free-wheeling market approach — where contact lenses were available off the rack in a supermarket. I assume they are regulated in some way, like many products, but their availability didn’t appear to be hampered. This statement quite surprised my optometrist who obviously knew of all the untold dangers an incorrect prescription might foist upon an unsuspecting victim. He was just a little hard pressed to give them when I asked what they were.

    My point to him was: if you put on someone else’s glasses, immediately you know they are not right, even for subtly difference prescriptions. If you keep them on you merely get a headache, possibly a very big headache. If you persist even further and determinedly work through that migraine then — and here is the dangerous part — your brain simply adapts. This is quite a different danger to taking the wrong drug or dosage that might, say, cause your kidneys to fail or your stomach to start bleeding. If there are more severe consequences to purchasing contacts on an out-of-date prescription, please chime in. I’d hate to think my many German friends are needlessly and thoughtlessly exposing themselves.

    Don’t get me wrong, I believe in having the correct prescription for your genetically (or otherwise) inferior eyes. When I made the jump to contacts a little while ago I had an eye examination and a couple of lessons on the fitting and care of them. I was pretty sure my prescription hadn’t changed and, when it came time to resupply in the US, I had trouble finding lenses in the stores. I was told by an optician friend that I would need a prescription before purchasing. Bit strange, I thought but no problem, I’ll get them online … however they do require you to disclose your optometrist. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a listing for that nice lady in Germany. Eventually, of course, I had to play the game, coughed up my money for, effectively, a lens subscription, but not without clear-sighted protestations. Oh, and my freshly-minted prescription is identical to my previous.

    [1] Possibly.

  • Facebook following

    Those who have been a part of the social networking website phenomena would be aware that it can be a simple and effective way to stay relatively involved in the lives of good friends and loved ones. Indeed, half of our family now have profiles on one of the largest — Facebook — including myself, Gaynor, Joshua and Elijah.

    While I’ve tried many times to get other members of the family to post to this blog, most have resisted the lure (with the occasional rare exception). Keeping their profiles, status[1] and other information up to date seems to be easier for them on Facebook. So, to keep a closer eye on some of us, we invite you to add those you wish as friends or, if you are not yet on Facebook, feel free to join and search us out. Please contact us directly if your search for our names brings up a confusing array of our alter egos (Heaven forbid there be many with our names!)

    I still plan to continue this blog[2] in the same fashion as it’s been going for the past few years — I prefer its overall layout and functionality — but I expect I’ll really be the single contributor now as I’ve made the decision[3] to stop harassing the others. They now have something else they prefer to say their peace with.

    [1] Here, in the plural, I’ve taken the British form — rather than the American or even Australian ones.

    [2] Don’t forget it’s easy to keep up with the blog by subscribing to the feed (see also “Subscribe to … Posts” on the left-hand side of this page) using something like Google Reader online.

    [3] I prefer this terminology to “given up”. It helps me feel like I have some control over it. 🙂

  • No longer a toothless wonder

    To ring in the new year, Micah produced his first tooth — his lower front left — on the first day of the year and its companion showed up today. Those months of dribble are starting to pay off. He’s only been bested in the Fastest to Teeth Stakes by Joshua who clocked in at 3.5 months (same as his father, according to those in the know). So happy new year and many new teeth to all!

  • Christmas 2008

    Since we went last year to Utah, it seemed only fair this year to invite the chosen frozen down for some slightly warmer Californian weather. Martin, Stacie, their three lovely girls and my youngest brother Donovan have all found time to join us. So for those who could not — because they had a better weather offer south of the Equator, for instance — we wish you all a joyous Christmas and a productive 2009.

    Christmas Greetings 2007

  • Fire Safety II

    Just a short note to let people know that we haven’t been affected by the most recent fires in southern Californian. Though they were much closer than last year the winds directed them away from our place.

    Given their regular recurrence it is easy to be motivated to have emergency plans in place. We discuss them a few times a year with the children and have already organised many things that will be of great help if we are ever in a difficult situation.