Summer – Ah… Cricket

It was awfully quiet in the office after the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. I was told half the population of the other side of our floor didn’t show up after lunch. I don’t think they were on official leave. Anyway, I took my time during lunch on those days and watched the cricket in the cafeteria of the hospital which is just behind the office.I love summer for a number of reasons. Long daylight hours and cricket are 2 of them. This year it was Sri Lanka earlier on and presently, the Indian team is in town. The traditional Boxing Day Test in Melbourne was very exciting. I only caught bits of it as I had spent most the day mowing and tidying up the garden. Proceedings at the MCG see-sawed. Australia was on top in the first session of the first day. Then after lunch, the spinach fed Kumble went on a rampage and swept through Australia’s middle order. Australia scaped through the day with 2 tail enders in Stuart Clark and Mitch Johnson. They added 6 runs the next day before being all out for 343. Amazingly however, Australia came back fighting. India was bowled out for a miserable 196 (Tendulkar’s smashing 62 notwithstanding) and suddenly the shaky 343 gave Australia a lead of 157 going into the third day. What a match. Actually I love summer mainly for 1 reason. The cricket is fabulous.I don’t enjoy summers for a number of reasons. I drink too much beer. Even a low-carb beer makes me feel bloated these days. Whereas wine in non-summer months feels great no matter how much I drink (as long as I don’t get a hangover – hangovers from wine is horrendous), beer tends to create that bloated feeling. It didn’t use to, or not as much as it does now. I spent a few hours on Boxing Day doing the garden and when I was done, I popped a cold one and it felt great. By the time I was mid-way through a third however, I felt so bloated I didn’t even feel like drinking water, which is something I like to do when consuming grog not so much as a chaser more than to ward off a bad hangover. Of course I also don’t like post 35 degree days. It’s very difficult to cope and especially difficult to sleep. We have evaporative cooling and turn it on every time it goes past 25 deg but it isn’t so effective when the mercury hovers closer to 40. New Year’s eve threatens 38 Deg. It’d be fun then.