beachvolleyball rocks!

panorama manly beach,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Spent a lot of time during the last weekends at diverse beaches in melbourne and found my love to beach volleyball again (maybe because my performance in indoor volleyball is really bad at the moment, maybe it is the sun and the fantastic weather, maybe it is the nice and welcoming people at the beach :)

Thanks for the gifts :)

presents :),
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I've been waiting for a package from Salzburg with gifts from my friends and former colleagues at the Uni Salzburg and today it finally arrived!! Yipieh!!

Just had a short look here in the office and will enjoy and read everything in the evening. I just wanted to say thanks to all of you guys in Salzburg - I miss you (and sorry to Cel for nagging her about that package :)

pics from sydney

meeee,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Back in at uni in Melbourne and just put a few photos from Sydney online - unedited- but at least some quick impressions.

cheers

Celebration at the end of the volleyball season

trophy,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Yesterday my club (Melbourne Renegades) celebrated the end of the Victorian state league season. We had a fancy dinner and a few selected players received awards, e.g. for the MVP (most valuable player - which I was not :) However I was very proud to receive the prize of the Most Improved Player (MIP) for the Men's Honours team. My coach obviously meant that I made the biggest improvement of all players in the team, which is a big honour for me. But since I started really badly in the first game, I had enough room to improve afterwards (and I think in the last game I played really good :)

I also received the "Golden Fist Award", which is a fun award for the player with the best celebration in a game. I'm usually a quiet guy, but in games I can get very emotional and jump around and yell :)

to play or not to play

The season for the Victorian state league is over for my team. We had a terrific game yesterday, which we unfortunately lost in the 5th set (19-21). Maybe it was my best game ever, it was just fantastic.
Now a new team is being formed to play in the Australian league. This team will travel to Sydney and Canberra to play against other teams from all over Australia. I joined the training today and it was just great (the coach used to play in the Chinese national team, it's just unbelievable). Anywho, they are still looking for players who are committed to spend a lot of time and money to play and I have to reach a decision until tomorrow. Hmm, would be a wonderful challenge, just to train and travel, but time and money are biiiiggg issues, hmm....

thanks

I had a great birthday yesterday. thanks for all the text messages, mails, gifts, calls... and the time you devoted to me (and sorry to those where I haven't had time to reply yet :)

on my way up to Queensland

I'm about the leave the office and will fly up to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland tomorrow morning - my first holiday in Australia - yipieeehhh!