30-Day Song Challenge (Day 3)

It's time for another 30-Day Song Challenge blog and given that most of my friends of Facebook have already completed their lists, I better get a wriggle on!

Song #3 - A song that makes me happy
One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces - Ben Folds Five (from the album Whatever and Ever Amen, released by 550 Music, 1997)


When I first heard this song in Year 7, it made me smile. Not just because of the awesome piano-rock that is Ben Folds Five (which also happens to be one of our biggest influences for our band), but because I could relate to the lyrics and th underlying message of the song. I went through so much crap in my first four years of high school, but like Ben Folds, I knew that some day, I'd be able to rise above the bullshit.

This song inspired me and now, more than 10 years later, I'm exactly where I want to be. Every time this song comes up on my iPod, it still cheers me up and I can't help but dance to it and sing along - even if it's in the middle of a train station and I look and sound like a weirdo!

Please watch the video, listen and enjoy!

Lyrics

September '75, I was 47 inches high,
My mom said by Christmas I would have ...
A badass mother G.I. Joe, for your little minds to blow,
I still got beat up after class.

Yeah, now I'm big and important,
One angry dwarf and 200 solemn faces of you.
If you really want to see me,
Check the papers and the TV,
Look who's tellin' who what to do.
Kiss my ass,
Goodbye!

Don't give me that bullshit,
You know who I am!
I'm your nightmare, little man.
Vic you stole my lunch money, made me cry.
Jane, remember second grade?
Said you couldn't stand my face!
Rather than kiss me,
You said you'd rather die ...

Now I'm big and important,
One angry dwarf and 200 solemn faces of you.
If you really want to see me,
Check the papers and the TV,
Look who's tellin' who what to do.
Kiss my ass,
Goodbye!

You'll be sorry one day,
Yes, you will, yes, you will.
You shouldn't push me around,
'Cause I will, yes I will.
You will be sorry when I'm big,
Yes, you will, yes you will,
You will be sorry!

Now I'm big and important,
One angry dwarf and 200 solemn faces of you.
If you really want to see me,
Check the papers and the TV,
Now ... look who's tellin' who what to do!
Kiss my ass!

Kiss my ass, kiss my ass, kiss my ass goodbye now!

Kiss my ass, kiss my ass, kiss my ass goodbye now!

September '75 I was 47 inches high ...

September '75, September '75 ...

AHHHHHH!!

The Big Dance

I know it's been a long time since my last post here on LandoNation, but there's been a lot going on with school lately, most of which I'm trying to catch up on this weekend before I head overseas.

It's been a while since I've left Australia (the last trip was to Cebu, The Philippines in 2009), but this year, if I'm only going to be taking one trip, it would be this one.

The rumours are true - in exactly two weeks' time, I will be heading to the "big dance" that is the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio All-Suite Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA!

It's my first time to the WSOP (and indeed, America) - and also the first time that I'll be celebrating my birthday outside of Australia! I don't think I've been this excited about an overseas trip in a long time, but at the same time, I'm preparing myself for what will be the hardest job in my career as a poker journalist.

58 events across almost three months in the midst of the Nevada Desert, at the height of summer, where the average temperature is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sure, we'll be inside the casino all day, but that's where the other extreme comes into play - from what I've been told, you'll need to rug up in winter clothes if you sit in the wrong spot. Industrial-strength air-conditioning FTW!

Also, the experienced campaigners have told me to expect an average day of about 14 hours - and I know one of my colleagues was stuck covering a final table for almost 24 hours! Of course, this is to be expected - after all, this is the WSOP. The one time of the year where anyone and everyone migrates to the hallowed felt for their shot at stardom. There's no other event like it - where else are you going to see the Average Joe and the Big Name Pro shoulder-to-shoulder, each with an equal chance of winning millions of dollars and the coveted gold bracelet?

I can't even begin to tell you just how big this event is, so I'll let this video do it for you.

I promise you, citizens of LandoNation, that I will endeavour to update you on all the goings-ons while I am in Las Vegas - assuming that I don't either collapse from exhaustion (or be hospitalised for alcohol poisoning when June 25 comes around).

In the meantime, I'm trying to make sure that I have all my assessment tasks up-to-date for uni before I leave, so I probably won't be able to post again until before I leave (and/or after I arrive). As for the videos, I'll try and get at least one up on the YouTube channel before I go, but with all that's happened (and still happening), I'm just taking it one day at a time.

I'll leave those random thoughts for another day. Right now, it's back to work!