Yes, you got it right. Last evening, the flat indulged in the nation's national religion, RUGBY. I spent the entire afternoon at the public library with Patrick on a frustrating hunt for jurisprudence textbooks so the break was welcome. We caught the Super 14 at the Westpac Stadium where the Wellington Hurricanes played the South African Bulls. Of course, the Hurricanes defeated the Bulls 17 to 9.

Well, as usual, we TRIED to be early. This time, it was Michael F who held the flat up, not me!!! Huzzah! Here's a picture of the exodus. This is called the Fran Wilde Walk, apparently. Oh, and for those not in the know, the Hurricane colours are black and yellow.

Well, exodus was fine... until we reached the ticket booth. Micheal W was grumbling about missing the buildup and things didn't improve when a woman turned around and said all the tickets for uncovered seats were sold out! We still managed to wing some seats though, so it was alright. The queue was long as!   

So here is a wide view of the Westpac Stadium taken from aisle 20.

The mascot walking out into the field. He's one ugly mascot! He was funny though, especially when he imitated the Bulls reserve during his warmup. Everyone was laughing, but the reserve was so caught up in the game that he was oblivious. Well, ignorance is bliss right?

Micheal W and Michael F paying full attention to the game. Makes you wonder if they pay the same attention at lectures....? They were yelling themselves hoarse at the referee. He was a really biased Aussie! (Ok, I was yelling too, but that's not the point! At least I wasn't calling him a wanker like the girls behind us  The boys said I was squealing more than anything else.)

Janice and I, slightly over half time. You can see the scoreboard behind us. We all had pies, fries, beer (I had coke, so there), fish and chips etc at the game. To quote Micheal W, it was a dietician's nightmare. Essie was also working that night, but we didn't manage to see her.

This is what we call a lineout. Ok, let's practice my atrocious knowledge on the finer points of rugby. When the ball goes out, the teams will form 2 straight lines and hoist someone up to catch the ball in their possession as it is thrown at them. I was just thinking that it would've been funny if the ball hit the players square in the face. Anyway... excuse my limited repertoire of sporting vocab. U get the picture. 'Nuff said.

The cheerleaders during half-time. Notice the one in the middle. She's got such a tanned midriff but the rest of her body is lily white. Which cheap back-alley watering hole gave her that fake tan, I wonder?

Overall, it was a good night. The atmosphere at the stadium was awesome and we were such biased spectators! I was just relieved that Michael F and I weren't subjected to the obligatory kiss during half-time!  We just retaliated by giving Micheal W and Janice shit about what they'd do if the spotlight was on them. Now, that would have been a spectacle!

The flat later adjourned to Simply Paris to wind down from all the excitement of defeating the Bulls. The cafe was quite packed and we could hear the soothing strains of someone playing the guitar at the corner. We managed to secure a table while trying to avoid talk of politics since it is what we always talk about whenever we sit together! Of course, boys being boys, they kept extinguishing the candle at our table!

I was just contented. It was a Saturday well spent. It'd rather do this than go out clubbing rip-roaring mad. The flat is evil, I tell you. It makes one want to stay at home all the time and never go out. We've got such an awesome view from the deck! Did I mention that I've got a closed-in fireplace in my room?