It’s finally arrived - the first challenge. All the b*llshit of training and winding each other takes a back seat and now it’s time for Annie and I to put our money where our mouths have been.

Tenpin Bowling is the opener and it promises to be a pretty feisty event. Bowling is set to begin at 3pm at Greenslopes Bowling Lanes (which, sadly, is up for sale at the moment :() and ten frames of furious bowling will see one competitor draw first blood and grab a crucial 1-0 lead in the Tri-Decathlon.

The referee for the event will be the ever-reliable ‘SettaKey’s while one ‘Otter’ will be along for the ride, as will ‘Capi’ if he’s feeling motivated and possibly ‘Jacky Le Tigre’. The object of the Tenpin Bowling event is simple: one game, best score wins. No time for practice, no time for warm-up, just get in there and get the job done.

So who’s going to win? You’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, check out Annie and my thoughts on what might eventuate today and enjoy the last-minute banter. And if you’re keen to come along and support/heckle then I’d encourage you to do so. What fun is competitive sport without a bit of heckle?

Thoughts from the blue corner…

Huzzah! The first challenge. It couldn’t come sooner, really. If you wanted to ask me how I was feeling about the bowling I would reply with something like: “Oh, how nice of you to ask. I’m feeling quite good thanks. Would you like a drink?”. But seriously, save for a choke of epic proportions I should really win this one.

In the lead-up sessions Annie and I went bowling twice, playing two games in the first session and three in the second. I beat her both times in the first session, scoring 176 and 137 to her 99 and 97. The second session was a little scrappier with scores of 136, 107 and 101 for me and fairly consistent 80s to 90s for her.

We both have a tendency to score well in our first game and that’s what could make this event exciting. If I have an absolute shocker and Annie bowls above her weight then she could sneak it. If not, the result is a virtual formality in my favour and all I’ll have to worry about is scoring the 140 points that will see Alan Goat buy me ANOTHER snakebite.

Prediction: Andy 145 def. Annie 105. I’ll bowl a decent game and so will Annie. But I can’t see anything other than a 1-0 series lead for me.

Thoughts from the red corner…

I have to admit that I am slightly the underdog in this challenge, only having played five games in my entire life –

 all of which have been lost to Andy. But having said that, I am actually feeling pretty good about my prospects today.

The last games Andy played, showed definite signs of weakness with his scores only ranging from 101 – 136. And although my scores haven’t proved it, most of my bowls have been strong. I don’

t have to be brilliant with strike after strike to win - all I need to do is get consistent spares and this premier challenge is mine.

Prediction: Annie 150 def. Andy 140. I need to bowl out of my skin to win this one and I think I’m going to do it.

So it’s the eve of the eve of the debut challenge.  Bowling is scheduled for Thursday night, which will get the ball rolling, so to speak…(yes that was awful i know).  Anyway, just to update, Andy and I were discussing last week about the competitiveness of a couple of the challenges and we decided that due to my legitimately-earned total domination in Geo Challenge, we’re going to play the PS3 Buzz TV game, which is trivia quiz game.  I haven’t yet had a chance to play it, but I am extremely confident in my trivia abilities that I was happy to let Geo Challenge go and let Buzz replace it. 

We’re also taking out Scrabble and going to play Scattergories instead.  I have to say I was glad to let that one go since I have actually never ever played a game of Scrabble in my life and I do think that he would have crushed me in that one.  A couple weeks ago, we had a practice game over at Alana and Morg’s house and it was very interesting.  

After 11 rounds, Andy and I were dead even heading into the 12th and last round.  Frustratingly, he managed to pull out a victory by just one point since most of my answers were cancelled out by Christie’s duplicate responses.  So I did lose our practice game, but there were so many dubious decisions made throughout the game that it really is anyone’s game when that challenge day arrives (e.g. Body of water starting with K? I had “Koi pond” but despite Morg’s support for it - thanks Morgs - was crushed by everyone else.  Come on…I still stand by that answer).  Should be fun …. and most definitely controversial.

Annie completed her Player Profile last week and now it’s my turn. Prepare to be amazed and intrigued by the depth of my bubbling personality.

* * *

Name? Andy Age? 23

Best Tri-Decathlon event? There’s so many. But I would say the one that I cannot possible lose is Mario Kart. With Toad. What a guy.

Worst Tri-Decathlon event? Cooking or Basketball. I could win but Annie has gotta start firm favourite in those.

Favourite Mario Kart character? Toad. Mainly because he f@#$%*g annoys everyone when he’s winning. And he’s the fastest.

Favourite NBA Live team? The Cleveland Cavaliers. When I was a kid I liked Phoenix because of Charles Barkley but in this game it’s the Cavs. Le Bron James, “Long-Arm” Larry Hughes, Eric Snow, they’re all there.

Centurion beer of choice? I think I’ll go with Kirin but that might change closer to the date.

Biggest sporting achievement? Winning the my AFL Grand Final with Jindalee when I was 14. Sadly my only premiership in any sport.

Biggest sporting tantrum? Pulling down the curtain at home during a frustrating NBA Live loss to Annie. It was a hugely embarrassing display of sore-loserness.

Powerade or Gatorade? Gatorade. Better flavours - Kiwifruit and Lemon-Lime. Unstoppable. Two after every sporting event.

What animal best represents you? A ferret. It’s been my nickname for a few years. I’m zippy and titchy, just like a ferret.

Which actor would you get to portray you in a film? Elijah Wood. He’s small and almost as attractive.

Favourite breakfast cereal? Probably Froot Loops or Frosties. So sugary.

Favourite fictional character? Fry from Futurama. He’s such a loser but so cool at the same time and that’s something I really respect.

Any hidden talents? I’ve got the world’s biggest tongue. I can do the bathtub and triple clover and touch my nose. As for anything else, well, I tell everyone about everything so nothing’s really hidden. Unless it’s bad of course.

Raphael

Favourite childhood TV show? The Ninja Turtles. I was/am a huge fan of Raphael. What a hard nut he was.

Most famous person you’ve met? I’ve not met him but I’ve been within metres of Diego Maradona in a nightclub that he owned in Buenos Aires. That was pretty cool.

Who is your hero? I don’t really have one at the moment. Going back it was Dennis Bergkamp, Freddie Ljungberg, guys like that. Now… maybe Jose Mourinho. What about Toad? He punches above his weight.

What one superpower would you want? I have always wanted to be able to be invisible. I think it’d be cool to observe interesting things without people stopping you. It would break down some societal barriers, for sure.

And finally, Ninjas or Pirates? Pirates. Mostly for the wenches but also because they’re cooler and you get to grow a beard and steal treasure. Put it this way, Johnny Depp’s not starring in any ninja films, is he?

…or not.

Last night Annie and I were playing a pretty fierce game of Mario Kart. She had selected Mario as her driver while I was using Luigi and the following, very brief conversation ensued. I’ve included a photo to try and give you some semblance of the creature that I was dealing with at the time.

Annie: “Are Mario and Luigi brothers?”

Andy: “Yes. That’s why they’re called the Mario Brothers.”

And this is coming from someone who is completing a degree in Medicine. God help her future patients.

On a more serious note, be sure to check out Annie’s Player Profile from the last post.

Name? Annie Age? 25

Best Tri-Decathlon event? Basketball. I’ve been playing it for 15 years so there’s no chance I’ll be losing this one.

Worst Tri-Decathlon event? It’s gotta be Mario Kart. I’m not hopeless but there’s no chance of me winning.

Favourite Mario Kart character? Bowser’s my favourite. That big spiky shell bashing the competition. He’s my only hope.

Favourite NBA Live team? Phoenix Suns. Steve Nash is a god. A three-point shooting, free-throw scoring, lay-up assisting god. Why shouldn’t I choose the best?

Centurion beer of choice? Strongbow Cider. Less bubbles equals more shots consumed.

Biggest sporting achievement? Being the MVP and captain in every year of basketball at high school.

Biggest sporting tantrum? I don’t really throw them. I’m too calm. Unlike Andy…

Powerade or Gatorade? Powerade. Yellow.

What animal best represents you? I would say a seal. They laze around a lot but when they play, they play hard.

Which actor would you get to portray you in a film? Um… can I say Natalie Portman? Yes? OK then, her, because she’s everything I want to be.

Favourite breakfast cereal? Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes! Absolutely. I would pour milk into the box and eat straight from the packet if it was socially acceptable.

Favourite fictional character? Elaine from Seinfeld. And Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes. He’s the best friend anyone could ever have.

Elaine: Annie's favourite fictional character

Any hidden talents? Juggling. And being the best whistler in the world.

Favourite childhood TV show? Definitely Animaniacs. Those crazy monkeys/mice/don’t know what they were. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Most famous person you’ve met? Chris Isaak. “Sexiest” man on the planet. I don’t know why we went there but there was a CD signing of his a few years back. So completely random.

Who is your hero? Nigella Lawson, she’s putting the sexy back in chunky. She gorges herself on food constantly and looks hot in the process. Barack Obama too for the hope  he inspires, much like I will do in this competition.

What one superpower would you want? Flying, it’s like the best thing ever. It would make me unstoppable.

And finally, Ninjas or Pirates? Ninjas. No question. They would kick a pirate’s ass.

***

Part Two of the Tri-Decathlon player profiles will be posted tomorrow, as Andy runs through the same 20 questions posed to Annie. It should also be noted that this both profiles can always be viewed on ‘The Players’ page of the blog which you can get to by clicking here. Cheers.

Last night was a significant event in the preparation for the Tri-Decathlon as Annie and I - as well as future referees Capi and Jacky Le Tigre (aka Michael and Morgana) - went to Greenslopes for a spot of Tenpin Bowling.

Apart from being overcharged for the session (there was no word of $6 games not being valid during school holidays on the website - jerks) it wasn’t too bad at all.

To cut things short in the first game - the one where we weren’t suffering from arm and wrist pains of varying degrees - Annie scored a very admirable 99 while I won the day with 176. Nice.

Things that I enjoyed about the night were:

• The look on Annie’s face every time I turned around after bowling a strike, heh.
• Capi’s languid bowling style.
• Annie missing out on 100 by one pin. Ouch.
• Winning.

The arrogant, jerk-off part of me says that this is going to be a bit of a walkover but the kind, generous part of me (which many people might say they’ve never seen) suggests Annie’s not quite done and dusted in this event. To score almost 100 on a first return to bowling after 10+ years is hugely impressive and if she can just up her score by 20 or 30 and I have an off day then she’s in with a decent chance. 

I should add that unlike Geo Challenge (*boo* *hiss*) she’s actually allowed to practice at this one. However, given how tight Annie’s budget is at the moment I’m not sure she’ll be able to afford another game, particularly with the school holiday rules and all.

So, with the first week of the Tri-Decathlon consisting of Mario Kart and Bowling I think I’m looking good for an early 2-0 lead. And I’ll need it too, with Cooking and Geo Challenge following up the week after.

Photos to follow shortly.

Stepped into a “video arcade” today - I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days, right? - for the first time in clearly a very long time.  Johnny, my brother, and I played some air hockey to warm me up a little for that Week 2 challenge.  I got to say that despite the years gone by, I wasn’t half bad.  Definitely still got the lightning quick hand eye coordination necessary and suffice to say that I won our game.  Huzzah! (man do I sound old or what).  So am feeling confident for that one and am getting ready to scratch that up as a win fo’ sho’.

Lies.  All lies.  There absolutely categorically was no agreement about not playing Geo Challenge.  If we are encouraging practicing each challenge beforehand, why would we have an opposite exclusive arrangement for Geo Challenge?  It doesn’t make sense.  Just goes to show who I’m up against - already sore about the inevitable loss of one of the events and he’s calling foul play.  Andrew the cry baby.

And Michael and Alannah are my witnesses and backup on this - Michael believes me, since I am telling the truth, and Alannah although calling me a “sly dog” yesterday, after having seen Andrew’s sneakiness and faulty memory at work today in a remembering a bet they had between them, now also believes me.  To placate him though, I won’t play it again until challenge day although I’ve encouraged him to play it as much as he wants to get his score up, which he is refusing to do despite it all.  So be it.  He’s thinking I’m going to choke on the day, but I’m sorry to tell ya - there’s no chance.

OK so Annie has returned from the coast and I feel a little happier. Just a little.

We celebrated her return with a little bit of Mario Kart Racing and I have to reiterate again that I have this event well and truly in the bag. She’s a quick learner and certainly improved as the day went on but you can’t beat 10 years of shell-firing, power-sliding, track-memorising experience and unfortunately (for her) that’s what she’ll be up against.

However, it seems I have a lot less to be cocky about when it comes to Geo Challenge. For those of you who aren’t aware of Geo Challenge, it’s a Facebook application which tests your geography knowledge via questions about flags, country shape and city locations. Early on I was doing a bit better than Annie but since then she has been playing it practically every day and her score is now WAY ahead of mine.

Annie the Cheetah/Cheater

Now, although I can be arrogant I remain a just and fair person at heart and Annie’s consistent training at Geo Challenge has irked me. You see, we made a gentleman’s agreement aimed at kerbing addiction to the game which outlined that neither person was allowed to practice Geo Challenge until 24 hours before the time of official event.

Conveniently Annie “forgot” about this agreement and went ahead improving her score while I sat rooted on the same points. I had thought about taking up this gross injustice with one of the designated referees for the Tri-Decathlon but looking at the amount of events I’m sure to win, I’m happy to let her have this one.

And if she wins, I can just point out the fact that she’s a dirty, rotten cheat.

Avid readers of this blog - the kind of which I’m certain Annie and I just don’t have yet - will have noticed that things have gone a bit quiet lately.

The truth is that with Christmas and the turn of the year just passed Annie and I have spent little time together and even less time practicing for The Tri-Decathlon. Indeed, apart from endless amounts of Mario Kart Battle I’ve done virtually nothing. Not that it’s going to stop me from winning, of course.

She thinks she can beat Toad with Wario. What a fool.

JLT didn't like losing.

My best Toad impression.

Anyway, Annie is due to come back from the coast at some point in the near future so things should get a bit more serious soon. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of Alan Goat, Jacky Le Tigre and myself playing Mario Kart.