On the one hand, it's great to get a four-day break at Easter - but on the other I don't get paid as I'm a humble temp. But I worked longer during the week to make up for it, so I shouldn't miss out too much. On Friday night I went to Annandale to another gig - this one more performance than anything, as it involved lots of pouting and screaming, sparklers, cameras and even inflatable dogs. But it was certainly entertaining, and made a change from things I usually listen to (or ever have before).
On Easter Saturday I went out to the Olympic Stadium to watch an international football friendly between Australia and Iraq, which was good fun, as the game was full of crazy mistakes. There were 30,000 there - again dwarfed in the huge stadium - but by my estimate there were 5,000 Iraqi fans waving flags and chanting. Of course the PM John Howard was there, and various other dignitaries showing how the new Iraq means their teams can play in the West. There was a great deal of ceremony and subtle politicising going on (if that's a word). But the match was good, Iraq scored first (they are above Australia in the FIFA rankings) but then the 'Socceroos' scored twice to win 2-1. The Iraqi-Australian fans certainly enjoyed it, and waved their flags for the entire game - apart from the poor bloke in front of us who was told to take his flag down after an Australian fan complained to the stewards, which was utterly needless. Maybe because of that I cheered extra-loudly when the Iraq goal went in...
