Moments of regret

I’m not the person to declare “ no regrets “ . In fact I believe having regrets is a healthy reminder that you could have done things differently . “Next time I’ll change direction. “ There have been many moments in the last 6 years in LA where things could and should’ve been done differently.

Ole Mate Marcus was a classic example . I tend to be a bit gullible. Not in the sense of being conned or hoodwinked but more with giving a bit too much time to the oddball . I do tend to get drawn to them a bit . Old mate carcus would grow to be a thorn in my side . Emma holds a passionate disdain for him . The continual door knocking , messages , phone calls and hounding would drive us insane . There were many moments where he caused me grief but the one I look back and laugh at the most is the time I stupidly allowed him to take Leroy to the golf range . Leroy’s a ball kid , with really good hand eye talent . Ole mate identified it as well and thought he’d be a natural golfer . After relentless badgering I allowed him to take Leroy to the golf range . Emma was enraged when she found out . I didn’t think it was that bad until Emma reminded me of the six car accidents Ole mate had been in in just over a year . “His car is covered in dents and his door is taped on ! “ she yelled . Ok , fair point . Ole mate said Leroy was amazing and he wanted to seriously tutor him in golf and take him to the course . Emma said over her dead body . Leroy would later tell me that Marcus nearly got into a fight ( another one , people regularly threaten him ) at the golf range . I wondered how ole mate was going to afford the golf range . It turned out that the guy next door to him at the golf range reached down to grab a ball out of his 2nd bucket to discover it gone . Ole mate had slid it over to his booth and that’s how he and Leroy were able to get a good session in . Once he discovered what had happened he initially wanted to beat the shit out of Marcus , but as per usual Marcus’s age , red balding head and obnoxious but pathetic attitude disarms him enough to just complain to management. Marcus and Leroy are duly kicked out . Marcus would later complain that rich people are assholes and that he didn’t need a 2nd bucket . Eventually Marcus gets kicked out of his apartment across the road . The whole neighbourhood could not stop smiling . I block his number . Now I see him occasionally. Ummm , yeah I could’ve done that a little bit earlier , like 2 years earlier .

We made a mistake not bringing our dog over . He was a great little dog but the cost , effort and stress might have been too much . Also we thought we’d be here for only 2 years. There was the Australian quarantine to navigate as well . 6 years later we realised we should’ve brought him with us , especially knowing that this place is like a dog Mecca . Everyone has one no matter the apartment living , no backyards and small park space . The paths are always filled with people walking dogs . I oughta know I became a professional dog walker for a while . Yeah that one was a bit of a regret . Working for WAG sounded good , started good but soon enough lost it’s lustre . As a stranger retrieving frightened dogs from cages in others peoples homes soon became a chore . It wasn’t fun anymore after an escaped dog , a bitten arm and several near misses . Nope , there are better ways to love dogs .

When I clicked the button on my phone I didn’t think things would happen so quickly . Within 15 minutes I receive a phone call . I get interviewed a day later and within a week I’m at a training session for my new job . I don’t have any regrets about clicking the button , it ends up being a great job with good people and the best boss I’ve ever had . It was the schedule , Sunday nights . At first I dismissed it . Nah , it won’t happen . Before we came to America the boys and I started watching NFL games in Australia. We’d tape the Monday morning Chanel 73 forecast and watch it on Monday afternoons . I adopted the Rams . We live in LA , we may as well follow the local team . It was a good decision . The Rams are a winning team with a great coach and organisation. As a St. Kilda supporter this is a breath of fresh air . Late 2022 the Rams are starting to look a threat , not quite a title threat but still there’s an inkling that something’s brewing. I’m a glass half empty guy , geezus I barrack for St. Kilda I’m justified aren’t I ? This time I’m extra pessimistic. I’m scared , my gut intuition is saying” this is it .” I’ll miss the Super Bowl for the first time since moving here . I’m depressed about it but shit you can’t ask your new boss at your new job to have the day off so you can get drunk and watch the football with the rest of America …. “Can you ? “ I decide to stay the course . “I’ll work it , the Rams can’t beat the 49ers or the Packers . They are not tough enough “ , I declare .And then it happens , the Rams beat their bogey team in a last gasp play . They beat the San Francisco 49ers just the once in the last 4 years and go to the Super Bowl . I’m despondent . Can I at least once see a team I support win a title ? Just once ? In a quiet dark room I spend the 5 hours working at exactly the same time that the Super Bowl is on . To rub salt into the wounds it’s just 10 km away in Inglewood , at the newly built Sofi Stadium . On my lunch break i go outside and can actually here echoes of music coming from the stadium . It’s the half time show . Totally true , I can here it from work . I go back to work with messages from Emma coming through on my phone giving me constant updates but I can’t look at them I just feel the buzz on my leg . I finish work at 8 pm and look at my phone and the last message from Emma . “ They won it ! “ Oh fuck , Cincinnati has won it . When I snuck into the toilet between services Cincinnati were in front with 3 minutes remaining . The next message from Emma then said it all . THE RAMS WON ! ……. Bitter , bitter sweet . I’d missed it all . To be put it in AFL footy parlance it was like missing your team kick a goal to win the premiership in the dying seconds because you were working . The pain , the regret . I shut it out and still do ,but that hurt . The only Super Bowl I miss is the one my team wins . What are the odds ? I was still lucky enough to go and see a Rams game at Sofi Stadium . I don’t want to ruffle any feathers as an ardent Aussie rules man who has been to 3 Grand Finals but that game day experience is close to the best sporting spectacle I’ve seen . It probably is .

The regret I held the longest was moving here . I thought it was a mistake . For years I thought we had it wrong , but no I had it wrong . We’ll go home with no regrets …..yeah I know I’m totally debunking my mantra , well sort of …just this time . We’ve had an amazing experience , it wasn’t easy , we’ve made mistakes but we’ve gained way more than we’ve lost .