When the Cheshire emerges...

Dear Diary,

I've found my groove again. Small sacrifices are necessary for the bigger picture. But I still don't have the best knack of choosing the best game of the three to focus on watching, which is frustrating. Take last night: out of Paraguay vs Slovakia, Italy vs New Zealand and Brazil vs Ivory Coast I picked the latter. I thought it was a no-brainer - six-time champs against a top African team led by Chelsea's Didier Drogba... but my doubts got to me when I awoke from my slumber at 4am, finding two texts from Penny mentioning how awesome it was that Italy and NZ drew. I couldn't fathom this at 4am. I still can't fathom it now. THEY DREW??? 1-ALL?? Wow, so New Zealand are the surprise packet of the tournament so far, holding the reigning champions and a decent European side to draws. It's astounding - THEY'RE DOING BETTER THAN AUSTRALIA. There, I said it. And I'm actually annoyed that I haven't really seen them play properly. Therefore making the game vs Paraguay my must watch.

So the Brazil-Ivory Coast game was still good. Great plays by the Brazilians, especially leading to that first goal by Luis Fabiano. Genius. But Drogba didn't go unheard of, which is a relief for I.C. I'm sure. Loved that the Brazilian defenders missed him completely and couldn't do anything but stand there gaping. It's funny to watch.

I also discovered I love saying Cote d'Ivoire. If I was a commentator I'd always say that in a put-on husky voice with my newly learned French accent: 'Cote d'Ivoooooire...' Very intriguing.

Hours of sleep: 5. Had brekky before it ended and got ready for work just after it finished. Didn't fall asleep - because I left the heater off. Small sacrifices = bigger picture.

Dear Diary,

I'm a bit sad this morning... the World Cup so far has provided almost sleepless nights and interesting results but I let myself down overnight. The one day I was feeling fine (even on 2.5 hours sleep) and had time to relax at home what happens? I end up falling asleep on the couch BEFORE the start of Greece vs Nigeria - and then not even my brother could wake me up properly until his scream of 'Ohhhhh!' in the latter part of the second half. Shameful.

Had been hanging out ALL day, and then I was struck by stomach pains. So fine, it wasn't something I could control - besides lying down, but as soon as I do THAT what else is going to happen? Make me MORE awake? Pfft, sure. So I watched the last 20 minutes intently and by the end felt more awake than I had for half the day. Aaaaargh!

Found out some interesting things though. Chris reckons he tried waking me up at least twice last night - but did he emphasise that GREECE was on? Don't think so. I don't remember any of this, I must have been so out of it. Then he tells me when the Portugal vs Ivory Coast game ended a few nights ago and he woke me to go to bed I said: 'I have to wake you up at 6am to go to bed'. Or something. Rambling and not making any sense.

It got me thinking whether it's worth watching as much as I can at the expense of my inability to actually keep my eyes open. For some reason I feel like I'm missing out, like I'm not paying 100% attention to the good matches. Got shittier when I heard the commentator say how good a game it was. And it's not like I can really watch a replay when I'm back at work (and reality, yesterday was such a productive day off...). How frustrating. At least I found my Hellas scarf (authentic and all), I'll be wearing that today!

Oh yeah, (when I load it) I want to put a photo of me with a vuvuzela up. It's hilarious.

Dear Diary,

Well, I'm well underway of night six but I hit another low with night five. Key match was Portugal v Ivory Coast and was very keen after the surprise of New Zealand's 1-all draw with Slovakia. Decided to make myself a hot chocolate and crank the heater to make myself comfortable. Big mistake. I was toasty and warm and enjoying the first part of the game... but I again found myself drifting off.

Chris gets home from work, and when he sits down he starts barking at me for falling asleep. It's not my fault I can't keep my eyes open!!! (Ok so it is but still...) I keep hearing him waking me up and at half time I demand he leave me alone until it starts up again. I vaguely remember glimpses from there and next thing the TV's off and he's shaking me saying: 'It's 1:30, the game's over. Go to bed!' How SHIT. Why am I missing out? It's not fair! I don't have the luxury of watching replays on SBS Two during the day (which I didn't know were airing until today).

But do I feel I'm missing out, or is it that the games seem a little lacklustre so far? It's easy to get the impression that there haven't really been any standout games within the first round of group matches - sure, North Korea holding Brazil scoreless for a half is good, as were displays from Germany (grrr), The Netherlands and Italy. But the latter three are to be expected. I want to see games that will keep me awake in the wee hours of the morning because they're unpredictable.

Felt better today. Maybe that's because hours of sleep totalled five. And I could've had more, but I made myself visit the gym. Again, shock horror, two days running! Haha that's not possible tomorrow, but the point of trying to look after myself amidst the imminent trail of destruction of my sanity is being taken. For the love of the world game, it's all worth it.

Dear Diary,

It's 3:10pm Sunday as I write this sentence, reflecting on the fact that Greece are the 'easybeats' of Group B (the commentator's words, not mine) and the huuuuge blunder by England's goalie against the US.

So viewing of Greece vs S.Korea was minimal because I was out - but a 0-1 deficit in the first 20 minutes wasn't a good sign. I get home later to find the 0-2 loss was a result of defensive slips. Disappointing. Saw last 10 minutes of Argentina vs Nigeria though, and Lionel Messi... well, he was unlucky to score. The guy showed so much brilliance (yes, even in just that 10 minute gap) and couldn't convert! It's a classic example of the world's best performing less than standard when playing in their national colours (Thierry Henry is another example if it must be argued).

Two hours of sleep later and I was up for England vs USA at 3:30am. My brother had stayed up and was surprisingly awake until about 5:30. I was surprisingly ok for about the same time. Ok, I lie: I kept 'resting my eyes' throughout. Kicks in the side provided a good incentive for me to do otherwise.

Good game; the US had more possession than I would've thought and the fact that it was a draw astounded me. The goal that England's keeper let through was ridiculous... wasn't behind the ball. It was like watching a train wreck with the various replays - the more intriguing the more you see it. Gerrard's goal was a great showcase of a strong attack and taking the lead four minutes in was actually a surprise. I wanted England to win (right now I feel it's important to pick any side against a particular team, and in 2010 the 'hate team' is the US. No hard feelings...) but I can handle a draw.

Then another 2.5 hours of sleep and I had to get up for the day. Therefore sleep count: 4.5 hours. Went to a movie before - and didn't even get close to dozing off (as some would know, I'm prone to doing that more and more these days). Very proud.

GEARING UP FOR THE SOCCEROOS AT 3:30AM TONIGHT!!! Scarf's ready to go, rounding up the crew and heading out to watch it amongst the people. Thank goodness tomorrow's a public holiday, we're allll gonna need it :D