There are signs of the Christmas season all around me, which compensates for the lack of snow. While normally I would be bundling up as Christmas approaches and complaining about how cold the weather is, instead, I am lounging about in warm sunny weather on the other side of the world. This is particularly poignant as I have been reading, with more than a passing interest, about the deep freeze in the prairies and the large snowfalls elsewhere. So that I'm not confused, I've seen wreaths, Christmas trees and carollers. The other day, as I was going to a work Christmas party, I saw 4 carollers on the sidewalk. I remembered thinking that I hope they sing one of my favourites, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, and sure enough, they were. Today, there was a whole choir outside the Garema Place ACTTAB. To my mind, carolling in the blazing sun is just bizarre, especially when you think that all other Christmas traditions, such as warm hearty meals, are based on it being a winter holiday.
Another sign of the season is the obligatory office Christmas party, or in my case, 2. ACTTAB threw a lavish affair at the Hotel Realm, a very well appointed establishment in Canberra. This came complete with buffet and bar, all paid for by the company of course. I had a great time and some others had even better times, though I suspect they wish they could remember them now. The second ACTTAB Christmas party was a lower key affair at the Hellenic Club. This time, we had to pay for our food and drinks and instead of being for the whole organization, this party was specifically for those who work in the branches. It was quite enjoyable as well and we all got presents from our wonderful boss, Jenney; I got a box of chocolates. I guess you never know what you're going to get!
The day after the first Christmas party the races were on at Canberra Racecourse so I worked there. All I can say is that I am glad I don't drink alcohol as many people were nursing vicious hangovers. I was stationed with another seller in the public area which took some skill to find. It was up the stairs and down the hall, through 2 other "public" areas; those were reserved for club members and something else. The racecourse, despite its size, is quite labyrinthine. I enjoyed being up in the public area because it meant that I could actually watch the races. I did have one interesting episode though, well 2 really. The first is that I ended up serving a couple from Toronto who had recently immigrated to Australia and were now applying for their permanent residency. The other involved a man who turned in $80 and tried to get me to split it 50/50. When I told him we couldn't, since the money didn't belong to either of us, he became very irate. This continued sporadically for some time until he left. I guess he learned the price of honesty.
A few days ago I decided to go out to a pub for something to eat and afterwards, for no particular reason, I decided to walk to Scrivener Dam. This is a dam at the end of Lake Burley Griffin which allowed the lake to be formed. Prior to 1963, the Molonglo River slowly snaked its way through Canberra and was subject to periodic flooding. In the 1950s work was begun on the lake, which Walter Burley Griffin (Canberra's designer) had planned. Excavations began during a drought which made the work considerably easy. The lake was to have a minimum depth of 2m to prevent mosquitoes from establishing themselves. At one end, the Scrivener Dam was constructed to allow the lake to fill. A few weeks after work completed the drought broke and Lake Burely Griffin was finished.
The walk to Scrivener Dam is long but goes through some nice park land. It goes past the National Museum of Australia and continues along the lake shore before dipping inland. I especially remember the night view of western Canberra as I approached the dam over a hill. It was as if I had just come from a long journey through the wilderness and had happened upon an oasis of civilization. I walked around the dam for a short while before turning round and heading home.
So that I get get to far-flung places places like Scrivener Dam more quickly, I've decided to buy a bicycle. I went down to Big-W, the Australian equivalent of Wal-Mart, and bought one. I don't have it yet as it has to be assembled and I don't trust myself to do it. However, soon I'll have a brand new bike and I'll be able to access the whole city. Like Ottawa, Canberra is very bike-friendly and I look forward to riding many places as necessary. It'll also mean that I'll be able to sleep in a little more when school starts up again.
Yesterday I took up the Hall Dean's challenge of a ping-pong game. He has accepted all challengers to play him at aping-pong and if you win, you get a prize. We played a quick game but I beat him 11-2. My prize was 2 biscuits. I'll see if he'll accept another match.
Today was a very quiet day both at ACTTAB and at Cafe Pronto. At the Garema Place outlet, there were very few people, though the place was truly empty for only a few minutes. At Cafe Pronto, we had only 1 pizza customer until 19:45, and we opened at 17:00. We then had a 3 pizza take-away (take-out) order and 3 tables. Just before that, though, the place was so quiet we had a little staff Christmas party where I made 2 pepperoni pizzas for the 5 of us. I have never seen a Saturday evening, or indeed any evening at Cafe Pronto, so quiet. I wonder why that is?
My laptop is also beginning to show its age. The graphics module is decaying so every so often I get these strange staticy lines across the screen. The machine is still usable and with a bit of jostling the lines disappear, but my laptop is nearing the end of its life. Also, the hard drive seizes up occasionally, which is much more serious, bit I've found a way to handle that; I hit the part pf the laptop the noise is coming from and the hard drive then continues as normal. I can't afford a laptop as yet, but in a few months, I think I'll be able to swing a nice one.
And finally, my next post will be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as I'm leaving for camp. I've begun to gather up the gear I need, though I already have quite a bit. This will be a Ukrainian Scout (Plast) camp near Lake Canobolas, a glorified pond near the town of Orange. I'll be there from December 26th-January 3rd but have to head into Sydney on the 25th as I'm getting a drive from someone there. I'm heading back to Canberra on the 4th so that I don't have one long trip on the 3rd. I'll wish everyone proper season's greetings in my next post.
Another sign of the season is the obligatory office Christmas party, or in my case, 2. ACTTAB threw a lavish affair at the Hotel Realm, a very well appointed establishment in Canberra. This came complete with buffet and bar, all paid for by the company of course. I had a great time and some others had even better times, though I suspect they wish they could remember them now. The second ACTTAB Christmas party was a lower key affair at the Hellenic Club. This time, we had to pay for our food and drinks and instead of being for the whole organization, this party was specifically for those who work in the branches. It was quite enjoyable as well and we all got presents from our wonderful boss, Jenney; I got a box of chocolates. I guess you never know what you're going to get!
The day after the first Christmas party the races were on at Canberra Racecourse so I worked there. All I can say is that I am glad I don't drink alcohol as many people were nursing vicious hangovers. I was stationed with another seller in the public area which took some skill to find. It was up the stairs and down the hall, through 2 other "public" areas; those were reserved for club members and something else. The racecourse, despite its size, is quite labyrinthine. I enjoyed being up in the public area because it meant that I could actually watch the races. I did have one interesting episode though, well 2 really. The first is that I ended up serving a couple from Toronto who had recently immigrated to Australia and were now applying for their permanent residency. The other involved a man who turned in $80 and tried to get me to split it 50/50. When I told him we couldn't, since the money didn't belong to either of us, he became very irate. This continued sporadically for some time until he left. I guess he learned the price of honesty.
A few days ago I decided to go out to a pub for something to eat and afterwards, for no particular reason, I decided to walk to Scrivener Dam. This is a dam at the end of Lake Burley Griffin which allowed the lake to be formed. Prior to 1963, the Molonglo River slowly snaked its way through Canberra and was subject to periodic flooding. In the 1950s work was begun on the lake, which Walter Burley Griffin (Canberra's designer) had planned. Excavations began during a drought which made the work considerably easy. The lake was to have a minimum depth of 2m to prevent mosquitoes from establishing themselves. At one end, the Scrivener Dam was constructed to allow the lake to fill. A few weeks after work completed the drought broke and Lake Burely Griffin was finished.
The walk to Scrivener Dam is long but goes through some nice park land. It goes past the National Museum of Australia and continues along the lake shore before dipping inland. I especially remember the night view of western Canberra as I approached the dam over a hill. It was as if I had just come from a long journey through the wilderness and had happened upon an oasis of civilization. I walked around the dam for a short while before turning round and heading home.
So that I get get to far-flung places places like Scrivener Dam more quickly, I've decided to buy a bicycle. I went down to Big-W, the Australian equivalent of Wal-Mart, and bought one. I don't have it yet as it has to be assembled and I don't trust myself to do it. However, soon I'll have a brand new bike and I'll be able to access the whole city. Like Ottawa, Canberra is very bike-friendly and I look forward to riding many places as necessary. It'll also mean that I'll be able to sleep in a little more when school starts up again.
Yesterday I took up the Hall Dean's challenge of a ping-pong game. He has accepted all challengers to play him at aping-pong and if you win, you get a prize. We played a quick game but I beat him 11-2. My prize was 2 biscuits. I'll see if he'll accept another match.
Today was a very quiet day both at ACTTAB and at Cafe Pronto. At the Garema Place outlet, there were very few people, though the place was truly empty for only a few minutes. At Cafe Pronto, we had only 1 pizza customer until 19:45, and we opened at 17:00. We then had a 3 pizza take-away (take-out) order and 3 tables. Just before that, though, the place was so quiet we had a little staff Christmas party where I made 2 pepperoni pizzas for the 5 of us. I have never seen a Saturday evening, or indeed any evening at Cafe Pronto, so quiet. I wonder why that is?
My laptop is also beginning to show its age. The graphics module is decaying so every so often I get these strange staticy lines across the screen. The machine is still usable and with a bit of jostling the lines disappear, but my laptop is nearing the end of its life. Also, the hard drive seizes up occasionally, which is much more serious, bit I've found a way to handle that; I hit the part pf the laptop the noise is coming from and the hard drive then continues as normal. I can't afford a laptop as yet, but in a few months, I think I'll be able to swing a nice one.
And finally, my next post will be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as I'm leaving for camp. I've begun to gather up the gear I need, though I already have quite a bit. This will be a Ukrainian Scout (Plast) camp near Lake Canobolas, a glorified pond near the town of Orange. I'll be there from December 26th-January 3rd but have to head into Sydney on the 25th as I'm getting a drive from someone there. I'm heading back to Canberra on the 4th so that I don't have one long trip on the 3rd. I'll wish everyone proper season's greetings in my next post.
1 comment:
Good Job! You passed. This was a sting operation. That was Lucifer in disguise, trying his best to sway you.
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