Summer Santa

Christmas is here! Well, western European Christmas, anyway. I still celebrate Christmas according to the old Julian calendar which makes it January 6th and 7th. In any event, the season is upon us and even in the Australian summer, people are celebrating. Today was hot day, close to 35C but tomorrow brings a cool change. As well, many people out west are getting exactly what they wished for --- rain. It's about time too. Actually, I think the drought may be easing up and if any more cyclones manage to breach Australia's interior, it may break altogether. That would be a great present for the New Year.

Before Christmas, there was the solstice --- the longest day of the year. Some people celebrate it but it usually goes by unnoticed. Actually, Christmas is celebrated in December because it is around the time of the solstice and many pagan rituals occurred at that time as well.

Also on solstice day, the Plast organization in Canberra had it end of year ceremony, called an "apel'". It was quite short but was followed afterwards by pinatas and a barbeque. We won't have meetings again until sometime in February and all in all, it was a good year.

Now, the main thing to concentrate on is the upcoming Plast camp. I'm leaving Canberra for Melbourne tomorrow and then I'll be driven to the camp which starts on the 26th. It's being held in Angahook Lorne National Park southwest of Geelong at a property called "Sokil" (SOH-keel) which is Ukrainian for "hawk". Last year I gave the Sydney camp a go, so this year it's Melbourne's turn. I'll be away from Canberra until January 5th and I'm very much looking forward to another camping experience. This one will have a 3-day bike hike.

As for doing something for Christmas, I haven't really mostly because it isn't really Christmas for me and I had to pack for camp. I did, however, watch the absolutely hilarious movie Bad Santa as well as listened to Lorenna McKinnett sing a few Christmas carols. In any event, to all those who are celebrating, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and to those who prefer a more expansive salutation, I further wish you happy holidays and season's greetings.

3 Years Left

According the Mayans, we only have 3 years left to enjoy ourselves. According to them, the world will come to an end on December 21st, 2012. In that spirit, Hollywood, never an organization willing to pass up the opportunity to make money off cultures, has released a movie called 2012 about that very cataclysm. I went to see it the other day because I like disaster movies. As movies go, it wasn't too bad although the science was rather incorrect. It starts off by saying that neutrinos are beginning to react with other particles in the Earth, heating us up, whereas before they hadn't; that's just not true. While the majority of neutrinos pass through matter unimpeded, they do react occasionally which is how we detect them. There was also the concept of total crustal displacement, essentially the crust moves as one, put forward by Charles Hapgood and supported by Einstein. While so much is true, Hapgood opposed the idea of plate tectonics which we now know drives crustal movement. It's simply impossible for the whole of the Earth's crust to move as one quickly. But who knows, maybe the Mayans were right and it'll end some other way. If it does, at least I won't have to deal with being 30.

At the end of 2012, the survivors are headed for Africa which has been raised and is the best choice for restarting humanity. The Drakensberge ("dragon mountains" in Afrikaans) are the new roof of the world. By a strange coincidence, lately I've felt a wanderlust to visit South Africa, particularly the Drakensberge, but for no particular reason. Maybe I'll head off in a little while.

Last Tuesday was also the last trivia session at University House until February. We came in second this time. I look forward to next season and I shall be honing my skills in the interim.

On Thursday, I had another ACTTAB Christmas party. This is the staff party, not an official corporate event, and, like last year, it was held at the Hellenic Club. Though many people showed up, I thought there were fewer than last year. We had dinner and drank well into the night and, I suppose, the next morning. After dinner, I decided that it was about time I picked up a vice. Drinking, narcotics and smoking are too damaging to my health so, for the first time in my life, I decided to gamble with my money, instead of my life. I only had about 3 bets and none cost more than AUS$4.00. I think I ended up down by about AUS$2 by the end, though because I'd found AUS$15.00 on the floor, I was up quite a bit. I'm not going to make a habit of this, though I did have some fun by sarcastically asking my supervisor how I should fill in the betting slip. After it all, I felt as though I'd had a bit of fun and participated in an important part of Aussie culture. Maybe next year I'll bet a little more.

Rather annoyingly, some of the power is out at Fenner Hall. ACTEWAGL, the local utilities company, has set about upgrading the local generator and that has necessitated a reduction in the availability of electricity. Originally planned to last only an hour, the power will continue to be rationed, so to speak, until 18:00 tomorrow. It's a bit inconvenient, especially as the Summer Duty Warden I was getting calls about it at 07:00, but there's nothing that can be done except wait and hope everything will be alright. I just hope it will be worth it after all this trouble.

Censorship and a Hawai'ian Shirt

With Christmastide in full swing, there comes that other great holiday tradition, that of the office Christmas party. This year, because of the more restrictive financial situation, the official ACTTAB Christmas function was a little more spartan. Instead of a lavish dinner at a fancy hotel, we had an outdoor barbeque at a local country club. Not that it wasn't lovely and Christmas barbeques are something of an Australian tradition. The event was attended mostly by Head Office staff, most of whom I didn't know, with only a few staff from the outlets. It was somewhat bizarre as the office and outlet staff segregated themselves into discrete groups. There was some mingling, but not too much. There was entertainment, an open bar and food all on ACTTAB's tab. I find food always tastes better when paid for by someone else.

On a slightly more unsettling note, one of the ACTTAB outlets, the one in Erindale (a southern shopping center), was robbed a few nights ago. From what I gathered, someone came in to the outlet and brandished a knife demanding money. The person on duty obliged, no one was hurt and the matter would certainly be in the hands of the police. The person on duty, James, I had met at the Christmas barbeque. As a result, security guards have been posted at outlets operating after 17:30. I've always felt safe at the outlets and it would be very difficult for someone to actually point a knife in your face; they would have to climb over the counter which is usually either crossed by wires or has plastic dividers. I'm now dreading what may be the inevitable communication from my mother asking about this. On the plus side, the family's off to Cuba for a bit of a holiday so maybe there won't be time.

At Fenner, the contractors came through and recabled my room. I now have a brand new ethernet and telephone port but I still can't use them. It wasn't very pleasant being woken up by drills at 09:00, but I just had to bear it. Over the course of 2 or 3 days, the contractors finished with my floor and moved on. I can only hope it's worth it in the end.

Also, I found myself on the receiving end of some minor censorship. I prepared a very short radio piece on Stepan Bandera (bahn-DEH-ra), a Ukrainian nationalist (and terrorist), for Ottawa's Ukrainian radio program. I stated that despite being more closely associated with SUM (Ukrainian Youth Association), Bandera was actually a member of Plast and is rumoured to have received 4 reprimands. The producer said that she wouldn't air it unless I included other information about Bandera so as to less offend his supporters, known as "Banderivtsi" (bahn-deh-REEV-tsee). If it sounds like I'm bitter, I'm not. I actually sort of intended to ruffle a few feathers but if you really should not be able to take offence to something like this. I like sticking it to various fidgety factions within the Ukrainian community when I can.

I went out to buy a Hawai'ian shirt the other day as part of a New Year's Eve costume for camp. You would not believe how hard it is to find one in this city. I went to all the major outlets (David Jones, Myer, Target and Big-W) and even a few smaller ones but none had Hawai'ian shirts. They all had floral pattern shorts but not the shirts. I finally found some at a little discount store called Ivan's and I bought one. I'm now the proud owner of a proper Hawai'ian shirt. The rest of the outfit will consist of a pair of Hawai'ian shorts and a panama hat, I think. The costume is supposed to be jungle themed, but I'm doing it at a degree of separation by going tropical, as jungles exist in the tropics. Hawai'ian shirts are actually worn to occasions such as weddings and are seen as a mix of casual an business, but really only in tropical places like Hawai'i and Darwin. Tropical locations seem to have a relaxed atmosphere regarding the pace of life. To that end, if I get an interview with the Northern Territory DPP, I think I'll go in my Hawai'ian shirt. What do you say to that, mom?

Advent of Summer

Summer's started Down Under and it's actually been quite pleasant so far. It hasn't been scorching hot, although the temperature does hover around 30C. I was asked by my supervisor at work today why wasn't I going home for Christmas, to which I replied that after 9 months of gruelling study (that's only going to get harder), I've earned a summer. Even though I grew up in Canada and in all civilized countries Christmas is a winter holiday, I think I'm entitled to some warmth.

Speaking of entitlements, I received most of my final grades. I received 2 Credits and a Distinction; I'm still waiting on 1 grade. One of my Credits came from Commonwealth Constitutional Law and of it I am very proud; I even earned a compliment from one of my professors. From what I gather, my score was well above average. My Distinction came from Legislative Drafting and Technology, where I also received a 90% on my final report. And for completeness, my other Credit came from Advanced International Law. Needless to say, I'm riding a bit of a high at the moment.

There was, of course, the Grey Cup over last weekend played at Calgary's McMahon Stadium. Although I couldn't watch it, I followed the scores live via the web. As I saw the Alouettes close the gap, I hoped that somehow the Roughriders would be able to stave off disaster. I couldn't believe it when Duval kicked the final field goal, thanks to a Roughriders penalty, to put the Alouettes ahead 28-27. The Roughriders usually seem to attract exciting Grey Cups, such as their thrilling 1989 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and while this one will go down as one of the most exciting ever, it will sting for Roughriders fans. I feel sorry for my mom and her family still in Saskatchewan but they should still be a little proud. For the longest time the Roughriders were a bit of a joke but in the last few years they've really established themselves.

A major sporting event Down Under was the cruiserweight title fight between Australian Danny Green and American Roy Jones, Jr at Sydney's Acer Arena. This was touted as an exceptional match particularly because of the advanced ages of the contenders, Green is 36 and Jones is 40. To view the fight, I was invited by some friends to the Hellenic Club where it was being shown. The place was fairly full but we managed to get a spot at a sort of bar near the entrance. There were a few undercard matches but then the show began. Jones was the heavy favourite going in. The bell sounded and both contenders came out ready for a fight. Jones got some good quick jabs in before Green managed to floor him with a fairly innocuous-looking punch. Jones got back up but only had 2 seconds to compose himself after the referee took a look at him when Green flew back punching with all he had. He eventually cornered Jones, a legendary boxer and 4 weight-class champion, and just unleashed a fury of punches. Jones protected himself and the referee gave him as much leeway as possible but then realized that it was hopeless and called an end to the fight. The result: Green defeated Jones by TKO (technical knockout) in 122 seconds!

I wonder if I should have taken up boxing? I know my mother would have strenuous objections. In modern boxing though, let's face it, actual knockouts are pretty rare. Before that happens usually either the referee or the doctor will have stopped the fight. Ironically, the introduction of boxing gloves has actually made it a more dangerous sport in the sense that it is easier to kill someone. In the bare knuckle days, if you punched at the jaw, you'd break your own hand so pugilists (boxers) would concentrate on the body. In all of the bare knuckle era, there are only 2 recorded deaths in the ring. By contrast, with boxing gloves you can now punch at the head to your heart's content and there are 4 deaths every year in the USA in boxing. Still, it's a sport that dates back thousands of years and deserves a certain level of respect.

Despite Fenner Hall being virtually empty, there are still some activities, though not organized by the Hall. I went with some friends on a sort of lounge crawl of some of Canberra's finer establishments. I met up with Phil at 17:45 at North Lounge where there was a bevy of people, many dressed as superheroes for some reason. Another person, Tanya, joined but before we left we saw someone forcibly ejected from the premises, and it wasn't even 19:00 yet! We left North Bar and made our way to Pub Australia, a sort of stereotypical Aussie themed pub. For example, my chair was made from a discarded oil drum. Pub Australia is reasonably new and I liked it a bit.

From Pub Australia, we walked to Binara 1, the Crowne Plaza's lounge which was, surprisingly, fairly devoid of people. Here we were joined by 3 others to complete our party: Bec, Andrew and Cammy. We sat outside chatting but Binara 1 had this green lighting at its bar that I found rather pleasing. From Binara 1, it was off to Holy Grail, another lounge type place. This place was nearly deserted excepted for a few people listening to a live band. We proceeded upstairs to the mezzanine where we enjoyed ourselves in a slightly quieter atmosphere.

Kremlin Bar was the next stop on our tour, a Soviet-themed cocktail lounge that I brought my parents to when they came to Canberra a year ago. Aside from the kitsch, there's not much to say about Kremlin Bar other than it's one of my favourite Canberra night spots and I can't believe I forgot to take my brother to it when he was here. The last stop was UniPub Lounge, the 3rd floor of a complex that also contains a pub, bar and grill and dance club. We stayed in the lounge which I think was my favourite of the night. There was the obligatory low lighting and lounge music at a decent volume. It got us talking about possibly putting up something similar on the roof of Fenner Hall; Canberra lacks a good rooftop cocktail lounge and while this won't be open to the general public, it could still serve as a focal point for the Fenner Hall community. After a brief stop at Zambrero's for some of our party to buy burritos, we all went home. I'm happy that Phil organized this and I may be visiting some of these lounges again very soon.

Remember the ultrasound I had only my leg about 2 months ago? I just received payment from the insurance company which covers 85% of the cost of the procedure. After submitting my claim, they sent me a letter asking my doctor's opinion if it was a pre-existing condition. There really is no way to tell because there's no way to tell when the Baker's cyst formed. My doctor put "unknown" on the form, which actually wasn't one of the options, those being "Yes" and "No". Anyway, I'm happy that I got paid but I won't do anything about the cyst or the bump it's caused until after graduation unless it really starts to bother me. The recommended treatment would be putting a needle into the liquid mass and sucking it out; it's called "aeration" apparently.

Finally, I was convinced by a combination of my mother and Fenner Hall not having telephone service to get Skype. My parents and I downloaded it and even managed to talk to each other the other day. I have video capability and as I understand, my parents shortly will also. The sound is very clear and my built-in microphone really makes conversation easier; I can even move around the room. The one drawback is that we have to be online to do it and we can't call each other at will, but perhaps that's best. Skype, just so you know, was invented by Estonians who wanted to get around long distance charges and Russian control of the telephone network; those crafty quasi-Finns. Well, we'll see how everything goes when we start video-calling each other. Maybe there's a good reason telephones don't have video capability. Anyway, I've got to get back to this sunny, 30-degree weather, but I guess that's just another cross I have to bear.

Incommunicado

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to live in the latter part of the 19th Century? No telephones, for a start, not to mention many other amenities we now consider standard. I one read that the richest person of the time, I think it was a Rockefeller, had, after inflation, 10 times more money than Bill Gates has today! However, he couldn't use a telephone since they didn't exist so how rich was he really? Anyway, I've gotten a first-hand look at how a world without the telephone would look. Fenner Hall is upgrading its telecommunications system so all telephones and ethernet-linked internet access is impossible. It's amazing how quickly you realize how much you depend on a telephone despite it being, possibly, the most rude invention in history; I wrote about that in an earlier post. Luckily, I've left a message for anyone wishing to contact me that they can do so via my mobile. So I guess I'm not quite stuck in the 19th Century after all.

Although the weather has gotten a little cooler, earlier in the week it reached 38C, which is a record for this time of year. Although I have a fan in my room, and now a second one I managed to scavenge, it wasn't doing the trick. After trying in vain to fall asleep, I took my sleeping bag and went to the roof balcony. I spread it out an managed to get a bit of sleep in the cooler night air. It wasn't particularly comfortable as I had to sleep on concrete but at least I wasn't sweating profusely. I'll only do it again if I really have to.

Last Wednesday I had my first Summer Duty Warden shift which extended from 16:45 to 09:00 the next day. There isn't much to report except opening cupboards, fridges and baggage rooms for people. At one point, someone reported what they perceived to be a suspicious person but I couldn't find anyone as it was quite late. Maybe there's a phantom at Fenner? The Fenner Phantom?

And finally, today was also the Canberra Cup, the major race day at the Canberra Racecourse. It wasn't as sunny as last year, but the weather wasn't too bad, though a little showery. The Canberra Cup is also the last event of the Spring Racing Carnival. I was stationed up in the Members' area so I had a pretty good view of the finishing line. It's been decorated with a mock-up of New Parliament House's facade. The place was abuzz with activity and I served a great many people. No one won particularly large sums and there isn't anything really to report about the day, except the end. I was standing outside waiting for the bus but it quickly turned out that I was the only one. That being the case, one of the ACTION (Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network) employees offered to drive me to Fenner Hall. I took him up on the offer and was back home quite soon and able to start my next Summer Duty Warden Shift.

All that's left for today is the rest of my shift and then waiting to see who wins the Grey Cup.

Empty Eyrie

As this was the last week of exams, the contracts of most people at Fenner Hall expired on Saturday. The Hall fairly quickly finds itself depopulated for the summer. Fenner Hall is quite different in the summer. There are only a few people around so it is very quiet. With student activity essentially terminated until February, those of us hoping for a relaxing summer can usually get it.

For the summer, I was appointed one of many Summer Duty Wardens. In this capacity, I will work a few shifts throughout the summer just making sure everything at Fenner is running as it should. With so few people, I'm hoping that there won't be any emergencies I have to deal with. As a bonus, I also get remunerated for my troubles. I'll now have 2 sources of income over the summer, ACTTAB and Fenner.

As part of my Summer Duty Warden training, I had to undertake first aid training. The first component was online, which I completed a few days earlier. On Saturday, I biked to Fyshwick, an eastern suburb of Canberra, and attended an all-day course run by a very pleasant paramedic named Bob. We went through the usual things like CPR, bleeding, heart attacks and a few Australian specific threats like snake and spider bites. I passed that component handily and now I'm qualified to render first aid, should the need ever arise. I hope I never have to use it this summer.

Speaking of the summer, it sure feels like it but it isn't officially that season yet, which begins December 1. Recently some very warm air masses produced record November temperatures in the southeast of the country. This is especially worrying for bushfires. The tragic and enormous bushfires of last year are still in everyone's mind. A few days ago it was 43C in Adelaide and on Friday, Canberra, at 38C, was the hottest capital city in the country. A cool change is expected but all I can say is that it's only going to get hotter.

I've started running in preparation for the next umpire season. 3 times per week, I do a 4 km night jog, which isn't really all that much but it serves its purpose. This was the recommendation of the umpire training coach. I run at night because it's cooler, there are fewer people about and there's no blazing sun. Consequently I can run further with a smaller risk of dehydration. Personally, I think people who run during the day are just barking. After I run the distance, the greatest problem is my legs can barely support me. The thighs are especially sore. I only hope that it's worth it when February rolls around.

Payments of Liberty

Before one can truly be liberated, one must somehow pay for it, or deserve it, and no one pays more than students. Before we can be free, we have to endure the gruelling torture that is the examination period. In a way, you sort of look forward to it knowing that on the other side lies freedom. On the other hand, you dread having to prepare and study like mad in order to deserve that freedom. The one benefit is that exams are over quickly so the suffering is not prolonged. I have paid my dues this semester, though not a heavy price. I had only 2 exams and both in the same week.

The first exam was on Monday afternoon on the subject of Commonwealth Constitutional Law (ComCon). My dad told me that this field always interested him and he did well in it, although he did not take up constitutional law as his practice. The exam, held in a very large, but air conditioned room, was not as hard as I thought it would be, though it was involved. It required a considerable amount of skill and I only just managed to get all my answers down before the exam ended. Happy that that was over, I then concentrated on my Advanced International Law (AIL) exam, held today.

The day didn't begin easily as the exam was at 09:00, necessitating a 08:00 wake up. I had prepared fairly thoroughly with some fellow lawyers-to-be and so was confident going in. While most exams at law school are open-book, this was closed-book except for the Articles on State Responsibility. Again, the exam was over reasonably quickly and I think I got all the major points. It wasn't easy remembering the correct process of state responsibility but the chart I had made proved useful in study. The professor has said that she will be marking this fairly leniently so I am confident I will finish well, especially after my 87% on the mid-term test.

My day was further complicated in that I had to go to work an hour after sitting the exam. Needless to say, I've had a fairly long day and I'm very tired. My leg muscles are aching, in particular as I've spent most of the day on my feet.

As if things weren't interesting enough, Australia has turned up the thermostat this November. Most days have been above 30C and the temperature is expected to rise as high as 36C on some days. In their usual pithy way, the Bureau of Meteorology has described these as "warm to hot conditions". How is 30C , "warm"? It's beyond warm. They should say "from scorching to oven-setting". With the heat, there comes an increased risk of bushfires and although there aren't any yet around us, the predictions point to a hot summer this year so we must be ever-vigilant.

Finally, I will wish a happy birthday to my father who turns 70 on the 15th. He's been around for a while and he's almost as old as World War 2. Just to put that into perspective, when my dad was born there were only about 2 billion people on Earth; now there are roughly 6.8 billion of us. As this is a major milestone, as all decade years are, I hope dad gets to celebrate. My mom told me that my brother and my dad are going to watch an Ottawa Senators game, which will be the first time that any of us have gone to a professional hockey game, except for my dad and even he hasn't been in decades. I just hope he gets to keep a puck.

Stopping a Nation

Imagine if you had the ability to convince people to throw millions of dollars your way with only a mere hope of getting a return. Further imagine that you are able to convince roughly 80% of the adult public of a wealthy nation to do this, not once, not twice, but once each year. then imagine that you can essentially halt the business of the nation for the short time that it takes to run that race. Now, open your eyes and realize that this actually happens; it's called the Melbourne Cup.

Last Tuesday was one of the most important days on the Australian calendar, the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's richest horse race. The first Tuesday of November is anticipated with great joy in this country as the time comes to put a bet on a horse or horses. And by the way, that 80% figure is not and exaggeration, it is a government statistic.

I started the day fairly early, around 07:45 as I had to be at my post by 08:15. I didn't sleep terribly well the night before, though, I think I was anxious about my upcoming exams. I would be working at Civic West, a smaller outlet but one at which I have worked before. I was partnered up with David, an older supervisor, as well as a volunteer helper. With just the 3 of us, we would be working flat-out, as they say. Well, once the day got rolling, it really went. Because this outlet is located in the city, it mostly gets civil servants and the like but Melbourne Cup Day is a paid holiday in the ACT (Family and Community Day), so it wasn't expected to be that busy. Although business was a little down from the year before, it was still reasonably busy. That Dixon guy even showed up at one point but didn't cause any trouble.

Well, the bets flowed as the race drew near. The Melbourne Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airlines who also sponsor other major horse races around the world, is run at 15:00 over 3200 meters making it one of the longest races in Australia. It was originally 2 miles long, about 3218 meters but when Australia went metric, they shortened the length of the race. The total prize money for the owners and jockeys this year was $5 200 000 but next year it's going up to $6 000 000! Even that is dwarfed by the betting pools; the Win-Place betting pool alone was close to $40 000 000.

This year, the race was won by horse 21, Shocking. Not a totally unexpected winner and as such, the payouts weren't as big as last year. One lucky soul, though, won on a mystery trifecta, where the computer randomly generates 3 horses. The cost, $6, the payout, about $9 500! There was another payout of around $8 000 and another of around $4 000 I think. But to add a little salt on the wound, I didn't get a single tip! Can you believe that? Even in a country where tipping isn't customary when you win money like that, you can at least throw me a couple of bucks. Not that I could complain about money, though. Since it is a holiday, I made $54.14/hr for the first 7.5 hours and then $67.68/hr for the remaining 2.5 hours I was working, so I probably made more money than most people. One of these days, though, once I'm making good money, I think I'll put a 10-horse trifecta bet and see how I go.

Because of the fast pace, the day was over pretty quickly and we closed up the outlet at 18:00. Some other outlets stayed open until after 22:00. In the company newsletter, it said that overall turnover was higher than last year with some big increases in some outlets. Melbourne Cup day is always exciting and I can't wait until next year's. Unfortunately, the ACT government has moved Family and Community Day so I won't be getting such a fantastic salary that day anymore.

David, my supervisor, also mentioned that one of the internet betting agencies was offering odds on CFL games. He said he was interested and I told him I would tell him anything he wants to know about the CFL. I think it's about time that Australians, and the world in general, took notice of that great sport Canadians cherish.

My mother sent me a piece on delis from the newspaper that says the deli is dying. That may be true,and maybe a little sad, but what is so special about delis? They're not something with which we could do without, except that they often form an important part of a city's identity, like Montreal and New York. The piece also mentioned a New York deli called Katz's as the world's oldest and I'm wondering if that was the deli my family and I visited on our trip to New York in 1999. If so, the thing I remember most is the colossal amount of cream cheese they gave with their bagels. I also remember that my friend Andre (whom I call Dr. Dre, because he's a doctor) took me to Schwartz's, Montreal's most famous deli once for some smoked meat sandwiches. It was quite a deli-ghtful experience, with the most memorable thing being the benches; you sat with other people rather than on your own. Ottawa has, or possibly had, its own famous deli in Nate's, which I don't think I've ever been too. I'll see what I can do, but I can tell you that there are no delis in Australia, at least none that I can find in Canberra.

Yesterday, I had a shift out at the harness track at EPIC. I don't know why, but I've always had a soft spot for harness racing. It's a different experience than the outlets mostly because there are only verbal bets and generally not that many people. The last time I worked at EPIC, it was 40C but yesterday was much more pleasant. Hopefully, I'll get a few more shifts out there; I like it.

Well, I have to get back to studying. I have an exam tomorrow in Commonwealth Constitutional Law. Not the easiest subject; actually it's about 17 subjects squeezed into 1. However, I've been doing some diligent studying and I think I'll be alright. I've looked at past exam papers, looked through my notes a few times and made my summaries. I think I'll do alright.

Angels and Demons or the Antipodean Halloween Special

There are several scary events, mostly scholastic, that coincide with the season of All Hallows Eve. Halloween has always been one of my favourite celebrations because of the free candy and somehow it's never quite what you imagine or remember. Generally nothing scary happens, even though we trick ourselves into thinking it does (just think of the Halloween series of horror movies), and we all get together to dress up and share a good laugh. Mostly, though, it's about getting the sweet stuff at a stranger's expense. At what other time would you be able to walk up to another person's home while masked and disturb them in the middle of the night and not have the police called on you? Despite Halloween being associated with evil, the word "hallow" actually means "holy" and is the precursor to All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). If anything, Halloween should be about angels, not demons. Do you see what I did there? How witty.

Australians don't celebrate Halloween in any meaningful sense and I think the country is much impoverished culturally because of it. For one thing, Halloween serves as a convenient break in the holidays leading up to Christmas. In major department stores Christmas decorations are already in place which I think is quite affronting. People in North American complain when Christmas decorations go up in mid-November but here they go up at the beginning or middle of October. The reason? There are no major holidays between September and Christmas, with the possible exception of the Melbourne Cup but there are no decorations for that. If Australia got Halloween then the Christmas decorations wouldn't go up until November at least. Or Australians could do something for the Melbourne Cup. Whatever the case, I think we can all agree that any time before November is far too early for Christmas decorations.

In the scary news, the school year has just ended with my official class on Thursday; I have a review class for Advanced International Law this Wednesday. While you may think this would be celebratory in nature, it is quite the reverse. As Bart Simpson once pointed out in a Halloween Special, "After all, what's scarier than having to go to school?" After the teaching comes the scariest part of all --- the exams! Even if you prepare fully, you never quite shake the feeling that you won't be able to cope once the exam begins. Luckily I only have 2 exams this semester but Commonwealth Constitutional Law is a difficult subject and no matter how much I prepare, I don't think I'll be calm going in.

At trivia on Tuesday, I had a rather good run of luck. Every 10 questions there is something called a spot question wherein a question is asked and the first person to run up with the correct answer written down wins a free jug of whatever drink they choose. The first spot question was "Place-Ville-Marie is an important landmark in which city?" I was writing down the answer (Montreal) even before the question was finished. Today someone remarked how difficult that question would be if you're not from Canada to which I would agree. Nevertheless, I had won a free jug for my team and out of respect for me, they allowed me to get some soft drink. The next spot question asked who had a number of hits in various decades since the 1960s. I wasn't the first person up but I was the first person up with the correct answer, which was Cher. This time, out of respect for my teammates, I got a jug of Heineken. I was riding on a high the rest of the game; we finished 3rd which doesn't even get us a prize.

Yesterday, Tony, a friend of mine, convinced me to go see a movie with him and 2 lady-friends of his. He had free movie passes to Greater Union, a cinema company like Cineplex Odeon, that were expiring on the 31st. There's only 1 Greater Union in Canberra so our selection was quite limited. More or less by default, the choice was Couples Retreat, a romantic comedy that turned out much funnier than I expected. It's about a couple who need couple's therapy at a resort and convince 3 other couples to join them to get a group rate; hilarity ensues. Afterwards we had a spirited discussion on accents. Tony claimed that he spoke Chinese without an accent which I replied was a fundamental impossibility; as long as there are 2 people speaking a language there are accents. In a fundamental way, there are as many accents to a language as there are speakers because intonation, pronunciation and vocabulary are unique to all of us and how we recognize each others' voices. According to Tony, he speaks a form of Chinese called Standard Chinese which is an artificial way of speaking because the intonations and pronunciations have been dictated by a central body rather than by linguistic evolution. I felt constrained to point out that because it is a different way of speaking to another way, it is an accent. Anyway, the matter was not resolved but I still think I'm right.

I read an interesting statistic on the CBC website that said there are 2.8 million Canadian citizens abroad for the long-term (greater than 1 year). That's nearly 10% of the population of Canada and it's a group to which I proudly belong. Going by the list, Australia is the 4th largest home for Canadians outside Canada but I haven't met many here. I'm just glad to be part of such a large minority. I wonder if we qualify as visible?

Lastly, some of you pointed out that in my previous post I used "desert" when I should have used "dessert". I will wriggle out of this one by saying that I was using "desert" in its archaic form which means "something which is deserved", a sense preserved in the saying "just deserts". The "t" ending is also present in other words such as "impost" (something imposed) and "receipt" (something received).

Mwa ha, ha, ha! Boo!

Another Awards Night

With the year rapidly drawing to a close, there are many events planned to celebrate achievements, both serious and not so serious. This year, just like last year, I've been awarded both, though I'm not sure I entirely deserve one of the awards this year. But first, some other news.

I have found a new venue for trivia. Every Tuesday at University House on campus, there is a trivia night. I was told by a friend of mine, James Schofield, that I should attend as he is part of a team. I figured that as I'm not doing anything on Tuesdays anyway, I might as well join. So far, I've been having lots of fun and learning interesting things like the record for most consecutive one-handed chin-ups is 22 and Belgium has 3 official languages, French, Flemish and German, event though German is spoken by about 1% of the population. The team has done well taking 2nd place on a tie-break question 2 weeks ago and 1st place last week. The prizes are drink money at the bar of the café where the trivia is held. I think I might as well keep going.

Irritatingly, my new crown on my tooth has chipped. A rather sizable chunk disintegrated as I was eating some french fries. I looked in the mirror and it doesn't seem as bad as I first thought but I will have to go to get the crown rounded out. In your mouth, everything feels magnified 100-fold so even small chips feel very large. I can't believe something so new would break so quickly and I haven't eaten anything really hard at all, the hardest being some spare ribs. I have a feeling there may have been a structural weakness in the crown that only became manifest after it caused the small front portion to come apart.

In more bad news, my watch band came apart which necessitated me buying a new watch. I'm happy with my new watch, though.

The awards night I'm speaking of was the annual ACTAFL Umpires' Association Dinner where achievements, both remarkable and notorious are celebrated. This year it was held at the Canberra Southern Cross Club in Woden at a very nice function room. There aren't that many of us, maybe 50, but a few partners were brought along so we ended up with about 70 guests. The presentation was expertly put together by Glen Swan, nicknamed G-Bus. The night was free, actually we pay for it at the beginning of the year with an Umpires' Association fee, but it did consist of a very good buffet dinner and desert. For technical reasons, the dinner was held about a month later than last year.

The dinner and desert were interspersed between the awards portions. The awards included number of games officiated, officiating Grand Finals, a few joke awards, the Bachelor of the Year and the Least Outstanding Performance Awards (also a gag). I'm sorry to say that this year I didn't win the Bachelor of the Year, so I guess I'll just have to wait until next year. However, for the second year in a row, I took a Least Outstanding Performance award. I'm not sure I deserved it this year, though, since the incident, which involved me hugging an umpire, was reported as taking place at a ground I didn't even officiate at this year! I accepted the award anyway with the gentle good humour with which it is intended. I did, however, win a serious award, in this case, the Dedication to Training Award for Goal Umpires. This is because I bike most Tuesdays and Thursdays from my place to Manuka Oval, which takes about 30 minutes, whereas most people drive. I go to training to get fit and because I like the people there and it's absolutely no chore. The award itself is a trophy out of which I took a few sips of Coke. After the awards, the party broke up and we all went home anxious for another year which begins in February.

Before I leave you with some photos from the night, I'd like to plant an idea. Recently I found a trivia question in a magazine that asked, "Which country is officially called Myanmar?" The answer given was Burma (which is correct) but I though to myself, "Couldn't the answer also be Myanmar? If a country is officially called something can't that also be a correct answer?" What do you think?

Insert Witty Title Here

I can't think of an appropriately witty title for this post, so I've decided not to give it one. Or, to be more specific, I'll let you, the reader, insert whatever title you wish.

This week has been one big readjustment as university classes returned. We only have 3 more weeks until exams begin and it's a real process trying to finish off the school year in a few weeks after a 2-week break. Luckily, I don't have many assignments due and the two that are due are spaced well apart. This will give me enough time to consolidate what I've learned in preparation for my 2 exams. Thankfully, this isn't too onerous a load and I'll be happy once everything's done.

A while back, ACTTAB changed its policy regarding cancelling tickets. It used to be that we could cancel a ticket up to the point that a race concluded if we called the control centre. Now we can only cancel up to 30 seconds after the race has started; this effectively negates our ability to cancel a ticket if a customer feels they made a mistake and goodness knows what the justification is. Last Saturday a customer attempted to put a bet on with me and tried to pay with a winning ticket. Unfortunately the dividends hadn't come through yet, officially, so the ticket isn't worth anything. He then asked my manager to "hold" the ticket, that is hang on to it until the official dividends come through. This is not only a violation of ACTTAB policy but also the law as it counts as betting on credit. The man then told me to cancel the ticket just as the race started so I was unable to do so. The customer became very irate when I explained this to him and after a quiet heated discussion with my manager stormed out of the outlet saying he'd never be back. To which I reply, good. If you can't follow the rules (knowing the tickets can't be held), then go bet someplace else. Actually, he'd been giving us problems before and now I look forward to never having to see him again if I can help it.

On a somewhat better tone, I went back to the doctor with the results of my ultrasound. the doctor's advice was to leave my little fluid pouch alone. It's completely benign and poses no threat whatsoever. If it were causing me discomfort, as I would explain to my mother, then I should have it drained but as it's not, there's no utility. I may one day get it drained, but only after I finish uni I think; it's not worth the hassle.

Some other news out of Australia is the story of a girl named Jessica and her boat, the Pink Lady. Jessica, at 16, is trying to become the world's youngest person to circumnavigate the world. Her trip has caused media interest not only because of her age but also because of a close call. In the first few days, Jessica had to abandon her trip after she collided with a larger vessel. For some reason, her GPS and collision avoidance system were not working. There was a brief report on the incident and after making a few modifications to her schedule and equipment, Jessica is back on course. She's just left Australian waters and is somewhere in the Pacific. I wish her luck and she'll join great adventurers like Sir Francis Drake, Henry the Black (possibly the first person to go around the world), Juan Sebastian Elcano (the first person to go around the world in one trip), William Dampier (the first Englishman to visit Australia) and James Cook.

I'll explain my list. First of all, Ferdinand Magellan never made it around the world as he was killed in the Philippines. It was his first mate, Elcano, who completed the circumnavigation with 18 survivors on the only ship of the expedition, the Victoria, to make it back to Spain. Elcano was given a crest by the King of Spain that showed the globe with the motto "You circumnavigated me". Harry the Black, who almost no Westerner has ever heard of, is regarded as a hero in the Philippines, and it wasn't, in case you're wondering, because he killed Magellan, which he didn't, although he may have had cause to. Not much is known about Henry except that he may have been a native of Sumatra, Malacca or Cebu and was acquired as a slave by Magellan in the Malacca, Malaysia on one of his earlier voyages there. Magelland then brought him back to Spain and when he set out on his grand expedition, he brought Henry with him. The remnants of the fleet eventually made it Cebu in the Philippines after crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific, thus, possibly, making Henry the Black the first person to go around the world. Since so little is known of him, there's no conclusive evidence one way or the other.

And finally, on a lighter note, I'll just mention a case I've come across in my constitutional law studies, and one that is an example of the Commonwealth's constitutional defence power in time of war. The case is Andrews v Howell and the legislation involved has the rather pleasingly unexpected name of the National Security (Apple and Pear Acquisition) Regulations. The case involves a person surreptitiously selling apples that had been acquired by the Commonwealth to prevent a surplus during war. It's pretty serious but has a funny bit of legislation behind it. I guess even the driest law subjects have their moments.

Not Bad for a Week Off

Although I've had this week "off", there's no shortage of news from Australia. Maybe it's because I'm not in class so I pay more attention. The news this week ranges from the serious to the downright bizarre and I shall endeavour to convey it as best I can.

Firstly, some news leftover from previous weeks. While in Newcastle I watched the AFL Grand Final where a new product was launched. Kraft, which produces vegemite, had come up with a new product which was a mix of cream cheese and vegemite and had asked for submissions from the public as to this product's new name. During the Grand Final they announced it --- iSnack 2.0. The reaction from the public was near-universal and guttural revulsion and ridicule. The first thing I thought when I saw the name was "That's just stupid." It seems virtually all of Australia agreed. The name was suggested by a 27-year old web developer from Western Australia who I can only assume wishes to remain anonymous to prevent attempts on his life. A committee from Kraft then decided on the name which they said reflected modern life but boy did the ponce this one up! The favoured name from people I talked to was Cheesymite. Recently, the embattled Kraft Company announced that the product's new new name will be Cheesybite, which isn't too bad.

While I was in Melbourne I saw a piece on the morning news about guinea pig or gerbil (I can't remember which exactly) racing in Grenfell, NSW. It's exactly what it sounds like. The poor rodents are placed in a small straight track and then released to race. Australia is the Earth's premier racing country and the horse Spring Racing Carnival has just begun. It seems Australians will race anything. I'm not sure what exactly is more astonishing, that rodents are raced, that it's been going on in Grenfell for 30 years (that's years) or that I'd never heard of this before.

The day arrived back in Canberra from Melbourne was the National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final between the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm. The Storm were a strong team appearing in their 4th consecutive Grand Final and the Eels were the underdogs but were dark horses as they had won 10 of their previous 11 games in order to get to the final. In the unending rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney, it was up to Parramatta to carry the flag for Sydney. I only managed to catch the last few minutes and although the Eels put up a stout fight, they lost to the Storm by 8 points, but it was pretty close for a while. I was hoping the Eels would win, but like the Saints in the AFL, they just couldn't get a break when they needed one.

Monday last was Labour Day, a public holiday. Not much to say about that since I was already on break. Although around this day it was announced that Australia had just received its 22 millionth person, possibly a birth or an immigrant. This is an increase of about 4 million people in the last 10 years, which is pretty substantial. It is caused by a high birth rate, low death rate and high immigration. The population is supposed to double to 44 million by 2050. I think that would deprive Australia of some of its mystique. Australia will no longer be a far-flung, sparsely populated country with a vast Outback. Although the Outback will still exist, I have no doubt, something about Australia having so many people makes me sad.

In an odd twist, it turns out Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, has been declared a Ukrainian. On a BBC quiz show contestants were shown G-20 leaders and were told to guess which country they represented. When Kevin Rudd came up the contestant guessed Ukraine. This is a little odd since Ukraine isn't even a member of the G-20, Australia is a favourite destination of the Brits, Australia sees Britain as the "mother country" in some ways and Australia is the most important economic power in the south Pacific. Anyway, as a Ukrainian, I think Ukrainians should embrace Kevin Rudd as a fellow countryman. We can use all the help we can get.

I was also very excited to read about the launch of Google Street View in Canada. The first thing I did was look at my house in Ottawa. I was very impressed because, somehow, Google managed to find a sunny day in Ottawa during spring! Some people are concerned about privacy and so faces are blurred of people on the street and the same for car licence plates. I really don't see how this could possibly be an invasions of privacy. You're already in a public place where hundreds of people can see what you're doing. By definition what you do in public cannot possibly be private; we already have laws that regulate what you can and cannot do in a public space. I hope someone can explain this to me; privacy is about what happens behind closed doors not open windows.

Also, over the last week I went in for an ultrasound, not because I though I was pregnant, but because a while ago I had noticed a lump on my leg. On the ultrasound the lump looked like a big black blob. It appears to be a "bubble" of fluid between the muscle and skin. It may be related to something called a Baker's cyst, a collection of fluid behind the knee, that I may have received as a result of some sort of injury during soccer or something. It's not bothering me nor is it in any way dangerous. In order to remove it, I just have to get the fluid removed by syringe, but I can ignore it for now. I'm now anxiously waiting the inevitable phone call/e-mail, probably from my mother, wanting to know all about this. I wonder if by writing this, I've made it evitable? The only tedious thing was filling out an online insurance claim. I once heard that the first life insurance policy was taken out in the 1860s by a man named Gibbons for the sum of about £360 for 1 year; I don't know that was the premium or the sum to be paid upon death. Anyway, Gibbons died 4 weeks short of the 1 year mark but the underwriters got together and in order to avoid paying out they said that according to their reckoning a year was 12 x 4 weeks, so Gibbons had outlived his policy. All I can say, is thank God the insurance companies have changed since then and now they can't wait to give you your money and to hell with the small print. I think Chris Rock put it best. Insurance should be called "In Case [Something] Happens" and if [something] doesn't happen you should get your money back.

On our floor, the fridge I was using had an unusual smell for some days. By "the fridge I use" I mean the fridge that I share with half the floor. After putting up with it I decided to find out what was the cause. I got our floor SR, James, to help me out as I felt I needed his permission in order to throw anything out. In the bottom drawer we found some 3-week old chicken fillets and some spinach that had also gone off. James made the mistake of taking a deep breath of the chicken which made him gag and almost made his eyes water. He described the smell as "from the bowels of Satan". As an aside, "pumpernickel" means to "give Satan gas", the "nick" being the same name as "Old Nick" a nickname of Satan. In any event, as any chemist will tell you, anyone who breathes in directly is absolutely barking; you should wave your hand over the substance and waft the smell over. Moreover, humans are especially attuned to rotting meat for evolutionary reasons. Humans can detect the hydrogen sulfides in rotting meat because it was a way for us to prevent getting sick; if you smelled the meat and it was bad, you knew not to eat it. Also, I think, it helped us with predators in that if you saw a predator lying in the grass but it didn't smell, it might not be dead. By the way, skunks also produce hydrogen sulfides in their stink. Anyway, James cleaned out both fridges and everything's just rosy now.

As of right now, I'm writing this absurdly long application for an otherwise interesting opportunity at Finance Canada. In addition to the standard CV and references, the application asks you to explain your ranking of your preferred policy branches, an essay on policy issues and, a question I absolutely loathe, how teamwork helped you in the past. I hate questions like that, along with those like "What is your worst fault?" and "Can you give an example of how you resolved a conflict with a co-worker?" I haven't had really any conflicts with co-workers and what do they care what my faults are? I really think it should be confined to questions relating more specifically to the job, although I'm willing to grant a little leeway on the co-worker conflict thing. Anyway, I have to get back to this dreaded application. I think I'm in with a shot, though, if I get this right with my mom's help.

My Melbourne Trip

I suppose I am a little late in updating what happened in Melbourne. I was originally going to update this week and my Melbourne trip in one post but so much has happened over the week, that I might as well do the Melbourne trip update now and my weekly summary as usual this Saturday.

I left Canberra just before 22:00 last Wednesday, only 2 days after getting back from Newcastle. I wanted to get as much of Melbourne in as I could while still giving me enough time to catch up on some readings for law school. I also chose such a late time because it was far cheaper than anytime else. The flight was short, less than 1 hour, and even though we left late, we arrived a little early. I waited for a while and was picked up by Maria and her daughter Katia, the people with whom I would be spending my time in Melbourne. They're both very generous and I have stayed with them before on other trips to Melbourne. This time around, because I got in so late, around 23:00, we just drove home and after some introductions went to sleep.

The next day I used to explore the inner city of Melbourne, but particularly St. Kilda. I had been told by the Motykas in Newcastle that Acland Street in St. Kilda contained several cake shops with lovely cakes in their front windows. Getting off the train at Flinders Street Station, after some walking about I took the tram (Melbourne boasts the world's most extensive tram network) down to St. Kilda, passed a Salvador Dali exhibit and the famous clown's head entrance of Luna Park, a small theme park. I walked along Acland Street and then happened upon the stores I had been told about. The cakes were made and decorated with such care, it was almost a shame that they'd be eaten. All along the street each cake shop's inventions seemed more daring and inviting than the last. Eventually, I got up the courage to try out a marvellous looking chocolate torte and it was fantastic.

I stayed a good long while in that cake shop, taking in the atmosphere and reading the newspaper, but then I took a long walk along St. Kilda's shoreline, out along St. Kilda pier with its old pavilion that has been welcoming important guests for over 100 years; actually, it's a reconstruction, the original having been destroyed in a 2003 fire. Although I didn't see any, there is a colony of little Blue Penguins along the breakwater.

Before returning to Maria and Katia's I spent some time in Federation Square, the beating heart of Melbourne. It's right across from Flinders Street Station and sits where there were once rather unimpressive buildings. Now, on the large screen, you can see various visual artworks. That day it was a slightly disturbing animated film of various bicycling accidents the director and her friends had had over the years. After watching it for a little while, I was approached to partake in a survey about Fed Square, which I agreed to. The survey was conducted by a rather friendly man and after the survey we talked about the history of the square, its layout and its various components. While heading to the train station, I found an interactive display of "musical" bouncing balls that I just had to try out and record. It was very amusing.

The day after my little city exploration, Katia, Maria and I decided to drive down to the Mornington Peninsula, a strip of land to the south of the city, rather in manner like Cape Cod, or so I'm told. Our destination was Portsea, the town on the Mornington's edge and from there we could walk to Cheviot Beach where an Australian Prime Minister, Harold Holt, drowned in 1967 I believe; his body was never recovered. Portsea is only about 100km from Melbourne so I figured it would only take about 1.5 hours to get to; how wrong I turned out to be.

It turns out that there is no good direct way to get to the Mornington Peninsula as the "highways" are all city roads. We drove through the CBD, then through St. Kilda and through a myriad other suburbs and it was about an hour before we reached Frankston, a suburb only about 40 km from Melbourne's center. However, after Frankston, the driving became much easier as the road became a coastal highway. We passed through many picturesque towns but it soon became readily apparent that Portsea was slightly too far for us on this trip. The being so, we decided that it might be best to stop in Dromana, a small town on the southern edge of Port Phillip Bay, and after about 2.5 hours driving. Dromana is reasonably picturesque, nestled between bay and mountain, and in the distant cloudy haze, you could even make out Melbourne's skyscrapers. Anyway, the 3 of us got out and walked the town to see what there was, which wasn't much. I expect the town really only thrives on the summer tourism industry from Melbourne as the beach was lined with several multi-coloured huts. After a fairly brief jaunt around Dromana, we returned to Melbourne agreeing that next time we would make this into a 2-day trip.

The day wasn't quite over as Katia invited me out with some of her friends. We first went to the aptly named Noise Bar where a friend's friend's band was playing. The music wasn't bad but the volume was dreadful. After a suitably discreet interval we went to Provincial Bar where we talked and laughed until closing.

On Saturday, the 3 of us went to the Turkish Festival being held not far from Maria and Katia's house; Katia's nephew, Josh, joined us a little later. The Turkish Festival was exactly what it sounds like, lots of stalls selling jewelry, kebabs, music and there were even some carnival rides. That night, Katia and I again went out with her friends, although this time, the night got considerably more wild. The place we went was a converted Chinese restaurant now called Deluxe Bar. It is separated to 2 floors, the bottom being a sort of cocktail lounge and the upper a dance club. After some time, one of our party, Josh (not Katia's nephew) was asked to vacate the premises as, in the opinion of the bouncers, he'd had a little too much alcohol. He wasn't causing any trouble or anything but he was was slurring his words. He strenuously objected but other than the use of some colourful metaphors, didn't cause any problems.

While waiting for Katia on the sidewalk outside Deluxe, I suddenly noticed the door bouncer rush back into the club and I immediately had a sense of foreboding. Within a short span of time, a young man emerged, very livid and combative, at what I can only assume was his objection to being asked to leave. His friends tried to hold him back but his verbal tirades continued and even some physical ones. The young man and his friends crossed the street but the bouncers followed in a group. I was worried what was going to happen so I followed at a respectable distance. However, I became worried that this might come to blows so I called the police, who were there very quickly, in fact I was still on the phone with the 000 operator. That seemed to calm the situation but the young man was arrested. Although a little scary, it was still exciting and capped off a rather fun evening. Maria picked Katia and myself up and I had to get some sleep as I was getting on a plane in less than 12 hours.

Sunday was rather interesting as daylight savings kicked in; I had to be sure to remember this so I wouldn't miss my plane. Before I left, though, we went to visit Tania and Nadia Stasyshyn at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They are distantly related to me by marriage but have always been kind and I stayed with them the first time I visited Melbourne in 2005. It turned out the church society was having its AGM that day and we stayed for a little bit, though I later learned that it was good we left when we did because the meeting dissolved into petty factional squabbling afterwards; this seems to be characteristic of Ukrainian communities unfortunately. It was quite soon after we left the AGM that I had to be on my way back to Canberra. Maria and Katia dropped me off at the airport and I thanked them for their warmth and hospitality; I had given them a 2010 calendar as a thank you gift the night before. I look forward to another journey to the cultural mecca of Australia again as soon as I can. Hopefully, this time in in warmer weather.

Nova Castra

I had a wonderful time in Newcastle where I visited my favourite Novacastrians, the Motyka family. My mother met Mr. Motyka, a lecturer at the University of Newcastle, in the 1970s when both happened to be in Poland. I've managed to visit them a few times over the last few years and they've always shown me such kindness. It's always a great time with them on the coast north of Sydney.

To get to the Motykas, I had to take a bus into Sydney and then a train to Broadmeadow station close to Newcastle. My train departed Sydney Central station at 16:12 which meant that I had to catch the 09:00 bus out of Canberra. If I had caught the 12:30 I would have arrived at Central at 16:00 but 12 minutes was too close a margin for me. I arrived at Central around 13:00 so I spent the time walking around Sydney's CBD. I, unfortunately, don't get much time to travel and it has been a while since I've been to that great metropolis. I caught the train at the appointed time and settled in for the 2.5 hour journey.

Newcastle is a major port and is Australia's most populous non-capital city, with a population of about 250 000, I think, making it not that much smaller than Canberra. It has recently worked hard to shed its image of a working class industrial and intellectually backward city with a sort of revitalization, which has worked. The foreshore has been upgraded with modern buildings and trendy restaurants. Newcastle is home to the NRL Newcastle Knights and was the site of Australia's most powerful earthquake in December 1989. People from Newcastle are called "Novacastrians" because "Nova Castra" is a direct translation of the Latin for "New" (Nova) and "Castle" (Castra), although castra could also mean fort, encampment, bivouac or some other fortified edifice. "Castra" is also the root cognate for "-chester/-cester/-caster" endings in English place names such as Winchester, Gloucester and Lancaster

I was picked up by Mr. and Mrs. Motyka from Broadmeadow station just before 19:00 on Friday evening. After the usual introductions we drove to their home where most of the other members were already. Mrs. Motyka's (who goes by her maiden name of Ostrowska) mother lives next door and I also had a chat with her, mostly about the dust storm that had just passed caking everything with a nice red layer. At home were also Olenka, a fellow jurist and licensed solicitor, and Danylo, while the other brother, Oleksander, was in Sydney overnight.

The next day, I got up rather late, around 11:00, having slept for nearly 11 hours, which is very unusual; I must have been very tired. This was the day of the AFL Grand Final and I was determined not to miss it. It was suggested that myself and Danylo go to the Belmont 16-Footers' Sailing Club to watch the game. The Motykas are not particularly into sport and I have to thank Danylo for battling it out and keeping me company. The game was very exciting as the St. Kilda Saints, who last won the championship in 1966 (their only win), battle it out with the Geelong Cats, making their 3rd straight appearance. Although I'm not a fan of either team really, I was cheering for St. Kilda because they really did deserve to win this year, having lost only 2 games all season. St. Kilda lead for most of the game, and the margin was hardly ever more than 10 points but finally the Cats managed to get the better of the Saints. I hope the Saints aren't finished as there's always next season.

On Sunday, I accompanied Olenka, Danylo, Oleksander and 2 of Olenka's friends on an excursion around Newcastle. Our first stop was the Farmers Market, a now weekly event where, not surprisingly, farmers get and other come together to sell their wares. Among the items Olenka bought was some saltbush-fed lamb meat that we ended up having for dinner. It was incredibly delicious. After the market we met up with some more of Olenka's friends at a pizza place in Newcastle which was having a special on for $12 designer pizzas. They were fantastic and I think I'll go again if ever I have the chance. After lunch Olenka, Danylo, Oleksander and myself climbed the Queen's Wharf Tower, perhaps Newcastle's only real attraction and then everyone met up again for desert; I had a slice of triple fudge cake. We then returned home so full that we put off dinner as long as possible.

The dinner conversation was very intellectually stimulating as we discussed various things, my favourite topic being Ukrainian community politics in Sydney. The discussion got very animated as various events and ideological divides were discussed. Here I thought that Ukrainian community politics were bad in Ottawa but Sydney dwarfs Ottawa considerably.

I was off to Canberra the following morning, having once again to catch both a train and a bus. I thanked my gracious hosts and left them with 2 CDs as a thank you for their generosity. It's always so pleasant with the Motykas in Newcastle and I hope to one day repay their kindness.

I ran into some friends on Monday evening and we went out for pizza. Just as we were thinking of heading off, I received a text message from Alice, a friend who works at the harness track. I replied if she would like a visit from myself and Jason, her boyfriend and she replied in the affirmative. After Jason packed away some groceries, he and I biked to EPIC to see the races and he seemed very keen to do so, having never really done it in the past. After talking to Alice in her office for a while we watched the races and made a few fun picks. Jason, feeling a little more daring, decided to place a few bets on and I explained how it is done. He spent $20, which in Australian terms is paltry, but ended up losing it all over the course of 2 races. To be fair, on one of his bets he won $12.00 and put that into the next race, but lost. I, in my usual cowardly way, bet nothing, though I did pick the winner of the last race. Jason had fun anyway which is what's really important.

I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow to visit some more friends. This week will be one of adventure but the next week of the break will be spent at home. It's a good thing too as I have to apply to some government positions and catch up on some reading. Still, all things considered, 2 trips in 1 break isn't too bad.

Dusty Days

Although it's been a short week, there's quite a bit to report. With the break now more or less begun, I'm off to visit family friends in Newcastle and then Melbourne. A well-deserved break is something to look forward to. I'll relay my adventures in Newcastle next Tuesday, the day between my Newcastle and Melbourne trips.

Early this week, with the weather warm and sunny, I stopped by Floriade, Canberra's annual spring flower festival. Although a bit windy, the weather was otherwise perfect for an outing --- 20C and sunny. This year's theme for Floriade is Mind, Body and Soul, so all the floral displays are something along those lines. I entered the park and just had a bit of a ferret around. The floral displays were colourful and interesting. There was also an amusement park section, a lantern tree, some interesting statues and small painted gnomes which I understand are a Floriade tradition. Although not too bad, I preferred last year's theme of Australian movies; it seemed to have more creativity in it.

At university, I got some good news. I got 13/15 (86.6666%) on a test worth 30% of the overall grade. The test wasn't overly difficult, a 15 question multiple choice test, but there were some questions which could have tripped you up. I'm a little miffed because I could have had 14/15 if I hadn't second-guessed myself. Then again, if I hadn't second-guessed myself on another question I would have had 12/15. Either way, anything over 70% is considered fantastic at law school. I think it's my 1st HD (high distinction) that wasn't a class participation grade. I'll take it.

At Fenner Hall, I seem to have taught some people a new word, "babunya" (bah-BOO-nyah) which means "grandmother" in Ukrainian. As it turns out, there is another Ukrainian studying at the ANU, though not living at Fenner. We were introduced and got to talking Ukrainian and I mentioned my family's history. Lisa, my floor's former SR, overheard us talking, actually she was sort of eavesdropping, and heard me say "babunya". At first she thought it meant "baboon". I've since set her right and it's become a sort of running joke on the floor.

As well this week, there was a rare meteorological event that may have made the news in Canada. Strong winds in the continent's interior blew dust into the eastern regions. Since Australian soil is red, Canberra, Sydney and other major centers were enveloped in an eerie red "fog" in the morning as the morning sun amplified the red tinge of the soil. As the day wore on, the colour changed to a sort of dull brown pall. It's quite rare for something like this to happen and the morning pictures out of Sydney were especially haunting. As if that weren't enough, the dust storm was followed by rolling thunderstorms. We're in for more stormy weather in Canberra, but luckily I'll be in Newcastle where the weather is predicted to be significantly warmer and sunnier.

Today, I went to the opening night of Fenner Hall's annual musical, this year called A Bit of This...and a Bit of That. It was a collection of songs from various musicals and movies, bear with me as I give you a list. There was: Circle of Life from The Lion King, All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes from Anything Goes, I am What I am from La Cage aux Folles (The Bird Cage), La Vie Boheme from Rent, Memory from Cats, Luck be a Lady from Guys and Dolls, (Always Look on the) Bright Side of Life from Spamalot, On My Own from Les Miserables, Footloose from Footloose, Seasons of Love from Rent, If I were a Rich Man from Fiddler of the Roof, I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair from South Pacific, Hakuna Matata from The Lion King, Master of the House from Les Miserables, Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge, Big Spender from Sweet Charity, Greased Lightning from Grease, With One Look from Sunset Boulevard and The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The show was absolutely superb. The singing was fantastic, as was the choreography. I would seriously consider going again except that I'll be away. It really had to be seen to be believed. A little known fact about one of the songs. Footloose was written by Kenny Loggins who also gave us Highway to the Danger Zone, the theme to Top Gun. It's so hard to imagine when you hear the two songs.

And finally, I'll leave you with a funny quote I came across the other day, as best I can remember it. "I recently came across two very rare photographs. One was of Houdini having locked himself out of his car and the other was Norman Rockwell beating a child."