Intermezzo

I will break my narration of the Adventures of the Brothers Dzioba to quickly update on the events of the past week. You may have just noticed that I split an infinitive. I won't get into a discussion as to why it's acceptable here and now, but the history of the split infinitive prohibition is actually quite interesting. Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program, sort of.

This past Monday 2 important holidays were celebrated: Australia Day and Chinese New Year's. I have already written about Australia Day so I will not belabour that point. I will note, with some interest, that no sooner had I written about how indigenous Australians might feel about Australia Day, Australian of the Year recipient Mick Dodson, himself an aboriginal, said that many of his people view it as "Invasion Day" --- his words. I think it's quite funny that my sentiments were echoed by an aboriginal Australian of the Year who is himself a professor of law at ANU!

I worked at ACTTAB most of Australia Day and since it's a public holiday, I received double my normal wage. That comes out to $47.31/hr after taxes and union dues. The day was actually a little quieter than usual as most people are down on the coast for these hot days. After work, I took part in another Australian custom, bludging (loafing about). I did take my bike out later and road up to Parliament at night but it looked like I'd just missed the fireworks. There were lots of people along the lakeshore and most of them were going home. I was right, though, in that the celebrations are more subdued than in Ottawa. There didn't seem to be any busking or anything of that sort. Well, I'll catch it next year.

As for Chinese New Year's, I can't really say much. I didn't even know it was on until I looked at the calendar the next day. I'm not even sure what zodiacal year it is but I think it might be a Year of the Ox.

On a little side note, it seems as though someone I made acquaintance with in Invercargill has made world headlines by becoming a father at the age of 111! This is Henry the Tuatara, a rare type of reptile that is a living fossil form before the time of the dinosaurs. Henry became less aggressive after an operation to remove a tumor and finally mated with a female Tuatara. It seems these creatures can live for 200 years so these baby Tuataras might live into the 23rd Century. To learn more, read my previous post on Invercargill.

I did have a bit of bad luck recently with my bike getting not 1, but 2 flat tires. I was biking and I think some thorns blew over the track and punctured my rear tire. I bought a new inner tube but as my floormate Phil, a bike expert, sportsman and all-round nice guy, was inspecting my front tire, he pulled out a thorn and the front tire deflated. I bought another inner tube off him but no sooner did I inflate that then the rear tire's inner tube burst with a crack. Tired and frustrated, I waited until the next day and took my bike to the shop, exchanged the inner tube, replaced it and so far no further problems. I can only hope this keeps up.

On my way to the bike shop, I stopped by the Road Transport Authority (RTA). This is a territorial government agency, much like the Ministry of Transportation, and it deals with licences, vehicle registration and a few other things. I was there to get an ACT driver's licence. I have an International Driver Permit (IDP) but that was set to expire on February 2nd. As well, if I wanted to drive I had to have it with me which was a little inconvenient. Now I have a driver's licence that is recognized everywhere in Australia and I can drive a car.

The process to get my ACT licence was actually quite straightforward. As the bearer of a listed unrestricted driver's licence (Ontario), I simply had to produce some ID and proof of residency. A quick eye test and photograph later, and I had my licence. Since I'm from Canada, I'm exempt from the road rules tests. I don't expect to be driving anytime soon but it's more for convenience's sake. This is my first piece of an Australian government ID; I feel a little more Aussie all of a sudden.

The heat is on in this country. Recently the temperatures around Australia have been very high, in some places into the mid 40s. Canberra hasn't gotten that hot but today it was about 38C. You can really feel it in the sun. The chef at Cafe Pronto closed us up early because it was clear that no one was coming in. We did have a few customers, but not many. In Melbourne, the quicksilver reached 45.1C and the power usage caused a massive blackout, disrupting trains and normal life. Those watching the Australian Open will know the heat has been giving the players some problems. Apparently, this is the hottest summer in 70 years in parts of the country and some horse races have been cancelled. Although somewhat uncomfortable I'm also glad in a way because this is partly what I was hoping to experience; a real Australian summer. I've managed to stay cool by buying a fan and so far, so good.

That's all for now. The next post will be a resumption of the tale of myself and my brother's adventures. He's also writing about it on his blog (http://bloggingmiddleearth.blogspot.com/) and I recommend that you read it to get his perspective.