Round 2

Well, it's started. The new school year arrived this Monday much to my relief and chagrin. I'm sorry to see the summer go, and it feels like it wasn't much of a summer at all, but at the same time, I'm glad to once again be back in a routine I'm familiar with. After just 1 week, I can tell it's going to be quite a semester. This is also the 1st semester I've been able to choose classes. My 2 electives are International Law of Human Rights and International Criminal Law. The second of these is an area of particular interest and I would like to one day pursue opportunities in that field further. My other 2 classes are compulsory: Administrative Law and Corporations Law, nicknamed "Corps" (pronounced "corpse"). I'm more than a little apprehensive of its merits but maybe I should give it a chance.

The day before uni started, there was a Fenner Hall trivia contest where floors participated as teams. I arrived a little late, having just worked at the racecourse, but I helped as best I could. Unfortunately, we didn't do so well. Anyway, there's always the interhall trivia competition later. Trivia did help we out a little financially, or to put it more accurately, helped my mother financially. At our first Administrative Law class, the lecturer had a little trivia game. The first 2 questions about the year the first 1st Australian Administrative Law textbook was published and the number of faculty who have gone on to become Commonwealth Ombudsmen, were true or false and answering them was a matter of luck. I answered them correctly (both false) and then raised my hand the quickest for the next question, "Who said, 'Law is reason without passion.'" The answer is Aristotle and I was also made to own up as to where I got that information, the answer being the movie Legally Blonde. The prize, the course's textbooks, was well worth any momentary shame.

I've discovered 2 new delights: Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy board game, and mate (MAH-teh), a South American tea. Dungeons and Dragons, popularly known as DnD, is a game where you create a character in a fantasy world and go on quests. I am Baron Titanius Rex. It's great escapism. I used to laugh when people mentioned DnD because my mind would immediately go to DND, the Department of National Defence. As for mate, an acquaintance of mine recently returned from a trip to South America. He showed me mate, which is a popular tea made from native plants. It is sucked through a straw and there are protocols for what to say and how to drink. It would be perfect for Australia since mate is spelled the same as "mate", the traditional Aussie greeting.

I've also joined 2 more clubs in Canberra, the Southern Cross Club and the Canberra Club. The latter of these is Canberra's oldest and most prestigious social club; they won't let just anyone join. You have to be willing to pay at least $5.50 for a social membership. In case you think I made that up, it actually is Canberra's oldest club. this was the same place the Umpires' Association had its dinner last September. There's nice panelling and fully-stocked bar. The place oozes class. I'd like to think I'm moving up in the world.

The big event on this weeks social calendar was the Fenner Hall Commencement Dinner, held at the Australian National Museum. We were herded onto buses and driven to the museum where we had a wonderful dinner consisting of chicken, lamb and strawberry-rhubarb pie. The guest of honour was Dr. Frank Fenner, the 94-year old gentleman our residence is named after. Really, a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

I'll end off with a few odds and ends. I did a short shift at Canberra Stadium for the first time today. I learned that my application to the Foreign Service will not go any further this year; there's always next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, etc. Also, I was terrified to learn that my grandmother's liquor bottle collection was recycled at the LCBO. Thankfully, my mother saved the best gem: a bottle in the shape of the CN Tower. It was the 1 thing I really want to be kept from that collection. I remember on every visit, my brother and I always marvelled at it. I hope I get to keep it one day.