Russian Roulette is not the Same without a Gun

This has been a pretty boring week, actually. The initial thrill and rush of the new academic semester has worn off and a nauseatingly familiar routine is settling in. I have been going to school for 22 years now and I think I've become institutionalized. I don't know how I'll function in the real world that exists outside academia.

On Sunday, I took up a new role, that of cricket umpire. The interhall cricket league needed an umpire for a girls game and I volunteered. For those of you who don't understand cricket, it's a game that is both simple and complext at the same time. I won't bother trying to explain the whole thing. All I'll say is that it's a game that makes golf look interesting. Cricket is a national obsession in Australia, and just about every other part of the Commonwealth. Canada is the only Commonwealth country I can think of where cricket is not a popular sport. It's hard to express how fond Australians are of their cricket. The game I officiated was pretty standard and I think I did alright. As far as I know, no one complained about my umpiring. It's something I would like to do again, but my commitments at ACTTAB prevent me from officiating any further games.

On the sports theme, I went with an acquaintance to the Canberra Club where we played a game of snooker. I never realized just how much bigger than pool tables snooker tables are. They are so large, they even have special extra-long cues to reach across the table if need be. There are actually a myriad of cues and rakes for every conceivable situation. I was very convincingly beaten but I actually find snooker more enjoyable than pool and I look forward to playing at least a few more games.

Lastly, Plast has started up again. Not very many people showed up, on top of which this is not a large group to begin with. There are only 5 or 6 brownies/cubs and 5 or 6 scouts so if even a few people can't make it, the meetings become pretty sparse. Most of the meeting was taken up with setting out the schedule for the year. Since the group is so small, mettings are held usually every 2 weeks; in Ottawa it was once a week. There are also the odd excursions.

Here's to hoping the coming week will be more interesting.