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.