Penultimatum

Since returning from the break, I've taken stock of the very frightening fact that my degree is coming to an end. 3 years ago, this date was longed for but seemed an eternity away. Now that I'm approaching the final week of instruction, I am very nervous. My parents will soon be down and I must pass all of my courses if I am to graduate in December with them here. It would be a shame if they travelled 20 000 km only to have me have to sit some supplementary exams, which means I wouldn't be eligible to graduate. After my exams, I will be on tenterhooks until the final results are published. I really do hope I graduate as I don't want to have to go through this again.

Anyway, 2 Fridays ago was the annual ACTAFL Umpires' Association dinner. Like last year, it was held at the Southern Cross Club in Woden. It was great fun with many hilarious moments and awards being given out. Some of the more serious awards were Best Umpire and dedication awards while some of the ones with more levity were Bachelor of the Year and the Send Off awards. I didn't win anything this year but we'll see how I go next year. With my GDLP keeping me in Canberra for another year, I look forward to another chance at stardom.

Spring Carnival horse racing is the current obessession of the nation and there have been 2 important races in the last few weeks, all in Melbourne. The first was the Caulfield Cup run at Caulfield race course. This is a Group 1 handicap run over 2 400 m and is second only to the Melbourne Cup in terms of importance for handicap races in Australia. The price money is AUS$2.5 million. The next important race was last Saturday and that was the Cox Plate run at Moonee Ponds, a Group 1 weight-for-age race that is considered the championship for that type of race in Australia. The prize for that race is AUS$3 million. It's hard to convey how important horse racing is to Australians unless you're immersed in it, like I was as I worked at ACTTAB those days. The next big race is the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 2nd and its AUS$6 million prize. I will be working at the racecourse and I anticipate quite a day if the weather holds.

I also took advantage of an opportunity with Legal Aid to follow a practitioner around for a few hours on a Monday morning. I and a GDLP student followed the practitioner around as he talked to clients being held in the cells below the Magistrates Court. We then followed him into court to hear his submissions. I was very enlightening especially when you consider that this lawyer sometimes has only a few minutes to formulate some sort of plea for his clients. He also challenged me on my thesis in my research essay that Australian jurisdictions should adopt the intent to temporarily deprive, and not permanently deprive, as the basis for theft. I am thankful and I worked some of his suggestions into the second draft which I've submitted for commentary. I think I've done all I can with that, given the word limit, and I think I've structured it logically.

I did get some other good news and that was that I received a High Distinction for my moot court presentation assessment in Evidence Law. I reported on this assignment earlier and it turns out my partner and I both did extremely well. Apparently my argument "demonstrated command of the material, facility with the facts, and ability to think strategically." Needless to say, I was very pleased with this outcome. I remember in school aboslutely despising, with every fiber of my being, public speaking assignments but now I've found a sort of comfortable ease with them. I don't understand why so many people simply read off their notes in a prepared speech for assignments when a more natural apporach "feels better." Anyway, I'm happy with this now and all I have to look forward to now is the utter joy of the exam.

There is one more thing I've learned and that is that the drough has officially broken, at least in NSW. The long period of low rain, called the "Big Dry" or the "Long Dry" came to an end last week when the last parts of the state were declared drought free. This is thanks to the La Niña event that has brought well above average rainfall to Australia. All I can say then is thank heaven for little girls. While some people are rejoicing many in the environmental camp are wary and are warning that this may only be a temporary reprieve and that more punishing aridity may follow. We'll just have to wait and see but since Australians get so few moments of unalloyed pleasure from the weather, I say celebrate for now. And I've added photographs from my trip to Melbourne.