Dedication

I'll dedicate this post to my paternal grandmother, who died in Toronto a few days ago. She was an interesting lady: small of stature, but tough as dragon scales. I suppose anyone who lived through World War Two, immigrated to Canada with precious little and then built a life there for the next 6 decades had to be tough. Perhaps the thing I'll remember most is her unusual fondness for Swiss Chalet sauce. No one else in our family likes it, but she adored it and used it in many of her dishes. It's unfortunate that my brother and I are unable to attend the funeral but it just isn't feasible. In our own ways, we'll miss and remember her.

Fenner Hall is beginning to return to it's pre-holiday hum. The last week has seen the return of new and old faces. The hall has come back to life for O-Week (short for Orientation Week). Fenner is abuzz with life and activity again, though, in some ways, I think I will miss the tranquility of the summer holidays. As a character in a famous Australian film, The Castle, would say, "Feel that serenity."

O-Week has come with a plethora of activities designed to force people to mingle. Even in a residence with 500 people, you're bound to meet many of the same faces and it's probably a good idea to get to know them. You'll never know who you'll meet. All sorts of characters abound within these walls and to shut oneself away is to deprive yourself of many fantastic opportunities. To that end, I've begun volunteering at Fenner Hall's speak-easy, The Warren. Since everybody, or nearly so, loves alcohol, it gives me a great opportunity to interact with people.

Today, I also managed to get in some good exercise. I played in the annual Domestics vs. Internationals soccer game, essentially a friendly soccer game between domestic and international students. Since the Domestics were short of players, I was put on that team, justified by the fact that I have been living in Australia for a year; that anniversary passed on February 18th. I didn't disappoint as I scored the first goal of the game. Unfortunately, the Internationals rebounded and managed to win the game 3-1. Ironic, though, that the only goal scored for the Domestics was by an international student. It really was a fun great game.

I've also joined a few clubs around the area. A feature of Australian culture is the club. There really is nothing to compare it with in Canada. In Australia, clubs are social organizations for everyone, and inexpensive to join, generally. In Canada, the only clubs I can think of off hand are like the Rideau Club, exclusive and expensive organizations. Australian clubs, and you can be a member of as many as you want, are a source of good times, good food and good companionship. Similar in nature are the RSLs, the Returned and Servicmen's Legaues, sort of like Legion Halls. But these aren't places where a bunch of old guys get together talking about how they dodged bullets in Normandy. RSLs can be quite large organizations, complete with fancy restaurants and gaming facilities. I do wish Canada had things like these.

The clubs I've joined locally are Ainslie Football Club and the Tradesmen's Union Club, popularly known as "Tradies". For a 3 year membership, Ainslie cost me $10 while Tradies only set me back $6 for 1 year. I think it's a worthwhile investment. For example, the other day I went to Tradies, had a good fettuccine lunch and played some snooker. These are some of the benefits you get with membership. Really, you don't get that much except the right to enter the establishment and participate in some raffles. For me, though, the real benefit is being part of an organization and immersing oneself deeper in Australian culture. I'm also became an official supporter of the Sydney Swans, which means that I am also a member of the Sydney Swans Club in King's Cross, Sydney. Again, these clubs for professional teams is something that doesn't really exist in Canada.

This is the first post that I am writing with a laptop I acquired a few days ago. My old one was just not functioning properly and I managed to find this one for a great price at Officeworks, sort of like Staples. I also bought a 1 terabyte hard drive, sort of as a gift to myself. I am very happy with both and I hope to put them to good use for a long time.

Lastly, I'll just mention an unusual thing that happened in a dream. Many years ago, while I was just waking up, a phrase popped into my head, as if from the dream that had just ended. It said, "Can we blame many for the atrocities of one?" It's stuck with but until recently, this axiom was unique. The other night, as I was dreaming a new phrase was uttered, "It is better to be a pauper of geniuses than a king of fools." Even ignoring the rather questionable grammar, it is still a bizarre phrase, but perhaps good words to live by. I wonder which of the two I am, or will be.