Summer's started Down Under and it's actually been quite pleasant so far. It hasn't been scorching hot, although the temperature does hover around 30C. I was asked by my supervisor at work today why wasn't I going home for Christmas, to which I replied that after 9 months of gruelling study (that's only going to get harder), I've earned a summer. Even though I grew up in Canada and in all civilized countries Christmas is a winter holiday, I think I'm entitled to some warmth.
Speaking of entitlements, I received most of my final grades. I received 2 Credits and a Distinction; I'm still waiting on 1 grade. One of my Credits came from Commonwealth Constitutional Law and of it I am very proud; I even earned a compliment from one of my professors. From what I gather, my score was well above average. My Distinction came from Legislative Drafting and Technology, where I also received a 90% on my final report. And for completeness, my other Credit came from Advanced International Law. Needless to say, I'm riding a bit of a high at the moment.
There was, of course, the Grey Cup over last weekend played at Calgary's McMahon Stadium. Although I couldn't watch it, I followed the scores live via the web. As I saw the Alouettes close the gap, I hoped that somehow the Roughriders would be able to stave off disaster. I couldn't believe it when Duval kicked the final field goal, thanks to a Roughriders penalty, to put the Alouettes ahead 28-27. The Roughriders usually seem to attract exciting Grey Cups, such as their thrilling 1989 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and while this one will go down as one of the most exciting ever, it will sting for Roughriders fans. I feel sorry for my mom and her family still in Saskatchewan but they should still be a little proud. For the longest time the Roughriders were a bit of a joke but in the last few years they've really established themselves.
A major sporting event Down Under was the cruiserweight title fight between Australian Danny Green and American Roy Jones, Jr at Sydney's Acer Arena. This was touted as an exceptional match particularly because of the advanced ages of the contenders, Green is 36 and Jones is 40. To view the fight, I was invited by some friends to the Hellenic Club where it was being shown. The place was fairly full but we managed to get a spot at a sort of bar near the entrance. There were a few undercard matches but then the show began. Jones was the heavy favourite going in. The bell sounded and both contenders came out ready for a fight. Jones got some good quick jabs in before Green managed to floor him with a fairly innocuous-looking punch. Jones got back up but only had 2 seconds to compose himself after the referee took a look at him when Green flew back punching with all he had. He eventually cornered Jones, a legendary boxer and 4 weight-class champion, and just unleashed a fury of punches. Jones protected himself and the referee gave him as much leeway as possible but then realized that it was hopeless and called an end to the fight. The result: Green defeated Jones by TKO (technical knockout) in 122 seconds!
I wonder if I should have taken up boxing? I know my mother would have strenuous objections. In modern boxing though, let's face it, actual knockouts are pretty rare. Before that happens usually either the referee or the doctor will have stopped the fight. Ironically, the introduction of boxing gloves has actually made it a more dangerous sport in the sense that it is easier to kill someone. In the bare knuckle days, if you punched at the jaw, you'd break your own hand so pugilists (boxers) would concentrate on the body. In all of the bare knuckle era, there are only 2 recorded deaths in the ring. By contrast, with boxing gloves you can now punch at the head to your heart's content and there are 4 deaths every year in the USA in boxing. Still, it's a sport that dates back thousands of years and deserves a certain level of respect.
Despite Fenner Hall being virtually empty, there are still some activities, though not organized by the Hall. I went with some friends on a sort of lounge crawl of some of Canberra's finer establishments. I met up with Phil at 17:45 at North Lounge where there was a bevy of people, many dressed as superheroes for some reason. Another person, Tanya, joined but before we left we saw someone forcibly ejected from the premises, and it wasn't even 19:00 yet! We left North Bar and made our way to Pub Australia, a sort of stereotypical Aussie themed pub. For example, my chair was made from a discarded oil drum. Pub Australia is reasonably new and I liked it a bit.
From Pub Australia, we walked to Binara 1, the Crowne Plaza's lounge which was, surprisingly, fairly devoid of people. Here we were joined by 3 others to complete our party: Bec, Andrew and Cammy. We sat outside chatting but Binara 1 had this green lighting at its bar that I found rather pleasing. From Binara 1, it was off to Holy Grail, another lounge type place. This place was nearly deserted excepted for a few people listening to a live band. We proceeded upstairs to the mezzanine where we enjoyed ourselves in a slightly quieter atmosphere.
Kremlin Bar was the next stop on our tour, a Soviet-themed cocktail lounge that I brought my parents to when they came to Canberra a year ago. Aside from the kitsch, there's not much to say about Kremlin Bar other than it's one of my favourite Canberra night spots and I can't believe I forgot to take my brother to it when he was here. The last stop was UniPub Lounge, the 3rd floor of a complex that also contains a pub, bar and grill and dance club. We stayed in the lounge which I think was my favourite of the night. There was the obligatory low lighting and lounge music at a decent volume. It got us talking about possibly putting up something similar on the roof of Fenner Hall; Canberra lacks a good rooftop cocktail lounge and while this won't be open to the general public, it could still serve as a focal point for the Fenner Hall community. After a brief stop at Zambrero's for some of our party to buy burritos, we all went home. I'm happy that Phil organized this and I may be visiting some of these lounges again very soon.
Remember the ultrasound I had only my leg about 2 months ago? I just received payment from the insurance company which covers 85% of the cost of the procedure. After submitting my claim, they sent me a letter asking my doctor's opinion if it was a pre-existing condition. There really is no way to tell because there's no way to tell when the Baker's cyst formed. My doctor put "unknown" on the form, which actually wasn't one of the options, those being "Yes" and "No". Anyway, I'm happy that I got paid but I won't do anything about the cyst or the bump it's caused until after graduation unless it really starts to bother me. The recommended treatment would be putting a needle into the liquid mass and sucking it out; it's called "aeration" apparently.
Finally, I was convinced by a combination of my mother and Fenner Hall not having telephone service to get Skype. My parents and I downloaded it and even managed to talk to each other the other day. I have video capability and as I understand, my parents shortly will also. The sound is very clear and my built-in microphone really makes conversation easier; I can even move around the room. The one drawback is that we have to be online to do it and we can't call each other at will, but perhaps that's best. Skype, just so you know, was invented by Estonians who wanted to get around long distance charges and Russian control of the telephone network; those crafty quasi-Finns. Well, we'll see how everything goes when we start video-calling each other. Maybe there's a good reason telephones don't have video capability. Anyway, I've got to get back to this sunny, 30-degree weather, but I guess that's just another cross I have to bear.
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