Nova Castra

I had a wonderful time in Newcastle where I visited my favourite Novacastrians, the Motyka family. My mother met Mr. Motyka, a lecturer at the University of Newcastle, in the 1970s when both happened to be in Poland. I've managed to visit them a few times over the last few years and they've always shown me such kindness. It's always a great time with them on the coast north of Sydney.

To get to the Motykas, I had to take a bus into Sydney and then a train to Broadmeadow station close to Newcastle. My train departed Sydney Central station at 16:12 which meant that I had to catch the 09:00 bus out of Canberra. If I had caught the 12:30 I would have arrived at Central at 16:00 but 12 minutes was too close a margin for me. I arrived at Central around 13:00 so I spent the time walking around Sydney's CBD. I, unfortunately, don't get much time to travel and it has been a while since I've been to that great metropolis. I caught the train at the appointed time and settled in for the 2.5 hour journey.

Newcastle is a major port and is Australia's most populous non-capital city, with a population of about 250 000, I think, making it not that much smaller than Canberra. It has recently worked hard to shed its image of a working class industrial and intellectually backward city with a sort of revitalization, which has worked. The foreshore has been upgraded with modern buildings and trendy restaurants. Newcastle is home to the NRL Newcastle Knights and was the site of Australia's most powerful earthquake in December 1989. People from Newcastle are called "Novacastrians" because "Nova Castra" is a direct translation of the Latin for "New" (Nova) and "Castle" (Castra), although castra could also mean fort, encampment, bivouac or some other fortified edifice. "Castra" is also the root cognate for "-chester/-cester/-caster" endings in English place names such as Winchester, Gloucester and Lancaster

I was picked up by Mr. and Mrs. Motyka from Broadmeadow station just before 19:00 on Friday evening. After the usual introductions we drove to their home where most of the other members were already. Mrs. Motyka's (who goes by her maiden name of Ostrowska) mother lives next door and I also had a chat with her, mostly about the dust storm that had just passed caking everything with a nice red layer. At home were also Olenka, a fellow jurist and licensed solicitor, and Danylo, while the other brother, Oleksander, was in Sydney overnight.

The next day, I got up rather late, around 11:00, having slept for nearly 11 hours, which is very unusual; I must have been very tired. This was the day of the AFL Grand Final and I was determined not to miss it. It was suggested that myself and Danylo go to the Belmont 16-Footers' Sailing Club to watch the game. The Motykas are not particularly into sport and I have to thank Danylo for battling it out and keeping me company. The game was very exciting as the St. Kilda Saints, who last won the championship in 1966 (their only win), battle it out with the Geelong Cats, making their 3rd straight appearance. Although I'm not a fan of either team really, I was cheering for St. Kilda because they really did deserve to win this year, having lost only 2 games all season. St. Kilda lead for most of the game, and the margin was hardly ever more than 10 points but finally the Cats managed to get the better of the Saints. I hope the Saints aren't finished as there's always next season.

On Sunday, I accompanied Olenka, Danylo, Oleksander and 2 of Olenka's friends on an excursion around Newcastle. Our first stop was the Farmers Market, a now weekly event where, not surprisingly, farmers get and other come together to sell their wares. Among the items Olenka bought was some saltbush-fed lamb meat that we ended up having for dinner. It was incredibly delicious. After the market we met up with some more of Olenka's friends at a pizza place in Newcastle which was having a special on for $12 designer pizzas. They were fantastic and I think I'll go again if ever I have the chance. After lunch Olenka, Danylo, Oleksander and myself climbed the Queen's Wharf Tower, perhaps Newcastle's only real attraction and then everyone met up again for desert; I had a slice of triple fudge cake. We then returned home so full that we put off dinner as long as possible.

The dinner conversation was very intellectually stimulating as we discussed various things, my favourite topic being Ukrainian community politics in Sydney. The discussion got very animated as various events and ideological divides were discussed. Here I thought that Ukrainian community politics were bad in Ottawa but Sydney dwarfs Ottawa considerably.

I was off to Canberra the following morning, having once again to catch both a train and a bus. I thanked my gracious hosts and left them with 2 CDs as a thank you for their generosity. It's always so pleasant with the Motykas in Newcastle and I hope to one day repay their kindness.

I ran into some friends on Monday evening and we went out for pizza. Just as we were thinking of heading off, I received a text message from Alice, a friend who works at the harness track. I replied if she would like a visit from myself and Jason, her boyfriend and she replied in the affirmative. After Jason packed away some groceries, he and I biked to EPIC to see the races and he seemed very keen to do so, having never really done it in the past. After talking to Alice in her office for a while we watched the races and made a few fun picks. Jason, feeling a little more daring, decided to place a few bets on and I explained how it is done. He spent $20, which in Australian terms is paltry, but ended up losing it all over the course of 2 races. To be fair, on one of his bets he won $12.00 and put that into the next race, but lost. I, in my usual cowardly way, bet nothing, though I did pick the winner of the last race. Jason had fun anyway which is what's really important.

I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow to visit some more friends. This week will be one of adventure but the next week of the break will be spent at home. It's a good thing too as I have to apply to some government positions and catch up on some reading. Still, all things considered, 2 trips in 1 break isn't too bad.

Dusty Days

Although it's been a short week, there's quite a bit to report. With the break now more or less begun, I'm off to visit family friends in Newcastle and then Melbourne. A well-deserved break is something to look forward to. I'll relay my adventures in Newcastle next Tuesday, the day between my Newcastle and Melbourne trips.

Early this week, with the weather warm and sunny, I stopped by Floriade, Canberra's annual spring flower festival. Although a bit windy, the weather was otherwise perfect for an outing --- 20C and sunny. This year's theme for Floriade is Mind, Body and Soul, so all the floral displays are something along those lines. I entered the park and just had a bit of a ferret around. The floral displays were colourful and interesting. There was also an amusement park section, a lantern tree, some interesting statues and small painted gnomes which I understand are a Floriade tradition. Although not too bad, I preferred last year's theme of Australian movies; it seemed to have more creativity in it.

At university, I got some good news. I got 13/15 (86.6666%) on a test worth 30% of the overall grade. The test wasn't overly difficult, a 15 question multiple choice test, but there were some questions which could have tripped you up. I'm a little miffed because I could have had 14/15 if I hadn't second-guessed myself. Then again, if I hadn't second-guessed myself on another question I would have had 12/15. Either way, anything over 70% is considered fantastic at law school. I think it's my 1st HD (high distinction) that wasn't a class participation grade. I'll take it.

At Fenner Hall, I seem to have taught some people a new word, "babunya" (bah-BOO-nyah) which means "grandmother" in Ukrainian. As it turns out, there is another Ukrainian studying at the ANU, though not living at Fenner. We were introduced and got to talking Ukrainian and I mentioned my family's history. Lisa, my floor's former SR, overheard us talking, actually she was sort of eavesdropping, and heard me say "babunya". At first she thought it meant "baboon". I've since set her right and it's become a sort of running joke on the floor.

As well this week, there was a rare meteorological event that may have made the news in Canada. Strong winds in the continent's interior blew dust into the eastern regions. Since Australian soil is red, Canberra, Sydney and other major centers were enveloped in an eerie red "fog" in the morning as the morning sun amplified the red tinge of the soil. As the day wore on, the colour changed to a sort of dull brown pall. It's quite rare for something like this to happen and the morning pictures out of Sydney were especially haunting. As if that weren't enough, the dust storm was followed by rolling thunderstorms. We're in for more stormy weather in Canberra, but luckily I'll be in Newcastle where the weather is predicted to be significantly warmer and sunnier.

Today, I went to the opening night of Fenner Hall's annual musical, this year called A Bit of This...and a Bit of That. It was a collection of songs from various musicals and movies, bear with me as I give you a list. There was: Circle of Life from The Lion King, All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes from Anything Goes, I am What I am from La Cage aux Folles (The Bird Cage), La Vie Boheme from Rent, Memory from Cats, Luck be a Lady from Guys and Dolls, (Always Look on the) Bright Side of Life from Spamalot, On My Own from Les Miserables, Footloose from Footloose, Seasons of Love from Rent, If I were a Rich Man from Fiddler of the Roof, I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair from South Pacific, Hakuna Matata from The Lion King, Master of the House from Les Miserables, Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge, Big Spender from Sweet Charity, Greased Lightning from Grease, With One Look from Sunset Boulevard and The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The show was absolutely superb. The singing was fantastic, as was the choreography. I would seriously consider going again except that I'll be away. It really had to be seen to be believed. A little known fact about one of the songs. Footloose was written by Kenny Loggins who also gave us Highway to the Danger Zone, the theme to Top Gun. It's so hard to imagine when you hear the two songs.

And finally, I'll leave you with a funny quote I came across the other day, as best I can remember it. "I recently came across two very rare photographs. One was of Houdini having locked himself out of his car and the other was Norman Rockwell beating a child."

1 Ton Post

It's with some pleasure and pride that I find myself writing my 100th post. It's taken 19 months. To be precise, since I left Ottawa on Monday, February 4th, 2008, I make it 84.5 weeks, that's 594 days or 14 256 hours or 855 360 minutes or 51 321 600 seconds. Not a bad length of time. I wish I had some sort of fantastic news so that I could make this a 100th post extravaganza, but I don't. It's been a fairly ordinary week with some tiring schoolwork. In case you're wondering, a "ton" is slang in cricket when someone scores 100 runs.

Earlier in the week a jockeys strike was averted after the Australian Racing Board (ARB) and the Jockeys' Association came to an understanding on the use of the whip. Whip isn't really the right word since the item in question is a soft riding crop that doesn't hurt the horse at all. The ARB issued a directive forbidding the use of the whip in the last 100 meters of the race. The jockeys objected saying it discouraged good racing and threatened to strike. In fact, many races on the Friday before were abandoned as the jockeys to industrial action by refusing to ride in the last few races. However, on Monday the ARB and the Jockey's Association reached an agreement whereby the jockeys can use the whip in the last 100 meters of the race but only in a limited way in the last 200-100 meters. Racing is very important to Australians. Australia is, in fact, the largest racing country in the world with 66 of the world's 139 Class 1 (highest) races are in Australia. A jockeys strike would be very detrimental, especially with the Spring Carnival coming up. Well, at least that mine has been averted.

I had a 6 000-8 000 word international law paper due on Friday. With all the research done it wasn't all that difficult to write, just time consuming. I'm reasonably happy with it but the final word count was 6 667, which, I hope, isn't an omen. Now that it's finished, I find that I feel I should be writing something. I don't have anything else due until October 23rd but for some reason I just can't seem to relax as much as I would have thought. Maybe it just takes time.

Today I took part in the annual Field Umpires vs. Boundary Umpires aussie rules game. As a goal umpire, I had the option of choosing my team and I signed up with the Field Umpires. I was placed on our back line as a defender. The game didn't start out too well for the Fieldies but we eventually pulled ahead and won by 8 points. I had a reasonably good game with some good tackles and one pretty good mark. Afterwards there was a barbeque, another Australian tradition. There's only one more function this year, the Association Dinner sometime in October, then it's nothing until February.

Speaking of relaxing, I have good cause to celebrate as "the mid-semester" break is on after this coming week. It's hard to call it a mid-semester break since it occurs 10 weeks into a 13 week semester. The reason, you ask? It lines up with the ACT public school holidays. If you're generous, you could say that it makes sense since it allows people with children at university and the sub-tertiary system to take their holidays together; it's just practically easier. If you're cynical you would say that it's so that professors with children not at university don't have to take time off for their vacations. Whatever the reason, many complain that it's physically and mentally draining and that it's simply stupid to have a semester that's 10 weeks on, 2 weeks off, 3 weeks on, and then exams. In fact, I understand that the University of Canberra has their break in the 7th week, exactly like the 1st semester. There was some hope ANU would change its policy for 2010 but I checked next year's schedule and nothing along those lines has changed. The fight continues.

For the 1st part of the break of the break I'll be visiting the Motykas in Newcastle. It has been so very long since we've seen each other and I suggested that, if convenient, I should visit them for a weekend, and they agreed. I look forward to seeing them again since they're all so interesting and so much fun. It'll be good to get out of Canberra and go somewhere with 30C heat. I'm not kidding, it's been that hot already in Newcastle and Sydney.

EPICs

Although the senior grades had their grand finals, the footy season doesn't officially end until the junior grades have theirs. Last Sunday I officiated at one of these events which was held at the Royal Military College in Duntroon, an area of eastern Canberra. It was a near perfect day for footy as the temperature rose with the sun. Although frost lay on the ground at the beginning, it quickly disappeared leaving a great playing surface. For the young children, having goal umpires was a particular thrill as usually they have only one field umpire and not a full complement. I guess it gives them a greater sense of professionalism. I had a great time even though some of the spectators tried to distract me. All-in-all, not a bad game.

Monday marked the return of harness racing to Canberra and I took the opportunity to head down to Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC) where the races were held. I had a backstage pass, so to speak, because on of my DnD buddies, Alice, works at the racing office doing insurance and other things. I visited her and we chatted about this and that. I also took a peek at the races as they were running. On TV harness racing doesn't look to be that fast but up close it really is very quick. After the each race, you could see the sweat steaming off the horses. At on particularly scary moment, about 50 meters from the end of a race, one of the horses got tripped up causing itself and its rider, as well as 2 or 3 other horses and riders, to fall to the ground. Personnel immediately rushed to render assistance and there were some tense moments as the horse didn't move as its gear was removed. We feared the worst but breathed a sigh of relief as the horse got up and didn't seem particularly distressed with only a small cut on one of its shoulders. The horse's jockey also suffered a small cut but thankfully no one and nothing was seriously hurt. None of the other horses and jockeys were injured. Horse racing can be a dangerous sport.

Speaking of horses, it just so happens that I have been working for ACTTAB for a year now. Although my 1st rostered working shift was not until October 2008, my first training sessions were in September and I believe my first pay period began from September 3rd, 2008. All this means is that I could change over to permanent part-time if I wanted to but this presents such difficulties that I think I'll just stick with casual employment. The pay is better and the hours are more flexible. I'm making great money and I'm glad that I've been allowed to stick with this for a year. Speaking of money, I also received some back pay from ACTTAB after they approved my promotion in payscales and, per the EBA, we've received another pay increase. I'm now making just over $27/hr which I think is fantastic given the amount of work I actually do. I'm sticking with this job for as long as I can and I will fight hand, tooth and nail to keep it. It's far better than anything I would be doing in the legal field.

Late Update

This is my update for things that happened last week. Thankfully there isn't that much to report although there are a few interesting things.

It wasn't easy getting back into a scholarly rhythm following my trip to Adelaide but somehow I managed. Nothing truly remarkable happened at university but something else happened which may have an impact on my constitutional law course; more on that later.

On Saturday the senior divisions of the ACTAFL had their grand finals at Manuka Oval. I wasn't picked to be one of the goal umpires but I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway as I was working at ACTTAB. On that point, ACTTAB, for the first time, offered odds on the outcome of the Division 1 Grand Final. There were 3 grand finals that day but I could only attend the first, the Under-18s. It was an interesting game but was handily won by Marist College over Belconnen. I learned later that the Division 2 Grand Final was also a blowout but the Division 1 Grand Final was decided by 6 points and was close all match. I'm sorry I missed it but it was fun being at the footy, which doesn't happen very often. By the way, because I'm an umpire, I got in for free. Another thing I noticed was that between the quarters people spectators went onto the ground and had a kick around while the teams were in their huddles. This doesn't happen at the AFL anymore but I was told that it used to until about 30 years ago. I think it's kind of a shame that we've become so security conscious that people can't play around on the pitch during game breaks or storm the field after a particularly thrilling win.

I mentioned an impact on my constitutional course, and it's about a ruling handed by the High Court of Australia regarding courts-martial. To understand the impact you'll have to follow along with some pretty unusual constitutional reasoning. A principle in common law countries is the separation of powers, or at least that non-judicial bodies cannot exercise judicial powers. An example would be a Minister passing judgement and imposing a punishment after deciding a legal question. There are some exceptions to this, a historical one being Parliament's power to act as a court, a privilege the courts have been willing to let Parliament keep. In order to preserve the independence of the judiciary, the courts in Australia (and I imagine elsewhere like Canada, the US, the UK and NZ) have said that only courts can decide legal questions and impose punishment, and judges must be independent. Courts-martial have proven an anomaly in this area as judges are generally military staff not necessarily independent as other judges (removal only by certain procedures, independence from influence, etc.). Essentially, courts-martial are executive bodies exercising judicial power which would normally be prohibited except the courts have gotten around this by saying that the purpose of military courts is discipline, not justice, so the they can continue in this unusual way. Now we come to the fun part.

About 2 years ago, the Australian government decided to reform the military justice system to make it more like a Chapter 3 court; Chapter 3 of the Australian Constitution deals with the judiciary and has been used to establish judicial independence. This new system was challenged in court and a few days ago the High Court ruled that the government had ponced it up and that the tribunals were improperly constituted. I haven't read the judgement, but essentially, the government had not given the judges sufficient freedom. I think the High Court is saying that on this issue there can be no middle ground, either you give them full judicial independence or you stick to the old system. This now means that all decisions of the past 2 years have to be reviewed and the government has gone back to the old system while it thinks up what to do next. On a personal note, last semester I asked a professor about this very issue and why the government, in order to avoid the whole justice/discipline issue, which really is bizarre, why not create something like the Military Division of the Federal Court. The professor replied that would be acceptable as long as judicial independence was maintained. I then asked had the current system been challenged and he replied no. I like to think that I was ahead of the game that day.

One more thing, I've added pictures from my trip to Adelaide on my previous post.

The City of a Thousand Spires

Adelaide, I know, is quite beautiful in the sunshine. I know because I had some of it on my trip, but, unfortunately, I was mostly rained on. Nonetheless I saw some interesting things in Adelaide and I can see what my mom sees in it, but maybe a little less. Like I said, the weather may have contributed.

After class last Thursday I quickly packed up and left for the airport. I boarded and quick as a shot, was off to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is the driest city in the driest state on the driest continent; oh the irony. Canberra quickly fell away and very soon there was a broad expanse of nothingness, broken only by occasional farms and homesteads. The plane landed in Adelaide in tune with an exquisite sunset. After disembarking, I boarded a bus into the city and made my way to the hostel at Light Square. By the time I arrived it was quite dark, so I decided to stay in.

The next day I used to explore the city center. Adelaide is called the City of Churches because there are, apparently, so many of them. The city was founded in the early 1830s as a free settlement and was planned. The core is surrounded by parks and there are 5 squares within the urban core. The largest of these is Victoria Square, which I visited at a later on. The main streets are several lanes wide and can cope with vehicular traffic better than any other Australian capital city.

I made my way to the South Australian Parliament for a guided tour but had to wait a few hours for the next one. I used the time to walk around the adjacent parkland. Next to Parliament is the Adelaide Festival Centre, the home of the famous biennial Adelaide Festival. In the 1970s, Adelaide experienced a liberalizing trend and the festival was founded and now South Australia is known as the "Festival State". I then walked along the banks of the Torrens River, the main body of water flowing through Adelaide, and made my way to the north side where I saw the famous St. Peter's Cathedral. After killing all this time, I finally went on the parliamentary tour.

South Australia's Parliament, like Victoria's, is technically unfinished, missing its cupola. It was built in 2 halves and was completed some 50 years after construction began. In this half-finished building is where one of the conventions leading to Australian federation was held. The building itself is like many other Parliaments, steeped in history, but one thing I did notice was the public gallery is labelled "Strangers Gallery".

After the tour, I walked to Rundle Street, a pedestrian mall famous as much for its interesting artwork as for its shops. Then I made my way to Victoria Square, the beating heart of Adelaide. At the very center of its core, Adelaide has a large park with a fountain depicting the 3 rivers of Adelaide: the Torrens, the Murray and the Onkaparinga. That night, I went to sleep eager to venture a little further afield.

The next morning I had breakfast at the Original Pancake Kitchen, a restaurant my parents had recommended. Located in an alley, as many fine restaurants are, it is exactly what it sounds like, a restaurant that serves pancakes. I got an order of pancakes with strawberry sauce and ice cream, downed with milk. It was very good and I'm glad my parents suggested it.

After breakfast, I took a tram from the city to Glenelg, a trendy beachside suburb. I'm sure it's marvelous in the summer sun but I had to contend with gale winds and rain. The one good thing was that it meant I had the area mostly to myself. The tram stopped at Moseley Square and I immediately had a look around. Since there wasn't much activity, I just strolled along the beach and snapped a few photos. Glenelg is where the first European settlers in South Australia arrived. When I'd had enough of this, I boarded the tram but got off at Morphettville Racecourse. The races were on that day and I decided to step in and see what a large city's racecourse looks like on race day. The betting ring was abuzz with activity as people studied the odds, placed bets and cheered their picks. I watched one race and then continued back into the city. I was going to treat myself tonight.

For Saturday night, I decided to go to AAMI Stadium for a game of aussie rules. Today, the Port Adelaide Power were hosting the North Melbourne Kangaroos but the contest didn't mean much as both were out of the playoffs. My family was never much in to sports, apart from watching them really. My dad enjoys watching CFL and I have dabbled in baseball and soccer, but my mother was never keen, totally unjustifiably, on myself or my brother playing any really hard contact sports. Furthermore, we never really went to any sporting events. My parents would always say it's too expensive, and they're probably right. I see an outing to a match more of a social thing than anything else. I just enjoy being around so many people watching an exciting game.

The match did prove exciting, though the weather didn't hold. At times the rain positively gushed down and the wind caused it to swirl in different directions. I can only imagine what it was like for the players. The game ended with North Melbourne winning by 4 points, which is pretty close in AFL terms. Despite the atrocious weather, I had fun and its unfortunate, but probably fiscally wise, that I don't live in a city with a professional AFL team.

Sunday I spent walking around the city again, but I did take a guided tour of the the Art Gallery of South Australia. They had some very thought-provoking pieces in there, particularly one about the despair of the Burke and Wills expedition realizing that they're situation was now dire; the 2 would eventually die in the Outback. It consisted of a 3 panel tableau with a male figure in each to represent the 3 members of the party: Burke, Wills and King (who survived). There were other pieces in there, such as aboriginal art and early Australian art from the 19th Century but the Burke and Wills piece was my favourite. I also had a look around the South Australian Museum, a small museum with a large model of a giant squid. For dinner, I ate at another of my parents' recommended restaurants, a Belgian place called Oostende. I had a delicious pork rib there and, again, I thank my parents for the recommendation. That night at the hostel, I took part in a ping pong tournament and got to the 2nd round. Although I didn't win, I did get a free breakfast out of it. And just as an aside, that afternoon as I was walking through a shopping mall on Rundle Street, who should I spy but Helen, one of my tutors from law school. What are the odds, you think, of 2 people from Canberra being in Adelaide at the exact same spot at the exact same time? They cannot be high and I know odds; it's my job after all.

On my last day in Adelaide, I just walked around as much as I could to take in what was left unseen. I walked beside the Torrens River again and explored the northern quarter a little more. I even managed to find a stobie pole, a South Australian exclusive. When electricity first came to South Australia, they quickly realized that there weren't enough trees to make all of the necessary poles. Ingeniously, the South Australians invented a pole made of concrete with iron/steel sides; these were originally railway tracks. The result is the stobie pole, one of the most solidly built things on the face of the Earth. They may be ugly, but they're environmentally friendly and they work. What more do you want? Another South Australian invention is the Torrens Title System whereby the person whose name is on the land registry owns the land regardless of other claims. Under the old law, when you bought property you had to show good title back 40 years, and this new system simplified things greatly. Now, you only had to show that title was passed to you by the person registered. This may not mean much to you now, but it'll prove vitally important if you ever buy a house.

Anyway, when I arrived back in Canberra, I was very pleased with myself. Although this trip was primarily just to get out of Canberra for a while, I feel like I saw a remarkable part of Australia. Adelaide is a not-oft visited city, and it's a shame because it has some wonderful features. Too bad about the weather, though.

Eating Crow

Today I take off for Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, for no other reason than I've never been there. I'm a little excited to see this city as my mother raves about it. I figured that since I'll be gone for the weekend, I might as well update my progress now.

A few days ago a powerful weather system moved through the region bringing howling winds. I don't know exactly how fast they were but winds of up to 90km/h were recorded in Sydney and that was the same system. Although the windstorm brought clouds there wasn't much in the way of rain. The system has now cleared and we've got nothing but sunny weather. Unfortunately, according to the forecasts, my time in Adelaide will be rainy.

In my last post I mentioned Roman and Oksana who had come down for a wedding and I said that it was for Oksana's friend. Shortly thereafter I received a, may I say terse, e-mail friend reminding me that it was Oksana's sister that was getting married up in the Blue Mountains, not her friend. Now, I don't know Oksana's family dynamic but I imagine if she's come from Canada to see her sister get married, they must be friends. I stand by my earlier statement.

Now, a little about Adelaide and South Australia. South Australia was founded by free settlers, unlike the rest of Australia which had convict settlement, although the man who though up the idea was a convict and was in Newgate Prison in London when he thought up the idea. Some of the earliest settlers were Germans who established the wine industry in the Barossa Valley, now a premier viticultural area. The Germans had a particular dish involving crows and to this day South Australians are known as "crow-eaters". Because it accepted non-conformist thinkers South Australia has usually been a little more liberal than the rest of Australia.

Adelaide, named after a Queen of the UK, with a population of 1.1 million, is Australia's 5th largest city after Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Its center is laid out in a grid pattern and is the only major city in the world who's central district is entirely surrounded by parks. It is home to many festivals, giving the name "The Festival State" to South Australia. I'll see if Adelaide is as wonderful as my mother says it is.

All Work and No Play

The title of this post worked out better than I thought. It's a pun. Someone once said that puns are just lazy writing, and they're probably right, but punners are in good company. The ancient Egyptians were famous for their puns and enjoyed them thoroughly. The civilization that brought us the Pyramids, the Great Library, the Great Lighthouse, poetry (the first recorded example) and organized labour, including history's first recorded strike (I'm not kidding), seem to have been lazy writers. I suppose when all your writing consists of pictograms (hieroglyphs) even a short story is quite an undertaking, you have to economize where you can. The ancient Egyptians, it seems, economized with lazy humour.

I'll explain the title now. Since my semester schedule is better for getting hours at ACTTAB, I've been getting better (more) hours at ACTTAB. Although I haven't been overworked, I've still managed to get in some solid time, which translates to some solid cash. Unfortunately, it meant that I couldn't see this year's ANU Law Revue. I'll have to get a precis of it from someone.

The ANU Law Revue, an annual comedy lampooning put on by law students, ran Thursday-Saturday but commitments interfered every day. Thursday was blocked by umpire training and a visit with some family friends, while Friday and Saturday were taken up by work.

On Thursday, I met up with some family friends, Roman and Oksana, who were in Australia for Oksana's friend's wedding. Oksana is originally from Australia but has lived in Canada for a number of years while Roman, her husband, is a Canadian through-and-through. They were kind enough to pass along some stuff, mostly clothes, from my mother. I met up with them at the Canberra Hyatt, Canberra's oldest and possibly nicest hotel, and then they were gracious enough to take me out for dinner. I showed them around Garema Place and we finally decided on the Tongue & Groove, a new, trendy restaurant/cocktail lounge. If you can get a table there, you're somebody. We were seated and had a fantastic dinner. Afterwards, I thanked Oksana and Roman for their companionship, the dinner and the parcels.

Earlier I discussed ancient Egypt and I figure I'll say a little more on that fascinating civilization, in case you still don't believe the assertions I made earlier. With regards to poetry, the first recorded poem is an ode to the sun written (probably dictated) by Amenhotep IV, popularly known as Akhenaten. Among other things, he was Tutankhamun's father. Akhenaten was a very unusual fellow and moved the capital to a place now called El-Amarna, or Tel-El-Amarna. He instituted what was known as the Amarna Revolution, completely changing Egyptian religion. Although polytheistic, Akhenaten declared there to be only 1 God, the sun God Aten (hence the name change and the ode). It was history's first monotheistic religion. As well, art was changed to show the royal family in a more realistic way. After his death, the old religion was restored but such was the upheaval that, for whatever reason, Tutankhamun's name was erased from the List of Pharaohs.

As for organized labour, the Egyptians were famous for not using slaves in the construction of their monuments. Slaves were only used domestically, and sometimes in the brick works and quarries. All the Egyptians who toiled away for decades to make the Pyramids and other monuments were paid, and quite well. There were actually two very good reasons for this. Firstly, most of the work was done during the flood season when stones could be shipped closer to the monuments. At this time, better than 95% of the population was, effectively, unemployed, so the monuments essentially became vast public works for employment creation; lessons for today, I think. Secondly, I think there was a sort of spiritual aspect and that the Egyptians believed that you could not truly appreciate what you were building, essentially ensuring the Pharaoh's immortality, if you weren't an Egyptian. Getting to the first strike, around 1480 BCE there was a brick works near modern Deir-El-Medina. Like most people, they were promised goods (in this case grain, I think) in lieu of cash. At one point, they were not paid their wages and so the workers stopped working. They returned to work after being promised their wages but when those were not forthcoming, they went on strike again. They only returned to work after the Mayor of Waset (Thebes), I think, personally came down and delivered their allotment. I think the ancient Egyptians could teach us all a thing or two.

In, and Out, the Money

I had a pleasant surprise on Monday when I noticed that my income tax refund had been deposited in my bank account. While $676.00 may not sound like a lot, to a student it makes all the difference in the world. Of course, it's my money to begin with so I'm only really getting what I've earned anyway. Am I really any better off? Of course I am. That, combined with a fairly nice payday a few days before means that I have ample funding for me-sen and my adventures.

The first thing I did was get a new rear wheel for my bicycle, whose rear wheel was slightly, but noticeably, bent and the axle broke. I just have to fiddle with the breaks a bit to get it perfect. I also got a set of Allen keys and a mud flap so my pants won't get dirty when I'm riding in the rain.

I've also decided to treat myself to a little vacation. Using my hard-earned money, I booked myself a round-trip to Adelaide with accommodation at the central YHA hostel. I think I deserve it. I'm leaving on the afternoon of Thursday, August 27th and returning to Canberra Monday, August 31st. Because one of my courses won't be running for a few weeks, I won't have class that Monday giving me extra time in Adelaide. I'm going primarily because I've never been and my mother sings the city's praises. This will mean that the only capital cities left for me to explore will be Hobart and Perth. I'll have to catch them some other time.

There are 2 things I wish to complain about, though, the first being the absence I see, from time to time, of the letter "u" in words like colour, harbour, favourite, etc. While this would be acceptable in the USA, I find it very irritating. It's not a matter of American hegemony, rather laziness on the part of the writers. Is it really that hard to set the spell check to English (Australian/UK/Canadian)? I had an exchange on this very topic over the university intranet with someone.

The history of the "u" in those words is actually quite interesting. In the 18th Century there was a move to standardize English spelling and, at the same time, to make it more like Latin; this is where the absurd "non-splitting infinitive" rule came about as well. The idea was the words that entered into English from French would be spelled with a "u" but those that came directly from Latin would be spelled without it. The problem was that it was very difficult most of the time to discern which language was the progenitor of the English word. Hence, 18th Century spellings sometimes would include words like "errour" (error), "terrour" (terror) and "governour" (governor) and "color", "labor" and "harbor". In the 1750s, the first great English dictionary was published by Samuel Johnson and his spellings included the use of "u" now seen in the British/International English. In the American colonies, soon to be independent, the Latinization of English continued to the point we see today, but it is only the American English that has dropped the "u". There are other differences, such as "-fense/-fence", "-lt/-led", "-ise/-ize", and "-er/-re" but I won't labour on them.

The second gripe I have is with the appalling lack of late-night eating facilities in Canberra. This arose out of a discussion with a fellow from India named Varun. Sometimes I like to eat late or I just get a craving and I want something. Unfortunately, there isn't a single pub or anything that serves good food late. Your choices are limited to either pizza stands, McDonald's or the Casino, which does have an alright menu, but it is quite limited. I really don't understand why there isn't at least 1 pub that serves food late. Kitchens seem to close in Canberra around 21:00 and I can't fathom it. Surely there must be a demand for proper late night eating; I'm an example of it. Is a late night food serving pub really too much to ask for? Apparently, in Canberra, it is.

The Case of Humans vs. Zombies

For most of the week ANU has been in the grips of a zombie infestation. Apparently, Humans vs. Zombies is a popular role-playing game around American universities. Essentially people get placed on human or zombie teams and then go on missions. If a human is touched by a zombie, they become zombies. Although zombies cannot be killed, they can be stunned for 15 minutes by being hit with either a nerf dart or some socks. The game ran across campus and in the residences starting Wednesday and ending last Saturday. The Zombies won by infecting all of the human players. It sounds like so much fun and I couldn't play only because I didn't hear about it until late. Next year, if they're still running it, I'll buy some night vision goggles for the night missions.

Thursday and Friday were the last 2 days of my intensive postgraduate course. We had some interesting guest speakers who spoke of APEC, ASEAN and the Human Rights Council. Now comes the interesting part of trying to write a great paper. The professor assures us it isn't hard but I'm not so sure.

This evening I went to a laser tag facility called Zone 3 in Belconnen. This was a joint venture between our floor and the residents of the floor below us. We had an enormous amount of fun shooting each other and I fared fairly well. A nice escape from the usual drudgery.

I'd also just like to point out that I gained about 8kg from my Canadian trip and now I'm busy trying to shed that weight. That's the last time I accept to eat so much without the weather favouring bicycle riding.

Formatting Adventures

I've noticed the days getting longer. When I go to umpire training its not quite as dark as it used to be. It hasn't warmed up any but it's getting there.

The last few weeks haven't proven interesting really. University continues to be as much fun as it sounds, although I was introduced to a new class format. As part of the JD program, I have to take at least 2 postgraduate courses, and this semester I'm taking Law of International Institutions (LAWS 8184) with the same professor who's teaching me Advanced International Law (LAWS 2264). Because most postgraduate courses are run for those who work or fly in from elsewhere, the format is 4 days of 09:00-17:00. That was last Thursday and Friday and the same will be repeated this Thursday and Friday. Following that, I have to submit a paper which will be worth 100%, not something I'm looking forward to. I hope that because I did a similar class back at NPSIA I'll have an advantage here. Other than that, so far so good. I will only have 2 final exams this year so I'm hoping I'll get those out of the way quickly and then have the summer to work at ACTTAB and travel if possible. I may even be having visitors from Canada.

Life outside university seems to be progressing. My friends and I had another DnD session recently where we managed to slay a difficult opponent. We're all riding a high at the moment and we can't wait for the next adventures. I'm hoping a little adventure will come my way soon too.

By the way, I've updated my previous post a bit so check to see if you've missed anything.

There and Back Again

I've returned from a brief spell in Canada and have quickly re-entered the scholastic life. My trip back was fantastic except for the weather which was absolutely vile. It rained most of the time and temperatures were never really much above 20C. The one day it was nice and hot was the day after my arrival. After that, a stationary low moved in and brought rain and cold; it was like that almost everywhere I went. I did get a chance to talk to my grandmother about her experiences, some of which were quite suspenseful.

Firstly, the journey across the Pacific began with my brother and I meeting up at Sydney airport. I felt sorry for him as he had to be up extra early in order to catch the flight from Christchurch; actually, he may not have slept at all. The flight was uneventful except that one of my brother's bags was misplaced and we spent the next few days waiting for it; it eventually turned up. Due to the missing bag and a quick connection, we missed our flight to Ottawa but, luckily, the next one was only 2.5 hours later. We made it to Ottawa where we both collapsed from exhaustion, though I think I tried to stay up a bit.

I had a busy schedule planned for my 3 weeks in Canada while my brother only spent a few days in Ottawa before shipping off to Camp Borden to teach another cohort of cadets how to play musical instruments. One of the first things I tried to do was get in on the trial of Larry O'Brien but it was pushed from 09:30 to 14:00 so I couldn't stay to see it. Later that day, I went to a friend's barbeque where he, quite ingeniously, had Montreal smoked meat and other goodies. I also went to see a soccer game of my old team and I enjoyed seeing everyone after such a long time.

I managed to meet up with Gavin, one of the most creative people I know. We met a few years ago as his parents are lawyers my dad knows. I went over to Gavin's house and we talked for hours on what I recall to be a myriad of subjects and his sister, Becky, joined in as well. The one that springs to mind is linguistics. Gavin is contemplating returning to university to do an English degree. He's never out of ideas for TV shows and movies, the entertainment industry being his first love, and I hope to see one of his creations on the screen one day. I also met up with Luda who is working in the trademarks section of a major law firm. She gave me some great pointers
on what to expect and how to apply to firms for work.

Canada Day has always been one of my favourite days on the calendar. This time around, though, I didn't spend much time downtown as I was invited to another barbeque. Walter Usyk, the host, had graciously invited the whole soccer team to his place for Canada Day. We all had great fun talking and dodging the rain. After it all, I thanked Walter for the day and I trodded off downtown to see the fireworks. They were quite spectacular this year as they came off the stage, not only from behind the Centre Block.

I also caught up with old friends at the Barley Mow for pub trivia and at the RASC meeting. Things had moved on in the 18 months I wasn't around; for example, a friend of mine and her husband had had a daughter. I kept my arrival secret from the RASC members and I surprised them all when I showed up. I think it was a pleasant thing to do. Much the same happened at the Barley Mow, though everyone knew I was coming. As luck would have it, we won our first trivia game in a long time, and by only 0.5 points! I so enjoyed trivia at the Barley Mow and I'm a little bit sorry I could only stay for 2 games.

Even though it rained most of the time, I did manage to get some exercise in. I played some soccer with the old team and even though we lost, I had a great time. I'll miss playing with the guys but next time I'm back, they assure me there will be a spot on the team for me. All of them, every last one, are absolutely fantastic lads.

I also managed to catch up with Greg, perhaps my oldest and dearest friend. Our families have gotten together every so often for so many years and I always enjoyed going to the Hull's on hot summer days to frolic in and around the pool. Greg's done quite well for himself and is working for an investment company; I wish him every success.

My last weekend in Ottawa I did get a chance to travel to Montreal to visit Andre, my doctor friend I now call Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was throwing a party at his apartment and I was invited. I arrived in Montreal and was greeted with an absolute downpour. I walked to his apartment (luckily I brought a poncho) but I paid for it with soaked shoes and socks. I helped Andre set up and we talked about a variety of things. I tried to convince him to look into Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service as it combines his 2 great passions --- medicine and flight (he's an amateur pilot). Andre said he'd look into it and I do hope he seriously considers it; it's perfect for him. Anyway, Dr. Dre's friends were all very interesting people from his program and there was also Oleh, a mutual friend from Ottawa now living in Montreal. We all had a great time under the wonderful hosting of Andre. I slept overnight before heading back to Ottawa the next morning. I must express my deep thanks to the good doctor both for inviting me and for letting me stay over.

Although 2.5 weeks sound like a lot of time, it really isn't and I didn't get to do many of the things I wanted. However, my trip to Regina would prove to have some interesting moments.

Again, as luck would have it, a cold wet front moved in, which is atypical for summer. I did mean, though, that I got to spend a lot of time with my grandmother who is a very interesting person. Although she wouldn't let me record her, she told me stories of how she survived the war, dealing with air raids, Soviet kidnappings, lost luggage and a myriad other things too bizarre to even imagine nowadays. My grandmother even showed me a fake passport that she used while travelling within Europe during the war. It's something that's so difficult to imagine and I'm not sure what's more amazing, that my grandmother lived through and did some incredibly brave things, or that her story probably isn't unique and that millions of people had similar experiences. One story that does stick to mind is the brief time my grandmother was a spy. At one point she accepted a job typing something for a group of people and it was only after her brother told her that they were likely some underground organization did she realize what was going on. You would never figure her for a "spy" just by looking at her, but there you go. At some point, I'll get my grandmother on tape. Unfortunately, I'll probably never hear the whole story as time has taken its toll on memory and there are some questions I'll probably never think to ask. My grandmother said that eve though those days were dangerous she still misses them I guess when you look back on the past, even the dark bits seem to shine.

I did manage to visit some of Regina's sights on this trip too. I visited the Legislature and the RCMP Depot with its new interpretation center. There wasn't much to do that day as the rain and winds picked up, which forced me indoors fairly quickly.

I also managed to spend quite a bit of time with my cousins. The 4 of them are so full of energy and their parents are always driving them to one activity or another. This time around it was softball for one of the days. Later, we went to the cottage at Regina Beach where I rode an ATV. Regina Beach was one of my favourite locations when I was younger though I didn't remember much of it. That day was a little chilly but bright and sunny, which made up for it. We all had a great time playing around, eating pizza and just talking.

And that was it for my Canadian trip. To everyone I visited, especially my grandmother who is always so accommodating and wonderful, thank you for letting me spend time with you. To my uncle, aunt and cousins, thank you for inviting me to all the functions and the cottage. I hope to see everyone again as soon as I can.

I returned to Australia with only 2 days until classes started up again. As with every new semester, I was nervous as you never really know what to expect. So far, my classes seem interesting enough. This semester, though, I also have a postgraduate course which will be an adjustment for me. Apart from that, not much more remains to be reported except that I planned the trivia night we had at Fenner. I designed a very hard quiz but some of the teams did remarkably well. The last round was on Canada. I made the quiz challenging primarily because I wanted to teach them something. It's no good regurgitating what you've known all your life; I wanted to impart some new knowledge. I've already been asked to write another quiz for a future trivia night and, although I'm making it quite a bit easier, I'm still hoping to teach them. Maybe it'll stick.