Santa comes to town

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be at the beach when Santa stopped by for a visit. He arrived by surf rescue boat, and was wearing shorts and a short sleeve top, all while my brain was screaming "Fun, but just plain WRONG".





As much as I love the sun and sand of a Southern Hemisphere winter, it does make it difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. We haven't even made an attempt at a tree this year - although Gus did decorate the TV and as a result, we ended up putting the pressies under the television. Oh well, we'll have plenty of snow-filled Christmases to look forward to as we'll be back in Canada next year.

We all start our holidays tomorrow and I can't wait. I'm going to keep plugging away at my thesis during the holidays but I plan to take lots of breaks, which will hopefully involve plenty of Jen's Southern-Hemisphere-themed-but-still-Christmassy cocktails.

Merry Christmas All!

All systems go

We finally got our internet and phone up and running last week. Phew!

In the midst of all the internet drama, I went to Canberra for 3 days for an alcohol and drug conference. It was my first one (bloodborne virus-related conferences being my usual shtick). The conference was held in Canberra and I was hoping to spend some time walking around the city but unfortunately it rained every minute I was there, and I only managed to walk the five minutes it took to get to Koko Black for some amazing chocolates (my own brand of drug/alcohol). It was a different sort of conference than I'm used to, full of sessions alternating between the benefits of moderate consumption and the evils of over consumption. Of course, my favorite sessions were on the benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol, which is something I can really get behind.

Lucky for me, Jen, expert epidemiologist and cocktail mixer, is here for a visit. They arrived late last week and left this morning for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We'll be meeting up with them next week to spend Christmas together in a beach house up the coast from us. Can't wait. I'm looking forward to some moderate consumption of cocktails over the holidays!

p.s., Advocate for the use of scientific evidence in drug policy by signing the Vienna Declaration.

Technical Difficulties

On Monday last week, our internet connection was no longer. On Wednesday, after a technician came to 'fix' the problem, our dial tone disappeared.

A week and a half later, and many, many, many hours spent in:

• A gazillion calls to a call centre in Sri Lanka,
• Several conversations with our property manager,
• Several conversations with our building's strata (sorta like a condo board that looks after the building)...

And yet we are still without Internet and phone service. Aaaaaargh! Telecommunications in Australia - not their strong point. And I'll leave it at that.

Hope to be back soon. Stay tuned.

OMG!

Sculpture by the Sea, one last time around. And those were some of my favourites.

Ugh.

Handed in a thesis chapter last week to my supervisors for their feedback, which means I'm at the start of my usual cycle that goes along with the writing of each chapter. It's so predictable. It starts with a huge sense of relief and euphoria (at having finished a chapter) followed by panic, guilt and self-loathing (because time is slipping away and I need to get to work on a new chapter) and finally acceptance and getting on with it (with the work involved in researching a new chapter, re-analyzing the data for this chapter etc).

So last week while I was still happy with the fact that I had finished a chapter and still feeling like I had all the time in the world, here's what I did:

• Watched Boy and loved it. It's the story of growing up in rural New Zealand. It was both sweet and heartbreaking, and left me with a New Zealand accent ringing in my ears for a few days afterwards.
  
• Read the Peter Carey novel Bliss. Since I've gotten here, a few of my Aussie friends have urged me to pick up a Peter Carey book. I don't know why I waited so long, as Bliss will no doubt end up as one of my favourite novels.Well developed, relatable characters and a quirky story with hints of bittersweet reality. I think there might be a movie adapted from the book, so I plan to seek it out and pick it up this weekend,
• Watched some of the ARIAs (Aussie music awards) and now I can't get that Angus and Julia Stone song out of my head. I may have to buy the CD soon.
  

Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane...Enjoy!

Wagging

It's Melbourne Cup day!!! This is huge here. In Victoria (the state that Melbourne is in), Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday. And here in Sydney, people will be chucking a sickie, or in my case, wagging so that they can enjoy the Melbourne Cup.

As per the list, I set up an online betting account and bet $10 on Profound Beauty. The bet is based on name alone but as they say - any horse can win the Melbourne Cup because some of the best horses in the world compete in this race. Wish me luck!

Listen up, participaction people

It's not always a big love affair between Australia and I. I have my days when I am completely frustrated by how different it feels from Canada (and not in a good way). For example, Aussies don't seem to use that politeness/political correctness filter that most of us Canadians use in our conversations. More than once I've left a conversation thinking "Was that guy a total jerk, or was he just being Australian (and am I being too Canadian)? Also, I can't stand that they still teach scripture in public schools, and don't get me started on the attitudes towards and treatment of asylum seekers in this country (I know, I know, I'm just asking for a mean comment from Anonymous....bring it on!).

But, here's where I think they've done something really great. Surf Life Saving is an iconically Australian organization, largely run by volunteers, who patrol the beaches and save people from rips, stingers and sharks. The best part about it is the Nippers program for kids. This program runs throughout the summer months, once a week, on the beach, and it involves sand and water sports for kids. It's designed to encourage fitness outdoors and to teach surf safety (and if you could experience our beach with its huge waves and massive rips - you'd know how important this is). And because it's run mostly by volunteers, it leads to a a real sense of community. Gus is in Nippers this year and he's loving it. He's especially loving board training and since he's started it, he likes to talk to me about catching a good glider and the value of eskimo rolls (I told him he should tell his instructor that they should be called inuit rolls, but he won't do it).

So, participaction, are you listening? How about a snow safety program? Just think about it.

Gus in board training:


Parents and kids waiting for Nippers to start.

Gus, waiting for Nippers (yeah - I don't get the hat either)

Sand races

Swim races