I was recently told, "Don't worry, it won't get to negative temperatures until much later". Today, it is -1. Time to try out 4 layers of clothing (singlet, shirt, jumper, jacket) on the walk to work. My legs just dangle out the bottom of all that and freeze. :D
Update: My legs have pants on. Dirty minds. :P
It's Halloween tomorrow night, and if I remember rightly "Trick or Treat" is basically blackmail: either give the kids some treats or they will play a trick on you. Now, is it fair to reverse that? I was thinking of putting Vegemite on the bottom of some chocolates or something.
Seems fair to me. :D
We had 3 days of no sun recently; just thick overcast clouds, persistent light rain, late sunrises and early sunsets. It's good if you enjoy being inside and cosy. You better enjoy being inside and cosy. The weather outside will just slowly become more miserable towards winter.
We also changed our clocks this weekend, meaning that the sun is up in the sky before I get up. This won't last long though. It's as if the government has tried to give us some hope of sunny mornings, but knowing it'll fade again in a month.
... prepackaged chicken. With some carrots. But at least I'm baking, and eating healthier food.
All of this is only notable because the oven was emitting smoke when turned on a few days ago, leading me to believe I could never cook again. In that great Australian tradition of "it'll be right mate!" I just left the oven alone for a few days, let it collect its thoughts, deal with its issues, etc, and it worked fine today. :)
I've put on far too much weight - I noticed it first when I was 34" around the waist, and now I'm 36.5". That means a new diet, with very little chocolate (except for chocolate skim milk), and basically no soft drink.
I only mention this because I ate the last Mars Bar in my apartment today. I saw it on the desk, sitting in the sun, and decided "What the hell, I'll eat it, thought it's been on my desk in the sun for weeks; it'll have melted over and over". Yet, it had not melted.
Three cheers for weak Canadian sun!
I witnessed an 'interesting' meeting at work today. Lots of arguing and drawing of diagrams, using both a whiteboard and large sheets of paper on an easel. Both drawing surfaces have their own distinct pens. Can you see where this is going?
In the heat of the discussion, someone puts one of the red permanent pens down in the tray for whiteboard markers. Of course, someone picks that pen up and makes large drawings over the whiteboard. Oh crap.
After I leave, the mistake is realised and they try to wipe it off with a whiteboard eraser, smearing it down the board. By the time I come back the whiteboard looks positively satanic, as if someone had drawn strange pagan symbols in blood. Lovely.
I go to get the whiteboard cleaner, but before I come back someone else has started splashing Akvavit (!!) over the board. This act got one manager a little upset - Akvavit is very expensive. The Akvavit helped to erase the marks, but didn't really remove the ink, so our board started to become a nice shade of pink.
With the proper cleaner and a little elbow grease our whiteboard is now cleaner than it has been in months. Was fun getting there.
I had my first real snorkelling experience in Cairns, and it was amazing. The first half was a bit dull - a supervised practice snorkelling area with very little to see. The second half was a lot better, with bright fish, little coral mazes, and even a sting ray slipping away into the dark.
But whatever you do, do not hire the full-body lycra suit. You'll look like a smurf.
I noticed something on my most recent trip. There is something subtly different about the Canadian landscape. It's not the dramatic height of the mountains, but the fact they feel like they're moving. It's slow - I've been told 3cm per year - but now huge mountains spring out of otherwise flat landscape. Sometimes I have to stop, point, and ask "where on Earth did that thing come from?". I'm standing on wide flat ground when I photographed that monster.
Most of the Australian landscape has this slow, 'eroded' feel. Our spectacular rock formations, formed by wind and rain, show us how ancient Australia is. Canada is still on the move.
Back home safely from Revelstoke. What a trip! 19 hours in a bus! Kinda like a regular work day! ;)
Seriously, this is one of the trips that I've come back feeling refreshed. I spent time looking at some amazing scenery, lying in the freezing cold looking at the stars, watching cool old movies, looking at dead salmon... Great times. ;)
I've started to upload photos of Revelstoke and surroundings. I'm starting with panoramics of Crazy Creek falls, because they were just to beautiful. Later I'll blog about the Canadian landscape and how it differs from Australia. Off to bed now!
This weekend is a long weekend, and so I'm taking some time for R-and-R... in Revelstoke. This should give me a break from thesis work. I did consider taking some thesis work on the bus to Revelstoke but "no, screw it, I'm taking time off". Back in a few days!
The temperature is slowly dropping. Nights get down to 6c. Mornings are around 10c. I'm expecting it to get to 0c during winter. So singlets are back, at least for me. Did you know they call them wifebeaters here? :P
I'm putting it down to the change in temperature here. It recently got cooler (not cold, just cool). Having come from Australia it's slightly more of a shock to my system than it would be otherwise. My knees and left hip are aching. The muscles between aren't terribly happy either. Last night I needed an extra quilt before they were warm enough to stop aching.
I should check my warranty. See what my guaranteed operating temperatures are. ;)
I turned some of my recent photos into wallpapers for my computer at work. While making them I realised that I really miss the beauty and people of Australia. I was asked if I regret coming to Canada. I don't think so, but Australia will always be home. And I will always be Australian.
