Let the Countdown Begin

It’s New Year’s Eve and for the first time ever we’ll be spending it without our fellow Marathonians. Instead of playing in the snow and crashing house/garage parties, Phil and I will be attending a barbie (BBQ) and heading to the S&C club (similar to the Legion) where a local cover band is playing and the beer is plentiful. I have to admit I’m envious of everyone that is home for the holiday and will be ringing in 2008 together. I hope West Wyalong knows how to celebrate like Marathon does!

Hot in the City

I love the heat. Yesterday we had our first taste of 40 degree weather and it’s absolutely wonderful. Growing up in northern Canada it didn’t matter the time of year; I was always cold. As a result, I love the feeling of walking into a wall of heat upon exiting a climate controlled building. It astounds me that the air outside can feel warmer than the radiant heat exiting an open oven. The intensity of the sun also continues to baffle me. I’ve taken to swimming at the outdoor Olympic pool in West Wyalong and have to be very careful about when I swim and how much time I spend out of the water. The sun is so hot that I can feel my skin searing within minutes of exposure. It’s unreal. So far I’ve avoided sunburn with heaps of sunscreen, but I can definitely see why Australian’s have such high melanoma rates. Where’s the ozone layer when you need it?

Just Another Road Trip

We took a quick trip to Griffith today with Garry and Irene. The drive was nice and we were entertained for most of the journey by the willy willies (mini tornadoes) tearing up the farm fields on either side of us. They’re pretty spectacular to watch. We managed to check out a couple of shopping centres though most places were closed by the time we arrived. We perused Target (Australia’s equivalent of Zellars) and Big W (Australia’s equivalent of Wal Mart). Phil stumbled upon the strangest thing in Target. A t-shirt that prominently said ‘Thunder Bay Ontario Eagles’ on it.  It was too weird. I’ll post a photo later.