transitions

Greetings from chilly Halifax (last time I had a full summer was in 2001). A bit of an update since the last letter I posted from NZ, with all the Toronto reunion photos as requested by Freedman!

Passed in my dissertation (finally!) on Thursday the 19th. On Friday, did some random errands, Christmas shopping, and helped clean the house, although Petra was on her own for a large chunk of the morning. Sat on the front porch and saw Petra's photos of Greece and Turkey. Poor Petra got herself a nasty sunburn! Slept in on Saturday, then down to Crusty Corner for pancakes and coffee and a walk in the Gardens. Fed the ducks wee packets of grain so that the seagulls wouldn't steal it all away. No day would be complete without an email check : ) so down to uni for a while. Invited Petra over for some roesti smothered in a white sauce with wine and mushrooms. Had atrocities for dessert (peaches, chocolate soy ice cream, custard, chocolate sauce, AND Christmas pudding) and opened our pressies.

Petra and Simon with the Christmas tree in back

Dropped Petra off in Green Island and walked up to Flagstaff in the fog, then up to the rugby fields, then to Signal Hill, then home. Sunday morning the Batchelors dropped by with some gifts and a card, and I was barely able to say thank you through the tears.

Left the flat and picked Petra up on the way to the airport. An unusually long line at the counter. Thanks to some creative packing on my part, I had only two pieces of luggage bursting at the seams plus my guitar. Also my daypack as carryon and my purse. Plus many layers of clothing, pockets filled to bursting with all the small, heavy stuff I could jam into them : ) Quite embarrassing to put my coat through the x-ray machine though... Anyway, I was sure that I would be charged extra for my luggage, either because I had too many pieces or because the total was over my weight limit. Because of the long line, I reached the checkout about 5-10 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave. A bit nerve-wracking. The woman weighed my things, and discovered that my big blue pack weighed about 42kg, more than the 37kg I was allowed. But instead of charging me extra, she made me repack it. Seems that for occupational safety reasons no single piece can weigh more than 37kg... so she handed me a clear plastic sack, which Petra and Simon then filled with random things from my baggage while I completed check-in. No extra charge!!! But a wee bit stressful : ) Struggled to put on my overweight fleece and jacket, and to throw on my daypack and purse. All the while crying because I was leaving... Said goodbye, went through security, and got into the departures lounge. Lined up to board the plane, and recognised someone but couldn't remember who it was. Minutes later she came up and said hello, reminding me she was my flatmate Steve's friend Vicky. Always a bit embarrassing when that happens because I feel rather rude not remembering her! At this point I burst into tears again and can barely speak to Vicky. Get on the plane, find my seat next to an old lady, and try to control myself. As we take off I see Petra and Simon (actually I see a tall guy wearing bright orange trousers, figure it's Simon, and figure the person next to him is Petra) waving goodbye to the plane, and this sets me off again. I give some wracking, heaving sobs, and the mucus goes everywhere. Classy. The woman next to me does nothing but fold her hands in her lap and stare straight ahead at the seat. Maybe a nervous flier, but I think nasty thoughts about her anyway while we fly away from Dunners. At least she could pat my knee and say, "There, there, dear, it will be alright." I manage to control myself again, if only to spite the woman next to me. About an hour later we fly over Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, two mountains Maureen and I tramped around on our North Island adventure.

Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu

We land in Auckland and I have to pick up the plastic bag but none of my other luggage, and wheel my way to the international terminal like I did so many months ago. I walked around aimlessly, had some sushi for lunch, tried to send some emails (?%&# machine ate my $2 coin), ate some Jaffas, and went into the departures lounge. While waiting for the plane, there was a hilarious (to me) announcement on the loudspeakers, "You still... have time... to declare... your meat." Flight was delayed 2.5 hours for mechanical reasons, so instead of leaving at 4:30pm it left at 7:00pm. Sat next to a vegan woman from Ontario who had been living in Invercargill and working in child protection. Watched the movie Possession and bits of other programs, and tried to snooze. Landed late in LA, where there were huge lines. Saw a guy who I recognised from undergrad at MAC. Also saw some Quebecois guys and though, ohmygod, they're SO Montreal. Once I'd checked in (and explained why I now had four pieces of checked baggage, one of which was a large plastic bag), I went to the back of a HUGE security line (we're talking hundreds of people here). My flight was changed from 12:45 to 12:15, and it was now 11:45. They called our flight to the front of the line, where I happened to glance at the boarding pass of the guy next to me. Last name was Baxter, and cheeky as hell, I asked whether he was Angela Baxter's father (Ang was in my public health classes in Dunedin and told me her father was on the same flight as me). Turned out it was! What are the chances, eh?! On my other side was a really loud American woman in a big fur coat, *demanding* to get to the head of the security line. Sheesh. Anyway, went through security and got to the gate around 12:10. Knew it was a Canadian flight within minutes of boarding. CBC news being played... English on channel 1 and French on channel 2, and some flight attendants had Quebecois accents. Arrived in Toronto and met the joyous parents. Drove home and stayed up to 3:30am Monday morning unpacking and sorting.

Woke up when Mom pounded on the door and asked if I wanted waffles. I said no, thinking it was too early for food, then a few minutes later looked at the clock and discovered it was 1:00 in the afternoon. Got up and saw it had snowed! A white Christmas after all. Wrapped pressies and chatted with Simon on the phone. Then out to the mall to buy a photo album, where I met my old best friend Mandy with her little boy Nicholas and mother Carolyn. At home started getting used to my life in Canada again. Didn't need to use a plug adapter. Had more clothes in the closet, clothes I hadn't worn in almost a year. Saw adverts for Tim Horton's coffee, read bilingual cereal boxes, heard the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (written in 1976 by Gordon Lightfoot), listened to Rex Murphy on CBC radio. Looked at my atlas and discovered to my great chagrin that the highest elevation in Ontario is only 693m, and that's in Timiskaming. Celebrated Christmas with the folks on the 24th as usual.

Mom, Me, and Dad in the kitchen on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Day, Mom and I made a snowman on the front lawn. Sadly it was powder and not packing snow, but that didn't stop us. Piled three buckets on top of each other and mounded snow on top of them, then shaped them to look like three balls. Gave him a hat, a face, some buttons, a bowtie, arms, and a toupee (cedar leaves). The skull occasionally fractured, requiring reconstructive surgery. And unfortunately when the snow melted a week or so later, we had three buckets decorated with a hat : )

Snowman and me on the front lawn

Going shopping, I discovered that mullets are truly alive and well in Georgetown, along with scrawny guys in tight black jeans and baseball caps. Thought the cash register was incorrect, then realised that this was Canada, and that I had to pay tax at the point of purchase. Had to remember to tip people too. Also thought that people in Georgetown look weird, maybe because I'm used to seeing New Zealanders, or maybe used to seeing the culture of a university town. On Friday, had some friends over for a potluck at my place. Andre and Ruth showed up, then Sara rang and brought with her Barb, Luke, and Neil. Spent a few hours trying to ring NZ but had many technical difficulties.

Sara, Ruth, and Andre

Andre, Barb, and Sara spent the night. The next morning we drove to Toronto to meet some others for brunch at Insomnia Cafe near Bathurst and Bloor... John, Sarah Hassan, Sarah Freedman, Sandra, Steve, and Michelle.

Sarah, Sara, and Sarah at Insomnia

Saw a pounamu necklace on Sandra and a tiki necklace on Steve, and was dying to comment but thought I was being too eager. Turns out Steve's Mom comes from Gisborne (in NZ) and he's been there a few times. So the necklaces were indeed from NZ.

Steve and Sandra

Honest Ed's on Bathurst and Bloor

Drove to Nathan Phillips Square and went skating.

Me with a Lord of the Rings ice sculpture

City Hall

Skating in Nathan Phillips Square

Steve, Sandra, John, and Michelle

Zamboni at work on the rink [note to Emma and Petra... when I played you guys the song King of Spain by Moxy Fruvous, you asked me what a zamboni was]

Zamboni up close

Some guy wavin' a flag in front of City Hall... still don't know why

Home for the holidays

Had coffee at Second Cup on Queen with a view onto Speakers Corner and CityTV.

CityTV building

Speakers Corner

Sara and Sarah at Second Cup

Me and Sarah at Second Cup [WHY is it that double chins suddenly appear in photos?]

John has either had too little coffee, or too much, or both...

Went to HMV on Queen, then MEC on King. Back to Nathan Phillips Square to fetch the car so I could drop Andre off at the bus station. Went to New Thailand off Queen for dinner, and met the infamous Dan, who's always being referred to in conversation with one of the Sarah's. Shared some veggie cuisine (mmm... deep-fried tofu) with Freedman.

Sarah doing something to John under the table

John prefers, however, to gain three double chins and be above board with the other Sarah

John is won back with a smooch

Dan, Barb, and Sara

Drove home with a pounding headache. For some reason couldn't sleep so I stayed up and installed my CD burners. Rang NZ on the Sunday... and finally got through!

Monday met up with Daniella McDougall in Toronto, and had breakfast at a great little veggie place.

Daniella and I

On New Year's Eve I went to Toronto again! Had dinner with my parents at Penelope Restaurant, then went to see an operetta called The Land of Smiles by Franz Lehar. Home to watch the ball drop in NY, drink some champagne, and crawl into bed. That Friday I left for Halifax.

So... now I'm settling into life in Halifax. Moved into a flat on South Park Street with two Newfie girls named Ryanne and Michelle. Fully furnished, which was great for me since I'll only be here four months or so. The first Sunday back I went for brunch at Athens with Kelly, then out to Pitchman's with Ryanne, Crystal, Filip and Michelle. Had dinner and watched the final game of the World Junior Hockey Championships on big screen TVs. The ultimate return to Canadiana. Sitting in a sports bar eating bar food and drinking Molson's Canadian beer, getting a free shirt because the barman spilled beer on me, entering a Molson's contest, being surrounded by hosers and hose-heads wearing Canadian shirts / sweaters / hats / coats / mittens / flags, faces painted, and getting fake Molson tattooes on our bodies. It looked like the Canadian boys would show the Russians who was king of hockey, but dejected we left after the Russians won 3-2. On the way home found out that Michelle and I share the same birthday - have never met anyone else born on August 3! Started swimming again. Dropped by the department to chat with Susan and say thanks to Tina for everything. Went to see Chicago with Ryanne and Michelle. Rented Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Discovered ICQ and KAZAA, and downloaded lots of mp3s, including some really bad 80s songs. Have been waiting for my thesis data to arrive (I thought it arrived LAST January?!). Have thought about writing a totally fictitious short story called THE THESIS FROM HELL, incorporating true anecdotes from my research and from the research my friends and colleagues have done. May get around to it once I've finished my thesis... And in a moment of boredom took photos of myself, some nice and some just a little bit weird.

Nice

Weird

DATA HAS NOW ARRIVED (apparently) so I will have no spare time for the next few weeks.

Love Christine