Oz Observations #4: A Night at the Movies

Last night Gavin and I went to the movies. Here are a few things I noticed:

1. Tickets and concessions are bought from the same person. A bit of a pain if you only want a ticket.
2. They don't have butter for the popcorn. Healthwise, probably a good thing.
3. The popcorn comes in a box which closes at the top. Very convenient when trying to manouver it and a drink and folding down your seat.
4. A popular concession is the choc top. I haven't tried one yet as I am not sure I can handle the cold ice cream in a cold cinema (see observation 5).
5. No heat in the cinema.
6. Seats were assigned.
7. Arms between the seats folded up. Good for stretching out for a nap?

My New boots

New boots
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

I left a not so hot Ottawa summer for an even colder Aussie winter. I don't think I have been warm since I arrived. While winter here is more like autumn in Canada (which is my favourite season) there is one factor that makes all the difference - heating and insulation. Or more correctly lack of these things. Getting out of bed when it is 6C in a house with no heat or insulation is very unpleasant. Gavin has bought me Ugg boots to make mornings (and evenings) a bit more bearable. Ugg boots are Aussie, cozy, very ugly, and not meant to be worn out of the house.

Nightmare in the Skies

My Top 3 most hated (make me gag) foods:

1. Potatoes. Particularly if they are mashed and creamy.
2. Canned vegetables. Particularly canned peas.
3. Mayonnaise.

After a 5ish hour flight to Vancouver and a 4 hour wait for my flight to Australia, I boarded the plane at 3am (Ottawa time). I was tired and hungry. The supper served at the start of my 15 hour flight: Some sort of very salty beef with a side of extra creamy mashed potatoes and canned peas. Seriously, a dollop of mayo was all it needed to make it my worst meal ever. On the plus side, if the side dishes had of been even tolerable I probably would have thought the beef was disgusting. As it was, the beef was delicious.

Last Day in the Capital

I had one day off between finishing work and returning to Australia. Here is what I did on the day:

• 
  
  9am - Visited Laurier House, former home of Sir Wilfred Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. No, they weren't roomies. Laurier willed it to Mackenzie King who in turn willed it to the people of Canada. I recommend it to anyone visiting Ottawa. It is tucked away on Laurier Street and costs only $3.90 to enter. As I was the first visitor of the day, I had a tour guide all to myself. Interesting thing I learned - Mackenzie King collected chairs.
• 
  
  10:15am - Went to 1930: The Making of the "New Man" at the National Gallery. An interesting exhibition but quite dark. I also popped into the Contemporary Gallery. I unintentionally scared the heck out of some girls while viewing BGL: The Discourse of Elements. Quite funny. Finally, I zipped through the Canadian Collection to see some of my favourite pieces.
• 
  
  1:00pm - Met my roommate Rob for lunch. We went to the Pour House in the Market. A great place to people watch.
• 
  
  3:10pm - Went to the movies at the World Exchange. I had grand plans to see a movie that I figured wouldn't be released in Australia for a while. Sadly nothing I wanted to see was on so I went to Bride's Head Revisited. A bit long and quite depressing.
• 
  
  5:30pm - Arrived home and attempted to finish packing. All my bags were far over the limit. Got stressed. Had a glass of wine.
• 
  
  6:30pm - Friends arrive to say goodbyes. Ate, drank, and was merry.
• 
  
  11:50pm - Went to bed.