Last Minute Preps

Just like the first, the second week of break has come & gone. In two days, I’ll be back at Villa Maria teaching history & social studies. I’ve been spending the remaining days doing last minute preparations and trying to get rid of this annoying cold I caught yesterday. I’m contemplating whether to get sushi or onion.

Through past experiences, I discovered that eating wasabi covered sushi is very good in clearing a blocked nose. Wasabi, aka ‘Japanese horseradish’ is a very strong spice, and it will burn a clear nasal path after you breathe in the strong scent after consumption. If wasabi is unavailable, like when I fell ill when studying in Ukraine in 2006, my host family made me breathe in the scent of onion through my nose. Hopefully, my cold will be vaporized by Monday because I have two classes to teach that day. It’s odd that in the early 21^st century there’s still no cure for the common cold.

Ben finally got his new computer, after waiting an extra two months, and driving it down from Nelson. Watching him play Grand Theft Auto IV got me thinking about my computer situation. It’s hard to plan lessons when you’re one & only laptop has called it quits and will only give you the Blue Screens of Death whenever you boot it up. Hopefully, I won’t have any troubles at the airports when flying back to Canada, because the security officials make you turn on your laptop to make sure it’s not a bomb. Scouring the Internet for the best deals on new laptops keeps me from listening to the angry voice in my head that wants to bash my old laptop for entertainment. It would make a nice vid for the BLOG, I might add.

My PC at home functions well, but it’s six years old, and I think it’s time for an upgrade. I’ll wait until Microsoft releases its latest operating system, Windows 7, because I don’t want to take a chance with Windows Vista. The cost for my dream PC stands at around $3000CAD, thanks to all the ultra powerful components I want it to have.

My American roommate, Ryan, came back from travelling all over with his American friends. The highpoint of his trip was when his Subaru car broke down in Auckland. Ever since buying it at a second hand auction, the Subaru has been nothing but trouble for him & his friends. It’s in the shops getting its engine fixed but if I were him, I would have abandoned it in Auckland or sold it.

As a Canadian, it was odd to see veterans selling poppies in public places in late April. Canadians only wear poppies for Remembrance Day on November 11th. Upon doing some research, it came to my attention that April 25th is ANZAC Day, where Australia & New Zealand honour the men of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli, Turkey during the First World War. Services are held at dawn and always include the lone bugler playing 'The Last Post' and 'Reveille'.

The Allied objective of the Gallipoli Campaign (25 April 1915 - 9 January 1916) was to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and to secure a sea route to Russia. Turkey was allied with Germany & Austro-Hungary during WWI. The attack was poorly planned by the British & French, but would be carried out by confident Australians & New Zealanders who were eager to go into battle for the first time. Long story short: there were heavy casualties on both sides and in the end, the Turks reppelled Allied forces off the mountainous peninsula.

There’s not much else I can think of right now; my cold is giving me writer’s block. That’s it! Sushi time! Before I go, I’ll just say that I’ll be ready on Monday and I look forward to finishing the final three weeks of teaching practice. I just hope my diploma won’t be as big as my Piano ARCT certificate from Toronto.