Pajama Party, Blackbutt Reserve, and Swimming Carnival

This weekend in a nutshell - Pajama Party, Blackbutt Reserve, and the Swimming Carnival.

We started things out on Friday night with a Pajama Party (click for pictures) at the local pub, Shorty's. Our block dressed up as victims of bedbugs, so we painted red dots all over ourselves and got really cool Aussie flag boxers. We also all wore singlets (white tanktops) that we wrote on to indicate we were somehow mistreated by the bedbugs (I was "fondled by bedbugs"). Anyways, the night went well: there was lots of karaoke, skulling songs, pegs, and of course a few people cried by the time the night was over. All in all, a success.

The next day, Jillian, Peter and I set out to Blackbutt Reserve (click for pictures), a local nature reserve. We had a vague idea of where it was, so we hopped on the bus but got out a bit too early. We eventually made it there and started hiking on the trails. One key we forgot was insect repellent. The mozzies (mosquitos) here are killers! So we got eaten up, but still got to see some really cool plants and animals there. We then headed to the wildlife exhibit part of the reserve, where we got to see some really neat birds, koalas, wallaroos, and a few others. The area was contained, but the animals had a large area to roam around, so it was a really nice setup as opposed to a zoo.

After we left the reserve, we hiked to the bus stop, but realized we had about a 40 minute wait. So what better to do than walk across the street to the Blackbutt Hotel and grab a schooner (glass) of beer while we wait! We hopped on the bus and went to the local shopping center to grab a few things. Later that night, Jillian and I went to see "A History of Violence" a cinema. Apparently Aussies don't attend the cinema much and I can see why - they are even more expensive over here than in the States!! A *student* ticket was $11.50, with the adult ticket at $15.00! Popcorn and soda was just as expensive as well. Needless to say, we won't be going back anytime soon.

Sunday was the Intercol Swimming Carnival. Intercol activities are like intramural sports at universities in the states; the different houses on campus (Evatt, Edwards, and International) compete with each other through the semester to win the coveted Sports Trophy. Evatt has won it the last few years. The Swimming Carnival was basically a loosely organized swim meet. They have a 50 metre pool and swam the 50 freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke, as well as a few relays at the end. Each person got points for participating, with more points for those who placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I swam in all of the events except for the 50 fly. I did fairly well, but there were some hardcore swimmers there with speedos and everything! I also swam on the Evatt men's freestyle relay. Unfortunately we placed 3rd, but the Evatt Women's team won! At the end of the Carnival, our house was 3rd in standing and 2nd in participation. Not a great start to the year, but we'll have more activities for sure.

That's it for now -- so I wanted to ask if you guys prefer the text format of my past few entries or the video format? Post a comment and let me know.