My Thursday

I don't usually post much about day to day stuff ... but yesterday seems worth making an exception for especially as I wanted to thank Curlypops for the lift to the train station. She couldn't know at the time what a good samaritan she was ... and my story will give her an idea of exactly how welcome that lift was.

The day started out well ... I thought I'd frock up for the Northern Craft Bonanza, and I picked out a vintage 70s nylon dress reasoning it'll be cool later and it'll help keep me warm. And I wore my cute patent shoes I haven't worn in months.


Mistake. I was overdressed in every way for the building evacuation ... which I'd forgot. I work on the 44th floor ... but at least I had flat black shoes to change into. So, 20 minutes of winding clockwise down the stairs saw me out of the building ... with shaking legs and a head full of cotton wool (low blood sugar).

I resisted the urge to head for sugar as I was off to lunch within the hour and I didn't want to spoil my appetite. We had a Section send off for a colleague who'll be greatly missed at the Money Order Office (MOO) in Melbourne. The price is in inverse proportion to the portion but the food is seriously good and I was pretty mellow after a half glass of red.

By the time 5.30pm hit I was tossing up ... will I, won't I, will I ... go to the Northern Craft Bonanza? I was feeling pretty tired but I was frocked up and wanted to go ... and I did. When I got to Croxton train station I nearly got on the next train heading back to town ... but I am nothing but stubborn and kept going. (Last night I was telling Trudi and Nikki this about me in the context of knitting but it pretty well applies to everything!).

Here's the crappy part of the day ... I'd put my patent heels back on and my ankles felt weak so I thought it would be easier to walk in my bare feet. I really need to take a note not to think when my head's full of cotton wool because I managed to scrape two of my toes, one of which looks really gruesome.


I had a great night ... I always do. I barely noticed my thighs and toes. If I wasn't telling this story I'm sure nobody would even either.

But by the end of the night there wasn't a hope of me walking the 30 minutes or so to the tram stop, and here's where the wonderful Cam comes in and where I'll thank her again because I got a lift with Cam to Melbourne Central Station. There's no way I could have walked for more than five minutes ... I almost phoned Miss C to pick me up from my local station because I wasn't sure I could walk the four minutes home.

Thanks Cam.

Project 365 Canada Mon 10 Aug 09

SHOPPING IN TOWN
The first thing we tried on our own was shopping in town ... that way we got to experience the transport, and get an idea of how things work.

The transport is much the same as at home except everything runs on the wrong side of the road (of course!) ... and the trains run on wheels instead of tracks. That was strange when I first realised that.

The interesting thing about the public transport was the pricing structure. They had only one zone with a ticket costing $2.75. That doesn't sound much but when it applies to a five minute trip on a bus or a trip from bus to train to bus that might take more than an hour it's a strange system. And yes, I did say you can transfer between different types of transportation as long as you're travelling in one direction only. In the end we purchased blocks of six tickets for the three of us because that took care of one day and it included a discount.

This is the only picture of a train I can find ... and I'm sure I took more.

Plus it rained on two separate days ... this was the first day when we were downtown. Check out how heavy it was ... it is so like the tropics here. The rain is really heavy and dries up quickly, leaving you hotter and damper than before.

Diane kept telling us to buy an umbrella ... we bought one in the end and I guess it'll come in handy in London as well.

And you wouldn't believe how many stores there are in Montreal that you can find at home: the world really is owned by the multinationals!

I don't even know what Oakley sells; I just know I've seen it in Melbourne.

My favourite store ... we just had to go in so I could see whether there was anything I liked.

The funniest thing happened to us in Esprit ... where we eventually took shelter from the rain. One of the shop assistants approached us to help ... and it turned out he'd been to Australia, including Melbourne, more than once and was really glad to talk to us, especially to practice his Australian slang.

He went through a whole bunch of words and he was so funny the way he said all these Australian colloquialisms in his Canadian accent that we couldn't help laughing and ended up chatting for quite a while. But the funniest thing was the last thing he said ... I'm cracked on that guy. I had to stop and think for a while what he meant--and in the end I realised it was I want to "crack on" to that guy ... and I wish I was quick enough to have remembered a few other 'new' bits of lingo to leave him with.

This shoe store really is everywhere.

And the same with Footlocker ... you can't turn around and not see another one.