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Published: September 11th 2006
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Our new accommodation was a bit of a step up to say the least. We have swipe cards on the doors, elevators with brass fittings. it is one very flash apartment. I felt very underdressed when i staggered to check in Saturday morning.
Mels mum Kathy, her partner Andy, and Mels brother Frankie turned up on Saturday night, so while the new accommodation is more expensive splitting the bill make it cheaper than the truck stop. We also got out of the industrial area where we were staying to a nicer downtown spot.
Saturday afternoon was spent at the national park as mentioned in my previous entry, than I decided to go and watch the local baseball team that night. Sadly the local baseball team the "Edmonton Cracker Cats" arn't very good, but their opposition was so there were some good plays at times. And while the crowd turnout was quite small, the atmosphere was good. All the players had intro music, and there were competitions for the crowd between the innings to keep everyone interested. There were mexican waves, beach balls, and of course the token crazy people who yell stuff at the players as if they new
Ookfest
One of the 3 stages early in the afternoon them intimately. A good night out.
Monday we went to Mels second rugby match, where she got a start against samoa. Samoa offered more of a challenge than what Canada did, but tragedy struck just before the half when Mel got caught in a nasty tackle and went down in a lot of pain. She got taken to hospital and was diagnosed with a broken leg which would need pinning.
She didn't get the operation until wednesday afternoon so the next few days consisted of hospital visits. She got discharged thursday morning and moved into the apartment with us. We also upgraded our rental vehicle to accommodate the extra people. We have gone from an economy car to the full on soccer mum van. Its 'pimpin' i tell you. The captains chair has an arm rest, as does that of the navigator. Its got this phone you can use to call the service centre if it breaks down an aisle right down the middle.
Friday we went to the blackferns final pool game. They beat Scotland in their closest game yet, and in doing so became top qualifier for the semi finals. After that some of us
Ookfest
Engineering students admiring their handywork went to the "Old Strathcona" district, which is where all the pubs and clubs are. We got a feed in an irish pub, then went to an english pub, before i took Frankie back to the "Cook County Saloon" country bar. Not as good as last week, but they did play "livin on a prayer" by Bon Jovi and i wasn't they only one singing out loud. And for the second week in a row the "im from New Zealand, i don't know how to dance, can you teach me'' line worked a treat.
Saturday was the day of the back to school party at NAIT university called "Ookfest" (there are 3 universities in Edmonton). Frankie and I went along about 4. Doors opened at noon and it finished up at 11pm. Bands were a bit hit and miss asto their appeal but it was well worth going to. At least 10,000 people were there at the end of the night. One of the guys playing earlier in the afternoon did a great job of warming up the crowd. He said "You know last week we were playing a concert down the road in .......Calgary" and everyone booed (Edmonton and Calgary have a rivalry thing going on). He followed it up with "And we thought they new how to rock." (more boo's) "Thats until we came here, because no-one rocks harder than Edmonton!!" and people in the crowd just went nuts. A bit corny maybee? But the crowd loved it. To be honest i felt a bit old at times, having been a first year (or freshman as they call it) 8 years ago, so theres a good chance this will be my last back to school concert.
Sunday started with a thunderstorm and lots of rain, so this lead to a day shopping at the mall. I however decided to give ice skating a go (at the rink inside the mall). Having failed at roller skating, and with my "as new" rollerblades gathering dust at my parents house i wasn't holding much hope. But after an hour or so on the ice i managed to skate at least half way around the rink with out grabbing for the sides, and i managed to pick up a bit of speed. While im still a novice id say im at the skating level of a 4-5 year old canadian kid. I skate like im walking. Where i need to be gliding. Those damn 7 year olds just go way too fast.
Ive got a job interview in Calgary tommorow, so we are all having a bit of a road trip. Ill keep you posted as to how it all goes.
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