Get Loose

On Friday the finals of the competition were held. Since nobody from UOW made it to the finals, we didn't have to do anything!

James and I slept late, lazed around, then went back to The London for lunch and bumped in to the rest of out contingent there! This time my burger was something with tzatziki, it was so nice.

We watched the grand final debate, grabbed a quick bite at Maccas then got changed into our Circus finery for the final night party!

I was a ringmaster. Thanks Emily for loaning me the awesome jacket!*

Most of the UOW people dressed up, some as circus folk and Ryan, inexplicably, as a bee. With a naked bum.

Naturally the party was at Mooseheads. We were told the bar tab would be huge. We only got two drinks per person but I didn't mind buying my own because amazingly everything was $3.50!

I guess at Mooseheads it's still 1997 because they had a blue light disco. Personally I love stuff like that; I think it made my G&T look a bit cool.

I chatted to lots of people from different universities too.  It was nice to hang out with them in a normal social setting instead of just chatting between debates.  It was a really fun party, the perfect way to end our Canberra adventure.

Thanks ANU Easters organisers! And thanks UOW contingent for all being such good fun!

Frankly Embarrassing

Thursday was spent adjudicating again. We were provided with a third of a Subway sandwich each for lunch and a mini packet of chips for afternoon tea, but since that's barely any food we also hung out at Degree Cafe a fair bit.

I had an acceptable friand but my hot chocolate was made with syrup, way too sweet!

The debates ran late, of course, so when I made it back to the hotel I had to race like crazy to get ready for the formal dinner. My shelf was in quite a state by the end of it.

Before

After

If you wondered I wore one of my Year Twelve formal dresses, with tights and a trench coat of course.

You can't see that well but it's black lace over gold satin. I bought it from eBay for about twelve dollars. James wore a suit but I don't have a snap.

The rest of the contingent scrubbed up pretty well! Hello everyone if you're reading!

As did my ex school chums from the UNSW contingent. (Hello Sarah & Adela! It was such fun seeing you both, and Georgia too.)

And this awesome girl Kat from Griffith - hello if you're reading!  She has a blog too, Musings of a Hedonist.

Her black lace + sock bun + eyeliner look really reminded me of Adele, I wish I could look like that. Amy if you're reading can you please teach me how to do liquid eyeliner?

 

The food was pretty great. To start I had this tasty salt and pepper squid and the other option was a beef salad.

My main was duck with sweet potato mash, which I loved.

The other main was beef, which wasn't that good, with a garlicky creamy mash, which was so amazing.

They announced the finalists at dinner too. The highlight was when Melbourne Two broke, because all the Melbourne students just went wild, they were obviously all so excited to see that team get through. My high school was so competitive that once, when I was third speaker in a debate, the first and second speakers refused to tell me what points they were going to raise lest I 'copy'. So I always enjoy people who have a not-insane attitude toward their peers' achievements.

The lowlight was the way the Sydney contingent carried on every time they broke. They're great at debating but they need to work on not making everyone else hate you.

 

Afterwards there was an after party at some club but after a few minutes there James and I decided to walk home in the freezing cold instead. We saw these cool light things while we were walking.

All in all a fun night. It was like the school formal except with alcohol and without food poisoning.

Snaps to the Rydges Lakeside for putting on a good spread!

World's Largest Roundabout

Hello from The Nation's Capital! I'm here for Easters 2012, an intervarsity debating competition, and so far it's rad.


I'm here with James and nine other people from uni, including Ryan (hello if you're reading!).


The university has put us all up at the Clifton Suites.





James and I are sharing an apartment with some nice people from Bond.





We have a double room with an ensuite, which is pretty snazzy.





It was super freezing yesterday so I wore jeans, merino jumper, boots and a coat, plus obviously some layers underneath. I was still pretty cold.





Last night there was a social event organised at The Hellenic Club. When we got there all the tables were full, but the line of students was huge and there was a 90 minute wait for food.





So the UOW contingent jumped ship and went to some place called London. Guys, it was awesome! And thrifty! Their menu is basically fifty burgers and beer.


I had a Beef Swiss burger - $13 - and it was SO GOOD. At first they lost my order so they gave me a FREE cider, but I only waited a few more minutes for the food anyway. Winning! If you're ever in Canberra you should go there.





Today I'm at ANU adjudicating some debates, pretty exciting. Tonight there is a roof top party feat. punch, can't wait!