these are not my walls

Sorry about the Houston reference, Tash. :-D To be honest, I was more thinking of it as an entertaining story, rather than poking at you guys...

It was below -30 again this morning when I left the apartment to drop my lovely car off at the garage and FINALLY get the bumper replaced!! A mere 6 weeks after I was rear-ended. Stupid holidays and their messing-up of business schedules! Ah well. It was worth it. They even washed my car!

I'm getting together with articling students for dinner on Thursday. It's an unofficial part of my job to organise dinners, and Sarah (the former clerk) was telling me how she and the articling students in her year used to get together at least once a month. Yeeeaaaahh...this will be the second time we've gotten together in my tenure. It's not my fault, dammit! These people either a) don't respond, or b) bail. I figure if that happens again this time, I'm giving up. Officially.

To compensate for the lengthy silence, I have some pictures for you!

First, some views from Thunder Bay (where I was in November, as you may recall):

The Terry Fox memorial:



A view of the Sleeping Giant, from the memorial:



It looks like an island, but it's actually a peninsula. Everyone kept saying that for my second trip I would have to come back when it's warmer so they could take me hiking out there (also apparently on a "mountain" that they have nearby.) I love how the scheduling is based, at least in their minds, on the recreation options available, not on, say, the court's caseload...

The view from the courthouse:



If you're really sharp, you may have noticed that that's also the Sleeping Giant in the background there! Some day I'll provide you with a picture of the view from my office in Sudbury (parking lot, grocery store, some train yard) so you'll understand why I liked Thunder Bay quite a bit more than Sudbury.

Here are some pictures that actually make Sudbury look nice:

Bell Park:



There are actually quite a few lakes within the Sudbury city limits. This one is...uh...hold on...Ramsey Lake!

Here's another view of the lake, with Science North in the background:



C'mon, doesn't it make you want to come VISIT???

Well, "Ben", if that is indeed your name - when I clicked on your name after your post, it said your profile was unavailable to the public, and I'm thinking you're not the Ben I know - you'll be glad to know that it's quite a bit warmer in Sudbury now. Single digits below zero, in fact. I walked to work and my face didn't freeze and fall off!

Unfortunately, our work ISP apparently did freeze and fall off. Or at least freeze. That was a pathetic segueway. Anyway, for half the afternoon I had no internet access, which kinda shuts me down; the library in the courthouse is...well...let's say it's not Great.

On the plus side, I'm booking my tickets to B.C. for the first week of April. People, please don't plan any trips to Houston during that time period. I'll know it's personal.

Here are a couple of newspaper articles about the swearing-in ceremony I was at yesterday. The picture is STAGED, though; notice the empty seats behind them. The man lies, man!

My sister has a point: if I'd been wearing the ice crampon thingies she got me for Christmas, I probably would not have fallen in the parking lot. If I'd had my *boots* on, I probably wouldn't have fallen. The lesson: pay attention to the weather!

In other news, today I drove a Mercedes. And, uh, I didn't like it. Does this make me an uncultured cretin?

This afternoon, I went to the swearing-in ceremony for a new judge in my region. It was actually a very nice ceremony, and they have this lovely ritual where the judge that is being replaced by the new judge (judges generally go supernumerary, meaning they only work 17 weeks a year, once they hit retirement age, and a new full-time judge is appointed) removes the new judge's lawyer robes and helps him into the judge robes. It was particularly poignant at this ceremony, because the old judge was the father of the new judge; I don't think that's ever happened in Ontario before.

The less nice part was when I went to the reception afterwards and someone spilled red wine on my suit jacket. My favourite suit jacket, and one of only 3 that I own. Luckily I was drinking soda water at the time, so I just quickly dumped it on myself. It's looking good so far; keep your fingers crossed!

It's early. And apparently it feels like -14 out there; according to The Weather Network, anyway. I guess that's a step up from the "feels like -28" of yesterday.

Yes, yes, winter has finally come to Sudbury. I can no longer smugly comment on how Victoria's having a worse winter than Sudbury, oh irony of ironies, didn't I pick a good year to come here, etc., etc.

This is how I knew winter was officially here, btw: on Monday, I slipped on the ice and snow and fell on my ass. Ah, the joy of winter.

In lieu of an actual post (I'm not dead! But I am very busy! Darn holidays and their piling on of work afterwards!), may I direct your attention to something...interesting?

That's not quite the way I *remember* it...

(Psssst: turn up the volume.)