Week 5.2: Ice hockey, icicles and midnight museum tours.

Well February has arrived far too quickly, and we're already a week through. 2015 is already pipping 2014 to the post as the quickest year since records began, and my incredibly busy February will no doubt continue to fly.

As for the last few weeks, a lot of excitement has been on the cards. Since Ottawa I have attended a HABS game at the Bell Centre, hit up a wintry Jean-Talon market, gone to the Best Buddies art auction (so fun), celebrated Helena's 21st, watched (and loved) my first Superbowl, ice-skated some more and most recently had a 'flashlight' tour of the university's Redpath Museum. 

The hockey was fab, the Canadiens won in the last few seconds, which created a great atmosphere. I couldn't believe the size of the crowd or the speed of the players! Definitely good fun, and also very unique to experience a bilingual sporting event - commentary, anthems and chants all in two languages for one country's crowd! I couldn't resist buying myself a foam finger to boot, definitely *not* a complete waste of $10 . . .

We also had a great time at McGill's Redpath Museum, it also happens to be Canada's oldest! Tours started at 10pm, and it was a case of bring your own 'flashlights' - very much 'Night at the Museum'. The dinosaur skeletons, taxidermy and shrunken heads all made for creepy night time viewing. We were told to look out for the mineral that glowed in the dark . . . very impressive - though the task was made slightly easier given the volunteer in a lab coat stood next to it with a U.V. light! Note - courtesy of my camera's 'low light mode' it doesn't look half as eery as it was, you'll just have to use your imagination!

The one unifying thread of all these? The cold - we've had another bout of snow these last five days or so, and its currently past the stage of 'fresh plough' (I'm starting to learn all the snow terms . . .) so the pavements are slushy and vile. I suppose better than when they are inches thick in compacted ice, though. You can't win! 'Zamboni' is another new word for my dictionary - the slang term for ice rink re-surfacers. Well, Zamboni is in fact the company that make the machines for the NHL; so it works the same way as us calling vacuum cleaners 'hoovers'. I find it very fun (and am probably alone in doing so) that I live somewhere where an ice re-surfacer warrants a colloquialism!

I am pretty certain the above paragraph is one of the most boring things I've written for this blog, and that's probably indicative of quite how book bound I have been for the past fortnight or so . . . and will continue to be for the next few weeks. Once again it is midterm season and I have deadlines and exams coming at me from every which way - joy! Luckily, I have a trip to Washington D.C. booked to mark the end of them all. Unluckily, its an added deadline to work towards . . . I need everything done before I jet off!

I also have a conference paper to write as my research has been accepted to be heard at a conference at the University of Victoria. Its a fab opportunity academically, but also gives me a very good reason to head west and explore the far reaches of Canada during our 'Spring Break'. In fact, its such a good opportunity, Mum is flying out too and we are taking the train to Vancouver together. It takes just over four days from Toronto and we get to stop off at a plethora of fantastic Canadian cities en route. The route itself is meant to be stunning, too, and there is even a glass roofed carriage on board for us to watch the mountains slip by. I'm pretty excited for that, and it'll be lovely to explore Vancouver and then Victoria (home to the university)as well.