Up In Smoke

If you've been keeping tabs on what's happening in Victoria right now then you know that the state is largely on fire. The death toll from the fires has reached 35 and is expected to rise. I'm posting some links to news clips of the damage. When you see the helicopters dropping water on the fire, the scale of it looks like someone is pouring a glass of water onto a burning house.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&vid=a4940727-deea-492a-826f-296ed34fccb0&from=imbot_en-au_general&fg=rss

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&vid=a4940727-deea-492a-826f-296ed34fccb0&from=imbot_en-au_general&fg=rss

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&vid=a4940727-deea-492a-826f-296ed34fccb0&from=imbot_en-au_general&fg=rss

My power went out earlier and Kirsty, who volunteers in the fire department, said that across the state the power lines were burning down. My power was out for about an hour and a half so I figure that they're cutting power in rotating grids again to prevent a state-wide blackout. They had to do that during the heatwave last week.

We've gotten some rain today and the humidity has gone up (thought, yesterday there was virtually no humidity in the air so I suppose going up isn't a big ask). I witnessed a few dust storms yesterday while out with my new housemate picking up some of my new furniture. I talked him out of washing his car yesterday, which he thanked me for today as it was completely spattered with dirt from the wind last night.

Speaking of new housemates and furniture, I'm set to officially move on the 27th and have just about got myself sorted out for new furniture. The room is smaller than my current one so I'm getting furniture to better fit that space. My proposal is still set for Feb 25th and I've got lots of work to do on that still. I was hoping to get more done this weekend, but with the heatwave yesterday and the blackout today I've put study aside.

Finally, I've got all my flights booked for my trip back to Calgary, which is happening in April. I'll be back for a month, which is pretty exciting news. I managed to get ridiculously cheap flights, saving about $1000 in airfare. I'm glad I spent so long researching different options. I'm flying on Qantas from Melbourne to LA, and I was a bit suspect of flying with them, but I've actually been incredibly impressed with their website and service. I just hope my flight wasn't so cheap because of all the outsourced labour! At any rate, I expect to arrive back in Calgary in a couple of months, more or less in one piece. ;)