A Kominar Chronicle: In the beginning… 

To the Readership,

You may have already noticed some big changes around the site lately. I’m hacking away at it day by day but I hope to have my revisions finished before October. I’ve got a lot on my plate and a lot that I want to showcase and this is the platform to do it. For the curious, I’m hoping to be able to provide a lot more posts and comment on interesting things that I encounter. I hope to owe the frequency of these posts to a renewed and steady internet connection when I settled down in Canada.

In the meantime, stay apprised as I have a few more stories in the works, and a trip to Thailand next week. I’m buying a whole business clothes wardrobe!

Thanks for your patience,

- Zach

That’s it! Bond University Juris Doctor academic requirements complete! I finished my sixth and final semester with the best schedule of my life! Class timings for assignments, classes, and tutorials were perfect. For exam season, I only had to sit Canadian Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure, and I wrote them both in one fell swoop yesterday morning.

So, while I haven’t officially graduated yet, all the work is done, and now we play the waiting game! I’ve got a lot on the go for the next few weeks though. There are a number of odd jobs that need to be taken care of and I’m supporting a number of projects around campus. Also, we’re planning a trip to Thailand in the middle of September, so lots to take care of before I head back to Canada.

Stay tuned!

I am in the midst of enjoying my longest birthday ever! Not only because my birthday-wishers cross the globe and span timezones, but also because Nadine and I started celebrating some 2 days ago. It is a long and harrowing tale so follow me…

May 5

We drove into Manly beach and took the ferry into the city. The city ferry is a cheap and excellent way to see Sydney as the waterfront should not be missed. The boat docked in at Circular Quay right next to Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We took a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens and watched the busy city take a break and relax.
It was a big day of public transport, after landing we caught a train and then a hoped on a monorail which took us closer to our final destination. Nadine was very good about keeping the events of the day secret from me but was forced to play her cards early when faced with the prospect of lugging our luggage around the city any longer.

We dropped off our luggage and meandered over to the National Maritime Museum. There were 4 main boats to see, the James Craig, a cargo trading ship; the Endeavour - Captain Cook’s ship; HMAS Vampire - a Navy Destroyer; and a submarine. As we arrived in the early ‘arvo’ (afternoon in Aussie slang) we were on a tight schedule to see everything in time. It was an lesson in patience and smooth talking to handle the talkative volunteers and keep on schedule. Pondering the party possibilities, I’ve come to the realization that I would like to own a boat later in life, preferably a pirate-type boat. The massive guns of the destroyer may be impressive, but I’d take the pirate cannons and soirée with kegs of rum any day.

The fabulous Star City casino was to be our hub for the night. It would provide accommodation, entertainment, and libations a plenty. Come dinner time I was thankful that we were guests of the casino hotel. Privileges included skipping passed the hordes of people lined up for the scrumptious Garden Buffet. After stuffing our gut, it was time to be entertained! We had tickets for Priscillia: Queen of the Desert (The Musical), and I have to say that I was not disappointed. Mhairi led me onto the movie before I came to Australia and I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it. Was I to think that all of Australia were cross-dressing entertainers? No. That’s silly. But some of them are, and when they sing and dance with an orchestra, ridiculous costumes, and in the Lyric theatre, they do not fail to entertain. Nadine and I indulged in specialty themed cocktails during intermission.

The rest of the night was filled with liquor and gambling. Happy Birthday!

May 6

We came back to Nadine’s parent’s house on this day. Starting with some yard work I did some hard labour cleaning the yard, next came lumberjacking chainsawing firewood for the winter, then came the horse shit. Caught off guard by that remark? You shouldn’t be, it’s the truth! At various points of the afternoon I was either smelling of, standing near, stepping in, or launching over a fence horse poo. But what does this day have to do with celebrating my birthday? Well, the stench, the aches, the scrapes, and the bruises were nature’s way of telling me that I’m getting old and smelly. Thankfully, the Austin family had a much nicer gift in mind to help celebrate my birthday early. True to Austin/Aussie family tradition we had a birthday BBQ complete with double-cake. Black Forest and Banana Cake, yum. Happy Birthday!

May 7

Finally, it’s my true birthday! So I celebrated in style by debugging excel worksheets and general help-out-ery out at the Austin family business. Nadine bought me a shiny new 2gb USB key to soothe my ‘nerdish tendancies’ and my desperate need for another usb key. After perusing my facebook well wishes, we dined on delicious Indian curries and breads and posed for a final, classic birthday picture. Happy Birthday!

24 Birthday Slideshow

Enjoy a photo-slideshow of some pictures of my celebrations!

The photo you see is my workplace at home, currently our dining room. It is here that I do most of my work and make my decisions. I’ve always had an interest in visualizing where different people are sitting when I’m talking to them. So I’ll satisfy the urge for someone else if mine cannot be quenched by seeing you.It is in this chair that I ponder my next move and start to plan a career. I still have a semester and a half left of school, but the time is now to start applying to graduate positions. For the time being, I’ve applied to some firms in Queensland, and considering others around Australia and Southeast Asia.

While the logistics still need to be logic’d, I guess this is a indication that the next few years of my life may be spent away from Canada. I’ll keep you apprised as my opportunities present themselves, and who knows I could end up anywhere that’s lucrative enough. These student debts are not paying themselves!

Hoping to see a glimpse into my future, I went with Nadine into Brisbane on Friday afternoon. We drove into the CBD and visited some of the courts in the area.

Glimpse indeed, I shadowed a property settlement conference and one of the parties was over an hour late! I’ve heard some of the horror stories of property conveyancers but I felt their frustration today. Had the party been any more late there would have been serious ramifications for some parties involved.

We also saw these mechanical Kangaroos scattered throughout the city.