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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Sydney residents and tourists line Bondi Beach on November 22, 2009 near Sydney, Australia. Temperatures in Sydney reached 40 degrees Celcius (104 Fahrenheit), prompting thousands to flock to Bondi and surrounding beaches, about 1,000 firefighters were battling about 100 blazes across New South Wales state. Hundreds of homes in eastern Australia were under threat from massive wildfires as soaring temperatures and windy conditions fanned the out-of-control flames, officials said. (Photo by Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images) Original Post at: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/daily/photos/galleries/view/daily/20091122/browse/730086

thats right. 40 degrees celcius. and i was at work. working in a stuffy juicy bar in which the only fan operating only helps in attempting to keep the customers slightly cool with a humid breeze as they stand in front of our counter to order. i like to think of this as the "buffer zone." typical to our sunday rush, us workers bustled around yelling out orders, making juice and coffee as our life depended on it and in brief moments of relief we wiped the sticky sweat from our brows after attempting to see how many order dockets we could stick to each others arms. the heat was intense. it was humid. it was 40 degrees - and even hotter in the kitchen where there is no relief from the added warmth of the stoves.

i call the fanned area the "buffer zone" as at one point during my shift my co-worker commented that it was really hazy outside and smelling of smoke (due to the increasing amount of fires from the heat and lightning storms). i had to go smell it for myself. out of curiousity. for something to do. to move. to get from behind that counter i was standing at for the past 6 hours. so i did.

the moment i stepped from behind our enclosed juice-making area there was immediate relief from the heat. the small fan working so hard from above managed to bring the slightest breeze down below, cooling the area by a few degrees. the buffer zone. as quickly as i was there - in there - in the midst of the "cool" area - it was gone. i was at the entrance of our shop and was met with a wall of humid heat. outside the air was thick with a smokey smell. the sky hazy in its brownish-grey color. i gazed out over bronte beach where all the people were swimming in the waves and for a flickering moment i contemplated running over to join them. then i turned back inside, crossed the buffer zone and went back to work.

it's not even summer. yet. the official start of summer is december 1.

other than a blast of heat, life has been going alright here down under. i tripped on a coble stone one day, scraping a couple chunks of skin off my big toe - my runs were postponed untill it healed. i got my bank card (FINALLY) in the mail. only took almost 7 weeks of waiting. and i still dont have access to my account. im crossing my fingers that will happen this week. we'll see. my boss is on holidays causing the few of us who work at nino's to put in extra hours to make sure everything is covered. life has a relatively normal feel to it - a little less color now that sculptures of the sea is done, but now everyone is preparing for christmas.

i find it wierd to think that normally during this time of year i am knee deep in snow, scrapping off my car so that i can get to work in the morning. the malls here are decorated for christmas and yet there is no mention of snow anywhere. the display used for kids to go take pictures of santa is filled with sparkles and sequins, but no fake snow in sight. it doesn't exist in the thoughts of those who live here - including me.

the other day i spotted my friend, kelly's, pictures of her going for a hike in the rockies and i was really confused as to why she was all done up in her winter gear trudging through snow. i immediately thought that these must be really old pictures as it didn't make sense to me. it took a while to realize that the pictures were, in fact, quite recent as it is november and that it is more abnormal as a canadian to be wishing to wear a bathing suit to work as it is too hot to do otherwise. and yet here i am. can't say i'm really dreaming of a white christmas.... yet.