Out with the old and in with the new

The city of Melbourne has a new logo. This is the old one which was designed in the 90s. According to our Lord Mayor, it is 'daggy'.

This is the new logo, all $240,000 worth (that's how much it cost to carry out preliminary research on the new brand and the cost of the actual design).

What do you think?

State of design

Melbourne is abuzz with all-things design at the moment as part of the 2009 'State of Design' Festival. Nathan and I were hoping to go on some of the open house tours of historic buildings around the city on Sunday but the queues were unbelievable. Instead, we went to a design market in a derelict building near Docklands, followed by a self-guided tour of some interesting (and easily overlooked) graphical and architectural details in some of the laneways and building facades in the CBD (based on info contained in the festival Guide).

Detective work

I found a VCE visual art diary on the train yesterday belonging to a year 11 student. Unfortunately, apart from her name (which was quite a common one) and her artistic talent, I knew nothing else about the owner. I decided to take the visual diary to the office to do some detective work to see if I could return it to the rightful owner.

I tried facebook first. There were 13 people with the same name. Two were from Melbourne. Unfortunately they were both older ladies and couldn't possibly be the right person. An attempt to search for the owner on myspace was equally disappointing.

I then turned to google. Two school girls matched the name and city. I called the school of the first girl. Yes there was a girl by that name at the school but she was not in year 11. I then tried the school of the next girl, someone who had two years ago won some accolaide for dancing. Bingo! It was her! Am dropping the diary off to lost property tonight and she is going to pick it up tomorrow.

Sex scandal

The Canberra Times on the weekend published yet another article about my former school, this time with accusations that it might have harboured a paedophile ring. I've written before about one of the teachers at the school being convicted for indecent assault but looks like the predatory activities may have been much broader in reach. I was, of course, completely oblivious to it all but it does make me think back on incidents which, although innocent at the time, might have had more sinister undertones (e.g. on year 6 camp when we had to strip down and have quick showers in a makeshift facility in the middle of the bush with the brothers watching us the whole time.)

Sunday Shopping

Guy to friend: This is Target. It's like Myers but for delinquents.

Pho, bimbo and the iraqi

Went to Footscray yesterday morning with Nate to meet a couple of friends. Just three gays and a lesbian out for brunch. One of the friends (here after referred to as 'goldfish guy) arrived at the meeting place carrying a bag of goldfish which we named once we got to the restaurant...Trinny, Suzanna, Steve and Michael Jackson (the one with the white face).

Anyhoo...brunch in Footscray was, of course, pho (vietnamese noodle soup). Nate was most disappointed. Only a week earlier, he had vowed never to eat vietnamese food again (he is definitely not a fan). Fortunately, it was out of my hands because the friends had decided the venue well in advance. So...I ordered a large bowl of special beef combination pho (which, in hindsight, was a tad ambitious), while Nate settled for spring rolls with vermicelli.

After some yummy fresh-out-of-the-oven custard tarts from a nearby bakery and a convoluted trip in search of coffee (we ended up in a huge mall), we got caught up in footy traffic heading back into the city. We abandoned Nathan somewhere on Swan street (he had to go to work) and decided to take a few back roads to get away from all the cars. We made a detour to the goldfish guy's house so he could drop off one of his fish (the other three were apparently destined for a newly constructed pond) before making our way to Brunswick street to meet a friend of the lesbian at Bimbo.

Bimbo...the bar with the giant cupie doll perched on the facade of the building. I know the bar is a bit of an institution, but oh what a dump. It smelt like BO and the interior reminded me of that psychopath's house in Silence of the Lambs (the only thing missing were the moths). The company was most interesting though. The lesbian friend's friend is an Iraqi Assyrian orthodox christian. He is a very handsome guy with a very international look (he could easily pass himself off as south american, continental european, indian or even aboriginal). Most fascinating of all (to me, at least)...he has a pet scorpion.

After drinkies, we dropped goldfish guy at the train station (with his three remaining goldfish) and, somehow, the rest of us (lesbian, iraqi and me) ended up back in Footscray for dinner before coming back to my apt for tea. Definitely NOT a conventional Saturday for me.

Fancy fast food

I think this is a great idea.

Christmas in July

Everybody seems to be doing it now...Christmas in July. I decided to hop on the bandwagon and bought a turkey yesterday. It was a last minute decision when I was sitting on the train on the way back into the city after work ("Hmmm...I think I will roast a turkey for dinner"). This was at 7pm. So...instead of heading straight home, I took a detour to the local Safeway (where I last saw whole turkeys) and bought one on special (today would have been it's use by date). Ok. Back home, I realised that the turkey was going to take two hours to cook. Normally I am a bit of risk taker when it comes to the consumption of poultry but the imminent use-by date on the packaging suggested I should actually take heed of the cooking instructions and cook the hell out of the beast (just in case). I am a terribly impatient cook so while I was waiting for the oven to do its thing, I ended up eating all the side dishes (i.e. vegetables). Eventually, at 9.30pm, I sliced myself a generous portion (it was only a baby turkey) and celebrated Christmas in July while Nate was still at work.

The beautifully mundane

I had such an extraordinarily ordinary weekend. There were no visitors to chaperone, no work to catch up on and nothing that required urgent attention. I cancelled all my social engagements (on the grounds tha I was starting to get a sore throat). I spent Saturday shopping for groceries and contemplating the week's menu. I went for a stroll down Chapel Street, then headed off to Brunswick street to get some flowers for home. I ended up buying kale (a purple ornamental cabbage). Got home, plonked it into the vase and relaxed.

On Sunday, I went to the NGV International on a whim and took home a book on Oceanic art. I decided to have fish for lunch so I hopped onto a city circle tram in the late morning, made my way up to the fishmonger, bought myself a swordfish steak, took the tram down to Elizabeth street just in time to intercept the same city circle tram on Flinders street, which I caught back to the apartment. After lunch, I started making dinner (as you do)...a nice beef vindaloo using beef ribs that required gentle, slow cooking. I cleaned the house, drank chai all afternoon in my pjs and settled onto the couch to read my new book. I feel completely refreshed.

Why I love my job

I had been feeling a bit disillusioned a few months ago about the politics of work in terms of what some of my colleagues will do to advance their careers (and what I hope I can successfully avoid). Last night, I got an unexpected affirmation that vindicated my decisions to concentrate on doing my job to the best of my abilities and leaving the smooching, nest-lining and brown-nosing to others.

The affirmation occcurred at the most unlikely of places...The Greyhound hotel. Nate and I decided to take one of my research collaborators there last night after finding out that he, too, is gay. Anyhoo...we got there early and there was (as expected) a tribute to Michael Jackson being played out on the big screens and monitors in the form of back to back video clips before the start of the drag shows. After watching 'thriller' (which, by the way, is a bad choice considering that Jackson plays a dancing corpse in the clip), I walk up to the bar and order my drinks from a cute bar tender with unusual lip piercings. He gave me my drinks and when I took out my money to pay, he signalled for me to put the cash away. He turned to me and said..."You gave the bast lectures. These are on me."

The visual diary that never was

Was inspired by Evolkween's visual diary and wanted to compile one of my own. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the office over the weekend. So here is the story of my weekend told using other people's pictures.

Saturday
8am: Relaxing with chinese tea freshly made using my bodum teapot.

11am: Lunch at the Grand BBQ in the Target Centre in the city

12pm: Wandering around Gertrude and Smiths Streets with Nathan, checking out galleries, clothes shops and cafes.

2pm: Carrying this back on tram.

6pm: home-made dinner of garlic prawns and rice


Sunday
10am: Brekky - cheese plate

11am: Sifting through other people's junk at the Camberwell flea markets

2pm: Scoffing down the best sticky date pudding I've ever eaten (at Globe cafe on Chapel Street)

4pm: Checking out the make-shift Florence Broadhurst shop at Docklands

6pm: Eating lamb stew with mashed potato

Overheard on the train

Took off from work early yesterday with a colleague who was also heading back into the city. We were sitting in the carriage minding our own business when we hear an altercation taking place. One of the offenders left at the next stop leaving the two other guys behind. One of them turns to the other and says, "Did you hear what he said? He said to me...with a body like yours, I'm surprised you didn't get fucked in prison". I bit my lower lip trying not to laugh.

Sho sho

The decor was amazing and rather theatrica,l with packets of noodles and baskets of tea leaves beautifully arranged around the open kitchen. Even the roast duck and char siu hanging on the racks seemed to have been arranged like an art installation, the whole effect enhanced by strategic lighting against a backdrop of red tiles that look like the scales of a dragon. Without a doubt, this has to be one of the most beautiful chinese restaurants I have ever seen.

The food, on the other hand, was reasonable but nothing to really rant and rave about. Nathan loved his Char Kway Teow with prawns and chinese sausage butit's almost double the price of what you'd expect to pay at a more modest-looking restaurant. I really wanted to order a noodle dish but was rather surprised by their modest offerings, especially considering how much the restaurant had been spruking the noodle-making powers of the head chef. Most of the noodles I saw on the menu were of the commercial - rather than the freshly hand-made - variety (e.g. rice vermicelli, rice noodles). I settled for an Assam snapper curry instead. This was served with tomato, ochra and mint. It was suppose to have tamarind in it but I couldn't really taste the pungent sourness. I must go back, however, to try their impressive selection of chinese teas.

Sho Noodle Bar

Nathan and I were suppose to go out for dinner last night. Unfortunately, I forgot and had dinner prepared by the time Nathan came home so we decided to reschedule for tonight. The plan is to go to the Sho Noodle Bar which is located within the main gaming area of Crown Casino. Not really a fan of the casino but I am easily swayed by the promise of food.

Facebook

I seem to be rather recalcitrant when it comes to facebook. Yes, I have signed up for facebook but my motives are not so much about social networking but, rather, to keep in touch with family. And yet, every few months, I get friend requests from people (usually friends) who are facebook junkies. It always takes me a couple of months before I get motivated enough to log on and answer their friend requests. Several friends have now started to organize social activities via facebook. I am on there so infrequently that I find myself either missing anouncements about the important get-togethers or getting in trouble for not checking or replying to my messages. It's all terribly frustrating. I find that I am being dragged into this sweeping phenomenon against my will.

But today I had my first insight into just how nice facebook ca actually make someone feel. Sitting in my email inbox was a message from a guy I had not seen for over twenty years! We were in the fifth grade together. He had seen me on TV a year ago and wondered if it was the same person that he had gone to school with. I've thought about the guy over the years and it was nice to see that he has been doing well (and, incidentally, has grown up to be a total hunk too). The message he sent was extremely nice, recounting the memory of someone who he remembered as being kind. What a lovely message. Totally made my day.

My first meme...

...was inspired by Fletcher Beaver.

1. When was the last time you cried?
When I saw my grandmother in hospital after she had her stroke. She died two weeks later.

2. Have you ever faked sick?
Yes...to get out of swimming carnival when I was a kid.

3. What was the last lie you told?
I can't remember but it was probably a white lie ;-)

4. Have you ever cried during a movie?
Yes. I cried during Life is Beautiful, an italian film about the holocaust.

5. Who was the last person you couldn't take your eyes off of?
My partner of course!

6. Have you ever danced in the rain?
Nope. I've stood outside in the rain but never danced around.

7. Have you ever been drunk?
It depends who you ask. I say 'no' but my colleagues beg to differ. I'm not a drinker but made an exception during my PhD party. I drank a lot but I wasn't the one who ended up spewing up my guts in the wee hours of the morning.

8. Have you ever tried drugs?
No. Nothing elicit. Eaten plenty of endangered species but never tried drugs.

9. Do you smoke?
No. I can't stand cigarettes.

10. What’s the farthest you've ever gone on a dare?
I'm a bit of a chicken so I generally try not get myself in situations where I would have to do anything too daring.

11. What is your full name?
Sorry, it'll have to be Adaptive radiation....I'd prefer not to have my students stumble upon my blog and constrain my ability to use this forum. If you really want to know, drop me an email and I might devulge my first name.

12. What is your blood-type?
B+

13. Have you ever been in a car accident?
Yes but nothing serious. A car crashed into the bus I was on a few weeks ago. The driver looked pretty pissed but then he saw our bus driver...a big burly Moari bloke with imposing tattoos.

14. How old were you when you had your first kiss?
Thirty! Let's put this in perspective though. I only came out when I was 28.

15. Who was your first kiss?
His name was Mick.

16. Have you ever had an online relationship?
No. Well, kind of. Nate and I actually met online but we dated and got to know one another the old fashion way. The first date lasted 3 days.

17. Have you ever had phone sex?
No. I'm more of a visual person.

18. Have you ever been rejected by a crush?
No. I generally don't reveal my feelings to the people with whom I have crushes.

19. What is your favourite sport to play?
I like walking but not sure if that counts. I played volley ball (badly) at uni.

20. Have you ever made a prank phone call?
When I was a kid (this would have been way back when I was less than six years old). I dialled some random number and told the woman who answered not to bother cooking dinner because I had dinner plans already.

21. What’s your favourite childhood memory?
Playing with lanterns during chinese new year in Hong Kong. The good part of the memory didn't last long because the lantern went up in flames and I bawled my eyes out.

22. Is there anything that you have done that you regret?
Yes. I was quite a horrible brother to my two younger sisters and teased them incessantly.

23. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I wanted to be a pilot when I was a kid. I've always loved animals (and fish in particular) so I'm pretty much living my dream job working as a scientist.

24. What is your political persuasion?
I have left-leaning tendencies.

25. Have you ever had cybersex?
I'm picturing avatars and high tech sensory equipment so I will say 'no'.

26. Do you believe in god?
This is not an easy one for me to answer. I used to believe in God. I went to a catholic boys school and attended church every sunday. I would pray at night before I went to bed and wished for the world to be a better place. And then I grew up. I still follow some residual traditions though, like not eating meat on Good Friday. Heaven knows why ;-)

27. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Absolutely. Though it has never happened to me.

28. Do you believe in karma?
Yes.

29. Who was your first crush?
My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Morwich (he had that spiky mullet look going on!).

30. Who do you have a crush on? No one.

31. How would you describe yourself? A good person.

32. What are you afraid of? Bad things happening to good people.

33. Are you religious? No. Didn't we have this question already?

34. What does your screen name mean? I assume this question relates to the name of my blog. Adaptive radiation has nothing to do with the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. If you want to know what it means, do a google search.

35. Which person do you trust the most? Can't split it...Nathan and my family.

36. Who was your first boyfriend/girlfriend? Knowing now what I know (and keeping in mind that I only came out when I was 28), I guess I would say that Nathan is my first boyfriend.

37. What is the best compliment you have ever received?
You are a person of high integrity.

38. What is the meanest thing anyone has said about you?
My PE teacher in high school told me that I had a big head. I believe he meant it literally. I'm not sure I agree. My head is proportionate to my height (I'm 196 cm tall).

39. What is the longest crush/relationship you have had?
That would be Nathan. Almost two and a half years now!

40. What is your greatest strength?
Resiliance.

41. What is your greatest weakness?
Stubborness.

42. What is your perfect pizza? Anything with artichokes, goats cheese and/or prosciutto.

43. What is your first thought when waking up in the morning? Got to get out of bed.

44. What is your last thought before you go to bed?
What will I cook for dinner tomorrow.

45. What university do you want to go to?
Hmmm....I'm pretty content with where I'm at now.

46. Do you get along with your family? Yes. We are very close. I talk to mum every night!

47. Do you play any instruments?
No. I am musically challenged.

48. What kind of music do you like?
Bad 90's dance music (I guess 'bad' is redundant when it comes to 90's dance music).

49. Do you think you’re attractive? I never used to but Nathan makes me feel attractive.

50. Would you ever get a tattoo? I like tattoos but I think I'm too fickle to be able to live with the permanence of any designs I might pick.

51. How many piercings do you have? None.

52. Who makes you laugh?
My friends.

53. Who would you want to be tied to for 24hours?
Nobody.

54. Have you ever seen a dead body?
Yes. When my uncle died of a heart attack, I had to take my family to the morgue to look at the body.

55. Do you have a celebrity crush?
Clive Owen.

56. What is one thing scientists should invent?
Time machine.

57. Have you ever broken a bone?
No

58. What happens after you die?
The world continues to spin.

59. Do you watch or read the news?
Yes. I'm a news freak.

60. What stereotype would you label yourself as being?
I don't think I mold to any stereotype. People can't usually tell I'm gay and I hate discussing science outside of work.

61. Would your friends agree with that stereotypic label?
Yes...in the sense that I don't fit stereotypes.

62. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I wouldn't.

63. If you could go back in time to one point in your life, where would you go?
I'd probably go back to my childhood. Things were less complicated then. Nevertheless, I think I am a much better person now than I've ever been in the past so I am quite content with the present me.

64. If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change?
Nothing really. It's all a part of who I am (it's all good as far as I'm concerned).

65. Have you ever gone skinny dipping?
No. The closest I've come is standing on the jetty testing the water with my toes (it was way too cold). I have been in a hot tub with 12 naked women, an experience that was totally wasted on me.

66. Have you ever played strip poker?
No. Can't play poker.

67. Would you ever lie to someone to make them feel good about themselves?
It would depend on circumstances but, in principle, 'Yes'.

68. What do you want your friends to think about you?
To think and to know are very different things. I would hope my friends KNOW who I am.

69. What’s the biggest argument you've ever gotten into?
I don't think I've ever been in a truly serious argument.

70. Have you ever bitten someone?
Yes...a family friend when I was young. I got in trouble.

71. When’s your birthday?
27 April.

72. Have you ever stolen anything?
Yes...cuttings from the Botanic Gardens.

73. Do you make wishes on shooting stars?
No. I've never seen a shooting star.

74. What’s the most you've ever eaten in one sitting?
I once ate so much meat at an all-you-can-eat korean bbq that I actually turned vegetarian for a whole week!

75. If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?
I don't think I would change any day for myself.

76. Do you remember your dreams?
I used to dream a lot about being chased by things (animals, dinosaurs). More recently, I seem to have lots of flying dreams.

77. Have you ever been in love?
Yes. Right now.

78. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Definitely morning. I'm one of those people that wakes up smiling. Nate hates it.

79. Do you have any phobias?
Spiders. I can't stand them. This is a problem given that I am a biologist. I remember doing fieldwork in a forest in south-eastern Queensland. There were orb weaver webs everywhere. And everytime I'd walk into a web, I'd scream like a crazy woman and wave my arms about like a lunatic. I think virtual spiders are even worse (i.e. when you think there is still a spider somewhere on your body AFTER you've walked into a web).

80. What’s the meanest thing you've ever done to someone?
Accidentally breaking the bedroom door and blaming it on one of my sisters.

81. Have you ever been to the hospital (other than birth)?
Yes, to get an angiogram. Not pleasant. Everything checked out ok though.

82. How many screen names do you have?
Just the one.

83. Do any medical problems run in your family?
Heart disease.

84. Has anyone ever been disowned from your family?
No.

85. Have you ever had a nightmare?
Yes. Being chased by scary things or missing my exams.

86. Do you say meaner things to your friends or your enemies?
I don't have any enemies that I'm aware of. Not even a nemesis. I try to be diplomatic to my friends but I'm not afraid of stripping back and making harsh statements if I think the person needs to hear it.

87. Would you ever participate in a threesome?
No. See...not stereotyped.

88. Would you ever pay for a prostitute?
No.

89. Have you ever mooned or flashed someone?
Never

90. Have you ever cheated on your bf/gf?
No.

91. Have you ever laughed so hard you peed in your pants?
No, but a few times I've laughed so hard that I've farted (but thankfully never sharted).

92. Have you ever written a love letter?
No. Just cards.

93. Have you ever attempted suicide?
No.

94. Do you prefer boxers or briefs?
Boxer briefs.

95. Have you ever been in a fistfight?
Nope...the best I could manage was repeated bitch slapping of a kid at school who squirted orange juice on my sock for no apparent reason.

96. Do you have any hidden talents?
I can debone a chicken wing in 16 secs with my tongue. True.

97. What is one thing you want me to know about you?
I love (to eat) chicken but never order it at restaurants.

98. What is one question you wouldn't want me to ask?
Hmmm...having got this far, it's hard to think of any.

99. What do you think of this meme?
A bit too long. My neck hurts.

Depressing Friday

I have a routine when I get to work: Switch on my laptop, feed the fish, check out my favourite bloggers, and then read the news websites. Was greeted this morning with a string of depressing 'doom and gloom' headlines on theage.com.au, as follows:

1. Swine flu 'unstoppable'
2. Taser death: man dies in handcuffs (breaking news)
3. Dragged from fire, but woman dies

But the most depressing one of all:

Connex may run Melbourne trams, too

Noooooooooooooo...........

Gay beats and urban planning

I was talking to a colleague yesterday who had just returned from a trip up to Queensland. The guy's brother is an urban planner and is about to embark on some research into park use. Evidently, as part of the research, he will also be investigating the use of parks as beats. It will be intersting to compare areas that are used as beats versus areas that are not, how they differ physically, and their popularity with other users within the community (families etc). I suspect there would be a strong historical element to the park use too.

The odd one out

Was heading into work later than usual this morning because I had to wait around for the electrician to fix the bathroom light switch (which was making disconcerting zapping noises). When the train got to Flinders Street I noticed a young man in the next carriage wearing a surgical face mask. I surmised that he must be wearing the mask to avoid catching swine flu. This was the first time I had seen anyone wearing a face mask outside of a hospital or a dental clinic and he looked a bit strange doing so. I guess he must have felt quite self conscious about it. A few stops later, the young man had taken off the mask.

The boil

Painful. Angry. Oozy. Nathan won't got near it. No, this post has nothing to do with the finale of Britain's Got Talent. I'm talking about a blocked sweat gland in my groin. Not pleasant.

Sydney highlights

Just got back from three days in Sydney hanging out with my postdoc, T, before his trip back to Europe. I had a fantastic time. We ended up staying at a really nice hotel near Oxford Street and did so much walking that I'm now sporting a whopper of a blister on the ball of my right foot (but it was totally worth it). Highlights include...

1. sipping soy chai lattes in the upstairs cafe in the Berkelouw bookshop on Oxford Street;
2. watching an ibis terrorize a foreign tourist at Darling Harbour;
3. catching the ferry to Double Bay;
4. eating freshly shucked oysters at the Sydney fish markets;

Strike

There was a strike on today at Uni. Even though I'm not a member of the union, I figure I should work from 'home' to avoid having to cross picket lines. So...after brekky on Swan Street with Nathan, I headed over to the National Gallery of Victoria, walked through the front entrance and headed straight for my favourite security guard standing at the bottom of the stairs. I gave her a hug, then went for a bit of a wander around the exhibits before making my way up the escalators to the coffee shop. I bought myself a nice cup of english breakfast tea then settled into a corner where I spent the next 5 hours marking essays (which generally involved correcting bad english and poor referencing).

A tropical Christmas

I have a friend who is fortunate enough to be living and working on Christmas Island. He is a brilliant photographer and has been sending us weekly shots of amazing wildlife. His latest set of photographic offerings is making me extremely jealous. I think I need to plan a trip out there sometime soon (preferably during the Melbourne winter).

What to bring to Europe?

My postdoc wanted some ideas on what he should buy to bring back to Europe for his friends. I took him to woolworths and told him to get these...

Sydney visit and coming out all over again

I need to use up some of my annual leave and have decided to go up to Sydney for a three day visit next Monday with my postdoc who is due to fly back to Europe from Sydney. The trip (as always) will be planned around culinary priorities (e.g. a visit to the fish market, a meal or two in Chinatown).

I've also arranged to catch up for dinner with a friend whom I haven't seen for several years. In fact, I haven't seen him since I first came out almost 5 years ago. I haven't had the chance to tell him (and figure that it should be a face-to-face conversation). I'm not sure how much easier it will be to have to have THAT conversation all over again.

Eurovision II

Perhaps I will go to Oslo instead...

Eurovision

If Finland wins, I'm going to Helsinki next year.

The best meal EVER...

Went out last night with some friends to celebrate a 40th birthday at Shoya, a japanese restaurant located in Market Lane in the city. Wow! Talk about amazing. We opted for the degustation menu and, over the next three hours, sampled some amazing culinary creations creations. These included a grilled miso marinated eel canape topped with crab meat and black truffle, grilled perch topped with (among other things) foie gras and roe, giant crab leg tempura (the crabs were flown in from Hokaido), melt-in-your-mouth wagyu fillet steak, and the freshest sushi presented in a bowl made out of ice. It was by far the most special dining experience I've ever had (and am already planning and saving up for a return visit).

An eventful weekend...

(1) Sister got engaged
(2) Went to the Brack retrospective
(3) Dug up friend's front yard

Lost in translation

One of my sisters and her boyfriend just got back from a month-long holiday in Asia. They bought me this book from the airport:



I was reading the book on the train this morning but had to put it down because it was making me laugh so much.

Humour aside, the author of the book raises some very interesting cultural and linguistics issues, both in the preface of the book itself and also on his popular blog.

Today I turn...

Checking the bathroom cupboard

My dad and one of my sisters are in town this weekend. Nathan volunteered to stay at his mum's place over the next couple of nights to give us more room around the apartment.

I spent the day taking dad and sis around Melbourne and made good use of our sunday saver tickets, first with a visit to the Queen Vic markets, then for pho at Springvale before making our way to Box Hill and then back to the city, dinner and an hour at Crown (dad's idea).

Nate rang in the early evening from his mum's place and asked me to check the bathroom cupboard when I got back home for shampoo. I reminded him that he had just bought two bottles but he insisted that I check again. I thought it a rather odd request but agreed to do so when I got home.

Anyhow, after dinner, I returned back to the apartment and went upstairs to check the cupboard. There were 4 bottles in the cupboard (not two). In addition, I found a bag with one of these...


...a couple of tickets to this...


...and a gift voucher to spend here...

A note to self

I'm lucky enough to be working in my dream job. Yet, in the last few weeks, I've become a little disillusioned about what it takes to succeed in academia. Like any other profession, it helps to be strategic, to network, and to schmooze with the right people. A friend/colleague of mine is great at playing the game. I think he will go far. By contrast, I am not at all interested in getting caught up in the political wrangles. I want to be able to do my job and do it well, and I want to be able to maintain a healthy work/life balance. I want to develop and maintain genuine relationships with colleagues that are based on mutual respect. I dont ever want to make my way to the top by clambering on others. At the end of the day, I hope I can look back with my integrity intact. I can't imagine anyone aspiring to be an arsehole but boy, am I starting to see a lot of them about.

Desert photos

I'm back...

...and a little more tanned than usual after a week driving around in the desert. Photos shortly.

Miscellaneous ramblings

1. Went to work today to pack the 4WD for the trip out to the desert. I haven't really had much of a chance to think about the fielwork I'll be doing once I get out to the middle of nowhere but I'm finally starting to get excited. It'll be a nice break from the regular work routine and it's nice that I'm going with work colleagues that I get along well with. I reckon I'm going to have a very productive time.

2. I have worn a hole through the crotch of my newish g-star jeans. Bloody hell. This time, the jeans lasted less than 6 months. At $250 a pop, I'm kinda pissed. True...I have been wearing these jeans almost every single day since I bought them. I blame the wallet in the back right pocket for somehow causing excessive wear and tear to the inner right leg of the jeans by causing undue drag (rather than sucumb to the possibility that it may be caused by excessive fat of the inner thigh).

3. Roasting a rack of pork tonight...mmmm. No doubt this will only contribute to my jeansd woes but I reckon I'll be losing weight out in the desert. I always lose weight on field trips....it's great to be a roving biologist.

Two year anniversary

Nate and I celebrated our two year anniversary yesterday. Yep...it's been two years since we went on our first date (which ended up lasting almost three days). We had a fairly low key celebration last night (we were both exhausted)...a simple home-cooked pasta dinner, a bit of TV and then off to bed (to sleep). I cannot think of a better person with whom to share my life...he is an eternal optimist, always thinks good things about other people, is constantly happy, makes me laugh incessantly, and lays out my PJs on the bed for me when I come home from work. Now if only I can get him to eat his vegetables and he'd just be about perfect.

My little arid adventure

Just a little over a week to go before I head off on a field trip to Central Australia for work. The plan is to take one of the work vehicles and head to South Australia with some colleagues. I just hope the weather is good so I don't get stranded out in the desert. I guess it's hard to lose yourself nowadays...We'll be bringing along a satellite phone and an epirb in case we run into difficulty.

another stinker on the train

I knew there could be a problem even before I got on the train. The guy with the over-sized suitcase had very strong BO that was perceptible even when we were standing outside on the railway platform. You can imagine the strength of the stench within the confines of a train carriage. Unfortunately for me, he sat nearby. Another man got up and moved. I tried to ignore the odour but decided to switch carriages before we reached the next station.

A day at the beach

Nate and I met up with some friends today at the beach. We had scheduled to meet them in the morning. This was a mistake given our late night out the previous evening. We had to take a detour when the friend we were meeting left his wallet at work. We ended up meeting him near his place so that I could give him some money to get the train out to Mentone.

By the time we reached Mentone, Nate and I were like walking zombies. A greazy breakfast at the 'Charisma cafe' near the train station provided a temporary respite before we made our way by footfrom the train station, along Beach Road, and then (finally) to flat rock point. It took a while to hook up with our other friends. They were lying on some other beach a few kilometers up from where we were but it took us a good 10 minutes to realise that we were not at the same location.

Me: Where near the surf club now. Where are you guys?
Andreas: We are near the surf club.
Me: But I can't see you guys. Wait. What colour is your surf club?
Andreas: Red and blue.
Me: Shit. Ours is blue and yellow.

Greyhound

Went to The Greyhound Hotel last night. It was my first time. I'd been past many times before. Nate was hit by a car on the intersection when he was 14 (which he keeps reminding me). As for the venue, I'd heard lots of negative comments about the place but I had a really good time. The drag shows, in particular, were a hoot.

The city is a shambles

Trams are delayed. People everywhere. And that God-awful sound of racing cars buzzing in the distance.

The not so generous eel meal

Last night I went out for Japanese food with a friend from work. As I perused the dinner menu, I saw one of my favourite dishes...unagi (grilled eel). I chose the version described as "a generous portion of eel on rice" which was substantially more than the regular 'eel on rice'. When the dish arrived, I was very disappointed. I think the chef must have a very warped understanding of what 'generous' means because, although tasty, generous it most definitely wasn't. I ended up ordering a salmon and advocado salad on the side.

Nevertheless, inspired by unagi, my friend and I decided to buy some already-grilled-frozen-eel from an asian grocery store near the restaurant. We got so far as the counter when we realized our so-called japanese unagi was made in China. We tossed it back in the freezer and left.

It was all worthwhile...

I stepped in to deliver four lectures this semester in a course that I have never taught before. I was quite daunted by the prospects because I had very little time to prepare the lecture material (our head of department made a last minute request for someone to step in because the department had stalled in the interview process for new academics who were suppose to teach in that course). Today I delivered the first of the lectures. It ended with spontaneous applause from the students. I guess it went well.

Korean

Went out for korean food last night. We decided to be adventurous and ordered an anglerfish (monkfish) stew. This is what the fish looks like:

This is what it looks like after it has been transformed into the stew:


The stew was slimy, gelatinous and most definitely an acquired taste.

Car park dilemma

I own a car space in the apartment where I live. In the last couple of weeks, an inconsiderate pleb has been repeatedly parking his/her car in my spot. At first, I thought it was legitimate mistake and left a polite note asking the owner to remove their vehicle. A few days later, they did it again. Once more, I left them a polite note (discretely replacing mine with the more terse one that Nathan had earlier left on their windshield). Late last week I discovered the same car parked in my space for the third time. This made me angry (very, very angry). Hypothetically speaking, if one should find themselves in such a predicament, is it excusable to do one (or more) of the following?

(A) scratch the car up (just a little)
(B) let out some air from the back tyres
(C) stick a potato in the exhaust pipe
(D) pour fish sauce in the air intake

How I almost missed my flight

I'm in Canberra this weekend visiting family but I almost didn't make it to the airport in time to catch my flight yesterday afternoon. I completely mis-timed how long it would take to get back from work, pack my bag, and go to Southern Cross to catch the bus to the airport. In the end, I decided to head straight to the airport from work. Looks like I may have to wear the same shirt for the next two days. Fortunately dad has a couple of new, clean underwear I can borrow!

The great train debacle

There were train issues heading home from work yesterday. Due to an 'incident' at the previous station, city bound trains were cancelled. In hindsight, I would have been better off waiting at the station until services resumed. Instead, I decided to take the bus to a different station and to try and intercept a train from there. Well...what an adventure. I ended up taking four buses and three trams to get back to the city. The travel time? 2.5 hours.

The scrawny woman with the satanic scowl

Maybe it's public transport angst that I am projecting but I've taken a real disliking to a fellow commuter. Of course, I know absolutely nothing about this woman and am judging her solely on her physical appearance and behaviour which, I guess, makes me an extremely superficial person. But seriously...There is absolutely nothing (nothing!) endearing about this woman. If Amy Winehouse had intimate relations with Noah Taylor, and if the tryst resulted in a daughter, she would probably grow up resembling the woman I am describing. Her rake-thin body is accentuated by a hideous long black leather trench coat. She has a permanent scowl on her fish-like face and seems to be forever holding a rolled cigarette between her lanky, scarlet-painted finger tips. Apart from her haggard bad looks, she is also a most inconsiderate commuter. Forget queue etiquette here...this woman uses her pencil thin physique to good use, darting and weaving between others to get to the front of the bus line. And once she's embedded herself in the line, she will sneakily move closer and closer to the front of the queue by strategically blowing her acrid cigarette smoke onto others.

Sigh...

Holiday over. Back at work. No public holiday Monday for me.

Sydney - Day 5

My cousins took us through the back streets of Sydney to Cabramatta for lunch. We went to a restaurant that specialises in sugar cane prawn wraps. I've never had this dish before but boy was it good. Minced up prawns are coated around sticks of sugar cane then grilled to perfection. These arrive at the table with squares of rice vermicelli, a basket of herbs, a small container of fish sauce (for dipping), dried rice paper sheets and a bowl of boiling hot water. Then it was a (simple?) case of assembling the meal at the table. This procedure first involves softening the rice paper in the boiling water. Once softened, the rice paper was used to wrap a sliver of the grilled prawn, vermicelli and herbs. After wrapping, the whole thing is dipped in the pungent fish sauce before consumption. Delectable.

In the evening, Nate and I met up with some friends and headed off early to Oxford Street to stake out a spot for the mardi gras. We managed to get a prime position right at the start of the parade route then waited (and waited). Eventually the dykes zoomed past and the parade began.

The atmosphere was fantastic. I even managed to see someone I knew marching along in one of the floats. He was clantily dressed in a leather outfit with the bears, which was quite a contrast to the softly spoken, conservatively dressed person I knew him to be (the sort of guy who always wore his polo shirts with the top button done up). We left just before the parade ended, weaving our way through the crowd, the rubbish and the streams of urine trailing down the side walk near Elizabeth Street.

Sydney - Day 4

Headed off to Bondi beach in the morning. Neither Nate nor I had ever been to Bondi before so we decided to go there for breakfast and a stroll. Saw lots of tourists, surfers and swimmers but nothing like what was photographed the day before...

Went to Oxford street next for a bit of shopping and then back to Newtown for a siesta before meeting up with friends at a local pub. The pub was chosen by virtue of the fact that there were $3 Calsbergs to be had. Being a non-drinker, I settled for a soda water which cost $3.20. How wrong is that? Attempted to have an early night. Failed miserably.

Dragon fruit...

...is overrated. I think I had high expectations given the brilliant appearance of the fruit. The two I bought yesterday were a variety that had magenta-coloured flesh (instead of the usual white with black seeds pictured above). I decided to cut one open last night. Juicy but tasteless.

Sydney - Day 3

While Nathan was busy climbing the Sydney Harbour bridge today, I strolled from Circular Quay back up to Paddington to check out an aboriginal art gallery that I had difficulties finding a couple of days ago. This time I wrote down the address on a scrappy piece of paper and managed to find the gallery hidden behind a laneway. I spent the next hour with the gallery staff rummaging through their collection of bark paintings. I was particularly interested in works by a senior Kuninjku artist from Western Arhem land by the name of Mick Kubarkku who passed away recently. Kubarkku painted rather whimsical-looking spirit figures and totemic animals. His paintings are held in all of the major public galleries in Australia (the National Gallery of Australia recently bought a number of his works for their collection) and are quite pricey and hard to find (Kubarkku stopped producing works a few years ago due to ill health). To my absolute surprise, the gallery had two of his paintings for sale and, even more surprising, they were actually affordable. I bought the echidna pictured below.


I met Nate afterwards back at Circular Quay at the Museum of Contemporary Art where we shared the world's most expensive salt and pepper squid. We then made our way to Paddy's market where Nate decided to indulge in a massage. I left him in the capable hands of the chinese masseuse and headed over to the fruit section where I bought two of these.

They are called dragonfruit and belong to a species of epiphytic cactus native to Mexico. It has the most amazing magenta-coloured flesh.

Caught up with my cousins for dinner. We had planned to try a Malaysian roti place but it was packed and the queue outside wasn't really moving so we went to Menya, a japanese ramen place.

I was extremely tempted in taking up their Godzilla ramen challenge. The rules were simple. Cosume a bowl of their Godzilla-sized ramen in 30 minutes and it's free. Sounds easy? Well, it's not. The Godzilla ramen is 4 times the size of a normal serve of ramen and weighs in at an impressive 2kg. I was tempted but chickened out at the last minute and opted for a 'mega' ramen instead (which was merely 2 times the size of a regular serve).

Sydney - Day 2

Caught the ferry to Manly today for brekky. Nate and I strolled around for a bit before settling on a cafe that seemed to be the most popular on the street. We were not disappointed. I managed not to order the big brekky. Instead, I was drawn to the fried calves liver. Mmmm...offal.

Afterwards, we headed back to Circular Quay and were planning to take the ferry to Darling Harbour but made the decision to walk there instead. This was probably unwise in the light of all the walking we had done yesterday (both of our legs were still sore). Nonetheless, it was a nice stroll along the Rocks, piers and city. We caught up with a friend for lunch who is Sydney for his job (he is a member of an orchestra) before heading back to Circular Quay (this time by ferry) to catch a bus over to Dank Street in Waterloo.

Dank Street made me feel as though I had died and gone to heaven. Nestled amongst a bunch of commission flats was the most amazing street full of funky art galleries and furniture shops. The icing on the cake was realizing that we could catch the bus back to Newtown afterwards. Am having dinner 'in-house' tonight with friends. Nate needs to rest up for his harbour bridge climb tomorrow.

Sydney - Day 1

Nate and I did a shit load of walking today. We left Newtown in the morning and walked over to Chinatown where we had a chinese brekky before going to Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Aquarium and the (newer) Wildlife Park next door.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Fish Markets via Star City (I swear that the sight of fish was not the motivation for feasting on them afterwards). I ordered 200grams each of sashimi-grade tuna, kingfish and salmon and had an amazing lunch.

Caught the light rail back to the city and had intended to visit an aboriginal art gallery but I got completely confused and ended up near the wrong Phillip Street off the wrong stretch of Elizabeth Street (I hate it when different streets are given the same names!). Fortunately we were close to the Art Gallery of NSW so we walked over to there instead for a drink. Art Express was on. This showcase of the top works by HSC students was a sight to behold. There are some truly talented young artists out there. Unfortunately the Archibald doesn't open until the weekend so will have to go back to the Gallery later.

After the Art Gallery, Nate and I decided to walk over to Kings Cross and then to Paddington to look for a few more galleries (with varying degrees of success) before making our way back to Chinatown where we caught up with a friend for a quick bite.

Am now back in Newtown, sprawled on a couch. My feet are sore!

Planning to go to Manly tomorrow.

Inverloch

Made a spontaneous trip to Inverloch on Thursday evening with Nate to visit his grandmother. We headed there with his mum after work and were stuck in peak hour traffic heading out of the city. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we made it to Inverloch. It was the first time I had met Nate's grandmother but I've heard a lot about her. She's a fiery one. I'd pity anybody brave enough to take her on. Fortunately, we got a long very well. Granny (and she's kill me if I called her that to her face) is a brilliant cook and kept us well fed. Her cheese scones are to absolutely die. It was sad to leave her (and her cooking) to get back to Melbourne this arvo.

One thing that really struck me about Nate's grandmother was just how deeply she was still morning the loss of her husband in September last year. The slightest memory would trigger her off. I guess she is still very much grieving for the love of her life. It's beautiful but very touching at the same time.

Off to Sydney next Monday for a week of rest, socialising, and mardi gras. Can't wait!

The human mating system

Nate and I had brunch with one of my (straight) work mates on Saturday. He had gone out the night before with two of his other gay friends (a married couple) and was slightly disillusioned when he found out that this couple had an open relationship. I must admit that I was a little surprised also; Nate, less so. This got me thinking...why are humans monogamous and is there a difference between straight and gay couples?

Monogamy is quite rare in nature. In fact, thanks to DNA finger printing, we are beginning to realise that many so called 'monogamous' species partake in sneaking extra pair copulations on the side.

In some animals, like seahorses, pairs remain monogamous because the cost of partner switching is quite high.

Some evolutionary psychologists suggest that our monogamous mating system is quite recent and that our evolutionary ancestors were promiscuous. Compared to other great apes, the size of our testes and penises are large for a species with a monogamous mating system.

Sexual conflict is rife throughout the animal kingdom as each sex tries to maximise it's own reproductive success. Here, it is not uncommon for each sex to wish monogamy on its mating partner whilst engaging in promiscuity for themselves.

So...I wonder if open relationships are more common in same-sex relationships because there is less of a sexual conflict.

Airport Angst

I travel quite a bit with my job and I've missed my fair share of flights but I've never reacted like this woman...


My top 3 list of bad airport/airline experiences:

1. Sao Paulo to New York (American Airlines). Missed my connection due to delays flying from a conference in another Brazilian city. Rushing between gates was not helped by the fact that I was carting a 1m long fiberglass fish that I had bought at a flea market. Was eventually placed on the next flight to New York and was fortunate enough to score two seats...one for me and one for the fish.

2. Singapore to Sydney (Qantas). This was caused by a delay in Finland, resulting in a missed connection. The flight from Helsinki was the scariest flying experience I've ever had....the plane accelerated on the runway then braked suddenly. My immediate thought was that we were going to hit another plane but apparently it was due to a warning light in the cockpit. The plane was fine but we had to wait two hours for the engineers which meant I missed my flight from Singapore to Sydney.

3. LA to Sydney (Qantas). The flight crew were involved in a car accident on the way to the airport. They weren't allowed to fly and so we had to wait for replacement crew.

Welcome to Oz!

I was expecting to see my new PhD student yesterday who was flying in from overseas. I get a message from him in the afternoon apologising that he won't be able to meet me. I give him a call on his mobile. He tells me that he was on his way to Gippsland. GIPPSLAND. WTF? Either he made a huge mistake in arranging his temporary accommodation or the University screwed it up. Apart from the obvious distance between where he is living and where he is meant to be working, there is also the not so trivial issue of bushfires in the area. First day in Oz and he has gone out to the site of Australia's worst natural disaster. What a welcome.

Darwin's dinner and a conversation about death

Yesterday was the 200 anniversary commemorating the birth of Charles Darwin. The museum here in Melbourne put on a very nice cocktail dinner and I was lucky enough to secure a free ticket to the event. The dinner reflected the theme of evolution and we grazed our way through the evolutionary tree with such delights as primordial soup (which tasted a lot like seafood bisque), crocodile skewers, and 'dinosaur' drumettes. The dinner culminated in a huge chocolate fountain (which was meant to resemble the lava flow following the meteor impact that killed off the dinosaurs). It was hugely entertaining. Apart from the food, we also got to go to the imax theatre and watch a documentary on the dinosaurs of Patagonia. The doco was in 3D and, although memerizing, left me feeling a bit queezy. There was even a circus performance aimed at teaching evolution to 3 year olds. With a great deal of artistic licence (and a whole heap of acrobatics, dancing and singing), the audience learnt how fish evolved into lizards and then into birds.

The razzle and dazzle aside, I had the opportunity to speak to a colleague whom I deeply admire and respect. He was down in Melbourne to attend an associated conference. The colleague lost his son less than two years ago and we spent an hour talking about all the motions that follow on from the tragedy. The nice thing about the scientific community in which I work is that it's a relatively close knit group and the impact of the death resonated across the country. But suicide is a difficult issue to grapple with and more so when the reasons are not clear. The manner in which outsiders deal with the situation can also be varied and, at times, frustrating for the family and friends that are left behind. It was nice to know that the colleague had received my card and it was even nicer to know that the message meant something to him and his family. What do you write on a condolence card under such circumstances? I remembered going to the newsagent, picking out the card, and turning to google for advice. After mulling over the message for a long time, I wrote it. Minutes later I tore it up and went back to the newsagent and bought another blank card. The second time round, I wrote the message I wanted to write. I cant remember exactly what I wrote now but my colleague said that it was one of a handful that really spoke to the family. These were cards, according to him, written by people who had either gone through similar loss or otherwise showed evidence of having gone through some kind of struggle. It was not conscious at the time, but I guess my struggle was my sexuality. Mind you, when I was still trying to grapple with it, I never thought of suicide (though, at times, I was incredibly sad). What I did come to realise though (and I think this was what may have come through in my message) was that, for a long time, I had hoped my parents had understood me enough to simply know that aspect about me without having to deal with the task of actually sitting them down and telling them. But gradually, I began to realise that perhaps kids misunderstand their parents too and the failure to open up to them for fear of how they might react is a barrier that is formidable but not necessarily real. I shared this thought with my colleague. His eyes welled up and we gave each other a hug.

Sam vs Milk

Went and saw "Milk" the other night. I thought it was a really good movie but I have a quibble...Sean Penn's portrayal of Harvey Milk. For the most part, I thought it was great but there were moments in the film when I swear Penn was channeling the character he played in "I am Sam". On the one hand we have a gay activist and on the other, a retarded man fighting for custody of his child. You couldn't ask for more different characters but still, during some of the early parts of the film, Sam and Harvey merged into one.

The fires

The Victorian bushfires are dominating the news coverage at the moment. Living in metropolitan Melbourne, it's hard to imagine the carnage taking place elsewhere since there were no signs of smoke in the actual city itself. Only heat and wind. Incredible wind.

The feeling of disconnection is such a contrast to my experience of the Canberra fires a few years ago. I still remember driving home in the afternoon after spending the morning with a couple of Belgian friends. The sky grew darker and darker as I headed south. There was a red glow in the horizon and ash was raining down everywhere. We were several kilometers away from the fire front but it was still scary. With the Victorian fires, I see the footage and I hear the stories but it still seems a million miles away.

Riding the sushi train

I got back into the city quite late last night and wasn't really in the mood for cooking so I made Nathan meet me at Flinder's Street Station and we headed off to a sushi place on Swanston street. the place we went is one of those sushi train restaurants where you sit at a big communal table and pick out the plates of sushi moving past you along a conveyor belt system.

There are two things that one needs to be careful about at these kinds of sushi establishments. First, one should mindful of the possible risk of food poisoning, as you never really can tell just how long a bit of raw fish might have been circulating on the conveyor belt. Second, there is the danger of overeating. Fortunately, I can say that neither Nathan nor I got sick from last night's meal. However, we did end up paying an arm and a leg because we (well, mostly me) got greedy and just kept eating and eating and eating. You know you've eaten an impressive amount when the chef decides to offer you complimentary dessert. If I'm going to fork out $82 for sushi next time, I think I'd rather fork it out at a more fancy Japanese restaurant.

Happy retirement Michael Kirby

Pride 2009

Went to the pride march yesterday afternoon. It seemed a lot better than the previous couple I've been to. There were people everywhere and the atmosphere was great. Was having an interesting conversation with a guy who reckons that the Melbourne gay community can be a bit superficial. I don't really have much of a point of reference but can certainly see how he may have developed such an opinion. I didn't really see it yesterday though...all I saw was joy.

Gursky, sushi and the brain scooper

To try and escape the heat yesterday, Nathan and I visited the National Gellery of Victoria to check out the photographic exhibition of Andreas Gursky. Wow! His giant photos are absolutely mind blowing. Gursky, a German photographer, holds the record for the highest price paid for a photographic work by a living artist. It's easy to see why. I must admit I haven't really been into photography all that much but this exhibition gave me a whole new appreciation of the artform.

Afterwards, we wandered back to Flinder's Street and caught a tram to a second hand furniture shop on Swan Street where I picked up this nice little marble-topped side table for the balcony. It's called the 'trace' and is manufactured by Naughtone... A cute litle piece of British design for outside. Can't wait for Melbourne to get cool enough (but not so cool) so we can sit outside and sip cold drinks in the evenings.


The table wasn't the only thing I bought. The last time I was at the shop, I saw an unusual long wooden implement from PNG with the image of a man carved on top and four sharp prongs on the bottom. This time, I saw it again and asked the shop manager what it was. Evidently, it's a tool used by headhunters for scooping out brains. It now sits on top of my fridge (Might come in handy one day).

Caught up with some friends for dinner. Finally was introduced to a really nice Japanese restaurant in Melbourne actually owned and operated by Japanese people. The sushi was fantastic and so was the conversations at the table. I spent most of the evening talking to a pair of criminologists (I had a niggling feeling that the guy was profiling me the whole time).

Dicing with death

I read on The Age website last night about a recent spike in people getting poisoned after eating fugu (japanese puffer fish). Apparently a dodgy restaurant was serving up the delicacy without preparing it properly. Made me think back to the time our family went to visit my sister in Japan who was working there at the time. We went to a market place and ordered fugu sashimi from a street vendor. Everyone was a bit reticent to try it but we survived the experience (frankly, I thought it was a little overrated...quite tasteless). We subsequently got to sample it a second time in a restaurant (deep fried). Nothing. No tingling of the lips. No heart palpatations. No seizures. I though the whole 'toxic thing' was blown out of proportion; an exaggeration. We even saw fugu for sale in a supermarket in Japan. Now surely, if it takes years of training to prepare, they couldn't possibly be offering it as standard supermarket fare (I imagined meek japanese housewives expertly carving away the poisonous organs before serving fugu to their families). But last night, I read a somewhat unsettling statistic ... every year, 3 people, on average, still die from eating fugu. Sure, it's not a huge number (more people die from alcohol-related incidents) but it does make you wonder.

In case anyone is curious, this is the proper way to prepare it...

Australia Day/Chinese New Year

It was not the most spectacular Australia Day/Chinese New Year for me but it did end reasonably well. I spent most of yesterday morning working away on my grant proposal. By the afternoon, I had had enough and caught the tram out to meet Nate. We ended up going to one of his former work colleague's place for dinner. The colleague is originally from the Phillipines. The husband was hit by a car many years ago and suffered a stroke. Wife managed to bring up the kids who were all fantastically warm and chatty. I ended up eating way too much and got given a bunch more food to take home. Will be browsing on leftovers tonight!

Saving up for a play station

Last night, Nate and I took his sister and his niece to Crown. Niece wanted to go to the Galactic Circus which is basically a giant amusement park with games for kids to play. Prizes depend on the accumulation of tokens won whilst playing. Niece wants a play station. After winning 1000 tokens she still has about 59000 to go.

We went to see the movies afterwards. Saw "Bride Wars". Two words: chick flick. Still, it was quite entertaining and I managed to enjoy my evening despite work craziness niggling on my mind.

The great cake debacle (update)

The cake was 'patched up' with white icing and a liberal sprinkling of shredded coconut. A strategically placed strawberry completed the transformation. Unfortunately the cake broke into two pieces but parents of the baby seem pleased by the gesture and it looks nowhere near as bad as when Nate took delivery of it on Friday morning. Disaster averted.

I attended the christening this morning. I was expecting the baby to scream her head off when splashed with holy water but this was not to be. She was remarkably well behaved.

The great cake debacle

Nate ordered a christening cake for his cousin's baby from the people that supply cakes for the bistro where he works. I came home yesterday and saw it sitting in the fridge. I burst into laughter. Nate almost bursts into tears.

The cake looked awful. Cut into the shape of a cruxifix, it was pasted with butter icing so thin you could actually see the parts where the cake had been joined together. On top of the cruxifix, scribbled with a line of chocolate, was the word 'baptism'. Nate evidently rang up the cake shop and swore at the owner and accused oompa-loompas of having made the cake.

We are going to try and 'salvage' the cake before sunday's christening. Could turn into an even bigger disaster. Stay tuned....