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.