Anal leakage?

So I was half-preparing NYE dinner/half watching the news when a story came on about closure of beaches in Port Phillip because (to quote the news reporter) "sewage had leaked out of a man hole". Nice.

Buggered

Just got back from a fishing trip – for work. I'm absolutely exhausted. Apart from the long drive and the intense day of sampling, I also had to process the specimens back at the lab and worked through the night to process them. I got home at 6am. Yep...I did an all-nighter at uni (thought those days were well and truly behind me).

Anyhow, it was 'interesting' working at the field site yesterday, which also happens to be a camp ground next to a big lake. I have been there twice before but the grounds have always been deserted. It was absolutely packed this time, mostly by young people with tattoos and/or facial piercings who are extremely eloquent and use words like 'fuck' and 'cunt' and 'youse'. These same people also have very young children who like to splash around where scientists are trying to collect fish. I was surprised to see that one of these young children (Dakota, age 4ish) can already say Jim Beam (no kidding). Clearly, if a creationist was serious about refuting natural selection, this camp ground (teaming with people who have bred who really shouldn't be passing on their genes) would have provided said creationist with lots of examples (and painted God as having quite a warped sense of humour).

Home sweet home

Got back late last night from Canberra. After reading about Victor's delays at the airport, I was pleasantly surprised that (1) my Qantas plane left on time and (2) landed in Melbourne 15 minutes early!

Notable highlights of my trip back to Canberra:

1. Seeing family and friends
2. The Treasures exhibition at the National Library of Australia
3. Waking up in the mornings to the sound of chirping birds (I don't mind the screeching trams outside my Melbourne apartment but I much prefer the chirping birds).

Things to do now I am back in Melbourne:

1. Start working on my grant proposal
2. Plan a field trip to collect more fish
3. Begin post-Christmas diet
4. Think about plans for new year's eve (currently, sitting at home in front of air-con is on top of the list).

An afternoon with...

While the siblings hit the boxing day sales, I spent a peaceful afternoon at the NGA with Rothko, Bacon and Hockney (among others).

Season's greetings

Merry Christmas every body. Be sure to enjoy the turkey/ham/seafood responsibly.

Costco

It seems that Costco has become a new family favourite. I am not a fan. The store just oozes the very worst of America to me. Big warehouse. Big trolleys. Big packaging. Big crowds. Big people. Everything is big, big, big.

Canberra

Am back in Canberra for Christmas. This afternoon, I went out to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve with some European visitors to show them some kangaroos.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite a nostalgic trip for me and brought up memories of visiting the reserve when I was a kid and being traumatised by the emus (which were extremely bold in stealing food from children). This time 'round, the emus seemed much more subdued and left us alone. The highlight though was seeing a platypus, which was the first one I had ever encountered in the wild.

Swedish Christmas market

Nathan and I met up with my Norwegian friend a couple of weekends ago at the Swedish Church for the annual Swedish Christmas market.

I must admit I thought it was going to be really lame but was pleasantly surprised. There were heaps of stalls selling all things scandinavian and there was even a petting zoo for the kids. If you're a fan of ikea, you're bound to love the Christmas market.

My friend texted me to let us know that she was sitting near the stall selling Norwegian waffles. We walked towards her but were temporarily sidetracked when we saw the swedish shrimp sandwiches (Nathan's favourite) and had to stop to buy a couple of serves (This was followed by a danish hotdog each and then some Norwegian waffles).

During lunch, I asked my Norwegian friend if she could tell, by appearance alone, if a scandinavian was from Norway, Denmark or Sweden. She said she could and proceeded with an example....

"See that woman taking money for the Danish hot dogs? She is a typical looking Dane."

I glance over and see an ugly, obese woman with squinty eyes.

the generic brunette

I am TERRIBLE with recognising people at the best of times but I have come to realise that there is a particular phenotype that get's me muddled more than any other...the average brunette with shoulder length hair. This realisation came in the form of a very embarrassing incident on tropical island no. 2 last week, where I was supervising students on marine biology projects. Ten minutes after meeting with my group, I was in the dining hall and decided to sit next to a bunch of students. We struck up a conversation and I asked one of them what project she was doing. She looked at me with a horrified look and said "I'm in your group"!

Hot, hot, hot

"Very hot", was what I told the waitress when she asked me how I'd like my pork noodle soup. Big mistake. The burn in the mouth wasn't too bad but I could feel the pain in my stomach almost immediately as I slurped down the delicious stock. I tried to temper the heat with an ice cream afterwards (black sesame seed + durian) but it is now just a waiting game to see what happens at the other end...

Back from paradise

Got back from Queensland late last night. It would have been nice to take a day off but, alas, I had a staff meeting.

The weather on Tropical island no.2 was mixed. The boat trip out was quite rough and many of the students suffered terrible motion sickness. I took a tablet and closed my eyes for much of the trip. Since I had the earphones on, I had no idea that people had been vomiting all around me until I opened my eyes 20 minutes before arriving. One of the students was so ill that she had to be carried off the boat.

The trip back to the mainland was a lot calmer. The flight from Brisbane and Melbourne wasn't very comfortable though. Despite getting an exit row seat, I was next to a rather large gentleman and I think we were both cramped for space. I am always worried about getting extra leg room that I overlook the potential drawbacks of being squeezed into a middle seat. The situation was resolved when I decided that I would use his arm as something cushiony that I could lean against.

Paradise (part 2)

Am about to head off to another tropical island, this time for teaching. Two tropical islands in two weeks. More sun. More warmth. More snorkelling. If the current cold start to Summer here in Melbourne is any indication, looks like my trip up north is timely.

Paradise (part 1)

I've been away these past few days, working on a remote sub-tropical island off the coast of NSW. Actually, the formal work part of the trip took all of 30 minutes (an inspection of research facilities followed by a report). The rest of the time was spent hiking around the island and snorkelling. I wouldn't call it a junket though...it was more of a reconnaissance mission to see if I can come up with some clever research projects. The only thing I didn't like about the island was the spiders. There were orb weavers in the forest and huntsmans living in the bed room of the research station. I have no problems with crocs, sharks and snakes but am not a fan of spiders.

pork knuckle, crown princess and glebe

My family came up to Sydney from Canberra yesterday and we met them for lunch at the Lowenbrau at the Rocks. Of course, I ordered the pork knuckle (Schweinshaxn) and it was delicious.

The family drove back after lunch. Nathan decided to do some photography around circular quay, while I headed off to the Botanic Gardens. I noticed barricades at Customs House and a gathering crowd of people carrying Danish flags so I figured that Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary would soon be making an appearance so I scuttled away as quickly as I could. Later on, when I gave Nathan a call to see what he was up to, he told me excitedly that he had seen the royal couple at Customs House. The photos Nathan took were amazing. I was suggesting he should sell them to New Idea or the Woman's Weekly.

We went to Glebe for dinner last night at a Lebanese restaurant. I hadn't been to Glebe before and was impressed by the diversity of restaurants. Must definitely go back in future.

We are heading back to Melbourne this arvo. The holiday was way too short.

Sydney

Nathan and I are in Sydney for a break. The main purpose for our visit is to attend a friend's house warming party on Saturday night. It's a themed party...Hawaii. I'm not a big fan of dress up parties. I thought about buying a Hawaiian shirt but couldn't justify paying for something that I would never wear again (I've done that before). I thought about making something clever out of cardboard and going as either a pineapple or tropical fish but I'm not that clever and, frankly, couldn't be bothered doing craft in the hotel room. So today, I bought a pair of pyjama shorts with a Hawaiian print. I'm not sure I've thought this through properly (i.e. wearing pyjamas to a party). Nevertheless, I bought them because I figure I can always wear them over summer.

Nathan and I actually arrived in Sydney yesterday. We saw the new Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. Although I was really keen to see the exhibition, I'm not one who spends hours inside an exhibition. We were in and out in 20 minutes. I thought it was excellent though.

Today we headed off to the fish market and gorged on tuna, salmon and kingfish sashimi, followed by some grilled blue eye, salt and pepper king prawns, and half a dozen oysters. I would have eaten more but Nathan insisted that I had eaten enough and dragged me off to the new Adriano Zumbo store at Star. We also visited the top of the sydney tower. I'm not sure if I've ever been up there before (might have done so as a child). The view was amazing.

A sunday outing

I made a new friend on the train two weeks ago. I started chatting to her after noticing her marimekko handbag (yes, very gay). I actually thought she might have been Finnish but it turns out she's Norwegian and is here in Melbourne for six months doing graduate research. We hit it off right away...it's nice to have a regular train buddy again.

We made plans to catch up for lunch today. I took her out to Victoria Street for yum cha. She said she was an adventurous eater so I ordered tripe and chicken feet (nathan's favourite), as well as the usual assortment of (innocuous) steamed dumplings. I think she enjoyed it all, even the chicken feet.

Afterwards, we took the tram down to Chapel Street for a hot beverage, followed by a visit to the Chapel Street Bazaar. Nathan ended up buying two old box cameras (he is really getting into all things photography at the moment).

I was tempted by the skull of a male black casqued hornbill. Here is a similar example from the net:


I'm not not sure what I'd do with a hornbill skull (or where I would keep it) but isn't it cool? My new Norwegian friend thought so (she is a biologist too). Nathan thought it was macabre; he doesn't like the idea of dead animals lying around the home so that was that. Oh well.

Weddings galore

Nathan and I are attending an unprecedented number of weddings this Spring. We have already gone to two weddings in two weeks and have another two to go. The next one is this afternoon.

I was a bit surprised that someone would choose a Friday for tying the knot. From the guests' perspective, it is certainly more of a hassle to have to take the day off. Initially I thought it was a decision based on cost but then I found out today that a lot of couples are getting married because of this.

Gay stereotypes

My straight friend, P, is working on his next novel. It centres on two gay characters, one of whom shares the same name as me. But that's where the similarities end.

P is really serious about doing research for his novel to make sure that the characters and story line are believable. He has been interviewing older gay men and seems to be familiar now with terms that make me blush.

Still, every now and then, he would send me an email to ask me about things, expecting me to provide the answers. And most of the times I cannot.

Recently, he asked me a question about beats and the signals that men use with each other. Somehow he thinks all gay men would know the answer to such things. "How the hell would I know?" was my response. But still, the questions keep coming.

The most recent text from P asked me to suggest a password gay guys might use. I though for a moment and, thinking back to a complete innocuous post by High Riser, I replied 'snow plough'.

sore and sleepless

I went on a field trip yesterday to collect fish for an experiment. I must be getting old. After a day of fieldwork, I was an absolute wreck....tired and sore all over. I feel like I have been battered by a baseball bat. It never use to be this way.

And to think that I was actually planning to go to the gym yesterday after the field trip. Common sense prevailed and I told my gym buddy that I would have to cancel. It felt like I already had a substantial work out wading through the water, scooping up fish and carting water-filled eskies back and forth.

I ended up going to bed super early and then woke up super early (3.30am). Oh well, might as well catch up on blogging. I've decided to take it easy today and mark exams.

Fat in Frankston

Nathan's dad was admitted to Frankston hospital a couple of weeks ago. He seems to be making a good recovery.

I had not spent much time in Frankston before but recent visits have been a bit of an eye opener. People there seem to be quite a bit less healthy that those living in the inner city. There were a lot of overweight people around.

The food was terrible. We ate at the food court of the shopping centre twice. Both times, the food was really salty. Yesterday, we went to a charcoal chicken place and the food there was heavily laden with salt as well (almost to the point of being inedible).

As I sat there chewing on my chicken, I was wondering if there are higher incidences of heart disease, blood pressure etc in that part of the city?