Santa comes to town

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be at the beach when Santa stopped by for a visit. He arrived by surf rescue boat, and was wearing shorts and a short sleeve top, all while my brain was screaming "Fun, but just plain WRONG".





As much as I love the sun and sand of a Southern Hemisphere winter, it does make it difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. We haven't even made an attempt at a tree this year - although Gus did decorate the TV and as a result, we ended up putting the pressies under the television. Oh well, we'll have plenty of snow-filled Christmases to look forward to as we'll be back in Canada next year.

We all start our holidays tomorrow and I can't wait. I'm going to keep plugging away at my thesis during the holidays but I plan to take lots of breaks, which will hopefully involve plenty of Jen's Southern-Hemisphere-themed-but-still-Christmassy cocktails.

Merry Christmas All!

All systems go

We finally got our internet and phone up and running last week. Phew!

In the midst of all the internet drama, I went to Canberra for 3 days for an alcohol and drug conference. It was my first one (bloodborne virus-related conferences being my usual shtick). The conference was held in Canberra and I was hoping to spend some time walking around the city but unfortunately it rained every minute I was there, and I only managed to walk the five minutes it took to get to Koko Black for some amazing chocolates (my own brand of drug/alcohol). It was a different sort of conference than I'm used to, full of sessions alternating between the benefits of moderate consumption and the evils of over consumption. Of course, my favorite sessions were on the benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol, which is something I can really get behind.

Lucky for me, Jen, expert epidemiologist and cocktail mixer, is here for a visit. They arrived late last week and left this morning for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We'll be meeting up with them next week to spend Christmas together in a beach house up the coast from us. Can't wait. I'm looking forward to some moderate consumption of cocktails over the holidays!

p.s., Advocate for the use of scientific evidence in drug policy by signing the Vienna Declaration.

Technical Difficulties

On Monday last week, our internet connection was no longer. On Wednesday, after a technician came to 'fix' the problem, our dial tone disappeared.

A week and a half later, and many, many, many hours spent in:

• A gazillion calls to a call centre in Sri Lanka,
• Several conversations with our property manager,
• Several conversations with our building's strata (sorta like a condo board that looks after the building)...

And yet we are still without Internet and phone service. Aaaaaargh! Telecommunications in Australia - not their strong point. And I'll leave it at that.

Hope to be back soon. Stay tuned.

OMG!

Sculpture by the Sea, one last time around. And those were some of my favourites.

Ugh.

Handed in a thesis chapter last week to my supervisors for their feedback, which means I'm at the start of my usual cycle that goes along with the writing of each chapter. It's so predictable. It starts with a huge sense of relief and euphoria (at having finished a chapter) followed by panic, guilt and self-loathing (because time is slipping away and I need to get to work on a new chapter) and finally acceptance and getting on with it (with the work involved in researching a new chapter, re-analyzing the data for this chapter etc).

So last week while I was still happy with the fact that I had finished a chapter and still feeling like I had all the time in the world, here's what I did:

• Watched Boy and loved it. It's the story of growing up in rural New Zealand. It was both sweet and heartbreaking, and left me with a New Zealand accent ringing in my ears for a few days afterwards.
  
• Read the Peter Carey novel Bliss. Since I've gotten here, a few of my Aussie friends have urged me to pick up a Peter Carey book. I don't know why I waited so long, as Bliss will no doubt end up as one of my favourite novels.Well developed, relatable characters and a quirky story with hints of bittersweet reality. I think there might be a movie adapted from the book, so I plan to seek it out and pick it up this weekend,
• Watched some of the ARIAs (Aussie music awards) and now I can't get that Angus and Julia Stone song out of my head. I may have to buy the CD soon.
  

Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane...Enjoy!

Wagging

It's Melbourne Cup day!!! This is huge here. In Victoria (the state that Melbourne is in), Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday. And here in Sydney, people will be chucking a sickie, or in my case, wagging so that they can enjoy the Melbourne Cup.

As per the list, I set up an online betting account and bet $10 on Profound Beauty. The bet is based on name alone but as they say - any horse can win the Melbourne Cup because some of the best horses in the world compete in this race. Wish me luck!

Listen up, participaction people

It's not always a big love affair between Australia and I. I have my days when I am completely frustrated by how different it feels from Canada (and not in a good way). For example, Aussies don't seem to use that politeness/political correctness filter that most of us Canadians use in our conversations. More than once I've left a conversation thinking "Was that guy a total jerk, or was he just being Australian (and am I being too Canadian)? Also, I can't stand that they still teach scripture in public schools, and don't get me started on the attitudes towards and treatment of asylum seekers in this country (I know, I know, I'm just asking for a mean comment from Anonymous....bring it on!).

But, here's where I think they've done something really great. Surf Life Saving is an iconically Australian organization, largely run by volunteers, who patrol the beaches and save people from rips, stingers and sharks. The best part about it is the Nippers program for kids. This program runs throughout the summer months, once a week, on the beach, and it involves sand and water sports for kids. It's designed to encourage fitness outdoors and to teach surf safety (and if you could experience our beach with its huge waves and massive rips - you'd know how important this is). And because it's run mostly by volunteers, it leads to a a real sense of community. Gus is in Nippers this year and he's loving it. He's especially loving board training and since he's started it, he likes to talk to me about catching a good glider and the value of eskimo rolls (I told him he should tell his instructor that they should be called inuit rolls, but he won't do it).

So, participaction, are you listening? How about a snow safety program? Just think about it.

Gus in board training:


Parents and kids waiting for Nippers to start.

Gus, waiting for Nippers (yeah - I don't get the hat either)

Sand races

Swim races

Check

It's funny how the simple task of making a list can be so motivating. For the past two years that we've been here, on the Friday nights when we occasionally order pizza, I've been tempted to order the Aussie pizza (toppings: egg, bacon and ham) but have always just ended up going with the safe bets that I know we'll all like.

After writing the list earlier in the week, I finally ordered a large Aussie pizza from Crust last night (Friday night=takeaway night for us). The verdict: pretty yum. The egg looked like it had been beaten then poured over top the bacon and ham and then topped with cheese. Not bad, not bad at all.

Now to book that flight to Uluru.

The List

Top 20 things on my list before I leave Oz.


Thanks to chicmate's etsy shop for making the list look pretty.

Let them eat (mud) cake

Mud cake, mmmm. One of the things I love about Australia is that mud cake can be found everywhere, in cafes, on all the dessert menus, and as of last week - in my home.

Last week, someone gave me this recipe for mud cake. It's super easy and super delish.

Melt 200g dark choc and 200g butter.

Add ¼ cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 cup castor sugar, 3 eggs lightly beaten, sift in ¾ cup self raising flour. Combine.

Pour half into lined and greased cake pan. Add 100g chopped chocolate. Pour over remaining cake mix.

Bake 55-60 mins at 160C.

I made it last week and we all inhaled it over the next couple of days. Even Vic, who prefers savoury to sweet, enjoyed a few pieces that night and with a coffee for smoko the next day.

Images of Bali

Bali was everything we hoped for and more, a perfect mix of experiencing a new culture, new sights and smells, and plenty of sun, sand, snorkeling, fishing, spa-ing and chillaxing.

Cragging

When I was in Canada this past June, over one or two glasses of wine, Jen, Trev and I came up with a new term: cragging. Cragging is that thing that people do when they pretend to be complaining but what they're actually doing is bragging. You know what I'm talking about: that person who complains that they can never find clothes that fit them because it's hard to find anything at the shops in size zero, or that it's so hard to maintain their great big pool in their backyard. Blech! We all do it a little bit, but some people are chronic craggerts and they're just plain obnoxious.

All that to say that this post is pure crag - so I apologize in advance for that.

This afternoon we leave for Bali. BALI!!! I've been working like a madwomen to try to get a few things off to my advisors for them to review while I'm away. Not to mention trying to tidy up the last of some casual work that I committed to finishing up before I leave. I've been especially stressed to try to get these things done so that I can leave all thesis-related work behind in Sydney. The words social networks, injecting drug users and blood borne viruses will not pass my lips not a once while we're away, and I'm pretty excited about that!

We've also been busy preparing for the trip. We've been studying up on things like how to avoid "Bali belly" and trying to figure out what exactly Gus is going to eat. We're a little worried about him since he is the very definition of "fussy eater", he only eats about 10 items, none of which include nasi goreng. He's all arms and legs these days and appears to be only a couple of skipped meals away from starvation. Suggestions for warding off starvation are welcome!

And meanwhile, amidst all this craziness, after about 10 minutes of Spring weather, it seems we're now into Summer weather (at least, what we Canadians would consider Summer!). The beaches are filling up again and Vic and Gus had their first swim of the season this past weekend. My coastal runs have been amazing, all blue skies with the sun sparkling off the ocean. The views may even rival those from Julie's NZ runs.

First swim of the season.


And for a little Where's Waldo fun, can you spot Gus and Vic in the water?

Spring has sprung

Proof:

• Scary magpies swooping children and parents at Gus' school
  
• Finding a cockroach the size of my thumb in the kitchen last week
  
• No longer needing flannel pyjamas, socks and a hot water bottle at night

And you know what that means? Summer, cornettos and ocean swims are right around the corner. Yippeeee!

And now back to what I had for supper tonight...

Tonight we went to the Sushi Train, where we stuffed our faces with heaps of sushi.

Plates of sushi travelling past your table on a conveyer belt = eating way too much sushi

We don't usually go out for supper on a weeknight, but I was particularly tired because last night I got back from a conference in Melbourne where I presented some of my study's results. Since I spend most of my time in front of a computer, having to talk to a large number of people about bloodborne viruses for three straight days was positively exhausting!

In spite of the whole having to talk to people thing, it feels pretty good to finally have some results to talk about after two long years of slogging. For this week's conference, I prepped by giving a presentation to the staff at a local needle exchange program the week before, which I was much more nervous about. As a researcher, it's always a little nervewracking to present your findings to a group of people who spend their lives providing services to the population you're studying. But it went well, there was plenty of good feedback and questions and no one seemed to think I was way off track in my interpretation of the results (and they would have definitely let me know about it if I was off track, they're a good reality check that way!).

To reward myself for a job well done on that presentation, I ducked into a Thomas Dux Grocer on my way home. Num, num, num. I brought a grocery list specifically so that I wouldn't be tempted to pick up any of their way overpriced, but way delicious specialty items...and yet I still ended up bringing home a package of Donna Hay chocolate chip cookie dough mix. Oh my lord, they were delish.

Gus, tucking into a still-hot Donna Hay cookie.

A PhD In Australia, for real this time

Lately, I've been feeling a little guilty about the people who google things like "How many years does it take to do a PhD in Australia?" and then somehow find my page only to learn about what I'm making for supper or what Gus said yesterday.

So, here's some info for you who googled "Is a PhD in Australia worth it?" and landed on my page. Remember that this is all from my perspective, and someone in a different department or at a different university might have a completely different perspective. I'll store it under PhD so you can find it again, and may even add more questions and answers in the future.

Also important to keep in mind is that I'm an international student, which has a big impact on a number of aspects of my PhD.

Q: How many years does it take to do a PhD in Australia?

Dana: It takes a minimum of 3 years to complete a PhD, you can't submit your PhD anytime before three years. But based on what I've seen, it usually takes about 3.5 to 4.5 years as a full-time student to complete a PhD.

If you're an international student with a scholarship, like me, you'll be trying hard to meet the 3 year mark, because scholarships tend to be for 3 years only. Last time I checked, the tuition for international students was about $10,000 per term.

Q: What's involved in doing a PhD in Australia?

Dana: There are two options for doing a PhD in Australia, a PhD by research or a PhD by coursework. I know nothing about doing a PhD by coursework, you'll have to do your own research on that one.

I'm doing a PhD by research, which is exactly what it sounds like - one great big research project. The department or faculty you're in might have a few courses for you to take, if you so choose, but there are no mandatory courses. This means there are also no quals (as there would be in a Canadian or American PhD). You do have to go through annual reviews, at which you present your progress to-date and a review panel gives you a rating of either satisfactory, marginal or unsatisfactory. You want to be getting a satisfactory at every review, because this rating allows you to apply for funding for fun things like conference fees.

that's it for now. phew! guilt is lessened. more to come on this topic in future posts....maybe.

Where's the naked people?

Last night, Gus had a sleepover at his bff's. With our free night, Vic and I decided that we needed to go see Bellini's La Somnambula at the Opera House, our first opera at the Opera House.

This poor opera had a lot to live up to. The last time Vic was at the Opera House, he was naked with 5,000 other naked people, posing for Spencer Tunick. And the last time time I saw an opera was in Berlin where I saw a modern interpretation of The Magic Flute, in which the flute was actually a penis and a large dildo was used as a prop (this is a true story! I swear I didn't include those words just to get more hits on this blog). It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and I laughed and applauded my way through all 3 hrs of it.

Needless to say, La Somnambula didn't quite live up to our previous opera-related experiences. Not only were there no naked people or sex toys, but the plot was bit puzzling to both of us. Why did Elvino prefer Amina, when Lisa was clearly the hottie of the two? And, why was Amina so stuck on Elvino, when he was so jealous and insecure? Ah well, the orchestra and the singing were fantastic and the experience did make for some great people-watching...let's just say I would have felt more at home if I had brought a fur stole and was 20-30 years older.

Last night...

...eating supper, joking around with Vic and Gus.

Vic: I'm such a jerk!

Gus: Finally, you said it!

Me: shaking with laughter but trying hard not to laugh out loud.

Gus turns to me: What are you vibrating about?

Achtung!

Cairns was completely amazing. Despite the signs warning of murderous birds, crocodiles and the minimal but still present threat of "stingers" (jellyfish), it was beautiful. Of course the best part of the mini-vacay was snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. We swam through canyons of colourful coral with the craziest looking fish, with sea turtles, sting rays and even a reef shark.

Right now, Vic is getting ready for a birthday party for one of his co-workers. I'm debating whether to go, cause his co-worker asked everyone to dress up in something starting with the letter J - Vic's going as a juggalo and Gus as a jujitsu kid and I've got nothing. Plus if I stay home I could get a little bit of thesis work done and not have to worry about doing it tomorrow, which is very appealing.

Here's a few pics from our weekends in Cairns for you to enjoy.

A sign at the head of a little hike we took in Cairns, letting people know that if they see a cassowary, they should back away slowly, and to never turn your back on a cassowary!

One of the many signs we saw warning not to swim in the water, Achtung!


Vic, taking a break from snorkelling to check out what's hiding in the coral in low tide

Gus and I, in front of some Cairns street art.


Kookaburra, sitting in an old gum tree. Oh Mr. Kookaburra, you're such a cliche!

Finding Meemo

Hey peeps. Meemo is here for a visit! She got here about a week ago and was lucky enough to catch one of Gus' school recitals.

So, guess who was at Gus' school assembly to give one of the welcome speeches?? PETER GARRETT!! Rock star of my youth (and our local federal MP). Oh yeah baby, only in Australia does a rock star provide a welcome speech at a little public school. In true stalker fashion, I just downloaded the pictures from that day to find about 10 pics of Peter and 2 of Gus.

And the excitement doesn't end there. Tomorrow, we're off to Cairns to do some snorkelling of the Great Barrier Reef. Stay tuned for the pictures.

PETER GARRETT!!!

Meemo and Gus

Last week

This past week, Vic and I have been busily planning out our trip to Bali. Holy hell, I'm so excited about it. We've decided to break up the trip into three bits: the first bit in Ubud (major city and Bali's artistic and cultural hub), the second bit on a tiny little island just off of Bali and the third in one of the more popular beachy tourist spots. Getting to this plan was a bit tortuous because Vic WANTS TO DO AND SEE EVERYTHING and me, well I want to go for spa treatments, sit on a beach and maybe do a little yoga. So it took us a while to come to a compromise of three different Balinese cities/towns and I think we're both pretty happy with that. Honestly, I haven't been this excited about a trip in I don't know how long.

Right now, Vic and Gus are off at one of Gus' soccer games and I am simmering a sauce for a killer lasagne I'm making from a Jamie Oliver recipe. Did you know Jamie is my secret boyfriend? It's a secret 'cause he doesn't know about it, but Vic and Gus are well aware of my naked chef crush. Whenever he's on TV, they like to make smoochy noises and generally make fun of me. It's so fun living with two boys. Jamie's Food Revolution USA just started airing here and I caught the end of the second episode last night, where the folks of Huntington, WV make him cry. Poor Jamie!

Gus starts school again on Tuesday next week. Thank God! Once he's back in school, I can get back into the swing of things and finally finish up a draft of a thesis chapter I've been working on for an embarassingly long time. I am looking forward to that.

Floundering

Last week was the first week of Gus' 2-week school holiday. As I usually do during school holidays, I mixed it up with some Gus-Dana time and some vacation care for Gus so that I could get some work done on my thesis. Except that inevitably, because the time spent on my thesis was in small bits and pieces throughout the week, I ended up getting very little done and feeling really crappy about it by the end of the week. So mentally, that's where I'm at.

There were a couple of highlights though. Yesterday we went for a walk along the coast from Clovelly to Bronte (part of the coastal walkway we hadn't yet explored). Beautiful!

We also booked our flights to Bali for a trip we're planning for the next school holiday (in early Oct). BALI!!!! I'm so incredibly excited. The only problem is that we're going for 12 nights and it seems that that is not going to be nearly enough time for everything we want to do or see. We're trying to fit in spa time, shopping, an elephant sanctuary, a monkey forest, a hindu temple or two and some wicked snorkelling. I CAN"T WAIT!!

Views from our coastal walk to Bronte.

King of the world.

A stop for smoothies in Bronte...

...and to let our puppy have a run.

Mountain goats.

NAIDOC week

Today is the first day of NAIDOC week, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. We spent the day at Ku-ring-gai National Park, learning how to make a humpy (don't google "humpy", just click on the word... trust me), eating bushtucka, drinking billy tea and practicing our spear throwing skills.

It was a typical sunny Sydney day and Ku-ring-gai National Park was nothing less than stunning. It's about an hour north of us, and while we were there, I remarked to Vic that I couldn't believe we've lived in Sydney for almost 2 years now and have only now ventured into this park. It made me feel slightly panicky at all the things we haven't yet seen and only a year or so left in our oz-venture. Perhaps not a coincidence, when we got home Vic immediately hopped on the computer to start researching possible locations for an upcoming holiday.

Gus trying out a humpy.

Bushtucka

Billy tea

Bushwalking.

An Aboriginal rock carving.

Gus, trying his hand at spearing a goanna