Staying sane

I once shared an office with a woman, who was by far, one of the most interesting people I've ever met (she once told me in all sincerity that several people in her neck of the woods had experienced alien encounters!). Not only did she tell interesting stories, but she was a great officemate and friend, kind, generous and open. She had a very laid back vibe, and whenever I would describe a frustrating experience to her, she would say to me (in roughly these words) "you should use this as a learning experience". It was never patronizing in any way, she was just telling me not to dwell on the negative, to learn from it, and move on, as a better person.

So here I am, in the middle of a fairly negative experience with my thesis program, trying to figure out how to learn from it and move on. One way I've decided to do this is by blogging my way through it. My hope is that blog-writing on a daily basis will help keep me motivated to stay healthy - physically and mentally. As before, I'll still blog about the fun things we do in Sydney, and post plenty of pics of Gus for grandparents to view, but I'll also be blogging about the little daily things that are keeping me sane through my PhD insanity.

On a sidenote, I have to show you the breakfast that Vic and Gus made me for mother's day. Check out the chick and acorn Gus put together to keep me company, note the handprint in the toast (handprint-toast is Gus' specialty), and don't miss the frangipani perched on top of my omelette. Beautiful!


Also, I have to say that I am loving our little beach-side suburb these days. It's tiny, with just a few shops and cafes (unlike the nearby trendy Coogee and Bondi beaches). In fact, it's so tiny that yesterday, Vic and I walked down to the only shop that sells newspapers and we started complaining to the owner about how our weekend paper delivery wasn't very consistent. Well, it turns out that the shop owner is also in charge of delivery (oops!). After talking a bit more, we realized that someone was stealing our Saturday paper, and so today the paper was delivered to a more discrete spot in front of our apartment building. Yay for small towns! Our suburb is also home to my favourite coffee shop, which is warm and homey, where the owner knows my name, and where we pick up our organic fruits and vegies. Here's our haul for this week:


And of course, no weekend posting is complete without a few pictures of Gus. Here he is feeding ducks at Centennial Park. Centennial Park is one of my favourite places in Sydney, great for picnics and walks, and where the ducks are almost as big as 7-year olds.