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.