Day Five: picked up something dead. And broke the law.

I'm all moved in at my new digs in Brunswick. I love the neighborhood, there are lots of great places to eat and little shops. My new feline roommate is Duncan, a Russian Blue. Unfortunately, by Monday morning, what had started as a bit of a sore throat over the weekend moved into my ears - a sure sign that I'm getting sick. :p Otherwise, Monday started out promising: I found a mostly-skeletal brushtail possum on my walk to school! I didn't have gloves or a bag, so after my lab induction, I grabbed supplies and ran back to get the possum.

Unwittingly, I broke several laws collecting that thing. All wildlife here, including dead wildlife, is protected. Luckily, the University has a collection permit and I can be considered to be covered under that. They also have a tissue export permit, which might allow me to bring the specimen home once its clean! Right now, it's in a bucket of water, making goo. Once it's gooey enough, I guess I'm supposed to clean it off and then bleach it? I suppose I'll do whatever they tell me. Everyone kept asking my why I picked it up. o_O WHY? Don't you always want another nice skeletal specimen? I... I just don't understand why you wouldn't want it. SB Anatomy students, I know you get me on this one.

So then I received some important books, had a tutorial on the microscope, and got my computer access worked out. After that, Monday tanked. My department induction got pushed to Tuesday, meaning I couldn't get keys to any of the rooms, so for a while I was dragging around by bag, books, computer, fleece, coat, scarf, and a dead possum in a plastic bag like some kind of vagrant. Finally, I took care of the possum and then wound up in the student lounge (which I couldn't leave because I didn't have keys to get back in!). I tried to get the school wireless working on my computer but hit a snag with the proxy settings. I started to feel exhausted and irritated and finally headed home about 5:30pm.

I saw 30+ joggers around Princes Park on the way home! Once home, I took some Advil, had dinner and watched Father Ted with Gen and Duncan. Slept in this morning, which was nice and I feel better. Today I WILL have my department induction, or else this guy is going to find out what it's like to be stalked by the Most Annoying Girl In The World. I wish I had brought the "Hello, how may I annoy you today?" shirt my sis got me for my bday one year...

Tonight I'm going to see Get Smart with some friends, and then tomorrow we're going to give Hot Pot another shot. Wednesday is another jogging day for the students and I really want to go since I skipped Monday. They only go about 5k, but it should still be fun. I'm still working out my Flickr account. I'm having some trouble uploading and I'm not sure why. I think I need to update my Flash player, which I always loathe. I should have it up and running this week.

Whiskey sour? What?

Went out for Thai food last night. It was very good but not spicy. So, is America the only place where curry = spicy? I found this in Madagascar, too. I had curry at every opportunity, but it was never like home. People scoff at the idea of Thai restaurants being authentic in MN, but I first had Thai at a little place called Na’s Thai Café, which is run by an immigrant family, so I can be reasonably sure it was authentic… I really really miss that place! I've also been to a place in St. Paul called The King and I, which is phenomenal. Maybe I just need to start asking for the curry to be spicy. That might solve it.

Met a few friends at Birdie O’Reilly’s, your typical wanna-be Irish pub. They don’t change half way around the globe, I’m afraid. Not my preferred type of place, but the company was great. There were sports games on huge screens, but upstairs was a DJ so we did a little dancing. If my ass is in a club, there’s guaranteed to be someone trying latch onto it. I gave him one dance and then ditched. I tried to order a whiskey sour at the bar and they didn’t know what it was. They asked me what was in it and I was like, “uh… whiskey and sour mix?” They had no idea. So I had to get a gin & tonic. (WOE.) None of my friends knew what a whiskey sour was either. o_O

My friend Jess brought up the fact that Australia is apparently having an obesity epidemic. I read something about it just before coming here. Something like 26% of their population is obese (compared to 24% in the US). She was like, “So do you all think we’re just fat bastards, or what?” I laughed and replied, “I thought everyone thought the Americans were fat bastards!” Anyway, from what I’ve seen, people here are very active. I always see tons of joggers and bikers. Everyone is fit and they eat horrible food all the time! After the bar, my friends wanted to go to a place just to get chips (read: fries)!! You want to eat chips at 1am? Seriously? How do these girls stay so thin?

This morning (Sunday) I had to be checked out by 10am, so I couldn’t sleep in. I stored my bags and then hit the streets for a long meander with my camera. Not a nice day here, very windy, but it was a fun walk. I got some nice pictures of the Botanical Gardens, the city, cute neighborhoods, and the Yarra River. (I’m uploading them to Flickr right now, but it’s taking forever and I only have a half hour of internet left. I think there are some cookie problems.) Anyway, the nice houses all have snooty sounding names, like Camden, Moore Abbey, etc. It’s like that in St. Paul, too. A friend of mine used to live in the only house on his block without a fancy name, so we decided to name it. Unfortunately, the first thing that slipped off his tongue was The Satan’s Asshole, and you just can’t top that. (Andrea, it was The Retard. XD Why do I still miss him sometimes?)

I was waiting at a crosswalk on Toorak Rd. and struck up a conversation with a guy (it was a looong wait), and he warned me that they will actually ticket for jaywalking around here, especially in the city proper. $55. :O Whaaat? I guess it’s not that bad, but that’s $55 I don’t need to spend on a jaywalking ticket, thank you very much. I am a consummate jaywalker, so I hope I don’t get myself into trouble. This time, I was just trying to get across a street to a bakery. Surely a cop could understand that, right?? Another dismaying thing is that it’s not cheap here. I paid $9 for a 4-pack AA batteries and $4 for a Vitamin Water this morning. Granted, I was at the 7-11 at the corner of Park St. and Domain Rd., but that is exorbitant in my opinion.

In a little while, I’ll call my new host and arrange a time to move in, probably about dinnertime. I’m going to miss having internet! I think I’ll try to find a café with wireless and hang out there on the weekends. I’ve heard Brunswick is a fun area, so that shouldn’t be difficult. In the meantime, I might hang out here at the hostel and watch those two final episodes of Battlestar (Cyclotrons!!1), or walk around some more. Not sure yet… I feel like I should see more of this area while I’m still here, but I already had a big walk this morning!

Excuse me while I weep for joy.

So I’ve got a room in someone’s apartment all set up! I didn’t even have to call anyone or visit a bunch of places, one of the students helped set it up for me. It’s in a suburb called Brunswick, which is a half hour walk or 10 minute tram ride away from the University. Much better than where I am now, which is a lovely part of town, but a half hour tram ride from school. She said she doesn’t need rent, just utilities – which is fantastic. I can move in on Sunday, which times perfectly with the number of days I got the hostel for (already paid for). And my host has a cat. I really could not be happier. I feel like it’s going to fall through at the last minute somehow! The only downside is no internet, so I'll just have to blog from school.

My Friday started out early. Up at 6:30 to make it to a pastry place called Brunetti’s for breakfast at 8. From there, an hour drive to The Yards, where the little beasties are kept. Wallaby wrangling was a piece of cake. The tammar wallabies are pretty small, less than 20 lb. and like 18 in. tall at the largest. First we had to herd them into a corner and then we netted them and put them in burlap sacks. We put them on their backs with their tail facing away and then checked their eartags and sex and whether they had pouch young. Little buggers can kick, though, and their claws are nasty, so you have to be careful. I didn’t get any pictures of me doing it, but I’ll be going again, so maybe next time.

So that was my morning. Back at the University, I went out to lunch with a bunch of people and met my new host. I was asked if I wanted to go to an “Aussie Rules Game” and of course I said yes, even though at the time I had no idea what that was. My policy is just to say yes to everything. I was also asked to give a talk on July 16th. I won’t really have much done, but I can talk about what I’m trying to do and they are all really curious about what my University is like, so I’ll talk about that, too.

The afternoon was kind of wasted, unfortunately. I was hoping to get my Lab Induction and Department Induction out of the way, but I was put off until Monday. Then I tried to track down the tech guy to get a computer and internet login, but couldn’t find him. People seem to treat Friday afternoon like part of the weekend, and they don’t work weekends very often. I hung around until I ran into some of the students and they were on their way to the Victoria Market. The Market was fantastic! All kinds of fresh meat and produce in one part, and clothes and souvenirs and anything else you could want in the other part. Since I’ll be living closer, I’m going to start doing all my shopping there. I shall have my kangaroo steaks yet!!

After that we went rock climbing. It was an indoor place called Hardrock, so it was really wall climbing. If you look at the website, it kinda looke like the walls are about 3 stories tall. Felt like that, too. I had to borrow some sweats from one of the guys, so yeah, been here for 36 hours and already into someone’s pants! ^o^ Now, I have never been climbing before, so it was my fist time. After a brief orientation to the gear, we attacked the walls. My first one was hard. I was definitely not used to using my muscles like that! I made it all the way to the top by virtue of sheer stubbornness and pride, but it was not really very “fun.” I took a short break and then was dragged to another wall, which was much easier. That one was actually fun. Then I did another wall and it was even easier. It wasn’t that it was getting easier, more like I’d chosen a hard one first. D’oh. Not the hardest wall there by a LONG shot, but the hardest one I did. It was about $27, which isn’t too bad. I think I’ll go back in a few weeks.

When we were spent, we set out in search of a famed Hot Pot restaurant. We found it but there was no room for us and we were hungry, so we settled on an Italian place nearby. The TV was showing what I thought was a rugby game, but then I noticed they were passing to the front and doing other things that are not legal in rugby, so I asked about it and was told it was an Aussie Rules Football game. Aaahhhhh. That’s what that is! I don’t know why they call it “football” since there isn’t a lot of kicking, it’s more like a free-for-all. I will look into this further and get details. I was stuffed after dinner, but by the time we got to the gelato place, I had room for a scoop of chocolate. It just tasted like ice cream, but that’s not necessarily a BAD thing.

Saturday morning I slept in and then took a noontime jog through the Royal Botanical Gardens and past the Shrine of Remembrance. The botanical gardens were fabulous. I ran through Fern Gully twice because the ferns were so amazing. It made me think of Groenke, who probably would have tried to steal them. I am also enamored with camellias, which are gorgeous and plentiful around here. My run was good on the whole. I was tired and my hip flexors were sore from climbing. The first mile was quite unpleasant, but it got better and I did a full 44 minutes, which is about what I was doing at home. The students go running together, about 5k they say, so I’m going to join them on Monday. They go in the middle of the day, though, and I’m much more of a go-home-and-shower kind of person, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve been relaxing this afternoon. Finally finished Reaper Man (by Terry Pratchett). I had sort of stopped reading it at the very end because I didn’t want it to be over. Heh. I met a Canadian girl who was complaining about how cold it is here. Uh… Right. I’m going out again tonight, and before that I really should reread my Cloaca papers so I am ready to start on Monday. Only been putting it off since June 3rd. I got my phone working, but my brother must have changed his phone number or something, because I got an error. Tried to call my sister next, but the answering service message got cut off and I’m not entirely sure WHO I left a message for. Oh well. Hopefully mom and dad are having such a good time in Greece that they are forgetting to worry that I’m dead. Gina who?

Tomorrow I want to take pictures around South Yarra before I move to Brunswick. I also have wallaby pictures for you next time!

G'day!

I have arrived safe and sound in Melbourne. The flight was mostly uneventful, which is as much as one can hope for. The $4.30 hot dogs at LAX made me think of Farke. Fanciest f*cking hotdogs west of the Mississippi, I’m sure. The flight from LA was late into Auckland, and this translated to an hour and a half late into Melbourne, finally off the plane by 9:30am. The first snag I encountered was that it turns out my old LG Verizon phone does not have a SIM card slot, so I had to buy a whole new phone. $59 including 130 free minutes. More than I wanted to pay, but it’ll work.

I was picked up by someone holding a sign with my name on it(!!) and we dropped my things off and got the university about noon. I got right to work assisting some dissections. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I had baby wallabies in my labcoat pockets within 45 minutes of being here, and I call that a success. Then I helped with some immuno staining, just to learn where everything is and check out their protocol.

I haven’t eaten anything interesting yet. Lunch was a panini at the student union and dinner is quickly-cooling pizza from a place nearby the hostel. The toughest thing so far is remembering that cars and people pass right-to-right here. I almost got into the driver’s side of my host’s car and I’ve been getting some odd looks passing people on the streets when I forget. I’m sure it’ll be like second nature in no time.

My computer’s clock tells me it is 5:38am in my former time zone, and it’s 7:38pm the following day here in Melbourne. Jet lag has not caught up to me yet, but I expect it to in the next couple of days. Good thing tomorrow is packed: meeting for breakfast at 8am, wrangling wallabies in the morning, more lab work, administrative stuff, rock climbing, and hot pot for dinner with the students. I’m psyched about the wrangling! I haven’t wrangled anything since I was in Montana in 2006. I am guessing wallabies will be more difficult than lambs but easier than calves.

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