Well, I've hit the half way mark. I think I'm going to hyperventilate when I have to start writing 'August' in my lab notebook. x_x The work is progressing, but I'm not going to get nearly as much done as I hoped. Basically, my time here will have been spent getting ready to do the work I wanted to do, but I can continue back at SB, so it's not that big a deal. That's all I'll bore you with here.
Still having heaps of fun. Last weekend I went dancing at some clubs with a few girlfriends. We started off with some Korean BBQ (at a place called, shockingly, Seoul), which was amazing. The only problem was that the bits of meat are so small I just kept eating. The first club we went to was Baroq House, known for fancy - and expensive - cocktails. I waited forever at the bar and didn't get to look at a cocktail menu, but then a green bottle on the shelf caught my eye and ordered anything with Absinthe in it. The young bartender didn't actually know how to make the drink, so he had to ask another guy. And then ask him again. And then bring him over to help finish it. I tipped him a couple dollars because he tried so hard. I still have no idea what was in that drink, but it was delicious. No, he did not light it on fire. Apparently, you're not supposed to do that.
I bought a small bottle of Absinthe in Prague a couple years ago but never tried it. It's never been illegal in Australia, and there's no reason it should be in the US. (More about Absinthe in Australia.) It's reputation was based mostly on erroneous information. I didn't really notice anything that was way outside the norm for a night of drinking. If pressed, I would say that maybe there was a difference in that I felt rather alert and I was not my normal silly drunken self (I think I was actually kind of boring, god forbid!). But like I said, it may not have been the Absinthe. Who knows. Anyway, I'll have to break into that bottle at home at some point and test more rigorously. :)
We wound up at a different pub at the end of the night, dancing to 80's tunes, which is always fun. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I was useless the rest of the weekend. I had to go into school on Saturday, but other than that, I didn't do much. Sunday, I laid around, read, and snuggled with Duncan. I don't know how I'm going to go back to my cat-free life in NY... >_> Might have to get one from the cat poster lady at HSC. I also don't know how I'm going to go back to my hermit life in NY.
I think this weekend we're renting a karaoke room, which should be so fun. Mary, I'm doing 'Pour Some Sugar On Me.' Count on it!! ^_^ I've been seeing a lot more movies that I normally do at home, notably Batman and X-Files. I thought movie prices were outrageous at home, but here $10.50 is the price on CHEAP days! Without internet at home, I've been watching more TV, too. Well, more accurately, I watch a few things that Gen watches, which is like 'Life of Mammals,' Simpsons, South Park, stuff like that. One show I'm in love with is 'Flight of the Conchords.' It follows two dorky Kiwi musicians trying to make a career in NYC. It's filmed a little like The Office, with dry humor but less awkward. I might have to buy a DVD before I go (as long as the region isn't fcuked).
I have been running maybe twice a week, but for significantly less time (because of my stupid foot). I just made it back up to 30 min on Monday. I'm going to try to go tomorrow, maybe 35 minutes.
Honestly, I'm going to make a post at some point more about living in Australia vs. the US - you know, something with substance - but I'm still working on it. I also have a list of things to do before I go:
-visit the zoo
-visit the aquarium
-drive down the Great Ocean Rd.
-eat at Paella, the Spanish/Moroccan place I walk past every day
-take pics of the university
I'm sure this list will grow. Oh, there are new pictures up at my Flickr photostream! Find the link on the right. There's one of me with a baby kangaroo! (No, I'm not eating it!)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Macropodids are delicious
It was a weekend of drinking and eating... and it started on Wednesday with the potluck/lab meeting.
I brought two apple pies to the potluck. The pie-making was a disaster from start finish! Every step (crust, filling, topping) needed improvisation of some sort because the ingredients I usually use are not available here, or the measuring system is different, etc. In the end, the pies themselves weren't terrible and everybody enjoyed them, so I can't complain too much. I have now had kangaroo sausage and wallaby stew and both were amazing. I'm getting those sausages this weekend. WOW! Thursday, there was dinner out at a nice Chinese restaurant with yummy Peking duck. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we just went from house to house, eating a partying. I was so done by Sunday! x_x Time to scale back on the heavy foods!!
Tonight I think there is a trip to the movies to see Dark Knight and then nothing till clubbing on Friday. Excuse me, but it has to be said: I have nothing to wear. And we all know how much I hate shopping...
Work has been up and down. I'm almost at the half-way mark here, and I think there needs to be some serious thought about how it's going and what happens next. :/ I'm miserable in the lab most of the time and I'm not sure I want to keep going on this track.
I just ordered this shirt:
I want it NOW, but it will be waiting for me at home in NY. It's from wearscience.com
(I think the proper discworld turtle is a sea turtle, but I don't care!)
I brought two apple pies to the potluck. The pie-making was a disaster from start finish! Every step (crust, filling, topping) needed improvisation of some sort because the ingredients I usually use are not available here, or the measuring system is different, etc. In the end, the pies themselves weren't terrible and everybody enjoyed them, so I can't complain too much. I have now had kangaroo sausage and wallaby stew and both were amazing. I'm getting those sausages this weekend. WOW! Thursday, there was dinner out at a nice Chinese restaurant with yummy Peking duck. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we just went from house to house, eating a partying. I was so done by Sunday! x_x Time to scale back on the heavy foods!!
Tonight I think there is a trip to the movies to see Dark Knight and then nothing till clubbing on Friday. Excuse me, but it has to be said: I have nothing to wear. And we all know how much I hate shopping...
Work has been up and down. I'm almost at the half-way mark here, and I think there needs to be some serious thought about how it's going and what happens next. :/ I'm miserable in the lab most of the time and I'm not sure I want to keep going on this track.
I just ordered this shirt:
I want it NOW, but it will be waiting for me at home in NY. It's from wearscience.com
(I think the proper discworld turtle is a sea turtle, but I don't care!)
Friday, July 11, 2008
Aussie Rules Football RULES
Went to the football game last night - tons of fun! To my surprise, the Australians also use the term 'soccer' for soccer and resesrve 'football' for their version of the game. I was cheering for St. Kilda, who won 118 to 87. It was nice to be cheering for a winning team for once. Not used to that (e.g. the last two presidential elections). The game was played at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, which holds 100,000 fans. For comparison, Yankee Stadium holds 58,000.
Here are the Aussie Rules as I understand them:
-Played on a cricket pitch, which is oblong. It is as much as 185m long and 155m wide. It looked huge to me when I walked in! Cricket is played in the summer, and footy in the winter.
-There are 4 thirty minute quarters, with a twenty minute half-time.
-There are four goal posts at opposite ends, two taller ones and two shorter ones on either side. The point of the game is to get the ball between the taller two goal posts (6 points). But you can also get one point by putting the ball between a big and small post or hitting a large goal post. If the ball is going between the large goal posts, but someone touches it, it’s only worth 1 point.
-There are named positions, but they are very fluid and don’t seem to have rigidly fixed positions on the field. Each player guards a player from the opposing team like in basketball. There is no real “goalie” but there was usually a guy hanging out by the goal posts and his guard was always right on top of him. (When play at one end of the field gets really intense, the opposite posts are usually unmanned.)
-Play starts at the center of the pitch where the ref bounces the ball on the ground really hard and then the players try for a tip-off like in basketball.
-The ball looks like a rugby ball. It can be kicked or hand-balled (like an under-handed volleyball serve) to another player, but never just thrown. When the ball is kicked, it’s not kicked along the ground like in soccer (dribbling), it’s kicked through the air to another player who catches it.
-A player can run with the ball, but they have to bounce it on the ground every few meters. This seemed like a goofy rule to me, but it’s supposed to prevent players from just tucking the ball under their arm and running (as in American football). The bounce rule is not strictly enforced by the refs.
-When a player catches the ball, they can either (1) play through (run/keep passing), and other players can try to tackle them or steal the ball; or they can (2) stop play and take a few seconds to decide where to kick the ball. The second option is indicated, appropriately, by stopping. When a player stops, they can’t be tackled or the ball stolen This seems like a nuanced rule to me, since most of the guys have some pretty good momentum going when they catch the ball, but everyone on the field seems to get it. There is some kind of time limit for this that I never got a clear answer on.
-Refs will intervene for balls that go out of bounds, fouls, or deciding who gets the ball after a tackle pile-up, but I don’t know the nitty-gritty rules about that stuff.
-Overall, play is very quick and the ball really moves. The clock is stopped after a goal as every one gets back into position at the center for a new bounce, but that doesn’t take very long. The game is pretty simple and very exciting to watch. Best part? THE SHORTS. They're doing it right.
See blurry pics at my flickr photstream!
A little bit about the Australian Football League:
-It started out as the Melbourne Football League, with 16 teams from different suburbs (St. Kilda, Fitzroy, Carleton, etc). Even now, most of the teams (13/16, I think) are from Melbourne. Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide have teams now, and a lot of other cities want one.
-For some reason, there can only be 16 teams at a time, so a Melbourne suburb has to lose their team for another city to get one. As you can imagine, no one wants to lose their team, so this is very contentious. Teams with the smallest fanbases are often courted by other cities with packages of money/coaching/new stadium/etc. I think the League makes all final trading decisions, though.
-The AFL has a salary cap for all players. The young in-coming players (about 18 years old) make about $40,000/yr. From there on their salary is determined by skill. The most they can make is like $400,000. Players hit their peak about age 24-27, but they will be retained as long as they keep performing. St. Kilda has a player who is 37, which is pretty impressive. Personally, I think the salary cap is really good and serves to keep things in perspective.
-Kids have leagues, too. Up until age 13, they are co-ed.
Having a BLT at the Empire right now. They have very different ideas about bacon down under, as in it should be served in large slabs. I don't think it's wombat, but I didn't ask. I managed to eat the first half of the sandwich with my hands, but gave up and used knife and fork for the second half. :d
The actual work I came here to do has not been going so hot this week. Everything goes so slow it drives me nuts. Hopefully things will pick up next week. I have to give a short talk to the lab group on Wednesday. There are two other Americans here right now, a couple from UConn, and they will be talking as well. To celebrate, there is going to be a potluck lunch with an Aussie Food theme. All the Aussies have been wondering, "what's Aussie food?" I have heard rumors about delicious Kangaroo Sausage from the Vic Market... I am bringing apple pie, as a little American offering.
Weekend plans are pretty much non-exisent because I've been spending too much money. Definiately gotta work on my talk (all I have right now is an intro slide that says "The CLOACA as you've never seen it before!!!1" Don't think will make it into the final version). Need to buy food, too. I am going to try jogging. I strained my foot on Monday (whatever ligament holds the calcaneous and the navicular together) and have been taking easy. It's not 100% but screw it, I want to jog. We're in the middle of a cold snap, so I'll be bundling up!
Here are the Aussie Rules as I understand them:
-Played on a cricket pitch, which is oblong. It is as much as 185m long and 155m wide. It looked huge to me when I walked in! Cricket is played in the summer, and footy in the winter.
-There are 4 thirty minute quarters, with a twenty minute half-time.
-There are four goal posts at opposite ends, two taller ones and two shorter ones on either side. The point of the game is to get the ball between the taller two goal posts (6 points). But you can also get one point by putting the ball between a big and small post or hitting a large goal post. If the ball is going between the large goal posts, but someone touches it, it’s only worth 1 point.
-There are named positions, but they are very fluid and don’t seem to have rigidly fixed positions on the field. Each player guards a player from the opposing team like in basketball. There is no real “goalie” but there was usually a guy hanging out by the goal posts and his guard was always right on top of him. (When play at one end of the field gets really intense, the opposite posts are usually unmanned.)
-Play starts at the center of the pitch where the ref bounces the ball on the ground really hard and then the players try for a tip-off like in basketball.
-The ball looks like a rugby ball. It can be kicked or hand-balled (like an under-handed volleyball serve) to another player, but never just thrown. When the ball is kicked, it’s not kicked along the ground like in soccer (dribbling), it’s kicked through the air to another player who catches it.
-A player can run with the ball, but they have to bounce it on the ground every few meters. This seemed like a goofy rule to me, but it’s supposed to prevent players from just tucking the ball under their arm and running (as in American football). The bounce rule is not strictly enforced by the refs.
-When a player catches the ball, they can either (1) play through (run/keep passing), and other players can try to tackle them or steal the ball; or they can (2) stop play and take a few seconds to decide where to kick the ball. The second option is indicated, appropriately, by stopping. When a player stops, they can’t be tackled or the ball stolen This seems like a nuanced rule to me, since most of the guys have some pretty good momentum going when they catch the ball, but everyone on the field seems to get it. There is some kind of time limit for this that I never got a clear answer on.
-Refs will intervene for balls that go out of bounds, fouls, or deciding who gets the ball after a tackle pile-up, but I don’t know the nitty-gritty rules about that stuff.
-Overall, play is very quick and the ball really moves. The clock is stopped after a goal as every one gets back into position at the center for a new bounce, but that doesn’t take very long. The game is pretty simple and very exciting to watch. Best part? THE SHORTS. They're doing it right.
See blurry pics at my flickr photstream!
A little bit about the Australian Football League:
-It started out as the Melbourne Football League, with 16 teams from different suburbs (St. Kilda, Fitzroy, Carleton, etc). Even now, most of the teams (13/16, I think) are from Melbourne. Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide have teams now, and a lot of other cities want one.
-For some reason, there can only be 16 teams at a time, so a Melbourne suburb has to lose their team for another city to get one. As you can imagine, no one wants to lose their team, so this is very contentious. Teams with the smallest fanbases are often courted by other cities with packages of money/coaching/new stadium/etc. I think the League makes all final trading decisions, though.
-The AFL has a salary cap for all players. The young in-coming players (about 18 years old) make about $40,000/yr. From there on their salary is determined by skill. The most they can make is like $400,000. Players hit their peak about age 24-27, but they will be retained as long as they keep performing. St. Kilda has a player who is 37, which is pretty impressive. Personally, I think the salary cap is really good and serves to keep things in perspective.
-Kids have leagues, too. Up until age 13, they are co-ed.
Having a BLT at the Empire right now. They have very different ideas about bacon down under, as in it should be served in large slabs. I don't think it's wombat, but I didn't ask. I managed to eat the first half of the sandwich with my hands, but gave up and used knife and fork for the second half. :d
The actual work I came here to do has not been going so hot this week. Everything goes so slow it drives me nuts. Hopefully things will pick up next week. I have to give a short talk to the lab group on Wednesday. There are two other Americans here right now, a couple from UConn, and they will be talking as well. To celebrate, there is going to be a potluck lunch with an Aussie Food theme. All the Aussies have been wondering, "what's Aussie food?" I have heard rumors about delicious Kangaroo Sausage from the Vic Market... I am bringing apple pie, as a little American offering.
Weekend plans are pretty much non-exisent because I've been spending too much money. Definiately gotta work on my talk (all I have right now is an intro slide that says "The CLOACA as you've never seen it before!!!1" Don't think will make it into the final version). Need to buy food, too. I am going to try jogging. I strained my foot on Monday (whatever ligament holds the calcaneous and the navicular together) and have been taking easy. It's not 100% but screw it, I want to jog. We're in the middle of a cold snap, so I'll be bundling up!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Brunswick photos
Whole bunch of new pics up on Flickr. I finally did a walk-about in Brunswick with my camera. Turns out I took mostly pics of churches and graffiti, two things I love. "Neck Face" here reminds me of something Andrea would draw.
I love this neighborhood, too. There's a place a few doors north from my building that does hair, body waxing, and piercing. Probably going to get my other ear pierced there as soon as I figure out what I want. There's also an Adult Store a few doors south that I'll have to go into one of these days. Oh, and all the good places to eat and little junk shops.
I'm on the wireless at the Empire Strikes Back Cafe, a block south from my building. Free wireless and good food. I'll definitely be a weekend regular. This french toast is destroying me. ♥
Yesterday I took a jog around Princes park. I did the longer route that goes around the cemetery. It only took me 26 min, so I had to do another loop in the park. Even thought my legs have been sore from walking (I can jog 4.5 miles, but a half-hour walk everyday makes me sore WTF?), the jog felt really good. I did the sprint at the end and everything. It's been a quiet weekend. I was supposed to go shopping, but I HATE shopping and I probably won't. Sales be damned. I will, however, cook something. Yes, it'll be STEW. :d
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Mmmmm... pig's blood.
I've got flickr working! View my photos here! There aren't many yet, but I'm working on it.
Went to see 'Get Smart' on Tuesday night. It was pretty fun and they didn't overuse the catch phrases. The theater was in the Melbourne Central Station. Think Penn Station on steroids. It's a real, multi-level shopping mall with a movie theater and even a gym (which is pretty smart, actually, for people who want to work out on the way to or from work). And in the middle of this mall/transport hub is an old shot tower. It was a production facility for lead shot which is now a protected piece of architecture, so they built the mall around it instead of taking it down or altering it. There's actually a picture of it in the wikipedia entry if you follow the link. I didn't get any of my own pics yet, but I'm sure I will be back in Melb Central at some point. Last night was Hot Pot. There is video of me eating coagulated pig's blood that I will have to get my hands on. Hot Pot was a blast and I ate so much I didn't even want breakfast this morning.
On the work front, things have gotten a bit frustrating. I'm trying to familiarize myself with transverse sections of embryos so I can know what I'm looking at, but the things look like blobs to me still. And it's not like this is new to me, we learn all kinds of CT sections and x-rays in anatomy. This shouldn't be that hard. But yeah... blobs. I've been helping a bit with some baby wallaby dissections. Usually, they just take a few pieces, but today I opened one up and skinned a leg for fun. I impressed everyone by making the feet clench when pulling on the deep flexor tendon. Dissecting things always makes me feel better (well, except for a few high stress dissections with Jerome, but that's because I'm a spaz and I realize that). They think I'm a good dissector! I told them about my nickname (DESTRUCTOR!). I am certainly living proof that anyone can become reasonably good at dissecting with enough practice.
Weekend plans are taking pictures of things and shopping a bit. I don't like shopping but I need a few things and the big sales that are on right now are about to end. I also need to go jogging now that I'm feeling a bit better. I am so embarrassed: I can run 4.5 miles pretty easily, but the half hour walk to school is killing my legs. Seriously, why is that??
Went to see 'Get Smart' on Tuesday night. It was pretty fun and they didn't overuse the catch phrases. The theater was in the Melbourne Central Station. Think Penn Station on steroids. It's a real, multi-level shopping mall with a movie theater and even a gym (which is pretty smart, actually, for people who want to work out on the way to or from work). And in the middle of this mall/transport hub is an old shot tower. It was a production facility for lead shot which is now a protected piece of architecture, so they built the mall around it instead of taking it down or altering it. There's actually a picture of it in the wikipedia entry if you follow the link. I didn't get any of my own pics yet, but I'm sure I will be back in Melb Central at some point. Last night was Hot Pot. There is video of me eating coagulated pig's blood that I will have to get my hands on. Hot Pot was a blast and I ate so much I didn't even want breakfast this morning.
On the work front, things have gotten a bit frustrating. I'm trying to familiarize myself with transverse sections of embryos so I can know what I'm looking at, but the things look like blobs to me still. And it's not like this is new to me, we learn all kinds of CT sections and x-rays in anatomy. This shouldn't be that hard. But yeah... blobs. I've been helping a bit with some baby wallaby dissections. Usually, they just take a few pieces, but today I opened one up and skinned a leg for fun. I impressed everyone by making the feet clench when pulling on the deep flexor tendon. Dissecting things always makes me feel better (well, except for a few high stress dissections with Jerome, but that's because I'm a spaz and I realize that). They think I'm a good dissector! I told them about my nickname (DESTRUCTOR!). I am certainly living proof that anyone can become reasonably good at dissecting with enough practice.
Weekend plans are taking pictures of things and shopping a bit. I don't like shopping but I need a few things and the big sales that are on right now are about to end. I also need to go jogging now that I'm feeling a bit better. I am so embarrassed: I can run 4.5 miles pretty easily, but the half hour walk to school is killing my legs. Seriously, why is that??
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