What I've been up to lately

The rest of Ern’s visit:
After a relaxing trip to the Mornington Peninsula, Ern spent a couple more days in Melbourne before flying back to Boston. We shopped for foodstuffs at Queen Victoria Market - which I recently learned is situated on top of an old burial ground…cue eerie noises. We had a bunch of friends over for a barbecue, did some more shopping and eating – I finally went to this restaurant that I’ve been curious to check out for ages, and it did not disappoint. Blood orange Campari cocktails and a seafood tasting board? Yes, please! Then Ern left :( Overall it was a fantastic visit- nice to be on vacation for a week, and obviously wonderful to get to spend time with a great old friend- it really made me feel like myself again.

Other than that, I saw one of my new favorite (or shall I say favourite) Australian musicians, Darren Hanlon, play at the Thornbury Theatre, which is essentially a giant version of my grandmother’s parlor- paisley wallpaper, rugs, and lots of plush furniture. He (and his backing musicians) were really good, and the tickets only cost $24, which is extremely low for Melbourne.

And it’s been back to work as usual, very busy but in a good way. I gave my first presentation at my institute and it wasn’t a disaster, and nobody fell asleep, even though it was about mass spec.