The week in pictures

Australia got a new Prime Minister, and the first female to hold the position- congratulations to Julia Gillard. I'm still a bit baffled by the fact that here in Australia, you can get a new prime minister without an election or a coup. Although it doesn't happen very often, elected members of the ruling party can change their leader, and the thinking behind this move is that the former PM Kevin Rudd's popularity had sunken so low that the party deemed it best to replace him prior to the upcoming election, which isn't technically scheduled yet but will happen by the end of this year. Parliamentary system of government, you are bananas.

In unrelated news, I knocked heads with another girl going up for a header in Sunday's soccer game and am now sporting a massive black eye. Pretty! I did end up going to the doctor to make sure I didn't have a concussion (which I didn't), but he recommended a skull x-ray. Results are coming in tomorrow. I'm fairly confident that it's just a bad bump, though. And I think I'll stick with an ice pack rather than putting a steak on it.

List #43....Countries with disappointing bacon

1. Canada
2. Australia
3. France
4. Germany

Australia Update

When I took this gig back in February, I had a six month employment contract and a temporary work visa that expired in 2010, but I did have the notion that if things were going well, I would try to extend my stay. Anyone who works in science knows that six months isn't enough time to complete a project, especially if you want to get a publication out of it. The new job has been a great fir for me, both career and personality-wise, and after the long and painful grad school experience, it feels very refreshing to actually enjoy science again. And yeah, aside from the work stuff, I'm quite happy with pretty much everything at the moment. So, a couple of months go my supervisor and I had little discussion about my plans and it became clear that I wanted to stay longer and she wanted me to stay longer. The wheels were set in motion, and I ended up getting some internal funding for my current project plus a new one (both related to bacterial pneumonia, for you nerdlings out there), which led to a contract extension and a new visa application. It was approved last week and is good through the end of 2011, so it looks like I'll be staying down under until next December.
Fret not, Bostonians, I'll be back to visit, most likely next spring or early summer. And just in case you're considering vacationing in Australia, visitors are welcome!

New blog posts 3 days in a row- it may be a 2010 record!

Rest In Peace, Manute Bol

I liked Manute Bol back in his NBA days- aside from being astonishingly tall and thin, he had a great attitude and was always willing to laugh at himself, like in this classic SNL skit and this prank by Charles Barkley. I was unaware of his humanitarian work in his native Sudan until I read What Is The What earlier this year (which is fantastic, by the way), and once I did a little more reading up on the man, I was thoroughly impressed. A Dinka tribesman, Bol spent the majority of his life raising money and working towards peace in his troubled homeland- some of his efforts are mentioned in this 2006 profile in Sports Illustrated. In a world where someone like Kobe Bryant can win a MVP trophy, it's men like Manute Bol who truly deserve to be lauded. Here's a nice obituary on Bol from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

What I've Been Up To, Part II

The blog neglect continues….InLeWriMo is still going strong, and I think daily letter writing has zapped my usual blog posting energy source.

Queen’s Birthday in Surfers Paradise-
We had a 3 day weekend for the Queen’s Birthday, and although I do not know which queen, when it comes to a Monday off from work, I don’t ask too many questions. I flew up to the Gold Coast to meet up with my college friend Alison and her flatmate Jess. Surfers Paradise is essentially the trashy Florida part of Australia, chock full of beautiful beaches marred by high rises, retirees, and teenage partiers. But we knew what we were in for and still had a great time. Plus, it’s gray and cold and windy in Melbourne this time of year, so it was nice to get some sunshine. Most of the weekend was consumed by the World Cup, including a 4am trip to the casino to watch the USA vs. England game amidst a hundreds of drunk Englishmen, or Poms, as they’re called here. A tie never felt so sweet.

In other sporting news, I did watch game 7 and was disappointed that the Celtics couldn’t scrape out a win. As I read somewhere on Facebook: “every time Kobe wins a ring, and angel loses his wings.” To be honest, I think Gasol deserved the MVP more than Kobe.

Lastly but not leastly, am I too old to buy trendy things like fingerless gloves? Well, I don’t care because I love them. So there.

What I've Been Up To Lately

Hello there, neglected blog! Here's what I've been doing the past few days.

Watching movies:

Animal Kingdom- Melbourne's very own crime drama. Like most major cities, Melbourne does (did?) have a rather infamous criminal underworld, the subject of the TV hit Underbelly, which I like to call the Australian version of the Sopranos. The characters of the film Animal Kingdom run in similar cicles, with much of the movie centered around a police assassination that actually happened in 1988. Our protagonist is a quiet teenage boy, who, following the death of his mother, moves in with his extended family- his gangster uncles and a grandmother who's just a little too friendly with her own sons. The movie is more of a psychological thriller than an action film, but I did enjoy it.

And since one can't watch crime dramas all the time, the next movie I saw was Sex in the City 2. No, it won't win any Oscars, but it's a fun movie to watch and if you liked the show, you'll definitely like the movie, critics be damned. However, it has recently occurred to me that Sex in the City is somewhat of Golden Girls rip-off. Samantha = Blanche, and Charlotte = Rose. Don't you see it? Miranda could be Dorothy, so it's really only the Carrie/Sophia match that is a little off. Oh, and in the new movie? They wear caftans. You heard it here first.


Reviewing beer: Check out my latest review on Beer Crusade.

Cooking:
Filet steak with mixed mushrooms and sherry. YUM.

and lastly, here are a couple of links:

Awesome Nike commercial for the World Cup. Woohoo!

Cops find one ton of marijuana in a Dorchester apartment. Ah, good old Dot. The photo does remind me of the "drugs on the table" bit from The Wire, but honestly, that is an astonishing amount of pot.

Cooking blog shoutout

Sarah's been posting some great recipes over on The Pink Shoe Cookbook. In fact, I made her Light Dijon Dill Crusted Salmon tonight for dinner and it was super yum.

Tasmanian Holiday

I just got back from a five day trip through Tasmania, that little island that sits off the southern coast of Australia (and isn't a separate country). D and I sailed overnight from Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Something about sailing away on a boat makes you feel like you're headed off on a grand adventure, and luckily the Bass Strait was nice and calm for the crossing- it has a reputation for rough seas. After that, we landed in Devonport and picked up the rental car, a ridiculous bright yellow Hyundai (or Hee-un-dai if your initials are AV) soon dubbed Mellow Yellow for its reluctance to accelerate. We then headed south to Hobart- the whole island only takes about 3 hours to drive across and it's still very sparsely populated- the main highway is a two lane road, passing mostly through farmland. Hobart is a cute little city on the waterfront, and opposed to Melbourne, which is flat flat flat, Hobart is surrounded by hills and a small mountain, Mt. Wellington, looms over the city.


We toured the Cascade Brewery, where beer has been made since 1824, making it the oldest operational brewery in Australia. The building itself is impressive and like many other structures from the 1800s, it was built by convicts. (My new slogan for Tasmania: "Built convict tough." I should have gone into PR.) The tour was a lot of fun- you have to wear safety glasses and a neon vest, and you get to see the entire facility, including the Laverne & Shirley bottling machines. And there's beer at the end!

We hit up the Salamanca market on Saturday morning before a scenic drive and a wine tasting adventure that led us down a dirt road to encounter a strange man who makes wine in his garage and tests it with pH meters and the like. After Hobart, the next destination was the Freycinet penninsula on the east coast with a brief stop at the Freycinet Vineyard, which was a more high-class operation than chemistry set man.

Freycinet National Park lived up to its tagline of "rugged and beautiful," although when you're staying in heated cabins and dining on oysters at the lodge, it's not quite so rugged. We did spend a day hiking out to Wineglass Bay, which ranks among the world's top ten beaches (according to a few travel magazines) and is only accessible by boat or by hiking in on fairly long and steep trail. It was indeed lovely even though it's too cold for swimming at the time of year. Well, that and intimidatingly massive waves.

While on the Freycinet Penninsula, I did encounter some of our furry friends- wild wallabies were all over the park (and notably in the parking lots) and some possums came a callin' on the porch one evening (and left their calling card as well). Fact: Australia possums are like a zillion times cuter than North American ones. We stopped by a nature park to check out their Tasmanian Devils and they did not disappoint, especially at feeding time. The staff feeds them what appears to be hunks of roadkill carcasses and the devils snarl and get all feisty-like. Good stuff. They're pretty cute when they're sleeping, though, and much easier to photograph. Overall, I had a great time in Tasmania and only wish I could have stayed longer.

Recipe: Tomato and garlic stew with prawns

We're headed into winter down here in the southern hemisphere, and on a cool and rainy night, nothing beats a big pot of soup. I made this really easy and tasty recipe from Donna Hay for Tomato and Garlic Stew with Prawns. Prawns being shrimp, not the aliens from District 9. It came our really well but was a little heavy on the onions- 1 large would probably be sufficient. I only used half the recommended amount of prawns/shrimp, because those little guys are expensive, but it still seemed like plenty.

My June Project: InLeWrMo (note to self: come up with better acronym)

What has turned out to be the most troublesome aspect of living in Australia isn't the distance per se, it's the fourteen hour time difference between Melbourne and Boston that makes it difficult to find a good time to Skype or call- usually at least one party is either sleeping or at work. Sure, there's always email, but I've decided to revert to the old fashioned way of keeping in touch: letter writing. I've always had a penchant for stationery and stamps (and even participated in a stamp collecting club as a kid- nerd alert!), and hey, everyone likes letters. It's nice to find something other than bills and credit card offers in the mail.
Like most people, I have the tendency to procrastinate, and often when I come up with ideas like "hey, I should write more letters!" they don't ever come to fruition. So I'm issuing myself a challenge. If you're a blogger you probably know that November is NaBloPoMo, a.k.a. National Blog Posting Month. I've declared June as InLeWriMo- International Letter Writing Month, in which participants (me) will write a letter every day for the whole month. Feel free to join in, or if you'd like to receive a letter from me, email me your address. I'd also welcome suggestions for a better acronyms and perhaps a slogan. It's better in a letter? Nothing says you're a champ like a stamp.

In the news

Hey hey, I'm in a magazine! A nerd magazine!

Thanks to Molly for taking a professional looking headshot while we were sitting in a train station in Germany.

Movie Reviews

Over the past week, I’ve watched a couple of DVDs.

The first was Let The Right One In, the Swedish vampire movie that’s essentially the antithesis of Twilight- these vampires definitely do not sparkle. The protagonist is Oskar, a 12 year old misfit boy who doesn’t seem to have a single friend until he meets Eli, a strange girl who lives in his apartment complex, who only appears at night, doesn’t seem to feel the cold, and smells funny. Yep, she’s a vampire. The movie proceeds slowly, with lingering shots of the cold winter landscape and limited dialogue, but when the action does occur, it is poignant and brutal. I thought the movie was fascinating, in particular by the relationship between Eli and Oskar, and it is brilliantly filmed, especially the swimming pool scene towards the end (holy crapola!!). It was refreshing to see such an unusual film: the main characters are children, and much of the movie is left up to the viewer’s interpretation- who is the old man that Eli lives with at the beginning? Does she really care for Oskar or is she using him? I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards. Be warned, though- it’s not a scary movie per se, but it is a dark one, and definitely not for the squeamish. Here's the New York Times review.

And now for something completely different:

Adventureland, set in Pennsylvania in 1987, is a sort of coming-of-age film about a recent college graduate who ends up back in his hometown working in an amusement park after his more grandiose post-graduation plans fall apart. It turns out to be quite the learning experience as the somewhat naïve James has never held a job before nor has he had any success in romantic relationships, but his Midwestern niceness (along with a big stash of joints) rapidly endears him to his new coworkers. I loved it! It’s sweet, funny, and definitely captures the good and bad parts of working at a shitty part-time job. Adventureland was written and directed by Greg Mottola of Superbad fame, but this film is more substance that slapstick, although there are a few similarities- the main character, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, reminds me of an older Michael Cera. Lastly, any movie that prominently features Bill from Freaks and Geeks is a winner in my book.

Things I'm into lately

Beer! I reviewed my first Australian brew over on Beer Crusade.

I generally dislike all things techno, electronica, trance, and the like, but I absolutely cannot get enough of this funky track by Australian DJ duo Yolanda Be Cool: We Speak No Americano. (right click and save as to download) It's a lab favorite! I just love that someone can take a brief clip of an old-timey Italian tune and turn it into a modern dance hit. Damn, that shit is catchy!


Hokkien noodles: Yes, they're cheap, they come in a bag, and you soak them in hot water before eating them, but they taste a zillion times better than ramen. Just throw them in with some stir-fried veggies and meat and YUM. I had them for the first time on Tuesday (thanks, D), and I just made them again for myself tonight.

It's all fun and games until someone loses their knickers

I laughed when I saw this note posted in the women's bathroom at work...until I looked at the underwear and realized they were MINE! No, there aren't any Grey's Anatomy shenanigans are going on at my hospital- they must have fallen out of my gym bag while I was changing. Couldn't I have lost a sock or something? Geez. I don't know if the fact that they were lame cotton workout underwear made it more or less embarrassing, but I didn't want anyone to know they were mine, so I waited to until I was leaving to slyly retrieve them. But hey, I'm okay with telling The Internet, because we don't share an office area.

Concert Review: Vampire Weekend

Last week, I saw Vampire Weekend at Festival Hall in Melbourne. I fully admit that I have completely fallen for their peppy sound and catchy guitar hooks, hipster haters be damned! I even like their oddly compelling cover image of a preppy girl in a Polo shirt, which they used as a backdrop at the concert. I hadn’t seen them play live before, so I had been looking forward to the show, and it did not disappoint. The venue was kind of a dive- it’s a former boxing ring that still feels like an enormous concrete gym, but luckily the entrance we used popped us in right along side of the stage, which was a good thing since there were about 3000 people in the general admission area. Since Vampire Weekend only have two albums out, their set list consisted of about eight songs from each album, including my favorites: A-Punk, Oxford Comma, Campus, and Cousins. Musically, they were spot-on and they seemed at ease on the stage, like they were genuinely having fun performing. The whole show had an energetic, upbeat vibe to it. I always associate VW with the northeast, so it was a funny being in Australia and hearing them sing about Cape Cod, and it even made me feel a little bit superior. Maybe almost everyone in the crowd was a decade younger than me, but I know where Hyannisport is. So there!

In other news, unlike Michael Buble*, Vampire Weekend is not being stalked by a velociraptor. (thanks, CR)

*for a long time, I thought his name was Michael Bubble. Not quite as suave.

Adventures in strange fruit

Last week, my coworkers were talking about fiejoas and how good they are, so when I spotted them at the supermarket I decided to give them a try. From the outside, they resemble small avocados. But when you cut them open, the flesh is fruity deliciousness. They're related to the guava (a highly overrated fruit, in my opinion) but taste more like a mixture between a strawberry and a pear. Yum!

Next up on my fruit adventure list: the infamous durian.

Chewy on your boot!*

My flatmate Belinda’s friend Tony ended up crashing at our place for a few weeks last month while he was waiting for his new lease to begin. How very Three's Company. As a thank you, this past Saturday he invited us to attend an Australian Rules Football game in his company’s corporate box at the MCG, the main sports arena in Melbourne. We're smiling because there's free booze.

People in this part of the country are absolutely mad about AFL, a.k.a. the footy, so I had been meaning to check out a game. The sport is fairly similar to Gaelic football and is something like a cross between soccer and basketball. The field is round (I had no idea!) and enormous, and each team has 15 players on the field at a time. The goal consists of four uprights and you score by dropkicking the ball between them- getting it between the inner two posts earns 6 points and between an outer post is worth 1 point. I had thought the players would be stocky rugby types, but not at all- it’s a fast paced game with a lot of running, jumping, and some mauling, and the players are incredibly fit in addition to being huge. The uniforms are quite snug and have fun stripey socks- I reckon they were designed by a gay man. I mean, look. One thing I really liked about the game is that it’s nearly continuous action- play rarely stops, and if it does, it’s only for a few seconds. Even better, the officials hardly ever call penalties, which means there’s no sense in diving (the worst aspect of professional soccer) or exaggerating to try to draw a foul (one of the most annoying things about the NBA), because unless someone punches you in the face (and maybe not even then), the ref ain’t blowing the whistle. Some more footy notes:

When the ball goes out of bounds, the referee turns his back to the field and hucks it over his shoulder to put it back into play. Crazy!

The other strange thing about the game was the flock of seagulls that were constantly on the field. When play gets close they fly around and move to another part of the field, but I think they live in the stadium, as no one else seemed to find their presence unusual at all.

Tailgating doesn’t exist here, and sounds sort of ridiculous when you explain it to people unfamiliar with the concept: “Well, you get to the game a few hours early and sit around in the parking lot and grill food and drink beers. It sounds lame, but in fact, it is AWESOME.”

Lastly, here’s a picture of D and me in our Essendon Bombers gear. (Note my fancy new haircut.)

*what you yell when you want a player to shank a kick. It’s kind of like the Aussie version of shouting “Wide left!”

Concert Review: Regina Spektor

A few weeks ago, my friend Anna asked me if I wanted to go see Regina Spektor with her. Even though I'm not all that familiar with her music, I do like a couple of her songs, and let's face it, when you move to a new city and don't have many friends, you might as well say yes when someone asks you to do something. The show was at the Palais Theater, which reminded me of The Orpheum in Boston, only it's been renovated and sits right on the beach. And the show was very good! First of all, Regina Spektor is immensely popular in Australia (her music gets a lot of play on Triple J, an excellent radio station that's sort of like an indie rock NPR without the annoying NPR voices) so the crowd was really into it. It turns out I knew a lot of the songs, ones that sounded familiar but I didn't realize they were hers. Most of the songs were backed up by cello, violin, and drums, and of course Regina playing the piano, but I was most impressed by her voice- strong and clear, and she sang for almost two straight hours, even going a capella at one point (ballsy!). She has a nice stage presence- she seems to be enjoying the performance and comes across as both quirky and friendly, although it guess it makes it easier when the audience obviously adores you. Reviews from last night's show aren't out yet, but here's one from her Sydney concert.

Dandenong Ranges

This past weekend lasted an extra day due to ANZAC Day, which is essentially Australia's version of Veterans Day. These Australian state holidays feel like bonus days off to me, kind of like when we used to get the Jewish holidays off from school- not my holiday, but I'll take it! D and I headed up to the Dandenong Ranges for a couple of days of nature and relaxation. Highlights included:

Me driving on the left, yeah yeah!! It wasn't so hard to stay on the left side of the road as it was to get used to things in the car being in the wrong place. I kept turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker and looking up and to the right instead of to the left for the rearview mirror. However, aside from one itty bitty incident when I kinda sorta drove off the road, I think I did quite well.

I heard and saw a kookaburra (pictured above). Their call really does sound like crazy laughing. Now all that remains on my wildlife list is the elusive echidna.

Devonshire tea. Popular in that part of Victoria, it's tea served with warm scones, jam, and whipped cream. YES PLEASE.

Creepy statues at the William Ricketts Sanctuary. Eccentric man moves into the woods and creates hundreds of statues that reflect his personal philosophies about nature and religion. Said philosophies involve bearded men and Aboriginal children's heads growing out of rocks. Work of a madman living in the forest or a state park? You decide. (I vote the former.)

More pictures:
Devonshire tea, creepy statues, and me and D (who, contrary to photographic evidence, does not dress like a Sith Lord. A gust of wind provided that special effect.) on top of Mount Dandenong.

Links!

1. Sacrilegious link of the day: I saw a post on Metafilter about a controversial crucifix in a church in Oklahoma City. Then I looked at the painting and laughed out loud. Distended abs? I don't think so.

2. Here's a gallery of photos of Eyjafjallajokul from Boston.com's The Big Picture. The first one is particularly badass. Volcano lightning!

3. And lastly, WebEcoist has posted a collection of interspecies friendship photos. Awwwww. I've seen some of these before, but there are some cute ones and some hard-to-believe ones (a polar bear hugging a wolf?) in there. Thanks, Tom!

Book review: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

I just finished one of the trippiest books I've ever read- The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, by Hakuri Murakami. The protagonist, Toru Okada, is thirty year old Japanese man living a mundane life, until everything normal begins to unravel. A strange woman calls, the cat disappears, his wife runs away, and at the same time, a number of unusual characters start appearing in his life, from a psychic and her sister to lonely teenage girl to a World War II veteran with a tale to tell. I can't really even begin to describe the story- it's so weird (like a Japanese book version of an arty film from France) and oh so very long, clocking it at a dense 607 pages. Although I did like the book, it took me FOREVER to finish- normally, I'm a pretty fast reader but I really struggled with this one. On the plus side, it's definitely interesting and well-written and I liked the main character as well as some of the side ones, like the stylish mother and son duo who run a secret psychic enterprise. On the down side, occasionally the story veers off on metaphysical tangents about the soul, past lives, and whatnot, and I found these stretches tedious and would have enjoyed the book at lot more if it were just a touch more straightforward. It did redeem itself a bit with the ending, which did come up with an explanation for a lot of the trippy spiritual mystery stuff.

And now for something even weirder that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle:

This music video by a band called Hot Chip. I've never heard of the band before but I saw the video and could not get it out of my head, it's so weird! I can't decide if it's brilliant and hilarious or just fucked up. Watch for yourself and let me know what you think.

Adventures in Australian bathrooms

Those of you who ever visited my old apartment in Southie will likely recall the one tiny and awful bathroom. My current apartment is much newer, and one of the benefits is a nice, big shiny bathroom. It's so clean and big- it has a glass shower with excellent water pressure, and the nozzle is high enough so I don't have to resort to odd yoga poses in order to wash my hair. It even has a separate bathtub, and although I haven't taken a bath in over a decade, I pulled a muscle in my soccer game today so I might go for a soak tonight. But here's the weird part- right next to the bathroom is....a strange little room that I refer to as the Toilet Closet. It is literally a closet with a toilet in it. No sink, no window, no shelves or cabinets. Just a toilet. Apparently in older Australian homes, the toilet was often located in a separate room from the tub/shower, but this is a modern apartment and the normal bathroom already has a toilet. The presence of a second toilet really doesn't make any sense- the apartment is a two bedroom and not very big, and doesn't have any closets outside of the bedrooms or any sort of pantry area at all, so some additional storage space would be a lot more handy than a second toilet. But hey, I guess it could be useful if I ever throw a St. Patrick's Day party and/or accidentally eat a plateful of fettucini alfredo.

In other news, bank card restored, dongle recharged, so I'm back online again.

W X Y Zed

Of all of the differences between life in Australia and life in the United States, nothing has been a startling as learning that the letter Z is pronounced "Zed" not "zee." I mean, I can handle going clockwise through a rotary, but Zed?!! That's messed up.

In somewhat related news, an ATM ate my bank card on Friday night, which I use to pay for my fancy internet dongle, so posting might be a little scarce over the next few days until my new card arrives and I can recharge the dongle (DIRTY!). I guess I've been a bit of a slacker about blogging lately, but no worries, I'll get back on the ole bloghorse soon enough. My bank is ANZ, and until I figured out the whole Z=Zed thing I had no idea what people were saying when they said my bank's name.

Easter in Canberra

Last weekend, I took advantage of two days off from work and headed to Canberra, Australia’s capital, to meet up with Kris and Rodd. The timing worked out quite well, as one of Kristy’s friends who lives in Canberra was going away for Easter and let us stay in our house (thanks, Bells!)- which was both cheaper and far more enjoyable than staying in a hotel. Canberra has a reputation for being really, really boring, and it isn’t exactly unwarranted. It’s a planned city that was designed to be the capital largely to avoid stoking the flames of the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry. The layout is similar to Washington, DC, with museums and government buildings set along a wide, grassy mall..…only there are hardly any people around (especially on a holiday weekend when parliament isn’t in session), so it feels eerily empty. Nevertheless, we found plenty to do. I arrived on Friday night, and since nearly everything was closed for Good Friday, we had dinner at home and proceeded to catch up over copious amounts of alcohol.

On Saturday, we had hot cross buns for breakfast- my only prior knowledge of hot cross buns was a from the song of the same name used when teaching children how to play the recorder, but they actually exist (see Exhibit A) and are baked goods traditionally eaten around Easter. After that, it was Day of Museums. First, the National Portrait Gallery (very cool with lots of photography), then Questacon science museum (nerd alert!), then Parliament itself, the best part of which is the grass on top of the roof that is perfect for lounging, and to be honest, seems like a prime location for smoking a joint. I’m sure thousands of Australian teenagers have had the same thought. Our main reason for the trip to Canberra was to see the special exhibit of impressionism paintings on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in France- several works by Cezanne, Seurat, Monet, and Van Gogh, among others, were on display. Lines were huge all day long so we waited until late afternoon and just waltzed right in.

Sunday morning, I accompanied Kris on a training run for her upcoming half-marathon (luckily for me it was a “taper down” week) and then we headed out to theTidbinbilla Nature Reserve for a lovely day of picnicking, bushwalking (heh), and sightseeing. We spotted heaps of kangaroos, some pretty cool birds, and an emu dad with three little emus. Awwww. On the way back to the city, we stopped by a space tracking center to see the largest satellite dish in the southern hemisphere (nerd alert part II!), a joint venture between Australia and NASA.

On Monday morning we had breakfast at a genuine pancake house, the kind with booths that look straight out of the 1970s. It was divine. The bacon was still weird but they pancakes, eggs, and coffee were all prepared in the classic American style. To kill some time before my flight, we returned to the art museum to see the regular displays- my favorite was a series of paintings by Australian artist Sidney Nolan depicting the story of Ned Kelly, a legendary outlaw along the lines of Jesse James or Billy the Kid. The paintings are colorful and striking in that Ned Kelly is portrayed as a boxy black figure in order to represent the homemade armor he once wore during a famous shootout.

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend, and if you want to read a more detailed account (with more photos!), you can check out Kristy’s version.

On holiday

Easter is a big travel time in Australia as most people have Friday and Monday off, myself included (thank you, Jesus!). So on my first trip since I've been here, I'm headed to Canberra, the capital, which is commonly regarded as the most boring city in Australia. However, I'm sure that Kristy, Rodd, and I will have a blast. We've got tickets to a special art exhibition and then will probably do some other nerd stuff and hopefully hit a nearby national park for a little hiking, or as they call it here, "bushwalking." Hahaha.

On the downside, I was hoping to torment Kris with peeps like in our college days, but alas, I'm now living in a peep-free land. Speaking of peeps, another former roommate and witness/participant to peeps hijinx, Kelly, sent me this link to a collection of fantastic peep dioramas. Who doesn't love a candy themed diorama?

Blue toenails

Those of you who play soccer or do a lot of running likely have experienced a blue toenail or two. You know what I mean- your toenail turns dark blue and thick, and stays like that for months until it eventually falls off, revealing a new, flimsy nail underneath. Back when I was playing on two soccer teams and running marathons (oh, the salad days), I typically had at least two blue toenails at any given time, to the point where I was too ashamed to get a pedicure because I didn't want to expose anyone else to my Halloween feet. I also once dropped a padlock on my toe, and even though it was years ago, the nail has never fully recovered- it's still thicker than normal and light blue at the base. If I'm ever captured by enemy forces and tortured, I hope that they'd rip out my toenails (as opposed to waterboarding or what have you) because, hey, they could use a fresh start.
Little did I know that there was a home remedy to blue toenails, until Eri pointed me to this thread on a triathelete blog. After giving it a read, I think I'm quite happy to leave my remaining blue toenail in peace.

Might as well face it, I'm addicted to crumpets

In the bakery section at the local grocery store, I noticed an unusual item that resembled a cross between a pancake and an English muffin. They came in stacks of six wrapped in plastic and, to be honest, looked kind of disgusting, like spongy round breads. The packaging didn’t help, either, as it gave them a Wonder Bread processed type aura and made me question how long they had been sitting there on the shelf. Nevertheless, I was curious, as these items are found in every grocery store and seem to be quite popular. I asked around and soon learned their identity: crumpets. And then I tried them in the traditional manner: toasted and loaded with butter (or margarine, in my case). Holy crap, these little fuckers are tasty! They’re like pancakes with nooks and crannies. Mmm…their texture is a perfect blend of soft squishiness and when you spread butter on them it melts down into the spongy holes in the best possible manner. Granted, they probably aren’t the healthiest way to start your day, and since my first crumpet, I’ve been on something of a bender. Crumpets may in fact be the best thing since sliced bread. Lesson learned: never judge a bakery item by its packaging.

Links!

Two Australian news articles emailed to me over the past week:

1. I am big in Australia is an entertaining article about how musical stars from decades past continue to perform in Australia. I do object with the insinuation that George Michael is a has-been- c'mon now, his shit is timeless! A lot of modern bands tour here as well, but they charge a lot more for tickets than they do in the states, particularly in Boston where I've been spoiled by the ability to see great bands play at small, inexpensive venues. Wilco and the Pixies were both recently in Melbourne, but I didn't quite get my act together in time to organize tickets (admittedly I wasn't super motivated to shell out $80 to see groups who I've already seen numerous times). I did splurge for Vampire Weekend in a few weeks and I am very very excited for that one.

2. Australian jogger mauled by kangaroo. I haven't come across any roos yet on my runs through the city, so I don't think I have anything to worry about. I did see a rat once, though. Just like home!

And a bonus link:
Here's a fun little picture blog: My Parents Were Awesome. I should dig up some old photos of Mo and Pat, but based upon the pictures I came across while living at my grandmother's old house, Mom-mom sets the family standard for awesomeness.

This little piggy went to market

Groceries are a lot more expensive in Australia...unless you buy them at an actual market rather than a supermarket. Luckily for me, the largest market in Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market, is located about halfway between my workplace and apartment. I arrived in Melbourne in time to catch the last of the summer night market, which basically exists to give people an excuse to drink sangria outdoors, a mission I fully support. I returned last Saturday morning to catch the market in its more typical state- butchers and fishmongers (love that word, it sounds so Olden Tymes) hollering out their specials, and fruits and vegetable stands as far as the eye can see. They even sell live animals, although I suspect that people aren't buying ducklings as pets. I passed on the live poultry but did pick up some eggplants to make this. Yummy!

A month in Melbourne

I realized today that I've been in Melbourne for exactly a month, so I thought it would be a good time to answer all those "so, what's it like?" questions.

Maybe I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but so far, everything's great. I like the city, like the job, like my flatmate, love my apartment and the neighborhood, love riding my bike, and I've made a few friends and joined a soccer team. I think after finally emerging from a soul-crushing six year stint in graduate school, I felt the need to press the big ole reset button on my life, and a new job in a new place seems to have done the trick. The big and obvious downside is that Australia is so very far away, and the massive time difference does make it seem even further.

So...time for some compare and contrast! Melbourne is a little larger than Boston and definitely has a bit of a chip on its shoulder in regards to Sydney, similar to how many Bostonians feel about New York. People here love good coffee and dress in a very unique style, which has inspired me to ditch the Old Navy grad school duds and pick up some new clothes (um, once I finish paying for the moving costs). For some reason, Americans have the impression that Australians are super friendly. They certainly aren't mean or anything, but they're not, well, Nicaraguan friendly. It's rather nice to live in a foreign country where you aren't noticebaly a forgeiner. Until someone says "How are you going?" (the standard greeting) and you pause and look confused before mumbling "Huh?...Oh! Good! You?" (This happens approximately six times a day.) The driving on the left thing isn't that big of a deal (especially since I haven't driven yet), but this is not the city for Boston-style jaywalking. Cars will not stop for you, and if you get hit, the general attitude seems to be that it's your own damn fault for being in the road.

Although I normally don't blog about anything job related, I know my science friends want to know what the lab is like, so I'll break protocol a bit. Like in the US, research laboratories tend to be very international, and mine is no exception- in addition to Australians and me, my group has members from Malaysia, Singapore, and Germany. The biggest difference is the overall lack of funding here- reagents cost more, and there aren't any big NIH grants to be had, which changes the general tone of the lab. Experiments are planned extremely carefully- it's better to take your time and do something right the first time to minimize costs than rush through to get a quick and dirty result that will need to be repeated. Every order is closely scrutinized, and labs cut costs by racking their own tips and reusing things like weigh boats. In some regards, it's a more thoughtful and less wasteful way of doing science, but on the downside, it would be nice to have more reagents and equipment available. On the plus side, despite the poor funding, academic scientists get paid much better here than they do in the US. It still baffles how labs in the US will spend millions of dollars on equipment and reagents but pay postdocs less than 40K a year (for a full rant, just ask JR). Aside from the funding, the other significant difference in the laboratory environment is that we are located smack dab in the middle of a hospital, and a children's hospital at that. All day long I see kids and their parents headed towards various doctor's appointments- it's poignant reminder that the institute where I work does have the overall goal of improving child health through research.

Okay, that's enough nerd talk for one night. Coming soon- more pics of the apartment and the neighborhood. And lastly, I've come to the realization that I hate Ikea.

Lastly, happy 30th birthday to my little sis!

Links!

With the whole intercontinental move, I didn't pay much attention to this year's Oscars (which may explain my poor performance in Kris' annual contest). However, I enjoyed this New York Times article about Kathryn Bigelow, who won both Best Director and Best Picture for The Hurt Locker. I had no idea she was the first woman ever to win Best Director- really, Hollywood? I also had no idea that she was the director behind the cinematic masterpiece known as Point Break. Rock on, Kathryn Bigelow- you're my kind of lady.

If you're feeling philanthropic, my friend Jess who was in Peace Corps Nicaragua with me started a small non-profit organization called the Asla Foundation that funds scholarships for Nicaraguan students. Many rural communities don't have a local high school, and although the costs associated with commuting to the city to attend high school (bus fare, school fees, uniforms, etc..) may seem small to us, they can be prohibitive for children from farming families. As a result, many young Nicaraguans in small towns end their education in the 6th grade. The Asla Foundation provides scholarships that sponsor students for all five years of high school. You can donate here.

In other news, I saw Shutter Island and it was really bad! Do yourself a favor and skip it. After The Departed, I had such high hopes...

I want to ride my bicycle

Check out my brand new (used) bike! Back in Boston, every spring I would consider buying a bike, and then I just wouldn't get around to it, and then it would be fall again and why buy a bike when you can't ride it all winter? The other obstacle is that, basically, I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to riding bikes in the city. Let's just say I don't have the best natural sense of balance, and Boston streets aren't exactly bike friendly. Here in Melbourne, however, bikes are everywhere, and most roads have separate bikes lanes. Plus, there's no snow or ice to worry about, so you can ride your bike year-round. I saw a purple Huffy on eBay that looked promising, but when I went to check it out, I was under the impression that I would be able to buy it on the spot but the girl selling it wanted to continue the bidding and wait 10 days for the online auction to finish. Whatever. Dismayed, I began my walk home and decided to pop into a crazy little junk shop on along the way, and guess what they were selling? Bikes! After checking out the merchandise, I went back later with a friend and ended up buying an old women's road bike from a chatty old (even older than the bike) Italian fellow, who threw a light, lock, and chain (not quite Pee Wee Herman, but close) into the deal. Now all I have to do is get used to riding on the left and avoiding tram tracks. Easy peasy, right?

My other purchase of the day (besides a helmet- safety first, people.) was a set of three teeny tiny cacti from an art market. I love them.




After an enjoyable day in the neighborhood, I cooked up some salmon for my flatmate Belinda (pictured) and one of her friends, and we drank champagne and watched an embarrassingly girly movie. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Online again!

Praise be! I finally have an internet connection at home. Turns out that it's a pain in the arse to get an internet connection installed here in Melbourne if you don't have an active phone like (which I don't)- two service calls are required, and worst of all, it takes 4-6 weeks to schedule an appointment. After some investigating, I went with another option, one I hadn't seen at all in the US but is very popular here: mobile wireless broadband. Basically, it's a little stick, commonly referred to as a dongle (dirty!) that you plug into a USB port on your laptop to connect to the internet. You buy the device itself through a provider, and then pay to recharge it every so often based upon your usage. I'm testing out my dongle (okay, I really can't handle that term) tonight, and so far, so good, although it is a little bit slow due to the advanced age of my laptop. So the good news is, more blogging and skype! (Hit me up at emd3737 on skype.) And for the bad news, well, you're going to have to listen to me use the term dongle. Repeatedly. Dongle dongle dongle.

My new apartment

So, after a long and fairly frustrating search, I finally found an apartment and moved in this weekend. And I love it! It's in my favorite neighborhood (or favourite neighbourhood, if you prefer Aussie spellings) in Melbourne: Fitzroy. Close to work, close to downtown, and loaded with restaurants and pubs and cafes and funky shops. My apartment is right around the corner from Brunswick Street, the main drag. The area has a definite hipster vibe to it (skinny jeans and trendy haircuts abound) but doesn't seem annoyingly pretentious. The apartment itself is nice- it's not large but it's relatively new (adios Southie squalor) and does have a balcony and a little sun room. My new flatmate is an Australian named Belinda- we hit it off right away when I stopped by to check out the place, and she offered it to me on the spot. I told her I'd need a couple of days to decide, but ended up texting her about ten minutes after I walked out the door to accept.

I moved in this weekend, amidst the craziest weather Melbourne has seen in a while. And conveniently, today is Labour Day here, so I have an extra day to get myself settled before the workweek begins. Here are a couple of photos of my new hood- Brunsiwck Street, a really neat looking bar that I have yet to try (but I love the faded, tropical look of the building), and a flower shop.




Still no home internet connection, but I hope to get that established this week sometime and will return to my normal posting frequency.

Book Review: Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann

When I began reading Let The Great World Spin, by Colum McCann, I wasn't feeling overly enthusiastic because I had recently finished another novel about New York City that also prominently features the twin towers, although in very different capacities. However, despite a slow start, Let The Great World Spin is a quite different, and in my opinion, far superior novel, to Joseph O'Neill's Netherland. It is set in 1974, back when New York City was gritty and violent and untamed, and on this particular day, a French acrobat walked on a tightrope between the twin towers, stunning onlookers and the authorities. A series of events that occur on this single day string together an ever-increasing number of the city's inhabitants- an Irish priest, immigrants, prostitutes, artists, judges, and Park Street wives. The beauty of the book is the characters themselves; author Colum McCann presents them without judgement and makes them come alive. The biggest complaint I had about Netherland is that everything seemed too cold and distant, and I was happy to find the opposite to be true in Let The Great World Spin- you care about the characters because they are so vivid, so real. I thought it was great and deserving of the 2009 National Book Award for fiction. Here's the New York Times review.

Links: the sciencey, the silly, and the spectacular

Sciencey:
Those of you who have worked in any sort of medical research lab are undoubtedly familiar with HeLa cells- the first human cell line that is still commonly used for in vitro studies. However, the story of Henrietta Lacks, from whose tumor the cells originated, is largely unknown. A new book by Rebecca Skloot aims to change that- here's an excerpt. Even thought I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, I found the article fascinating and will definitely pick up a copy of the book at some point.

Silly:
Nothing's funnier than someone overreacting to a joke about concealed weapons! (thanks, cupcake)

Spectacular:
Web-goddess extraordinaire Kris has outdone herself with the prize to this year's Oscar Contest....oh yes, Twilight-themed sock monkeys, complete with a sparkling and broody Edward. I really hope I win.

FYIF!

Apologies for the sparse blogging as of late- I don't have an internet connection where I'm staying and since I sit literally side by side with my boss (our "desks" are actually just one big table that we both sit at), I probably won't be doing much online tomfoolery at work. Which will likely do wonders for my productivity.

So yes, the first week of life in Australia has been good. On the upside, I really like my new job and new coworkers and especially my new boss. Yay! On the downside, I still haven't found a place to live- the Metafiler friend and her boyfriend who are hosting me are great, but I'm looking forward to getting settled in somewhere more permanent and closer to the hospital, as it's currently an hour-long commute. Little did I know that Melbourne is notoriously difficult when it come to apartment hunting, and I'm moving in right when all the students have descended upon the city for the start of the academic year (a la September 1 in Boston, although I'm definitely trying to avoid living in the Allston of Melbourne) so the whole real estate system is kind of a mess. I'm scouting out a few more potential places this weekend, so hopefully I'll get something (ideally with an internet connection!) lined up by next week. In other news, it's still warm and sunny and beautiful. People here love good coffee so there are lots of cafes (and they all offer soy milk! thank you lactose-intolerant Asians!), and an astonishing and somewhat mystifying number of hair salons.

In other news, about six months ago, I started getting a lot more spam comments on DCoE. I've been pretty vigilant about immediately deleting them, but after spending a couple of weeks in transit, they've started piling up. In the past, I've resisted using one of those verification tools for comments just because I don't want normal commenters to be disuaded...even though it only takes about 3 seconds and certainly won't dissuade the worthy commenters, right? RIGHT?

Coming soon:
A book review! Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann- it's fantastic.
A post on accents and how I ended up with a lettuce sandwich for lunch. (Which would have been the tragedy of the week had I not bought a summer scarf at the outdoor market and then lost it on the tram the very next day. SAD FACE.)
and some other thoughts....um, the killer whale story? I'm obsessed.

DCoE: Live from Melbourne!

So, after a long-ass flight (BOS to SFO to AUK to MEL) I finally arrived on Friday. I flew most of the trip on Air New Zealand and thought they were good- everyone gets their own personal tv screens to choose from with dozens of free movies and shows (I watched The Last King of Scotland and whole bunch of sitcoms to lighten the mood). I also had signed up for a lactose-free meal, which was fun because I had totally forgotten about it until my meal arrived special delivery ahead of everyone else's. Yeah, suckers! Oh, and they serve nice New Zealand wines as well, so bonus points for that. On the downside, it's a 23 hour journey, not including layovers and time change. Gross. On the upside, it's hot and sunny and beautiful here and the people are quite pleasant and have cute accents. The driving on the left thing will take some getting used to- I've had occasional fleeting moments of panic when a car passes by and OH MY GOD THERE'S NO ONE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT! oh wait that's the passenger seat.

I'm currently scrambling around doing all those things one needs to do when one changes countries- new phone, new bank account, and now I'm in the midst of the Great Apartment (whoops, Flat) Search of 2010. Although I'd prefer to live alone, it isn't exactly practical considering the fact that I don't currently possess anything other than a bunch of clothes, a laptop, a cooking scrapbook, and Old Spotty. So, apparently that life window of "sure, I'll live with strangers" that I deemed closed around age 27 has been reopened. Until I find something, I'm staying with an internet friend from Metafilter and her boyfriend- a situation way more normal than it sounds; they are super nice and the place is great. I haven't hunted for apartments since Eri found the old East Broadway digs back in 2003, so I've forgotten what a pain in the butt it is. I probably should have allotted a few more free days for the task, but I start my new job tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Australia Bound!

Well, it's been a hectic last few days in MA, with the highlight definitely being my going away party at Lir last Saturday night. You know how when you used to go out during college and you knew everyone at the bar? It was sort of like that, minus the lousy fake IDs. I don't want to get all sappy, but I feel very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends in my life. So thanks to everyone who stopped by for a drink or three, especially those of you who traveled from afar and also Ern for getting me an Edible Arrangement and a Croc-themed gift. Nothing says "goodbye and good luck" like your most hated inanimate objects! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the party- a group shot organized by Sue and, well, hair moustaches. Boom.


So, yep, tomorrow I'm moving across the globe for a new job (and my first ever Real Job...sayonara, stipends!) in a city where I don't know a single person. I suppose I should be feeling excited, nervous, and a little bit sad, but it hasn't really hit me yet. And in case you're wondering, DCoE will continue on from Down Under- it'll be sort of like Saved By The Bell: The College Years (not really). For now, I'll leave you with a song, because despite the Australian allure of sunny weather, strange animals, and adorable accents, Boston, you're my home.

The Standells- Dirty Water

Friday Song of the Day: a two-fer!

So I'm officially in Freak Out mode as I prepare for my upcoming move to the other side of the world. Bags to back, boxes to store, minivan to sell, people to see, grant proposals to finish...eek!

So how about some nice peppy music to get me (and you) motivated on a Friday morning?

A couple of people have asked me if I've heard Vampire Weekend's new album, Contra, yet. The answer is no, I don't have the album yet but I've heard a few tracks and I like them. They certainly get bonus points for the album's title- a nod to The Clash's Sandinista!- even though it carries unintended weight for people who happened to have lived in Nicaragua.

Vampire Weekend- Cousins
The Clash- Police on my Back

FYIF, everybody! Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you this weekend.

Minivan, megafun

One task I have left before I leave is to sell my old minivan. I became the official owner of the van in 2006, but it has been in my family since its creation in 1996, so we have a long history together. Oh minivan, even though you are missing a hubcap, your heat smells like gasoline, and you occasionally stall on right turns, I'm going to miss the fun times we had together. Like the road trips we took where all we had to listen to was Billy Joel's Storm Front and my mom's cassette tapes. Or the time the guillotine-like action of the sliding door almost killed my friend Kevin as he puked out the door on his 21st birthday. Or the ten thousand times passengers told me your clock was wrong and I patiently (okay, impatiently) explained that it doesn't continue to keep time when the engine isn't running. Sure, you don't have a cool reputation, but when it came to driving half my soccer team to a game, you were the perfect vehicle. Your book value is $750, but I know you're worth a lot more that that!

Feeling crafty

Despite my better intentions, I have never been particularly good at arts and crafts. However, I bought a Mexican bingo set a couple of months ago and had been meaning to do something with it. So instead of cleaning and packing, I spent the day on a framing project, and it was quite enjoyable. Fortunately for me, my new roommate (my cousin Myles) is a student at Mass Art and has all sorts of X-Acto knives and rulers. I went to AC Moore and picked out some frames (on sale! Then again, I've never been in AC Moore when they weren't having some sort of a frame sale.) and mat board- they didn't have the size I needed so I decided to cut my own...a risky endeavor as I am admittedly clumsy. However, after a few tries, I managed to cut the mat board to the right size without severing any digits. Woohooo!

Here's the finished product:


I always liked the heart card for being realistic and grotesque instead of a puffy cartoon heart. I ended up framing three different cards as a gift (oh hi I'm a surprise wrecker), so someone will soon get their very own Corazon, Mano, and Borracho (!). You've gotta love a children's game that includes The Drunk Man as an image.

Book giveaway!

I've finally started inventorying my possessions to figure out what I want to bring to Australia with me (not very much), what I want to keep here in storage, and what I want to get rid of (a lot). First of all, I own four wigs, which seems a bit ridiculous. I also found dozens of nail clippers- I keep buying them because I can never find one when I need one, and now all of the sudden there is one lurking in every single drawer or box I open.

Since I won't be hauling my books to Australia with me, I'm going to hold on to a few favorites and give away the rest. I figure I'd check with people I know before dropping them off at Goodwill, so if you want any of them, leave me a line in the comments and I'll figure out how to get them to you. Here's a list of titles:

Netherland- Joseph O'Neill
Dracula- Bram Stoker
Holidays on Ice- David Sedaris
Me Talk Pretty one Day- David Sedaris
What is the What- Dave Eggers
The Four Agreements- Don Miguel Ruiz
Lady Chatterly's Lover- DH Lawrence
Valley of the Dolls- Jacqueline Susann
Cloud Atlas- David Mitchell
Flowers in the Attic- VC Andrews
The Iliad- Homer
The Aeneid- Virgil
On The Road- Jack Kerouac
Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings- Maya Angelou
The Sun Also Rises- Ernest Hemingway
Midnight's Children- Salman Rushdie
Blood Meridian- Cormac McCarthy
No Country for Old Men- Cormac McCarthy
The Road- Cormac McCarthy
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen
Selected Poems- WB Yeats
Angela's Ashes- Frank McCourt
A Town Like Alice- Nevil Shute
Ordinary People- Judith Guest
Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer- Joseph Conrad
The Barrytown Trilogy- Roddy Doyle
The English Patient- Michael Ondaatje

A recipe, a movie, and a song

Recipe: 1. Last night I made this Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili. Easy, healthy, and tasty, although not particularly photogenic. It's pretty hearty for a vegetarian meal, too.





2. Movie: The Big Easy (1986). Set in New Orleans, this crime drama stars a young Dennis Quaid as a charistmatic police detective and Ellen Barkin as an assistant Disctrict Attorney investigating police corruption in his department. So it's sort of like an episode of Law & Order, only with steamy romance. The Big Easy is very entertaining and Dennis Quaid was fantastic, but hey, I'm a sucker for a tall man with a cajun accent. The soundtrack is excellent as well and captures the New Orleans sound with cajun, zydeco, and R&B music. I'm definitely going to order a copy before I move to the land of massive shipping fees.


3. Song: I've been on a big Kinks kick lately- there's so much more to them than songs about transvestites and kids beating up Santa. Here's one of my favorite tracks (right click and save as to download):

Victoria, by the Kinks.