End of Johns

It's official- it looks as though Seth and I are finally going to have to leave Johns at the end of the month. After making a final appeal to the Heads of College (and even having the support of Caz, the acting Dean), they decided it did not make "dollars and cents" to have the two of us working next year. To avoid having to move off campus and being stressed the final months of my thesis writing, I was almost willing to pay the $290 per week it would cost to stay, but since we will try to leave Canberra before the semester ends we would have to break the 20 week contract and be heavily fined. I suppose most good things come to an end, but at least I realise the two of us are extremely lucky to have been so well set up for most of our stay the past 17 months in Australia. On to the next home...

Seth's Big D

I just noticed today that Seth's dissertation, Structure and interpretation in Luca Marenzio's settings of Il Pastor Fido, was finally posted in the UNC electronic library, all 594 pages of it. Click here if you are interested in reading any of it (just be warned, his main goal while writing it was to exhaust the reader :P ).

Job Hunt

Seth has been busy job hunting these past few months, and a few days ago when he was looking at a musicology opening at a small girls college in Virginia he noticed that they were also hiring a naturalist-in-residence. The position would consist of field site maintenance, leading workshops, communicating science to the public, helping faculty with projects and field trips, etc. I had not even considered looking for jobs yet, but I decided to apply for this one. It requires only a bachelors degree and experience in biology education and knowledge of Virginia natural history. This is the type of job I would like to have when I graduate- one that lets me use biology (and also learn more about it), is pretty low-key, fun, and diverse. I sent off my application last night and heard back this morning. They said that I have "strong qualifications for the position" but they need someone who can start immediately. Unfortunately I am not available until August...

I am a little relieved I didn't get the job (in fact, I didn't even think they would consider me), but I am glad I began thinking about jobs, as well as updated my resume and practiced writing a cover letter.

This morning when Seth and I were at the lake checking out a few nests we found this little baby bird sitting under a tree:
I don't know much about red wattlebirds so I don't know if he was old enough to begin fledging and flapped to the ground or if he simply fell from his nest. Either way, when we came back to see him about an hour later he had keeled over and died, right where we found him. I don't know what happened there, but it was pretty grim.

Snakes alive!

Yesterday when Seth and I were up on Black Mtn I saw my first brown snake; I was only about 2m away from the little guy and nearly stepped on it before Seth pulled me back! It nearly gave me a heartattack! Seth sees them pretty frequently when he is running- this would be his 6th this year- so I always worry about him running in bushland by himself.

Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis)
*This picture is from the web, thank goodness!*

They are really cute and look harmless, so it is hard to believe they are the second most venomous land snake in the world!

New Years in Sydney

Stephen and Kim's very lovely home in Woden

Braidwood excursion (27 Dec.)

After several more very busy and crazy days in Woden, Seth and I drove to Sydney with Fahad (the person with whom we want to share accommodation when we leave Johns) and his girlfriend, Hayley. Shelden, Carmen and Carlos were out of town but were generous enough to let us stay at their home in Leichhardt while they were away.

View from Shelden's balcony

We made it down by the late afternoon, just in time to search through a flower bed looking for their house keys (for quite a while -- they were hidden well) before hopping over to Balmain Point to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks.




The fireworks were set off from at least 6 points all along Sydney Harbour, and another group shot from high buildings that lined one of the bays. As you can see, the bridge was the center of attention. We had a good spot to watch the fireworks, and it was a relaxing event, but on the way home we had to suffer through a two hour bur ride that should have only taken about 15min.

On New Year's day, Fahad treated us to some Pakistani food and cooked a curry called Chicken Jalfrezi.

Seth, Hayley, and Fahad munching on Chicken Jalfrezi

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the famous Bondi Beach. Seth and I had good intentions, but still could not get ourselves to actually go into water (or even step on the sand!). It just seemed so hot and crowded... We walked around the shops instead.

Bondi Beach

After dinner we all took a walk down to Leichhardt (the Italian part of town) for some coffee.

Fahad and Hayley in front of Leichhardt Town Hall

The next day Fahad did a bit more cooking -- this time Chicken Ginger (not to be confused with Mom's Ginger Chicken).

Fahad and me in the kitchen

That afternoon Seth and I went the the Gallery of New South Wales and checked out the contemporary art exhibit (apparently Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were there the very next day :P ), then walked around sketchy old Kings Cross before rushing over to the dumpling place called Da Niang (in China Town) before it closed. Not only is it a chain restaurant, and Seth and I don't like going to the same place to eat more than once, but it is soooo delicious and cheap that we have to go there at least once during each visit to Sydney. I daydream about this place all the time.

On Thursday (3 Jan) Seth and I took a quick trip back to China Town to pick up some sweet buns and poke around a few shops. We also spent a bit of time in Paddy's Market, swimming around the vast rows of super cheap veggies and fruits.

China Town

Paddy's Market

Seth looking for sweet potatoes in Paddy's Market

We left Sydney that afternoon. On the way home stopped to see the Big Merino- a giant Merino sheep that is the pride and joy of the town of Goulburn, about an hour outside of Canberra. They say you can actually go inside the sheep and peer out through its eyes that overlook the highway. It is a noble sheep indeed.

The Big Merino- very cool way to end the trip

Now Seth and I are back at Johns. Time to finally get back to real work I suppose...

Cool Runnings

This week has been a bit warmer (low-mid 30s) and this morning unfortunately Seth and I got up a bit late and went running at 9:30. It is only 8 days past the summer solstice so the sun was sure blaring! Even though the UV is very high, it is comforting to know that from here on out the sun will gradually be decreasing in intensity.

Seth designed a "double hat" to help block the sun- he wears a wide brimmed straw hat over his running hat. It looks pretty kooky, but it does the trick!

Similar to when we are at Johns and run along Black Mtn, here in Woden I run a circuit around Mt Taylor with Seth then he carries on for another hour by himself. One of the nicest things about Canberra is that the city is full of nature reserves, so that no matter where you live you are never far from some good dirt trails. I can't wait to get back to Black Mtn, however. Mt Taylor has very little shade and the slopes are very long and gradual and always seem to be going up. I hate Mt Taylor.

On the Road

I got up a bit early this morning so I could drive to BoZo and head to the lake for some fieldwork. However, Stephen and Kim's car did not want to start! Somehow the battery was completely drained- which remains a mystery because none of the doors were cracked open so the dome light was not left on, the radio and headlights were off, and even stranger is that the car is brand new, less than a year old.

Luckily Kim is an NRMA member (not to be confused with mRNA) and we were able to have someone come out to help charge the battery. If that did not work, at least the dealership is less than 1k away and the car is still under warranty. However, since the battery was completely drained I am a bit worried that it will always remain a little weak and will cause additional problems in the future.

In the afternoon Seth and I took advantage of having a (working) car of our own and went out for a short trip. An American colleague of Seth's suggested visiting a small country town, Braidwood, about 100k from Canberra. It is historic by Australian standards (built in the mid 1800s) and known for its folk music festivals. Unfortunately there were no events going on today, but we had a good time exploring the little town.