Update time...
It's been a while (yet again!). I can never get over how easily work expands to fill all available time, and then some...
I can't remember exactly what was going on last time I posted, but here's a bit of an update anyways...
In early March our car died. I'm still waiting for the wrecker to be contacted again to find out if we can ever make it go (it needs a new engine, but at $16k it's out of our price range unless we can get a second-hand one). Someone made all the calls then lost the number. I learned early on that there's no point me trying to call as we get to the point of 'What type of car?" "Small and black"... and the conversation tends to go downhill. I also have no idea who actually got called, so I can't trace them for myself.
About the same time, someone told me he doesn't want to move back to the UK. Even though I gave notice on my job last year, and it was all systems go in December.
First semester at uni was busy - teaching 5 tutorials per week (and doing all the marking for them) - basically a full-time job, but only a fraction of the pay. Still, I love teaching, and it (just about) pays enough to pay the bills.
In June we went on our first proper holiday in several years, to the Red Centre and Western Australia.
Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) was something of a disappointment - I didn't find it spiritual or uplifting - just a big, dry rock in the middle of nowhere. I did connect better with both Kata Tjuta ('The Olgas') and Mt Connell which is nearby. Watching the sun set at Uluru was pretty amazing though - the whole rock changes colour from dull to almost fluorescent orange and then back again in the space of a few minutes.
In Perth we had a nice day shopping and just buying lots of bits and pieces for our trip (swimming costumes, new camera etc). It's a beautiful city - nowhere near as large or overdeveloped as Melbourne. The next day we picked up our home-from-home - a campervan. It was far more luxurious than we'd expected, with a toilet and shower, microwave, cooker, fridge and TV. The bed was quite comfy too.
First stop was Geraldton, which wasn't very exciting - more just a place to pull in for the night. Next day we went to Denham, on the coast of Shark Bay. We stayed there for two nights, while we visited Monkey Mia (and its famous dolphins), and unsuccessfully tried to spot dugongs on a boat cruise. On the way up we also visited Rainbow Jungle, a huge bird aviary with lots of beautiful parrots in a huge flight aviary.
Next day we drove back towards the highway, stopping off at Shell Beach (which is made of shells), and then Hamelin Pool to see the stromatolites (oldest forms of life on Earth, which was one of the things on my 'to do' list). There was something very special and peaceful at both locations.
Next was a long drive with a stop in Carnarvon (I don't recommend visiting), and Karratha (likewise, except that it has an amazing shopping centre, given that it's in the middle of nowhere and attached to a very small mining town - everyone there has lots of money and nothing to spend it on, so the shops are all designer outlets and plasma TV stores etc!).
The next day we stayed in the most beautiful roadside campsite - next to Mt Robinson, with spectacular views over the landscape and an amazing sunset. Sunrise was just as pretty, then we set off to visit the -very red- Karijini National Park. Sadly we were limited in what we could visit there as our vehicle was 2-wheel drive, but what we could get to was still incredible!
We had a 2 day drive from there to our next stop, Exmouth. On the way we were held up for a few hours by a flooded river which blocked the road. Thankfully due to the camper we had food, kitchen and bathroom handy while we waited! In Exmouth we went on a snorkel boat - not the best experience as the waters were murky and I had bad tummy aches, but we did get to see a humpback whale playing and breaching, which was pretty special. The next day we did a safari trip, taking in the national park, Turquoise Bay (which was turquoise, and also contained lots of fish and turtles), and snorkelled Ningaloo Reef (another thing on my to-do list). I could have just stayed there forever!
Before long it was time to head south. We drove by the fastest route so we had time to take in the South West too. We saw wild red-tailed black cockatoos (and various other birds) at Stirling Ranges, then some enormous trees at the Walpole Valley of the Giants. We stopped for vegan pies and visited a miniature village on the way back to Perth, and then it was time to head back home.
Once back, there were a few days of sanity before second semester started. It's always crazy as that's when my uni subject runs, so I'm always run ragged trying to make sure everything runs smoothly. It's not going too badly so far, though I spend virtually all my time marking at the moment... I'm currently trying to edit some sci-fi movie clips to illustrate points to my students next week - it's taking ages, but hopefully it will be worth it.
I'm still dancing (badly - I'm too tired all the time, so I can't learn the routines very easily) and singing (not going too badly), as well as doing radio and first-aid for St John. (Was in the comms room yesterday taking radio messages relating to the floods here - thankfully they missed us and most people we know).
Right, that's all I can think of for now... I'm sure there's lots more I should mention. I'll try to remember to update sooner rather than later, though I can't promise anything until the end of term...
I can't remember exactly what was going on last time I posted, but here's a bit of an update anyways...
In early March our car died. I'm still waiting for the wrecker to be contacted again to find out if we can ever make it go (it needs a new engine, but at $16k it's out of our price range unless we can get a second-hand one). Someone made all the calls then lost the number. I learned early on that there's no point me trying to call as we get to the point of 'What type of car?" "Small and black"... and the conversation tends to go downhill. I also have no idea who actually got called, so I can't trace them for myself.
About the same time, someone told me he doesn't want to move back to the UK. Even though I gave notice on my job last year, and it was all systems go in December.
First semester at uni was busy - teaching 5 tutorials per week (and doing all the marking for them) - basically a full-time job, but only a fraction of the pay. Still, I love teaching, and it (just about) pays enough to pay the bills.
In June we went on our first proper holiday in several years, to the Red Centre and Western Australia.
Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) was something of a disappointment - I didn't find it spiritual or uplifting - just a big, dry rock in the middle of nowhere. I did connect better with both Kata Tjuta ('The Olgas') and Mt Connell which is nearby. Watching the sun set at Uluru was pretty amazing though - the whole rock changes colour from dull to almost fluorescent orange and then back again in the space of a few minutes.
In Perth we had a nice day shopping and just buying lots of bits and pieces for our trip (swimming costumes, new camera etc). It's a beautiful city - nowhere near as large or overdeveloped as Melbourne. The next day we picked up our home-from-home - a campervan. It was far more luxurious than we'd expected, with a toilet and shower, microwave, cooker, fridge and TV. The bed was quite comfy too.
First stop was Geraldton, which wasn't very exciting - more just a place to pull in for the night. Next day we went to Denham, on the coast of Shark Bay. We stayed there for two nights, while we visited Monkey Mia (and its famous dolphins), and unsuccessfully tried to spot dugongs on a boat cruise. On the way up we also visited Rainbow Jungle, a huge bird aviary with lots of beautiful parrots in a huge flight aviary.
Next day we drove back towards the highway, stopping off at Shell Beach (which is made of shells), and then Hamelin Pool to see the stromatolites (oldest forms of life on Earth, which was one of the things on my 'to do' list). There was something very special and peaceful at both locations.
Next was a long drive with a stop in Carnarvon (I don't recommend visiting), and Karratha (likewise, except that it has an amazing shopping centre, given that it's in the middle of nowhere and attached to a very small mining town - everyone there has lots of money and nothing to spend it on, so the shops are all designer outlets and plasma TV stores etc!).
The next day we stayed in the most beautiful roadside campsite - next to Mt Robinson, with spectacular views over the landscape and an amazing sunset. Sunrise was just as pretty, then we set off to visit the -very red- Karijini National Park. Sadly we were limited in what we could visit there as our vehicle was 2-wheel drive, but what we could get to was still incredible!
We had a 2 day drive from there to our next stop, Exmouth. On the way we were held up for a few hours by a flooded river which blocked the road. Thankfully due to the camper we had food, kitchen and bathroom handy while we waited! In Exmouth we went on a snorkel boat - not the best experience as the waters were murky and I had bad tummy aches, but we did get to see a humpback whale playing and breaching, which was pretty special. The next day we did a safari trip, taking in the national park, Turquoise Bay (which was turquoise, and also contained lots of fish and turtles), and snorkelled Ningaloo Reef (another thing on my to-do list). I could have just stayed there forever!
Before long it was time to head south. We drove by the fastest route so we had time to take in the South West too. We saw wild red-tailed black cockatoos (and various other birds) at Stirling Ranges, then some enormous trees at the Walpole Valley of the Giants. We stopped for vegan pies and visited a miniature village on the way back to Perth, and then it was time to head back home.
Once back, there were a few days of sanity before second semester started. It's always crazy as that's when my uni subject runs, so I'm always run ragged trying to make sure everything runs smoothly. It's not going too badly so far, though I spend virtually all my time marking at the moment... I'm currently trying to edit some sci-fi movie clips to illustrate points to my students next week - it's taking ages, but hopefully it will be worth it.
I'm still dancing (badly - I'm too tired all the time, so I can't learn the routines very easily) and singing (not going too badly), as well as doing radio and first-aid for St John. (Was in the comms room yesterday taking radio messages relating to the floods here - thankfully they missed us and most people we know).
Right, that's all I can think of for now... I'm sure there's lots more I should mention. I'll try to remember to update sooner rather than later, though I can't promise anything until the end of term...