Proud.

It finally happened. On Friday, I had the graduation ceremony, conferring me with my PhD.

People ask me how it feels - it feels surreal. The work is ongoing - today I was in at work, entering data for another paper. My career in research is not over, only just starting. The postnominal PhD is lovely but immaterial to what I do, in a way.

Melbourne was putting on some spectacularly shitty rainy windy weather, after a hot one the day before. I worked in the morning, and in the afternoon, my sister came into town. We met at Jimmy Watson's for a celebratory beverage and snack. This nice fella greeted us at the door. I told him we were celebrating the conferring of my PhD that evening. He took my hand and took us to the bar, asked the bartender to get some glasses and pour little sips into the glass for us to toast. We sat to drink a proper glass or two, intermittently chatting with the regulars. My sister, reluctant to leave her baby too long, headed down back down to the Peninsula, and I went to the uni to don Regalia, and wander about for an hour before we were briefed as to the ceremony protocol. Thankfully it was a PhD-only ceremony, so it was good and short.

Soon enough, we had the ceremony. We proceeded into the hall to choristers singing in Latin. I had no idea what they were singing, but it was very stirring. Finally my name and doctoral citation was read out, and I managed to doff my bonnet and shake hands and doff my bonnet again appropriately. I watched everyone else come down after receiving their testamur - the all had proud smiles.

The occasional speech was given by Professor Suzanne Cory, an eminent molecular biologist. There is now a Selective-entry secondary school named after her, in Werribee, where I grew up. It is good to see that smart westie kids are being valued and given access to special opportunities. There was nothing like this when I was going to school, 20 years ago.

This was my view for much of the ceremony.

All the bonnets being looked down upon by Jesus. Wilson Hall is beautiful. This view gave me shivers down my spine.

After the ceremony, my supervisor, who joined the academic procession, met me for a photo

He and his wife came back to my place for some drinks (Veuve Cliquot) and food. I remember before I started the PhD somebody saying to me that PhD supervisors and their students have a very special relationship. I didn't believe it at the time, but I do now. This bloke above is a very important, benevolent and special person in my life, and has seen me through a lot through the last 5 years. He believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself. His patience, kindness and generosity has made me want to do him proud.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, I got up bright and early for Crossfit open 16.4 (you didn't think you'd come away without some xfit rantings, would you?). In a positively restrained fashion, I had only consumed 2 glasses of Veuve the previous evening and been to bed fairly early, so I felt fresh as a daisy.

The WOD was as follows

13 minutes AMRAP

• 55 deadlifts, 43kg
• 55 Wall Balls, 4 kg (Wall balls - squat to depth, come up, throw ball at 9 ft line, catch ball, squat to depth, repeat x55)
• 55 Calorie row
• 55 Hand release pushups (push-ups on toes)

I just about finished the row, so never got to challenge my push-up abilities. I don't think I have ever had such burn in my quads. I was happy that I gave it my best shot and worked steadily - 5 reps at a time. It bloody hurt - 55 reps of anything turns a strength workout into a bloody awful cardio/endurance workout.

There were some photos taken by a professional photographer. When I saw them, I have to admit I was horrified. I found them so unflattering. To paraphrase myself, I thought "I look so fat, I need to go on a diet". I promptly deleted all but one from my instagram feed.

I realised that I was being my own worst troll. I had a weekend celebrating the big things that I can do, that I never thought I'd be able to do, and I am getting upset about a few fat rolls. Exercise photos are never flattering, except if you are this guy. And here I am wearing actual lycra, which does a job but shows everything. I get around wearing lycra a lot, and rarely worry about how I look (if people don't like it, they can kiss my squat-enhanced arse). And I figure that any change to diet or exercise needs to come from a place of self respect and love, not self-castigation.

It's a terrible thing I do to myself. Hence I am gonna put my photos up here.

I am proud.

That might've been around rep 30. trying to keep my back active

Hittin' that rower after the wall balls. Legs were jelly

Owwwwwwwmyquaaaaaaaads!

Good Stuff. Investment Advice. Paris.

I went and saw my lovely little niece on Saturday, and had cuddles. It was a very beautiful experience, and great to see my sister taking it all in her stride, and baby boobin' like a champion. I feel that what I write on the blog cannot really do justice to it, so I will leave it at this. I am a very proud Auntie and show the pics to anyone who will look and squee.

I won my first research grant in my own name. This is also a great and somewhat scary thing. It makes me feel good about my choice to continue my research.

But Paris.

Oh Paris.

I feel as horrified about this as everybody else, and empathise as much as anybody who has not been in the situation can.

I won't be praying for Paris though, because (pardon my French) it won't do shit.

I found it really hard to know what to do. I don't really think I can express my feelings about it on social media, as it will come out all wrong.

I remember, back in 2003, being against the invasion of Iraq. I had little understanding of the religious and sectarian divides (still don't), but I didn't think that Saddam had any weapons of mass destruction, and that it was all about oil, and that it would come back to bite us. I was also deeply uncomfortable with the prospect of collateral damage in the form of the death and brutalisation of innocent civilians.

12 years later, the innocent civilians continue to be brutalised and displaced, or have died. There was a power vacuum that led to the development of a fundamentalist Islam organisation based in multiple sites, with multiple heads. An organisation that will be very difficult to defeat, at least without significant collateral damage, and more civilians who are brutalised. They will see bombs from the West, and they will be angry. I don't see how it can end peacefully.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The invasion of Iraq, and the propping up of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and many other military incursions have shown us this. I don't know what it is that we do, but think it needs to be different to continued aggression.

So I went and got Financial Advice today. What does that have to do with Paris and Wars? Why the 180? Bear with me.

I went and got a free advice session from a planner in my superannuation fund. It was very helpful.

At the end, I was asking about where the funds were invested. I asked about Tobacco. The adviser told me that a Melbourne Oncologist kicked up a stink when she found out that the super fund of most doctors invested in tobacco. The fund did the modelling and found that it was better to pull out of tobacco company investment.

The adviser added, quite matter of factly "but we do fund Arms Dealers". He told me about a socially responsible investment stream that has comparable return to the default investment strategy.

I had a think about this going home on the bus. (I have discovered the bus from near my house into the city and I love it).

Arms Dealers? Like Nic Cage on "Lord of War" arms dealers? I could only think of one - Lockheed Martin, in the US. I Googled Arms Manufacturing Firms, and got a big list on Wikipedia.

Clearly, war, or "defence" is a big, big business, and this had not ever occurred to me. It's big money for a handful of the rich and powerful. It's not in their interest for there to be peace. I shudder to think of the part they play in the decision making process regarding whether to start military attacks against countries, such as we have seen with France retaliating against Syria.

I am aware that many companies do things that we find objectionable. But at the end of the day, people make the choice to smoke, or drink cola, and if they are lucky, they get the super profitable drug.

The civilians of the nations that are bombed get no choice in it. They are then provided arms to go and bomb and kill and maim in kind.

I really don't want any part of it.

Generally speaking the world doesn't really care what I have to say. But the powers that be do care, very much, about my money. In world terms, I have a lot of it. I won't be investing in these companies.

Hopefully others will consider the same; it will achieve more than what a red white and blue status picture ever will.

From the Jet Set

Greetings from Dubai. A quick catch up.

I have just been to a conference in Istanbul. I presented a poster. It was a reasonably good conference. Beautiful hotel.

I am now the Aunty of a divine little niece, who was overdue and born after an emergency c-section. Mum and bub are now doing well and niece is feeding like a champion. I can't wait to meet her. Squeee.

I had a cheeky vino, solo, last night in the rooftop bar, overlooking the beautiful city of Istanbul. Some quiet tears were shed - happy, sad and grateful. It's hard to explain, and I appreciated being alone with it.

People are congratulating me on being an aunty. That's weird. It's not like I did anything. I am just the sister of the mum.

Back to work when I get home. Turning the PhD around, churning what will hopefully be some good papers out, and going through the daily grind. No further overseas trips are planned at this stage. I may go mad.

Penang. PhD Progress

Oh Hai.

I have just got back from a week in Penang.

Penang is in Malaysia. It is near Thailand but is not Thailand, just to clarify (people asked me).

To summarise, we ate, we drank, and we sat our bum by the pool (there being jellyfish in the ocean and all). I read books and tried to beat the advanced computer on my iPhone scrabble.

I think the advanced computer is a cheater. It makes up words.

We bitched about the haze enveloping Malaysia and Singapore from bushfires in Indonesia. We only saw the sun on the day before we left.

We walked around, like mad dogs and Englishmen, in the midday sun. It was hot and humid and yucky and there were no people around. So we did the only sensible thing and retired to the local hotel bar for a beer. Hydration being paramount and all.

We partook of nightly happy hour. 5:30 to 7pm free beer, wine and cocktails. The waiter, Chan, was a very bad man and relentlessly topped up our drink.

As always, pictures are worth a thousand words. Here are some. They are mostly food.

My view for most of the vacay

Cendol being made

Hokkien Mee, Poh Piah and Char Koay Teow, at Hawker Market

Some street art, Armenian St

More street art, Armenian St

Frier in action. The products were delicious

 

Still more pics are on insta. Thankyou to all those who "liked" them.

So I had the results back on the PhD. Long story short, one good report and one very critical, however long story short I need to make some reasonably minor changes and respond to general comments, and the changes only need go back to the local chairman of examiners at our uni, not to the external examiners. The chairman will sign off and it's signed, sealed and delivered with a floppy hat on top!


I am quite the Jetsetter at the moment, and am off to Turkey for a conference on Monday. All of this brief and business travel has whetted my appetite for adventure travels from days of yore. I want to go to Israel and Jordan, and do the Inca Trail. I want to see all the places and eat all the things. Some folks look at shoes and jewels, I look at the Intrepid travel website.

Though my tolerance for discomfort during travel has diminished in my older age.

How are youse? Where have you been and what are you doing?

RIP, my namesake.

When I introduce myself, it goes a little something like this:

Me: "Hello, I am Cilla"

Them: "Oh Hi Celia".

Me: "No, Cilla. C-I-L-L-A"

Them: "Is that short for Priscilla?"

Me: "No, Cilla is the name on my birth certificate".

Them: "What nationality is that?"

Me: "British. As in Cilla Black, the singer. That's who I was named after."

(their response will depend on how old they are, if they are 45 or over, no further explanation is required)

I was very sad to hear that my namesake, Cilla Black, had passed away at age 72. That is not very old, and I had no idea she was ill.

She was very much loved in the UK, for her bubbly personality, common touch, big heart and bigger voice. I don't have the big voice (cept for maybe in my car) but the other things I can aspire to.

RIP Cilla Black.

.....................

Oh yeah, I have submitted my thesis.

Keen for other pursuits, I baked a Lemon Meringue pie, made with the surfeit of lemons we have

Celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant tomorrow, and off to the Dandenongs on the weekend.

That'll be all for tonight.

Q and A will be good tonight - no politicians so should be a good 'un.

The Hard Yards, the Home Stretch...then BCN!

Hello from dreary Melbourne.

Melbourne put on some craptacular weather during the last week, with the mercury some days not really going abouve 10 degrees.

This made going outside, or exercising, seem ridiculous. I got some steps in at the shopping centre. Carrie Bradshaw was right, and shopping is actually cardio.

The weather has made it all the more appealing to sit inside and get the last throes of the thesis written. It really is like the last bit of a 10km fun run, like from about 8.5km, where you feel tired, but too excited about the finish to drop the pace. You want to pick the pace up and do a magnificent sprint finish.

I am nearly there, friends. Just one more results chapter, which should not take too long. I don't know whether I should re-read all my chapters and do the conclusions chapter, so I might leave it till after Barcelona.

Barcelona, people!

I am off next Sunday evening. I am super excited, and planning some gadding about as well as the conference. I am craving the sunlight and novelty, as the "rat in a cage" feeling is mounting here at home. I've been to BCN a few years ago, but that was during winter. I am planning to visit the Sagrada Familia again, as that is a work in progress. I would also like to do a bike tour. I have had some bikini line "surgery" performed so that I can go swimming in the pool of the hotel I am staying at for the first couple of days. Swimming (or really just splashing about in the pool) really says holidays to me.

At the present, I am at work, just psyching myself up to write my presentation that I am giving at the conference. I am also excited to be sharing my research with an international audience.

Well I had better get on to it!

Do any of you have some tips for things to do in BCN?

The End Is Nigh. Masterchef.

So the end-date has been set and the clock is ticking....10/8/2015 is the due date for submission of the thesis, but I hope to get a full draft to the supervisors prior to me going to Barcelona in mid-June. I am now officially balls to the wall, trying to get it done. Goodbye weekends for the time being. I respond well to a deadline, particularly with something nice like a big trip afterward!

I am super looking forward to Barcelona. For the first couple of nights, I have booked a nice hotel with a pool so I can get over my jetlag. There is this whole thing about "earthing", getting your feet onto grass, sand or into water is very therapeutic in treating jetlag.

I also look forward to the Barcelona sunshine. Here in Melbourne, the weather has got the winter memo a bit early, and it is a bit foul. I am craving cosy knits, soups and thick socks. And, as always, chocolate

One TV show that speaks to me of winter is Masterchef. It is about the only reality show that I am able to tolerate, although I get super stressed out when the contestants stuff up or get close to time.

It is Marco week on Masterchef. Old Marco Pierre White. I actually don't particularly like him, he looks like he is acting as a baddie in a C grade drama. The "nice" words he has with the contestants are entirely unconvincing. In fact, the only time I felt he was being himself was when he told a chef (bought in for an immunity challenge) that he "hates" salmon roe and it "ruined" the dish.

We had our garage sale last weekend, and sold some stuff. I am in the process of selling some more stuff on ebay.... super interesting, I am having to measure lots of lengths. I have already had an item "bought" by a Phisher...

Perhaps induced by my deadline, the weekdays seem to whizz by very quickly. I am getting my hair did on the weekend, perhaps a bit shorter.


How do you go with deadlines?
How do you manage jetlag?
What reality shows can you watch?

The Melbourne Chill. Perth. Garage Sale.

Melbourne weather, go home. You are drunk.
Seriously, the forecast maximum for today is 12 degrees. The current temperature in my workplace suburb is about 9 degrees at 2pm. I am sitting doing the PhD thing, feeling very ratty. I would dearly love to go outside and purchase some thinking fuel (ie Chocolate and chips. With coke zero as sugarfree drinks cancel out the calories of the food...right??) but I really don't want to go outside.

I am also counting the days 'til I head off to Barcelona. 34. Barcelona in June will be nice and balmy.

With the recent chill, the dog has been going stir-crazy, as she does not get walkies as frequently. She has taken to licking my partner on the back of the neck, ears and face to try and get his attention. Yet she does not seem to like to go outside when we send her out for a piddle (she sleeps and spends the day indoors, the spoiled thing).

Last week, I was in Perth at a conference. The weather was gorgeous there. I stayed in a hotel on the banks of the Swan river, and this was the view from my room at sunset. Gorgeous, huh!

Despite the enforced sedentariness of a conference, I managed to utilise the hotel gym to work up a sweat. 
I got to present my paper arising from my PhD data, my 15 minutes of fame. It was well-received. I won a young investigator prize. This is me with my prize. It is nice to be recognised by one's peers.

In Perth, I got to see some long-lost cousins, who live there. I hadn't seen them in over ten years. It was wonderful to catch up. Time flies.

But back to reality this week. The cold and the hard work. The end is close but it can be hard to maintain focus and keep faith in what you are doing. Just gotta keep at it.

Our neighbours arranged a whole-street garage sale, which is being held on Saturday. I have a lot of things I want to cull, but they are a bit too nice to put into an op-shop. My partner is the same. We will be spending our evenings price-tagging our goods.

I hope that you are staying warm and dry, wherever you are.
Do you have any tips re running a garage sale?

A soggy ANZAC day in Melbourne.

Hello, friends.

I am typing from my usual Saturday/Sunday position - ie my desk at work. I am multitasking.

• Writing up a powerpoint presentation, as usual creating too many slides then having to ruthlessly cut back (all killer, no filler). Googling how many slides ought to make up a 10 minute powerpoint presentation (about 14).
• Reflecting on my week, and contemplating the existence of the "Fuck You" Fairy*. 

I have been "on leave" writing my PhD. However I have dealt with some work things via email. It is a toss up as to which is more painful: writing the PhD or dealing with things from work on a week off.

I am feeling marginally guilty about not having made it to a dawn service, but reflecting on how lucky I was to be able to visit Gallipoli in June last year. I have been looking back through my photos.

Lone Pine Cemetery

The trenches - sometimes they threw grenades, sometimes food and cigarettes

ANZAC Cove from afar

 

It was surreal, walking along that beach, imagining the Diggers landing.

My favourite picture, a verse that resonates with me.

And now to get back to it. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, wherever you are.


* The Fuck-You fairy is a tongue in cheek thing I made up. Basically it refers to the force that acts when you have made peace with what is and made plans. The fairy flies in, says "fuck you" and you have to change your plans again. The fuck you fairy is not a bad thing, it is kind of like Murphy's law.

What is your version of the fuck you fairy?
And what are you up to this weekend?

Done.

(The PhD completion seminar post-mortem)

I was nervous today. More nervous than I had been in a while. Probably not as nervous as say before my Physicians exam but still plenty nervous.

Instead of staying at home last night, fretting, I went to a trivia night with Nicole and some other crackerjack ladies. I drank a bit more wine that we ought to have, and our team won! It was a hoot of a night!

I went into work about 90 minutes before my presentation was due to start, and was greeted with this placed on my desk

I performed some final tweaks to the presentation, and sat around waiting, reading The Age on my mobile to pass the time. I saw this passage and got outraged, killing a few nervous minutes waiting

from theage.com.au

[I mean really!?!? Firstly most murders are committed by somebody known to the victim. Secondly, why why oh why is the onus put on women to change their behaviour?!?!?]

Seriously my heart really breaks for that family. How unimaginably horrific. I have no adequate words. I hope the man gets caught, and soon.

The room started to fill to capacity. Plenty of bums on seats. I started the presentation, a little bit wobbly. Just after I started, a Professor known for tearing strips off PhD candidates swaggered in, and took the seat directly in front of the lectern. Internally I said a big "oh fuck" and then just got on with it. Shortly after, my old friend/ colleague came in - a lovely surprise given that she had said that she was not able to make it. I started to hit my stride.

When I finished, lots of questions came from the floor. Numerous questions from the Prof sitting front and centre, quite challenging ones. More from another Ass.Prof (on my confirmation committee), who is also known for his hard hitting questioning.

I had spent quite a bit of time worrying about questions from these characters. Whether they would tear me a new one.

They gave it a red hot go, but I dealt with it. Actually toward the end of the questioning I felt quite exhilarated, thinking "bring it on, bitchezzz".

Then it finished. People came and gave me a pat on the back. Including the two ass whoopin' profs.

Now I am back in my office. It takes a while to come down from these things and I don't know if I will get much work done today.

It just shows you though, how the anticipation of something is often worse than the actuality.


And now I feel only like napping.

I call bullshit.

I have been a bit quiet on the blog post front of late. I have been doing lots, and enjoying my downtime from work which is very frenetic at the moment. My PhD completion seminar is coming up on Thursday, so that is on my mind.

I am much more wont to document on my inner world rather than what I do - many on my blogroll have a very compelling way of talking about their everyday tasks, making them sing and shine.

I am a bit loath to document too much of my inner world at the moment, because I fear it will get a bit boring. Also I think my inner self is getting Tourette's.

Normally I am quite a tolerant person, and I go with the flow. I am good at chillin'. At the moment, there is a very narrow threshold between relaxed and unhinged ("I need to slam my face into some chocolate and a vat of wine" / muttering curse words under my breath / sentence non-completion / sighing). This is my manifestation of stress, I think.

When I get stressed, lots of things are bullshit. The number of bullshit things is higher than usual at the moment.

Here is a list, including (but not limited to):

• The row of zits around my jaw and neck, kind of like a sore pimply necklace (inexplicably my face has cleared up).
• The weather. Melbourne had gotten the Autumn memo, switching on Mar 1 to cool nights and crisp days. However, the next few days are going to be muggy and stormy. I have some important engagements coming up and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WEAR FOR THEM!
• That person in the office who is passive aggressive and bone-idle. Every office has one. I am suffering paroxysms of rage.
• The very up in the air nature of some parts of my job.
• The fear of getting torn a new one at my presentation (it's just a fear rather than actuality, but still...)
• Joe Hockey on Q and A last night. 
• Having my work helper go off sick and having to do a whole bunch of stuff all on my own.
• Those knots in my back and butt that my foam roller massager just can't undo.
• Jumping rope at crossfit. It makes me very self-conscious.
• Going to the dentist. It was a dentist I hadn't seen before and I found him a bit creepy. Be gone, creepy dentist.

Bullshit, I tell you.

Gratitude always offsets an attack of Bullshit fever. There have been good things, including (but not limited to):

• On a whim I signed up for a beginner's Yoga course. The first class was fab. I felt very virtuous and serene.
• I had a paper accepted for an oral presentation at an international conference.
• I am due to meet up with a bloggy friend and some other crackerjack ladies at a trivia night (I bloody love trivia nights)
• Lena Dunham's book "Not that kind of girl". She is the bomb dot com.
• Doing a pull up at cross-fit (ok it was assisted by a large rubber band and I only pulled up to eye level but still....)

What do you call bullshit on at the moment?

NZ Holiday. Things I like about NZ.

Howdy ladybugs!

I have just come back from NZ. I really wish I were still on holiday. We had a delightful time.

We started out in Christchurch, where my Fella's family live, for his special "zero" birthday. We headed up to Hanmer Springs, an alpine spa town, much like Daylesford in Victoria. We spent NYE there (the town pub was going off like a frog in a sock). We then headed up to Picton, the gateway to the Marlborough sounds. We spent 5 nights there, doing a hike, a kayak, a wine tour and a trip to Blenheim. We saw birds, seals, the hills, the sea, sunshine. We ate, drank, talked, laughed and generally reconnected.

It was great for the soul.

NYE. Scallops, Pork belly and Tamarind - OH MY.

Off from Picton, Into the Sounds we go!

If you look closely....you'll see the seal posse!

oooh, look!

And these little birdies are called Oyster Catchers

 

Worth climbing that steep hill.

A hard earned thirst was watered here, after the walk

You know the Savvy B? This is where it comes from!

The savvy b went down very well with this.

Some things I love about NZ

• The food. No really. They make good food, especially in Christchurch. Not so much in Picton. 
• The coffee. Most places. A flattie comes with two shots as a norm. 
• The vino.
• The People. Very friendly, very chilled.
• The public toilets. They are always clean, and they are never without toilet paper or hand soap.
• Tui Beer. Yes. Tui is to NZ like VB is to Victoria - a bit of a bogan beer. But it is a beer I like. And I don't like much beer.
• Whittaker's chocolate.
• Fush and Chups. Particularly in Kaikoura. Check out Tiki Takeaways if you are passing through. Best Fush and Chups ever.
• The rivers. You can see right to the bottom, they are so clear. 
• The difference between mince pies and steak pies, and that they are both meat pies!

 Am now back at work and acutely feeling the post-holiday blues. Today, Monday has come with a few "thwacks" from left field. It gives me good practice to keep my focus on completing the PhD, rather than sweating the "thwacks". It's also practice in having faith that things will work out as they are meant to.

Next trip will likely be to Boston. For the conferences.

There is a bit going on between then and now, so hard to focus on that. Un giorno per tempo, I was told.

I am really enjoying being home with the woofer, though. No matter what thwacks the day has bought, she always makes me smile.

Once. Sussan 10km fun run - Belated Report.

I am sitting on my couch, making a half-arsed attempt at chapter 2 of my thesis. It is nearly finished. But I handed in a draft of Chapter 1 a week or two ago! Wahooo!

In honesty I am feeling like I've been hit by a truck today. Really tired, a bit dizzy when I stand up. Was a big day yesterday.

Last night, we saw the show Once, which is a multi-award winning musical that I didn't know much about before, other than I had heard it was good.  The film (which I haven't seen) was from about 8 years ago. The story is set in Dublin and it is a simple, beautiful and restrained love story. The production was simple and pared back. The stage was set like a pub. The chorus/characters all sang and danced while they played instruments. This was not the usual highly produced musical. The music was a mix of exuberant Irish songs and love songs. The main song, Falling Slowly, has won an Oscar. Have a gander Here.

Those of you who are my friends on Crackbook will know that I ran the Sussan 10km fun run on Sunday. Click away now if run reports bore you!

I was up at 5:30, an ungodly hour for God's day of rest. I heard the rain falling heavily on my roof and pondered how the term "fun" run might not be applicable here. For five of the twenty minutes I had to get ready, I pondered how I might pike out of the event. However I was going with some other girls in my training group and I didn't want to let them down so off I went.

There were thousands of sprightly women crowded in St Kilda at that ungodly hour, waiting to start. We were given tribute cards to pin to our backs - it was a run supporting breast cancer research. It was really sad to see some of the tributes - mums, sisters, aunties, some of them having passed quite young. I felt acutely grateful for my good health, and had a surreptitious grope of my boosies to check there were no lumps and made a mental note to check them more thoroughly at the appropriate time.

I had not been attached to a particular race time, as I had just learned a new running technique and wanted to see how that might play out over the course of 10km. I focussed on form, and set out. I got to 3km and was about 2 minutes faster than my goal pace.

I did my usual mid run panic at about 4-5 km "I can't keep this up", but I kept it up, cheering on other women. One was running to celebrate her 40th birthday and had this marked on a cape and balloon she ran with. The rain was not too much of a problem, but the wind was a bit bothersome. However, we had a good tailwind on the final stretch.

I was feeling good after 9km so I picked it up for the last k, passing a few other women. I bought it home in 68 minutes, the fastest I had run in 3 and a half years and about 4 minutes faster than my previous run! My personal best time is 66:55, so I am not too far off chasing another PB!

I am certainly not about to break any land speed world records. Running, for me, is about learning to be happy with what I can do, not comparing myself to anybody else, believing in myself, and hanging in there when it gets hard. All good things for me.

We are on the fast road into Christmas, now. Next week will be the last full working week before the silly season. I have lots of events on.

Et Tu? How are you managing to find a balance in this frenetic season?
Any big events/things planned?
Spill!

Research Rage. Thoughts on Christmas.

Well hello there from under a new government!

Yes the libs took a bit of a hiding. Some commentators are saying that this wasn't a backlash regarding the federal budget and the electorate knows the difference between federal and state issues but I disagree. It was a retaliatory bitch-slap; I think Victorians, particularly the urbanites, are a more left leaning bunch than average. The Greens got a lower house seat and will get some upper house seats.

My colleague, a card-carrying Liberal party member, said that the recent Lib government did not achieve much. That says a lot, I think.

Having said all this I don't know how much better Mr. Andrews is going to fare, or how he will weasel his way out of the East West link palaver unscathed. I am undecided on the EW link, but believe that we need better public transport. The population has grown but the PT infrastructure hasn't really.

I would like to see the Ambos paid as much as their interstate counterparts, though.

Ok enough about that.

It's been a bit of a bleh week here. A few general stressors have come up, most of which I shall not bore you with here, and they are firmly in the realm of "first world issues".

But I will have a rant about this.

I put a paper in for a conference in Boston. I specified "oral presentation only", not poster. I don't really want to go around the world lugging a poster that I will stand beside and nobody will look at. It's a bit of a let-down.

I got an email on Tuesday - the bastards gave me a poster presentation. That just shat me.

I think of my research as kind of like my baby. If somebody does not give it the respect (I feel) it deserves, I become cross. Because a lot of blood sweat and tears went into it.

Also, it plays on the fear of "maybe it just isn't good enough".

Although looking at the program, all the big-shots with the big studies are giving the talks. I just have to suck it up and stand meekly beside my poster and hope somebody takes an interest.

Gotta have a tough hide in this game.

Aaaand enough about that too.

Last week I did 1 on 1 running technique session with a former Olympian, who did a video analysis of my running, and gave me some tips to improve. I am now running about, imagining a plank of 4 by 2 on my chest, and trying to hold it up. It's interesting. I shall be trying it out at a fun run I'll be doing on the weekend.

Christmas preps will be mercifully absent this year. My family have decided to go a "no presents" year, and we are going out together to a nice restaurant on Xmas eve. I still get the heebies going around shopping centres, and feel very overwhelmed. Even though Christmas is a more enjoyable time of the year now more than ever, I have memories of fairly sad Christmases, which I am shaking off. Keeping things simple seems to work. It will be great when (hopefully) I have a little 'un for everybody to spoil; Christmas really is all about the kids.

And what about you guys?
Share your rant here? Can be anything. No judgement here.
How do you feel about Chrissy? Excited? Nonplussed? Fearful?

Slow, but not over.

Hiya.

The time spent at my computer is being increasingly devoted to scholarly pursuits.
My brain power is being increasingly focussed on writing my thesis. Next year may bring more gainful employment, and hence there is a lot of pressure to work faster on the PhD.

So I am going to apologise and say that the blog posts may be a bit few and far between for the next little while.

I will be posting when big inspiration takes hold, or if there are any big/interesting events. Or if I wish to post a picture of something pretty.

But I still very much enjoy reading your blogs, and will comment.

I consider you my friends and will share your colour, ups, downs, house renovations and your quest to find pleasure in the little things. I will remain out-n-about on social media. I won't be far away.

All the very best in preparation for a wonderful festive season.
Big hugs and much love
C xxxxx