Champing at the bit

I meant to go swimming again on Thursday, but an experiment ran long and I didn't leave Uni till 7:30pm - 1/2 an hour after the pool closed. I'm going back tonight - all excited. As expected, chapter 5 is nowhere near finished and I'm writing this instead of that right now. I'm making the excuse that I'm having a planning day and getting everything organised for the rest of the week - when i won't have much time to write either - thesis of doom.
I have taken stock and decided I have gained way too much weight. shorts that were getting loose are now getting tight, I may have to buy a bike (and actually ride it), swim and hike up castle hill at least once a week (preferably twice)....and of course stop eating a chocolate bar/bag of lollies a day - where did my self control go?
On the weekend I did hike up the goat track on castle hill - now I have a sore butt. I also ate quite healthily. I did spent most of the weekend housesitting in airconditioning while watching cable on a metre wide TV...but I did climb castle hill.

In spite of my new found alertness....

I still don't expect to be able to finish writing chapter 5 in a week, which is what I need to do to stay on schedule. There are too many distractions, lab work I need to do, people I have to supervise, people who expect me to supervise and explain things (in spite of the fact they aren't my supervisors students), procrastination page to write. My alertness stems from a combination of "it rained last night so I slept well and its cooler" and " I had my first learn to swim lesson last night, so I'm well exercised and buoyed up :)".
I finally made the decision to learn to swim properly so I can do laps for exercise rather than short period of wild splashing followed by gasping and spitting up water. I spent last night practicing breathing technique which swimming up and down the pool with flippers and a kick board. By the end of the night I graduated to just flippers. I'm so chuffed. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I swam the whole 50m without stopping to recover once. yay me.

money money money

In an idle moment today I thought I might do a web search on the availability of all the DVD box sets of series I collect and see how much is currently out there (too busy over the last 3 months to look in the shops) . Not including the 2 seasons of Stargate which will be released before April next year (~$180), there is about $600 worth of box sets I'd like to buy. While I'm at it, I need a new bike and don't want the cheap and nasty price range of Kmart $99 - so think another $250-300). My job finishes at the end of December...maybe I should hold off and have something to live on after that till a new job crops up.

What irritates me

OK, I don't mind being sent an email like the one noted below, using the official university bulk mailing system. It's more a reminder that a particular official event is on than a political or personal view. But what irritates me is when someone does a reply to all with a current political opinion.

I'm not interested in reading a perfect strangers political views on current wars/conflicts/politics and whether something has been done or not done for selfish/monetary reasons. At least not at work, on an official email list. There's plenty of places to find this stuff and engage in spewing personal vitriol/slander/reasoned and insightful debate should I wish to.

Now I'm expecting a whole swag of reply to all emails going back and forth between different viewpoints, and people complaining that they don't want to be sent any more emails - for days, filling up my email, wasting my time as I open them thinking "this time it may be from someone with a legitimate email, personally sent to me" (which I do get from complete strangers, and people who's name I have just forgotten).

I'm tempted to start blocking all emails from this time forth from anyone inconsiderate enough to use bulk mail inappropriately. That'll serve em right when they turn out to be someone who does want to contact me later...and get bounced.

Hmm, longest post yet...must rant more some time.

Remembrance Day

In 1918 the armistice that ended World War I came into force, bringing to an end four years of hostilities that saw 61 919 Australians die at sea, in the air, and on foreign soil. Few Australian families were left untouched by the events of World War I - 'the war to end all wars' most had lost a father, son, daughter, brother, sister or friend.

At 11am on 11 November we pause to remember the sacrifice of those men and women who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts and all those who have served during the past 100 years.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

so tired, so very tired

I didn't get enough sleep last night and now I'm trudging through the quagmire of fatigue. This would be fine if I wasn't trying to write. I'd go home and sleep again but I'm also supervising someone to do some work for me and I know at some point they'll need to check with me about something.

Feeling somewhat better

Well, that turned out to be an annoying but short lived cold. Now all I need to do is get a massage to loosen up the rock hard shoulders, back and neck and relieve the constant eyestrain headache...I'm putting it off because I know it will be painful and expensive...yet I don't put off going to the dentist. Odd, perhaps I secretly consider a massage to be a luxury while I consider non-rotting teeth to be a neccessity. I knew this would come round to food eventually.

Plague

I feel ill. I took yesterday off and slept - I even slept through the workmen walking over our roof spraying the dulux weathershield stuff on - with a loud compressor. Now I'm just coughing and sniffling. I had a good weekend though, I went to the craft show and learned how to make faberge eggs - the non-jewellery kind. Today I will be writing chapter 5 of my thesis - or rather reading papers and going "Ah, that'll go well there" prior to the Melbourne cup luncheon. I brought my hot pink beret in to wear.