Exciting times at JCU high

It was 8:45am, I'd just arrived at my building after a 30 minute bike ride. It was the first day of lectures, so I'd ridden the bike to avoid all the main road traffic jams caused by inexperienced first years going up each others rear ends. I walked into Ray's office to get a drink and was informed we'd had another break in and theft. One more lap top bites the dust. I walked out of Ray's office and Phil tells me I can't touch anything in mine as they broke in via my first floor window and the Police will want to look at the crime scene. Leigh tells me they didn't take my really old desk top...I wonder why? In my office, the window is open, the piles of junk on the window sill have been removed - either shoved to one side, shoved onto the desk or taken out onto the ledge. My coffee machine, right beside where they'd have step down, is untouched - and it was rather delicately balanced too. The police arrived, had a look round, checked that the window would lock again and decided they wouldn't take finger prints becuase the window was too grotty to hold them - and nothing was stolen from my room. Now, somehow I'm going to have to focus and get all those things done that I didn't get round to Friday. Most embarrassing moment - when I had to say, "No, nothings been disturbed, it always looks this way."

Eggs

I've just cut a window out of my first duck egg - very strong egg smell - I'll wear gloves next time. I'm doing some faberge egg craft (or at least checking it out to decide whether I like doing it - since I like the results). I'm using a diamond drill bit to cut the shell. The tricky bit is avoiding shell dust as it is humongously toxic - somewhat like asbestos. Bet you didn't know that.
On work related stuff, I expect to have the intro to chapter 5 finished this week, and most of the discussion. Still some lab work to do to tidy it up but that's not a problem. Next week I'm starting a new part time job, which I hope will pay for a trip to Tasmania at the end of the year. Much saving will be done. I am a little concerned about the thesis writing. Its been going like a glacier when I'm doing it 5 days a week full time. Sigh, I must become more organised and waste less time on things like......umm......this actually.

yes, I was right

It's next Friday and I'm still writing chapter 5. I haven't got to the discussion yet even. On an up note I do know what I'm writing, things are accelerating and I may even get most of the intro tied up today. I'm also fiddling around with the set up of my lit review so it could take a while.
This weekend I'm going to the busy metropolis of Ayr. I'll be buying cheap craft goods, watching DVD's and pretty much lazing around. I won't even be doing any scrapbooking - except maybe to think about some of it.
I've been dreaming about my dog a lot lately. My mother thinks that means it's time to get a new dog. I did think that a month ago, but right now I'm ambivalent. I know how much time a new puppy would take up - or even an adult dog. My budgie is demanding enough and as I may have mentioned before, there's that thesis I'm trying to write.

The limits of my iron stomach

Yesterday I had to unexpectedly gut a fish that I'd put in salt water to purge (we have fish at uni). I'd been not expecting to do it for another week but it died on me - bad fish. I took the guts up the back to throw in the industrial waste bin in the refridgerated PM room - post mortem container for animal post mortem remains. I had been feeling queezy all day but I would have been fine if I hadn't opened the door and found an entire horse in there. I couldn't walk in the door. I'm ok with small dead animals, but not those bigger than I am.

Its a pleasure to be at uni

Its stinking hot up here in Townsville. Humid and 33 degrees C. So I'm finding uni lovely with ice cold air conditioning. On the thesis front, I've pretty much written the results of chapter 5 now. I just have to check a few facts in the 5 lab log books and three years of work that it covers. Then I can do the intro and the rest of the discussion. I did some of the discussion the other day when I was creative and inspired (but not too creative - this is after all, supposed to be factual).
I have delusions of having this chapter finished by Friday. I will of course, realistically, find I have to get about 4 iterations of journal articles to reference before that is truly the case, therefore at least 4 more days after I start writing intro....and tomorrow I'm doing some lab work too.