As for work, my lab couldn't be better, except for the fact that I'm not overly interested in the particular science I'm doing (but that may change in the very near future): it is extremely laid back, my boss is cool and has a separate life as well as a job in science, and the people in my lab are "real people," if you know what I mean (see photos in Some New Friends section of New photo album). As for Mike's lab...well, I think the cartoon below is a pretty good illustration!

Despite this clear incident of using graduate students and post-docs as slave labour, Mike did get his contract renewed for another year--so we'll be working "down under" beyond the year 2000.

As for Hobbies, other than hiking in the wonderful wilderness of Australia, we have picked up on one of the biggest past-times in Australia--wine-tasting and collecting. Well, Mike does the research and buys the wine, and I tell him whether I like it or not...if we both like it, then we buy a few bottles to cellar for anywhere from 3-12 years--a wonderful souvenir from Australia for us to enjoy once we are resettled in the states--that is, if we can get it all back there legally!

Here, Rooney explains to me the selection of wine that we currently have in our "cellar"--he has categorized it and typed up all of the newpaper and wine-tasters' descriptions regarding each bottle that we have bought and saved.

Here is a photo of the first case of an individual bottle of wine that we ever bought--Tyrell's Rufus Stone, from the Heathcote region of Victoria. It is Tyrell's first release from this region, and it sold out quickly...you can't find it in any regular wine shops today. We were happy we got a good price. But, most importantly to me, it has a really cool bottle and a nice deep purple color!