It's strange that so much has been happening, I guess it's all been dammed up behind the thesis, and now that the blockage has been removed, there's a million and one "real-life" things to do.
Today by habit I was in the lab by about 8 am. I worked on a paper, and then went into town about 10:30 am. I traded in some old "Oh my god I can't believe I bought those" CD's, and then I checked the price of my ticket at a third travel agent to make sure I was getting the best deal. I cycled over to the Traveler's Vaccination and Medical Center and after a brief consultation they gave me vaccinations against typhoid and Hepatitis A and B. They also began a Mantoux test which indicates exposure to tuberculosis. I go back on Thursday morning to get a tetanus booster and combined Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine. The tuberculosis test is mandatory, and the Hepatitis A and B shots I wanted because they are nasty liver-liquefying diseases which I really don't want to catch.
I walked out of the Medical Centre a bit sore in the left arm, and walked over to the Red-Belly Black café where I met Peta (G). We had a friendly chat, and she's growing her hair long which looks nice. She had to go to a meeting, but she did say that she was moving into her new apartment in a week or two and that her surgery date had been shifted back to the 26th November. We agreed to meet back up on Sunday for something else.
After that I cycled back to the lab, where I started working on a new paper. It won't be finished until after I'm gone, but if I can lay the ground work, it will be out much faster courtesy of whoever finishes it. I raced down to STA Travel and put a deposit on my airline ticket, flying Japan Airlines with my first flight leaving Canberra at 10:30 am on Tuesday 13th November. So yeah, Eeek!
Amongst the whirlwind of other things going on, I'll be coming back to Canberra from Tumut on Saturday afternoon and then going out Saturday night with Emma, Chrissy and a few others. Sunday is Jules's Birthday, and also the wedding of Atilla, the eldest son of our old family friends, the B***** family. He was Ashley's best friend in high school, and so Mum, Dad and Ashley are going up for that. I will miss not being able to see the whole B***** family, because they are wonderful people (they don't know about me though).
I still haven't started the talk on Alchemy I'm supposed to give on Wednesday, and I want to make it interesting, but my fascination about alchemy is due to it's mysticism, which is a difficult thing to demonstrate in short time. The best I can to do is to dispel the myth that it is all about turning lead into gold.
I also keep forgetting to take my pills which is annoying.
So, things are accelerating, or at least that's my perception, there's just so much do be done between now and a fortnight. Only 14 days until I catch that plane. Eeek!