Today was tiring but rewarding. I received an email from Ally about an attempt to pass a bill through the US congress to allow same-sex partners to emigrate to the US. The email stated that Australia was one of the countries which allowed this! I was I admit rather skeptical at first since I didn't think the current conservative government would have let this get through. But a quick check showed that yes, same-sex domestic partners can be sponsored to receive Australian visas.
This was great news for Allison and I since we were worried about exactly this sort of thing, now if we can just get me permanent residency in the US, we could jet back and forth as we wished. :)
One of my coworkers and I were talking about the University gym today, and he mentioned how some people don't even use the machines, the just stand around and talk. I wasn't overly surprised which lead me to believe that this is something which I've probably suspected for some time. The gym in this case is no different to a nightclub, coffee shop or other social setting. The primary objective is not to dance, drink coffee or exercise, but rather to be seen, to people watch and to socialize with friends. This never really occurred to me before because I only ever used the gym to exercise, usually going alone and late at night because by then the crowds had dispersed.
As I prepare to enter the last month of my contract, it feels very familiar. This time last year I was one month off submitting my thesis, and the headlong rush was extremely pronounced. I never really had time for a holiday after handing in my thesis (October 25th), since later the same afternoon I was on a bus to Sydney to get my U.S. Visa and two weeks later I was flying out of the country.
One of the things I noticed most about finishing my thesis was rapid weight loss. It is no joke to say that I lived on toasted cheese sandwiches for the last few months before I finished, and in the next few months I dropped around 8 kilograms. I believe the same thing might happen again, once I have some time to recuperate. It will be nice to get a break, concentrate on the job hunt and then fly out to see Illara and Allison.