Med Ball

These are some photos from Med Ball a while ago - I didn't take a camera and it took me a while to find out who'd taken theirs. I didn't get hold of many particularly good ones yet. The ones I got seemed to get blurrier as the night went on - I guess without flash and with more free drinks it gets harder to hold a camera steady in dim light!!!! But it was fun. Oscars theme - so lots of glamorous ones!

Newsworthy.

Back to uni this week -has been a blast. Or kind of, a bludge. Nice to ease into it after a week off though... the reason for all this is that it's 'rural week' and we have no actual lectures on anything science/medicine-ish. We have had talk from rural doctors, rural medical students, interviewed patients from urban and rural areas. This even included going to Oatlands for the day.

Our trip to Oatlands included arriving ahead of schedule, being provided with morning tea, meeting practice manager of communityhealth centre, having tour of centre/4 bed hospital/nursing home facility, having lunch, interviewing a couple of patients, having afternoon tea and going home! And somehow ABC thought that was newsworthy and came along to watch. I am told I was on the television that night by at least 5 sources... so some people recognised me (and tell me i looked like I was paying attention) but I missed it!

Other parts of rural week have seemed a little bit irrelevant and peripheral, although relatively enjoyable and at least I'm not getting more behind. Not that I've done a lot of catching up either! Working on it....

And of course... the most interesting news. There is a boy. I think he's lovely... we'll see what happens as we adjust to not being just friends and how it all goes.. not too many details here! (Tho private correspondence may be entered into if appropriate!!)

Bed time now.. last day of rurality to look forward to tomorrow.. mostly it had 3 hours free time in the middle of the day!

settling in. from a distance.

Now all is safely taken to the new house. Except for the stuff that isn't... certain things have been left at nice old house - i went back today for my clothes in my drawers, but there were still some pictures on walls here and there, some cups and mugs which I suspect are staying behing, and a whole lot of dust, pens, and other rubbish here and there on the floor. But all in all... house feels empty.

As oppose to new house. Which has lots of boxes. And thats after unpacking at least 10 or 15 boxes into the kitchen and pantry. My golly... if you could live on popcorn, currants, cinnamon sticks, (or spices in general) rice and pickled walnuts/other pickles... we'd be fine for quite some time. There are multiples of things to be consumed, multiples of crockery (which Hamish is keen to thin out) and probably multiples of many other kinds of things as well... and lots of room with no cupboards. But my room looks great. Haven't really got clothes in, but furniture beginning to take shape around the room and boxes containing cd player and other essentials have been located. (Still need the one with cds!). Will take camera and if any daylight is left, photographic evidence will be found. But... not sure how phone line/internet situation is going. But I do have a new home phone number - which I will not give out here (wouldn't anyway, but haven't learnt it yet) but email me if you want it and I'll think about giving it to you.

Working all day tomorrow so sleep time :) Am at dads - so wed night will be first night to sleep in the new house.

Limbo

Today we finished packing up my Kingston house. The packers had arrived just before me at 9am this morning and were seen now and then as fluoro orange streaks running up and down and wrapping things up and packing boxes! By the time I left about 1, there were piles of boxes in the kitchen as well as another box 'tower' in the room next to Mum's. There was nothing in my room except my clothes in drawers and a few hanging things in the cupboard which I have to pack into a suitcase tomorrow. My open shelves and cupboards (of which there were quite a few) were empty and my bed and bedside drawers thing were gone. The truck had taken it all away by the time Mum left - she was left without anything to sit on at all! Meanwhile Hamish and I, gratefully aided by Heather and Dot from church were cleaning the new place. So at the end of the day we have 2 empty houses- one house is probably quite dusty and dirty, and the new house is freshly painted, washed, dusted and just waiting to be filled... I'm staying at Dads!

Hamish complained at quite a few points about the amounts of stuff that we had and couldn't we just throw some of it out. We did actually throw out quite a bit - although its true there was a lot left. But at that point we were going through tools and so on in the garage. All very useful things... even if it doens't appear so to him. He even broke my wooden metre ruler so he could throw it out - which I was quite annoyed about. And now Dad tells me you can't get ones like that anymore. Grr. I tried to tell him he'd feel the same if people made him throw out his fishing stuff or LARGE collection of love tokens, random coins and old things.

But on other issues... hmm moving seems to have taken up my entire sphere of thought today. Anyway - despite being tired and all seeming slightly irritable by the end of today, the whole moving business is still quite exciting! A new era begins...

Last night in my house

Today I did lots of putting things in boxes and not a lot of sorting things out!! But I had my friend Laura come and give expert advice. She's moved house at least 3 times in the year or something or other (lots anyway!). She helped put lots of things in boxes - which are stil all over my room but at least here'snot much on the shelves! I kept saying to Laura 'should I keep this?' and she'd look at me with a look that said 'do you really think you need that?' and then maybe I would throw it out. Except when I didn't.

I guess a mix of feelings... exciting new house, but have had lots of good times here. It has been the place I've lived the majority of my life - and who knows where the next 15 years will take me, or when I'll next spend 15 years in one house. But still - a house is a house, and even when its a home, its not the defining part of my existence.

We had Megan and Alistair and Jean round for dinner with Mum and Hamish. It was a nice evening - good way to finish time here I guess - and Tahnee and Andrew are coming for lunch tomorrow. Removalists are coming monday and tuesday I think - beds etc I think move tuesday, but I usually stay at Dads sunday to tuesday nights anyway. But won't be long and I'll have first night sleeping in the chaos of a new house. Going into my room with lots of things packed up almost reminded me of the night before going on a big holiday-particularly when you'd have to get up early for a flight. I would go to bed with my bag packed at the end of my bed, and just the clothes the wear that day out. I'd fall asleep knowing a whole new adventure would be starting the next day. I guess some of the same is true now - except my shelves look bare, the floor is still a mess and not all the boxes are shut. And beats me what I'll find to wear tomorrow. But the same is true - a new chapter will begin - with plenty of room for people visiting, playing board games, sitting, drinking tea, passing hte time of day, discussing meaning of life etc etc etc

Hurrah.

Promotion: enter this competition!

Not that I'm biased or anything, but I was excited to see the All India Radio new album as a prize on the Naked Dwarf gig guide/music site at the moment. I'd recommend it - kinda cruisey music made of recordings and instruments over the top and all sorts of things. Although... to be honest that may describe earlier work more... not sure. But I rate it. And as a bonus fact, my uncle is in the band.... :)