Poison Hemlock

Poison Hemlock plant- part of the same family as carrots and parsley

Well, I know its been quite a while since I last posted, but I really haven't had anything interesting to say.

All I've really been doing is working on university assignments. I'm working on a particularly boring essay on the change in Antarctic sea ice extent which is due rather soon and a rather more interesting cell biology essay that is due a bit later.

The cell biology essay can be written on any topic I like- there is no set question (but it does have to be about some form of molecular cell biology). Originally, I wanted to do my essay on some form of a disease process, but I couldn't figure out which disease (there are an awful lot of them, you know). I was doing a random Google search on disease molecular processes and I came up with results for poisons. That sounded far more interesting so at the moment (if I can continue to find enough molecular information) I am planning to write about Hemlock Poisoning. So I am doing fun things like researching the death of Socrates (who was poisoned with hemlock) and reading Plato (who wrote the report on Socrates death)- Awesome, hey?

Well, I have spent all day reading very boring journal articles about the extent of sea ice in Antarctica and I am bored! But, unfortunately it had to be done because I used up all my recreation time yesterday.

You see, I now have Fridays as a study day so I don't have to actually spend any time at uni and seeing as how it is only the 2nd week of semester I could actually afford to take some time off.

I decided I would start the day with a sleep-in, which I must say was a fantastic idea, but just before my alarm was about to go off I was awoken by my phone making noises trying to alert me to the fact that someone had sent me a message. The end of the text conversation was that my friend, Moose, and I would go shopping to help each other pick birthday presents for different friends.

A day that starts out with a sleep-in and an invitation to go shopping is always a good day.

Moose is one of those people (as are most males) that approach shopping as a chore rather than a recreation so we weren't shopping very long at all, but we did get everything that we needed.

So then, I was by myself again and it was lunch time so I decided to take my lunch down to Cornelion Bay and sit in the sunshine for a while because it was such a magnificent day. So I was sitting there in the sunshine for about half an hour just relaxing, and there was this tree with low, inviting looking branches and no one else around. So I climbed it.

Once I finished exploring the bay, climbing the tree, and soaking in the sunshine I went back home to my house and had a good natter to my sweet old next door neighbour while I pulled some weeds out of my flowers and then another friend of mine, Tiani, come over to visit me.

I had spent quite a lot of the day contemplating the awesomeness of a Boost juice and when I told Tiani about this we decided to drive over the river and get one. So while we were over there we went shopping.

Tiani is one of those people (as are most females) that approach shopping as a recreation rather than a chore so we spent a rather long time shopping and talking, and had a lot of fun picking out a present for one of the ladies at Church who has just had a baby girl. Then we went into the supermarket and were served by a friend of ours which was also fun.

As Tiani had to play indoor soccer on that side of the river in a couple of hours we decided to stay over there and go out for tea. We found a Thai restaurant that was recommended to us and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Then we went to soccer and I was in the process of cheering wildly at all the appropriate moments and stuff when Tori walked in to watch some friends of hers in the game after the one I was watching so we hung out and talked for quite a while and I taught her how to make all the appropriate noises at the appropriate moments in the game (it was the first one she'd ever watched).

Then it was back across the river and over to the Pilgrim's for supper- extremely rich chocolate cheesecake, but I got through it and managed to eat the entire slice : )

So all in all, it was a good day- in fact the only negative thing that happened was when I was walking through the mall with Martin and a huge drip dripped off the roof and managed to fall between my sunnies and my eyes!

But as I said, I had to make up for it today and do lots of work on my research for my essay. The good news is that I'm about to go off to a friend's 21st party so at least I'll have been out of the house for a while today.

Winter Wonderland

Ok so a Tasmanian Winter Wonderland isn't the same as what you might traditionally think of, but you have to admit that it is pretty.


The brave winter bulbs come forth to spreed cheer and their beautiful scent.



And one solitary daffodil that forgot to check his calendar and came up rather early.



And of course, the Mountain resplendant with a coat of snow- We endured a horrible Monday where the temperature didn't go above 5 degrees all day, but Tuesday the sun was out and the sky cleared to show the snow so it was almost worth it. People say Launceston is cold, but I have never had a day in Lonnie that was that consistently cold all day. Enduring a cold night and frosty morning, but then getting a warmer day is much nicer than a whole day without any hope of sunshine. And yes, I know I'm going to have a heap of Hobartians leaving complaints and their usual assertions that "Launceston is a hole!"

Cultured and Sophisticated.

Well, I have finished the first week of semester, but that was boring so I don't want to tell you about that. Instead I want to tell you about last night.

Last night my friend Tiani and I decided to be (or pretend to be) cultured and sophisticated and go to the theatre to see a play. The drama society at uni, PLoT (stands for something, but I don't know what), puts on a play at the beginning of each semester. Tiani and I have been to see several, including Treasure Island, The Taming of the Shrew (updated in modern English), and a comedy night with several smaller skits. Last night was Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

I have been interested in Oscar Wilde books and plays for several years now and I think the man was an absolute genius. The best thing about Oscar Wilde plays is the dialogue and because it is not so very old as Shakespeare it is far easier to understand than Shakespeare plays.

Well, Tiani and I had a fantastic evening at the theatre and PLoT did quite a decent job of the production, we even knew a couple of the actors so we mixed with them a little before they had their cast party (it was closing night- and the place was packed). Then Tiani and I went back to her place to discuss how terribly cultured and sophisticated we are, and how unsophisticated everyone is who doesn't go to the theatre on a regular basis as we sat and drank a glass of rosé (Maison, of course).

We have also heard about a night of one act plays at the Playhouse Theatre in town next Saturday evening. Admission is only $5 and the quality should be good (because its not just a bunch of uni students like PLoT) so Tiani and I are planning to be cultured and sophisticated again next week.

Week 3 of Holidays...

Ok, so what did I do with my last week of freedom before heading back to uni? Well, several things.

I spent some more time at Mum and Dad's spending time with Fidget.



I went to the RSPCA with my brother and helped him adopt a beautiful 8 month old cat named Neptune, and then spent a few days helping Neptune settle in to his new home (and Robert settling in to his new role as litter box cleaner).


I worked on finishing of my list of things that I wanted to do over the holidays, one of which was to re-cover The Big Brown Cushion.

When my parents were a young, newly married couple moving into a flat in Hobart they were given a rather large brown floor cushion. This cushion stayed with them and has been affectionately known as The Big Brown Cushion my entire life.


When I moved into my flat in Hobart The Big Brown Cushion came to live with me. The Big Brown Cushion has had rather a hard life, having been sat on and cuddled up with and had things spilt all over it for longer than I have been alive so I decided I would make a new removable, washable cover for it.

I had every intention of keeping the new cover brown because I really can't imagine The Big Brown Cushion any other colour. I thought my family would be happy to see The Big Brown Cushion loved and restored to its former glory with a new big brown cover, but when I told the boys in my family of my plans there were cries of,
"You can't change The Big Brown Cushion. Its a classic" from both of them.
Who knew boys would be so sentimental about a cushion!?!

But after very carefully explaining to each of them twice that the new cover would be brown and removable so the same old Big Brown Cushion would be right there underneath if they ever missed it, I was allowed to proceed as planned.

So I designed, cut out, and pinned the cover and Mum operated the sewing machine (because her sewing machine hates me and throws a tantrum every time I go near it- once it even sewed over my finger in an attempt to kill me and get rid of me permanentlty), and we gave our dear old Big Brown Cushion a makeover.


After all the excitment of Neptune and the Big Brown Cushion and having a man cold (which for those of you who don't know is a cold that convinces you that you are about to die- same as all men get, but occassionally a female can contract one as well) it was time to head back down to Hobart.

Once back in Hobart I continued to work on the rest of the list of things I had planned to do over the holidays by pulling everything out of one of my cupboards, reorganizing it and putting it back in, sorting out and re-filing all my paperwork, and getting my books and timetable organized and organizing my desk for the semester.

With all that done only one thing was left on the list of things to do over the holidays- Have a bubble bath.
But, of course, the council decided to cut of the water without any warning to fix what ever had spontaneously caused water to be gushing out of the footpath up the road and turning it into a river. When the water finally was turned back on it looked like this.


But after a while it settled down (it was only air bubbles anyway) and I got my bubble bath and finished off my list.

So now all I have to do is go back to uni.

My withheld exam result

The lecturers fixed the problem with the withheld result so I now have all my results.

Fisheries and Wildlife Management - Distinction

So thats 3 Distinctions and 1 Credit. I'm pretty happy with that.

I just got my exam results...

I just got my exam results.

With the exception of having one of my results withheld (I'm still trying to investigate why that is- usually it means there is somekind of course fee you have forgotten to pay) I'm pretty happy with my results.
I think my lecturers must have paid attention to my doctors recommendation for consideration when they marked my exams.

The results are as follows:

Fisheries and Wildlife Management - result withheld
Quantitative Methods in Biology - Credit (not too bad for the hardest course I've ever done)
Marine Ecology - Distinction
Aquatic Botany - Distinction

My Holiday So Far...

Week 1
I spent the first week of my holidays split between my parent's house and my brother's house while Barry was getting fixed. I got to catch up with my cat, my family, and some of my northern friends as well as catching up on some reading and watching a lot of movies and TV shows on my brother's computer. It was a nice, relaxing holiday apart from the fact that after being at Mum and Dads and then at Rob's and then back at Mum and Dad's for another night I felt rather like I was living out of a suitcase.

Week 2
On the Sunday evening of the beginning of my second week of holidays Mum and I piled all our stuff into Barry the Barina and travelled back to my flat in Hobart. On Monday morning I had an appointment at the hospital, another one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday (they are the reason we were in Hobart). Basically all the tests said that I am completely fine now, and they still can't find a reason (other than just really, really, really bad luck) why I have been so sick. I really wanted to come away with a proper diagnosis so I wasn't very happy with the trip (in fact, if you ask my mother she would probably tell you that I was quite grumpy about it all), but it’s nice to know that I have finally fully recovered from the infection.
While Mum and I weren't spending time in the hospital we went shopping (surprise, surprise- we are girls after all), and watching DVD's that we rented. Unfortunately for us, most of the DVD's we rented were quite amazingly awful. I now have a list of movies not to bother renting again-ever! (Actually, I think maybe Mum and I shouldn't be trusted to choose movies together). We also got to catch up with my Ayden, and I made him buy a huge cuddly green hippopotamus : )
Mum and I travelled back up north on Thursday evening and stayed put at Mum and Dad's for a couple of days, but then today (Monday) I got back on the road again and I'm now back at my brother's place for a few days (and we have exciting news, but I'm going to save that for later and let him blog about in each).

Apart from all that, I can't remember anything else exciting from the first two weeks of holidays.

Tune in later for week 3 …