wow nelly -- the work life does seem to have sucked me up... although part of the last three weeks have been :o) as I had visitors for part of them - the last 2 weeks have certainly seen me more or less hiding in a hole and working away... the last 2 weeks have been rather tough on my morale I must admit. Aspects of work and just a whole bunch of other curve balls thrown at me ... and this feeling that you somehow landed yourself in a pool a little too deep for you to be able to safely swim either to the side or to the shallow end. Perseverance here though is the key ... so i am sticking to it, trying to stay focused and disciplined and getting enough rest and exercise to keep my endorphin levels as high as possible!!!

I am about to escape to get a bit of fresh air-- and fresh it is! - only 7 degrees, but I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from a hike I did when my friend Mike was visiting and Cara, a friend of the family was still in Vancouver as well - out to Eagle Bluffs. It was absolutely spectacular and fantastic - the day was perfect weather wise too, bright sunshine, blue sky, you get to walk through bits that are open, passing by numerous little lakes with orange trees pondering their own reflections...and then a whole stretch through the forest ... before coming out to a steep cliff with an absolute STUNNING view of Vancouver and Mount Baker to the south in the distance, whilst out west you could see the edged contours of Vancouver island sticking out black from the water. That hike definitely belongs to one of the most incredible hikes I've done since moving here.

As for work -- well, TAing (mostly marking assignments and exams) has been taking up quite a bit of my time ... reading what the students have been writing & their attitudes makes me wonder sometimes what the school system has become...
Then i need to hand in a draft of the write up of my Caribbean model results by the first week of November. It's making me nervous as - although I've got most of it together, there are so many things I feel are out of control or I don't know about or simply haven't had a chance, still, to wrap my head around. Hence, I've decided to take myself out to Halifax so i could spend some time with my friend Marta and have her inculcate some her Ecopath wisdom to me!!! I'm looking forward to it ... I think if I am absolutely honest with myself, I've terrified myself more than necessary by this model; and I simply need to jump with both feet and immerse myself in it. I am actually looking forward to it! As Dwight Moore taught us at a workshop I recently attended ("getting on track with your thesis") that would put me at developmental level D3 - i.e. I have moderate capacity but HIGH (to variable) motivation!
and here I go - back to my mediation functions - in other words describing how sea turtle cropping influences predator prey interactions in seagrass beds!

chronically ill indeed

As my friend Pablo commented on one of my posts the other day - are 'we' indeed chronically ill? mmm - it's a good question - I do think at least in parts we are. Looking up the definition for chronically it says - Lasting for a long period of time or marked by frequent recurrence, as certain diseases - well there you have it. The harms we have inflicted upon nature (and by extension onto ourselves?!) are definitely for long periods of time. However, somehow because it doesn't directly or immediately affect our health (in our cushy developed world that is) we somehow always foster the hope somehow it'll get fixed.... but look the ozone hole is still there and bog as ever despite the ban on CFCs back in the 90s... we give ourselves too much credit for understanding how this world functions and how we can 'fix' things gone awry. Well the world has an amasing capacity at being uncertain and full of surprises ... and we should think before acting .. rather than do it anyways and then hoping we can fix it later if it goes pear shaped. Just like that saying goes - better safe than sorry....

Speaking of our world being chronically ill ... A federal report shows that loggerhead sea turtle populations are suffering from significant declines - sad story indeed especially when you consider that data from 1989-1998 showed that the number of nesting sites had increased about 4% each year. In an article published in The New York Times reasons for the decline are mainly attributed to commercial fishing ... but it could be a whole slew of reasons and combination of things...

As for illness itself - I've not been feeling all that hot myself these past couple of days ... my body is intensely fighting a war against some bugs that want to take over my immune system for a little while... onset of fall, and the creeping-in cold always kind of throws your body in a bit of loop. So I've been making myself tasty veggie based soups, taking lots of vitamins, inhaling niaouli oil - a natural antiseptic - and getting more sleep than I usually do. Nothing more frustrating than trying to work and producing only blank mind waves.

So I am going back to bed - creating a comfy little corner for myself with a bunch of pillows and taking some scientific reading there with me -- and a cup of hot herbal tea.
If only it'd be that easy to help cure mother nature...

PS - oooh and that second chapter did get handed in to Daniel ... though it still needs some work

Rambles and that second chapter

So after a pretty much sleep deprived week and a terrible headache on Friday day, things started to look up on Friday eve. After collapsing at home for a wee while, I cycled down to the Charlatan, a bar on Commercial Dr. to meet up with a group of friends. I didn't stay long - but they had both guiness and strongbow on tap (yayyyyy - a very rare event here in Vancouver!) so i delighted myself in a black velvet - yum! ...and the bartender was super nice and gave it to me for free!!! Just the perfect way to end a downtrodden week I tell ya!
Saturday morning saw me rise and shine early (well certainly the former, not sure about the latter) as my friend Kate was having her wedding brunch that day. A bus that I picked up downtown then took us on a long ride over to Coquitlam. There are some insanely posh houses over there -- very movie type decor looking though, alcking serious personality or charm. The buffet (at the Coquitlam gold club s'il vous plait) was exquisitely tasty and I got to catch up with a friend of mien from Tasmania I didn't know was going to be attending the wedding! Kate looked beautiful and happy -- and the groom to be seemed very calm and serene!
Long ride on the bus home... and then a fun trip to the climbing gym!
I think i may have gotten myself addicted...
Attendance at a house party in the evening, after a tasty meal-cooking at home ... some typical house tasks on sunday... and then I was headed to the wedding itself. However, as I was about to hop out of my flat and hop on the bus, I got a dsitraught phone call from a friend of mine whose laptop had justd ecided to join the never neverland of computers.... 2 weeks before her thesis submission. Eeeeekkk! I gave her a couple of emergency computer support numbers, crossed my fingers before hopping into Neil's car who very gallantly and kindly offered to drive me to Cecil Green Park house. Despite the gray skies and continuous downpour, nothing could have possibly obscured the couple's day -- they both looked stunning & both looked deeply happy and in love :o) The ceremony was shot and sweet and truly lovely. Tasty food and some touching and funny speeches followed... then some dancing and a very dangerous looking carrying of the newlyweds on chairs!!! careening at top speed around the dance floor! Very funny ... I took this as my high note of the eve and said my adieus.

Sadly my friend's computer was completely toast :o( - and so I spent most of monday madly backing up and synchronizing my computers and drives - you just simply cannot be too safe.
Today I made some progress on producing a decent draft of my second chapter so I can give it to Daniel by tomorrow --- I'll have to get up early though and do some solid work on it to get it to that point though. Somehow it just doesn't flow :o| ...just seriously wish writing came to me easier!!!!
Cara - daughter of a friend of the family - arrived today as well, and will be staying with me until friday. She's wanting to get a feel for the city and see whether she'd consider moving here!

Right - and with that I am off to bed!
Boa noite