Partial completion

The ball is now in your court, Yael:



Day 19 - The most romantic book you have ever read
Quo Vadis

Edmonton!

So just got back from a weekend with Sue in Edmonton. As promised, mom, here are some photos of their new place:







We hung out, walked around St. Albert (town just outside Edmonton where Sue & Brock actually live), tried to go the the market, but it wasn't there this weekend so went to an art show instead, plus the library. Then met up with Mary Hocaliuk and walked around in the river valley for a bit:



There's heaps of awesome parks for running and dog walking, and Sue's area will be excellent for cross country skiing in the winter. We also went by the parliament house, where they have an eternal flame, a totem pole, and a lawn bowls pitch. Random.





We also met up with Phil for dinner on Saturday night, which was cool, and I realize now I don't have any photos of Phil. But Phil should have some of Suley's defense party, which happened after dinner and which Mary and I went to as well, so those may turn up on his blog if he ever updates it.

Day 18 - A book you have that belongs to someone else
The True History of the Kelly Gang (sorry Ra)

Finished!!!!!

Not my thesis. Don't be silly. I finished the puzzle that Yael gave me for Christmas nearly 2 years ago! Yay! 4 moves + eaten by 2 cats + the help of my co-workers = 1.75 years to finish the puzzle, and only lost 2 pieces. Not bad.



Day 17 - The most over hyped book you have ever read
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

First Dance!

Yay! I think I got it this time. Check out the video for Nicole & Joel's awesome first dance :)

Nickel Copper & Rusty Jupiter Tie The Knot

I've journeyed back to Australia for a couple weeks for a few reasons. 1) To spend some quality time with my PhD; 2) Play a bit of soccer with the soccer ladies and get back into some semblance of fitness; and 3) the wedding of Nicole Kuepper and Joel Russel.

Nicole Kuepper (a.k.a. Nickel Copper) is the darling of the UNSW PV Centre. Two massive murals featuring her glowing face and an inspirational quote from her grace the scaffolding of the new Energy Technology Building currently being built on lower campus. Here are John & Cath hanging out with our friend Nicole:



Nicole & Joel are a true power couple. Joel's dad is a diplomat, so somehow he's in diplomat training now and the two of them are living in London. Nicole's also been working full time there, and writing her thesis at the same time. Friday she went for the trial make-up & hair-do, got the OK from Stuart to submit her thesis, went down all done up to submit, then and hour and a half later was down at City Hall getting her marriage licence! Life at 100 mph.

The wedding was great. It was at a botanical gardens, so beautiful, if somewhat cold. Here's a bit of a blurry shot of the ceremony:



After the ceremony there was champagne & nibblies, a double-rainbow graced the sky, then it started to rain a bit and we all headed indoors for more food & drinks. The guys watched the NRL grand final. Dinner & speeches were fantastic. And then we danced until 3am. Great night.

Top of the World

Hiro, Hanne and I after mountain biking up to the top of Russian Ridge.

And Day 16 - A book that is a guilty pleasure
The Blue Castle

Turns out, lots of stuff has happened

I wasn't updating very frequently 'cause I didn't feel much was happening in my life, but now it feels like something exciting has happened nearly every day recently.

So Labour Day I was in the Desolation Wilderness with Mai and Oleg. Photos:









I also went mountain biking with some people at work. Last Friday Hiro, Hanne and I went and did the Alpine Road-Russian Ridge trail, and even though I'm a bit slow, it was amazing! Hanne's got an awesome photo that I'll have to put up next time.

Kate Fisher, my UNSW lab manager predecessor, was out in San Fran for a few days, so we explored the city a bit. Went to a street party on Filmore, where you could borrow out roller skates for free. There was lots of stuff for kids, lemonade stands, live music & people dancing in the streets. The weather was gorgeous and sunny. Went to check out the Golden Gate bridge, had some amazing Greek food for lunch, and followed it up with a bbq at my place with Dan Inns & my housemates. A great weekend. More photos from the City:









And check out the solar panels!!!



And news! Susan & Brock are engaged!!!!!!!!! Woot! Super excited for them!

And Margot update: Tumour was removed, no problems, however yolk cells were found in it so it was found to be malignant. Poor little tyke is going to be undergoing chemo now for the next few months. Good news is that the success rate is high, bad news is they'll have to watch out for cancer recurrences for the rest of Magoo's life, and she won't be able to be an astronaut :( But on the whole, she should be alright, so that is good news.

That is all for now.

Day 15 - A book where you wish you were one of the characters
The Northern Lights