Tag: thesis

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curses, curses, and more curses

After waiting and waiting for my Visa to turn up, I called the consulate helpline on Friday. I was charged $1.05/minute to listen to their menus, and was finally given the option to talk to a real person, for $2.75/minute. I explained my situation to the real person, and she put me through to the Melbourne consulate. I then re-explained my situation: Had interview over a month ago, have paid all the fees, have even repaid one after the amount needed was lowered a few days AFTER my interview, meaning that the system was unable to process my money order for a higher amount. The man on the other end of the phone confirmed that my Visa hadn’t been processed, but seeing as they seemed to have all of the necessary paperwork, he had no idea why. I’m to call him back tomorrow afternoon. I have this bizarre idea, that maybe, one day, after waiting over a year, I might finally get to America. And then I might finally finish this PhD. Maybe.

Oh, and the other curses. My car has broken down, and is leaking from places it shouldn’t be leaking. Have to get it to the mechanics.

On the plus side, the weekend at the Grampians was good. Got very sore. Not many photos, as we were climbing in a two, so there was no spare person to be the photographer.

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updates…

america trip: Apparently I should get the DS2019 form in the next few days (woo), then I have to continue filling out forms, and be interviewed and things like that: “Do you seek to enter the United States to engage in … subversive or terrorist activities?…. Have you ever participated in genocide?”

dreadlocks: Getting dreadier and messier as we speak. They’ve been left to their own devices of late. A fair few loops, messy roots, mutant dreads trying to cannibalise others, that sort of thing.

climbing: Haven’t been doing much, people keep injuring themselves or be working, and then I’ve had to be working late a bit, so no climbing for the last couple of weeks or so.

other things: Went to be support for friends doing 12 hour mountain bike thing on the weekend. Was going to compete, but then another guy dropped out, so our team was the wrong size, so I dropped out as well. Not that worried about that, as the course was super muddy. The next day a few of us hiked up Mount Cobbler. Awesome summit. This photo is taken from the false summit as you cross the saddle to the real summit. It felt very Middle Earth/ New Zealandish. Which is of course the same thing really.

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leaves

hoorah:
* telemarking tomorrow
* new episodes of scrubs
* going climbing this afternoon – and that the gym kitty was at the gym
* maybe getting the working in the US thing organised soon. it’s the waiting that’s so frustrating
* new songs to listen to, in the house i have to myself
* spring begins – tree outside loungeroom window now covered in leaves

boo:
* feeling sick from eating too many hedgehogs (well, actually from having just eaten two hedgehogs for lunch – the chocolatey ones, not the spikey animaly ones)
* not having climbed for around two weeks before today, feeling weak
* delete key and right arrow key on keyboard ceasing to function, now being followed by backspace and enter key
* cat sitting on me so i cant move
* now the apostrophe key has stopped working

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despite the fact i’ve not been working for the past month, i’ve still not managed to do any work on this site. most likely because i have vague plans of updating somehow, but i’m not sure how (using moveable type, or one of those new fangled applications – mt wouldn’t agree with my host for some reason, and the other thing i tried was just plain annoying). anyway, i’ve added to the russell the peak bagging moose page. meanwhile, it’s looking more and more likely that i’m going to have two winters in a row – yes, just as we’re hitting spring here, i’m getting set to go off and work in washington dc for up to 6 months. i hear it’s cold there.

i shall now cycle back home again and go on a pants hunt.

………

note to self: must stop writing posts about the fact i haven’t posted in ages.

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pirates and phd

hoorah! i’m to go to a piratical house-warming. it’s been far too long since i’ve indulged in pirate-type behaviour, and longer still since i’ve dressed as one. although the last international talk like a pirate day (which is september 19th by the way) was fun. meanwhile, not of particular interest to anyone else, but the ‘o’ key on my keyboard has decided to misbehave. i tried to fix it, now it’s worse. essentially every ‘o’ in this has either not come out the first time, or come out as a double. much use of the backspace key, it’s driving me insane. especially as i’m supposed to be writing up at the moment (satellites and sounding systems chapter of thesis – trying to work on terra and aqua satellites). grrr. much grrrr.