Turning 40
24 May 2010
We finished the last week of my vacation together with Jay’s family in Burbank. His parents and sister were visiting at the same time. We took the opportunity to go shopping with the strong Australian dollar and very weak economy in the US which had resulted in bargain prices for clothing. While in LA we saw a few friends whom we hadn’t seen for some time, including Trammell and Bruce, as well as the dogs Elbee and Duey.
Jay’s friend Brian also drove from Las Vegas so Jay was able to spend some time with him for the first time in about five years. I was very touched to be surprised by Jay’s family with a birthday cake the night I was leaving LA.
I arrived back from the vacation feeling very relaxed before my birthday. Jay got home a week later. I worked on my birthday, anaesthetizing for a free flap in the morning and an eye list for my friend MIchael in the afternoon. I had dinner at home with Jay and my parents.
To celebrate with friends we had a dinner at Jacques Reymond soon after. Jay summoned up the courage to make a very sweet speech. I enjoyed very much seeing so many friends in the one place and was disappointed only in that I was not able to spend enough time with each person there. It was great that a number of friends from far away, such as Attila and Timo, were able to come to Melbourne for the occasion.
The last part of the birthday marathon was the surprise arrival of an iPad as a gift from Jay and then lunch with my extended family at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I saw some of my cousins and their children who were pleased to investigate the pinball game I had on the iPad.
Most days I will be able to substitute the iPad for my laptop at work in the OR. So far it has been very useful; the only problem I have had is that I have been asked to show it to people at work frequently as they are not on sale here until May 28. It has been quite fun being on the cutting edge for once, as I’m not usually enthusiastic to buy the latest devices as soon as they are available.
Autumn came with much more typical weather than we have had for the past few years. There has been a reasonable amount of rain and it’s been cold enough to see some fall colours in the trees. This small liquidambar in the park opposite my practice office really stood out against the mostly evergreen Australian trees.
Melbourne Argonauts hosted their second regatta in early May. This year we did not row in the races as Jay had injured his shoulder and I had a sore knee which, together with being away in March, had kept us off the water for two months. We have both started back gently with “social” rowing which is probably the level of intensity we will maintain for the Winter.
We visited the National Gallery of Victoria (a peculiar pre-Federation name) to see the exhibition of works by the Australian sculptor Ron Mueck. His hyperrealist figures, both larger and smaller than life, are great technical achievements. Surprisingly there was no restriction on photography in the exhibition.
Our other art trip was to see Waiting for Godot in which the role of Estragon was played by Sir Ian McKellen. They emphasized the funny aspects of the play, which helped to lighten what can be a very long evening. Unlike George Michael who was here earlier in the year, Sir Ian did not make an extensive tour of the local bars.
One of the gifts I received from a friend was a voucher for abseiling. We were lucky to have a bright cold Saturday last weekend for me to try walking and jumping down the side of a hotel in the city. While I get nervous climbing ladders to do pruning, I found this experience surprisingly less frightening and a lot of fun. They gave us three runs down the building.
Our plans for the Winter so far include only a trip to somewhere warm for a week, so we have something to look forward to during the shorter, darker days at present.
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Jay’s friend Brian also drove from Las Vegas so Jay was able to spend some time with him for the first time in about five years. I was very touched to be surprised by Jay’s family with a birthday cake the night I was leaving LA.
I arrived back from the vacation feeling very relaxed before my birthday. Jay got home a week later. I worked on my birthday, anaesthetizing for a free flap in the morning and an eye list for my friend MIchael in the afternoon. I had dinner at home with Jay and my parents.
To celebrate with friends we had a dinner at Jacques Reymond soon after. Jay summoned up the courage to make a very sweet speech. I enjoyed very much seeing so many friends in the one place and was disappointed only in that I was not able to spend enough time with each person there. It was great that a number of friends from far away, such as Attila and Timo, were able to come to Melbourne for the occasion.
The last part of the birthday marathon was the surprise arrival of an iPad as a gift from Jay and then lunch with my extended family at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I saw some of my cousins and their children who were pleased to investigate the pinball game I had on the iPad.
Most days I will be able to substitute the iPad for my laptop at work in the OR. So far it has been very useful; the only problem I have had is that I have been asked to show it to people at work frequently as they are not on sale here until May 28. It has been quite fun being on the cutting edge for once, as I’m not usually enthusiastic to buy the latest devices as soon as they are available.
Autumn came with much more typical weather than we have had for the past few years. There has been a reasonable amount of rain and it’s been cold enough to see some fall colours in the trees. This small liquidambar in the park opposite my practice office really stood out against the mostly evergreen Australian trees.
Melbourne Argonauts hosted their second regatta in early May. This year we did not row in the races as Jay had injured his shoulder and I had a sore knee which, together with being away in March, had kept us off the water for two months. We have both started back gently with “social” rowing which is probably the level of intensity we will maintain for the Winter.
We visited the National Gallery of Victoria (a peculiar pre-Federation name) to see the exhibition of works by the Australian sculptor Ron Mueck. His hyperrealist figures, both larger and smaller than life, are great technical achievements. Surprisingly there was no restriction on photography in the exhibition.
Our other art trip was to see Waiting for Godot in which the role of Estragon was played by Sir Ian McKellen. They emphasized the funny aspects of the play, which helped to lighten what can be a very long evening. Unlike George Michael who was here earlier in the year, Sir Ian did not make an extensive tour of the local bars.
One of the gifts I received from a friend was a voucher for abseiling. We were lucky to have a bright cold Saturday last weekend for me to try walking and jumping down the side of a hotel in the city. While I get nervous climbing ladders to do pruning, I found this experience surprisingly less frightening and a lot of fun. They gave us three runs down the building.
Our plans for the Winter so far include only a trip to somewhere warm for a week, so we have something to look forward to during the shorter, darker days at present.
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