Winter 2005
31 August 2005
Winter ends today in Melbourne and it certainly feels like Spring is here as it is bright and sunny and the weekend was also sunny and warm. The Winter seems to have gone very quickly as I have been working a lot through the darker, colder months.
The long neurosurgical cases certainly help the days pass quickly. Unlike the US, here I work with a single trainee in a single operating room. This allows for more teaching, and can be a lot less hectic than running more than one operating room as was common at UCSF. I'm wearing a lead outfit in this picture as we were using x-rays repeatedly for the procedure.
In June, Billy came to stay for a few days on a whirlwind trip. I had the pleasure of showing him some of the sights of Melbourne and the weather was kind to us. Here we are on the observation deck of one of the tall buildings in the city. We also visited the miniature Tudor Village and the Bionic Ear Institute (not the usual tourist hot-spots).
At the start of July, Jay and I went to Queensland for a weekend so I could do some necessary updates on Robert's mother's computer. It was much warmer than it was last November, and we were able to lie on the beach a bit. We spent a day at Sea World which was definitely worth seeing. As well as the rollercoasters and dolphins and seals they had a new display of sharks and skates and other fish which was quite spectacular and included some very big sharks.
One attraction at the Gold Coast which we did not go inside was "Snow World". Coming from Canada, Jay thought it was funny that people would pay $15 to see "real" snow in a shed. He may have been right as Snow World did not look very busy.
Also in July I went to an exhibition opening for a friend of my sister. She had produced some striking photographic images, in one of which my sister appeared, with her hair combed forward over her face. This image was used for the poster and I took this picture to show her that her picture was up on the outside of the gallery. Jay is included for scale.
Near the end of August "Nanna", my maternal grandmother, died. She was a very happy, positive person throughout her life and we were all lucky to be able to be with her near the end. This picture was taken some months earlier at the house she had shared with my grandfather for more than 50 years. The device on the wall is not representative of telephone technology in Australia.
The other big change in August was that I moved out of the house in East Melbourne I had been renting since May 2004. I really don't enjoy moving, but had a lot of help from Jay and from Brad and also a kind loan of a van from friends Keith and Andrew. Saxon, who had been living with me, but was being taken out every day by my mother while I was at work, has gone to live with my parents. This is the formal portrait he sat for (just a photo I took) as Nanna wanted a picture of him by her bed. He looks a bit funny because his hair had been cut short after an unfortunate chewing-gum incident.
Next month Jay and I are visiting the US from September 10 through 29. We are both really looking forward to the vacation and to seeing friends. We will be visiting New York, Thunder Bay (where his family is), San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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The long neurosurgical cases certainly help the days pass quickly. Unlike the US, here I work with a single trainee in a single operating room. This allows for more teaching, and can be a lot less hectic than running more than one operating room as was common at UCSF. I'm wearing a lead outfit in this picture as we were using x-rays repeatedly for the procedure.
In June, Billy came to stay for a few days on a whirlwind trip. I had the pleasure of showing him some of the sights of Melbourne and the weather was kind to us. Here we are on the observation deck of one of the tall buildings in the city. We also visited the miniature Tudor Village and the Bionic Ear Institute (not the usual tourist hot-spots).
At the start of July, Jay and I went to Queensland for a weekend so I could do some necessary updates on Robert's mother's computer. It was much warmer than it was last November, and we were able to lie on the beach a bit. We spent a day at Sea World which was definitely worth seeing. As well as the rollercoasters and dolphins and seals they had a new display of sharks and skates and other fish which was quite spectacular and included some very big sharks.
One attraction at the Gold Coast which we did not go inside was "Snow World". Coming from Canada, Jay thought it was funny that people would pay $15 to see "real" snow in a shed. He may have been right as Snow World did not look very busy.
Also in July I went to an exhibition opening for a friend of my sister. She had produced some striking photographic images, in one of which my sister appeared, with her hair combed forward over her face. This image was used for the poster and I took this picture to show her that her picture was up on the outside of the gallery. Jay is included for scale.
Near the end of August "Nanna", my maternal grandmother, died. She was a very happy, positive person throughout her life and we were all lucky to be able to be with her near the end. This picture was taken some months earlier at the house she had shared with my grandfather for more than 50 years. The device on the wall is not representative of telephone technology in Australia.
The other big change in August was that I moved out of the house in East Melbourne I had been renting since May 2004. I really don't enjoy moving, but had a lot of help from Jay and from Brad and also a kind loan of a van from friends Keith and Andrew. Saxon, who had been living with me, but was being taken out every day by my mother while I was at work, has gone to live with my parents. This is the formal portrait he sat for (just a photo I took) as Nanna wanted a picture of him by her bed. He looks a bit funny because his hair had been cut short after an unfortunate chewing-gum incident.
Next month Jay and I are visiting the US from September 10 through 29. We are both really looking forward to the vacation and to seeing friends. We will be visiting New York, Thunder Bay (where his family is), San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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