Ahh, the great outdoors.

We took a ride through some parks on Saturday. One of my favorite things about Perth and the Australian culture is their love of outdoor space and appropriation for prime space for the enjoyment of the public. Sir James Mitchell park spans the entire south side of the Swan River, with a fantastic view of the city. It has tons of BBQ and picnicing stations, and the park was full of people enjoying their afternoon with their families, friends, kids, and dogs. The Langley Park was also awesome because it had great playground facilities for kids. Next time I need to remember to pack a lunch and a book on my next ride there!

Finally, some wheels!

Meet my new wheels. Lucky for me, one of the technicians I've met here at the Uni happens to rent bikes to visitors. I got this beauty for $50 AUS for my entire stay... complete with lights, helmet, and lock. Sweet. Helmets are the law in all of AUS, and I hear its a $50 fine if a person of any age is caught not wearing one. Yes, I did wash out the pads inside the helmet, who knows how active the previous users were.... eww.

So yesterday, the guys and I planned a ride along the north and south sides of the Swan River on some of the many bike paths. First order of business, though... fixing my rear brakes. The pads didn't touch the wheel at all - yikes! I went snooping around the Uni for tools and found one of the techs instead, and we solved that problem in no time. Luckily, I realized before the brakes were even remotely responsive that the rear controller is on the left, instead of the right like on my bike in the States. So now I had two things to worry about, how to stop, and which side of the road to ride on.

Overall, I am so thankful to be able to get around in record time, as opposed to walking everywhere or taking the bus, which is easy and cheap, but decidedly less scenic. It will take some time to get used to this fine piece of machinery weighing a ton, or nearly so. My legs are either going to fall off riding this thing for the next months or I am going to come home jacked! Lastly, I discovered I need to get some padded bike shorts as my bum took a real beating on that old school seat.

Score: UWA 1 - cheap bike rentals for visitors are the bomb!

The Internet.

"What the [hey] is the Internet?" Jay - from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The internet is the life blood of society.

I've been looking into internet access in Perth a bit more of late, and it is indeed a dire situation.

Case 1: There is a wireless signal accessible at my house, but its locked up tight. When I was in B-town, I never imagined protecting my wireless. If my 6 neighbors wanted to jack it, great! I was happy to be the service provider middle.. err... woman.

Case 2: UWA charges $0.04 per MB of downloaded data, streaming or otherwise (yikes!). I get 250 MB free per month paid for by the Uni, and I pay the remainder...

Case 3: Vodafone, an AUS mobile company, charges $80/month for 2GB worth of data on their internet access plan, with $0.10 per extra MB of data received (provided you have a 2 year agreement with them).

Crikey! Western Australia (and perhaps all of the country) has an internet crisis and I can really feel the squeeze! Limited streaming of internet radio or NPR with serious consideration to content, limited downloading of progams, pics, articles or whatever. Even my email is sucking up bandwidth. Have I ever had to be this conscious of internet usage? NEVER! I am like a caged bird. Surely, I have not benefited from the age old American adage - "Let Freedom Ring!...... for FREE!" or the famous "Let them download unlimitedly!", which, coincidentally, historians refute this was ever uttered by the famous Marie Antoinette.

New project

I was asked to work on a new project today! It involves physical modeling of foundation installation into clays. Physical modeling is essentially using a centrifuge, the rotation of which causes high gravitational forces (it spins at up to 200 g's!), to create high pressures that are similar to those encountered in field conditions. Centrifuge testing speeds up time it takes soils processes to occur (e.g. settlement) and also allows the small scale testing instruments used to scale up to real sizes because of the g forces. I am pretty excited to start this new work... tomorrow! I really have a lot to learn, but am psyched to take on something new and innovative and very different than what I've been doing recently. So all my bellyaching is finally coming to a close. I am in a better mood now that I actually have direction and a reason to start exploring and kick things into high gear. By things I mean all the stuff I've been putting off...

Crisis averted..!

I have been trying all day to stream NPR programming (what will I do without "wait, wait, don't tell me"?!), WeFunk, and/or Pandora to no avail! Phew.. I finally got NPR to work. I very nearly booked a flight home today, because life without streaming internet radio would be pointless. No, I am not kidding, I've done it for 2 weeks now, its not worth it.

I am only concerned because I thought they were blocking me (they still may). Word in the halls is that the department charges for downloads (i.e. photos, programs, articles, etc.). It seems they pay $10 per user and if we acquire greater fees, we personally pay the difference. I wonder if that applies to streaming radio... I sure hope not, but if it does, I hope it's not too expensive.

Score: UWA 0, UMass 1

Went to the Perth Zoo this past Sunday. We walked from the city center. The nice thing about Perth is the wide availability of bike/walking paths. They certainly appreciate bi-cycled and bi-pedaled beings here. The not so nice thing is that it took an hour to walk there. That was my idea. I thought it was a nice enough day, and we were sure to get there in the same amount of time it would take for us to wait for and ride the bus. Wrong. But it was a nice walk, and we had just enough time to see the whole zoo (3 hours). But we were dog tired and hungry when we got back to the apartment.
Check out this page out for more pictures from the zoo. This kangaroo was cool because she had a baby joey in her pouch. There were three joey-carrying ladies there. I wish I could have gotten a better glimpse of the babies.

Score for easy pedestrian & cyclist access: AUS 1, USA 0

Aussie Fashion

This segment is for my pal RES. She is the most fashionable person I know.

Walking around Perth and the various Uni's I have gotten a rather representative glance of Aussie Fashion. People are way more casual than you would see walking on a main shopping street in a major city. Nearly everyone is in jeans, some with fancy tops and shoes and some with just a t-shirt. I've also seen people walking around in wet suits. People look put together and not sloppy, but definitely laid back. I fit right in here. :-) There is just one thing, however. The 80's are back in full force here, as evident in the photo.

Here's a list of some others things I've seen...
* pointy slouch boots (yikes!) and knee high boots
* jeans: tapered, skinny, colored, designed with thigh buckles, etc. (!)
* leggings, leggings, and more leggings
* leggings w/ bum-length shirts that are cinched at the waist/arms
* faux-hawks - short hair on the sides, longer spiked hair in the middle
* ballet slipper type shoes for ladies
* 'washed' jean of all sorts
* smock shirts/dresses
* dresses over jeans
* thick belts
* one word - Polyester...

Psychic Reconditioning... Do they teach a class on that for post-grads?

Finally. After sitting at my new desk for a week, I feel as though I have achieved a recognizable level of productivity. Prior to that, and frankly since I’ve completed my dissertation in April, I have not felt very productive at all. I suppose it is important to define productivity as appropriate to my situation. First, the situation. I am post-doctorate, have six years of experience in an environment of self guided study, long hours, dedication to a single project, stress (albeit self induced a lot of the time), etcetera, and so on... Second, productivity has been defined as 'working towards completion of the research project'. Towards the end of my doctoral tenure, this definition evolved into 'finish the dissertation, no matter what'. While spending all that time and energy to finish the most focused project I will ever have the pleasure or the burden (weird, huh?) to toil over nearly singularly and so selfishly, I began to realize the need to break myself out of this dissertation 'survival mode'. I gave myself a month off in May, and maintained I would only work maximum 40 hour weeks over the summer, and less if possible. I succeeded in working fewer hours, but not in eradicating the lingering feelings of guilt for not taking the next step - publication of my dissertation work. Why is that?

So I haven’t been working on publishing my dissertation. Is it because I am mentally exhausted? Is it because I feel like I've quite literally had the life sucked out of me? Perhaps. I’ve been trying to regain normalcy or some semblance of it for the last few months. It’s not like I’ve been idle, or watching TV all day. I spent more than two months running more lab tests to complete some of research and more time reducing the data. I started planning my wedding, I packed and moved my apartment, I spent weekends visiting family and friends. I’ve read books. I even wrote a paper abstract, and edited a paper for submission. And just this past week, I read several articles on topics I may be undertaking during my post-doc appointment, updated the wedding website and this blog, spent time emailing long lost friends, and touring around Perth. That is more than enough evidence to illustrate that I’ve been busy, doing things that are worthwhile personally and professionally. So why do I still feel ineffective and wayward when my focus is not on all things academic or dissertation?

How can we as post-dissertation people, separate our work from our lives? I often find myself defining myself by my field… I am a “geotechnical engineer”, “PhD student” or “post-graduate”. Really, to those who are not in my shoes, those are things that I do, or titles that define my career. But to me, it’s still my identity. But, I don’t want to be defined by this singular existence, as I have allowed, and in fact embraced, for the sake of completing a successful research project. I want to be, as I have been in the past, a more complete person, multi-faceted, grounded, and well-rounded. It strikes me as tragically funny that I can exercise the motivation, dedication, and intellect required to obtain a Ph.D., but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to become human again afterwards. And this is cause for at least as much stress and anxiety as I experienced during the throws of the PhD. I spend time agonizing over the fact I should be working towards my new academic goal of publishing, while recognizing that I don’t want to feel agony over something I actually enjoy doing. This then leads me to feeling unmotivated, unfocused, and uninspired, which is followed by more agony, then the resistance to agony…. you see the cycle.

But today, I actually set my mind to it, thought about my current paper topic – what I want to say and how I want to say it - opened my dissertation files and moved around some data. I felt productive for the first time in ages, and I enjoyed it. Now if only I can keep this up without feeling like a sell out to my still singular identity.

Dandelions of the Sunburned Country...

These lawn weeds are mighty fine, if only the dandelions of the US were this nice. Don't get me wrong, I love our US Dandy Lions. But, maybe if ours were nicer, like these, we'd cut down on our national use of weed killer and stop poisoning our lawns, our children, and our environment. Just a thought.

My AUS mobile

Cell phones are referred to as "mobiles" down under. Before I got internet access at the University (or the Uni as its called here) I felt extremely cut off from civilization, and this was only compounded by not having a phone either. So... I was lucky enough to find an unlock code for my phone online for free (!) and after typing in several combinations and permutations of the number pad options, I was freed from the enslaving grip of Cingular's (now ATT) rate plans. Easy enough, now I needed to find a local carrier.

While in downtown Perth, I spotted a Vodafone shop and quickly skipped in. I went to the desk with my phone and in less than 10 minutes, the sales rep. hooked me up. I got a $10 SIM card pre-programmed with a phone number, automatic access, and a pre-paid plan where I can charge however much I want (I spent $30), I can talk for $0.01/minute (though with a pesky $0.20 fee per call), and I am not locked in... I can cancel at anytime!. Now that is what I call service. Last time SPK and I had our phones setup, we spent nearly an hour wheeling and dealing with the service rep.

Score: AUS 1, USA 0, and for Bender, priceless.

Day 6 (Sept. 11)

For me, early mornings during warm weather are always the best part of the day. The twitter of birds is my first indication of how the day will be. A bustle of activity and sound nearly always forecasts nice weather. But here in Australia, mornings are a real treat. I have a beautifully red flowered tree outside my window, and that’s where it all starts. At 5 am it’s the soft chirping of bids slowly awakening. At 6 am, the songs of ever-increasing numbers of awakened species begin to escalate. At 7 am, the shrieking call of another bird as it dive-bombs a raven seeking to harass its nest. The jet-black, beady white eyed raven does not easily relinquish its post, opting instead to simply stand ground with protruded beak and bellow its attention grabbing, strangely comical call integrating the sounds of a lowing lamb and the growl of a mangey alley cat. No alarm clock can take the place of these highly effective, aurally arousing, other-worldly wake-up calls. How lucky am I? Seriously!

Day 5 (Sept. 10)

I had the pleasure to attend a meeting of the Australian Institute of Engineers of Perth today. The Institute was honored by a visit from the 2006 Rankine Lecturer (a very prestigious title), Robert Mair, who spoke on recent innovative projects and advances in the underground tunneling industry. I was especially interested in the use of back scatter from light transmission along fiber optic cable for measurement of axial strain deformations along tunnel cross-sections and along steel reinforcing members in concrete structures. As with many professional meetings, this had a cocktail hour beforehand, and the influence of Asian cultures was evident by all of the yummy samosas and spring rolls.

Day 4 (Sept. 9)

Two words: King's Park. September is perfect timing to explore both the manicured and natural aspects of this 4 sq. km park just west of Perth city center. DAS and I started the day by walking through campus to the outskirts of the park. We picked up a sweet natural trail, hoping to find some kangaroos. HEL tells me that it is rare to see such wildlife in the park, and he was surprised to hear that my UMass pal SEP saw one while riding his bike through the park a few years back.

We walked to through native brush for about a half hour before discovering the botanical gardens, giant lawns, water gardens, and memorials, located at the edge of a cliff along the river with amazing views of the city. A fantastic summer day... I couldn't ask for better. I did wear my sunscreen, as while the day was cool, the sun was very hot when not covered by big fluffy clouds. Check out some more photos.

What I love about Australia and Australians is that they value quality time. Most of the stores close at 5 pm on weeknights, very few restaurants are open past 9 pm, and most places are closed Sundays. The park was full of families and friends picnicking this afternoon. And these people are serious picnickers... complete with folding chairs and tables, rolling coolers, plastic wine glasses even! DAS and I were happy to join in with our lunch and next time will bring our own friends and feast!

Day 3 (Sept. 8)

Today I got my first taste of the city of Perth. My UWA post-grad friend, HEL, offered to take DAS (my fellow US student) and me into the city with him and show us around. First stop: the TransPerth Station. There we got bus, train, and boat schedules and the SmartRider card for travel in public transportation. It’s an RFID card on which you keep a balance to pay fare. When you get on the bus you “tag on” and when you get off, you “tag of”. The card then knows how far you went and where and deducts the appropriate fee from your balance. Pretty slick, if you ask me, though no one did… I know they use the same thing in D.C.

Second stop: the Malaysian Independence Celebration in a downtown park. HEL is from Malaysia here on scholarship and every year he attends the festival in Perth commemorating his country’s independence on August 31, 1957. The festival started with a small parade of representatives of the cultures of the three main races: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. There were cultural performances, ethic food, and traditional games.

Afterwards, while HEL walked us around the city center trying to entice us with shopping (we wanted nothing to do with it), we experienced rain in Perth… 30 seconds of sprinkles here, 5 minutes of pouring down rain, there… blazing hot sunshine, followed by cool, cloudy breezes, and so on. And the sun, there is very little atmospheric ozone over Australia, and when the sun is shining, it’s very hot on the skin. They say (oh, the infamous ‘they’) that one should wear at least SPF35 if one is to be in the sun during the day.

HEL took us to the famers market in Subiaco, which was amazing. It makes Boston’s Haymarket look like child’s play. The Subiaco market is just a short bus ride from our apartment in Nedlands, and is complete with refrigerated displays and cheap, cheap fruits and veggies. Also found at the market is massage therapy, a hair salon, all the incense one could ever want, a flower shop... you name it, it is likely there.

Day 2 (Sept. 7)

I feel right at home at my desk in the Post-Graduate office (here grad students are referred to as post-grads). They set me up with my own computer and access to the administrative facilities (i.e., photocopier, etc.). It turns out I came on a good day. Most of the faculty and some students are attending a conference in London next week, and I eeked in just in time to meet with two of my supervisors. I also got to check out the beam centrifuge in action.

It appears that Aussies really like their sugar, and they don’t want those artificial sweeteners, they want the real deal. Anyhow, I went to the grocery, conveniently located a block from the apartment, to get some comfort food for dinner. You know… beans, veggies, feta… my regulars, along with some peanut butter, jelly, and bread. Well, the jelly and peanut butter were like candy, and to add insult to injury, sugar was the second ingredient in my canned beans! Oh, and I should have bought the imported feta… what I got was like extra-salty mozzarella. No worries though, I am learning quickly!

Day 1 (Sept. 6)

I’ve arrived! The trip was pretty long, a total of 33 hours with 25 actual hours in the aircraft, but I have to say the longest flight (14.5 hours) was better than I expected. I slept most of it, and there was all the on-demand movies and TV I could ever need on my very own screen in the back of the seat in front of me to fill the rest of the time. Not to mention I read nearly two full books during the entire trip.

The best part of the trip happened in Sydney. No, it was not the part where I had to collect my luggage at the baggage claim and recheck it (bleh). It was that I got to see Air Force One! Pres. Bush was in Sydney for APEC, and AF1 was parked at the airport. We drove so close to it during the bus ride between the international to domestic terminals that I likely could have made out his eyebrows if he were at the door of the plane. That explains the massive security at the airport. I must have seen close to two dozen police hanging around during a two-minute walk through the halls of terminal transfer.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and upon arrival in Perth, I hailed a cab to the apartment where I am staying. During the ride, I took in the scenery. One story, yellow brick and stucco homes, palmy type trees, Hungry Jack’s (the AUS equivalent of Burger King), and drive through liquor stores. What was that? You read it here, my friends, drive through liquor stores… complete with garage doors for closing up shop at the end of the day. Imagine the possibilities… drinking age 18, drive through alcohol acquisition, inexperienced drivers … endless.