on surface interval

I found...

2009-10-07T09:32:51Z

... my old pointe shoes.
They still fit, and I can still do en pointe.

Maybe I should work on it again.

It's not too late is it?

ARRGGHHHH

2009-10-05T12:10:39Z

Guess why.

dust

2009-10-02T00:44:26Z

Mid afternoon.

View of uni, still during the day.

The Great Court at uni, nighttime.

The Great Court again.

Under a streetlamp.

on crocodiles and spas

2009-09-27T23:52:49Z

Oh the humidity.
I think I preferred the dust in Brisbane.

The Darwin International Terminal is a surprisingly busy place. Thanks to connections onward to Bali, Vietnam and Singapore. Darwin itself was very hazy and a little disappointing. Where were the crocodiles?

The agenda for my first day in Singapore: British High Commision, then the Singapore Immigration Department. What fun and exciting times. Such an awesome way to be spending my mid-sem break. I'm positively leaping off my seat from the sheer anticipation of it all.

there goes my mid-sem break

2009-09-19T05:49:40Z

Update since last entry:

I will be in Singapore from 28 Sep-4 Oct instead of Nov.
Main reason being the fact that I am so sought after as a field assistant (for who wouldn't want my amazing dive skills? :D), I shall be booked for Lizard Island (twice) and the GBR immediately after exams finish mid-Nov till end of Feb.
Which doesn't give me any time between now and Jan 2010 (when my passport expires) to sort out the citizenship issues.

At least my summer's not gonna be boring.

Hong Kong

2009-07-08T08:39:46Z

Is beautiful.
I'm now at the airport, about to say goodbye for what will be the next few years at least.
The past 10 days were spent mostly visiting the places I knew from growing up here. Many changes, some good, some saddening but necessary.
Photos (hundreds of them) are on FB.
OK some kids from Szechuan are bugging me to stop so I'll stop now.

10 minutes later:
Found another terminal. Tried to log in to FB but the airport's locked the site out for security reasons. Apparently it's under the category 'Personals & Dating'. Hmm.

It's going to be bloody freezing in Brisbane!

I am not looking forward to the long long flight back. I hate red-eyes.

24 hours

2009-06-27T23:35:51Z

Really looking forward to this. Not so much the 12 hour flight & transit time, however. But it'll be worth it!
Just my luck that the weather improves only now, when I am just leaving. Sunny (but still cold) this morning - maybe a swim?

When all else fails: do the right thing.

oh the endless possibilities

2009-06-26T13:00:12Z

What am I going to do in Hong Kong?
That was the question posed the other day.
Most girls would say 'shopping!'. I, however, will go 'dive gear shopping!'.
Which is, obviously, totally different from JUST shopping.
And with the fabulous Olympus E-520, I will transform into a trigger-happy tourist seeing her own birth country in a whole new light. 3 years' absence gives me visitor rights.

So - 15/20 knot winds = no diving this weekend. The lucky cave divers have nothing to worry about, however, and will be doing a 60m exploration dive in some dam or other. To be with them...!
2 weeks since my last dive (the pool doesn't count, with or without scuba gear), and this dry spell looks like it's going to have to last another 2 weeks. The torture!
'Dry' being a relative term. It's been rainy and cold and foggy the past few days and I am starting to forget what the sun looks like. I miss my bed-warmer!

So here are the upcoming things-to-look-forward-to:
Reef Connection, 24-26 July, Moreton Bay
Big Cat Reality, 14-16 August, Moreton Bay
Kavieng 12-20 September - to say I really really really REALLY want to go would be a huge understatement.
Kalinda, 28 Sept - 3 Oct, Townsville/Coral Sea/SS Yongala

And, of course, the Lizard Island research trips that I am being asked to help out with at certain odd times of the year (usually during the very unfortunate school-term slots).

I need to learn how to split my body so I can be in two different places at once.

winter solstice

2009-06-22T12:50:52Z

Shortest day of the year yesterday (for this part of the globe anyway)! Much as I'd have liked to sleep in, I had a couple of refreshers in the morning, so it was an early start for me. Public transport on a Sunday morning is hell. Especially on a cold winter morning. And did I mention the rain? The pool session went real well though - my two refreshers were pretty good on their skills and they even gave me a ride home through the pounding rain. Saved me an hour and a half!
HMAS Brisbane on Saturday was CANCELLED. My one chance for a nitrogen fix this weekend and it was swept away by winds and rough seas.

On a more exciting note - I'm headed for HK in a week! WOOHOOOOOO! Not sure about the 12 hour flight time though. At least I'll be able to say I've set foot on Taiwanese soil, even if it's only gonna be the transit lounge.

church billboards

2009-06-19T07:38:27Z

Words of wisdom as seen on church billboards:

Great ideas don't work unless you do. - CityEdge Church, Caloundra
Don't blame the devil. - Brisbane Dawn Christadelphian Ecclesia (what a mouthful!), Lutwyche
You can trust the bible. - Brisbane Dawn Christadelphian Ecclesia, Lutwyche
Action is the antidote to despair. - Toowong Uniting Church, Toowong
Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances. - St. Paul's Uniting Church, Stafford
You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. - World Harvest Church, Carseldine

My fave:
Forbidden fruits create many jams. - Toowong Uniting Church

And, today:
Avoid cliches like the plague. - Toowong Uniting Church

short Danish film

2009-06-16T10:53:10Z

I swear...

2009-05-25T08:46:53Z

...I am in love.
Black anodized aluminium frame, three 3W LEDs for up to 375 lumens, 8 hour burn time, maximum rated depth of 200m.

The Hollis 3x3 LED - small, sleek and sexy.
Not that I will ever buy it, as the price is way beyond my means, but just look at it!

Here's another one I love, and this one's mine:

Certainly not as sleek, but it is beautiful and very very bright. 3 LEDs, 400 lumens, 20 hour burn time, 160m beam length.

Headed for Perth and Fremantle this weekend! Hoping to get a few dives in while I'm there, of course. Haven't been to WA since my P5 school trip and that was ages ago. Freo, if I remember rightly, was a lovely town and it will be good to see it again. It's a whole week of fishy business!
Then, on 5 June, I will be rushing back (literally) to make it in time for Big Cat. It is going to be a big weekend - the tech divers will be doing their thing, and I will be fully occupied with my specialty students. Let's just hope the plane doesn't get delayed.

Star Trek, Angels & Demons

2009-05-23T13:35:59Z

Star Trek the second time was even more brilliant, if that's even possible. I could watch it a few more times.
No HMAS Brisbane on Wednesday, due to torrential downpours that brought dam levels from below 60% to nearly 80% overnight. 2 of the 3 dams are now at above 100%, and we are officially out of water restriction mode, although it would be wise to retain water restrictions for the moment. All this rain is only temporary, and we should make water-saving part of our everyday life, not only when dam levels are below 60%.
Felt crook Wednesday morning (possibly from the thought of a cancelled day of diving?), and in a matter of hours became terribly sick, sicker than I've ever felt in a long, long, time. Fever, chills, body aches, headache, stomachache, hacking cough, all in one fell swoop. Promptly collapsed into bed at 10am and couldn't summon the energy to get up until 11am on Thursday. During that time, the worst of the storm had passed outside. Roads had flooded, cars had become stuck, people had drowned, and there I was, in a haze of aches and pains. Managed to stay out of bed till 2pm, when I couldn't take it anymore and went back to bed, where I tossed and turned in a fitful sleep until 9am Friday morning. Wandered downstairs for the first time since Wednesday, where the sun - bringing joy to countless who'd endured the non-stop rains wide awake - brought back the dizzy spells and drove me back into bed.
Only this morning did I feel ok to venture out of the house. Brought on more by necessity than an actual feeling of wellness. I had 3 Open Water students eager and waiting for their theory session, and who was I to disappoint? Summoned up all my energy just to walk to the bus stop, and then had to sit through the 1.5 hour commute to the shop, where I arrived utterly exhausted. But, 3 hours of classroom work beckoned, so I somehow channeled enough energy to smile and act all enthusiastic about dive profiles, Navy tables, the evolution of dive gear and diving physiology in front of three avid learners. The guys were great, really, despite my bouts of coughing and occasional mental derailing. Surprisingly, I felt much more refreshed after the class.
Which gave me enough energy to head out to Angels & Demons tonight. Met the other two at Be Green, where they were having a cake promotion and I got a free slice of green tea cake. Heavenly! Went really well with my soy latte. On the way out, the waiter called me sweetie, which tickled Emmanuel no end. I reckon he was just jealous the waiter didn't call him sweetie too! The movie was, once again, a far cry from the book, but I've been disappointed by movies based on books countless times, and this wasn't bad as far as they go. Better than the Da Vinci Code, but then again I thought this book was better as well. When the antimatter exploded in the sky and created the black-hole looking purple mass, I half expected Nero to come hurtling through, followed by Spock. Star Trek meets Angels & Demons!
I need a dive soon. If only this weather will clear up!

sometimes I wonder

2009-05-12T10:49:11Z

Met 3 students on the weekend who were just nightmares to teach. And I wasn't even their instructor. Mick had such a difficult time trying to get them to do anything properly, sometimes I wonder how he keeps his patience. I would have shut off their air a long time ago.
My 6 students were amazing though. No problems with any of their skills, and they were a great bunch overall. The good conditions helped.
HMAS Brisbane this weekend! And next Wednesday. Can't wait!
I should start booking my flights to WA. Rottnest, then IPFC. Yes.
And then, Big Cat weekend. I'll be certifying my first specialty students!

i died twice

2009-05-05T04:34:43Z

Saturday: Pool session with Peter, Andrew, James & Owen. All 4 of them were pretty good and we finished at 2pm, ahead of the expected 4pm.
Sunday: Not being on the Fish Rock trip and therefore missing out on shark & cave dives, I decided to organize a shore dive at the Seaway. Dave, Lisa, Emmanuel & Praveen showed up, and we had a great fun dive. 10m viz, stonefish, scorpionfish, moray eel, catfish, and a tawny nurse! Awesome stuff.
Helped S on a Rescue course yesterday at Currumbin Creek. Harley & I were victims, and we got 'killed' at least twice by our rescuers. But the group was great fun to spend the day with. Even better was the fact that they bought Harley, S & I beers (2 rounds!) at the RE after the course.
Wolverine on Friday night was pretty good. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was great, and Liev Schreiber was awesome as Victor.
The Boat That Rocked last night truly rocked. Bill Nigh is amazing, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman? Classic. A brilliant film.

how low can you go?

2009-04-28T11:17:08Z

Ukrainian vindictiveness is getting on my nerves.
Seriously, how low can one possibly get?
Very, apparently.
Such spite and pettiness is just beyond my understanding.
An amputation would not be enough.

Southport Spit early this morning - good viz! Saw an amazingly hideous stonefish - always watch where you put your hands...
Sliced my finger open while trying to maintain a hold on some rock due to the raging tidal current. That makes it cut number 28. On my hands alone.

back on the mainland

2009-04-24T13:47:53Z

Tuesday, we were told we were on the Wednesday plane out of Lizard instead of Thursday as planned, due to some scheduling conflict. Which gave us half a day's notice to pack up everything. Spent Tuesday arvo hurrying around collecting our buoys from the different sites we'd set them out at, cleaning the boat, washing gear, clearing out the wet lab, packing up the food... Wednesday morning, I woke at 5am to clean the house, followed by 4 hours of live fish-packing, which could only be done the day of departure so as to limit mortality rate. Fish packing was interesting - double-bagging 3 to 4 fish, filling it up with oxygen, tying it insanely tight with rubber bands, and stuffing them into platic drums. After that was done, we had an hour to clean up the tanks in the aquaria, tidy up the lab, and finish clearing out the fridge and freezer. We made it within minutes of leaving for the airstrip.
Flying out of Lizard, I got to admire the view of the Great Barrier Reef once again. It never fails to exhilarate. I could spend a lifetime sailing around the entire reef and diving every bommie...
Had a late lunch/dinner in Cairns (so many people! urrgh), then it was a drive back to Townsville. Arrived at 9.30pm, headed straight for JCU to deposit the fish - 6 died during the trip, another 5 died the next morning.
A very very long day.

Thursday, went to JCU and saw the campus properly for the first time. Certainly very different from UQ - more run-down on the outside, but the campus is very sprawled out and there's lots of greenery.
Today, went back to campus again, met Mark during lunch and had a chat with him about my transfer. It's certainly a very small community at JCU - I'm not a student there yet and already I met several people I know from Lizard/ One Tree.

IPFC in May in Fremantle - looking forward to it. It gives me an excuse to get a few dives done in WA.

I am looking at my newly created list of Things To Do in the coming months and it is astoundingly long. Will certainly keep me occupied!

Chocolate shortage!

2009-04-12T22:07:59Z

3 weeks into the trip and we are all out of chocolate.

Not to mention fresh fruit and vegetables.

The fruit and veg shortage has been resolved, however, by a simple raid into the free-food section in the cool room. No shortage there.

Chocolate, now. Any leftover bits in Free Food have long been claimed, it being very nearly the staple diet of all researchers in the field. It seems that most of us eat chocolate (or this much of it) only when we are out in the field. Gotta get that energy somehow, hey?

Easter was not much of an affair here. Certainly nothing as festive as Christmas. Work as usual for everyone.

When I return to Brisbane it will be to a cold city. Made all the much colder by my 4+ weeks on a tropical island. I need a new wetsuit, just haven’t found one I want yet.

I want to go to Belize. And Woods Hole.

Greetings from Lizard Island

2009-04-09T09:41:10Z

Been here the past 2.5 weeks, diving every single day (yes - no days off yet!), doing lots of fish observations, clove-oiling, transects etc. It's great to be back, even though the damsels seem less than happy to see me brandishing the fish net and clove-oil bottle.
Spent 3 days going out to the Outer GBR, taking advantage of the few days of calm weather. Otherwise the wind's been blowing up, there've been brief periods of rain, and the swells have been relatively big on the outside of the Lizard group.
The data collected today is screaming for attention.

more oil spill-related rantings from me

2009-03-20T04:40:30Z

The government's response to the oil spill in Moreton Bay has been absolutely appalling. It took them several days to get together a so-called 'rapid' assessment team, which came up with the verdict of the spill being 'minor' and of 'little damage'. Then the Pacific Adventurer produced a very low and completely inaccurate estimate of the amount of oil spilled.

Since the spill over a week ago, hardly any clean up work has been done aside from a haphazard scraping of huge stretches of beach (simultaneously killing all the invertebrates that call the intertidal zone their home). The EPA called together a meeting of all the business owners affected by this spill, which turned out to be one enormous farce - what happened at that meeting was, the moment the camera crews arrived, they were all told to look and sound positive and upbeat, and nothing was shown on TV or the news about solving the environmental problem. The main focus was on marketing and tourism, not the ecological aspect of the spill.

Basically the authorities have been downplaying the ecological enormity of what has happened. Everyone seems to be more concerned about tourism, the economy, marketing, and covering their arses. No one seems to care about the 31 containers of ammonium nitrate still drifting in the sea. Nothing substantial is being done about marine life. Algal blooms that have appeared since the spill have been excused as 'normal' and 'not related' to the tons of chemical fertilizer leaking slowly into Moreton Bay.

I could go on and on about this (and I have, to anyone who will listen), but what it comes down to is the fact that humanity's narcissism is going to pull us all down, and planet Earth with it. This is not me being jaded - just realistic.

In other news:
The new shop is shaping up real quick. Much more space, bigger classroom, larger storage space... I had the honour of holding the inaugural Open Water theory class in our new classroom last night - the four guys were all great fun, and I don't foresee much trouble at the pool session this Sunday.
Flying to Cairns and Lizard Island next Tuesday! One month on an island with daily diving :D
And now I am off to the pool for a swim. Gotta get that water time somehow, hey?

ecological disaster so trumps politics and economic recessions

2009-03-14T07:59:14Z

When news first came out about the oil spill that had occurred in Moreton Bay , reports were that the spill was ‘small’ and that little harm would come of it.

In what twisted universe does the spill of 31 containers of ammonium nitrate and tens of thousands of litres of fuel considered ‘little harm’?

60 kilometres of coastline blackened by oil; turtles, birds and fish dying from the slick; potential ecological disaster from the tons of chemical fertilizer; and what is being done? Lots of talking and blame-laying. Politicians are manipulating this for personal gains as the elections loom in the distance. The authorities are downplaying this disaster and keeping the public from witnessing the full extent of the damage. As further illustration of the carelessness with which this incident was handled, the ship in question, Pacific Adventurer, leaked more oil into the Brisbane River as it was being detained in port. People are showing more concern for the beaches and what it will mean for tourism (read money). Meanwhile everyone seems to have forgotten about the marine creatures. Can you say out of sight, out of mind?

This is to Moreton Bay what the Exxon Valdez debacle was to Prince William Sound. How can people not see that?

Looking forward to going to Lizard Island. It will be good to get away from all this madness. The world as we know it is coming to an end and humanity still seems too embroiled in petty issues to realize it.

In other news: watched Watchmen last night. Brilliant movie, awesome soundtrack. Not so sure if the music totally suited the mood of the film, but that’s a minor detail.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

the broken clock is not a comfort

2009-03-12T22:24:34Z

For reasons unknown, my phone, which doubles as my clock, suddenly decided to speed up when I was sleeping. As a result, when my internal clock woke me up at the usual 5.30am, I was very surprised to see it was already 7am. Since I wasn't hurrying anywhere, I congratulated myself on having slept more than usual.
Went downstairs to check out the weather and was surprised at how weak the sun was; looked at the clock in the living room, which has been permanently stuck at 32 past 6, which was no help. Turned on my computer and there it was - the correct time, as verified by my dive watch - 5am. And I can never go back to sleep immediately after waking up.

Watchmen tonight! Let's hope it's worth the hype.

The broken clock is a comfort
It lets me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow
From stealing all my time

Yea right.

the end of the world

2009-03-11T11:37:15Z

The latest research presented in Copenhagen show that sea levels are rising much faster than the 18-59cm predicted (the 2007 assessment of climate change by the IPCC left out calculations involving the Greenland and Antarctic icesheets as they were 'too complicated'); rising temperatures in the ocean is set to disrupt the entire marine ecosystem; increased acidity is set to do likewise; greenhouse gas emissions are still in dire need of sharp reductions...
Does anyone still insist that climate change is not happening?
Random thought: emissions trading is like a global game of Monopoly.

(See my FB profile for articles and links about the latest climate change news)

Cyclone Hamish seems to have bypassed Northern Queensland but has moved south, which is Not Good. It's been downgraded to a category 2 storm but has caused the closure of Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast beaches; flights to the Sunshine Coast have been diverted due to strong winds; boats have broken off their moorings in Moreton Bay; and I wonder if Big Cat will still go this weekend?

new bouncing fish found in Indonesian waters

2009-03-10T05:25:15Z

Earth Hour 2009 is on 28 March from 8.30-9.30pm globally!
I will be on Lizard Island, so it will not be difficult to turn off the lights and appliances for an hour. Wish I could be here in Brisbane to watch the Story Bridge go dark though.

Wolf Rock weekend was not much of a weekend. Drove up to Rainbow Beach Friday night, had my first good night's sleep in a while, woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. After a short drive down the beach to the launch site, we launched the two boats and off we went towards Wolf Rock.
A bit of swell made for a bumpy entry, but I was the first one in and decided to wait on the bottom for the others to get sorted (took them quite a while). As I waited, a school of about 4 or 5 eagle rays came gliding by, followed by schools of barracuda and giant trevally! Then we made our way to the sand gutter and were treated to 4 grey nurse sharks cruising around, and one of them came up real close to me. Awesome stuff! The viz wasn't exceptional, around 15m, but the sheer number of fish made up for it.
After lunch on the beach, we were back for our second dive. The viz dropped to 8-10 and there were no sharks this time round, but I did have an eagle ray come within touching distance...
Sunday morning, cyclone Hamish had to spoil things and we packed up that morning, foregoing our last two dives at Wolf Rock.
WIll definitely have to return, soon!

scuba diver - born, bred and water fed

2009-03-01T06:16:00Z

It is very HOT. Today's officially the first day of autumn but there are no signs of it.
Headed down the coast to finish the school kids off for their OW certs early this morning at 4.30am. It was a comfortable 21 degrees before the sun came up, and then it turned into a stifling, windless day of 31 deg that felt 10 degrees hotter.
Getting into the water was an immense relief, and the conspicuous absence of sharks was mitigated by the excellent viz (20) and problem-free students.
I surprise myself with my air consumption, or lack thereof. I started the first dive with 200 bar in a little 10L tank and finished 45 minutes later (13 metres) with 150 bar, compared to Mick's 110 on a 12L tank (larger tank, greater volume). While everyone else on the boat changed tanks for the second dive I continued with my first one and managed to surface 50 minutes later (15 metres) with 90 bar. The past few months of nearly non-stop daily diving must have done some good.

Yesterday's pool session was good fun as well. 4 students, little trouble, done by 2pm.

Uni starts tomorrow and my timetable is utter rubbish. Trying to un-clash lecture and practical times is doing my head in. I might have to change subjects if it doesn't work out.