On the Bottom Half

A few of my favourite things.

Some much needed down time has been the highlight of the last few weeks and I'm very thankful to be given liberty to just blob out for a while. I've been reading a good book about the Chinese interior, but I've discovered that reading for long stretches gives me headaches and/or stuffy head syndrome, so I've decided to cut reading sessions to rather more short periods.

While hiking the Overland Track, I was told that I say 'my favourite' a lot... Being away from everyone with whom I enjoy spending time and everything that is familiar has given me pause to reflect on just how much I do say 'my favourite'. I've decided that I like this state of mind because havings lots of favourites is better than having lots of 'don't likes', and I've decided to share the positive thinking with some of what I can think of at this moment... In no particular order:

Flying; wearing my uniform; long hual flights; Kennedy Space Centre; ski racing; skiing; learning about anything; learning how to do new things; finishing off an entire bar of soap so that no part of it gets thrown out, or at least what's left is small enough to get crushed down the shower grate; chewy cookies; the feeling of putting on a down coat when it kind of 'poofs' as you slip into it; getting up early enough to see the sun rise; Christmas morning with family and friends; rockets, the 'go up' and the eating kind; watching movies; snow; rain; green things; laughing so hard my face hurts; reminiscing; classical music; the Snowbirds; an organised room, but it may be my own filing system unintelligible to others; going to watch airplanes at YYC; reading; thunderstorms; power outages in the country; taking pictures; dogs; cats; mountains with snow on them; hangin' at airports; getting my hair cut; rebuilding airplanes; Sunday morning mechanicking at Andrew's;

The list could go on... While kind of flowery and even a bit mushy, that's a sampling anyway. Actually after reading it over, it occurs to me that some sound distinctly obsessive-compulsive.

Finally, I have some exciting news! This post has been saved as a draft for quite some time awaiting some significant something-or-other to occur. So: for those I haven't told, I have formally accepted the offer of the scholarships to do my Ph. D. I won't find out how deep the hole is that I've dug for myself until 15 May, when I officially start. I got that confirmation mid-last week.

New Bike! New Bike! Going from a life where I practically lived out of my car to one where I haven't touched the controls of one for over three months has been a big adjustment. However, that adjustment was eased this week when I combined a trip to the movies with a trip to the Big W to buy a bike. 'A bike,' you might say; 'How's he going to travel independently with a bike!?' As you all know, I can store it at Bruce and Helen's and when I have my own place for Ph. D-ing in May, then I'll take it with me and be up a personal mode of transport. I've had it out on a few rides so far and it is wonderful to be able to move fast again... My brain is slowing down without airplanes, cars, and engrossing activity to keep it busy. However, my butt-bones are already paying the price for those rides and with the standard bike seat that comes with most bikes, my prostate is likely to follow. Sorry for sharing that, but if you do ride a lot of bikes, I highly recommend a saddle that has the groove cut out along the middle axis of the seat. You will thank that little bit of money for doing you a world of good!

Expect more Shakespearean-inspired word creation to come ;-)

The exciting news is that I just booked a tour to the 'family' rock and surrounds from Adelaide starting on the 8th February. I fly out from Melbourne on the 7th and rendezvous with Helen's sister in Adelaide. I will be setting up her new VCR and solving various technical and computer issues to earn my keep for the night. On the morning of the 8th, the tour starts and we drive north through the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound (a big highlight for me), the Oodnadatta Track, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kata-Kjuta, King's Canyon, and Alice Springs. You can read all about it: Face the Outback, Wayward Bus Touring Company.

Should be fun. I'll be sure to tell you all about it. Sorry about the delay from the last 'humourous' post, but I just haven't done too much that would classify as interesting.

Oh, I like the way they have all the 'z's replaced with 's's: organised, civilised, monopolises... It's great syntax.

Lastly, dapper Dixie poses in her customs garb before a socialisation outing.






I leave you with some dog-bliss to relax the senses:

posted by Kyle @ 18:41