On the Bottom Half

The times, they are a changin'

I could never call anything from Bob Dylan a cliche, but my times sure have changed in the last six weeks. Apologies to anyone I haven't yet told, but I'm back in Canada.

On short notice, I left Australia for (possibly) greener pastures in early March. I wasn't yet done my thesis, but I had completed the research and was spending all my working days writing up. The possibility of a most excellent job came up, but I had to be back in Canada to carry on with the application. So, I packed up, said my goodbyes (as best I could) and moved back home. Since then, I've completed my entire thesis to draft stage and it is now awaiting what I hope will be its final revision. Later in May, revisions allowing, I'll print it, bind it, and hand it in remotely. I was reluctant to leave a very good group of people, but it was time.

I can assure you that I have an accent of some description now. Judging by the number of Australians who asked if I was Irish and the number of Canadians who ask if I'm British, I'm guessing that my linguistic pedigree has become something of a mongrel. The temperature transition was the most shocking thing, I think. Going from a month at 40 above to Calgary at -30 was a stimulating experience, to say the least. I've accepted that my blood has thinned and that I'm a disgrace to any self-respecting Canadian, but if I have to wear insulated coveralls more often to prance around in the snow again, I'm okay with that.

However, never one to let moss grow on my shoes, I completed all the revisions to my thesis that I had, submitted the new version of my thesis to my supervisors, and three weeks ago took off to visit someone special in England. I do not aspire to a career in academic geology, so spending more time making my thesis into a series of papers would only serve to cause a deep depression. Therefore, while I was waiting for corrections to come through, a trip was in order. The details of this trip are rather decadent, so I apologise to everyone who chooses to read it.

After arriving in London at the beginning of April, I went up to the north Midlands and spent the first week there experiencing the places and meeting the people who made life great for the special someone that I was there to spend time with. This first involved a 1980s Fancy Dress party for which I went dressed, rather unsurprisingly, as Maverick, but for which my date went in something a bit more saturated in 80s fluoro fabrics (only the top of which is shown at right). I've since decided that the best way to party is to party with the British. Keep that in mind if you are planning something involving fancy dress, food, and alcohol.

A few days later, we rolled eggs down the drive of a friends' house for Easter, fattened ourselves on chocolate, then got ready for a proper journey to France. We took the train to London St Pancras station, then changed to the Eurostar, which is a highspeed train to Paris. This train goes through the Chunnel, which though you hardly notice it, is an engineering marvel. For 40 minutes we were under the English Channel, which was about the only time I allowed myself to read something while on this trip. I consider it almost a sacrilege to read while travelling... there's something about the constantly changing scenery under an airplane or outside a train that begs to be watched, not ignored. As a result, I work little on long-haul flights, and trains are a write-off during the day. A couple of hours later, we were in the City of Light and navigated the metro system to find our hotel in Le Place de la Nation in east Paris. After a fine three course French meal, we wound our way back to the hotel.

In the next installment: the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, and Montmartre, followed by the south of France including 4 hours on the TGV, two 11th Century Chateaux, and a Ryanair flight back to England. I leave you with a close up of spring dew on some leaves in the back garden.

posted by Kyle @ 09:25