Easter Happenings

Happy (belated) Easter everyone. I hope it was a relaxing and fun time for all.

Easter this year was a little different for us. Normally we head off down to Casino to catch up with Geoff's family. It also involves heading to the beach with a spot of fishing during the day and spending the nights sleeping in their lounge room in front of a roaring pot-bellied stove. Well, we didn't head down to Casino this year. And I guess sleeping in front of a fire would have been madness anyway (what is with this weather - get cold already!!).

Instead we spent time at home. We went for two walks in Toohey Forest - one time we managed to head off the beaten track a bit and ended up on a dirt bike track which had us climbing up this very steep hill and walking through dry creek beds. We weren't too worried about getting lost when you still have mobile phone reception and can hear the SE freeway close by though!

We also took another kayaking trip to Hinze Dam. The other half of the dam which we hadn't explored turned out to be quite short in comparison. It did however have an awesome view of some mountain which made us pining for the Rocky Mountains. I know the sizes aren't really comparable though, but eh!

On the Saturday night we had a family dinner at my Dad's. It's always good to catch up with everyone. My brother Mark and his girlfriend Jenna are expecting at the end of next month... getting really close now guys!

On the Monday afternoon we went to Isla's naming ceremony. It was a great afternoon and Isla looked very cute in her white dress. We also caught up with Robbo who is back in Australia now. Isla is very close to walking. As the afternoon wore on, she was doing lots of unassisted steps that just got longer and longer in duration. What a champ!

Geoff had a nice week off over Easter and managed to fit a bit of fishing in between some study. He's back at uni now and has a busy week ahead of him with two exams.

Not much more to say so will finish up here. Hope everyone is well!

March Update

Since our last post we have done a fair bit of kayaking. Two trips to Lake Currimundi (with Mum and Geg with their new toys on one of the trips) on the Sunshine Coast, one trip to North Pine River and also to the Hinze Dam on the Goldy Coast. The 4.30 am starts on a Saturday have been a little difficult (read: Geoff dragging me out of bed) but well worth it when you're out on the water without a care in the world. We think we may be getting a little stronger too, with our last effort at the Hinze Dam being probably 12km. It was especially taxing on the way back with sideways blowing winds creating mini waves. All good though.

Geoff has had some success fishing from the kayak. He managed to bring in two catfish on the North Pine River, unfortunately they weren't worth keeping but it was exciting all the same. I was in charge of "backing up" the boat and keeping it on track so Geoff could wind in. We would have kept going to North Pine except for all the ski boats that whiz by creating so much wash. It wasn't the most serene place. Hinze Dam, by contrast was extremely peaceful, with hardly anyone else out on the water. You aren't allowed any petrol craft on the water which is great for us! We are planning on going back there next weekend to check out the other half of the dam which we didn't get to see. Apparently that is where all the perch are caught so fingies crossed Geoff will land something decent.

In other news I am now a year older and wiser (!?!) . The actual day was a bit of a flop, being midweek and also feeling a little under the weather. I did however, have a yummy meal a few days before with Mum, Geg and the boys, a BBQ dinner the following weekend with the lovely McGregors and a dinner the following Saturday after that with Dad and Eleanor. Geoff bought me Season One DVD of "My Name is Earl". The reverse-karma episode made the DVD worth it all by itself. I also scored a cool floppy hat for kayaking, some perfume, a funky green work bag and lots of chocolate. Not bad going me thinks. :-)

Geoff has been ultra-busy with uni. He has already had two practical exams and on Tuesday he has an exam for the 6 week anatomy block he has just finished. It is amazing how many notes he has for that - it is equivalent to a whole subject's worth (for a science subject anyway). Geoff is feeling really stressed and is looking forward to the Easter holidays.

Today we were bad and bought a tent. It's a 10-12 man tent, which means really, it fits about 6 people comfortably. It is pretty cool, with high spots to put your keys and wallet, vent holes at the base and other spots to keep your shoes away from critters. We can't wait to try it out - we were kinda hoping we might do some camping over Easter but with the crowds it might not be such a good idea. May have to wait until mid-year, damnit.

Ka- POW

Bec, as promised, here are some photos of my Mum's pet chooks. The fluffy one on the left is Sydney (a Silky) and the other one is Star (a Silver Spangled Hamburg).


No I didn't make up the name of the latter breed. It really does exist. :-)

And below shows their fighter nature. Not surprisingly, they both ended up being roosters and had to go back to my Uncle's farm, unfortunately. I hear they are both quite happy there though. :-)

Babies

In the last few weeks four baby girls have entered the world.

Congratulations to my workmate Grant and his wife Eldene on the birth of their daughter Adyson, born on the 24th January.

And a BIG congratulations to my workmates Macky and Aleks on the birth of their triplets - Klaudia, Amelia and Charlotte, born yesterday.

We wish them all the best. :-)

They made me do it

We have moved over to the new blogger system. Fingers crossed everything will be where it should be!!

Dentistry is fun

Woohoo.
I survived my first week back. We start a lot earlier than the rest of the uni people(with the exception of the med students) and this week has been pretty full on. We have at least 35 hours of contact time a week and a lot of it is repetitive with 2 whole days a week on anatomy involving 6 hours of lectures and 10 hours of prac. We are working with a cadaver at the moment and are removing his scalp to get access to the face a bit further down. A bit gross for most people but some people I am sure will know what I am talking about. No one has been really queasy in the anatomy pracs with the exception of one girl who faints all the time. She fainted in the intro prac when they were telling us about the rules and there was no gory stuff around. She also fainted way back in O-week last year at an info session. She is very slight and only 17 or so and everyone thinks it is probably lack of food before classes that causes the fainting.
This week I have had my first go at the drills, learning the different sized burs and different speed handpieces for different things. The water/air squirter is pretty cool. Lots of technology in dentistry which is another cool thing for me.
To those out there reading this do not be too amused at what I am writing next. We are paying good HECS or PELS or whatever they call it to spend time assembling model cars in one subject. The only catch is we are using dental wax instead of glue to stick it all together. Some of the skills seem a bit distant to those of a dentist, but you can see they are developing our manual skills as we go. I was putting the engine together and it was so fiddly when the pieces are about a 10th the size of my fingernail. I wonder if my ample sized hands will be a disadvantage. The demonstrators warned a lot of people that their marks will drop from the sevens they are used to to maybe 3s or 4s . They said some people cry. The whole academic thing needs to be matched with the manual skills and that sometimes seems a bit scary.
We had a 2 hour lecture today on the anatomy of teeth. I'm sure some people would say why, but I was amazed how much detail we are supposed to know. We had a prac trying to identify different teeth, and for some it was easy such as your incisor but the difficulty comes when you work out whether it is upper or lower or left or right. We have to know the number of cusps, roots, grooves etc and it is hard to know straight away what is going on. It is all a bit much the first week back. Normally you would expect a bludge the first week but not this time.
They keep asking us to fork out money for kits, textbooks and the cycle seems neverending. $400 for an operative kit with a couple of things in it,$200 for teeth models, etc, etc- silly stupid heads. And we have to pay hecs on top of all these miscellaneous fees. Worst thing is I'd just finished paying hecs from my first degree.
Only one week down and 4 years to go.

If anyone reading this has any form of a color atlas of anatomy (I know I spelt color wrong- silly American spelling) with the big pictures of dissected things that you would be willing to loan or sell to me please let us know.
Hope everyone else is having as much fun as me.
We are getting up at 4.30am to go kayaking tomorrow and have a 30th birthday party to go to tomorrow night so I will forget about uni for a couple of days and take it easy.
I would love to say that I'm studying now, but alas I am watching Tv and having a beer.
Geoff

:-)

WICOE

(Women In Charge Of Everything)

is proud to announce the opening of its

EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN!

OPEN TO MEN ONLY

ALL MALE FORM WELCOME

Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants. The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:

DAY ONE HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS

Step by step guide with slide presentation

TOILET ROLLS- DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS?

Roundtable discussion

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR

Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics)

DISHES & SILVERWARE; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES?

Debate among a panel of experts

REMOTE CONTROL

Losing the remote control - Help line and support groups

LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS

Starting with looking in the right place instead of turning the house upside down while screaming - Open forum

DAY TWO

EMPTY MILK CARTONS; DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN?

Group discussion and role play

HEALTH WATCH; BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH PowerPoint presentation

REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST

Real life testimonial from the one man who did

IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS?

Driving simulation

LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER

Online class and role playing

HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION

Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques

REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE

Bring your calendar or PDA to class

GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME
Individual counsellors available

Kayaking 101

What a great idea it seemed at the time, buying a kayak. When you read the guidebooks they say it is just a short paddle and is full of enjoyment. They dont tell you that when you are paddling into the wind and against the tide you need to multiply the distances by about a 1000.










A couple of hundred metres in a kayak seems to equal the same intenstity as if you had walked several kilometres. At least at this stage of becoming one with the kayak.



Today we got up at 5am to go for a paddle in Currumbin Creek. It is weird seeing all these super buff oldies doing tough laps up and down the creek, lapping us several times while we haul our sorry arses along. They must have engines hidden somewhere in their various wave skis, racing kayaks and various other watercraft to propel them at speeds that seem close to the speed of sound. I like to think of our kayak as a big old limo. We aren't the fastest, but we do it with style.
It really is a good thing though, there is nothing more enjoyable than paddling early in the morning looking at the peaceful waters and trying to have a fish from the kayak. I am still a bit wobbly when I try to fish and kayak at the same time but I have worked out that I can fish a lot better if I take it easy and let El do the paddling while I drop my line in. Today we did a 10km return trip up the creek and are feeling the effects now. Most muscles are sore, even the ones that you didn't know you had. I am trying to get El stronger so I can have a snooze in the back while she paddles. It is good fun, but you do get really sore. I even saw all those whiting I have tried to catch in the past swimming by, taunting me with their beady little faces.
I am back to uni on monday. Only 4 more years! Back to being old man Connolly.Mr "mature age". I learn to drill this year so are there any volunteers for me to practice on? I've got a pretty good cordless drill here at home and with a few medicinal rums I'm sure noone would be able to tell the difference.

A mammoth post...

It's been a while since we have posted any news so I guess now is a good a time as any.

On the 14th of Dec Geoff, Tony and I went to the Robbie Williams concert. This man really rocked Suncorp Stadium. He was running around, jumping and singing his little heart out for the full show, and kept us amused with all his arrogant antics. My favourite (although extremely daggy) song he did was Take That's "Want you back for good". What a blast from the past... Bron I'm sure you remember singing that with Megan don't you?!! The only downside to the evening was the crowds causing bottlenecks as they exited the stadium.

The following night we had our work Christmas party at the Carlton Crest in the city. This was the best work party I have ever been to! The food was excellent, the drinks were flowing (sort of) and I had a ball dancing the night away with heaps of other slightly inebriated people. Afterwards, since we had booked a room there, we only had to go up the elevator to crash for the evening. Perfect.

The following Thursday evening we had Christmas at my Mum's. I helped put up the tree and the deccies (read: I did most of it - slack brothers) and we had a yummy roast dinner. It was a shame Bron and Ben were on the other side of the world (we miss you guys)!!

On Saturday night we had Christmas at my Dad's. It was hot enough for a swim in the arvo, then we had a yummy cold meat and salad dinner.

On Sunday we drove down to Casino to have Christmas with Geoff's family. Sunday night we went to his Nanna's place and caught up with all his family on his Mum's side. The following day we spent at Geoff's parents for lunch and present giving. I think we ended up with more presents that what we gave... Santa was very kind this year. :-) It really wasn't hot enough for it but we had a water pistol fight. Always good fun.

While we were down in Casino we also went to a river at Evan's Head for a day of fishing and paddling. Yep, you heard right. Paddling. We were a little naughty and bought a kayak. It seats two people, and also had a cargo pod and a spot for a bag (or an esky). It was absolutely brilliant trying it out for the first time. Geoff and I took it out first and discovered that we can stay upright in it! I also took it out with Trina and also had a go by myself. Just awesome (pardon the pun). I am looking forward to trying in out in other waterways next week.

The other exciting thing that happened that day was that Craig caught a beauty of a flathead. This was very unexpected but very much appreciated. Geoff's Dad cooked it up for the brekky on the Thursday and it was absolutely delicious. So much nicer than the crap you buy at the supermarket!

Geoff and I also went for a trip to the Border Ranges National Park. We went on a short walk that wove around a creek and waterfall, and we also drove up to the Pinnacle. The view was spectacular, looking out to a massive valley and also Mt Warning. Such a beautiful part of the world that I had never seen before. I was also quite taken with all the birds around the place. There was heaps of Eastern Rosellas, brown pigeons and these beautiful blue and white-breasted pigeons. We also heard heaps of whip birds and bell birds. Definitely going back to camp there sometime soon!

We said our goodbyes to Geoff's family this morning and headed back to Brissy. I have one more week of holidays which is absolutely brilliant. Geoff is on holidays til February then he is into second year.

We hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and has a rocking New Year's celebrations. We are still debating about it but seem to be leaning towards a quiet New Year's. I think we need to back off a bit after too much Christmas cheer!

Oh, and by the way... do you like our moose on top of our tree? Makes a change from the usual angel or star hey? :-)

Blog Tiggy

Our friend Chris has tagged us for blog-tiggy. So here are 5 things you most likely do not know about the both of us (or perhaps you do?).

1. Geoff's favourite band is Queen (he has all the albums and that's a LOT).

2. As a child, Geoff was in the emergency department a lot and has more stitches than every year of his life.

3. Geoff has had leptospirosis (kissing too many cows) - Red Cross does not like him now.

4. Geoff does not drink any caffeine but goes a little crazy if he has any coke with his bourbon.

5. Geoff is a real history buff and knows seemingly insignificant details about WWI and II.


1. El is afraid of the dark and insists that the cupboard doors are closed before going to sleep at night (you never know what monsters lurk in there). I kid you not.

2. Some of El's T cells have been to France (but the rest of her hasn't). This was for doing a crystal structure of her T cell receptor and a picture of this is going to be published in Nature Immunology next year. (Sorry, that one was a bit nerdy.)

3. El much prefers winter to summer.

4. El does not have her ears (or any part of her) pierced and isn't too keen on getting it done.

5. El longs to be a better writer that what dribbles out on this blog.

As for who "is it" next, we wish to tag:
Bron and Ben,
Tash and Dunk and
Tony.

Knock yourselves out guys. :-)

Have you ever?

Have you ever seen an exploded bullrush? Neither had I - it looks pretty cool hey? I collected it a few weekends ago while kayaking in a waterhole with my Mum and my Uncle Richard.

We had gone up to visit Richard at his bush block near Imbil. It was a hot day, and after doing some strenuous tractor work (not really - actually all I did was drive it up the small hill and sat and waited while Richard did all the controls to pick up some sawn-off logs!!) we went for a drive to a nearby creek. There was plenty of water in it, thanks to a recent release from the nearby dam. The water was cool and refreshing and this beautiful shade of green. There was so many birds around, and they were not fazed by our quiet paddling through the water. It was such a awesome experience, and has made me really, REALLY want to buy my own kayak and get back into it.

Later on in the evening we enjoyed a yummy lamb roast cooked on Richard's wood stove, and sat outside by a campfire, enjoying the quiteness of the bush. The next morning we ate breakfast in the same spot, and had a great view of king parrots, finches and other wild birds feeding on a nearby setup.

Richard also had some two week old chickens (about 15) that Mum and I were quite partial to picking up one or two for a cuddle. They are just so soft and sooky.

I promise to post again sooner rather than later. :-) Take care everyone.

Family happy snaps

A couple of weekends ago we went up to Bribie Island for a picnic for my cousin Janine's little boy, Jordan, who was celebrating his first birthday.

It was a beautiful hot sunny day and just perfect for lazing by the water and catching up with some family that we had not seen in a long time.

I went on the playground with my cousin Rachel. Perhaps thinking I was 11 again, I went on the monkey bars and did some flip arounds. Seemed easy at the time - pity about the next day with me moaning and groaning about my sore shoulders and great coloured bruises behind my knees! Anyone would think I wasn't a kid anymore!!

Procrastination on a Monday

Thought I might do an update of what we have been up to lately.

Last Wednesday night Geoff and I went to our work's annual memorial lecture/awards evening. It was held at Customs House and it started right smack bang in the middle of peak hour. Traffic was an absolute nightmare with the closure of the riverside expressway, and it took us 45 mins to get there from work! Anyway, the evening was really good with lots of free wine, beer and nibblies (which is always a bonus). The guest speaker was the former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett. He spoke about the National Depression organisation "Beyond Blue" and his involvement in giving depression more public awareness. It was a very enjoyable and inspiring speech.

On Saturday we had the pleasure of meeting Sally and Andrew's new little boy, James. What a gorgeous kid, and so well behaved - he was quite happy to be cuddled. The three of them just looked so happy and relaxed - lovely to see. :-)

Yesterday (after missing yet another phone call from Bron - d'oh!) we went round to our friend Jen's place for her birthday bbq. She has recently moved into a house with - wait for it - a full sized tennis court in the backyard. How sweet is that?! I'm so jealous. So we had a bit of a hit around, me wearing jeans and Geoff wearing flip flop sandals which made it a bit interesting. I used to play tennis a lot but haven't in years. It was such good fun but today my right shoulder is killing me. Must be getting old. Anyway, it was great to catch up with Jen and enjoy a snag on her new bbq.

Anyway, I should stop procrastinating and go do some work now. Take care everyone. :-)

Some photos

Last Saturday I went to Janani's and Jeyanthan's wedding reception lunch. Once everyone was seated they made their entrance and looked absolutely stunning in their traditional gear. After watching a video of their wedding in Sri Lanka, we were given the opportunity to wish them well, then we sat down to a yummy vegetarian lunch. I felt decidedly ordinary wearing normal attire with all these women wearing beautiful sari's around me!


Saturday night we caught up with Dunk, Tash and Isla. Isla is 6 months old now and does gorgeous really well. She was a little naughty though, by not going to sleep but it meant we got to spend some time with her and give her some cuddles. :-) She is absolutely smitten with Geoff - laughing and carrying on and really enjoyed gnawing on Geoff's index finger. We think she may be teething.


On Sunday afternoon I saw "The Full Monty" at Southbank with my mate Julia, and some friends from work - Itaru and Paweena. It was absolutely brilliant - it followed the movie really well (except for it being set in New York State instead of the UK) and we got our fair share of laughs out it. Thoroughly recommend it to anyone considering seeing it - I think it runs for another week yet.

TGI Friday

Not that it has been a particularly arduous week or anything. I did however set a new record for myself by doing 35 RNA extractions and cDNA syntheses(?) which wasn't a whole lot of fun. Mmm, repetetive pipetting, what more could you want?

Geoff also had a fairly busy week, with the handing in of 2 major assignments and also assisting with a root canal procedure this afternoon. He tells me it was interesting. I still can't believe he can watch stuff like that without the need to gag!!

Anyway, enough about work and uni. Tonight we are having a BBQ dinner which is something guaranteed to put me in a great mood. I don't know, but there is something very therapeutic about cooking a hunk of meat outside, having a few drinkies and listening to the radio, whilst slapping off mossies. Gotta love this time of year.

Our weekend is fairly busy. Geoff has a two day first aid course he has to do for uni. I have a friend's wedding lunch tomorrow and I'm going to see "Full Monty" at the Lyric theatre on Sunday. Will post more about these afterwards - hopefully with some photos.

Our thoughts are with Sally and Andrew as they rapidly approach "M-Day". M being of course, for Munchie. :-) How exciting. (Incidently Sally, the other night I dreamt you guys had a boy.). :-)

Anyway, time to open the wine. Hope everyone has a brilliant weekend. :-)

Sally's baby shower

Sally (my good mate from undergrad days) is having a bub next month and last Saturday I went to an afternoon tea in her honour. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to post (do you have any Sally)?

It was great to catch up with the Mum-to-be and see her glorious bump (and no Sally, you are definitely not fat)!! I really enjoyed catching up with lots of others, including Fliss and her new baby Isaac.

And finally, the afternoon tea was really yummy! Thanks to Sally and her Mum for organising everything. :-)

at work

We'll here I am waiting for a gel to dry: certainly is exciting stuff. I'm pretty tired because I got up at 5.30am to get to uni for an 8 O'clock lecture on the merits of the kidney. Damn glomerulus(for nerds out there). We have been busy but I have been a bit boring. El went to a friend's baby shower on saturday but I will let her fill you in on that. We hired a ute on sunday to take some rubbish to our local tip. Coming from the country where the local rubbish dump is a big hole in the ground, chandler refuse transfer station is like the hilton of garbage dumps. We made a couple of trips to get rid of some dead couches and a heap of crappy palm fronds that rip your hands to shreds when you try to pick them up. There was a bit of a bingle right outside the tip entrance on the second trip. Two cars had collided and a trailer had fallen off one of them. Noone seemed to badly hurt so they were just playing the blame game.
Uni is going OK, I am looking at all the gross pictures of teeth and various things that people do to them. Not for the faint hearted. All the young uns(most of the class) goes oohh and ahhh everytime a new slide comes up. I wonder how many are doing dentistry because they want to and how many are doing it because they got the OP or their parents pushed them into it.
Oh well, I have to go and check my gel dryer. This gel is the final accumulation of 3 years work so I hope it works. At least I have a good view of the city to make it seem a little less dreary here.
Bye for now
Geoff

1, 2 and 3 in August

Weddings are wonderful things.

Happy three years for Sally and Andrew on the 3rd, happy two years for Bron and Ben on the 21st and happy one year for Chris and Nigel on the 27th.

Congratulations from us both. :-)

Go the mighty bulls!

We had a great weekend down at Casino, catching up with Geoff's family and watching Craig play footy in the reserve grade for Casino against Wollongbar-Alstonville.


Although his team won, to make it into the finals they needed another team in the competition to win and they didn't. It was great game to watch - I am slowing learning about Rugby Union... it's such a a hard game to follow. All I know is there is lots of line-outs, and occasions where they all jump on each other to get the ball, and then another guy charges in to get the ball. I'm sure Geoff could explain it better! Anyway, it was all very exciting to cheer Craig on, and he even scored the first try. :-) The cool thing is Craig will get to play some more footy before the season is out because he is going to play a few first grade games.

Being the huge drinker that I am (not) I was democratically elected (hmm) to be the designated driver for the trip back from the footy. Imagine carting four slightly enebriated and very boistrous boys back from Wollongbar to Casino. We only had to make one pit stop. The boys thought they heard a funny sound coming from the esky so we had to pull over and investigate. Once home, we went out to a local pub for dinner and then Geoff decided it was time he'd had enough of the festivites. The rest of them carried on to the wee hours of the morning; Tony ended up singing karaoke at a another pub and waking up a little bleary eyed.

Sunday morning I drove back to Brisbane. This is something I rarely do and I can now understand why Geoff is normally so tired after the two and half hour drive. Luckily we had some excellent audio tracks to sing along to (who would have thought The Doors would keep me on the ball)?

As of last Thursday, it has been one year since we arrived back in Brisbane and scared the daylights out of my parents who weren't expecting us back until September. :-) It's amazing how fast the time goes. At times it doesn't even feel like we were away at all.

Here is a photo of where we were about a year ago, on the island of Lefkada off the coast of Greece.



Geoff had his first clinic on Friday. He was a little nervous about it, not knowing what to expect I suppose but he tells me it was really interesting. He did the suction for and got to watch a debridement (fancy word for clean and scale) assisting another student. There was a lot of blood but it didn't faze him. He has a few more clinics this year assisting but over the next couple of years he will get to be in the driver's seat more.