Just a minute in January

Listening... to TV on the Radio, Quan... I cannot get enough of The Prodigy's 'Invader's must die' (for the past few weeks Gib and I have been randomly jumping about and shouting in our most ominous voices 'Invaders MUST DIE') or their other new track, 'Spitfire'. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle has also been a regular feature on the playlist - and the film clip is cool. Triple J has been playing some great stuff lately.

Reading... Geroge Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. And a book that was given to me by both Gib and my grandpa: The brain that changes itself, by Norman Doige, MD (I was able to exchange one of them). It's about different case studies and research in brain plasticity, how it adapts and how you can teach it to "re-wire" itself. I'm completely hooked and much of it is very inspiring and both directly and indirectly relevant to my PhD.

Writing... my essay and presentation for my confirmation of PhD candidature. I'm still in a slight panic. Had a meeting with both of my supervisors today and feel like I've had a firecracker placed under my rear end (in a good way). I'd love to blog more about the work I'm doing, however it would severely compromise my semi-anonymity around here. Not because I'm famous or anything (give it time, this science is smoking hot!), but because my field of research is a bit specialised.

Enjoying... housesitting while Gib's parents were away in New Zealand for a month (they came back today), hosting a few parties, making the most of the BBQ before we started having total fire bans, snoozing with the rats while attempting to read on lazy Saturday afternoons.

Changing... the front garden layout (we're slowly moving back some of the mint and replacing it with some other things). It seems to be mostly surviving in the heat. Changing my fitness/martial arts routine to accommodate the shift in pace of my PhD and the current crazy weather. Changing my addiction to coffee... to being not-so-addicted to coffee.

Sewing... with my overlocker! Oh yes, I finally did it. You know what? It really wasn't that scary. What on earth have I been worried about? Threading it, while obviously more complex than my sewing machine, honestly wasn't that bad. Also because it was a 2nd hand one from eBay, all of the tension settings were already done for me and they were perfect. And it goes SO FAST. I love it. All of those stretchy and fraying fabrics I've been putting off sewing are now fair game. I also was also lucky enough to get a walking foot for my sewing machine Christmas, but I am yet to use it. Hopefully that will take less than a year for me to get the courage to use.

See? Threading the overlocker really wasn't so bad after all!