Year in review

Being New Year's Day, I took down my old calendar (thank you, Nornie and Granddad) and put up my new one (thank you, Meg and Rai). In the early months of this year (before I came to the US), I marked my calendar with not only important dates and events to remember, but also brief reminders of what I had been up to on the day. I'll give you a taste of what was going on in my year.

JANUARY
1: Mum and Dad went to Perth to visit some of Mum's family. I looked after Tom.
2: And we played lots of Madden (American football computer game).
3, 4: I took Tom to Canberra, whence he went to Old Bar to visit Carl and Ang.
5-25: I was at the olympiad scholar school. It was a very interesting experience. This time I was not only leading tutorials and labs, but as deputy director really being involved in the direction of the program. It will certainly be useful as I do more teaching throughout my academic career.
26-28: Tom was at a cricket camp in Canberra. I watched him bowl in one of the games that ended the camp. He was bowling well, but not finding outside edges (he's an outswing bowler in the mould of Glenn McGrath or Stuart Clark). I actually thought he needed to pitch the ball a little shorter, because the batsmen were often getting bat to ball with a conservative forward defence / gentle drive, and I really thought they'd find it harder to do something with the slightly shorter balls, as long as they weren't too wide.
29: Prime Minister's XI cricket game with Dad, Tom, Mike, Tony and Mark. A very good day: Justin Langer did well.
30: My polymer project started.
31: The very hot weather we had started to peak.

FEBRUARY
1: My time as a Liger (indoor soccer team) began. I played many Sundays right through until I left the country.
2: Superbowl Monday. I watched a little before heading to uni, while trying (unsuccessfully, at that stage) to fix my bike.
6: Dinner with Kelly. Yummy nachos for main course and passionfruit something for dessert. We talked a bit about applying to overseas grad schools. Actually, we also talked about Felix (not very much, but it was amusing and hence memorable because he came up in conversation, then a few minutes later he sat down near us, said hello and asked us what we were talking about. At first he didn't believe the obvious response 'you, of course').
7: Mum and Dad visited.
9-12: Various passport forms to fill out, etc.
10: An interview with Stanford's physics department. I wasn't particularly happy with how I did. I was offered a place in the applied physics program. I'm not sure whether this is a 'consolation prize' for people not accepted into physics, or whether I didn't make it clear enough that I was moving in a theoretical direction and hence really belong in a physics program. In the end, being in applied physics instead of physics really moved Stanford down the list of preferred places.
14: Present shopping. If my memory serves me correctly, I bought a novel for Mike and a recipe book for Jenn.
You might notice various days missing. That just means that the most interesting thing I did was related to my research or something else I've already mentioned, and it wasn't interesting enough to mention again.
19: Jacqui at teaching. Now why was that a significant enough event to be on my calendar? Well, firstly remember that it only had to be the most significant event of the day! I guess it was just because we often had a fairly constant routine: so much so that a change to that routine was noticeable!
20: Recipe. I can't actually remember whether I was giving someone a recipe, or receiving a recipe, or what it was. It may well have been something I made from the book I was about to give Jenn, that I then took to her party.
21: Two parties: Mike's 21st and Jenn's housewarming.
22: Tropfest. Good fun watching the short films in Commonwealth Park, with Jacqui and Vik and some of their friends.
23: I visited Fenner to visit my friends who had returned for the new year, the third for most of the S4 gang (fifth for myself and seventh!! for Lisa).
24: Trivia at the Pot Belly in Belconnen. I believe we won (not the first time a winning trivia team has featured on this blog).
25: Ash Wednesday. It's a day when Catholics do tend to stand out: David had known me for four years without knowing I was Christian, but ashes on one's forehead tend to start conversations.
28: Jacqui went to Yass, but I already had plans

MARCH
2: Jacqui and Vik started their swimming routine, intended to bulk him up (there are very few people to whom I can give trousers I've grown out of!) and help his lungs recover from his pneumonia.
3: Back to the Pot Belly to drink our winnings.
5: I watched Australia lose to a small middle eastern country (Kuwait? Qatar? Can't remember) in a qualifying match for the Asian Cup in football. Tom carried a fair play flag in the ceremony before the game.
6: Watched Watchmen with Fenner friends. Jacqui and Vik were also there, although we couldn't get seats with them (we were right up the front, because it was literally full). It wasn't my favourite movie - a fair way from it, in fact (but not least favourite either). It went on a bit long, as well!
7: Patrick came to visit.
8: Lunch with Mum and Nanna. I can't really remember this specifically, but I know it was lovely because it always is.
9: Canberra Day, a public holiday. I took the day off, even though there is really no reason why it was different from any other day for me.
11: Smatthey's pizza and movie night. In August 2008 I started a tradition, whereby if Jacqui went away for a few days, I would buy a pizza for dinner and watch a movie on one of the evenings. This time it was Proof, which had some very interesting moments, but not much in between. It was nicest to see the University of Chicago, as a place I might spend the following several years.
13: I planned my farewell party.
14: Then I had it. It was lots of fun, eating traditional American foods (eg. hot dogs) and playing games. I reversed the usual pattern by showing a slide show of places I was going to visit.
17: St Patrick's Day! I didn't do much to celebrate, but did wear green.
19: I went to my final salsa lesson, as a bit of a farewell from Jacqui and Vik.
20: I did some packing for my trip.
21: An olympiad meeting in Sydney. We talked about the upcoming training, and about what we wanted our qualifying exam to be like.
22: My trip to the US began. This was a wonderful holiday (yes, it really felt more like a holiday than a work trip), and those who want more details should email me, and I can forward emails I sent to friends then. For now, I'll just list one highlight I remember per day. For this day, catching up with Adam after a year and a bit, just chatting casually (especially casual for me, when I was able to stay awake!).
23: Chatting in a bar (The Nut House, I think), realising how well I get along with grad students - even there the conversation was rather deep, but also fun (and I played foosball: very badly, but ok for a complete beginner).
24: Sharing dessert and conversation with Felicia and a friend of hers.
25: Returning (with Felicia) to Fenton's, a delicious ice creamery. It appears that Felicia and I have sweet teeth!
26: Meeting the people who were to become my peers as physics PhD students (at the Caltech open house).
27: Playing cards with those new friends. Josephine lost :-(
28: Brunch with Davis and Adam.
29: Walking up from Penn Station, New York, late at night, to see the city that indeed never sleeps (I have been told that it actually does, but apparently not at 11pm).
30: Looking out over the water (whatever that water running between Long and Manhattan islands is), sending an SMS to my parents, and remembering that through all the many opportunities and experiences I have, they'll be there loving me, caring for me and supporting me.

This has turned rather long, so Part I will stop there.