What I do at Work

As per request (of my fabulous Uncle), here is a glimpse into the glamorous life of a postdoc. I am a postdoctoral fellow. No I am not a student. No I do not take classes. It is a job. I already have my PhD. The secret mission of a postdoc is getting as many publications, grants, book chapters, and presentations as possible to make a superhuman resume that will land you a research position in some ginormous or prestigious university in 2 to 3 years (yes, I know, that is everyone's goal in life).

My postdoc is at Curtin University, in the Department of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, working for Leon Straker, child ergonomic extraordinaire (apparently he has ergonomic groupies). Basically, I do a lot of writing. Most of my day is spent sitting at a computer, drafting journal articles, research and reading journal articles, drafting grants, or playing with the "fun" statistical packages of SAS and now Stata.

The main project I'm working on now is Curtin University's Activity, Food, and Attitudes Program (CAFAP), a healthy lifestyle intervention for overweight and obese adolescents. I'm at a university, so there are obligatory seminars and presentations to get through (I mean to network and collaborate).

 Being an academic, of course most of the day is spent generating Nobel prize worthy theories, critical research methodologies, and groundbreaking statistical approaches.

 These guys are experts in back pain, but here they are also discussing the deathly pale skin complexion of a 'colleague'.

We love sitting around talking about bootstrapping. Or pirates. Or cowboys. Or both.

But it's not all writing and pontificating in the ivory tower. I've been lucky to meet a few of the teens and their parents during data collection for CAFAP. As I've mentioned, I'm responsible for starting up an activity monitoring component of a research study the involves putting Actigraph, ActivPal, GeneActiv accelerometers and a SenseCam (which took some of these lovely pictures) on 23 year-olds. This study is at the University of Western Australia on the other side of the city, which means at nights and in the mornings (it's part of the Raine sleep study), I get to pedal over to Curtin's rival campus. 

 I think I luck out with the scenery along the way...

 At the sleep lab, I'm helping to get the stunning research staff trained to initialize and download all the monitors, and I'm helping to explain the process to voluntary participants as we work out the kinks. These participants are FANTASTIC. They have been in the study for their entire lives, with data collection every 2-3 years, and they HAVE NOT BEEN PAID A DIME. Try that in the United States. How many participants would be in the year long Energy Balance study?

 

Kinks, like devices not working this morning. Grrrrrr.

We also drink a lot of tea at work. And other beverages. Because we're in Australia. We have morning teas, afternoon teas (we have one tomorrow), and after presentation celebrations. The office has a complete set of wine glasses.

And yesterday, we learned some African Drumming. Because who wouldn't do that at a work Christmas party? (or play Never have I Ever with your superiors?)

Surprisinlgy, it was actually a good time and made for some quality coworker bonding. 

After 3 months, I can say that I'm interested and passionate in the research I'm doing, am excited for the opportunities I will have, and work with not only smart but some of the most genuine, thoughtful and kind people I've met. So far I have no complaints (give me another 3 months). Except maybe our office is too cold and has no windows. But overall, the life of this postdoc is not too shabby.

Thanksgiving: Part Deux (and the Christmas kick-off)

It's officially December, which means I can blast the carols, hang the snowflakes, write cards full o' Christmas cheer, and indulge in holiday delicacies without shame or criticism from those grinches who complain Christmas marketing starts too early. Without Thanksgiving, Australian's consider December 1st the cutoff for acceptable Christmas-ing.

This weekend's activities were perfect for kicking off the season. Sandwiched in-between Thanksgivings was a "It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas" party.

 Beautiful people and beautiful food!

 What beautiful bunting!

 Jess's BEAUTIFUL cupcakes! (I ate the elf with pig tails :))

We had Thanksgiving: Part Deux at the Turkey Palace. Pretzels with beer cheese dip, turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (with marshmallows!), stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, pumpkin & pecan pie.

  

 

One nice thing about holidays in the summer is being able to eat outside!

It was even complete with football and  the American's (and American's at heart) representing their alma maters. There was even a full performance of On Wisconsin from a former Badger. And go figure that all the way in Perth, Australia, I met a fellow Terp who was doing his master's while I was in College Park and we know some of the same people!!!

In celebration of all that is American, both nights included some American themed trivia. One game just happened to be made in America, and thus Americans had a greater chance of knowing the answer. "How many quarters are in a Susan B Anthony?" "Who was Pokey's stretchy friend?" "What American city is known as Bean Town?" Now I must say that quiz games make me panic. I'm just not good at them as my pop culture and sporting knowledge is just not up to par. And I seem to recall one Block Island game of celebrity where I was KICKED OFF MY TEAM for not thinking fast enough. Needless to say, any advantage I can get I appreciate. I came in second (mind you it was to someone who was brought up in the US and Australia). Thanksgiving Quiz was custom made for the America-themed occasion and included, "What state has the smallest population?" "How many red & white stripes are on the American flag?" "What century was the civil war?" I won that one, but Kyla had the highest score of non-Americans (we've taught her well!), so we got to bring home the loot of chocolates back (to the office to eat while blasting Christmas carols).

Now it's time for work Christmas celebrations starting this week. The Physiotherapy department is having a Learn to African Drum session followed by a barbecue and drinks (of course, we are in Australia).  I've never received a corporate email that so blatantly says "Drink responsibly, because you people seem to get a little out of control" Here's our wonderful email message from Health & Safety.

Colleagues,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

We are coming to the end of yet another busy year at Curtin University and with the festive season upon us, we are now looking forward to our end of year functions to celebrate our achievements and hard work.

Please remember however, that as these are work functions, an appropriate standard of conduct is expected. With this in mind it is timely that we remind everyone of a few points:

1.       Behaviour at the Party (I still am amused by Australian/British spelling)

As work functions it is expected that everyone’s behaviour will be in accordance with Curtin’s values and Code of Conduct http://policies.curtin.edu.au/home/values.cfm, as well as our Health and Safety and Complaints policies and procedures. Copies of these policies and procedures can be accessed at. http://policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/

We ask that you take the time to familiarise yourself with these policies and procedures and be mindful of your obligations with respect to each of them. Note that alcohol consumption is no excuse for harassment, bullying or misconduct and is not an acceptable defence (and I thought Christmas parties were an excuse to tell off your coworker for assuming you're a secretary).

2. Drugs and Alcohol

 If you choose to drink alcohol, please ensure that you drink responsibly, be respectful to others, have plenty to eat and have spacers between alcoholic drinks i.e: water, juice, soft drink, etc. Please note that Curtin reserves the right to request the venue refuse service of alcohol to any member of staff who is, in Management’s view, behaving inappropriately. We remind you that the use of illegal drugs and/or excessive consumption of alcohol is prohibited at all times.

3. Transport

Naturally we want everyone to enjoy themselves; we also want everyone to arrive home safely.....so if you are planning on drinking alcohol, we ask that you plan your transport to and from the function:
·         Grab a cab or share one with other work colleagues 
·         Catch public transport  
·         Ride with a driver that hasn't been drinking  
·         Arrange for a friend or relative to give you a lift and pick you up
To find out more about alcohol limits or the effects of alcohol, please refer to àhttp://www.police.wa.gov.au/Traffic/Drinkdriving/tabid/987/Default.aspx. (we all work at a university, shouldn't we know all this?)

4. Contacts

If you have any concerns about the above mentioned points, become intoxicated (because if you're drunk the first person you're going to call is your boss...), unwell or your transport arrangements fall through unexpectedly, please don't hesitate to ask for help by contacting your function organiser or line manager. You will be gladly assisted, including arrangement of safe transport home if necessary. Likewise, if you are concerned about the well-being, safety or behaviour of a colleague let your manager know so that appropriate assistance can be provided.

We trust everyone will accept this communication in the right spirit by appreciating that Curtin is committed to meet its legal and moral obligations of ensuring your safety and well-being, not only in the workplace, but at work functions also. None of the above should prevent us from having a great celebration and we look forward to everyone having a fantastic time (and we don't even try to tell you that you can have party without alcohol)!

Best wishes to all for the holiday season!!!

-Health and Safety

Thanksgiving Down Under: Part One

"If you think Independence Day is America's defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands down."

-Tony Snow

Thanksgiving is an American thing. Yes, Canadians celebrate it, but we Americans do it big. Even if it doesn't feel like it should be Thanksgiving, I couldn't let this Thursday pass without a little extra effort to represent my American heritage.

In my attempt to spread American Thanksgiving cheer, I brought my little turkey mini pies into the office. People were a bit confused as to why they were turkeys. I reminded them it was thanksgiving (thus a holiday and we shouldn't be working). Ashley even baked a pumpkin pie! No one seemed too excited (but they did eat my pies!). I did get genuinely quizzed on the history and roots of Thanksgiving. Pilgrims, native Americans, giving thanks for our blessings, I had the general gist. And no, we do not dress up as pilgrims and Indians for thanksgiving.

But just baking a little treat wouldn't cut it for the mac daddy of American holidays. Three trips to the grocery store later, I was able to pull together the quintessential menu. I stuck with my favorites, even if some of them were a little tricky to find and required a little improv.

Green Bean Casserole: Green beans and mushroom soup were easy. Those French's fried onions don't exist, but they do have fried shallots in the Asian foods section.

 Cranberry sauce: Found it next to the ketchup and barbecue sauce (says one Australian "well, it is a condiment, where else would you find it?"). It's the whole berry kind, with Ocean Spray cranberries from New England but processed in New Zealand. Try explaining the canned jelly kind to someone who's never seen it before. It's jelly-like, but it stays in the shape of a can, and you slice it, and then eat it in pieces...

Stuffing: No problems here. Though when I explained that I had made it the night before, someone asked me, "Don't you just use it to stuff the bird?" "Well, some people eat it by itself, as a side dish" "But why's it called stuffing?" "It's also called dressing" "But what about salad dressing?"

Mashed potatoes: Potatoes are potatoes.


The bird: Australians do eat turkey, and may even roast a turkey for Christmas (didn't have to resort to ostrich). Just no turkeys piling over the freezer shelves here. I found turkey roles, frozen turkey breasts in a box, and already smoked turkeys. The butcher has turkeys, but we decided to go with a whole chicken to roast. Everything tastes like chicken anyways.

Pecan pies: There is no Karo or corn syrup here, and golden syrup is not the same thing. So I used honey as a substitute.

And it just wouldn't be thanksgiving without an apple pie. But I did have to go Anne Arundel style and use a wine bottle as a rolling pin.

Having to cook a whole thanksgiving meal with only one oven, beginning after work, makes things a little complicated if you don't want to eat at 3am (although that would be perfect timing to watch US gridiron). Green bean casserole and stuffing were made the night before. Now I know why we get the whole day off and usually the Friday after too.

We were able to enjoy the nice weather and eat our late dinner (but at least not 3am!) on the balcony.

(Yes, he did want me to use this picture with him disappearing in the dark corner)

 Overall, it everything turned out pretty tasty, I have leftovers for tomorrow, and I'm going to bed with a full tummy. It can't compare to my past Thanksgivings in Ledyard or more recently in Goldsboro (we did still talk about UFOs at dinner!), but I still could share and pass on a wonderful tradition with great people and remember the abundance of things I have to be thankful for.

May you and your families enjoy a truly American thanksgiving!

The Trifecta: Fashion, Betting, Wine

It's no secret, Australians like to gamble. And they like to bet on horses. After my experience watching the Melbourne Cup, it was time to witness the horse races in person. Off to the races at Ascot Racecourse!

Thanks to some early morning dedication by two of my favorite Australians, we had a shaded table meters from the finish line.

The races are less about the horses and more about the fashion, the betting and the alcohol. I couldn't make myself wear a fascinator quite yet, but I got a floppy hat (I needed one to protect myself at the beach anyways) and put on my dress and plenty of sunscreen. I could have just watched people all day. There were bright neon dresses, black dresses, long dresses, and way too short and tight dresses. Fashion, check!

 And the best looking ladies there of course (with some ridiculous American in a floppy hat)

 

 

 "What is she wearing?! Did that girl change her shoes again? Neon pink lipstick? How does that fascinator stay on her head? Not so sure about those flower crowns..."

I could never have figured out the betting on my own, not ever going to a track before. Luckily, the wonderful ladies I was with put together a girls' kitty, so for $10 each, I could watch in amazement as they picked the horses and ticked the boxes for each race. We won a couple races, but only made a few coins overall. Betting, check!

All the stories I have heard of the races usually end with someone very drunk and laying on the ground. I'm not one to day drink, but I had to take part in the experience in a most responsible manner (not the laying on the ground part). Being all dressed up and fancy, the only choice for us classy ladies was bottles of SSB (semillon sauvignon blanc) to sip on throughout the afternoon. When it was my turn to buy the next bottle, they had stopped serving bottles. It was 3:00. I could only get 2 glasses, but needed 5, so three of us went up to buy 5 glasses of wine. I was buying, but the quite unfriendly bartender made us pay separately. So I went first, got my change and passed it down the line. Hannah couldn't order until I took my two glasses in my hands. Seriously?! What are these rules? Bars also have very strange alcohol rules, lockouts, and times they stop serving, but that's a whole other story... Alcohol, check!

But there were horses at the races, so I have to include one obligatory picture of a horse.

Disclaimer (mom): I did not end up laying on the ground. I was very responsible with my iced wine, and after the races hopped on the bus back to the city, and was up at 6 for a beautiful run through Kings Park. And I didn't even get sunburned.

It's 5 o'clock Somewhere

There's a TV commercial on these days saying, Australia doesn't close at 5 anymore.

Apparently it closes at 5:30.

I spent a lot of my first few weeks waiting for stores to open. Sitting on benches, doing laps around the mall, checking the clock for the minutes to pass until 10 am. Or 11 am. Or I have run down the street, husseling to get to the store before it closes. Too often, feeling like I'm in prison with all the boars covering the storefronts.

There's a pedestrian-only mall in the Perth CBD. Usually it looks like this.

But by 6 o'clock at night, it usually looks like this.

(And yes, we do have Target!)

And it used to be worse. Late night shopping is a recent thing. Stores in the city are open later on Friday, and outside of the city Thursday is late night shopping.

Ok so the grocery stores are open until 9. M-F, but they close at 5 on the weekends. So once again, I am confronted by prison bars. So much for Sunday night grocery shopping! And I thought it was bad in South Carolina where some stores didn't open until 11 on Sundays.

 Since I work during normal business hours, and Sunday night is not an option, shopping and running errands cuts a bit into my relaxing and adventuring weekend time. Good thing I don't need much, and I can at least get my groceries or last minute baking ingredients at Wooly's after work (however, as I learned yesterday, even if Wooly's is open, it does not have applesauce).

Kangaroo Hunt

I have been in Australia for over two months and have not seen a kangaroo. Kangaroos are the epitome of this country. They are on airplanes and the soccer team is named the Socceroos. The closest I have come are walking by these just a few blocks down.

Every time I walk by them, they remind me that I still haven't seen a kangaroo. What kind of Australia is this?! Yes, I realize that there will not be kangaroos roaming around the CBD in Perth. That's like seeing deer in New York City. But I've been to the suburbs. Where are the kangaroos?!

I told Leon I was going to ride my bicycle until I found one, and he told me I just needed to ride North up the path along the freeway to Pinnaroo Memorial Park. It's not a park, it's a cemetery. So today I went on my adventure to the cemetery to find kangaroos.

I had been along the freeway path before for a few kilometers, trying to find a more direct route from Scarborough to Curtin. It's great that there's a bicycle freeway :). Unfortunately it's not one of the most scenic routes, sandwiched between the freeway and a fence for some of the way as it meanders through industrial backyards, small neighborhoods, and six minutes worth of parkland.

The worst part about long bike rides for me, has always been boredom. Riding along the freeway, I got bored and thought maybe I should save the kangaroos for another day. Or maybe I could just take the train there. Either way, the thought of riding the 30+kms back to the city on this same route was somewhat unmotivating. But I kept pedalling, and soon found myself at my turnoff at Whitford Station. Usually when I try to cycle places, I get lost, but to my relief, there it was, Pinnaroo Memorial Park!

There were no signs directing me to where I could find kangaroos. There were however signs for funerals, burial services, and the chapel. It seemed a little strange, riding my bicycle through a cemetary. At it was a garden, with sites marked by fake flowers and not tomb stones. I pedaled along, keeping an eye out for anything hopping along, and not really sure what I would do if I came face to face with a kangaroo (especially a mean boxing, clawing one). But I didn't see any. Drivers are warned about kangaroos at dawn and dusk, and by this point it was late morning so I figured they were all sleeping, or hiding, or doing whatever kangaroos do in the middle of the day. Who goes to a cemetery to see kangaroos anyways? (turns out my friend's adviser also took her to this cemetery when she first got here to see a kangaroo!) I gave up.

 I was just finding a road to turn around, when I saw a light brown color through the bush! Six or seven were just sitting in the shade, lounging. They were just like in the Riverbanks Zoo, except not behind fences. Still feeling a little strange with families around visiting gravesites, I sat on a bench for a few quiet moments, watched these Aussie roos, and hopped back on the bike to ride home.

And just to give you the context, they were right in the middle of the cemetery in a section without flowers.

Mission accomplished. I now know I am in Australia (just in case there was any doubt). Hopefully next time I see a kangaroo, it will be easier to find.

And I didn't ride back a long the freeway. I made my way to the ocean. It was a little longer, but the view of the teal and blue Indian Ocean beats cars on a freeway any day.

Everything I Need to Know About Australia I Learned from the Bachelor

Australia hasn't been all kangaroo rides and surfing with the sharks and blond, bronze boys. A lot of my time has been spent meeting finding my own way around, meeting new people,  and learning about Australia. One of my first weeks here, my All-things-Australia guru extraordinaire, Kyla, told me about the Bachelor Australia. Since then, when I find my Wednesday evenings free, I spend some time in 'culture studies'. (Plus I can always catch the re-runs!). And Wednesday lessons are followed by humorous studies in Australian satire with Rosie's blog.

Being from the Gold Coast doesn't make you the brightest.

Not everyone in Australia has blonde hair (or fake blonde hair). There are brunettes, and brunettes with shades of grey.

The Bogan thing to do is make lemonade shandys.

It's ok to drive little cars and be a real man. This includes Ford Focuses.

If you're trying to be classy, you have a chat over a cappuccino.

Breakwater in Perth is THE restaurant to be. They even have their name on the glasses, in case you forget where you are.

It's not the sharks, spiders, and a snakes you need to watch out for. It's the boats. Don't run into them or you could break your knee. But if you do get a fake injury, the Australian healthcare system will take very good care of you.

There is a beautiful house in Sydney with lots  and lots of flowers including roses.

I need to go to Broome so I can find a pearl. You just need to pick one clam and poof! Pearl!

There is minigolf in Perth!

New South Wales is apple country, and they have apple stands that look just like the little farm stand in the Greenfield Berkshires.

Chasing sheep is not just for dogs. Girls can do it as well and wearing a pink puffy vest helps.

And most importantly, bad TV isn't just for America, it's made it's way to Australia even if it has its own Aussie twist.


And because the perfect thing to go with some bad chick TV is two of the best bachelors, Ben and Jerry who have recently made their way to Perth.

It's down to only two girls, Tim makes his big decision next week, which means I only have one more acculturation lesson left. And with Australia's got Talent, X Factor Australia, and Dancing with the Stars Australia over or almost over, how will I get my Australian pop culture fix? I guess it will be Home and Away and Wonderland because I refuse to resort to American re-runs.