Well our experiments have gone so well that we had an extra day, so today Amanda and I drove down to Monterey. The weather was pretty horrendous though, so we basically had lunch, went to the aquarium, had a look around a few shops and drove back. The place must be packed in summer. Maybe it's having been on beamtime for the last 5 days, or maybe I'm just weary, but nothing really seemed all that fantastic today. I really am ready to go home.
I know I am definitely going to have to set aside more time for prayer and worshipping God if I am going to make it through this year. January is not even over yet, and I am already worn out. Yet the other day when I spent a few minutes in prayer and just contemplating eternity, I definitely felt strengthened. How I could do all this without God I have no idea. He is the One who has brought me to where I am today, and He is the only One who can sustain me in the future - that He has planned for me. Life doesn't have to be complicated; we only get one day at a time. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow..." (Matt. 6:34)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Blob-out weekend
I'm currently in blob-out mode, recovering from one set of experiments and gearing up for the next, which start next Wednesday. Yesterday I got the bus(es) to the shopping centre, and had dinner off-site; more for a change of scenery than anything else. Today I spent pretty much all of the day just sitting around at the guest house, which doesn't bother me like it used to. There is some work stuff I could have been doing, but my brain is just not 100% functional right now!
Monday is a holiday here (Martin Luther King Jr day) and also back home (Wellington Anniversary). Amanda arrives sometime so I'm content just to sit around and wait for her to get here.
Hiking with Mike got postponed by a week. Hopefully the experiments are at a stage where heading off for the day will be ok. And, hopefully the weather is still good.
Just got off the phone with Regina re: planning to meet up sometime this weekend. She also mentioned that a bunch of people from church are going skating - yes, that's roller skating - next Friday night. Rock on '80s!! Seriously though, it does sound like fun so I will try to find some more info on that. Maybe Amanda might like to go too? - tough call that one; I guess I don't know her that well.
Nine more sleeps until I fly home...
Monday is a holiday here (Martin Luther King Jr day) and also back home (Wellington Anniversary). Amanda arrives sometime so I'm content just to sit around and wait for her to get here.
Hiking with Mike got postponed by a week. Hopefully the experiments are at a stage where heading off for the day will be ok. And, hopefully the weather is still good.
Just got off the phone with Regina re: planning to meet up sometime this weekend. She also mentioned that a bunch of people from church are going skating - yes, that's roller skating - next Friday night. Rock on '80s!! Seriously though, it does sound like fun so I will try to find some more info on that. Maybe Amanda might like to go too? - tough call that one; I guess I don't know her that well.
Nine more sleeps until I fly home...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Dumb as a plank?
Tonight I have been doing some x-ray diffraction experiments on wood. That's right: how-much-wood-would-a-woodchuck-chuck-if-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-wood wood. Or Woody Woodpecker wood wood.
Dumb as it might sound, the results are pretty cool. Especially if you display the scans in colour. I can't say any more than that though, because if I told you I'd have to kill you. Actually, the reason is because I haven't told the person who gave me the samples yet. So think of it like an 'informing the next of kin' thing.
Hmm it would seem sleep deprivation is setting in! Never mind - this is the last scan, then I am going to bed! (it is 11:15 pm here, after all)
On the bright side, I don't have to drive home...
Dumb as it might sound, the results are pretty cool. Especially if you display the scans in colour. I can't say any more than that though, because if I told you I'd have to kill you. Actually, the reason is because I haven't told the person who gave me the samples yet. So think of it like an 'informing the next of kin' thing.
Hmm it would seem sleep deprivation is setting in! Never mind - this is the last scan, then I am going to bed! (it is 11:15 pm here, after all)
On the bright side, I don't have to drive home...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
All over Rover
The first set of experiments are done and my colleauges have just left for the airport. Wish I was going too... but it's only two more weeks to go. Fourteen days. 336 hours. I can handle that.
This week is starting to fill up with meetings and a couple of hours here or there on various beamlines (some preliminary experiments I offered to run for other people). I also need to prepare my talk to give at the different universities about synchrotron techniques and possibilities - can't use the same one as last year. I know what needs doing, but I'm a great procrastinator. Anyway let's aim to have it done by next Tuesday (when beamtime starts again).
The weather has finally cleared up after all that rain and other grotty stuff (that led to my flight dilemmas upon arrival), so it's looking hopeful for going hiking on Saturday with Mike et al.
This week is starting to fill up with meetings and a couple of hours here or there on various beamlines (some preliminary experiments I offered to run for other people). I also need to prepare my talk to give at the different universities about synchrotron techniques and possibilities - can't use the same one as last year. I know what needs doing, but I'm a great procrastinator. Anyway let's aim to have it done by next Tuesday (when beamtime starts again).
The weather has finally cleared up after all that rain and other grotty stuff (that led to my flight dilemmas upon arrival), so it's looking hopeful for going hiking on Saturday with Mike et al.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Half-way there
Half way through our first set of experiments. Things are going really well. We have two more days, so we should be able to get through everything we want to.
Then I have a slower week, hopefully I'll be able to find some time to jazz up my 'what is a synchrotron' presentation that I'll need for February. The following weekend is looking hopeful for going hiking with Mike and some other people. Then Amanda arrives and we have about 5 intense days - three of which we'll be using two beamlines simultaneously. But I'm not expecting that to be a big issue. Also I got my flights changed so I'm coming back earlier - there are a bunch of things I need to get prepared for our beamtime in Melbourne starting on 12 February.
Anyway, it's TV dinner time so I will say adios for now.
Then I have a slower week, hopefully I'll be able to find some time to jazz up my 'what is a synchrotron' presentation that I'll need for February. The following weekend is looking hopeful for going hiking with Mike and some other people. Then Amanda arrives and we have about 5 intense days - three of which we'll be using two beamlines simultaneously. But I'm not expecting that to be a big issue. Also I got my flights changed so I'm coming back earlier - there are a bunch of things I need to get prepared for our beamtime in Melbourne starting on 12 February.
Anyway, it's TV dinner time so I will say adios for now.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
When experiments work
We started our first experiments today, which will continue for another 6 days and finish next Monday. I had the somewhat challenging job of setting up our beamline, which went pretty well with only a couple of hitches. Not bad, considering it's been a while since I last did it! (... 5 months or so)
The first experiment that we did worked beautifully straight off. Now I have the task of convincing the student that not all synchrotron experiments are like that!
It's currently 10:15 pm and we have just put a new sample in. Will hang around for an hour or so to see what it does and then head off to bed. More later...
The first experiment that we did worked beautifully straight off. Now I have the task of convincing the student that not all synchrotron experiments are like that!
It's currently 10:15 pm and we have just put a new sample in. Will hang around for an hour or so to see what it does and then head off to bed. More later...
Monday, January 7, 2008
Visiting CCMV friends
I just got back from staying with some good friends from Calvary Chapel Mountain View (CCMV) over the weekend. David and Inma are moving to Trinidad on Friday in obedience to what they believe God is showing them to do. I am excited for them! Anyway we had a good time catching up and hanging out.
Today (Sunday) we all went to church and I got to catch up with Lisa, Song-Hui, Regina and Kirill for lunch. It doesn't feel all that long since I left; but then again, it feels like ages. But there is something really cool about getting together with Christian friends, because there is a spiritual bond that is like no other. We really are family, and the relationships that we have will continue in the next life as well. When David and Inma picked me up I was obviously grinning like an idiot because they asked me why I was so happy (this being the day after my plane ordeal). The only thing I could say was, 'Because I didn't think I'd get to see you guys again until the Millennium...'
This is the way I want to live - to have an eternal perspective about things. So what if parliament is passing stupid laws; one day soon Jesus will be ruling and everything will be right. If I am sick, or someone I know is sick; soon we will have our resurrection bodies and never have to experience pain, tiredness, hunger, jet lag etc. again. If the world is at war and there is trouble everywhere you turn; soon the Prince of Peace will come and 'every knee will bow' to Him (Phil. 2:10).
This was also something that I felt while I was in London. I guess I had some pretty imaginative expectations of what it would be like (being 'mother England' and all) which were smashed basically as soon as I got there. I just wanted to leave; the overcrowding and rude people were just horrible. But I figured that I was only going to be there for two years, and then I get to go home. Two years... one hundred weeks... it's not really that long. It's manageable. Then I realised, this is like our life. We're only on this planet for a short time, in the grand scheme of things. And then, if we have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, we all get to go home.
Today (Sunday) we all went to church and I got to catch up with Lisa, Song-Hui, Regina and Kirill for lunch. It doesn't feel all that long since I left; but then again, it feels like ages. But there is something really cool about getting together with Christian friends, because there is a spiritual bond that is like no other. We really are family, and the relationships that we have will continue in the next life as well. When David and Inma picked me up I was obviously grinning like an idiot because they asked me why I was so happy (this being the day after my plane ordeal). The only thing I could say was, 'Because I didn't think I'd get to see you guys again until the Millennium...'
This is the way I want to live - to have an eternal perspective about things. So what if parliament is passing stupid laws; one day soon Jesus will be ruling and everything will be right. If I am sick, or someone I know is sick; soon we will have our resurrection bodies and never have to experience pain, tiredness, hunger, jet lag etc. again. If the world is at war and there is trouble everywhere you turn; soon the Prince of Peace will come and 'every knee will bow' to Him (Phil. 2:10).
This was also something that I felt while I was in London. I guess I had some pretty imaginative expectations of what it would be like (being 'mother England' and all) which were smashed basically as soon as I got there. I just wanted to leave; the overcrowding and rude people were just horrible. But I figured that I was only going to be there for two years, and then I get to go home. Two years... one hundred weeks... it's not really that long. It's manageable. Then I realised, this is like our life. We're only on this planet for a short time, in the grand scheme of things. And then, if we have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, we all get to go home.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
How to get to California
Boy, what a day...
Left Wellington at 4 pm to Auckland and then on to San Francisco. I remembered I had a complimentary lounge pass as part of my frequent flyer reward package, which expires in April, so I used it at Auckland, mainly just to see what it's all about. Uncomfortable chairs, loud-mouth Americans, and free food.
The flight to San Francisco was all fine except when it came time to land. The pilot had to abort his attempt because of severe wind shear, and we were diverted to Los Angeles. At which point we had to sit on the ground for about 2 hours while they decided what to do... Then they were saying we would have to wait another 2 hours for clearance into San Francisco, after which point the crew would have worked longer than is safe (18 hours), so they weren't sure what they were going to do about that. Anyway about 15 minutes after that announcement they came back and said we were cleared to leave immediately, so off we went.
When we finally landed at San Francisco there was a lot of clapping and cheering!! Then we had to wait forever for customs and bags, because everybody else had been delayed too so they had loads of flights all coming in at once.
Finally made it out to Stanford; now I am completely knackered and off to hit the sack.
Left Wellington at 4 pm to Auckland and then on to San Francisco. I remembered I had a complimentary lounge pass as part of my frequent flyer reward package, which expires in April, so I used it at Auckland, mainly just to see what it's all about. Uncomfortable chairs, loud-mouth Americans, and free food.
The flight to San Francisco was all fine except when it came time to land. The pilot had to abort his attempt because of severe wind shear, and we were diverted to Los Angeles. At which point we had to sit on the ground for about 2 hours while they decided what to do... Then they were saying we would have to wait another 2 hours for clearance into San Francisco, after which point the crew would have worked longer than is safe (18 hours), so they weren't sure what they were going to do about that. Anyway about 15 minutes after that announcement they came back and said we were cleared to leave immediately, so off we went.
When we finally landed at San Francisco there was a lot of clapping and cheering!! Then we had to wait forever for customs and bags, because everybody else had been delayed too so they had loads of flights all coming in at once.
Finally made it out to Stanford; now I am completely knackered and off to hit the sack.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Thursday
Well, the bush walk was something a bit different from hanging around home - a shame every man and his dog had to be there too, but there's not a lot you can do about that. 'Rivendell' was rather disappointing. Of course, we all knew there was nothing left of the set, but there was nothing even to say where it was, no signs, nothing. Ok, one sign, but it was not very informative.
The bike ride with people from church fell through too as everybody else found something better to do with their Thursday. Actually it was pretty windy today so it was just as well we didn't go. Instead Mum and I went to see a movie: 'I am Legend' (opening day in NZ). Freaky... no other word for it. I confess, I had to close my eyes for a few bits in it. I just hope I don't have nightmares. Moral of the story: make sure you keep a grenade in your lab. You never know when you might need it.
Flying out to California tomorrow afternoon and I still haven't packed!
The bike ride with people from church fell through too as everybody else found something better to do with their Thursday. Actually it was pretty windy today so it was just as well we didn't go. Instead Mum and I went to see a movie: 'I am Legend' (opening day in NZ). Freaky... no other word for it. I confess, I had to close my eyes for a few bits in it. I just hope I don't have nightmares. Moral of the story: make sure you keep a grenade in your lab. You never know when you might need it.
Flying out to California tomorrow afternoon and I still haven't packed!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year
Well, 2008 is here...
New Year's Eve was quiet for me. I didn't even stay up for midnight. I was tired... plus I have to get as much sleep as possible before heading off to the States on Friday.
So it was a low and slow day, just relaxing at home, listening to some Bible study sermons and some day-to-day stuff. I guess I should start packing soon.
Today the plan is to go on a bush walk to 'Rivendell' - somewhere up near Kaitoke. I'm guessing if they took building equipment and cameras and the rest up there, it should be pretty easy to find... then again, maybe not!
New Year's Eve was quiet for me. I didn't even stay up for midnight. I was tired... plus I have to get as much sleep as possible before heading off to the States on Friday.
So it was a low and slow day, just relaxing at home, listening to some Bible study sermons and some day-to-day stuff. I guess I should start packing soon.
Today the plan is to go on a bush walk to 'Rivendell' - somewhere up near Kaitoke. I'm guessing if they took building equipment and cameras and the rest up there, it should be pretty easy to find... then again, maybe not!
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