Mozzie bites and memories

Do the holidays seem like they happened ages ago? Does it feel like all you have left of the holiday are mozzie bites and memories? Or are you still feeling upbeat and energised? For me, this has been a very long seeming week... and I miss having my family around. BUT, it is a whole new year!

It is 2017 and (that's ridiculous and insane and where does the time go?) the New Year gives you the opportunity to reflect on life and decide what you like and what you would like to change. It puts a full stop on the previous year, whether good or bad (even if it is a totally artificial full stop given that the 2016 day isn't extraordinarily different to the 2017 day). It gives people, organisations and countries a chance to reset their stats and try better for the year and stops the list of famous people that have died in 2016 (thank goodness). 

If you are looking for New Year's Resolutions (it really is never too late) think about becoming a revolutionist by cutting out/down on meat.  If you haven't already (and I can't imagine why not) commit to eating only sustainable seafood (check out SASSI green list or look for the MSC logo). And of course, you have already stopped using personal care products with microplastics but maybe you now want to make sure you diligently use reusable shopping bags or stop using straws (which I am all for, but it is tricky with milkshakes, so if anyone wants to buy me a reusable steel - one that's actually washable - my birthday is coming up... and so are most people's because there have only been 13 days of birthdays this year.)

Don't forget to use water as if you were paying for it - which you ARE but people don't seem to think like that (seriously, who leaves the tap running when brushing teeth - why does that even come up as a water saving tip?) You really learn to value water when it is no longer available... and that will be the reality if we don't meet the water saving targets. (El Nino might be over, but climate change isn't, and less rain is a reality of our future and "water-shedding" might be too.)

And, if you are already a Planeteer...  resolve to not let the horrible people get you down and focus on being a good example of inclusivity, tolerance and kindness. There would be less Trump in the world if people took a step out of that rat race and opened their arms to life. Do new things, open your mind to possibilities that are different and engage in conversation with people who think differently to you, or just chat with your uber driver - their lives might give yours perspective.  It's a brand shiny new year and there are loads of reasons to be hopeful and happy (just ask Bill Gates - Also, what is bubble tea?)

Find happiness in the small things like a walk on the beach! 

I'm Melting!

If this continues,
I am going to need a swimming pool!
(Whether or not it continues, I regret all the
[warm] days where a pool has been available
and I didn't swim!)

While I am probably on record somewhere saying that I would never complain about heat, it has been unprecedentedly hot lately. I was just opening the blog page and it took longer to load than normal which meant that it was stuck on the picture of water which is my background. I wanted to dive into my computer screen. Yesterday was a landmark day for me because I voluntarily closed the blind of my office window which you will know is crazy behaviour for me (don't worry - the slats are sideways so I can still see outside). 

We know that this is El Nino driven and exacerbated by climate change. The news is full of stories about droughts and Operation Hydrate (great initiative) and how expensive maize and rooibos are going to be. I do have to wonder why, when we knew an El Nino was predicted, we didn't plan in advance? I know drought doesn't seem like a thing you can plan for, but when it is predicted? Could the water restrictions been enforced before the drought started? Could South Africans not have invested in water tanks? I think we all realise that these hot temperatures and low rainfalls aren't going anywhere - yes, there will be respites - BUT we do know what the climate change predictions for South Africa will be so can we start planning ahead?

Can we start to start to anticipate instead of react? I know there are already some great initiatives but I think we need to keep the momentum from the days leading up to COP21 going. I hope all the climate change deniers are realising that this isn't just a patch of weird weather... these El Nino years are a practice run for the future.

My brain doesn't work in 40C heat and my skin definitely can't cope so what can we do? Some of you might, but I don't have the budget for solar panels and water tanks (and I live in a block of flats with very different priorities - not super proud of my block lately) but, leading up to the local elections later this year, I can ask our local politicians what they are doing in their neighborhoods to a) decrease carbon emissions and b) to mitigate against the impacts (especially if you live in Fishhoek + surrounds) - but take what ever they say with a pinch of salt because it is an election year so keep the pressure on!


P.S. This is the most important issue - Cartoons capture it all

Bit early - NYE Resolutions

So, the end of the year is coming at break neck speed. I am pretty excited because I know I have a job for January - so next year won't start out with me feeling lost and panicked... I have gotten sidetracked already... This blog came about because one of my friends sent me this link, hoping to inspire me to make the most of time but it also made me a little sad.

Say I live until 85... and pretend I am already 33...
It sounds depressing but read on for why I worked
this out. 

While I am excited about 2016 and the possibilities it brings, there are some things in my life I still need to change. A lot of these things are hangovers from the PhD - I know that's crazy because it has been a long time since I finished with that - but it really impacted on how I spend my time. From the start of my MSc I didn't really have a holiday, weekend or evening that I didn't spend working or feeling guilty about not working. (Since I am not all that diligent, the guilty probably outweighed the actually time spent working). It is a little bit exhausting feeling guilty all the time. 

Let's say I read a book a week... That's a lot of books still
to read which is pretty cool... but there are always so
 many books out there...
Let me know what you recommend!
Also - approximately
the number of chocolates I will get to eat
(blush - another NYR could be required)...
I wouldn't want to do this with glasses of wine.

Especially during my PhD, I limited what TV series and movies I allowed myself to watch (this means that while I frequently sit awkwardly in conversations about pop culture I have never heard of, I can/do quote the series I did watch more than anyone I know - go on, ask me about Harry Potter or How I Met Your Mother (but not the last season because it was a disappointment)...), I felt guilty if I went out. It meant that I didn't exercise as often as I should - this is a crazy thing because exercise would probably have helped my body cope with stress but it isn't something I enjoy so I would hardly prioritse is in a time-limited world - right? This left me feeling unfit and disinclined to join social activities  that required exercise - a real downward spiral. Oh, I also didn't have much money, so while there are some types of exercise I do enjoy, I didn't feel like I could spend money on it. Do you know, at one stage I stopped reading books - can you imagine?? (Actually, I remember when I was doing my MSc and had field work on Robben Island, I used to love that on the ferry trip over there I had 45 minutes of guilt free reading - because I really couldn't do anything else - which is crazy because that should not have been the only time I was doing my favourite favuorite thing.)

And say I get to go to a new country every year...
53 pins seemed a lot but it was tricky to place them
and lots of pins in Europe (sorry Australia). 

Anyway, this is not limited to PhD-ers of course. People are always busy! How often do you find that it has been weeks or months since you have spoken to, never mind seen the people that you really really care about? And it isn't that it is anyone's fault, it is just a fact of hectic life and geography. I hate the the time I can spend with the people I love is limited. For me, it never feels like enough. BUT, it is the festive season/year end so not a time for sadness but active reflection: it is important that when you are with people you love that you are truly PRESENT, that you make the most of it, that you embrace every moment and treasure it (even if the moment is annoyance or frustration or impatience - because Inside Out (yes, I watch movies these days) teaches us that all emotions are important).



The link summarises with three pieces of advise: 1) Live in the same place as the people you love 2) prioritise and 3) quality matters. I can't do much about 1, I have people I love all over the world and I am sure that most people have the same problem, but you can do something about 2 and 3.

53 Christmas Trees to decorate and Enjoy

So, as you spend time with your families this festive season, be grateful you are together (even over Skype/Whatsapp/Email - technology is pretty awesome) and be present! Go swimming, eat ice cream, SMILE, listen properly and laugh sincerely and drink only good quality wine/champagne! Gosh, I sound like a hallmark card... cringe. Seriously, my 2016 resolutions are to prioritse the people and relationships in my life, to exercise (but only the fun types of exercise), to be present and to have FUN - and to continue trying to save the world of course!!!

I have over 19 thousand days to make the most of... how about you?? And I am going to start by making the most of my awesome family (which is obviously the most awesome family in the world) all being together, so I might not write for a while, happy festive season!!!  

Magic Faraway Tree

Authentic photo of my view -
can you spot the magic faraway tree?

There is a tree that I can just see out the window (if I lean back and swivel a little) of my office in Kirstenbosch. It is weirdly taller than everything around it. I could, I suppose walk to it one day to see if it is because it is on a little mound or if it really is just huge, but I like to think of it as just a huge tree looking down at all the other trees. When I started here, it was bare of leaves and stood out like a majestic Winter Monarch. (Although in those days, I wasn't at the window desk so I had to walk over to the window to see it or go upstairs for tea - but it was Winter so I was drinking lots of tea). Even without leaves it was striking but as what passes for Spring in Cape Town approached, it started to get those light almost neon green leaves, just a scattering at first and then over all its fingers. Now, not only does the sun shine finally shine through the window, but the tree is covered in a thick coat of dark green and stands out against the lush mountain slopes behind it.

I know that that was a long paragraph to describe a tree, but the thing is I have become quite fond of that tree. And not just the tree, but having an office on the side of a mountain that is as moody as it is beautiful. I love being able to predict how long from when the rain starts falling that the waterfall will start cascading down the ravine - that is of course when I can see the mountain through the clouds. I love that during the course of the day the shadows seem to highlight different portions of the mountain (although I didn't love it when the sun disappeared completely at 3 pm in the depths of Winter).  I love that the trees right on the top of the mountain look like Lego trees and that the rocks change colour. I want to giggle gleefully every time I drive home because I have the mountain on my right and the whole of Cape Town spread out for me on the left (it is also good in the morning when the Stellenbosch mountains are waking up with the sun - but I tend to be more distracted in the morning). On that note though, I also LOVE that the drive here is so short and that finding parking is so easy!  I also love having my office to myself (at least some of the time) and that I get to write on a big white board in four different colours!!!

All this exuberant happiness is bubbling to the surface because it is SUMMER! This part of the year feels a little like downhill cycle (I have not been on a bicycle for ten years, blush, but I remember liking that feeling) towards (dare I say it?) Champagne season. To be completely honest, this has been a tough week, I have found the protests personally emotionally draining for reasons I can't quite articulate because I have not been involved in them or directly affected by them (nor do I want to comment on them so I am going to stop there). I  have been rejected from another job post interview - which is quite a feat actually because I have only applied for two things since starting at IOI-SA, maybe it was three. And I have started to realise that soon I am going to have to acknowledge that my end of contract date (24 December) isn't that far away and I need to be proactive about finding work (AGAIN).   

Summer sunset concerts and long sunshiny days

And YET, these warm long days fill me with happiness. Soon I will be going to visit my folks for long walks on the beach and two of my favourite friends that I haven't seen in far too long will also be there. One of my favourite friends from Canada is also in town at the moment for a conference which is really exciting. I also feel like people start to come out of hibernation (or maybe it is just that I come out of hibernation) and start organising things to make the most of the fabulous weather, the very air starts to smell of braai smoke, jasmine and sunshine. There are exciting things happening in town, the open air movies, summer sunset concerts and because it is an El Nino year we might even be able to swim in the sea without loosing toes (I am trying to find a tiny positive in a global weather phenomenon that is likely to cause drought and possibly other horrible things that I am not insensitive to I promise!) And then, (dare I actually say it) there is Christmas in 9 weeks and my family will be together which is the most anyone could ask Santa for (but looking forward to the pool and braais and champagne too!) 

So, with sunscreen on, let's make the most of the sunshine and happiness... (Regardless what happens on Saturday evening - but holding thumbs for a Bok win!)

Happy days

Beautiful Benji in the holiday spirit

It is that time of year... I am heading off to KZN and intermittent internet so will not be posting much but will hopefully get some pictures up of "THE BIG DAY" which is... can you imagine.... tomorrow!!!!!!!

Today there is lunch with the Vice Chancellor and various other important people that I have obviously never had any dealings with before and tomorrow is "THE BIG DAY". I feel weirdly stressed out about it, but I imagine that will fade once I have the red cape... wait... RED CAPE! I am also not sure what to expect from this lunch, so hopefully, in between drinking lots of champagne, wine, cocktails and long walks on the beach (where the water is warm enough to swim in - if you can drag yourself away from the champagne, wine and cocktails) I will get a chance to tell you about "THE BIG DAY" and (probably slightly cringey) lunch. 

Meanwhile, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Take a break and enjoy spending time with your family and switch off the stress a little! (I am still trying to figure out how to do that, but I think the change of scenery will help!) 

Sunscreen hot!

So this has been a busy week, rushing to meet last month's deadlines and feeling a little stressed. It is also really hot and all I want to do is live in a bubble of that moment when you have just pushed off from the side of the pool, before you take a stroke, and the water is still and clear and the world is a sparkling blue... sigh... (Sorry to my northern hemisphere readers +Tessa Hampton ). 

Anyway, so I am going to cheat and use someone else's words in my blog post today. I have recently been reminded (by a truly awesome penguinologist) of the lyrics to a song. I say reminded, but truly snippets of the song are always in the back of my head. There are things, (movies, HIMYM, songs, books, conversations etc) that impact my life disproportionately to what you would expect or even what they should. This song is one of those things. The words are based on an article written by Mary Schmich (according to the all-knowledgeable wiki) and Baz Luhrman made it into "Everybody's Free (to wear Sunscreen)" or more popularly: "The Sunscreen Song". 

"Wear Sunscreen

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ‘97…Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked…You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’r ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you recive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wantd to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75^th wedding anniversary…whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you’ll never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you, fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time it’s 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…"

P.S. I can honestly say I dance in my living room and have never thrown away a letter from an ex love. I am a sunscreen Nazi and my hair is pretty much left to its own devices because I am terrified of ruining it.  I consider Johannesburg and Cape Town the South African equivalents of New York and North California, although I would love to visit both of those parts of the world. My siblings and my parents are my favourite people in the world, I would be lost without them. There are bits of the song I need to still work on, and I am not sure about doing something that scares me every day, but at the moment I am doing the #100happydays challenge and taking a picture of something that makes me happy everyday. And maybe today it should be birthday tea... or a swim in the sea... or the pool... or sending off two of my chapters to the supervisorials.

Weekend on the horizon... 

Divine City

In Kirstenbosch Gardens

Today, I am just going to indulge in some of the awesomeness that living in Cape Town brings! Cape Town. The New York Times voted it the best city to visit; UCT was voted the third most beautiful campus in the world. And I live here and go to UCT! RAD! I am one of the luckiest person in the world and so are many of my friends and blog readers (theoretically, I can actually tell the countries my blog has been accessed from - which is just amazing really - and since it is mostly South Africa, I am presuming there are Cape Townians in there.) 

View  of Robben Island from Signal Hill 

This year, Cape Town is World Design Capital... and I am not entirely sure what that means. I do know that it means that they are encouraging people to explore and appreciate everything that Cape Town has to offer, which is a concept I can definitely get behind. Here are some of the reasons that I have left my desk over the last couple of weeks. 

Camps Bay taken with my BB

It is summer!!! How amazing is the sunshine? The sun is going down late (~8pm today) so you can still put in a full day of work and have time to enjoy Cape Town in the evening. Just 12km from UCT is Camps Bay, a ridiculously beautiful beach with sand so white and soft it should be illegal... BUT if the water is too cold, drinks too expensive and the crowd too hipster for you there's Muizenberg (23km from UCT but an easy train ride away). The water is deliciously warm and if you are feeling brave you can try surfing the reliable and small-enough-to-not-be-daunting waves (I say that, but I am still too scared to try it). Judging from the lovely restaurants along the beach front, (there's an ice cream place, Primi and Knead that I noticed) and in the area (there's a great Indian place just around the corner from the beach front that has delicious food but no card facilities), and how busy the market is on Friday nights, Muizenberg is becoming a more and more popular place to hang out. 

From Signal Hill looking at Lions Head

Table Mountain - of course - but if you are feeling too poor to take the cable car and too exhausted or don't have the time to trudge (shudder) up, there are great vistas from the road too the cable station, which I was reminded of when I dropped my couch surfer off up there. And there are also great views from the easily accessible Signal Hill.

Oh, and, host a couch surfer; they are generally awesome people and will give you a chance to be a bit of the tourist in the name of doing a good deed. 

Kirstenbosch! The most beautiful spot for live music, any music of course, but this year I was lucky enough to see my favourite band, the Parlotones (it is TRUE love) and am looking forward to Freshly Ground thanks to my super organised friends that buy tickets in advance. Usually I am too disorganised and they are both concerts that get sold out quickly. This will only be the second time I am seeing Freshly Ground and the first time was only little over a month ago at the Mandela Celebration event. 

With the CHAN cup happening I have also managed to visit our beautiful Cape Town stadium a couple of times. South Africa vs Mali was a little quiet but the South Africa vs Nigeria game was nail biting and the crowd was amazing. Even though we lost, it was such an awesome atmosphere the you couldn't feel too sad about the result

If you feel the need for some culture, the Maynardville's Shakespeare is a treat. Don't worry about trying to understand the Shakespearean English, the cast are excellent and will suck you in and carry you through the story with ease. Richard is wickedly magnificent in this year's Richard III, and even in this heavy, tragic story the cast elegantly deliver the witty lines that the brilliant bard has thrown in  to break the tension. (Organise to picnic before and take more clothes and blankets than you think you will need. Read the synopsis or the Phillipa Gregory novels before hand just to make sure you don't miss anything). 

Watch the sun go down at
Llandudno. 

OK so that, just some of the things that I have been up to in my resolution to make most of the summer sunshine. There are also many awesome markets, that fall variously along the hipster spectrum; so if you need a caffeine fix to get you working, you may as well get it from somewhere exciting. There are mountains to climb (shudder), dams to swim in, beaches to explore and wine farms to escape to. There is also the cricket to look forward to... If you want to escape the heat, the aquarium will sooth even the most frazzled mind (once you get past how expensive it is on your PhD budget!) 

Coffee... or high tea at the Mount Nelson
if you are feeling fancy and flush

There are also loads of awesome places to eat and drink when you just can't look at another paper anymore. I have the imagination of a flea so always tend to end up at Banana Jam - because I know it is reliably fabulous and they have cocktails and craft beer and happy hour from 5-6 daily; Forries - because it is close to UCT; or, the Waterfront - because I know it is cheesy, but whenever I go there I feel like I am on holiday and that has to be a good thing. Even though I never get around to it, it excites me that there are so many places in Cape Town to still explore. 

My favourite beach
I can't risk telling you where it is.

But GO, GO now before the hordes of undergraduates descend. GO, GO because you never know where you will be next year so try make the most of where you are today. GO, GO because winter will come, and it will rain and then you will be sad you didn't go when the days were long and the sun was shining.  GO, GO but make sure you wear sunscreen! (Thanks Jessica) I am off to spend the evening in the lovely Simonstown with one of my Namibian Dolphin friends. I am hoping to say hi to some penguins and maybe (if the water is warm) swim at my favourite beach...

PS If you don't live in Cape Town, come visit!!! I will happily show you around. 

PPS There are awesome things about everywhere, so if you want to tell me about your favourite thing from your home, please do... Maybe I will come and visit. 

.

Cinnamon Sunshine

The most beautiful Christmas
tree I know of belongs to
+Kerri and +Chris  who are
always ridiculously stylish, even
with Christmas bling!

I have missed a couple of Friday blog deadlines, but it has been a time of wine-soaked days interspersed with champagne. Ahhhh Christmas, what a fabulous time of year: a time of nostalgia and sentimentality, family and food not to mention a free pass for cheesy, cheerful household bling in the disguise of Christmas decorations. 

Beautiful tree at Ramsgate home

In South Africa, there is a public holiday on the 16th, and slowly the country winds down, takes a deep breath and slaps on the sunscreen (at least if they are responsible sorts). 

In my part of Cape Town, there is a fabulous period where undergraduates have slipped away, the streets are quiet and there is parking on campus and people are throwing end of year parties; then the tourists start arriving, traffic gets worse and that's my cue to dash off north. (JHB Decembers are fantastically quiet once everyone has evacuated to the beach. We had a little bit of time to enjoy this transformation in JHB before joining the migration coast-ward, to my folks' fabulous home in Ramsgate). 

Before I left Cape Town, I wrestled with the decision of whether of not to take my laptop with me. I hate travelling with it, am really anxious it will get damaged and feel irrationally irritated at having to take it out of its backpack to go through airline security. So, in an unprecedented move, I left it at home and flew to Lanseria (the best airport in the world) laptop-free (I had work with me, I couldn't go cold turkey, it was just on this old school thing called paper). 

Cocktail time in Ramsgate... 

Now I am back in Cape Town, I haven't had an alcoholic beverage since, well, last night actually (but before that it was at least FOUR days!!) I am sitting at my work desk, the cinnamon sunshine days are over and to be honest, I only looked at the papers I took on holiday with me once, and then, briefly. (I have had previous holidays where I did manage to work successfully. There was one Christmas eve on which I frantically finished a chapter and sent it off to the supervisorials but, not this year.) 

Restorative beach walks - just the thing
to help with the "final FINAL push"

I feel OK about this, even now, when I probably need to work harder than any other time. I decided that my time in Ramsgate and JoBurg needed to be about friends and family. I decided that in order to be able to survive this final push, which would be tougher than all previous "final pushes" I needed to stock up on happy moments, walks on the beach and quality, doing-nothing time. I know it sounds terribly self-indulgent, but I think it is important to put aside the GUILT and stress and remind yourself (from time to time) that there is life outside of PhD that needs to be actively appreciated because - even though it feels like it sometimes - your whole life does not revolve around your PhD (or shouldn't!?)

One of my highlights - a month in Lovely
Luderitz with the Dolphin team. 

Now it is the fantastically even-numbered 2014, and this time of year is always ripe with good intentions, sometimes referred to as New Year's Resolutions. We have a (relatively recent) tradition of sitting together and reflecting on highlights from the previous year and WRITING down resolutions for the coming year. I love sitting down, reminding myself of awesome moments from the previous year, that maybe I haven't thought about for a while. It helps remind me, that even in the toughest years, there were truly awesome moments. (I might be wrong, but I think we started this in the year of 'THE break up' and there were many moments of fabulousness in that year too.)

The resolutions are trickier.... I think for the previous three years my biggest resolution has been to finish the PhD and find a job... Each year rolls over, picking up with it more stress, panic and leaving behind a little of my self-esteem. Sadly, this resolution remains in the number one position for this year... but I have a feeling, this is going to be a good, good year!!! And, because life isn't all about the PhD, I have some non-work resolutions too. I think it would be too much to put all of my resolutions up for public scrutiny, but maybe you can help keep me on track for a couple of them (both have been broken this week, but I am not giving up... peer pressure can do wonderful things): 

 - No more pork - pigs are too clever to be food - yes, this includes even bacon!!! (Each grey word is a link to a story about how smart pigs are, there are many more too...)

 - Chocolate will only be consumed on weekends*

 - Go on holiday somewhere fabulous, not as a field trip or conference, just for fun! - accommodation sponsorships are welcome (Jenny ;) )! 

Our truly beautiful country - this is from a farm near Van Reenen

So, I wish you all a very happy, healthy 2014!!! 

May it be a year of champagne and celebrations, 

(pouffey hats and red cloaks)!!!! 

Let's all try to be kind to each other! 

And now on to that final push... 

* And public holidays, and maybe Earth Day, National Marine Week, International Coastal Clean up Day, and other public awareness days.... 

Net-work it

Former Botany Department

This week is the Biodiversity Southern Africa conference at UCT. About a year ago the former Botany (which officially formed in 1903 after starting in the late 1800's) and Zoology (also started in 1903 but with only one person and one room it wasn't something to brag about) departments merged to become the all new Department of Biological Sciences. What did this mean for me and my fellow 'botzoos', not that much, well at least not until the new tea room opened; now we all mingle at 10:30 over restorative tea or coffee from the neon green coffee machine (environmentally friendly - but I haven't used it yet because frankly it's a little intimidating). Until this conference which is to showcase the fab new department and all the amazing work we are doing... No really...

Former Zoology Department
(My office window is the one
with the fab balcony above
the arch! - AWESOME)

I have mentioned before in "added bonus" that conferences are an opportunity to remind yourself how exciting and awesome your field really is. There are people doing really cool, sexy research, and you know, there are probably people that will think you are doing really cool, sexy research because they don't have to deal with the nitty-gritty, brain-numbing, data-punching, 1000-dissections repetitiveness. The conference had a number of really brilliant, inspiring talks. 

Marcus Byrne and the cooler-than-you-would-think dung beetle

After one of the public lectures I was so excited about the work that had been presented I was just buzzing. Marcus Byrne from WITS University gave a presentation entitled "'Jika ne Langa' - Turn with the Sun - Like a Dung Beetle". I was gushing about dung beetles like a teenage girl with a crush after his talk. He has a real gift for making science exciting and engaging his audience. What I particularly like about his research is how real it is. I know that sounds weird, but one of the things that I have always loved about science is the sexy experiment, manipulate the environment this way or that to find out what's causing the patterns you see.

Recently I have felt a little more removed from that so it was nice to see some great experimental research.

Beautiful (but not indigenous) Jacaranda.

Another aspect of it is hearing all the things that still need to be done. It is a different kind of inspiring when you realise that there is so much exciting and (from a conservation point of view) urgent work to be done. People need to do science, good science!!! There is so much we need to know. I took away from the one of the talks is that although we feel frustrated by a lack of changes resulting out of research, some things require patience. John Hoffman of UCT spoke of various biocontrol methods being used to mitigate the spread of alien plant species. From where I sit, we still have a huge problem with alien vegetation, but he convinced me that there has been a remarkable change, it is just that people forget how things were before. My laboured point is, conferences really are a great way to remind yourself how cool your field is. 

Of course, the thing about conferences is, you can't really just sit and soak in other people's work. Chances are, you are going to have to present your own work at some stage too, which many people find to be a nerve-wracking occasion. This may seem like a bad thing, but there are unexpected positives: having to present your work means you will have a hard deadline by which you have to do your work, always useful in a world of procrastination. It also means that  people will finally cotton on to what you are doing (and in my case, hopefully realise that I am no longer working on African Penguins - come on people, it has been 5 years!!!) and maybe even have ideas for you or will remind you that your work is exciting too! If nothing else, I suspect that the more often you present the easier it becomes. There are people better suited to telling you how to ace a talk. (Check out thesis whisperer) I am still trying to figure out how to struggle through these things myself. Of course, the usual hints are redundant because you should know them by now... practice, make eye contact, ooze enthusiasm, avoid slang, don't put too many words on a slide etc. 

I think the biggest unforgivable presentation faux pas is to go over time. Chances are you will be rushing towards the end so are more likely to make mistakes/mumble and no one will be listening to you after your time is up anyway because they are watching the reaction of the session chair or wondering how they can sneak out quietly. Having listened to dozens of presentations, your audience will have little sympathy for you if you trespass on their time for longer than you are allowed. If you practice anything, practice timing.

After the talk, avoid the "I should've...", "I meant to... " self abuse, it is finished and  probably went well. Organise to go to the pub and have a glass of wine (completely out of character I actually had hot chocolate instead but that was because my smart "presenting-dress" was ill suited for the ridiculously cold evening - unexpected in southern hemisphere December.) I tend to agonise over what I should have said, and what I forgot to mention, it isn't a healthy practice. I think, the best is if you have a friend that you can trust to tell you in a nice, non-critical, constructive way whether or not you have any bad habits, but other than that, just put all your post presentation angst in a bubble and blow it away...

Delheim's un-irrigated vineyards. 

As an aside, I was part of the organising committee for this conference which was great because I met and worked with people I wouldn't have otherwise known. It was also good during the conference because on the evening of the cheese and wine I was pouring wine so many more people came to speak to me than I would otherwise have spoken to.

WWF - BWI doing great stuff!

Yummy lunch at Delheim

It also meant that I could suggest/organise (I forget who actually suggested it, but I ended up organising it - with help of course) a field excursion to the winelands as an official outing. (We learnt about the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative and what Delheim is doing to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious, but we also got to drink wine!!!) Actually, I was really impressed with what they are doing, they seem to really care about their impact on the world and aren't just ticking boxes. It is a family farm and they seem very passionate about the environment, and I didn't realise how complicated making wine could be. I would have been convinced that they were cool people just by the number of very happy looking dogs and cats that had the run of the place. So I will leave you with the suggestion that you really should drink more Delheim wine - and since it is Friday afternoon, you may as well start now...

Yummy, guilt-free wine!