February 27, 2011

Sunday in Australia. And I plan to work. I know, I know… Crazy. But there is so much to do before I leave Perth on Tuesday morning! The next leg of my journey (Adelaide and Canberra) will leave me with very little time to write. My friend and colleague, A (an import from Ottawa), who is currently here in Oceania writing up her PhD dissertation at the University of Sydney, commented on my work schedule:

“We will not have you North Americans importing your workaholism nonsense here, thank you very much! When in ‘straaya… crack a beeah and chill out ;)” [I’d have to say that A appears to be quite comfortably embedded in Australian culture.]

No worries, says I! I have cracked many a ‘beeahs’ whilst here. I, too, have taken note of the laid back approach to work and life in Australia. And as A says, “Working and cracking a beeah is not mutually exclusive [in ‘straaya]. In fact, the two often go together…”

Ah, “The Tao of A”! [thanks for the packing tips, too, A]

I am comfortably settled into my work space on the deck-patio-lanai (whatever they call it here) and am ready to buckle down. First on the agenda is to finish up that ‘creatives’ chapter for the ISRN book.

Chicago MLA style of referencing is the bane of my existence. I am an ardent, path-dependent MLA-er (and probably not the most accurate one at that). Where DOES the damnable date go? One source says this, one source says that. Arrgggggg!

The current task at hand is my least favourite of all academic-type tasks. It’s a necessary evil, though.  Mind you, the environment that I get to work in here in Perth is amazing! This is the last day before classes start at UWA. Students have been trickling onto campus and to Trinity College all week. The residence is nearly busting at the seams! Today, the music is blaring and there is a volleyball net and paddling pool set up in the quad. Let the frivolities begin!

By the way, the students have been incredible. Charming, polite, respectful. And I think that I have found a prospective son-in-law in the bunch. Steven is 24 years old, from Bunbury, WA, and works part-time in Trinity’s admin department. He is tall, handsome, athletic and is in third year medicine. He hopes to become a pediatrician.

Sidney Crosby, you have been officially bumped to second place. [I might be in trouble when Tanya reads this! Are you groaning and rolling your eyes yet, my girl?]

Anyway, must return to Chicago-style drudgeries… Perhaps I will run the risk of minor inaccuracies in referencing by washing the task down with a beeah or two.

‘Cause that’s the way work is done in ‘straaya!