The sun is red ….

ash drifts down from the sky and an entire country cries. The fires are slowly dying down but not fast enough.

Bushfire

The temperature had reached 46 degrees and Peter and I were congratulating ourselves on the decision to stay where there was air conditioning instead of spending the weekend in Beechworth. As we walked into Leo’s (a grocery store) we noticed that a thick column of smoke, greasy blue along the edges and yellow brown in the center, rose over the hills of Melbourne.  Bushfire. Wow, it’s so close, where is it? We speculated as we gathered ingredients for dinner deciding to check the news later. I didn’t think it would be that bad. I am from the Pacific Northwest, we have raging forest fires and everyone goes about their day but here it is terrifyingly different. The forests are so dry from the drought years, eucalyptus shed bark and branches at an amazing rate and it goes up in flames like it has been soaked in petrol.

It was worse than bad, it looked like the end of the world, a war zone, the inferno found in hell. Sadly this weekend has seen the worst bushfires in the history of European settlement in Victoria. At the time of writing this the towns of Maryville, Narbathong and Kinglake has been wiped out, burnt to the ground with no building left standing. Entire towns no longer exist and sadly many of the residents as well. The death toll has risen to 108 people with more than 5000 people not only homeless but with absolutely nothing but the clothing they had on. No wallet, no id, no precious things and sometimes no family, no pets. It’s not even over, fires are still raging and the bodies of people that didn’t make it out of their houses, that died trying to escape in their cars are going to be found for weeks. Terribly, it is thought that some of the fires were set by arsonists and some fires have been restarted by arsonists after the firemen have put them out.

I cannot begin to describe how tragic and moving this incident is. The news from a Whittlesea emergency center showed a man break down in tears while talking to Kevin Rudd, the prime minister. Mr. Rudd won my eternal respect for wrapping his arms around the man and letting him cry on his shoulder. How many heads of state would do that, how many would be there, without security surrounding them, comforting people in this most basic of ways.

I know that most (if not all) of the people who read this are poor, either students or suffering from the economy, but should anyone want to help please check the following website:

Red Cross Australia

Salvation Army

For updates on the fires:

The Age

Deliciously Warm reaches Searing Hot

Melbourne has been enjoying a week or so of wonderfully warm days in the mid to upper 20s and even a day of 34 but today it was so hot that breathing through your mouth turned your tongue into parched leather in two inhales. Your lips wrinkle and crack and your skin, even though you know you are sweating, is bone dry. The only place that the sweat is not instantly evaporated from is the shaded valley between your breasts and the dip at the top of your ass.  Today, according to The Age weather page, it got to 41 degrees Celsius, 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

The temp itself isn’t enough to cause the instant dehydration of living tissue, it’s the North wind coming off of the vast desert that forms the heart of Australia. The northerlies have only just started to blow here and even the sounds they make is dry. Rustling of shed reptile skin, grains of sand rubbing across flat tables of stone and over the tops of dunes,  dry leaves tumbling across the ground, all of these can be heard in the sound of the north wind through a eucalypt tree. And the smell….warm dust with a hint of Vic’s vapo rub.

I love every second of it.

Being a Social Scaredy Cat and a Sheared Sheep

Looking back on the week I am having a hard time having a clear recollection of any particular day. Each one blurs into the next, all of them spent sitting long hours in front of my PC at work trying not to cuss at it too loudly and trying to keep some kind of upbeat attitude. I have had a hard time as a PhD student keeping myself feeling like I can do it. I compare myself to other students and I wonder if I have the drive it takes to do this. Now that I am a few years in (Sept 2008 would be the beginning of year 3 I think) I feel like I have to finish. And it’s not just the time investment but proving to myself that I can. I never feel smart enough but I know I am. I just need to find the drive that I had for my undergrad work. I will complete my course work in the 2009-2010 year and then spend the next year writing my thesis, hopefully from Australia. So I try to keep my chin up, not beat myself up too terribly, cry when I can’t take feeling stupid, and try to get some good work done while I am here.

A few days do stand out. Tuesday was my first 39 degree day. The wind was from the north, off of the desert, so dry it smelled of eucalyptus from the leaves that were being dehydrated as it blew over them. I loved every second of it. Thursday I rode up to Bendigo with Matt, Graeme, Anne and Michelle to talk to the DSE office up there about a program to encourage farmers to care better for their native grasslands. I saw a pair of zebra finches, a brown falcon and a distant sighting of a little eagle.

Socially this week has presented it’s own special hell for me. Firstly I had to bite the bullet and meet the thoroughly intimidating Jane Elith. She is an amazingly intelligent woman with a hugely busy schedule and yet is still willing to teach me her boosted regression tree technique. God, please let me not look like an idiot.  That went over pretty well though beyond arranging when I would come to her office (Thursdays and Fridays for the rest of my stay) and what I wanted to do most of the meeting was her, Matt and Graeme chatting (Hurray, they were my heroes for taking me over there though hopefully they didn’t realize how terrified I was). So I survived that encounter and followed it up with dinner at Matt’s house with Peter. While I know and like Matt I haven’t really spent much time in a social situation with him and I would be meeting his partner, Deb, and their family and a friend. So all in all I was feeling a bit nervous. I was relieved to discover that Deb was a beautiful and lovely person, friendly and very comfortable as was their friend Owen (say owen and that’s exactly what my name sounds like from an aussie). It wound up being one of the best evenings I’ve had in Australia.

New Hair Cut

As for being a sheared sheep…. I couldn’t hack it anymore. I had to get my haircut. I was hoping to make it the entire time but it just wasn’t going to work, my hair was driving me mad! I made an appointment at a rather posh looking salon right downtown in Melbourne, Geisha. It was a very nice establishment and everyone there seemed qualified. Renee, my stylist, was very professional and she really did do a good job but there wasn’t the instant rapport that I have with Alex at Wack in Portland. Alex has an amazing ability to understand my desire for elegant but edgy, feminine but not girly. Sadly Renee just got the edgy bit I think. It is really short in the back. Really really really short Fortunately my hair grows quickly so it will be long enough for Alex to salvage when I get home. First stop after Portland airport…Wack Salon!

Lane

Before and after my appointment I walked around Downtown a bit and just enjoyed the people. The area is riddled with these little lanes, packed with cafes and boutiques. Every alley and dumpster is covered with wonderful graffiti and stencil work that the city finally gave up trying to get rid of and now embraces.

I do find that shopping by yourself isn’t really that much fun. I need to find a girlfriend or a guyfriend that is into shopping. I love the clothes and the style here though they are a bit fussy for the laid back vibe of the northwest. Women here dress up (by our standards) every night and they love their high hells heels.

Today (sunday) I am returning to cycling. My ass bones have finally healed enough that I can sit without feeling like it’s torture and I am really craving a ride. (This is very strange for me but I am not going to question it) I love cycling, who knew? Going to ride to the boat house and rent a kayak and paddle for an hour then ride home. What a perfect day.

Love you all!