Krazy Krystal's Laboratory

There and back again..

Summer in Scotland is a lot like winter in Sydney. Not that I am complaining. I love being able to wear opaque black stockings and tight knit wools in the middle of the day. Really I do. And the low brooding grey sky, it's kinda romantic. Let's just say i needn't have packed my sunglasses.

Glasgow isn't the most photogenic city. When searching for postcards to send back home, the nicest ones I could find featured trees in the park. That was the best they could come up with. Which is surprising considering some of the amazing architecture around, the first UK city that embraced the emerging art nouveau movement of the early 20th century (you can tell I went to the museum huh?). It did feel good to be in a city again though, and I realised what a quiet little country town York is. 14th century walls are nice and all, but in my mind you need to be able to get good coffee and bagels on a saturday morning and find cocktails in funky bars at night, to be a called a city.

The conference was HUGE, over 2000 delegates, but I did manange to bump into a lot of people I know. It was SO NICE to be able to hang out with people from Melbourne, and I did catch up with my ex-boss for a coffee in the 24 hours that he was in town. Why do academics do this to themselves? Fly around the world to spend less time in their destination cities than they did on the plane? It was strange at the end of the conference, a little part of my brain kept thinking that when it ended I would be going home to Melbourne, I keep finding myself wondering where my passport was, and if my flight had been cancelled.. so it did feel a little odd to head home to York.

The best thing about Scotland is the accent! Although i did feel a little bit ESL at times, especially when in a crowed pub, there is something about the northern brogue that makes me a bit weak around the knees. So even though I felt like my IQ had halved at times, I didn't mind too much if I didn't follow the conversation as long as I could just nod and smile and listen to the words falling.

Edinburgh was amazing, the Fringe Festival was on and the place was buzzing! There were street performers, free crazy concerts, people in costume plugging their shows, jugglers, sword swallowers, you name it! The main strip "The Royal Mile" leading up to the castle was just lined with people dressed in outrageous outfits handing out fliers for shows. I got"Bat Boy" the musical from a guy with huge Dracula fangs, "Beckket" from a silent line of 6 men dressed in formal black suit jackets, starched white shirts, bowlers hats.. and calvin kleins. One girl running around appeared to be dressed from head to toe in nothing but bright yellow feather boas. Like she'd mugged big bird or something. Next year I want to come to the festival and wear crazy costumes and stand in the middle fo the Royal Mile and hand out pamphlets saying "There is no show" and "I'm not advertising anything" and "I just like handing out fliers in fancy dress". It'll be great :) I was lucky enough to be in town for the free "Festival in the park" on Sunday, and so I went and hung out in the stand up comedy tent for a while. Saw some funny people and some not so funny people, even some Australian people, Jimoien and Will Anderson, you can be the judge of which category they belong in.

It was nice to come back to York, even though it did feel a bit weird. Home is where your bed is :)

posted by Dr Krystal @ 5:39 pm 0 comments

Your Uncle Travelling Matt

I'm off to the International Congress of Parasitology next week, which is being held just a hop, skip and a jump away in sunny Glasgow. The word sunny is used rather loosely in this context. I'm heading up to Scotland tomorrow to spend the weekend exploring Glasgow, before settling into conference mode for a week's worth of lectures on all the little creatures that cause such hideous tropical diseases. The best bit is that I will get to catch up with some people from Melbourne who are heading over from my former institute! I can't wait to have a drink (or four) with The Polish Dude, and try and track down the elusive Dr. S. It should be lots of fun :)

And on the way back home, I'll be spending the weekend in Edinburgh, and the Fringe Festival is on, so the whole place will be buzzing. I can't wait!

And as for you dear reader, the purpose of this post is mainly to let you know that all will be quiet in Krazy Krystal's Laboratory for the next week or so. So if I don't reply to your emails, comment on your blogs or answer your chat requests, I haven't been half-eaten by Alsatians, I'm in Scotland. The two are very different (or so I hear, having experienced neither personally).
And yes, I have packed my umbrella *giggle*

posted by Dr Krystal @ 7:43 pm 0 comments

Life according to Depeche Mode

Why is it that we often think of ourselves as powerless? Unable to effect change in our lives, at the mercy of circumstance, incapable of doing anything to alter our situation, resigned to the status quo? How many times a day do we shrug and say "oh well, there's nothing I can do about it". I guess this attitude can be helpful at times, because there is no point getting upset about things that are beyond our control. But really, what is beyond your control? There isn't much that you are more in control of than your own life. It's a complete lie that you cannot do whatever you want to do. Sure, there are limits. I mean I would like to levitate, but I haven't quite managed it yet. But we all have choices and options, and I think that I have underestimated exactly how much control I do have over my own situation.

In the immortal words of Martin L Gore "Don't just stand there and shout it, do something about it"

So I'm going to Thailand to meet up with Maia, who happens to be in the general south-east asia vicinity for a conference. It's a bit spontaneous, and a bit crazy, but hey, there's a reason I have the nickname I do :) In exactly one month from today I will be arriving in Bangkok for a week of holidaying in the sun, and I am so excited*

* biggest understatement of 2006 to date

posted by Dr Krystal @ 7:08 pm 2 comments