Krazy Krystal's Laboratory

Things

Holding a cup of flowerpot tea, warming my five degree hands, typing on my shiny new laptop (craiga you are the bestest!) Wireless broadband is also the bestest (or second bestest) and if it gets much colder, which it will, i will be emailing from the comfort of my doona, which I will. Or quilt. I am back to saying quilt. When i was little i had a quilt, at some point it mutated into a duvet, then a doona and now the wheel has come full circle and it is again my quilt keeping me warm from the world. My wool quilt that is, which arrived with all the other boxes of stuff. The final link to home. My possessions are again fully in my possession. It was so strange unwrapping the sheets of The Age from May to find my trinkets safe inside. Smell is such a powerful emotive trigger. Maia sent me the tea and when i opened the packet, it was like i was standing in her kitchen again. Only one minor detail. Oh, and all my clothes smelt like vanilla.

The definition of early has become 7 pm. Late is 11 pm. I am not talking about bed time. One night sitting at the flow cytometry machine I decided to be left handed. Note to self: It looks bad to fill in the log book of expensive equipment that uses powerful lasers with handwriting resembling that of a four year old. It makes the technical support staff nervous. I still think I should have been left handed. My mum swears she always held the crayons out to us equidistant between both our hands so we could choose. I always thought I was left-footed at soccer and gym. Sometimes I just forget. Like the other day i was at the cash point (read: ATM) and it seemed a little tricky. I couldn't work out why i was being so slow till i realised i was doing all the pushing and pointing with the wrong hand. Perhaps I should develop my ambidextrous abilities. Or get more sleep. Or both.

Autumn leaves on trees, piled on the street corner, in our office. A cold stillness that is dry and quiet, almost holy, seen only in the fog of breath and the red of cheeks. A cold that purifies your lungs and makes everything seem more alive, even as it dies. The season is flavoured with ginger and cinnamon, toffee apples and pumpkins. Summer time has ended and the daylight is hugging itself in tighter. Luckily I work best under simulated nocturnal conditions, the sunlight always drains my brain and everything is in sharper focus in the darkness. Must be all the fluorescent light. Contrast is important.

My recently acquired technology cache also includes a web-cam, finally I too can be a movie star. I am not at all natural on film. Even less than in real life. Always the performer. And completely self-absorbed. I swore to myself that I will never do multiple takes, but my vanity does occasionally kick in. Oh ! Have you ever done that thing where you photocopy something and then copy the copy and then copy that copy and then copy that copy and then copy that copy and then copy that copy and then see what you get? Well i did this bizarre thing where I videoed myself watching a video of me, and then I watched the video of that whilst videoing myself, and then watched the video of that whilst videoing myself, and so on for about eight generations. It was interesting. And boring. And fascinating. And dull. All at the same time. If this whole scientist game doesn't work out for me, then maybe I'll be a digital installation artist. And film myself filming myself on film. And write deep and insightful paragraphs on placards and stick them on the gallery wall next to the flat screen. And only wear pashminas that match my shoes.

In short: Life is running at a baseline level of good.

posted by Dr Krystal @ 10:25 pm