Today was a good day.
A friend of mine was eagerly awaiting first round university offers with all of the other hopefuls, and it turns out her internal transfer into Griffith University’s Bachelor of Nursing was successful. Congratulations, Rayah!
I’m also so relieved and excited about an email I recieved today. I have been confirmed as a lab demonstrator for first-year anatomy and physiology labs for nursing – I’ve got a decent academic job to carry me through first year at least, as well as continuing my work as a research assistant in the School of Physiotherapy & Exercise Science.
Things are all falling into place, and it feels great. Do I want to say elated?
Yep.
I leave tomorrow morning for Heron Island, and though I’m only going for a very short time (7 days), I will try to get a blog or two in, but not too much – the snorkel beckons!
Iron & Wine
Two jobs during med school! How many hours per week do you think that will entail? I meant to ask you ages ago about your trips to Heron Island; how did you initially become involved in them and are they fully financed by Griffith. My uni also goes there for trips (not sure for research, but I think for conferences and such) and I’d love tag along.
The teaching job will be around 12 hours a week, but the labs are run fortnightly, so that give me a good break. I am only going into the lab one day a week, which will probably be a saturday or sunday.
I became involved with the Heron island group because of my natural curiosity in the lab, apparently. I was noticed and asked to come into the lab and do a little work – it was mitochondrial isolation and purification. After I was successful at that, they asked me to the island. The last two times I’ve been, everything has been payed for me. This time, I’m also getting paid an hourly rate for the work I do there.
It is an amazing place, and if you get the chance to come, do it.
The best jobs are the ones where you would pay them for the privilege if only they hadn’t decided first to pay you instead. Sounds pretty perfect. Just do watch out for those sharks for me, wouldja, Adrian? Thanks.
Congrats on securing the lab position man! That’s a great way to secure some income during the semester. I’ll be hunting around for something to supplement my income, but no idea what yet. Preferably something fun, or brainless, or even both. Or something involving fireworks…
Thanks guys! Well Alison, I have to catch the sharks, so unfortunately contact is something I can’t really avoid. But we came across a cone shell last night, and that was the scariest part of the day by far. Not even the helicopter comes quickly enough to save you from that one.
Futuredoc – fireworks sounds awesome, but as far as I know, there’s nowhere around to work involving fireworks. I will say that there is a chocolate factory in Ashmore. I don’t know about Oompah Loompahs, but there must be a shitstorm of chocolate around
But seriously, when you get here, ask around the university for jobs prosecting cadavers, because they like to get medical students to do that, and you get to cut up bodies while cementing your anatomy knowledge. Win-win!
Hey it’s Roxy again from france it’s been sooooo long . Anyways i still manage to find time to visit a couple of med blogs from time to time. Well I really just wanted to wish you a happy late new year , all the best for 2008 . Congrats on med school i’m sure you’ll do just great you got it in you now all is left to do is work… mmm…well enjoy Heron Island !!
see ya
roxy
I didn’t know if you were serious or not, so I googled cone shells. And then on images. My goodness. But they’re gorgeous–and so varied.
Hi Roxy! I haven’t heard from you in ages, hopefully everything is going well for you. When do you take the concours?
The work at heron is good, but the weather is still really bad, and I have been bitten by something mysterious that is causing my leg to blister. Happy Late New Year to you too!
Alison – I know. They are beautiful, and I love the dark brown cone with white triangles on it, it’s called Conus marmoreus Linnaeus. Wouldn’t you know, on our very first day on the island, the new guy from Finland tried to pick up a shell – and it turned out to be Conus geographus Linnaeus – the most toxic cone shell of them all. Luckily enough of us screamed out “no!” and he pulled back his hand. Walking home, he looked a little admonished and said, “The reef is not so hostile, is it?”
The answer was a blank stare, and a nod.
Incredibly jealous here – my wife and I spent 6 days on Heron as part of our Australian honeymoon, and dream of the day our kids are old enough to take a trip back.
Dude, your kids will love it, which I’m sure you know. We just went out for a quick snorkel to the wreck yesterday, and ended up tracking a loggerhead for a while. Good times.