Accolades for Kersti

Well, apparently the 20+ hours I spent on the poster below paid off because my professor was so pleased he gave me a very high score and asked for a copy of it to distribute to certifiers that accredite the Urban Design degree program. He even offered to pay for it! But alas, I thought charging would be a it over the top. Anyway, I know you can't read it but you can still see the pretty colours :)

Party at the Aquarium!

Kersti and I took a break from our work to go the Post Graduate Ball for Melbourne Uni students this weekend. It was held at the Melbourne Aquarium, a truly amazing venue. They kept most of the aquarium open, so we had full access to view all the fishies while enjoying tasty food and drinks. It did make us feel very nouveau riche. Kersti had a beautiful dress appropriate for the 'Atlantis' theme, on loan from our friend Kristen. I was a bit loopy, as I was on several medications, but I managed to be a passable date.

Outside the aquarium looking at the Yarra River.

Look out Kersti, there's a snake behind you!

That's an oyster shot. I couldn't convince Kersti to down one, but I did enjoy one. -- In my defense, it was disgustingly large and was so big it stuck in the glass. When I managed to get it out, my mouth filled with salt water and I nearly lost my cookies. I 'politely' spat it back into the glass and left it on a table. Ick.

In front of the tanks.

A giant ray passing overhead.

Our friends Lindsay and Lisanne.

Our friend Jane with the fireballs from the Crown Casino in the background.

What have I been up to you may wonder?

Well, studying buidings like this one... the Rialto Towers and it's contribution, or lack there of, to the public realm. Today there was not a cloud in the sky (for about 20 minutes)... and I took a shot of this bird, though the office building happend to be there too. The office where I work is directly across the street from the blue towers, though out of the picture).

I have also turned into a full time poster maker... here are the latest:

My investigation of Box Hill, a suburb in the outskirts of melbourne (these were ~11x17 each)

and my monster A1 poster on the proposed redevelopment of an empty block in downtown Melbourne is too big a file to post here... so sad, it took forever.

Spring?

Good news for me and Billy, the weather seems to be taking a turn for the better. While there's still a crispness to the air, some trees are starting to blossom and we are actually seeing the sun for at least a few hours a day. Phew!

On Saturday we went for a run in Princes Park next door and the weather was perfect -- we were rapturous :) We watched the Ormond girls play 'chicks footy', which is really just girls playing Australian Rules Football quite aggressively and without mercy. The tackles were quite bruttal! But we cheered them on and ran on home...

Billy sat on the patio in the sun for a wee bit, but then a few hours later it was raining... ah, Melbourne.

Anyway, life has not been very fun lately. I have been completely overwhelmed with assignments, been tortured by my maniacal Property Investment lecturer's excel spreadsheets, stared at the computer screen for 14 hours a day and not resting easy. I've even developed some sort of stress related stomach ache that causes me to be nauseous all day and night long. So you might remember that not long ago I enjoyed blissful, stressless days? Well, sadly, I have joined the ranks of the working-hard-class... it's probably about time.