Sailor Coruscant...

Kurasugite mienai dake sa…

2010-04-28T14:15:00.002+10:00

sigh...

Today's rejection letter is brought to you by The Pennsylvania State University (via Belgium, for some reason).

(Official-sounding note: This might be the last blog post for a while, as I have yet to switch away from blogger and they're shutting down external blogs this week. Also, your comments won't appear here after that point. Bear with me, I'll find time to fix it eventually.)

Oh please, can you help me fix it?

2010-04-21T10:35:00.003+10:00

Marking...

Locate the plane of the galaxy. What features can you see along it?

"Along the plane of the galaxy, there is a pancake of stellar objects surrounding us and we are a raisin embedding along it so all we see around us is pancake."

Someone save me.

watashi wa luna, elegant-na kuro neko...

2010-04-18T13:29:00.006+10:00

Perhaps a more relevant post...

Friday night I finished a first (the numbering gets muddy, but let's stick with first as it's the first time the boss has seen it since 2004 when he declared it "good enough for an assignment, I guess") draft of the literature review chapter (aka the monster chapter of doom that will not die), which came in at 11,600 words (not including pictures, which count as 1,000 each, right?) and entirely too much trauma.

4.1 chapters left to draft and edit. I'll be done before you know it.

Kyou wa Nissin Cup Noodle, Cup Noodle, Cup Noodle...

2010-04-18T11:14:00.004+10:00

I really need to get the blog moved...

But once again I found something better / more interesting to do with my weekend. Anyway, I thought I would take the time this morning to write up my audition for a television commercial the other week, because I've been meaning to do that for a while, and it was quite a lot of fun.

So, this is how it came about: one Thursday my mum forwards me an email from one of her mailing lists. My mum is surprisingly active in the Australian Knitting Blogosphere, which is, as already mentioned, a little surprising. She doesn't blog too much herself, but she comments all over the place, and attends a lot of stitch 'n' bitches and actually it's really good that she's getting out more and making friends. She even became President of Vice in the Knitters' Guild (of NSW), which says a lot about how people adore (who aren't me) her. Anyway, she forwarded me an email.

Attached to the email is an advert from i4 casting (my goodness, what is up with the jpeg artefacts in their website? It's all so very dial-up), saying that they're looking for knitters, male and female of any age for a Virgin Blue (no linkies for evil companies) TV commercial. They were going to be casting on the Tuesday after, shooting last weekend, and, perhaps most importantly, they were going to pay $1,500 for the shoot if you made it through. Golly, in return for losing half a day of PhD I could have a shot at doubling my earnings for the year? *grins*

So I made a phone call. Found out that despite the "all ages" comment they were actually after people 30+, but I'm near enough that I could still try out. They gave me a time slot in the morning to come in, told me to dress in "business wear" and bring some knitting to show that I can actually do it.

The next morning, my sister and I caught the train and bus to Fox Studios, then frantically dashed in the rain to the casting office, in completely the wrong shoes. I got a blister for my efforts, and she nearly killed herself on her heels. But anyway, we stumbled into the place, followed a couple of a4 paper signs directing "knitters / potters ->" and found ourselves in a waiting room that was overfilled with ladies knitting. Most of the knitters belonged to the guild and knew each other from their regular meetings. They were the ones who told us that what we had to do next was fill in a questionnaire on a clipboard and then wait for the casting dude to come back.

The questionnaire was rather odd, and very personal. They wanted to know everything, from height and weight to bust and clothing sizes and whether or not we could skateboard. I thought about that last one for a long time before answering, "badly, and not while knitting." They also wanted to know one's other hobbies (uh, astronomy), musical talents (karaoke and high school clarinet) and whether we were really really sure we'd be available for the shooting date, as no one wants to lose a day of shooting for an extra who didn't show (for $1,500 I would skip my own funeral, dudes).

Eventually, four of us were called into the audition room, where the questionnaires were exchanged for pieces of paper with our names on them. We were told to stand in a line in front of the bluescreen, holding the paper against our chests, and then we were to be filmed introducing ourselves and just talking about "when you started knitting, what you like to do in your spare time, that sort of thing. Something to distinguish you, point out something interesting". Well okay then.

"Hi there, I'm Catherine Braiding and I'm doing a PhD in theoretical astrophysics. I knit to keep myself sane, I've made toys and clothes, and I'll try any pattern or technique once. I'm currently knitting a pair of wrist-warmers for someone whose blog I read, because she's smart and funny and suffers from depression and I'd like to help a little with that."

Oh yeah, points to Catherine for distinguishing herself from the crowd.

From what we were then told, the ad is to have a room full of office people (most likely OLs, I imagine) participating in hobbies (this is where the "potters" come in), not wanting to be disturbed by / ignoring a guy on a skateboard. No idea what that has to do with an airline, but okay.

Our next task to act, which was traumatic. They asked us to sit as if at a reception desk and knit. When the casting agent / camera man, acting as a delivery guy, asked us to sign for a package, we were to look up, think about it, and then refuse as we went on with our knitting. Because who wants to sign for a package when we have cables to cross? Liz did better at that than I, for I'm not an actress, but it was okay. I looked up, slowing down the knitting, looked back down at the knitting, looked back up and shook my head regretfully, and then went on with my knitting.

That was the end of the audition process. We were told they'd call us after easter, regardless of result, and let back out into the waiting room, where there was a very pretty young man with a skateboard waiting. He looked a bit surprised to see us tromping out with knitting in hand, so I smiled and asked him if he was there to knit for the camera. Sadly, the answer was no.

And that was that.

In conclusion, last month I auditioned for a television commercial, didn't get it (though they never called, which was rude), but had a fun morning.

Don't fear, keep all this forgotten...

2010-04-13T15:22:00.004+10:00

Okay universe, much is forgiven...

...because google could tell me what 0.03 g/cm^2 is in solar masses/parsec^2, and one of the builders outside is whistling beautifully.

I'm still not sure about this 'getting out of bed each morning' thing, but right now that's tomorrow's problem.

I can do anything with no permission...

2010-04-07T22:51:00.005+10:00

I can hit a target through a telescope...

Did I ever link you lot to the (Doctor Who) Handlebars vid? Because it's one of my favourite things in the universe, and I frequently leave it on loop for many repetitions at a time.

Speaking of, Eleven is lovely, Amy is fabulous and I want to give her many hugs (especially her young self who took to biting psychologists). Can't wait for the next episode, and have surprisingly high hopes for the Moff's reign. This could just be because Eleven reminds me of a baby Four, but it might be that we went a whole episode without actually killing anyone (correct me if I'm wrong). Also I'm looking forward to seeing River Song again.

Anyway, I'm going to bed, but I thought it might be prudent to check in and say I'm still here and I am not completely useless. I auditioned for a telly commercial last Tuesday before celebrating Gemma winning many ribbons at the easter show. Going to the post office tomorrow or the day after to send off the stack of things I've been failing to send for quite a while.

I'm hoping that as soon as I get over this stupid cold I might actually start catching up on life. It's unlikely, but the hope lives on. While I'm waiting, the giant chapter of doom hit 10,000 words this afternoon. No real end in sight, as I've lost the thread of the narrative, but I'm giving up on it this weekend. Oh, and the boss said the last chapter I gave him was "pretty awesome", which is high praise indeed.

Motto taihen na koto ippai machi-uketeru...

2010-03-25T11:49:00.003+11:00

Well, shit...

Sarah just pointed out that if life had gone according to plan we'd be finishing up our first postdocs around now.

Thought I heard you talking softly...

2010-03-13T15:21:00.001+11:00

Next time...

Washing first, then blog.

Came in from the rain on Thursday...

2010-03-13T14:59:00.003+11:00

I am such a boring person at the moment...

So I sat down on Monday to do a quick edit / runthrough of the chapter I wrote last year that the boss hadn't gotten around to reading because he's lazy, since he actually wanted to get to reading some of my stuff at long last. Six days, six pages and 2,000 new words later, I'm done, save for one equation that needs checking against the one in my notebook, because I think I'm down a factor of B_φ,s. *yawns* Ah well, time to get on with the real work I was going to do this weekend.

Actually, first I'm going to go fetch my washing from the line, as it may be dry and I don't trust this weather. But then I'll get on with the other work. And after that I'll have some fun.

to clear my conscience...

2010-03-11T17:50:00.002+11:00

Still alive...

Chocolate-covered crystallised ginger is the nommiest thing I've encountered this week, and I can't believe Ian gave me a giant block of it because it was his birthday yesterday. He should turn 70 more often.

ETA, because I'm too lazy for a new blog post: I may have just turned down my one shot at moving out of home and gaining a measure of independence and self-worth before the PhD is done because I'm too much of a wimp to try. I can't decide if I'm relieved or want to cry myself to sleep.

I have the wii fit music stuck in my head

2010-03-04T21:34:00.004+11:00

Not that I'm miserable or suicidal or anything...

Wisdom teeth out cost me: $50 hospital co-pay, $580 anaesthetic, $1,700 surgeon's fees = $2,330 (upfront. I raided my post-PhD vacation fund to pay those bills).
Medicare + my health insurance (in that order) have refunded/paid: rest of hospital, ($170.70 + 56.90) anaesthetic, (0 + $507) surgeon's fees = $734.6
Total out of pocket: Four or more weeks hostelling in Japan.
I don't really like to talk about money on the blog, but this was enough that I had to rant about it. We're talking more money than I've earned this financial year here, and most of the money I have earned this year has gone on my monthly health insurance bill (and my public transport costs and other people's birthday presents).

In other news, in case you missed it, the big earthquake in chile has made the day shorter and I'm not going to feel guilty about my lack of desire to reproduce, regardless of what Kevin Rudd or my grandmother may think (that said, I'm very happy for the acquaintance who I spotted across a mall today who it seems is very pregnant). Also, if you're one of the few people on the internet who hasn't seen this yet, you have to see this.

Expect better news about the thesis tomorrow, I hope. Right now I'm overtired and headed to bed. Sorry for any incoherences.

and those we have yet to meet...

2010-03-02T18:47:00.002+11:00

sighs...

Today I wrote a page, but my overall wordcount went down by 400 as I nuked about two pages of crap that had previously been commented out. The chances of this chapter actually hitting 10,000 words are dropping about as rapidly as the wordcount.

Where every little thing had its own secret life...

2010-03-01T18:47:00.003+11:00

Moderately Large Image Ahead...

This is what I spent my weekend working on:

(Based upon figure 2 of Greene (2001).

I haven't thought of you lately at all...

2010-02-27T18:44:00.003+11:00

I'm made out of meat...

Sometimes I love the suggestions that appear in my search box. I start typing "I", and get "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas". And now that I think about it, I do want a hippopotamus for Christmas.

Don't you?

There's a plot to ensure I never get to anything of substance...

2010-02-19T22:06:00.000+11:00

An Endorsement...

Dilmah Exceptional - Berry Sensation: tasty good fun. I approve and want to drink more. The fruit scent is too strong to store it with other teas, however. The scent was overwhelming even through the sealed packaging. :)

Oh, and I've submitted another three job applications this week, one at ANU. Still no job.

nothing like what I wanted it to be...

2010-02-17T21:55:00.004+11:00

I believe the correct way to write this is...

Fuck you, Amanda Palmer.

PS. No really, fuck you.

falling into the abyss of life...

2010-02-15T12:47:00.004+11:00

Worst Tooth Fairy Ever...

So, it looks like having four teeth removed will end up costing me ~$1450 out of my holiday account (Because I haven't earned that much yet this financial year). I'm so glad I have private health insurance where they'll pay me $93 for every tooth I have removed, when the surgeon is charging me $400/450.

Fuck it, I'm going to go get a coffee I can't afford.

It doesn't matter which you heard...

2010-02-13T18:31:00.000+11:00

Well then...

In bullet points, because I'm too lazy for full paragraphs:

The opening ceremony was fun, yes? I want to watch again tonight, if only for the fun bits with the First Nations dancers, the Bear and the hymn at the end. Also the USA beanies, which are great.
I didn't get my dream job. Life goes on; I've got a few more to apply to before the weekend is out.
I'm going to see Nation tomorrow. Looking forward to it muchly.
I've got the first two sections of chapter one decently drafted so that they're no longer really embarrassing. I've only got one more big section to go, and then two smaller ones, and I think I'll be done. Not where I wanted to be by this weekend, but sometimes life is hard. Writing a page a day of the literature review is not that slack, but I miss the speed of the later chapters. The thesis currently has 80 numbered pages of "quality" content (including bibliography), with 4.5 chapters yet to go.
I'll likely be switching to wordpress before the "end of March" deadline on blogger. Sorry to say that if they won't work within my blog/site structure I don't want them around anymore. It sucks, but then, so does google. Speaking of, if you don't want everyone to know who you're emailling and what you're emailling about, you might want to jump through many hoops to thoroughly opt out of Buzz.

Umm, I guess that's the important things. To distract, have a couple of fun links:

Phil Plait - "Seven Ways a Black Hole Can Kill You": A fun lecture on black holes and why they are awesome. (Phil is the author of Bad Astronomy, if you're a n00b to these things)
Dinosaur Comics on Lady Gaga's facade of bluffing

Now I'd better go write a couple of cover letters and get on with life. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered...?

2010-02-03T14:33:00.005+11:00

Hi, you lot...

So, since my concentration is shot, I have a couple of questions for you all:

What are your thoughts on job interviews? Advice, suggestions, warnings that I ought to not wear a tshirt to work that day, questions that I ought to ask the bosses are all sought after.
What is your favourite non-blogger blog provider? Given that blogger will no longer allow me to use ftp to update my website (suggesting instead that I let google host my site or move to blogspot), I need a new solution. Keep in mind that anything we choose will have to vetted by my server guru, and it's unlikely that I'm going to move the archives over to a new system.
Melbourne?

Save me from the nothing I've become...

2010-01-30T09:16:00.004+11:00

Ouchies...

On a draft job app, about organising conferences: Obviously this involved soothing the egos of irascible academics and encouraging them to work together towards a common goal of not embarrassing the fuck out of the rest of us.

And with a day to go, I've submitted all things due in January, including the one that I really really want, that I may have jinxed simply by wanting it. I refuse to believe that I actually managed to address the selection criteria in the way that they wanted, but I'm hoping I scraped through because a few awesome people said that boss should consider me.

Now I just want this pain to go away!

do do do, do do do, do do doo doo doo!

2010-01-27T21:14:00.003+11:00

Why you should hire me...

I am interested in moving into <type x> simulations and in looking at <field of research>, I speak a tiny amount of German, have been there once and I think I would be perfect for this job.

Also, my face is kinda greenish-yellow.

Yours,
Catherine

......

2010-01-27T11:37:00.003+11:00

My teeth hurt...

One of these days I'm going to pick up a "fabulously witty" romance novel, about a woman whose been in a relationship with the man she loves and has been with for five years, and it's not going to be about how she "comes of age" / "comes to terms" / "comes to grief" / "comes to realise that she never needed him and is much better off with this fling who has wandered into her life and has a giant schlong". Some of those "going nowhere" relationships work out just fine, I'm sure.

Also, I'm going to pick up a book in which the author isn't the best friend / housemate character who helps our leading lady through. Because not everyone has a best friend /housemate who just happens to be a writer / poet / famous female comedian with a taste for being crude (really, Wendy Harmer? Did you think that was subtle or something?). Some of us have childcare workers and personal assistants and students for best mates, and we get along fine.

I think a week off work may be too much. I'm going insane here.

Surprises let me know she cares...

2010-01-23T18:41:00.003+11:00

And now to bed...

Home again, with four more teeth in a jar and a tongue that tingles on one side like pins and needles.

She left me roses by the stairs...

2010-01-23T09:46:00.001+11:00

So...

Going in for surgery today. Will be back later with no wisdom teeth.

Total removed teeth at 9:30am: 16.

Your very own Heroine Addict Bookmark...

2010-01-15T13:04:00.003+11:00

Raising money for a good cause...

I'm offering to make a bookmark of your favourite fictional character for the highest donation bid to help_haiti. Bidding closes on the 20th, American time, and the bookmark should be posted by February.

I may also offer an amigurumi katamari if I can find the time to make both and think anyone will want it.