Here I go on a techy specky update from my smartphone, so you will have to excuse the typos that will arise and be fixed and some later date.
Since I wrote last life has been busy. Mostly uni stuff, but with a few good bike rides, surfs, climbs and hikes thrown in for good measure.
I am currently waiting for a bus to come so I can wait at an airport for a plane that will finally take me back to Sydney. In addition to seeing my husband for the first time in two + weeks, I have been promised a large and fortifying meal. After two weeks of a diet consisting mainly of peanutbutter, porridge, and oranges, I am very excited.
This round of fieldwork was pretty intense, with a pair of sites near Cairns and a pair near Airlie Beach. It was my first time doing fieldwork in rainforest, and also exciting because of Queensland's reputation as home to numerous deadly dangerous things. Fortunately I was only attacked by gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, although a sea turtle did scare the crap out of me as it exhaled cheekily near my boat. I think I might have been a bit antsy about another, less vegetarian, type of reptile.
The work itself went pretty smoothly, at least compared to my nightmares of logistical meltdowns barring my path towards data collection. There were small hurdles here and there, but nothing a bit of tape, swearing, or sweat couldn't fix. I must also mention the incredible kindness of strangers and friends of friends in directing, helping, and encouraging me. Travelling can be pretty good for restoring warm fuzzies about humanity.
So now I wait to get back, when I can enter my data, process my samples, begin another batch of bookings for the final round of Queensland works. The semester is also gearing up, with demonstration work popping up and conference and forum deadlines looming in the horizon. Woohoo! It's going to be crazy.
