Animation at the Museum, night out with M and D and we walked right into a little known event for the festival involving my favourite town bar, free flow booze and food! We, regretfully, had to turn away all those pizzas and cakes but managed to find room for booze (only 2 rounds as we had to leg it back for the screening, another regret).

Yay for Timbre. :) What a lovely surprise after the long absence.

As some of you may know.. I've finally submitted the long overdue dissertation and the following months will be a hazy whirl of finishing up work here in the uni, preparing for the dreaded viva ( I can guess who my examiners are already; am already preparing to read up loads on stats and philosophical discourses on the species concept etcetera etcetera) and looking for my next port of call.

Maybe its because I keep an online diary - people whom I don't keep in touch with regularly but lurk around feel the need to show their care and concern by asking me what my plans are. These people will be referred to henceforth as WMP (well meaning persons). I know..they don't mean harm and its good conversation fodder but can I just say its so fucking tedious. I hate these conversations, they rank up there together with the 'when are you going to get married/have you got a boyfriend' conversations thrown at me once a year during the New Year, however the career ones cunningly, slyly, insiduously pop up wherever and whenever.

MSN for example, or a random text messages on the phone. Usually they go ignored, or I maintain a polite but distant veneer of 'I don't know/am not sure/am working on something, but thanks for asking' or the ones that catch me in an irritable mood get the 'what does it matter to you' snarky retort. The way I see it, If my social relationship with you is such that we don't meet on a regular basis to catch up, then I find it rather pointless to explain to you what's going on, especially when I have to type it all out. One question from you and I've got to write a mini essay of what I've been up to? If I see you in real life though, go ahead though results are not guaranteed - ask HQ; but I usually volunteer these nuggets in social settings cause that's making conversation right? I'm not that crustie in real life.

I do admit these questions distress me because I don't know what is happening either. I have nothing to say for now. Its not just you. Its me too. Let me find myself first and you may never hear the end of it. I could end up a smug employed somebody and tell you all about my office, my working hours, benefits, and how great life is. Then you'll wish I'd shut up. So - take it from me.. if you're meant to know, you probably will find out at some point. I'm not the sort to hide news.

Friends from the past

What do you do when you've outgrown them?

Strange how things are turning out in the last couple of hours.

Came across an advert whilst perusing various lists for jobs. Its at Imperial, non-academic but challenging and doesn't pay much either (well... maybe eye poppingly mucho in SGD, but probably average or below in sterling). I thought of giving it a go as postdocs in my field are rather thin on the ground (actually saw one in Otago; phylogeography in marine inverts, my kind of thing.. but but.. its so ulu!). Emailed PC to ask if I can stick his name as a referee and he replied in the affirmative along with an invitation to write up a grant application for a position in the Museum.

Interesting. I won't hold my breath, but I think at least I have a couple of leads now, as opposed to fretting about what i ought to do with my life next. I won't bore you what goes on in my head. I tend to want to keep these things to myself nowadays.