Experimental living

17 Feb 2007

So, I did this whole "move out of Melbourne, quit my job, work from home and do a doctorate" thing. I thought it would be a good idea after years and years of working in pressure jobs, whilst balancing an international wheelchair basketball career. Mmmm....well, it's turning out to be an interesting experiment.

In the words of my doctoral supervisor, right now I should be "wallowing in the literature about dementia and looking for a niche" OR, in my words, "stuffing around pretending to work, but not really achieving anything". You see, I've managed to find many varied ways to spend my days, and so long as I have my research with me (not necessarily out of the bag), I must be doing my job. So, here's what I've done this week:

1. I regularly take my research to coffee in Pako....maybe several times a day. God, I'm wired these days! Haven't slept since last October.Time wasted: 1-2 hours per day

2. I took my research to Torquay for the day. I saw Ash Grunwald on the beach, but couldn't think of anything witty to say, so I just kept going. Then, I stretched out on a park bench (and there was still space for one more person), and "browsed" through some journal articles. Managed to get a quarter of my right leg sunburnt.Time wasted: 3 hours, including travel time

3. Played hide and seek with my dog.Time wasted: 1 hour

4. Took my research shopping. Tried some perfume testers, only to realise after spraying on my wrists that they were room fresheners. Spent the rest of the day smelling like a posh toilet.Time wasted: 3 hours, including travel time

5. Played Charades with my dog.Time wasted: 5 minutes - she really sucks, doesn't even know what a syllable is

6. Made a cup of tea, and put a rug out under the tree to read some literature. Within 30 seconds, the dog had knocked the tea onto the literature, and a bird did poo on my head.Time wasted: 1 hour, 45 minutes, including set up, then clean up

7. Did a google ego search (ie, typed my own name into google). Discovered that I am actually Alicia Molick's manager in my spare timeThen did a "Lisa Needs" search. Discovered "lisa needs a tree". Contemplated sitting under that tree, but remembered item 6.Time wasted: 10 minutes

8. Searched the Apollo Bay Music Festival website for any mention of wheelchair friendliness for their venues. Concluded that I might need to drive to Lorne to go to the toilet....if I go, possibly useful to limit my beers.Time wasted: 2 hours

9. Thought about playing Twister with my dog, but figured there were already websites dedicated to that kind of thing.Time wasted: 20 seconds

10. Contemplated googling those aforementioned websites.Time wasted: 6 hours
Got any suggestions?

Cheers,
L