Day 212/365: A whistle stop tour...

...work done, now back to work

Well, that was a long way to come for a 60 minute meeting. The students are fine and enjoying their stay. Tick. 

And that was about it. The extra day booked in for tomorrow doesn't seem to be needed now...so more time for work. Or to catch up on writing (er, particularly this blog, if that isn't too meta). But there is writing to do. So I think I will do that. 

In the meantime, the students are studying in an architecturally interesting building. 

Waiting

Breakfast

Box Hill

I could spend quite a bit of time here, photographically-speaking...

[Camera : iPhone6, 8.51am, 9.00am, Lumix TZ-85, 1.35pm-1.36pm, 3.26pm-3.29pm; 31 July 2018] 

Day 211/365: Landed...

...ready for work

But first...the flight went well, we arrived in time. I got to the destination, according to my itinerary...it seems the itinerary I was given was not passed on to the people I was coming to visit. They were expecting me tomorrow, and only tomorrow. 

That means...time for work in the 'office' which happens to be one of the new art series hotels where a particular artist is featured throughout. I'm in the Chen. I've wanted to stay in one of these hotels for some time. It doesn't disappoint. 

Ready to sleep, er, rest

Touches

Simple

Jump on it!

That first sip...

Through the mesh

Dinner--chips

Looks like a couple of days of unexpected time is here for me.  I'd like to 'relax' but all that time--to catch up on work. Three, two, one...go!

[Camera : iPhone6, 11.14am-11.18am, 11.58am, 4.48pm, 6.55pm; 30 July 2018] 

Day 210/365: Best made plans...

...get waylaid

Departure day. Plan A (actually the only plan) is to go to the office, finalise some work, get the limousine bus from the local hotel to the airport. It has never failed. It works every time. 

Not today! Gasp, but there's no plan B. I have never really thought about getting to the airport any other way. The bus, indeed, al the buses are fully booked. Huh?

It is bad enough that I'm running around with travel accoutrements in 31degC heat and I'm heading to 7 degC. I had plans to work until 4.00pm and then go...

Local sunflowers

Up close

Bees and sunflowers

Close up

On the bus, across the river

Clouds

Obligatory Narita pause

Instead, I cut short the work in the office and work on plan B...out the door at 2.30pm, back on the train and bus it from another location. 

Bit annoying but made it. I guess I'll just catch up on the flight...

[Camera : iPhone8, 2.43pm, 4.08pm, 4.29pm, 5.32pm; 29 July 2018] 

Day 209/365: Blown away...

...travels of a typhoon

There's a typhoon. Not just any typhoon. It is taking a rather weird path through the archipelago It is coming up from down south then taking a hard right...hopefully. If it keeps on its original path, it might postpone tomorrow's flight to Melbourne. 

But in the meantime, there's a clarinet rehearsal, maybe, that was subject to the typhoon...it went ahead after all but I took the baby clarinet...the bass is a bit big to be carrying around in cyclonic weather. 

Bit of rain

Bit more rain

Port, gone

Blown 1

Blown 2

Blown 3

Then off to the office to make preparations for a flight. 

[Camera : iPhone8, 4.48pm-5.37pm, 7.06pm; 28 July 2018] 

Day 208/365: A few surprises...

...and getting ready to go

I have a few days in Melbourne coming up, it is to see a few of our students studying at Deakin University. I have a lot of things to do before then, about a week's worth of work, in a day and a half. 

but first things first...a class today whereupon, I got to demonstrate the fragility of democracy by taking on a different persona...

it must be Friday...

Heads up

Surprises in store

Crossing the Friday finish line

Friday flourish

Friday pastels (through a window that needs cleaning)

I'm going where?

Late late lunch, or just a late dinner

Did it have its desired effect? Did it take the students by surprise? I think so. I steamrolled their indecision with a prime ministerial edict...not nice, but necessary in order to teach...

Another surprise? The company organising the trip to Melbourne gave me a brochure for Austria...let's see where I end up. 

[Camera : iPhone8, 8.36am, 12.34pm, 5.50pm, 6,48pm-6.49pm, 8.00pm, 10.45pm; 27 July 2018] 

Day 207/365: We resume normal programming...

...including sunflowers

After finishing yesterday on such a high, it was back to normal programming today. That meant a fair bit of catch up work too as well as meeting deadlines before my next trip next week to Melbourne. 

The sunflowers are still out and the bees are continuing their work. Good to see the world keeps on turning. 

Tonight's dinner (or late lunch if you insist on eating meals in a particular order), was a bit spesh. Over the last few months, colleagues and their students have been transforming the roof of one of the campus buildings into a community space and vege garden. The labour is beginning to bear fruit (and veges) and the campus cafe, which is run on sustainability principles and working in cooperation with the community garden, presented a vege curry using the veges from the roof garden. 

Coming in to land

Flight of the bee

Resting

Vege curry...

From the roof

I could have that again. Nice. 

[Camera : iPhone8, 9.37am , 10.50am, 5.37pm, 6.03pm; 26 July 2018] 

Day 206/365: Flight of another type...

...and farewells

Funny how you can spend ages preparing for something and then the event arrives and then before you know it, it is all over. 

And so it has arrived, the last class in our one week special international lectures series. We've been discussing this, preparing, organising for about a year, and today it ended. But it has been a wonderful week. The obvious highlight was last Saturday's excursion, but more significantly has been the way, in a comparatively short period of time, the students have really put in a great effort. 

The next stage is to put it all in a small booklet...coming soon.

Flight

Scenes from a classroom, ongoing, 1

Scenes from a classroom, ongoing, 2

Scenes from a classroom, ongoing, 3

Highlights of an expression of whaling

Beautiful gift, from our guests...

...which perfectly matched, I mean perfectly matched, the gift from last year's guest lecturers

Way to finish

So at the end of the evening, and to farewell our guests in a most university student-style...we took them to a local eatery for, what else, beer and pizza. 

Well done all. 

[Camera ; iPhone8, 2.22pm, 6.08pm-6.49pm, 8.00pm, 8.32pm; 25 July 2018]