Slow news day

We don't have a lot of news, so this post will probably be pretty rambling.

Leslie's photographs were critiqued today. He was pleased with the way the critique went, which was good as he was wary going in. He didn't get much negative criticism, and he thinks many of the pictures told the stories he wanted them to. His next assignment is due Thursday, so there's no time for resting on laurels.

I'm still working an indeterminate number of days at the newspapers. I feel really lucky to have gotten this opportunity. Everyone I work with is really sound and kind, and I enjoy the work. I feel challenged and like I'm using much of what I learned at DCU. I look forward to going to work, which is a huge change from when I was occasionally answering the phones. My schedule is variable at the moment, and while I might like more hours or more consistent hours, I'm very happy with what I've got.

We had a possum in our courtyard the other night. It was an odd thing, since our courtyard is surrounded in all sides by buildings. It would have either had to walk through the front door and the vestibule into the courtyard or scale a building and climb over the roof. I don't know what it wanted, and it was gone by morning. But Leslie got a shot of it while it was visiting.

One thing we have been doing a lot of is bike-riding. Leslie commutes to college on the bike and I commute to work (when I work in the city) and to the train station (when I work in the 'burbs) on the bike. I've noticed several good changes since I got the bike. I'm still not very fit, and I still weigh more than I'd like, and I'm still the slowest rider on the roads (some of these lads seem to think they're biking the Tour de France to work), but welcome changes nonetheless. When I first got the bike, it hurt my bum so much that I couldn't sit down. I'd come back from riding and lie on my stomach. Now I don't notice any discomfort, so I guess you get used to it. Our first ride was 10 minutes from the bike shop to the train station, and I thought I was going to die. I was huffing and puffing and red-faced and cursing Leslie for being so much more fit than I was. He's still much fitter than I, but I can ride 45 minutes to work without too much of a problem. I now enjoy the bike ride to work, and it's vastly prefereable to being crammed in a rush-hour tram. I've dropped a dress size, which is particularly good because Australian sizes are two sizes smaller than American ones. It was bad enough in Britain and Ireland - a British 10 is an American 8. But Australia's worse - an Australian 10 is a US 6. And for those of us who don't wear 6s, it's pretty demoralising to have to buy clothes that are two sizes bigger.

The casino in Melbourne was celebrating its 10th anniversary over the weekend and they celebrated it the way things should be celebrated - with fireworks. We went out with some of Leslie's friends and got some fun night shots.

The Huntsman spider is still in our apartment building. It's remarkably non-fazing now. We've named it (okay, I've named it) Francis Xavier, and it's not all that creepy to walk by it anymore. The creepiest times are when it's hiding, because if you don't know where it is, it could be anywhere.

We saw two Marx Brothers movies last night at the Astor - A Night at the Opera and At the Circus. Leslie says they "weren't hectic," but I enjoyed them. An entertaining evening, at any rate.

And anyone who wants us to post more often should leave comments. It's a give-and-take.