Graduate life

A perennial problem that is perhaps universal to all students is the difficulty of having to sit down and actually write something. A paper, a letter to a journal editor, whatever, many of us find it difficult to start/finish/write at all. Of course this problem is multiplied a thousand-fold when the document in question is a massive thesis. We’ve all had those days where we sit in front of the computer with a stack of journal articles planning to do a day of writing, before finding that there are so many other better things to do. Make a cup of tea. Check your emails. Do another experiment to (unnecessarily) check your results. Chat with your desk neighbour. Write for two minutes and then manically check your word count. ANYTHING but actually writing.

So are you stuck with your writing? Forget nailing your feet to the floor or bribing yourself with chocolate, Dr Wicked has a better idea. Why not replace your fear of writing with a fear of not writing?! Have a go at Write or Die, where they put the ‘prod’ back in productivity!

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After my sojourn in Seattle, I headed north almost to the border of Canada for a wildlife conference. Right from the start it was a fabulous conference, and the most interesting I have been to by far (in fact, I barely missed any of the talks because they were all so great!). There were about 300 people there, and we had talks about rabies in squirrels, ebola in gorillas, the best way to rescue wildlife caught in oil spills (there is quite an art to this, I didn’t even realise!), toxic algal blooms and their effect on marine life, the social structure of orca pods in Puget Sound, beluga whales, toxicity from lead shot in birds, infectious diseases in Australian finfish, bison breeding programs, toxicity in Kakapo (that will teach them to destroy cars and buildings!), effects of a shipwreck on a coral reef, winter elk feeding grounds... and of course platypuses! My talk went pretty well (got a lot of questions and only counted three people that were asleep...) and I was excited as I came second in the student presentation competition!

So starts Semester 2....

Being back on campus means you can get back involved with campus culture. Clubs and societies, gigs, parties and fun people are all still here, so get back involved for all the culture you need, then some!

One great thing about doing research is the opportunity to go and spend some time doing your research at an overseas institution, and to go to conferences and present your work. The conferences are often in interesting places, and if you are lucky you will be able to apply for some sort of funding from the university (or from the organisation funding your research). I’m spending a year in the US on a Fulbright Scholarship, and last week I attended a wildlife conference in Washington State, which meant, hurrah, that I got to spend some time in Seattle, too.

One of the joys of coursework postgrad study has just hit me – purchasing textbooks. The wallop is multifaceted; financial, academic and physical blows combining for one knock out punch. So join me for this three round super heavyweight bout! BAM!