Overcast. Good.

Well today was uneventful. Went for a run down by Memorial Bridge which was lovely; it really makes me want to drive to Florida for a weekend when I get home. I miss going out on the boats!

The classwork for today was a foraging activity which consisted of 33 college students scampering around a lawn carrying M&Ms and jelly beans on the tips of butterknives. I’m sure we made someone’s morning- it must have been quite a spectacle.

After the activity, I inputted data into excel for the students to use for about 2 hours. Didn’t get done. Stir crazy, I upped and went for a walk to the local festival which hosted a lot of local foods, earth-friendly products, face painting, and many local groups doing fund-raising. 

Desperate for internet, I headed to McDonald’s and met Stephanie and Jess. My email exploded. 76 fresh emails all dying to be opened. Over the course of the next few hours, I slowly but surely got it all done! Not to mention I enjoyed a soft-serve cone with a “flake” (a chocolate stick). I then went to Wolly’s where I had a weak moment and splurged on passionfruit soda (DELICIOUS) and honeycomb tim-tams. Life is good.

Noisy miner at McDonald's

Heading back, people were already setting up for our BBQ (“Barbie”). Bob went bonkers and made a gajillion kebabs which I mooched off of. It was a good time hanging out with everyone for a while. Mike Tarrant came and chatted about Noosa again which led to some really interesting discussions about conservation. I wish people in Athens cared more about their green space. We then had a cake (or 3) to celebrate the birthdays: Satyam, Zach, and John. We also sampled some lamingtons: sponge cake with chocolate coating and coconut which were quite good. While the students finished the last of their animal presentations I hunted adamantly for a local cane toad: fruitless. I found at least 5 large spiderwebs by means of waltzing directly through them but no toads. I think it was too cold last night for them to be out and about. Tres sad.

Celebrating the three birthdays!

After all the festivities I resumed hermit status to finish the data… after I properly slammed my honeycomb tim-tam. New. Favorite. Food. Oh, and I got the chance, thanks to Ansley, to sample the white chocolate tim-tams. They would be delicious with a mint hot chocolate to slam, but alone I’m not terribly impressed. I’ll stick to real chocolate. 

Random aside: watching the news and as it turns out, Kristen Stewart and Daniel Radcliffe are nominated for MTV’s best actors/actress. What is the world coming to?