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speak friend and enter

суббота, февраля 25, 2006


And So It Begins....

Its been a week now here in sunny Sydney. Been busy settling into school, into my apartment and getting into the groove of things. Its easy to get caught up in the barrage of things to mind over - banking, housing, uni admin, research work, colleagues, housemates, even simple meals. And oh yes - the annoying fact that shops here close at 5pm most days. (One wonders how they earn money - if everyone goes to work 9-5pm, what customers would they have then if they close at 5pm?)

(Obligatory shot of the Sydney Opera House at sunset... One fine day I'll perform there?)

Apart from the mundane, there've been bits of fun, wonder and respite. Grace, favor and wisdom. I'm firstmost, grateful for the folks in my lab - fun, quirky chaps, all drawn to acoustics because they're musicians, curious and inquiring. In fact, we've been jamming! The Music Acoustics lab is just full of instruments and the odd fragment of a guitar or violin. Woodwinds from all over (including a shakuhachi), bunch of tubular bells, double bass, pvc didgeridoo, clarinet bits, oboe, and flutes line the walls, relics of some experiments long gone. Guitars, violin plates, and stacks of analysis equipment. What can I say? haha. I'm in some sort of a dabbling musician's heaven!

Then I've got (at this point, nonetheless... hehe) pretty easy-going housemates, and we've seemed to have inherited quite abit of relic from the previous occupants. =) Saves some trouble and $$. Just gotta figure out the kitchen, which is somewhat dismal. I might just live here the whole 3 year stint! The area I'm at (Belmore Road) is sorta very much like a protracted Holland Village - cafes, restaurants, and highly multicultural. And I do get my own room (huge, by any standards), and a nice corner balcony overlooking the street below. And oh, did i mention its a mere 10 min walk fr campus? Thank you, Jesus!

And yes, while its all rosy and cheery, I've got some worries looming up - I'm simply overwhelmed at my lack of mathematical dexterity to deal w the depth and elegance of manipulation I think is required. Still coming to grips with alot of physics and mathematical expressions, transforms and icky stuff i've spent the last few years of Uni life avoiding. (Harmonic Balancing anyone? to solve non-linear phenomenon, shift from time domain to frequency domain, balance off, then shift back to time domain, balance off, repeat ad nauseum.) There is simply sooo much catching up to do, so much coming to grips with. Overwhelming. And yes, it so very much seems like more grousing about research will be a constant feature here, cf entries of during the master's thesis era 03-04.

One final note (F#4!) before I end this ramble - God's been really good. Something about rainbows. I find God puts rainbows in my face as markers and signposts - its happened all over - in siberia, in china, in laos, in thailand, nz, all over the shop - when I know I'm right where He wants me to be, and He wants to remind me of his promises. The very first day in Sydney, I get out of my house on the way to meet my cousin. And staring smack in my face as I look up from the street is a HUGE rainbow (with a secondary rainbow in tow) spanning the entire sky from North through to South! I was flabbergasted. And snap away on my camera I did. And not only did it smile at me, it followed me the whole journey to my cousins' place, some 45 min away. It grew, it changed intensity, but yet it stayed. To me, thats a very tangible, sacramental reminder of Jesus' promise to walk close and lead me. There was peace, joy, and most of all, wonder.








Walking on water. =)
Posted by: JM / 12:42 AM

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