A few days

10.48 am – Wednesday 21 March

Have lost group of other participants in today’s fair as they went to get coffee and I don’t know where as didn’t follow closely enough – tee hee hee. So am having tea and continuing to be vexed by computer problems.

Between Monday morning and Monday evening, the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport network decided that it no longer allows logging into remote sites (incl. Skype, Google, VPN for my work email). So pretty much all I can do is read the news or perhaps go shopping (oh, probably not since one would have to login to those sites, too, no doubt). It seems completely unreasonable for me to have to pay $1.00 to phone the ISP help desk for the internet problems of the HIMA. It seems further unreasonable that the 24-hour help desk does not return phone calls.

I shall never stay at the HIMA again for these reasons and for a couple of significant others, namely: 1) unreasonable reservation policy preventing ANY alterations, despite the fact that this presumably claims to cater to business travellers; 2) dippy front desk staff who are most unhelpful; and 3) room service – I think deliberately – sending up a Warm Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad instead of the Mediterranean Salad which was ordered. Another rant now follows.

Firstly, exactly how similar do these two menu items sound? Not really so much. Secondly, having returned to the hotel after all day of visiting uni people and schmoozing, meat wasn’t really what I wanted at 10pm, this being my reason for ordering a completely vegetarian salad. Thirdly, it is my opinion that they sent that item up since it was $16 + $4 tray charge being from the Room Service menu instead of the $12.50 + $0 tray charge for the ordered item, it being from the less expensive and smaller proportioned options. Fourthly, the salad was at my door (on the eighth floor we might recall) within, no lie!, 2 minutes of my order – this is alarmingly rapid, esp. considering that there was warm chicken involved. One likes to at least have the illusion of food being freshly prepared, even if one did not want warm meat in the first place. Fifthly, WHAT is the deal with oregano being considered a Cajun spice?

Perhaps all of this whinging is result of my Pomerisation – heh heh heh to E. (The term Pom is frequently used by Aussies in reference to Brits, the usual adjectival accompaniment being whinging. There has been extensive discussion involving claims of racism, but this really only adds to the appropriateness of the term.) Really, I am having a lovely time, although at this point am bordering on Fairly Droopy.

Monday, spent day standing in sunshine (no. not a spot of shade in my area), so now have blistered backs of arms, primarily at the top, which is more tender skin area. Additionally, I was not previously aware of the potential for elbows to burn; this has fortunately not been very severe. My red neck from last week is peeling. My plan is to go to Adelaide beach on Saturday and try to recover some semblance of colour uniformity before having to appear in public in lovely pink sleeveless dress on two weeks Saturday. Have balked at recent suggestion that ‘those places that spray you don’t look so bad…’ Such a statement really does not make me excited at the prospect.

Monday evening, lovely dinner at partner university (such a really excellent restaurant – not normal catered food at all! Salmon with asparagus is a far cry from Chicken Cordon Bleu. Wine from one of the universities own wineries is also slightly exotic. I mean, the vineyards at UEA are just so small, you know.). And although did textually berate fellow American in earlier post, she is nice in her own quirky way and we have gotten along fine, which is good since we spent entire day together yesterday.

Tuesday, met American and her students for lunch – slightly concerning student behaviour in relation to intercultural idiocy after their arrival, but perhaps they are learning something. Naturally, the intercultural idiocy involved threats involving police and litigation, etc. Then, both of us visited Deakin Uni – Burwood campus yesterday afternoon, before being escorted to reception at another uni last evening in the city centre. Lovely views of the city at sunset.

Today, into city early for uni transport to Deakin Uni – Geelong (which is in another city about an hour south-ish of Melbourne). Failed to locate wi-fi in vicinity of pick-up location, but am going to try to cope for another two days as will be at hotel in Adelaide on Friday, which will perhaps be more sensible. (although, have heard rumour of coffee shop close to Southern Cross station with FREE wi-fi and may attempt to caffeinate self later so as to score some bandwidth.)