The last of Angahook
14 November 2004 (written on 15 November)
Dinner the night before was lovely, although Lyn kept a strict eye on my wine intake since I’d been tired in the afternoon. She claims that alcohol is contraindicated by jet lag. I think that’s true if it’s 10 AM, but dinner time, if you’re tired afterward, so what? But it was fine, all in good humor, at least! The conversation ranged from suicide to euthanasia to tolerance as a culture in Holland. It wasn’t exactly upbeat, and I rather preferred the discussion from the night before instead. We kept at it until midnight, though, when everyone crashed into bed, and Chris again was asleep before I finished brushing my teeth.
We both woke up around 8:15, Chris actually feeling rested for once! We sat outside and drank our coffee, and I noted how glad I would be to get back to the internet since no one at home had heard a thing from me since Wednesday! Chris immediately insisted that I text message someone, and proffered her phone. I sent a couple lines of message to Glen which I hope he received and was pleased about. Text messaging isn’t something I’ve ever done before!
One thing I haven’t mentioned about the house at Airey’s Inlet is that it is solar-powered. This means that odd things happen to the electricity on a regular basis and Tom always seems to be fiddling around with either the generator, the batteries, or the water pump. We found yesterday morning that we had no electricity. Toast was out of the question for breakfast. Cereal, then.
At 10, Lyn was leaving to come up to Melbourne, worried about her soon-to-be houseguests here, and her yet-to-be-planned workshops for this week. She dropped Chris and me off at a local art gallery in Airey’s Inlet which we’d wanted to peruse. We walked through it, and then took a short walk down the block (so to speak), whiling away a quarter hour before Tom was scheduled to pick us up. He arrived promptly at 11, and whisked us off to the Airey’s Inlet beach again, where we took a long walk and watched the tide rolling in. This meant several frantic scurryings to avoid getting wet! Tom had been quoting a song the night before and it included a simile about the (and here I paraphrase) ‘tide creeping in like a thief afraid to get caught stealing sand’. It remained in my head throughout our walk.
We got back to the house around 12:30 and set out the remainder of the refrigerator for lunch. Lyn and Tom do not expect to be back to that house until after Christmas, so things needed finishing, packing, and tidying.
We left for Melbourne around 2:30. I was more interested in dozing than watching scenery or participating in conversation on the drive, and had my headphones on, but Dan was again quizzing Tom as to the nature of qualitative software development, and periodically I listened in on the conversation which was interesting, and from which I was hoping to gain tips, pointers, insight, or some gift of wisdom. NVivo 3 was briefly discussed, and Tom talked of the challenge of software development – namely, to be innovative enough to create tools that users absolutely need when the users themselves don’t even know they want functionality of that nature. Again, I was envious of Chris’ position at CAQDAS where she has to learn or at least be aware of all sorts of qualitative softwares for her job. She can talk knowledgeably about N4-N6, NVivo, Atlas.ti, QUALrus, MaxQDA, etc., etc., and can use every one. Michael, if you were going to lose me to somewhere, it might be that group…
We passed QSR headquarters, 651 Doncaster Road, dropped Chris and Tom off at their hotel (where the training will take places), and then drove out to Eltham, where the Richards live. They have a very special living arrangement. Three semi-interconnected houses on 5 acres of land, orchard, vineyard, garden, are the Richards’, Lyn’s sister and brother-in-law, and Lyn’s father.
(Now writing on 16 November 2004)
The houses themselves are very open, with many layers, decks, and doors, and full of dark wood. Suseela (from Kuala Lampur) is staying in the Richards’ daughter’s bedroom. Johan (from South Africa) is in the pool house – pretty much in between the Richards’ and the Graves’ (Lyn’s sister). Kakali (Canadian, Indian, and from UGA) and I are in “bedroom four”, at the top of the Graves’ house, but with its own entrance and bathroom. Sort of a one bedroom apartment.
When I arrived, Kakali was taking a nap. She and Suseela had just arrived that morning; Johan was anticipated in the evening. I commandeered computer access at the only connection in the main house, and posted to this blog like crazy, after I got my camera talking to my computer again.
Lyn kept commenting that Kakali should be getting up, and finally I took the hint and went to wake her. Kakali was less than pleased with the plan, but eventually got up, and we took a walk around the orchard/garden/vineyard. I saw my first cherry tree (ate cherries fresh from it!), and marveled at the variety of other fruit trees as well: lemons, plums, almonds, quince, and others I didn’t recognize. There are three types of grapes in the vineyard (which Lyn’s brother in law tends), including sauvignon blanc and pinot noir; I forget the third variety.
Suseela was feeling quite ill after the flight, but the three of us (Kakali, Suseela, and I) gamely pitched in to help make dinner: fettucine, meat sauce Lyn made from scratch the day before, a vegetable sauce with mushrooms and onions, and a fantastic salad with herbs from the garden, avocado, and (I know this sounds weird) homemade mayonnaise. Everything was delicious or I was very hungry. Lyn’s brother in law joined us for dinner (his wife, coincidentally named Jen, is currently in Boston – yeah, we traded places) and we sampled his pinot noir.
(My observation of the day is – wow, I’m drinking a lot while I’m here. Wine is free-flowing at any Richards’ dinner, and I generally end up having at least two glasses, although I think I had four on that first night, plus a half glass of champagne. The next night, I was kept to one glass. Sunday, I think I only had one. Last night, I had two beers (highly unusual for me), and tonight (16 Nov), I had two beers and a glass of wine! I think it’s a “I’m out of my element; might as well splurge” thing.)
During dinner, I sat next to Tom, by his request, and we tried to think up how to hook up Dad and Tom so they would talk astronomy, variable stars, and CCDing. It turns out the Richards’ will be in Boston in April of this coming year, so maybe they could shoot out to Albany then. Lyn asked if anyone in Albany needed QSR training, and I’m now wondering about SUNYA and if we could set anything up there. Maybe I could even help? Mom and Dad – you guys could get the favor back when you come to Melbourne in May. And that way, the men can tour the other’s set-ups. (Yes, I’ll take pics of the observatory and telescope here so you can see it.)
Johan arrived at the house around 9 PM. Lyn called a “staff meeting”, and the four of us trainers and Lyn talked about the workshops and tried to figure out a way to accommodate Suseela, whose lack of knowledge and ability to train was becoming painfully obvious. One of the hazards of not certifying your trainers is sometimes you get duds…. Lyn was exceedingly generous with her, unnecessarily so, if you ask me. And if you do ask me, I have a whole lot more to say on the issue, but I will refrain here.
Kakali and I headed to bed around 11, and I found out that not only does Kakali fall asleep as fast as Chris did (before I finished brushing my teeth), but she snores very loudly. Suddenly, I was missing Chris a whole lot, not just for the non-snoring. Things had changed again, just when I had gotten comfortable in Angahook. I slept less than fantastically.
Dinner the night before was lovely, although Lyn kept a strict eye on my wine intake since I’d been tired in the afternoon. She claims that alcohol is contraindicated by jet lag. I think that’s true if it’s 10 AM, but dinner time, if you’re tired afterward, so what? But it was fine, all in good humor, at least! The conversation ranged from suicide to euthanasia to tolerance as a culture in Holland. It wasn’t exactly upbeat, and I rather preferred the discussion from the night before instead. We kept at it until midnight, though, when everyone crashed into bed, and Chris again was asleep before I finished brushing my teeth.
We both woke up around 8:15, Chris actually feeling rested for once! We sat outside and drank our coffee, and I noted how glad I would be to get back to the internet since no one at home had heard a thing from me since Wednesday! Chris immediately insisted that I text message someone, and proffered her phone. I sent a couple lines of message to Glen which I hope he received and was pleased about. Text messaging isn’t something I’ve ever done before!
One thing I haven’t mentioned about the house at Airey’s Inlet is that it is solar-powered. This means that odd things happen to the electricity on a regular basis and Tom always seems to be fiddling around with either the generator, the batteries, or the water pump. We found yesterday morning that we had no electricity. Toast was out of the question for breakfast. Cereal, then.
At 10, Lyn was leaving to come up to Melbourne, worried about her soon-to-be houseguests here, and her yet-to-be-planned workshops for this week. She dropped Chris and me off at a local art gallery in Airey’s Inlet which we’d wanted to peruse. We walked through it, and then took a short walk down the block (so to speak), whiling away a quarter hour before Tom was scheduled to pick us up. He arrived promptly at 11, and whisked us off to the Airey’s Inlet beach again, where we took a long walk and watched the tide rolling in. This meant several frantic scurryings to avoid getting wet! Tom had been quoting a song the night before and it included a simile about the (and here I paraphrase) ‘tide creeping in like a thief afraid to get caught stealing sand’. It remained in my head throughout our walk.
We got back to the house around 12:30 and set out the remainder of the refrigerator for lunch. Lyn and Tom do not expect to be back to that house until after Christmas, so things needed finishing, packing, and tidying.
We left for Melbourne around 2:30. I was more interested in dozing than watching scenery or participating in conversation on the drive, and had my headphones on, but Dan was again quizzing Tom as to the nature of qualitative software development, and periodically I listened in on the conversation which was interesting, and from which I was hoping to gain tips, pointers, insight, or some gift of wisdom. NVivo 3 was briefly discussed, and Tom talked of the challenge of software development – namely, to be innovative enough to create tools that users absolutely need when the users themselves don’t even know they want functionality of that nature. Again, I was envious of Chris’ position at CAQDAS where she has to learn or at least be aware of all sorts of qualitative softwares for her job. She can talk knowledgeably about N4-N6, NVivo, Atlas.ti, QUALrus, MaxQDA, etc., etc., and can use every one. Michael, if you were going to lose me to somewhere, it might be that group…
We passed QSR headquarters, 651 Doncaster Road, dropped Chris and Tom off at their hotel (where the training will take places), and then drove out to Eltham, where the Richards live. They have a very special living arrangement. Three semi-interconnected houses on 5 acres of land, orchard, vineyard, garden, are the Richards’, Lyn’s sister and brother-in-law, and Lyn’s father.
(Now writing on 16 November 2004)
The houses themselves are very open, with many layers, decks, and doors, and full of dark wood. Suseela (from Kuala Lampur) is staying in the Richards’ daughter’s bedroom. Johan (from South Africa) is in the pool house – pretty much in between the Richards’ and the Graves’ (Lyn’s sister). Kakali (Canadian, Indian, and from UGA) and I are in “bedroom four”, at the top of the Graves’ house, but with its own entrance and bathroom. Sort of a one bedroom apartment.
When I arrived, Kakali was taking a nap. She and Suseela had just arrived that morning; Johan was anticipated in the evening. I commandeered computer access at the only connection in the main house, and posted to this blog like crazy, after I got my camera talking to my computer again.
Lyn kept commenting that Kakali should be getting up, and finally I took the hint and went to wake her. Kakali was less than pleased with the plan, but eventually got up, and we took a walk around the orchard/garden/vineyard. I saw my first cherry tree (ate cherries fresh from it!), and marveled at the variety of other fruit trees as well: lemons, plums, almonds, quince, and others I didn’t recognize. There are three types of grapes in the vineyard (which Lyn’s brother in law tends), including sauvignon blanc and pinot noir; I forget the third variety.
Suseela was feeling quite ill after the flight, but the three of us (Kakali, Suseela, and I) gamely pitched in to help make dinner: fettucine, meat sauce Lyn made from scratch the day before, a vegetable sauce with mushrooms and onions, and a fantastic salad with herbs from the garden, avocado, and (I know this sounds weird) homemade mayonnaise. Everything was delicious or I was very hungry. Lyn’s brother in law joined us for dinner (his wife, coincidentally named Jen, is currently in Boston – yeah, we traded places) and we sampled his pinot noir.
(My observation of the day is – wow, I’m drinking a lot while I’m here. Wine is free-flowing at any Richards’ dinner, and I generally end up having at least two glasses, although I think I had four on that first night, plus a half glass of champagne. The next night, I was kept to one glass. Sunday, I think I only had one. Last night, I had two beers (highly unusual for me), and tonight (16 Nov), I had two beers and a glass of wine! I think it’s a “I’m out of my element; might as well splurge” thing.)
During dinner, I sat next to Tom, by his request, and we tried to think up how to hook up Dad and Tom so they would talk astronomy, variable stars, and CCDing. It turns out the Richards’ will be in Boston in April of this coming year, so maybe they could shoot out to Albany then. Lyn asked if anyone in Albany needed QSR training, and I’m now wondering about SUNYA and if we could set anything up there. Maybe I could even help? Mom and Dad – you guys could get the favor back when you come to Melbourne in May. And that way, the men can tour the other’s set-ups. (Yes, I’ll take pics of the observatory and telescope here so you can see it.)
Johan arrived at the house around 9 PM. Lyn called a “staff meeting”, and the four of us trainers and Lyn talked about the workshops and tried to figure out a way to accommodate Suseela, whose lack of knowledge and ability to train was becoming painfully obvious. One of the hazards of not certifying your trainers is sometimes you get duds…. Lyn was exceedingly generous with her, unnecessarily so, if you ask me. And if you do ask me, I have a whole lot more to say on the issue, but I will refrain here.
Kakali and I headed to bed around 11, and I found out that not only does Kakali fall asleep as fast as Chris did (before I finished brushing my teeth), but she snores very loudly. Suddenly, I was missing Chris a whole lot, not just for the non-snoring. Things had changed again, just when I had gotten comfortable in Angahook. I slept less than fantastically.
posted by Jen at 11:29 PM
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