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Pretty decent breakie after some shopping on west end saturday morning market...

Friends team at the vb court on Gold coast

Swedish company!! Johan, Lovisa and myself. Very good saturday!

Since I haven't uploaded any photos in a while, I thought I could show you a pic of my extremely messy room. Got the desk in the corner for 10AUD on gumtree. The base of the bed is sort of triangle shaped and I dont have any shelfs or drawers to my defence. Working on it!

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My brain is completely programmed on rat nutrition right now. It is very frustrating and upsetting designing a diet for my babies since it's hard to get all the nutrients the same for controls and alcohol exposed dams. One could think being a nutritionist could help in this but....hmm, not really! If the nutrients are perfect, then the diet is too thick and will get stuck in the bottle etc. Tough life!

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Well. Im getting in early to work since I get even more Swedish visitors today. 3 in 3 weeks. Let it continue like this!

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It's getting really hot here now. Spend the whole Saturday morning in a pool, just floating around. Nice, but Im a bit to hyperactive not doing anything so went to play squash in the aternoon. On Sunday, I got a Swedish visitor, Lovisa and her friend. Had a nice sushi lunch in the city and send them off to my friend Mick's house in Noosa for some tropical beach hang. Hope they dont like it too much so they still will come back to Bris later this week!

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Work time!

Have finally started to sort things out. Firstly, my bike Berry Blue brought me to uni in no time this morning and I didn't even have to stand up in the hills. Sunshine. Bird song. Early morning. And being able to ride the bike to work every day. That is happiness!

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Second. I have finally made a decision of moving in to this very beautiful Queenslander (Villervillakulla look alike) in West End. My room will be just behind the front veranda and I am just in the process of signing leases etc. Feels very good and I think the three of us will get along really well. Plus! Just found out that one of my really good friends lives on the same street, just a few houses from mine! Additionally, the house in front of ours has a cute little dog that usually hangs out on our veranda, big PLUS!

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Getting more and more into work as well. In the beginning I spend most of the time doing litterature research and learning techiques. Today for examples, I was cutting embedded sheep kidneys in 5nm thick slices in the histology lab for 2 hrs. Tough work when the sun is shining outside and the sky is as blue as Berry blue! Summer is coming!

Now it's mine! 
One decision down and I'm a bike owner to Berry Blue (Beau and I gave him a name on the way home). He is awesome so far and will be my fellow friend for a time now. Happy!

1. FIND A HOUSE
   Firstly, I have just been looking into short terms accomodation cause I wanted to find a place with Soph whenever she returnes from Canada. However I start to doubt if it is a good idea to live with your best friend and even if it would be, it seems pretty hard to find a decent short term rental. AND. I would have to do the whole process of finding a house again and probably fill it with furnitures etc etc. My economy might not hold for that atm. So. When starting to look into long term accomodations, I have found two places I really like.
   1.1 PIPPI LONGSTOCKING HOUSE: Very colourfull tidy and clean. Located behind another house on a very quiet street with 3 parking spots (for whenever I get a car). 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Two guys living there now, one is 28 doing his masters (could prob get along very well) one is 31 and works (prob do play a bit too much tv-games). I wouldnt be best friends with these guys but they would make good enough housemates. Awesome location. Negative things: I would have to go on the lease (6months) which would rule out the possibility of me and Soph finding a place together. No furnitures in the bedroom.
   1.2 GREAT QUEENSLANDER: Just looked at it. Its a BEAUTIFUL house! Perfect location. Owned by a 38 year old aussie who is really into fitness (he lives there too). Then there is a 27yo german girl (really nice, but will move out in 3 months time) and a 24 year old australian girl. So. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Slightly cheaper than the other house (including a cleaner who comes every second week). Wouldn't have to go on the lease which makes it easier to move out (one month notice). Non through road = no traffic. Has a cat named Wombat who I cuddled with a lot to see if I would be allergic, nothing yet! No furnitures in the bedroom.
   '
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2. BUY A BIKE
   2.1 BIKE 1: Either this one: http://www.merida.com.au/2011-bikes/fitness/speeder-series/speeder-t1.htm
   2.2 BIKE 2: Or this one: http://www.merida.com.au/2011-bikes/fitness/speeder-series/speeder-s2.htm
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3. CHOOSE A PROJECT
   This one is killing me since it is such a big comittment. I am in a very lucky position where I as a PhD student actually can choose what I want to do. Not many people could do that...
   3.1 PERICONCEPTIONAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE: Def my area of interest! Basically feeding rats with alcohol prior to pregnancy (not during as my master research was). Then make them pregnant and then analyse the metabolic effects on their offspring in adult life. Noone has ever done this! So it could be very exciting. However its hard to expect things and compare with others ofcourse... Good things: Project will be on rats, Id be the one responsible for it saying that I can do whatever I want to and only affect myself. Bad things: I would be on my own. Which means ten times more work. And the project doesnt have funding. Bad timing. Karen will apply for funding this year but it will take a year to put throgh. She says she probably will have enough money for it anyway but she coudlnt hire a research assistant that could work with it with me.
   3.2 PERICONCEPTIONAL MATERNAL HYPOXIA: I struggle to relate to this project. I cant see this event happen in real life and therefore I loose interest. Feels like such a bigger commitment since I am not as interested in it. Good thing. The projet is already going and it has 3 years funding already. A lot of people are working on it which means a lot of support, probably more publications and quicker process. Bad thing: Its on mice (i prefer rats) and my experiments wouldn't be prioritized.

Will also have a quick look at 99 bikes to see if I can find a bike which is able to make the hills both up and down, since the one that I am currently riding cant make either. No brakes and broken gears. Should be pretty easy replacable I guess. (Mum, Dad, can I get a bike for christmas?) =))

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Ok. It's time to go. Crossing fingers!

Just dropped down on someone...

Cred to Lauren for amazing decoration!

Back to the aussie life style! (Just broke my last pair of sunnies, hence the very bright colour of these once given to me by Beau).

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Btw, how inspiring isn't this:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/svenskahjaltar/article13855520.ab

One week in Australia and I have already been on one costume party. Where will this end!?

Mo and Cheryl

The grave yard (pretty well decorated party)

Molly and Leigh as dead babies

So, that was halloween 2011. Scared myself a little bit... 
Now, time to rush up a mountain!

I think a little piece of heaven just fell down on earth. Jalna yoghurt now exists in Mango! 
I should ask them to pay me for advertising them so well...althogh...noone that reads this blog can access Jalna without coming to visit me in Aus! Hmm. Do I maybe have a deal with a number of airlines there as well?

Second was nice but the housemates wern't really fun. Thord was a disaster. 
I guess I will just keep looking.

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Tomw is halloween. Prepare for the best costume...as always =)

There is one extremely certain way to know that you are back in Australia. You know these mornings when you wake up and sort of wonder where you are? Well. If you here the noise of the kookaburra lauging in the distance and have two other cuties sitting on the windowsill, then you know.

It's time for a lab meeting. Let's see what this PhD will be about...

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Had a day on the beach with Rish and Mick which was really nice. Swimming around in the crazy waves fighting with jelly fish. Sand everywhere. Just as it used to be! Mick told me to be out in the sun till I stoped reflecting it. I think I will turn dark pretty fast.

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Living with Beau. Looking for short terms every single day. Was visiting a house today which was ok but not good enough. Will have another look at a house in the city tomw evening. My supervisor at work is busy with honours students finishing up their projects this week so I dont have to be in until Thursday. I know she always wants me to take my time etc (very australian) but I'd rather just start!

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Anyway, Im keeping myself busy drinking coffee with people. Which is very good for my jetlag. Although it will soon be very quiet around since the semester is about to end and most people are leaving. Not good. The best news however is that my very dear friend Sophia is returning to Australia after an exchange in Canada sooner than expected. Cannot wait!

So, I moved. Since the last time I wrote. Australia just became the first place I hever returned to. It's a strange feeling. The flight took about 33 hrs including stops in Frakfurt, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. And hey, what is all this thing going on about how good Etihad is? I couldn't agree less. Fried sandwishes for lunch AND dinner? And nothing else? Nope! People should try Thai, really. Or even turkish airlines!

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Anyway, the trip was long but the immigration seemed to go very smooth. To start with. Then I got stoped by this smily lady asking me what I was about to do in Australia for so long. She took me aside and scanned my passport and every single stamp in it for about 15 minutes under a microscope. Then she smiled even bigger and handed it back to me. Finally. Obstacle number one. Went out to the baggage section and got trapped again. This time, because of Snuff!! (The cute little dog on the picture abouve that my friend gave me before I went off). Snuff was filled with wheat and got stoped. I got very sad, ofcourse! And asked the lady if I wasnt allowed to bring Snuff. She was however very nice and told me she could cut him open and empty him so I could bring him anyways. That is just what me and my mum was joking about before I left. And them it happened! Poor snuff!

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So. My friend Beau collected me from the airport with a sign saying "Marlene, we have missed you". So cute. Then we went off to Karsten'splace for a...BAM BAM BAM; JALNA breakie! Amazing. God I missed this yoghurt soo much! It was like heaven eating it again.

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Went off on a drive around Brisbane. A lot of memories poped up everywhere. But. To the weird thing. I felt nothing. I don't know whats going on. Maybe it's the jet lag that is really confusing me. I should be overwhelmed to be here after all the work that I put it. I've already met Beau, Karsten, Mo and Cheryl and it was awesome to see them all. But I just keep questioning the whole situation. Maybe some things are just meant to happen once. Im very confused. A nights sleep and a beach session tomw with Rish and Mick might be the medicine and get me on better thoughts. We shall see!

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Like I said. On the bus. I don't mind busrides. I even find them quite relaxing and fun sometimes. After living in Africa I can do nothing forever. Just sitting on my seat and be happy with that, starring out of the window. But this particular day, I have two things that annoys me just too much to care about. First. The guy next to me is an alcoholic druggo who smells horrible. I have wrapped my scarf around my head and dragged my beanie down as far as possible to avoid to inhale his smoky appearance. However, every time the bus stops. He tops it up with a new smoke and then some more General lös snus. Then the bus is wagging him to sleep almost immideately and he falls over me and my poor laptop. Drewling. Yum!
Second. Im terribly thirsty and we haven't made a stop any place near a shop for long enough to run out and get something to drink. 2.5 hrs to go. The only thing I can think of is water.

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Other than that, I'm trying to plan a goodbye trip to my hometown. Seems to happen next weekend. And I'm also becoming a bit of a famous person in Sweden after been hanging on the TV recording of Time out, Extra extra, Helt Magiskt and been doing some "modelling work" for svt. Look out for me in media guys! =)

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Coming closer to departure date (which I don't know just yet, but very soon) is tough as well. It makes me start thinking. DO I want this? Do I want to live so far away? Can I do this? Is this me? And all of a sudden I start to appreciate being in Sweden for the fisrt time in many years. Same shit as last time. But then. Every now and then, while lining up for the bus, squeezing myself into the subway as a fish in a tin, recieving angry looks from angry people. I get reminded. When looking at the weather forecast foreseeing snow, rain and cold evenings. Then I feel better. I always said I want a palm tree in my garden. Where in Sweden could I have that?

vs.

Have FINALLY got accepted for a UQI scholarship at UQ. Im gonna be a PhD student for the following 3-4 years in the country I love the most! It's all very exciting!

Again I have an enormous to-do list to tick of. I start to recognize the process. It's visas, insurances, flight tickets, bank stuff, shipping stuff, organize CSN, buying all the things I cantlive without etc etc. They are all conected to eachother ofcourse. Cant get a visa without a insurance, cant get an insurance without a flight tiket, cant get a flight ticket without a visa etc etc. But what tha hell, at least I know by now that it's worth every single second I spend in the different telephone lines. Cause. I'm gonna do what I love to do. And.

I'm coming home!

The lion pic on Drottninggatan is mandatory...

The weather didnt start very nice on the first day of the trip but we were lucky enough to avoid the rain!

On the ferry across from Ekerö to Adelsön. Found out after abt 40km in heavy heavy wind that the closest shop was located back in Stockholm, The one of the very northen part of Ekerö had closed down. It was pretty late. We were hungry. No other option than to take the ferry across and hope that the shop on Adelsön would still be open.

Picnic break

SOOOO LUCKY the shop was open. But no wine to celebrate the swedish summer. Haha, welcome to the swedish countryside!

Squeezed in the tent between the trees next to Mälaren (the big lake surrounding Sthlm). Very windy and extremely cold. BUT, an amazing sunset at least!

Almost back after 100km on the bike. (Should be mentioned that the bike I was using, I got when I was 12 years old. AND, the bike Adam was using, my MUM got when she was 12!!)

September pic of Slussen, Stockholm

Herring sandwish on Kavring. Very swedish!

So. I have succesfully guided another aussie friend around in Sthlm. Maybe I should become a tourguide here instead since I start to learn so much about my own country's history!
yeah?

...no.