Its rainy today, which is a bit of a downer, though on the other hand it is legal to whinge about rain in Italy, unlike oz. Had a late night last night, which was good as it meant I slept through till 9am no problems, Cat called me to organise the serious business of getting out to the sales, which began today. So we headed off about 10, mooched a bit, got stiflingly hot in Zara, but it was worth it, bought some lovely shoes and a top. MOstly I just scoped it out, the queues to try things on were far too long, so I will go back later when it is less crazy. Italians are seemingly unable to shop alone, sp that doubles the crowd, not to mention the tactical shopping, husband stands in line, while the wife tries things on, and her smaller daughter darts amongst the crowd to fin the right colours and sizes.

My new shoes...


Cat and I went for a wander yesterday arvo and evening to tire ourselves out. Popped into San Agostino to say hi to Caravaggio's 'Madonna of the Streets'.

Starlings over Piazza Venezia


An antique shop


The Pincio Christmas tree



PIazza del Popolo

I am sooo hungry but still 45 mins till lunch.
Jet lag came and prodded me awake at 5:30am this morning, so I read a comic for a bit, but that woke me up more, so I decided to try counting sheep, but then I statrted analysing their relationship to the natural environment instead. So I eventually got up about 6:15 and did some pilates and sit ups.
Now I am in the library trying to get back into research, but I still feel a bit disorganised, I have so much to do and so much I can do I don't know where to start.

Rome 08

Back in Rome, this is becoming a habit isn't it?
Flight was straightforward but exhausting, I couldn't sleep as well as I normally can, plus the fact that I was so exhausted from that hot new years evening.
Am having an organising day today, it is bit cold and cloudy, though will venture out later for supplies to the local supermarket.

The weather was so crazy yesterday, it was fun though.
Naomi and I went to the city (eventually after lounging on the couch haing tea and miniature biscuits) to get some Christmas shopping, all went well, because I don't have much money there isn't much to buy this year! But I hope what I have got will be enjoyed.

Around 4pm the heavens opened and we were caught in a storm, it was very fun. We were down on Lt Collins st and did some rain dodging by cutting through the shops all the way to Melbourne Central with some leisurely yet damp strolls across the uncovered parts. Rain in any form is great at the moment, but I especially love it on hot days, everyone looked a bit excited and delighted and were giggling as they attempted to jump the rivers that were pouring down the gutters of Lonsdale St.

Cleared out my 'office' at La Trobe today and dropped off the last of the essays, so now I have officially dusted my hands of all that. It has been a good experience teaching there, not only in terms of the experience of actually coordinating a subject, but also the experience of a different university.

I am so impatient at the moment. About most things. I am impatient to leave on my trip. I am impatient for Christmas, though not in that old, fie year old, get up at 6am for presents way. I am even impatient about my day, I get impatient for the evening to arrive , even though nothing much exciting happens. In fact I'm not really excited about anything, just impatient for it to happen. I think perhaps I feel deeply dissatisfied with things in general. Hmm.

Paris

I want to go to Paris in April, I wonder if I can.

I am trying to get work done, but I just spent one hour looking for my passports, which I found finally filed away in a file under 'passports'. What does it say about me that I looked through all my handbags and under the bed before looking in my file?

Today I plan to write 1000 words. I also need to find some travel insurance, and work out christmas presents, and go to the post office.

The last few months

Oh my, August 30th, that was a while ago. Well all my readers (haha) probably know what I hae been up to but a quick summary is called for by the nature of the blog.

September was basically lots of work for La Trobe. That subject just took over. The weekend would be spent frantically trying to write lectures and plan tutorials, writing lectures till 11pm every Sunday evening is NOT fun. Monday was teaching, Tuesday was being exhausted. Got very little thesis done, which is upsetting, though to be expected.

October was the crazyness of moving house, going to Poland and trying to get marking done.

November was marking and writing a conference paper and enjoying the federal election.

And now it is December and it is exactly three weeks till I go to Rome. Which is both exciting but also stressful as I wanted so much to have finished my thesis, then when that didn't look hopeful I wanted to have my full draft in, and now I don't know where I will be. I am beginning to feel more and more that perhaps I am just not up to the task of actually completing a good PhD, or any PhD. Each time I feel close my supervisor just shoots more things down. Every full draft I finish is apparently full of holes, unresolved arguments and repetition, plus in his words from today 'crap translations'. Which is a nice way of acknowledging my hard work at translating archaic Italian.

Hey ho.

I have spent the last few days summarising all the information I have on the opera productions of the Arcadian Academy in early eighteenth century Rome and am now preparing to write chapter seven up good and proper.

Went to a lecture by David Starkey last night, was quite good though he was a bit dismissive about art historians. The problem with 'historians' is they think they are universal historians, and everyone else is unnecessarily narrow in their studies, whereas in fact they are typically social historians and can be just as narrow.

It was also, as Mark pointed out, a very public lecture. He tends to talk in absolutes, which i think of as a very television/popular historian trait. One can't really talk in that. Way. That emphasises. Every second. Word. *appropriate hand gesture* If you aren't saying words like. Absolutely. The most important. and so on. But it always. Gets me. Slightly irritated.

Anyway, he was very entertaining, and narky and intelligently imperious in that very Oxbridgian way and did an hilarious impression of the Queen.

The weather is so lovely today, except for the wind. I am off to the library then might go for a swim later.

What annoys me about the IQ challenge on Facebook though is the way that the World challenge knowledge seems so based upon what you know about South America, as though this is the quintessential test for the average North American. (I am also annoyed by seeming inability to remember which Scandinavian country is which.)


Grr, this student every email she sends me has one of those high importance tags, which just annoy me anyway. But she emails me last week, tells me i am impossible to contact just because i don't sit in my offie all week, then yesterday when i say i will be there all day and stay late just so she can catch me, she never turns up. Now I have another email saying that she needs to see me on another day this week. Well too bad I am not tracking an hour each way on the bus to see a student who didn't turn up for her last appointment, especially when it is just to sign a form.

Oh my god, facebook Books just judged me! I added a book with no author because it is an edited book, and it said 'please add the author, would you really want your friends to know you read a book with this information?' How rude. I am indignant.

Technology

First, my lecture was a recorded lecture on powerpoint which was such a drama to get hold of. First the lecturer (aka the supervisor) said it was only on keynote which is only for macs so ensued our usual back and forth about the fact that no i still do not have a mac, no i am not going to buy one just for this, no the fact that you do not use cross over software does not prove that macs are better etc etc. Then i said stuff it, i will write a lecture, i can't be arsed chasing up IT for three days when i could just write it. Fine. Then I get a phone call last night as clearly my supervisor thinks that the reason he hasn't heard from me is because i am disorganised and not because I AM WRITING THE LECTURE MYSELF. Anyway it turns out he has it on powerpoint, so that all seems fine and it is a more together lecture than mine and addresses something different to the tutorials, though i had to spend hours scanning images to go on all the mysteriously blank slides.

Today the projector doesn't work, so the IT man got a portable one, but that means the audio doesn't work through the speakers so i have to hold a mike to my laptop.
Grrr.

I think the tutes went better, but view painting is so hard to discuss, I never know what the angle is apart from:

This is Venice, painted and pretty and you know, quite nice really.

Just got this book to read yesterday. I luffs Mark Twain. I heard a review a while ago and the reviewer said "I remain uncertain as to whether Twain is being serious or not, and some of his observations seem quite offensive". Der.

My apartment has been sold We were meant to have an inspection this morning between 10:30 and 11am, so everything got re-tidied and I sat on the couch knitting and reading about Canaletto. Clock ticked past 11 so i went out on the balcony to have a look at the street and someone whistles at me, i look down and it is the young guy who came for an inspection on Thursday and he shouts 'I bought your apartment'. haha. I am pretty sure he wants us to stay on as long as we renegotiate the rent to about $300 a week which is still really good for a two bedroom city apartment. Yay. *fingers crossed*

The inspection went fine, the guy wants to live in it but not right away so if he buys it we can probably stay for at least another six months

At La Trobe at the mo, and have discovered i have been underpaid $250, grr. Just wrote an email about it, looking at my contract i realise that they wrote the wrong code next o the pay amount. Honestly why is this so hard?

I also want this hatstand from ebay

I have such a sore neck. Mark had organised to go to transformers with a friend, and I was meant to go to uni for a lecture but decided the movies sounded better. So anyway we bought our tickets and discovered it was in a beanbag cinema! It was pretty funny the three of us on a three seater beanbag. I was in the middle and kept thinking if i moved too much the two boys would roll on top of me. Haha. The movie was pretty fun too.

Now I have to tidy everything before an inspection, I have to make the apartment look like it is a bad thing to buy to live in but perfect to buy and keep us as tenants

I am wasting time before i go the horrid bus stop. I have a supervision meeting soon at Melbourne uni, yawn, i hate trekking on pt. I have done absolytely zero since my last meeting, except for what i could scrabble together today. Plus my head is all fuzzy and i just can't concentrate here. I though about calling it off but maybe i need it to get me started again.

I finally finished my course guide. Hurrah. I will take the rest of the day off now, i think I will go out now and buy a bottle of something for Mark as a thankyou for all his emotional and scholarly assistance this week. Then I should tidy some things, I have been so untidy lately, I got into bed last night and there were two overcoats in there, under the quilt, and I have a pile of books in the study that is nearly as high as me and teetering dangerously.

I put Goethe on the front, my traveller hero.

http://www.odysseetheater.com/goethe/bilder/goethe_tischbein.jpg

Grr I am having contract issues because the admin lady found out that there are guest lecturers and therefore thinks i shouldn't be paid for those weeks, despite the fact that I organise them etc etc, plus they don't expect to be paid because it is a sort of swap thing but that can't be quantified. Thank goodness I have a friend in the department who is permanent and is helping me. I wrote a long email trying to clarify things but i don't think it helped at all.

I am reading "Thhe City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt (of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Fame)

It is very good and i just read a paragraph about someone i have actually met, a corrupt minister for culture Vittorio Sgarbi and not only did I meet him I fell down a flight of stairs and landed at his feet.

I went and sussed out LaTrobe today (after a mini panic about it yesterday). Took a bus for the first time in ages and ventured to the burbs.

First, it is so confusing there all the buildings look the same! I kept going the wrong way. But on the positive side there are pretty trees and ducks around. But anyway I went and visited the department head and she said "oh you pre-empted me i wasn't going to do contracts for a week or so" , oh dear, then she didn't know how i was to be paid, hmm. Anyway I just went and spoke to other people and they told me she is rubbish and gave me lots of tips. I have my office now which has a nice view onto trees. I worked on my unit booklet all day and also learnt about the web stuff from the visual sources librarian who is lovely, whenever i couldn't figure something out she just offered to do it for me.

Will probably work at home tomorrow but should have everything done by Thursday-ish. Writing a course outline is surprisingly easy actually, I just have to figure out the reading lists, and then write my lecture for the first week and i will feel under control.

As i write more and more art history thesis i find i can communicate only in images, so my day in pictures. I just went to the NGV to hear about this new painting and who should walk in and look at the paintings but it looked like a personal visit too which is great, good to know the pollies like the arts Now I am at uni trring to finish a chapter section about these and later i am going to this exhibition opening at acca and then this

I'll be the little engine that could.

Just had a supervision meeting and it was tension, supervisor is frustrated that i haven't got things finished, i am frustrated that i can't get them finished... we made this nutso timetable which i have to keep to. Will write down so everytime i come on here i will be reminded to go and study. By tonight - email Chapter 5 'The History and Development of the Baroque Garden Theatre' all polished up (7500 words) By Thursday - email Chapter 4 The Hedge Theatres of Lucca and Siena(20 000 words) I still have ten pages to edit and really need to spend thursday reading it out and checking argument, if this isn't in i think i will hear my supervisor yelling from Daylesford (where he lives) Chapter 5 'Set Design from 1500-1850' - Tuesday 5th June (10 000 words) Chapter 6 'The Garden Sets of Filippo Juvarra' (6000 words) - Sunday 10th Chapter 7 'The influence of Italian Opera on the Early english landscape garden' sunday 10th (this is already done hurrah) Chapters 3 and 4 'the Enchantress in the Baroque Garden' (15000 words) - Sunday 17th. So if you don't see me...

ok a few pics, my internet is all used up at home and i was rushed and only put not so interesting ones on my usb. from the ice bar the other night the gun for doing shots through cept they lost the funnel and couldn't do it, losers i was so cold my legs went blue!! and from the other day, bourke st mall has so many gorgeous buildings but somehow i never notice them, i guess i don't look up.

I am so fed up with a book. It is written in such difficult Italian and also it is not clear at all, so I am constantly uncertain as to whether i just don't understand or whether they are actually unclear. Gah. Have to finish two chapters by Sunday, which at least means i will have a cheap weekend and not be poor like I am now. Yesterday was completely hopeless, I felt so drained and tired and i don't know why as i deliberately took the whole weekend off because i felt so tired last week. Bit better today. Need a plan so as not to feel overwhelmed. Plan. Finish writing up the history of the Villa Marlia and Villa Garzoni Have lunch Go for walk Plan section on the history of ruin theatres and the art nouveau revival. Then I can leave this chapter tmw and edit the previous one which i now have back with corrections. Friday go to library and look at my books that have arrived from OS. Look at chapter 5 again on Saturday and fill out the section on the Arcadian Academy in Rome. Sunday finish and send and have some time off. Monday. Start editing chapter 6.

My function went fine, i think, chatted to all the important types. I wasn't sure who I shoul thank, i thanked the donor and the italian institute, but then i though maybe i should thank my supervisor, but then i thought maybe i shouldn't because he was on the selection committe and i didn't want to make it seem nepotistic, gah, confusing. The dean was very nice, though of course when i said that to supervisor he started grumbling about people in charge blah blah. Met the donors, all very nice, the two sons were there and one was soo good looking i found him hard to talk to, how silly. Plus he was a lawyer and who really understand that anyway? well not me.
It also turns out that I can have private one-on-one lessons for thsi scholarship at the ITalian Institute of Culture, which is molto exciting.
Back to footnotes and the terrible catalogue.......

Here is hamish from last friday looking all neat and innocent, but about 5 minutes before he had been licking the kitcen skirting boards,

I have a function on Thursday for this scholarship which i thought was just going to be a small thing with me and the donors but it turns out there is going to be about 30 people. Including the Dean of Arts, head of our school, a rep from Deutsche Bank (have no idea why), and heaps of other people. Gah I am so not in the mood this week, it is nice an all and flattering but I just don't feel that important or talented.

Done my 105 footnotes for chapter three but in the process have destroyed brain cells, I am sort of tempted to just send the damn thing but my supervisor is so critical I feel I should spend tomorrow reading it and then send it, try and be thorough an all. Then take Sunday off to see my Great Aunt etc and start working on Chapter 4 on Monday, hopefully it will be easier as the topic is more straightforward. Oh and how tacky are party conferences, honestly I have been hearing about the Labor one all day, enough already, let them roll in their cliches and self congratulation on their own. calm thoughts

People should not be encouraged to ring radio stations, talkback should be shot. They are talking about homework, oh god boring. Honestly kids getting extra tutoring for homework under 10 is clearly wrong and stupid, let them climb trees and eat biscuits instead, the end, discussion closed, now put something more interesting on with intelligent people.

It is funny though they are saying maybe too much homework gives kids bad backs from carrying heavy bags home, but when my bag was heavy it was full of non school books.

I have no energy today, i just went to the bank and supermarket and was buggered when i got home and they are just across the road. I had some tea as that is meant to fix stuff isn't it, plus I feel so bloated and fat but i just don't have time or money to exercise enough, it won't last i know, just have to finish this damned thesis, but it is depressing feeling all fat and wibbly wobbly.

I am so blah today, my work is pretty strightforward, i just have to go through and fix footnotes, but that means jumping up every five seconds to find some article or book. Plus I have a 100 page articles itting in front of me that I know i have to reference but it is in GERMAN i sort of think if i look at it long enough it might make sense, which is rubbish.

Yesterday was fun, well my supervision meeting in the morning wasn't. My supervisor has this skill to zoom in on the one missing full stop in 40 pages and just shakes his head saying 'sloppy, sloppy' grrrr, then i walked about 100 metres past the uni's busiest cafe with my skirt half caught on my underwear god.

But then had Ross Noble in the evening, oh lord he went for three hours and i had a sore belly after from laughing so much, i love him. Then went to supper club for wine and my wine was corked, so i told them and they didn't believe me i have the best nose for taint, the guys downstairs at the proper wine bar where they aren't just pretty things in black ask my opinion. The guy implied i just didn't know what french merlot would taste like and maybe i should try something softer, patronising poohead.

Today is slow. Hvae made myself Jasmine tea in the hope of feeling a bit more pepped, and because I am trying to be healthier as of this week. I have been feeling so full lately, even though I have been eating lots, i think it is lack of exercise.

To remedy this I had rung a pilates place in the city about a free lesson, but those things are such a scam, you don't get a lesson just someone to show you round and try and sign you up for as many classes as possible. I just wanted a look around and they were so pushy, the guy was all smiles and happy and then when I said I would think about it, he didn't want to hear it, wanted to know why I couldn't afford 2 hours a week to look after myself um, no I can't afford the cost of the full blown membership thankyou very much. It would cost a week there a little less than what it cost for a month at uni, which gave me free swimming too. Plus he was all dismissive of my uni classes, but then actually didn't seem nearly as well informed about the real health benefits. Anyhoo.

Reading the BBC and misread the headline about Nicole Kidman's award as " Kidman receives top honour from her naive Australia"

Should be studying but lying on couch listening to Late Night Live repeat.
I will need a t-shirt 'I wrote my thesis on the couch listening to Radio National'

Just figured out a book i have been desperately waiting for hasn't arrived because i didn't complete the payment steps! done now and i canexcitedly look forward to many essays upon Lucca arriving on my doorstop.

Had breakky with lizey this morning then went out for wander to look at stuff i can't afford. I really need a new bra, might ask Mark to buy me one, i figure if i get a noice lacy one he can enjoy it too

Found out my paper for some melbourne conference wasn't accepted but i don't really care, it is such a wank conference called 'crossing cultures' run by the bitchface professor in our department. The letter said 'I hope you will attend anyway', um at $500 bucks a ticket i think not! I do not undersatand why they are so expensive, no doubt there will be the usual confusion about why attendances are so low. Fools.

Must edit some more footnotes now, and write something.

Oh and while I am on self promotion, check out Sarah's lovely article with my picture from the fash fest in March.

http://www.thescene.com.au/hype/2007_3_14_248.html

Read my article:
http://www.elsewhereonline.com.au/place/the-gardens-of-lucca-by-dr-katrina-grant/

and check out my promotion to doctor, why bother finishing the PhD now?

Back in the study.

The weekend:

Friday was breakfast , with hot cross buns and camera phones.
Drinks in evening, wtih portugese red wine and discussion about castrati.
Saturday was market, to market, to market for shiny red capsicums and lacklustre garlic.
Afternoon was a hazy nothingness of going back to bed to read.
Evening was an adventure to the suburbs to hear singing of Gesualdo and Lassus.
Sunday was working and finishing an article and to Blackburn for dinner.

I want some dark purple nailpolish and a new dress.

On the weekend me and mum and my sis took the dogs to Warrandyte for the festival, it was so fun, even though it was raining, all full of hippies and suburban types and teenagers trying to be goths, but somewhow, sitting by a river under gum trees+black hair and ripped fishnets just looks odd rather than rebellious.

There were little pot plants to buy, five books for a dollar, lucky dips and school cake stalls I was almost tempted to have my face painted but not with the rain.

The doggies were a great hit, Hamish (the westie) kept trying to pull cakes off the stalls and the stallholders just cooed over how cute he was. He wasn't be cute he was being a greedy fatty fatso!

Work work work work, that is me. The more i revise these chapters the more work i seem to need to do on them. So frustrating.

photos

I have lost someone's email address so will have to write to them, how twentieth century, I will write a proper letter with punctuation and everything.
Am at uni don't like it. But must work, every bloody time I try and get some work done on thesis there is an email asking for an article to be finished, grrr, or reminding me about funding applications due etc etc. Why can't someone rich just adopt me while I finish?!? Why!!!!??