September 23: Beyond the Genome Lab wasn't much lab work, it was basically just computer analysis, but that was fine. I had a great time with Tanya. On my way home, I was bombarded with people trying to get me excited about the student election. I started talking to one person about it, what her party stood for, and then two more came at me like vultures spotting carrion. I thought it was rather rude how one guy rudely barged in mid-conversation and kept interrupting the girl I was talking to. I understand wanting to gather votes, but then you should approach someone who isn't already talking, or let each other finish. When I actually voted, I actually got four leaves, which was handy in the strong wind. On my way home, I came across a banksia in bloom—beautiful! At home, I ate something, watched a movie, and worked on my Chemical Biology report. That evening, I played trivia again at the Rose Hotel with Bram and Sara (the "mean girls." We weren't very successful, haha; it went incredibly poorly. During trivia, I got a call from Mom, but I was busy so I asked if it was urgent. And yes, it was: Dad had fallen over again... Apparently, he'd changed his pacemaker to a lower limit of 35 bpm just before leaving?! That's really low. Hmmm, not very convenient. Anyway, it worked out fine. Tomorrow they have a field trip to the Daintree Rainforest, and stubborn as they are, they're still going, as the hospital appointment is postponed until Thursday. I kept telling Dad not to go swimming, but well, someone's pretty stubborn. After the call, I went back to the bar and had a nice chat (trivia had already ended). Around midnight, I was supposed to have a colloquium at Radboud University (I must have attended a certain number of them by the end of the year), but the link wasn't working, so I went to bed.
September 24: Got up early to run with Cailene and Cynthia at 7:00 AM from campus to Blackwattle Bay—great! It's more motivating when you run together. Afterward, we quickly went down Broadway together to do some errands. Late morning, we went to a neuro tutorial at the Susan Wakil Health building, which I'd never been to before. We saw a patient demonstration from someone with Parkinson's disease being treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS, electrodes in your brain that deliver signals to specific locations). She voluntarily turned off the device so we could see the effects of DBS—very cool! With DBS, only her right arm trembled a little, but without it, both arms and one leg trembled quite strongly. Very interesting to see such a technique in action, and impressive that she made herself so vulnerable in front of a full lecture hall. After the lecture, I was quite tired, so we got coffee somewhere, hahaha. I normally never drink it, but I didn't mind it. We studied and chatted with Cynthia and Cailene in the law building. Went to SUMS rehearsal in the evening, nice weather again, different conductor this time, but he was nice too. The people next to me hadn't been there in a while, and it showed; they kept hitting the wrong tempo or note. At home, I worked on some chemistry and tidied up a bit.
September 25: I had arranged to run with Cailene again this morning at 7 a.m., but she overslept, haha, it happens to everyone sometimes. I still went running to Blackwattle Bay and back. On the way back, I picked up Weetbix at Coles. I didn't know what it was, but Cailene really enjoyed it, so I was curious. It was nice, but it got soggy quickly. At 11:30 a.m., Cailene came to me for her first guitar lesson :D. I taught her some basics; I felt just like Jurek (my guitar teacher from Tegelen). We're going to learn Riptide (it only has a few simple chords and no difficult rhythm). After a while, we stopped because her fingers were done with it. Electric strings cut quite a bit, especially if you don't have calluses on your fingers yet. She enjoyed it and wants more guitar lessons from me. Yeeeey! In the afternoon I made an egg sandwich, relaxed, worked on a chem assignment and briefly called the dolls: Dad's pacemaker has been adjusted back to 45 bpm, better.
September 26: Study day: worked on a brief report for the Beyond the Genome and Chem report, which unfortunately took longer than expected.
