Chilli con carne potatoes

I love chilli con carne. It's delicious. You can use it a variety of ways in a meal. I enjoy having it in a lettuce cup, the boyfriend likes it in wraps, so I thought I would try a new way for dinner one night when I was craving potato. 

I highly suggest drinking a beer with this meal, I had some Peroni with mine and it seemed to complement the pallet.

Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, medium size.
• 1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed, drained (I like using the mexican red kidney beans, if you use this don't drain/rinse)
• 400 g lean beef mince
• 1 can of tinned diced tomato
• 1 packet of either chilli con carne seasoning or mexican seasoning. 
• 1 tbsp of fresh chives or tuscan seasoning
•  Tub of light sour cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Wash and dry the potatoes and pierce with a fork, drizzle with oil then cook for 1 hour or until tender. (Alternatively, cook until tender in the microwave if you are short on time, but in the oven is preferred).
   
   
   
   
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan. Place mince in the pan and cook until sealed or browned. Add the kidney beans and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and mexican seasoning, mix thoroughly. Simmer for 20 minutes then season with salt and black pepper.
   
   
3. Make cross-cuts in the top of the potatoes and open. Place on 4 plates, top with the chilli con carne, spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle with seasoning/chives

If you like spicy, I suggest that you also top it with some hot sauce whether that be Tabasco sauce or in our case was Peri Peri Extra Hot sauce. Gives it that little bit extra, alternatively put some extra curry/chilli powder in the corne carne while cooking. (1 serving/potato was 7 weight watcher points, but it is super filling. I think it was 7 because I put some oil with the potatoes, so alternatively to decrease the point value, don't use oil)

Animal chiropractors work. Don't roll your eyes before reading

Meet Buff.

He is a miniature poodle who is 15 years old. I have had him since my 7th birthday. He is pretty rad and anyone who knows me at all know that I love him an insane amount. Anyone who has met Buff can tell you how awesome he is. He still acts as a puppy and growls about literally everything (I am using "literally" in the correct sense; he growls when you pat him, pick him up, put him down.. anything) which is just his way of talking. He is extremely friendly, playful, well behaved and cuddly. 

Unfortunately when I moved out I couldn't take him with me because I am on the 3rd floor of an apartment block which doesn't allow pets. Also I thought at his age it would probably be best if he stayed somewhere familiar. 

About 6 months ago, Buff hurt himself by jerking his head back too quickly. He wasn't sleeping, wouldn't let anyone touch him, whining and yelping in pain. He was taken to the vet and the only thing they could do was put him on an insane amount of drugs. Don't get me wrong, vets are pretty awesome and ours is fantastic and stayed with Buff overnight to make sure he was okay. But giving him drugs was only making him numb to the real problem. His back.

Now my mum worked for chiropractors most of my life, so I have been getting adjustments since I can remember. My whole family does and it works for us, so why not for my dog? We had taken buff before and it had helped, so would it work when he was in such a bad state? We asked the vet and he said "well, at this point you might as well try anything.". Dad had started talking about cooking up a big T-Bone for Buff as his last meal..... Yeah I was going to try anything to keep my dog around. 

At this stage I had kept Buff in my apartment because it stopped him from pacing in my parents big house. I was in the typing up stage of my honours and home all the time except for when I was at work when I left him at the parentals (which is 5mins from my work). This was slightly helping but not much. I drove him to Fiona Kates in Wattle Glen, which is 25km north-east from Melbourne's CBD. Her clinic is located next door to her house, so when you go there you will see number 18 before you see the sign. When you see the sign, drive up the driveway and park. The little building is the clinic (not the big main house).  She put him up on this table thing because he is small (kinda like at the vets, but with grip) and adjusts him. It is not like at the human chiropractor where you lay down but he stands. She tests his reflexes, balance and how he is distributing his weight to compensate for any pain. It only took about 10-20mins and as expected he was pretty sore afterwards. She said for me to keep him in my apartment and would see me again in a week. After 3 weeks Buff was totally off all medication and was acting as his stupidly happy self again. We only had one set back when he was feeling super good 3 days later and decided to leap over the barrier and K.O. himself. 

So we go every few months now as maintenance for him, it always helps him out in his old age. I want to make it clear this isn't some rich person hippy treatment, this is something that works! Fiona is certified which you can see here:

http://www.avca.com.au/member_detail.php?id=145

And she almost always agrees with the vet's opinion. 

Now here are some more cute photos of the Buff

Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam Flemington review

On Sunday night Alice and I went out to Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam in Flemington for dinner. Because it was 8pm on a Sunday night it was pretty quiet, only about 4 other tables had people on them and it is one of the few which are open late on a Sunday in Melbourne. 

The Flemington Chillipadi is one of the largest restaurants in the area (not including the bars), possibly either smaller than or same size as Laska King. It has only 5 seater tables; if it is super busy and there are only 2 of you, it is expected that you share a table with others. 

The menu has a lot of options, making it rather hard to decide although it meant there was really something for everyone. Our starter was 3 curry puffs for $5.90, as well as my Lycheetini and Alice's Ribena and Vodka. For the main, unfortunately picked the only thing on the menu which wasn't available, so it was lucky there were plenty of options. I ended up just having a small butter chicken with coconut rice, vegetables and a papadum. Alice got the Mee Goreng. Both meals were 10.90 which was definitely worth what we got. After ordering our meals, we got everything within 5-10mins. The chicken in my meal was very tender just falling apart, there was no spice to it at all like butter chicken should be, but it definitely wasn't bland. The vegetables included cabbage and carrots which were aromatic and just gave it that little bit extra to the meal in a whole. 

The Mee Goreng that Alice got, was quite large and she could not stop eating it; it was that good. After eating approximately half of it, she was very full was sad she couldn't finish it. We were probably sitting and chatting for about 20mins and in that time Alice ate another quarter of the meal. I pinched this photo from the net because my phone battery died before I was able to take a photo of hers, I swear it was much bigger than this. 

In total the night cost us $44.70 and considering the speedy service, very tasty meals and refreshing drinks I think is DAMN GOOD. After we paid and left, I was checking the receipt and noticed that Alice was only charged $4 for her drink because it wasn't on the menu... which I think was a mistake considering how large her drink was. Happy mistake for us!

Alice's alcoholic $4 Jar drink.

For Todays lesson; Blue-ringed Octopus!

Not only am I going to teach you a few things about the infamous deadly Blue-ringed octopus, I am also going to use my special lifesaving knowledge to teach you what to do if you ever get bitten by one of these bad boys.

There are 3 species of blue-ringed octopus, and 2 of these are only found within Australia. The Blue-lined octopus (Hapalochlaena fasciata) is found mostly within Queensland and New South Wales. It is covered in blue streaks rather than rings and enjoys swimming around the ocean (up to 10-15m depth) as well as the intertidal region. The more common one is the Southern blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa) most commonly found within the tidal regions in Southern Australia (QLD, NSW and VIC) and has the infamous blue rings covering its body. The Southern blue-ringed is the one I shall be going over more intimately (because I know it better) but most of the information can be applied to the blue-lined octopus. 

What is it?

The blue-ringed octopus (which I am now shortening to BRO because I don't want to have to type it out a million times) is, like all octopuses, a cephalopod mollusc. Its diet consists of crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp, with the BLO (lined) species also consuming fish if it can catch one. 

BROs have a beak which it uses to distribute a neurotoxin into its prey after it has pounced on it in and captured it with its arms. This beak is strong enough to break through the exoskeleton of crustaceans. To give you an idea on how deadly this neurotoxin is, depending on it's size (most are around 12cm long) it can kill approximately 20-30 humans within minutes. 

Like all octopuses, the BRO can manipulate its shape so it can hide in small crevices within rockpools and piles rocks in front of its hiding spot as to avoid predation. If an arm is amputated, it is possible for them to regenerate it (which by the way all octopuses can do). they can propel themselves through the water using their hyponome to expel a large amount of water pushing them forward.

What's the deal with the blue rings?

The BRO doesn't always have its distinctive blue rings activated, these are only seen when the BRO is angry or feels threatened. The photo on the left is a BRO specimen from the Melbourne Museum shows what they look like in their dormant happy-go-lucky state. The right shows what it looks like with the rings.

What should I do if I see one/bitten?

First off if you see one, leave it there and DO NOT TOUCH IT! Remember the location of where you spotted it and report it to either the local surf club or council so they know there are some about. BROs are harmless unless provoked so don't kill it or try and get a closer look, just leave it alone.

It is reported that most people won't feel the bite when it initially happens and can go unnoticed at first. I can't believe I actually found a photo of the bite, and this is the only physical evidence of  the BRO biting their victim.

Within the first 10 minutes symptoms of the neurotoxin start to emerge and if this is happening, you need to call an ambulance IMMEDIATELY (112 or 000) and find someone to be with you until they arrive. If you found the bite location, apply a pressure bandage starting below the bite site upward on the affected limb to the joint (eg if a bite is on the wrist, start at the fingers and end at the elbow). This can be used to treat any venomous bite from any animal.

First symptoms include weakness and numbness around the face, nausea and vomiting. Soon they will become totally paralysed while still conscious, but their heart will stop and they will not be able to breath for themselves any more. Without help, they can be dead within 30mins of the initial bite. CPR is required to keep them alive (30 compressions to 2 breaths) and do not say anything negative about the patient while preforming CPR because they are still conscious and can hear everything you are saying. Unfortunately there isn't an antivenom for BROs, so they will need to stay in hospital for an extended period of time until all venom has been flushed from their system. 

And that's this weeks lesson on intertidal systems! Oh and fun fact, Octopussy (the character from the James Bond film, Octopussy) had a tattoo of a BRO. I have all the bond films but unfortunately I don't have that one on my laptop. So here is a photo of her in her dressing gown

Delicious low-fat Tuscan tarts!

I do enjoy cooking and experimenting with food. Whenever I go grocery shopping with the boyfriend, he grabs something which he wants to be made into a meal. One day this was pastry.

This is the delicious dish I created with said pastry. My oven however is the most temperamental oven in the world, so when I cook I don't use specific amounts of time. I literally do a visual/smell/taste test. 

Ingredients

170 g reduced-fat puff pastry, (2 x sheets)

150 g low-fat ricotta cheese

50 g reduced-fat feta cheese

2 tbs Tuscan herbs

400 g cherry tomato, grape, red and yellow

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan-forced. Line the inside of muffin trays with baking paper.
   
   
2. Cut each pastry sheet into 9 squares and wait until the pastry is soft enough to manipulate without breaking. Carefully transfer into prepared trays. Keep in refrigerator until ready to fill
   
   
3. Combine ricotta, feta, and tuscan herbs in a bowl. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Fill ricotta mixture inside each pastry cup. Top with tomatoes.
   
   
4. Bake for 20–25 mins or until pastry is golden. Served drizzled with vinegar.

This recipe works out to be 1 Weight Watchers ProPoints value

The herbs can be interchanged with anything you think this also might work with. I get my fresh herbs from Queen Victoria Markets which always smell and taste incredible. If you want to make a similar one fresh I suggest using parsley, chives and basil. A touch of sweet paprika is also nice. But get creative, I just go with the flow when I cook and so should you!

Sugarbeat Cafe review

Sorry this is coming a bit late today, I was super hungover and had to drive the boyfriend to the airport. 

We went out for brunch in Ascot Vale at Sugarbeat cafe. It's a intimate little cafe which has seating out the front and also inside. The staff were very friendly and had a really nice relaxed atmosphere.The boyfriend got the Chicken quesadilla which he enjoyed and was definitely one I was considering having, but instead got the Sugarbeat BLAT. We didn't have to wait long at all for our meals and The food was delicious, even my boyfriend ate a bit of his salad which had dressing on it; that never happens. This is a quiet little local hang out with food that is not only delicious, it is also relatively cheap! The coffee was nice but nothing too special, but I am lactose intolerant so I have to have soya milk which is super easy to burn. The menu is small but it all looks rather tasty, not to mention they serve breakfast until 3pm, and who doesn't love breakfast?

I am definitely keen to go there again for breakfast or lunch, now that I have discovered the local secret that is Sugarbeat Cafe.

http://www.sugarbeat.net.au/

Doutta Galla review while under the influence...

Doutta galla Hotel
339 Racecourse Road Flemington
www.douttagallahotel.com/

This is a place which I definitely underestimated. The food in Flemington is delicious but the pubs I don't expect to be fantastic. The pub with the name which I never know how to pronounce (I believe it is DOO-TA) is pretty damn fun! I went here tonight with one of my best friends... let's call her Sprinkles. I have been there two other times; once with my other best friend... let's call her Alice. The other with my boyfriend on a double date with Bashful and Miss Doc (not their real names). 

Well with Alice I stayed mostly outside because she smokes. We mainly drank wine but I did have a few cocktails. Even though the prices were a bit expensive in both wine and cocktail choices, they were both worth it.  We paid around $4 maybe $5 a glass of non-house wine and it wasn't bad. They have their own personal cocktails there and also have $9 mojito on Thursdays. I will be definitely coming back for that night.

Tonight with Sprinkles, we had some basic nachos to share as well as some jugs of Bulmers apple cider (which were around $19 a jug). The nachos were really delicious, the plate size was rather big, came within 15 min of us ordering and it filled us up. It should be noted we don't have small appetites so for something to fill us up says something. All of the bar staff were really friendly and enjoyed having a joke with us. The atmosphere is really chilled and it is one of those places you feel instantly comfortable in.

This is a really good place for a casual drinks, a top quality pub meal, listen/watch film clips of some great classic/vintage fun music or to watch any sporting event on (they had sports showing other than AFL! THEY HAD NRL SHOWING IT WAS AMAZING). If you are in the area and just want to enjoy the old fashion stylings of pubs in Melbourne; go to Doutta galla! They have restored it as it was in the 19th century.

Extremely easy to get to, the 57 Tram and the Craigieburn train line (Newmarket station) stop almost at the doorstep. There is also a taxi rank diagonal from the Doutta (right near the Tram stop for Newmarket plaza). 


That's my honest drunken review of the Doutta. You can't get more honest than a drunk person.
Oh and I love you guys, seriously, you guys are the greatest.

Eyelash extensions; Review of Go Bella and Glamour Queen Dolls

These are the two experiences I have had with eyelash extensions. Go Bella was the first time I have had extensions done. Glamour Queen Dolls I had done today so this review will only have the appointment experience for that one. The only reason I got them done again so soon after my last experience is because I have a function on the weekend. 

Go Bella

Williamstown, Victoria. 

www.gobella.com.au

To get the initial appointment, she accepts email only - which I didn't mind at all. It took about 1 week before I got a reply but I was in no hurry. Once I got there I thought I had the wrong address. It's at a house which is a spilt block and she did say in the email to walk down the driveway. After getting inside I was pleasantly surprised with the place, there were candles, nice smells and calming music. While I was having the appointment, the lady who did mine was  nice. She was helpful and even though I couldn't speak (because you aren't allowed to while it's happening) she chatted to me every now and then. It only took 30mins to get a full eye done and they looked amazing. But after opening my eyes, oh god the pain. I have sensitive eyes already so when I first opened my eyes I didn't know that it was going to sting! No one told me! About an hour later it stopped hurting but honestly, that's not normal; it is suppose to sting only for 5ish minutes apparently. I also had to un-stick one of my bottom lashes from a top lash. She had attached a bunch of extensions on one of my bent natural eyelashes causing it to poke me in the eye. I didn't realise any of these problems until 2 weeks later. I emailed her asking for my refills to be done in 2 weeks time, I did this because I knew from the first email I had to send her it takes a week or more for her to reply and then she books the appointment for a week or more after that. 

I never received an email back. So, on groupon you can by eyelash extensions for Go Bella and they are insanely cheap. Don't do it. She is doing it to get the initial business from you and rip you off. I was hoping she was just busy but it has been 2 months since I sent off 4 emails to her without no reply and needless to say, my extensions have all fallen out. 

Glamour Queen Dolls

Melbourne CBD, Victoria.

www.glamourqueendolls.com

I was running a few minutes late to this one so at the start she said she might not be able to do my eyebrows which I was more than fine with considering I don't mind how they look. Well she did it anyway and I am undecided if I like them or not. They are weird looking to me and feel thin but that is because I have never had it done before. I found it rather painful  on my outer brow. She used a technique called threading, and I think it was a rather painful for me because I have a giant pimple forming right above my brow line. Lucky I have a full fringe so I can hide them until they grow back. Anyway this experience with my eyelash extensions was WAY better! She made sure they were dry before I opened my eyes and when I did open them my right eye stung a fair bit so she made me close my eyes again and tried to dry it again (think about a turkey baster blowing air on your eyelashes). On the train home my right eye started to sting a little bit but it wasn't even close to how painful the first time was. Unfortuantely due to the amount of damage to my eyelashes from the the fuck up that was Go Bella (you can see in the before photo the gaps and various length of my lashes) I had to get them less dramatic and shorter than I like but they still look pretty cute. Once I can use my eyeliner again it will look awesome. Hopefully when I get my refills done I can get them a bit longer. I apologise for the blurry pictures but my eyes are super sensitive to light and I didn't want to try and take a million photos to get a better picture. I will update this in a few days time when my eyes are not red and super sensitive

UPDATE:

This is a photo I took the next day with flash. My eyes aren't sore at all and they are totally fine. No itchiness, no pulling and nothing poking me in the eye.

These eyelashes I got on size 12 because Go Bella had destroyed my eyelashes and they were short as before and brittle. They lasted around 2 months before I needed a refill (max, I'd suggest going back before then) and looked awesome again. AND when I opened my eyes the second time within 5 minutes I was totally pain free. Winner! They also send you text messages with special offers too! Currently I am giving my eyes a rest for a month or more before I go to NYC for a holiday. 

Volunteering, does it blend?

When it comes to volunteering, I suggest that you aim for something within the same field in which you wish to get a job in. That seems pretty obvious right? Well apparently not considering the most amount of volunteering I've been doing is surf lifesaving for the past 7 years... 

Where do I start?

So you have decided what you want to do, but how do you do it? There are some really great websites

In Australia;

The by far best one for environmental volunteering is http://www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/

And these are some general ones which are also good which I have had friends use:

http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/html/s01_home/home.asp

http://www.govolunteer.com.au/volunteer/default.htm

In the United States (I included this because I noticed I have quite a few people checking this out via the US)

http://www.volunteermatch.org/

http://volunteer.truist.com/

And ask around at your university, mine has a protected grassland on site that we can volunteer through. Also ask some of the honours/masters/PhD students if they need any assistance with field/lab work - it's another great way to get into further education too! I am currently doing lab work for one of my co-supervisors. 

So how long do I have to do this before I get a job?

Well I am still unemployed so you tell me. From advice I have gotten from people within the industry there is no such thing as too much volunteer experience. In ecology they are going to look at volunteering experience before work experience. Do any extra events that you can. I did a conference called "Sharing the Love" which involved all the marine conservation friends groups coming together to have discussions. Wow I learned a lot and met some really interesting people. It also confirmed that no matter how upsetting it is to get rejected from a job application, in the end it will all be totally worth it.

Volunteering is also a great way to suss out whereabouts you want your career going. This doesn't just apply for ecology by the way. A friend of mine was applying for jobs left right and centre in marketing after she finished uni and was getting nothing. She signed up for volunteering her marketing services for a non-profit organisation and she ended up beating hundreds of applicants for a intern-ship a few months later. Now she works there full time and all because she volunteered.

Not only can volunteering help further your career, but it can enrich your education. It shows your employers/lecturers that you are passionate and enthusiastic about your field, which is always going to get you brownie points.

Now here's a photo of ridiculous surf lifesavers at my surf club practising IRB roll overs

Well shit. I'm never going to drown; my stomach is a floatation device

For me to give you advice on dealing with weight gain/loss, I think it's important for you to understand my story. This blog won't really have any advice in it, it's just so I don't have to repeat /explain every time I talk about it. 

I used to do competitive swimming. Before I could even walk I was swimming, I love every second of being in the water. Once my mum had a mini heart attack when I was 4 at home after she witness me rip off my floatys, yell "ADAMMMMM ANT!" and jump into the pool. She sprints over to find me doing laps.

Then until about 17 did I compete (the photo is of me in my funky trunks diving). At one stage I did 12 training sessions a week. My races were the 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 400 freestyle and was starting to get into the 200m backstroke. I injured my tail bone (coccyx) when I was 15 by my cousin tackling me into a birdbath (you can laugh, it's pretty ridiculous). It wasn't too bad it was just a bit sore. But I further worsened that injury by slipping over in the shower. I had to learn how to sit, stand, walk again. I was told I wasn't going to be able to swim again. After 9 internal procedures, I proved them wrong by slowly getting back into training by increasing my training session by 15min intervals every month. Once I had finally got back into it, I was at state qualifiers when I was 17. The 800m free was by far my favoured race and the girl who always used to beat me wasn't competing. I was pretty pumped but after I did the most amazing start/dive I have ever done on the first stroke I heard a pop crunch in my shoulder. By the last 100m I could barely get my right arm stroke further than my head. I came 4th.

After being helped out of the pool and going to the chiro I found out I had dislocated my collar bone and it was pressing down on a set of nerves. This caused my whole arm to go completely numb. /endcompetitiveswimming

Since then, having a swimmers appetite and not doing any physical activity did not help my physical shape. During high school I started to make myself throw up every time I ate, and skipped meals. Not too long after I started uni, I stopped doing this. My attitude to my body image has improved since then and now have some clarity on dealing with weight gain. I haven't lost all the weight yet, I have had heath problems slowing my metabolism WAY down. Not to mention an operation which required them to inflate my abdominal cavity with gas (which they didn't let out after the op), stretching all of my skin giving me excess skin. I still have to sit on a doughnut cushion (which I will have to do for the rest of my life) and nerve damage in parts of my arm causing pain and difficulties while working out. 

I am in no way a professional but I can give you a super honest opinion and interpret my personal thoughts however you like. My unrealistic goal is to look like how I was when I was 18, which may not happen or take me years and years. But if I can at least loose 10-15kgs I will be happy. 

How to apply for Honours/Masters!

I have so far told you about the pressures and crazies involved with honours, but if you have read The 12 stages of honours thesis and this one about the Thesis defence and are still keen to do your honours/masters.. well.. welcome! This is how you should go about applying!


First off, all Universities should have a list of requirements that you need to meet. Most forms you need can either be obtained via Student services or your University's website/portal. Check these out and anything you aren't sure about, ask someone! I did Honours but this process is similar for Masters (I checked with other Masters students).


I was pretty chummy with my course coordinator, so I had a chat to him about my concerns with the low mark I received in Pollution Biology (which I said was BS and got it reassessed) and if it would effect me getting in. He said there was no way I wasn't going to get in considering I had done a 3rd year project which got the highest mark in the University overall. He gave me the forms I needed to fill out also where to find them online. 


Now my main supervisor will tell you about how persistent I was. In my second year, I was already sussing out how to get in her good books (purely because she was the only marine biologist at the uni). By my 3rd year, I was asking her about possible 3rd year projects I could do (we have an option to not do an elected subject and replace it with a 3rd year project). She had an honours student who was in his final write up stages and did his sampling during peak tourism season. It was the end of spring so she said some extra data on the same sites he did would be interesting and the technique was simple enough, we learnt it in second year. This then lead on to my honours thesis and that guy who was doing his honours? Well he was my second supervisor! His paper just got accepted and I will definitely link it to the journal once it's published. My report version of my thesis should be available via DPI website soon, so when I find out I will link it.


This is all well and good if you are applying via your current uni, but "what if I am applying to a different university?" I hear you say. WELL! As I expected, go to that institutes website and search! They will have a general FAQ and requirements needed to meet. If you really hate your current uni you can do this, but it is much easier to apply within your institute. 


The process for mature age or external applications I actually have had experience in! After I finished highschool, in Victoria we have VTAC which does all the applying for courses for you. Yeah this sounds fantastic doesn't it? Well it's flawed. I am going to bold the next thing I am going to say to you because it's insanely important.

If you did not get into a course which you think you should have, call up that university and ask them why. They may not have gotten your application in the first place 

Did you read that? Well read it again! I was so appalled that I didn't get an acceptance letter so I called them up demanding an explanation. After talking to the course coordinator, he couldn't understand why I wasn't accepted either. I called up VTAC and their response? "Sorry but it looks like there was a computer glitch when we were submitting your application. There is nothing we can do, better luck next year". Yeah that happened. I had to apply as a mature age student which is how I got the experience. You would be surprised how many people I have told this to, who then proceeded to call the institute and found out the same thing had happened to them.


SO, if you are applying externally anything extra can help! Work experience related to that field, volunteering can all help with them wanting you. This only really works for undergrad courses, after doing a quick search through most of the Australian universities, most of them just want to know your academic record. Speak to whoever is in charge of that department before applying, whether or not they tell you to. Speaking to them means they now know your name and when they are sifting through all the applications they are going to remember the extra effort you did to get in. Also you can get an idea of various areas/projects available. 


Fortunately some courses offer the honours qualification if you did awesome in your undergrad. It's the same thing. With Masters I know if you go the thesis route it is similar to Honours but a bit more hectic. You need to submit detailed dated plans for EVERYTHING. Also because it is 2 years long, they ask for an updated plan. There is a lot more structure and strict rules, the standard of work is higher than honours. Get a scholarship if you can, you get paid to study. 


My boyfriend is doing his Masters currently, but he is doing it via course work. He had an application which was "tick a box to do masters". This is specific to his Engineering course at Melbourne University. His first year of Masters, he did 4 subjects per semester as normal. His second year involves him still doing 3 subjects as normal, then a final year project. I can tell you it slightly annoys me that he gets a higher qualification for doing course work. But he has to do a group project which involves him getting an insane amount of phone calls every day causing him to face palm making this heavily circulated pie chart relevant to him.

I can't express how important it is to talk to your lecturers and coordinators to help you figure out how to get into further study. Every uni is different. Don't leave it until the last minute. Now read that bold line again.

Offically the end of honours

As previously mentioned, I had my defence of thesis today. And got my result... 2nd Class Honours. Apparently I was half a mark from getting first class! which by the way is exactly what happened to my dad! Father like Daughter! 

This is what it involved; getting told by my examiners the good and bad things I did. My intro was awesome, my further research and management recommendations also awesome but the rest of it needed further polishing. 10 minutes of being told what I did wrong, and defended myself for about 5 minutes. I then sat outside for 25 minutes, fingers crossed and trying to hold back from throwing up due to serious nerves. 


It was pretty relaxed and they seemed to respect the insane amount of field work I completed in the time frame. So that's kinda nice that they respected that. We even had a laugh at how I attempted to walk the 20km with all of my equipment in the beginning. 


Anyway, my advice if you ever have to do a Thesis Defence:

• don't panic too much. I read my thesis a few times before I got there on the day so I was completely refreshed on everything. Trust me, you always forget a few things
• Write down their comments so if you want to fix it to be an ACTUAL scientific paper at least you have some professional pointers.
• Also I brought a copy of my thesis with me, which was a really good idea since I could see their issues and address it. Do the same! 
• Ensure that you have plenty of money saved up for the epic amount of partying you are going to do after it ends.
• This should go without saying, but be respectful and don't look sloppy. These are people who determine how worth while the last year (or 2) you just spent on your work. I went with Jeans, purple suede heels, purple cardigan and grey V-neck with some nice jewellery, neat hair and make up. 

Now back to my Midori!

Oh and this is what my shoes look like. They are a bit dirty so I didn't want to take a photo of them. I love how hot I feel when I wear heels, these are even epic comfortable

For Todays lesson, Gastropods!

One of the few things I am pretty good it at is intertidal systems. When it comes to identifying any type of species and remembering their names; you need to have a few tricks up your sleeve. 


So today we shall be looking at 3 different types of Gastropods (sea snails) which all look very similar. These can all be found in intertidal systems in Victoria, Australia (and sometimes elsewhere in AUS)..


These 3 are:
Warrener: Turbo undulatus
Conniwink: Bermbicium nanum
Ribbed Top Shell: Austrocochlea constricta

Apart from the shape differences, these are 3 commonly confused species. Their patterns are slightly different but similar enough that at a size of 2cm in the field, easily missed details. The thickness of the line 

 Warrener: Turbo undulatus
These have thick black lines with thin white lines. This one is bigger than the other two species listed here. These ones always have a green tinge to them. I always remember that the scientific name for this starts with turbo. Which then makes me remember if you are underwater in war, to attack the enemy you use a turbo missile = Warrener: Turbo undulatus 
This might not work for you, but it's a handy memory trick you can use for most species of any type

 Ribbed Top Shell: Austrocochlea constricta
This has the same thickness of black and white lines, some variations aren't always thin lined. The shell on the left shows that there are ones which have thick black and white lines instead of thin ones. If the shell has the same sizing in its line pattern and (this will seem super obvious) ribbed feeling to it; it's the ribbed top shell. And this species is constricted to Australia.. you see where this is going

Conniwink: Bermbicium nanum
Thick white lines with thin black lines. The shape of it is between the ribbed and the warrener. So if you can't pick the difference between the two, and it has this pattern. Ta-Da! So for me, I get confused... get it?


So there is your intertidal lesson for the day! When exploring around intertidal systems, if you want to lift up a rock to look under it; make sure you ALWAYS lift it facing away from you. There are some dangerous things in rock pools and it's best to have something between you and it.


Happy exploring! I will do an intertidal lesson at least once a week I think. Any specific animal you want me cover? Let me know!  

The 12 stages of an Honours thesis

This is a topic which any budding university student considering Honours should really, really, read. Like most other university students considering Honours, I asked other students who had done it what they thought. Some responded with "Do it, you won't regret it", others said "You never have enough time, always be aware of that" and one girl just refused to relive her dreaded experience. She just shook her head when I asked her about her topic; 2 years later I still have no idea what she did her topic on. Naturally I thought a lot of it was exaggerated, my experience would be different. Whoa buddy I was wrong! This is quite long so get comfortable. 

1. Excitement

Yay! You've studied hard and made it into your Honours year! Buying a bunch of stationary, a filing system and some pretty new folders to ensure you are totally sorted. You've started hunting down who to be your Supervisor for the year and considering what your topic will be. Once you have that all sorted, you have your brand new diary and start listing all the due dates in there to make sure you will be totally fine for the year.

2. Planning

The topic is set. You have your supervisor, and now you plan! This includes writing up a full timetable for due dates, field work (or lab work etc etc). Understanding your topic by starting to read through the literature your supervisor/s have listed for you, also now you are going to set classes that you may have, easy as. What has everyone been complaining about? I have planned this so well and written so many lists, how could anything go wrong? Just have to start learning how to properly search for literature and sort through all the unhelpful stuff

3. So it begins...

I know for lab and field work, you have to submit a risk assessment. This lists everything bad and evil that can happen and how you will prevent that. If your university has a set format, it's pretty easy just tedious more than anything. If it doesn't, well shit. Enjoy the next pointless 4 drafts you will have to do. With field work, this can involve travel. Since I was doing Marine ecology, I had to write up a travel plan, as well as costs involved for food etc etc. This was set to be all at the same time I book the university vechicle which I need to drive along the beach. Be prepared for EVERYONE to set you back. In my circumstance, the risk assessment wasn't accepted until 4 days after I was suppose to leave.. Because the car was just sitting there it was taken by other university staff and making my trip log invalid. I had to redo this process about 5 times before I had a tanty and left without waiting for my trip log to become invalid AGAIN. 

4. Field/lab work

After all the dramas you're finally doing something! Progress at last right? Wrong. Oh. So. Wrong. First time in the field, I didn't check the tide height which made me rock up to the beach in the middle of winter with only about 2 metres of the intertidal zone exposed... which is unlucky for me since my transects were to be 40m long... Another wasted day. Weather was a bitch for me, if you are in the ecology field, ALWAYS assume the worst weather possible. if you don't, you're gonna have a bad time. Best idea I had was to write out for every date, the tide height for that period of time, the sunrise and sunset times. It gave me exact time frames for each sampling period, also I had made sure that I always had the car at least a day before I planned to leave.  

5. Complications

By this stage, you've already had complications, ones that you can deal with and are minor irritations. But you've not had complications like this one. Something monumental will happen. Mine was the sickening realisation that the honours coordinator had given me the first semester dates for the part time students (which have 2 years, not 1). I had 3 days to write out a 6,000 word literature review which I had no idea how to even start doing. And it was worth 20% of the final mark. My supervisor hadn't even picked this up, which was an excellent argument to use for an extension, making my second semester part time. I have now had to go from only having 6 months left, to a year and a half left. 

6. Supervisor problems

This is when shit got real. I had 2 supervisors, one which had done his honours the year before in the same location as mine, but I was extending on it. The other who is at the university and the only marine biologist there. They started contradicting each other. At the beginning it was all good, I got to understand that she wasn't a good spell checker or grammar nazi but he was so that complemented each other. Both are very intelligent and I doubt I could have finished to the high standard in which it ended up being...

...But. Here is a photo to assist me in explaining. She is an epic micro-manager and forgetful. He would rearrange my work without my approval and send it to her. She loves making notes all over everything, but apparently I am the only one who understands it (lucky). I made her colour code everything because it helped me understand it after I had nursed my hurt ego for a while. The orange section was originally together, my other supervisor had moved it around. I am correcting my supervisors FFS. By this stage, my 3rd and most relaxed supervisor was brought in. You now have 4 people trying to write one Thesis. BAD. Now that you know their faults, it will be a constant annoyance for the rest of your thesis. This never goes away

8. Data analysis

Depending on how adept you are with math or computer programs will possibly determine how bad this gets. But I can tell you everyone has the same problem. SO MUCH DATA CAN'T DEAL WITH IT! After you figure out how you are going to process it, finally have a game plan. Forget it. There is a better way to do it. Once you lay it all out. Forget it again. That way doesn't work. Get chatting to the university statistics guru, they are under appreciated angels who are usually more than happy to break shit down for you. Bring a note pad and pen everywhere with you. 

7. More complications and rising Stress levels

Date changing is possibly the worst thing ever. Everything had been pushed back, and moved forward at least 3 times. This step may have come before data analysis, but this is just the final climb before you reach the peak of crazy. At one stage I was stressing out about my data I actually fell asleep on my keyboard. When I was going to bed I started ranting about how I had to check the maturity proportions again. I have some awesome advice for you.. Set your auto-save option in word to 3 seconds. Make sure you have an external hard drive, and for gods sake, make sure you have a computer/laptop that works. Don't rely on the university computers. Ever.

9. Final write up/That crazy person you see, is actually your reflection (common symptoms include Hair loss, addictions and uncontrollable emotions)

All people will become crazy. I can bet you this. Your stress levels will become so high that you will sit in a corner and cry. At one stage I didn't sleep for 40 hours and at 2am decided to put some crumpets on. Our toaster doesn't pop up properly and I forgot about them. 20minutes later smoke alarms are going off and I am throwing a burning toaster on the balcony. The smoke inhalation got to my caffeine riddled brain so when I started to go to sleep at 10am, I had this constant feeling of a bunch of people in the house and commando crawled to the clothes line and slept (barely) while being fully clothed. One of my friends started crying uncontrollably while cradling the keyboard. My best friend brought a mattress into her lab and slept in there for days on end, and started drinking double strength expressos and a few V's a day. This is someone who would NEVER consider getting a coffee. Also at one stage my supervisor (the micro-manager) called me every hour from 5pm until 4am. We got shit done but holy crap was I stressed the shit out.

10. Submission = The stress release

I cried. Seriously. I had a co-supervisor with me at the time because I was assisting him in field work for the 3rd year students. It felt so good but it didn't really sink in until about 3 weeks later. Had a massage (in which I fell asleep in even though he was doing deep tissue massage). I then went out to Three Degrees Cider Bar and got SMASHED. The hangover was worth it, I proceeded to get insanely drunk for the next week (or 4). 

11. Oh but wait, there is always more!

Honours never just ends, oh no. It's a beast which never dies. Final presentations happen, and also your defence of thesis. MY thesis, was handed in at 11am rather than the deadline of 5pm, which was my undoing. I get a text message from one supervisor asking about my submission and didn't even think twice about it. I get another one from her asking specific details of when I handed it in. Interesting but it's probably nothing. Then my supervisor who was with me informs me that they have lost my thesis. Lost. My. Thesis. 

I became the hulk. It's 3ish months after I found this out and I think that drama has been sorted out and now I have my defence tomorrow (which by the way has been rescheduled 4 times in the last 3 hours). Which frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

12. Is.. Is it really over? 

This feeling will stay with you for an unspecified time. The best way I can describe this is with my Dads words. "After I finished my masters, I woke up in the middle of the night realising that I hadn't finished a section of my discussion that was due in a few days. I got up in a flurry at 3am madly trying to find where it was laid out. It was 10 minutes before I realised that I had handed it in 4 years ago. The nightmares lasted that long."
And he had to use a typewriter because he couldn't afford a computer. Imagine that? *shivers*

Now back to re-reading my thesis in preparations for my Defence tomorrow. Wish me luck.