We're going on a house hunt

It’s time for me to grow up and join the adult road. None of this free-livin’, rent-payin’, irresponsibility malarky for this increasingly ageing decreasingly little microbiologist. Oh no. It’s time for me to settle down and get a mortgage.

Option 1. Buy house currently living in (affordable I think). Maternal pragmatist has pointed out it’s in catchment area for a good school

And there was I thinking our ‘ceramic floor which is ceramic but designed to look like not just wood flooring, but laminate wood flooring’ was my primary concern. Oh no.

Option 2. Buy other vaguely affordable house somewhere closer to work.

Hmm unknown territory here..Potential for wierdy neighbours, bike thieves, collapsable roofs, and flooding. Oh the dilemma.

Option 3. Buy wildly expensive 3 bedroom house and live off noodles.

Eh, eh bien. I do not know. But I go examine 4 houses on Saturday with the bearded one, and try and look grown up. I work for a University doncha know.

Anna Davies : 22 Sep 2011 15:27 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Things behind which it is not much fun to be stuck while on a bike

1. Rubbish trucks
2. Buses
3. Recylce trucks
4. First-gear cyclists
5. a car which can’t make up it’s mind about turning left
6. Buses
7. White vans

I should, however, remember I am not a car. Repeat to yourself Anna, I am not a car. There. Now stop giving way to the enemy.

Anna Davies : 04 Feb 2011 11:10 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Never ever

I never thought I’d see this day. The day when I open up an email with a conference programme in it and see my name down as a keynote speaker. I’ve only just mastered the art of eating choc ices without giving myself an ice-cream moustache and now I have to speak with authority?

Eeek.

Anna Davies : 11 Nov 2010 21:46 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

It's science, but not as we know it.

Well, I suppose if being a “snot specialist” isn’t a claim to fame, I don’t know what is!

Anna Davies : 30 Mar 2010 23:04 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

On the nth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Snow sleet and ice,
Two broken windscreen wipers,
and a bill for one hundred pounds!

Anna Davies : 24 Dec 2009 08:37 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bad–ass leukocyte

This sort of thing makes me very happy

Anna Davies : 05 Dec 2009 11:59 |  Tags: Video |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Published at last

There some sights that warm the cockles of your soul.. and this is one of them :

:)

Anna Davies : 27 Jul 2009 17:58 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

All I really want

Eh bien, I am a rather sleepy but marginally less confuddled microbiologist. Now this may have something to do that come Friday I shall be jetting off to Spain for a week in the sun with colleaguewithgenerousparents. However, I do still have to give a seminar on Friday on a topic which is controversial to say the least and likely to bring a whole host of evil questions upon me. Further more I have several funding applications to try to pull together with people all over the country who don’t answer emails.

So, it may be because various Good Things have recently happened to me:

1. I went, I auditioned, I passed. Woot! I am now involved in 1 play and 2 choirs. Can’t believe I have put this off for so long-rather exciting to be getting involved in so much. And the choir audition was fun-especially the oral tests (there’s no way of saying that without it sounding dodgy, so snigger away while I roll my eyes and sigh).

2. I went up to Shropshire for much drunken cavorting and general s’moreage. And lots and lots of meat. Lots of meat. Never seen so much cooked meat. Mmmm…meat. And discovered a new part of the country which is Very Pretty

3. I went to Burgundy avec les parents to a tres charmant petite maison a la campagne. Mmm soleil et beacoup de fromage. Et cycling around from little picturesque village to little picturesque village and getting lost in a wood. Twice. On two separate occasions. Same wood. Oops.

4. Saw friendwhoisimportantgovernmentpersonage and had chocolate cake and enjoyed sun.

5. Purchased tres pretty shoes. Oooh spotty.

6. Assortedchums from Cambridge visited last weekend and we went to Longleat which was so much fun!! Have been once before but not done safari etc, and girliefriends and I went to see Lord Bath’s murals, which if you haven’t seen I thoroughly recommend*.. but watch out for the last room..oooh matron!

7. I got to play with an M.I.S. robot in a pink building today. Tres exciting.

8. I have done lots of ironing. happy sigh

Enfin, I deserve them not, but they have made me a happier bunny. Just need to work out what on earth is going on in my head with regard to other elements and I may yet achieve sanity. Who knows! Watch this space..

*not for quality. Yuck.

Anna Davies : 13 Jul 2009 21:17 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Cool rider

As part of my new job, I go and look at interesting and innovative new technologies, and see where possible collaborations lie. This is something my new boss is very keen on, and it’s great to be in such a forward thinking area. This is however, slightly beside the point. On Wednesday, such a collaboration led to my boss, another colleague, and I driving to Leicester to attend several meetings over two days. Such a trip necessitated a hire car. And since boss is rather senior member of organisation, he qualifies for rather good things. Having blithely asked his lovely secretary if I could be put on the insurance for the (at that point unknown) car, just in case. I went on with life, expecting not much. However, boss was not in mood to drive, and so I was to split the journey with colleague.

And so it was, that in the course of my work, I got to drive one of these:

Yes, a Jaguar X-type (automatic). Whizzy.

I normally drive a 1.1l Fiat Panda (love love love my little car) and was rather scared at prospect of driving car significantly larger, faster, more expensive and less manual than my little Panda. And having driven it, I still love my Panda. I can’t afford a Jaguar so there’s no point in repining. However, I did appreciate the following benefits:

• No tailgaters. Clearly if you are driving such a car you have the capacity to go whizzily. You get respect from Audis. (I know!!!!)

• Responsive acceleration. Normally if I put my foot down, Panda makes a noise and then about 10 seconds later gets up to something resembling the speed of everyone else. In the Jaguar, I put my foot down and whiiiiiiizzzzzy. Hello A34. Who’s the Daddy.

• Automatic gears make traffic jams much easier. Yes I know, that is partly the point, but I didn’t realise just how much easier. I didn’t stall-because I couldn’t!

• It’s actually possible to have a conversation at whizzy speeds. Because there is no engine noise. None. It feels like you’re gliding.

• It’s surprisingly easy to drive. I was expecting it to be fiddly/cumbersome/easily reversed into a)other cars, b)miscellaneous walls, or c) people, but the little beepy things help and it doesn’t feel that much bigger.

Upshot is, I want one please. I would like to keep it, polish it and take it out on weekends to meet my mother. And father. I think my paternalengineer would particularly appreciate it. And maternalworrier might realise that I am to be trusted with her BMW…. gooooaaarn.

[N.B. I am a little naive car wise.Since the demise of ALF (RIP) 2.7 years ago, I have only had the panda. So I get very excited about these things.]

Anna Davies : 21 May 2009 22:42 |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Good things

Good things that have been happening in the life of micriobean:

1. Presented results on Wed. People smiled and looked happy, even though they did ask me to try and explain RFLP. In portuguese. Wooh yay, supervisor happy.

2. Sun finally came out and Colin and I made it up to Pão de Açucar-raaather beautiful.

3. Happiness.

4. Mother arrived, bringing six months worth of maternal hugs, gossip and desire to go shopping :D

5. Mother checked into hotel. Hotel has poool, which I shall be sneaking into.

6. Supervisor has asked me to do more work, which a) sounds interesting, and b) sound relatively straightforward.

Bad things:

1. Colin departed, leaving apartment feeling wierdly empty :(

2. Flowers have died, so had to throw away the only decorative feature of my flat.

So this makes me +4 on happiness. Go happiness!!!!

Anna Davies : 11 Sep 2006 16:59 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem