Here in Galway the temperature has dropped to -15 degrees at night time. The streets outside are covered in such a thick layer of ice that they should just let us all stay home from work on account of the terrible health and safety hazard that is getting to work. There was a lunar eclipse last night, or actually this morning at about 8 am, and then sunrise and the sky was supposed to go bright blood red. A friend bet that I wouldn't actually manage to get out to see it. Luckily I didn't take that bet cos come the morning there was no way I was going out in that ice. I kept getting up, looking out the window and then getting back into bed. But if the sky had turned bright red surely I would have noticed, so I think maybe this whole eclipse+sunrise thing can't have been so big as it was purported to be. It was probably pretty enough but I think I'll keep an eye out for one happening in summer.
Speaking of summer, despite the rain I would quite like some of that Invercargill summer right now. Maybe the rain would melt all this ice. It's pretty enough on water and trees, if only I didn't have to walk to work. Which I can stop doing in two days, I will head off to Dublin for a short break. That is if the bus makes it what with all this snow and ice. But it won't be much of a break. I want to fit in time for shopping, time to talk to friends, time to relax, and horribly enough time to work.
And speaking of work. The book chapter that I am a co-author in has been published and we have a copy in our office! The exclamation is primarily for the fact that my name is in print in a science book. And then it is only an exclamation as a matter of course really because when it comes right down to it my name is not even in print as I would like it to be, it is not my full name. I checked and double checked about a dozen drafts and when it comes down to the actual printing my name is wrong and there are spelling mistakes in the text. But on the upside, who reads the text anyway, my beautiful pictures are in print. Now to the real hard work, which is to finish up everything and become an expert in my field so that I can submit some real publications. But look, my name, in print!
But of course with it being Christmas and all I must make truffles. Only being me any kitchen endeavor is liable to make for a good story and once again I have done something ridiculous. It could be worse though, when compared to other incidents of mine this one is really quite minor. Basically I was again reminded that not all glass bowls are heatproof. So I was making truffles and had the glass bowl over a pot of water in order to melt the chocolate. And I heard this cracking noise. And then I heard it again and it was quite loud so I thought to myself what is that noise? I picked up the bowl and looked at the bottom of it and yes, what would you know but there is a big crack in it. So I move it from over the water, and just in time too because in the next couple of moments the bowl just very gently becomes two halves of bowl and all the chocolate mixture begins slipping out. So I move it real quick over a clean pan and manage to rescue most of it, and it's all ok, there are still lots of yummy truffles. I think I owe my housemate a new bowl though. What was amazing was how quietly the bowl just broke in half. Like there was no big deal about it, it just suddenly wasn't a bowl any more.
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