Good.. Bad.. I'm the guy with the beer.

Celebration last night was in order following the release of grades for ANU students earlier in the day. Louis, Jenny, Ash and I are shown toasting our good news at the Moose. As well, the newest Moncrieff resident joined in the frivolity that continued into the early hours of Tuesday morning. Special K, we'll see you out next time, no doubt! We were treated earlier in the evening at O'Malley's hotel to a performance by a band for any occasion, Annie and the Armadillos.

Hôtel de Scotty et de Roberts

Jenny and I loaded the Rolla' on Wednesday and headed in soaring spirits to Sydney to spend a few days with our mates. Gratefully, we were accommodated by Scotty and Roberts at their Kensington abode. Jenny is shown above nursing Scotty's rabbit with the misnomer "Tiger". It was great to see you too Coops and Mix', and Ange and Ant too - before you headed back to Cowra.

The lads (Roberts is pictured with me) joined us for a swim yesterday afternoon at Gordon's Bay just north of Coogee Beach and a short drive from Kensington. We'll have to catch up again as soon as possible. Thanks for a beaut' few days from Jenny and I!

I was adequately prepared for "Goon of Fortune" at the Moncrieff Street block party last night. 

Hook, line and sinker...

I was tired, but I hooked a mullet out there on the dancefloor of Academy in Civic on Friday night. 

Fix-er Up-per

Jen and I took a detour on our way home to Canberra from Cowra on Wednesday. Shown here is a what happens when you build a house out of mud. We had to slow down because geese were blocking the road. One of them even tried to attack the car because their goslings were present!

Jenny and I visited the Idle Water Slides at Wyangala Dam, 45 kilometres south-east of Cowra. We're taking a couple of quiet days out looking after my family home prior to our final piece of assessment on Thursday night. Look out, O'Neil's!

The honours seminars for chemistry were concluded with an ice fight (shown bottom) on Friday afternoon outside the department building. I staked out an honourable treaty considering that I was low on sleep (3 hrs) and sobriety at the time - thanks for your help, Ash. Chris (pictured bottom), Jen and I lazed away Saturday at the Bateman's Bay where the water was suprisingly warm and the sunshine intoxicating.

There's been a little break between posts, so let me tell you about a cool thing that happened on Thursday night while Ash and I were out and about in Civic. Here's a headline that you'd never read: "Out of the Blue, Girl buys Man Drink". Well, as a random act of kindness in Civic it happened - and Ash and I say "Cheers".

As well, Dunc, I wish you the best with your current tournament and we'll celebrate again soon. Dunc is shown top-left opening a can of Whoop-Ass. The Ostrich in the middle is Mal, who had his head shaved post-ice-fight as was the fashion at the time. The photo top-right is from the Thursday night O'Neil's ritual.

Chemistry Thesis.... Done!

I enjoyed relaxing yesterday afternoon and evening with some of my friends (Jenny and Chris pictured), having submitted my chemistry thesis entitled (for the buffs): "The Palladium[0]-mediated Ullmann Cross-Coupling Reaction: Application to a Formal Total Synthesis of the Alkaloid Physostigmine".

48 hours...

It's starting to get frantic now.

Sir H. C. has put a call out for people interested in shaking off the honours-year frenzy with a week-long fiesta down the coast. 

You know you're a chemist when....

10. You understand that teamwork in lab classes is essential because it allows you to blame somone else
9. You make dirty jokes involving "backside attack"
8. You only drink distilled water
7. Your daily wardrobe is planned around goggle styles
6. At the dinner table you ask your mother to pass the NaCl
5. You don't just wave goodbye... You waggle, bend out of plane, and asymmetrically stretch
4. You wash your hands before going to the bathroom
3. You refuse to attend a class in which the professor doesn't blow things up
2. Your friends don't look at you funny when you refer to a stop-cock
1. Explosions, fires, broken glassware, acid holes, and burns... Need we say more?

Lame jokes, hey - working on your thesis at 12.07 am seems relatively cool!

There's a special prize for the first person who can name that picture (correctly). 

Chemists do it periodically on the table.

Busy, busy: typing up my thesis.

Shown left is my lab bench at the height of my experimental frenzy.

Now I'm in a typing frenzy.

Stay tuned for more exciting photos from around the lab that may include fume hoods, computers, crystals, and maybe an NMR machine!