Saturday, February 14, 2009

How Much Does That Cost?!

We got the major part of our car repairs done cheaply. Today we finally picked up from the Ford dealer the silver trim that goes on the bumper. The price: $A193! ($US125) Unbelievable. I guess I should have asked the price before placing the order. I assumed it would be $A20-30 at the most...

So, I'm back in much colder Canberra. A lot to do in the next couple of weeks before my interview at the university. I want to do more work on a project that I will give them a presentation on. Also in this time frame Snork Maiden's parents will be arriving from China and maybe my one year job will actually get going and I'll be involved in getting my office set up, bureaucracy etc....

I did get some good ideas for the one year project (I'll have to come up with a better name) while at the conference and also someone at another major Australian University wants me to apply for one of a few senior jobs (Professor or Associate Professor) that they might be able to advertise later this year. Today, he expressed interest in me giving them a presentation. Snork Maiden happens to be going there for a meeting in late March so maybe we can work something out. We'll just have to "babysit" her parents - i.e bring them with us and find them stuff to do there. They don't speak a word of English and though they have travelled quite a lot outside China it was on an independent basis. Her stepfather though has visited his daughter in San Francisco. He does seem a bit more adventurous.

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