In Your Honour

Weekend One - Portsea

Friday
Down we go. Jeremy and Mo discuss music in the front seat and I sit in the back having thumb wars with Alex. The trip was a long and possibly incorrect one, but we eventually made it to “Port Campsie.”

The four of us arrive, dive into the ocean and proceed to throw around a tennis ball until dinner. Which was pizza and fish and chips from town.

After all that had been done there was a table tennis tournament in which the rules constantly changed. I don't remember who won, but I was paired up with Jim-Lad. I just remember sitting on the side with the phD students from my lab, heckling/cheering with as much enthusiasm as I've done at any football game. The rest of the night was spent with those boys in a similarly silly fashion.

I also discovered that it's often seen that PB doesn't take on a large number of female students. "Why me?" I ask. "There'll be something about you." "There'll be a reason."

Maybe PB does love me after all. I heard that he rang someone else who is an hons student with me, begging him to be part of the lab because he didn't trust the hons co-ordinator to do the job proprely. I'd been struggling with how well I fit into the lab/was wanted to be there up until that point.

At about 12.30 the camp CEO comes in and threatens to kick us all out unless we shut up. Ok. The karakoe was a little loud. But still, one warning at least?

We all go down to the beach but I go to bed shortly after.

Saturday
I wake up, have breakfast and go swimming.

That's the way life should be.

In the water I play a lot of frisbee. I think I may have gone swimming again after lunch.

At some point all the honours students gather together to prepare our play for the night. All the costumes are there and the props because we've already decided it's going to be a take off of the life of an honours students, safety meetings and other meetings and etc.

I volunteer to help dress Mo in his safety gear. Nice quiet, easy part. Not embarassing or difficult at all.

And I've forgotten my lab coat. Shit shit shit.

Moving on I come up with an idea thanks to recent flights to and from Tasmania. "Why don't we make the safety presentation like the ones they give on aeroplanes?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. You do that, Jude."

Hang on.

I'm a pretty shy girl, so standing up in front of a lot of people I don't know and trying to be funny doesn't sound like my cup of tea. Bugger.

Then ice cream. And more swimming.

Then the competition starts in which very stupid games meet very geeky games and a few meet drinking games. My team (SyBr greens) blast the first comp (karakoe) by convincing the department's only Professor (and a few others) to get into skirts and preform "i feel like a woman." We lost everything else though.

Not to worry.

The comp ends and the room goes silent as everyone glares at the hons students, immediately expecting us to be entertaining.

We wander off and prepare. Put on lab coats (I don't mind you - it's at home).

Me, I'm nervous as hell and shaking like I always do.

The play starts, people are laughing (and shouting all sorts of jokes out at us - makes it hard to concentrate).

My turn. I walk up and start my half-scripted bunch of jokes with a small, nervous voice.

They all laugh.

And laugh.

And laugh.

And applaud.

Yay. I'm elated. We finish up, but not without getting a few people wet in the process.

Best of all, afterwards we all start drinking and chatting again and PB walks up to me

"You were fantastic."

This, coming from a man who used to produce amateur theatre "You've got a future in this."

=)

I then find Andy, who I wound up bumping into a lot while I was trying to get into honours. He gave me a fair amount of advice I believe I've never thanked him for.

Any way, we start talking.

Three hours later we stop talking and go to sleep.

Sunday
Unfortunately, i was desprate to get home to sticks and so left fairly early on Sunday. But a fair few people did.

The trip home was quieter but still enjoyable.

I find myself now wanting to do a phD just so I can go to Portsea again.