Another Milestone to Celebrate

On the 16th of December my son, Anton, graduated from university and became a scientist. We were very proud parents sitting in the audience as he walked to the stage to receive his diploma. The venue, The Royal Exhibition Building, enveloped the traditional ceremony perfectly. Anton wore the ceremonial robe worn for this occasion, with a history that dates back 800 years ago. 

El 16 de Diciembre mi hijo, Anton, se graduo de la universidad para convertise en cientifico. Eramos dos padres orgullosos sentados en la audiencia mientras el caminaba al escenario para recibir su diploma. El edificio, Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building, envolvio la ceremonia tradicional perfectamente. Anton uso la toga que se usa en esta ocasion, que tiene una historia de 800 anos.

At the end of the cermony we were invited to a nice morning tea of delicate food and champagne. We cheered for his success with a lot of satisfaction. 

Al final de la ceremonia fuimos invitados a un lunch con champagne y todo, brindamos por sus logros con mucha satisfaccion.

We are so very proud of you son. I always knew, even when you were a tiny toddler, that you were destined for great things. I love you so much and I hope that you can continue working towards acquiring new knowledge and becoming a better human being (even though you already are an amazing one!). CONGRATULAIONS! Seek, Explore and Discover!

Estamos tan orgullosos de vos hijo. Siempre supe, incluso cuando eras un porotito, que estabas destinado para cosas grandes. Te amo muchisimo y espero que puedas continuar trabajando para lograr tus objectivos, adquirir mas conocimiento y para ser un mejor ser humano (aunque ya sos un ser humano increible). FELICITACIONES!  De aqui en mas a Buscar, explorar y descubrir!

Fun Run

Today I participated in my first 5 Km fun run to support cancer research. I did it thinking of all women suffering from that horrible disease and men as well but in my heart I was thinking of you, grandma. I miss you everyday and I love you. I hope that what little we can do individually can serve the larger purpose and soon humanity can be ridden of cancer once and for all.

Hoy participe en mi primera carrera de 5 km para apoyar a la investigacion contra el cancer. Lo hice pensando en todas las mujeres que sufren de esa espantosa enfermedad y en los hombres tambien pero, en mi corazon estaba pensando en vos, abuela. Te extrano todos los dias y te amo. Espero que lo poquito que podamos hacer individualmente sirva para que en conjunto la humanidad pueda pronto ser despojada del cancer de una vez por todas.

Where Does Time Go?

Happy Birthday to my beloved son Anton who turned 21 today. I look at these photos and can't believe how quickly time has gone. My little boy is a man now! One thing hasn't changed though, he is still the most beautiful human being I have ever met. I am so proud of him and how the world is better because he is in it. I love you my son, you are such a treasure. I hope you will be as happy in your adult life as you were in your childhood/adolescence and youth. Be happy, that is all we need to be!

Father's Day and Spring in Melbourne

Today is the first day of Spring in Melbourne and to celebrate the beautiful weather, the mower rattled over the weeds and white little flowers in the yard and left the lawns looking green and fresh. The aroma of freshly cut grass refreshed the house and left me feeling energised.
After gardening it was time to go out into town and celebrate Father's Day. Lots on interesting things happened, the most notorious was walking by this street performer who upon seeing us asked Ric if he knew something about computers...the poor guy had to troubleshoot even on his day off. Hilarious!!
Loved seeing these locks on the bridge...I had this thought that it would be a collection of secrets, but upon inspecting them up close I noticed that everyone of them has a couple's name on it...I guess the idea being that once is there and you throw the key in the water, the love stays there forever..kind of romantic.

Energised by Art

I really feel energised after visiting an Art Gallery, I think it stirs something at the core of my soul. We went to Federation Square (Ian Potter Gallery) and watched an interesting exhibition of film and photography called Suburban by artist Ian Strange. I really liked the film, shown it three screens it featured these houses from different angles, close ups and far with music that added to the atmosphere. The houses, painted by the artist prior to filming, really depicted something odd in the midst of suburbia. There was an uneasiness to it, seeing the camera roll and take in these images (without our prior knowledge that the artist had painted them). The film lasted 8 minutes and builds up the tension until one of the houses burns to the ground. Recommend people to see it, it is free.

Very Funny

In the Midst of Winter

How cold and rainy it was this weekend! No matter, winter won't stop us from getting out there. Despite the rain and seriously cold weather, we still did our Sunday walk to the heart of Melbourne and savoured a deliciously bitter long black by the banks of the Yarra river.
We also happened to stumble on an amazing photo exhibition on sustainability at Federation Square. I would hardly recommend people to go see it except that it ended today. Accompanying the images were pages of interesting facts about our city and sustainability. It really inspire me to continue my work with my students on the topic this week.

Que frio y lluvioso que estuvo este fin de semana! No importo, el invierno no nos parara. Seguiremos saliendo, y disfrutando de los espacios abiertos. A pesar de la lluvia y el frio, aun salimos a hacer nuestra caminata dominguera hasta el corazon de Melbourne y disfrutamos de un delicioso y amargo cafe negro a las orillas del rio Yarra.
Tambien nos encontramos de casualidad con una exhibicion fotografica sobre el medio ambiente en Federation Square. Recomendaria que la vieran, pero lamentablemte terminaba hoy. Acompanando las imagenes habia paginas y paginas de informacion sobre nuestra ciudad y ecologia.