しごととじかん

メールの返事に一週間もかかるなんて！と思ってしまうのは、私が日本の会社で鍛えられ、即日サービス、終わるまで帰れない方式に染まりすぎたせいだろうか。
いや...ちょっとした事務確認である。別に相対性理論について議論を仕掛けてわけではない。OK! か、No, it's better not to. かのどっちかでしょう。そんなに温めずに、とっとと教えてくれーー

彼らは家での時間を大事にするため、何が何でも定時に帰る。残業代が出ないところも多い。従って、終わらなかった仕事や、定時直前に来たメールなどは次の日に持ち越す。そして次の日にはまた仕事が舞い込み、前日残りの処理をする時間がない...の繰り返しで、処理忘れやミスが出てもおかしくない。

以前本で、「人はなぜか、次の日には今日よりも時間があると思い込んでしまう。明日も今日と同じように雑務に追われることになるとは、想像しないのだ。」とあり、自戒も含め本当にその通りだなと思う。
残業って、やるべきことをやり上げるためには必要だ、が私の結論である。次の日取り掛かろうとして、前日のことを思い出すのに時間がかかるかもしれないし、必要なファイルやデータをまた開くのも面倒だ。その場で終わらせた方が、よっぽど速い。そしてまた新たな課題に全力を注げる。仕事は生モノ、言い得て妙だ。

早く返信来ないかなーーーー(((((°ω°))))

Gala dinner

The symposium was concluded with a dinner cruise going around Darling Harbour. It was gorgeous!! We went under the bridge, got close to the Opera House and skyscrapers.

There was live rock music by a band. One of the organisers is in the band. He is a terrific singer. It's nice to balance the art and science parts of your brain. Lots of people were dancing to it especially those who grew up with the music. I was upstairs chatting with non-dancers, and it was equally fun. Barley people are so nice, friendly and have good sense of humour. They never stop talking. I'm glad to be one of them.

They told me that I'm the peanut person, meaning someone who represents the company, like the face of it. I don't know why it's peanut, but I'm happy that they recognize me. In fact it sometimes happen that I don't remember meeting someone but that person remembers me. (Ops!) I guess I'm doing an ok job as a self-promoting Shochu girl.

Conference concluded, passed midnight, and nice meeting with them all.

Presentation in Manly

The conference venue was just in front of Manly beach. It was named "Manly"because the first settlers who got to the shore found the indigenous people there very masculine. Quite an interesting story.

The sand was very very fine on the beach. It was so refreshing to walk around there. Some conference attendees were swimming, running and walking in the morning. Every time I come to Australia, it seems people are truly enjoying their life.

My presentation went alright, and so did my boss'. It wasn't an ideal setting on the stage with the computer and the microphone a little too close to me, but it went ok. I could have done a better job, but anyway.. People gave me lots of good comments on it, especially the conference secretary who complimented the tables and figures on my slides. He said his best graphics award goes to me. Yay~~

I found many people prepared slides with too small letters. It seemed they just copied and pasted the tables from their original database, often not of a suitable size for displaying on a big screen. I was in the third row from the front, so how much more to the audience in the back? It's stressful and a huge distraction. Plus, many of them do not practice, it seems. It is understandable that they don't need a script because it's in their native language, but they should rehearse at least once so that they won't mumble and say "erm.." too many times. Preparation affects how effectively you can deliver your message. Besides, a practice will give you an idea how much time your talk will take and how much you will have for Q&A. There were surprisingly many people who exceeded their time slot and couldn't put much emphasis on their conclusions, probably what they wanted to say the most. I didn't count exactly, but it felt like 15% of all presenters exceeded their time, 15% were not too fluent, and 50% had too small letters on their slides. (Overlap possible)

As not a few presenters/researches are like that, it seems relatively easy to stand out if you prepare properly. Another researcher said I was more efficient in carrying out experiments than other Aussies. Yes, I plan a little bit to make the most of my time. I thought it was normal. You haven't got all day. Yet, many laboratory job opportunities are limited to Australian nationality. I would work harder than most of them for sure... It's a protection of local labour force, not a pure competition.

Conference in Sydney

Had a wonderful time in Sydney attending a barley conference at Manly beach, NSW. The weather was just perfect after a mild winter there.

My boss and I visited a distillery close to the airport, called Archie Rose. They had a factory tour showing around their mash tins and pot stills. The person was talking very fast and there were a lot of numbers in his description, so I was asking a lot of questions, which made him ask if we were in the same industry. It seems they can distinguish alcoholic beverage company workers. (Pretty obvious, though!)

We took ferry from Manly wharf to Circular Quay. It was a beautiful ride with a close view of the skyscrapers, Harbour Bridge and Opera House. People were enjoying the breeze on the deck. What a peaceful afternoon.

学会...

秋は学会の季節。
みんなそれぞれいろんなところに学会発表、情報収集に行く。
学会の様子はそれぞれで特色がある。一つの会場だけだったり、7つくらい教室があってそれぞれで発表が同時進行であり、聴きたいものを聞きに行くスタイルだったり。
狭い部屋に多くの人が押し込められた学会もあり。その話をしていたら、
「食事ももう缶詰だったよ」
え、本当に缶詰がお昼ご飯として出されたの？！ ツナとコーンをみんなでかぱっと開けて食べる姿を想像してしまった。
「缶詰になる」という表現。面白すぎる〜〜