Dinner and diving:

Not at the same time. That might be uncomfortable. I just got back from a potluck dinner to say goodbye to C-- who is heading back to the US and leaving the Navy. Good on her, and it seems like absolutely the right decision for her, though I will miss her very much. I made my trademark strawberry pie. While I didn't get to try any, I think the guy sitting there eating the strawberries off the crust out of the pan for the last slice probably means it was good. I also made a banana cream pie, which turned out about as expected. People thought it was pumpkin and then it was kind of a letdown though, and it was definitely not as big a winner as the strawberry pie. I enjoyed it, but bananas just are a bit too bland, I think.

I left early because I am going diving tomorrow. I have to be about 3 hours from Canberra by 0730. I'm planning on getting up about half past three and having it so I just have to brush my teeth and put contacts in, throw on clothes, and grab my bag (all the heavy stuff is in the car already). Hopefully the drive won't be too bad. These are my last dives before the reef (I leave three weeks from tomorrow!!)

Cooking:

So I did make the tortilla chips and they turned out pretty well. It was kind of hard to always tell when they were done, so a few turned out chewy and gross, but most were really tasty. I made guac too, and I've been eating guac and chips for dinner for the last couple of nights. And last night it was just guac with a fork...I have bizarre eating habits.

Also, I've taken up swimming again, so that maybe I won't totally suck at water polo. It feels pretty good. I've even worked partially out why my stroke is so slow. I'm up to about 1200m of nice slow swimming. I miss my free pool in Maryland, though.

I've also been told that I can probably stay a few more months out here if I want. Now I'm facing my ambivalence about it all. I have to make a decision before I talk to my two bosses who don't know (yes, I have three direct bosses...don't ask). I don't know what I'm going to decide. It's kind of funny that I jumped at the chance for the six month extension and am really hesitating over the 3-4 months more.