I write this post today, ANZAC Day.

I think the most memorable Anzac Day I have experienced was in 1998 in Alice Springs. Like today, it was a Saturday. I was in Alice Springs for the Australian Society for Microbiology Tri-State meeting. The Tri-State meeting brings together microbiologists from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. At the time, I was the president of the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Society for Microbiology.

On that Saturday, before dawn, we walked up Anzac Hill in Alice Springs. A Royal Australian Navy chaplain conducted the service. I didn’t realise before attending that he was a Roman Catholic chaplain. Many in attendance were Australian Defence Force personnel, including many Royal Australian Navy personnel. The closest seaport to Alice Springs is Port Augusta. The closest naval port to Alice Springs is HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin. Both are about 1,290 km as the crow flies from Alice Springs. Port Augusta is south, and HMAS Coonawarra is north. Those sailors were a long way from water.

After the service, I walked back to town and enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Each state and territory of Australia has its own rules about gazetted public holidays. Where I am, the public holiday is observed on Saturday, so there is no public holiday on Monday. I know there are other places where the public holiday will be observed next Monday. I’m assuming the services and marches will be held on Saturday, but the Monday public holiday will be a day off for many people in that community.

I look forward to working in the office on Monday, knowing it will be relatively quiet because many of my interstate colleagues will not be at work.

Spam Musubi.

Earlier in the week, a memory from 2015 surfaced on Facebook. At the time, I was on holiday in Hawaii. I had purchased my first Spam Musubi, which was delicious. One of the great things about watching Hawaii Five-0 is how often Spam Musubi comes up.

Influenza immunisation

I’m travelling next month. It is timely to update my influenza immunisation. I had the injection yesterday afternoon. It was a little unusual. The person administering the injection was quite nervous. The injection hurt more than normal. When the person removed the needle, the puncture started to bleed profusely. I was asked whether I was on any anticoagulants. When I responded, “No, I assumed you pranged a vessel.” I had clearly offended the person. I did not explain that I was a medical practitioner. I just waited for the blood to stop flowing and left as soon as I could.

Pain and bruising at the injection site 18 hours after the injection are also significant.

Pizza

For the first time in more than 20 years, I had a pizza delivered. It was delicious, and I ate the whole thing in one sitting. I ordered it from a local pizza shop and used Uber Eats to deliver it.

I don’t know if I’d do it again. I’m not even sure why I did it last night.

When I woke up this morning, I felt bloated. I also passed a lot of flatus. That’s been a bit unusual for me over the last couple of years. A diet heavy in meat-based protein and fat tends not to cause much flatulence.

The last Hot Cross Bun

Second morning tea

Anzac biscuits

I picked up a few Anzac biscuits from a local bakery. It came in a six-pack. I had one with coffee this morning, and it was chewy rather than hard, stiff, or crunchy. I usually like them hard, stiff, and crunchy, but chewy is all right. They were tough enough to crumble with a heavy object and also gave a good coffee dunking experience.

Recipe

To make my Anzac biscuit dessert, I crumbled an Anzac biscuit with a heavy object while it was in a plastic bag. I whipped some locally sourced, pure, pouring cream (no thickeners) and folded in the crumbled Anzac biscuit. I served it with some locally manufactured vanilla ice cream made with full-cream milk and no other additives.

Carbohydrate overload

The last 24 hours have been a carbohydrate overload.