Brisbane Vu Par 2

Brisbane is small and I have quite forgotten what it is to live in a small place. The University in particular is an even smaller closed world and though its inhabitants fly off to different corners of the world and updates arrive from Europe, China and mid-western US universities alike, Brisbane is the loci. Here is where cliques are formed and their triumphs made public, their failures derided (I went to one meeting where the animosity was palpable and the participants, much like schoolboys, took to giggling through rival talks). The world of technology commercialisation is even smaller and the same people appear to restlessly pass through the three odd universities here. I also realise that it is really by the time one hits the 40s that the herd has separated. By then its clear who has had the iron will and ambition to be top dog and who is either content or resigned about their position on the food chain (or really the greasy pole). Most of the people I meet here who have elbowed their way up are men and they reinforce my opinion that there is nothing as unattractive as the ambitious man.