Keeping oneself busy

My mornings at work begin with a quick glance through the daily paper. In it, I look for local news in general (I hardly find anything inspiring, and most are depressing incidents), upcoming social events, letters to the editor and cricket news (to do with our team of course!). If I find anything interesting, I would either forward them to to family and friends or to myself, so that I can follow up on it at home.

Yesterday had two interesting social events lined up. One at a local reserve to release rehabilitated marine turtles to the sea and the other a volunteering event for breast cancer awareness. So early that morning, we (my guest and I) set out for a day full of fun activities.

For the turtle event, after what seemed like driving for hundreds of kilometres, we came to the area illustrated in the map mailed out by the event organisers. "7 km after gas station, take a right into security checkpoint". After passing the said gas station, there were no sign boards leading to a reservoir and seriously, who can tell how much 7km is when driving at 120km/h (heck, I can't tell 7km even otherwise). Then there came a small exit leading to a dirt road (no sign of a security checkpoint). I slowed down, unsure, because the consequence of missing an exit can be disastrous on a one-way highway leading to another state; you can't turn back for another half hour of driving. Call it a lucky guess, there came a 4WD with two women (who 'seemed' like the type to like turtles) and they cut right across us and took that exit. I immediately followed them (no time to think and miss an exit)!! Turns out, they even knew their way very well through the dirt roads leading to the reserve (again, without a single sign board). After about 5-10 mins of driving on dirt roads through the desert, we arrived. Now one might wonder, if these people were headed off somewhere else like a desert safari leading deeper into the desert dunes, what might have happended to us?? How could have we navigated back to the main road when the GPS had no coverage in this area?? Or what if they hadn't come in time and I missed the exit? Oh well, didn't have to worry about any of that!

The turnout was surprisingly huge. Nice to know there were so many enthusiasts who came to watch, along with their little ones. The weather here has take a turn for better here and the reserve was situated next to a beach, which was unpolluted. We had to fight to catch a glimpse of the turtles. I fought with the kids to get a chance to touch one, but they pushed me away when I was about two inches away from shaking hands with a little hawksbill.

All that story-telling aside, I do hope the turtles live long enough out there to make it back to the shore to breed. They are among so many amazing creatures shaped by millions of years of evolution to what they are today. Their habitats and breeding cycles have been vastly destroyed as a result of the parasitic menace, that are homo sapiens.

Event number two was more for my guest as she loves all things to do with crafts and sewing. We volunteered at an assembly line for sewing neck cushions for breast cancer patients. Now I am very skeptical if these will actually reach the patients, and if they do, would these actually make them feel better. Aren't there bigger things we can do for them than just sewing bags and cushions? But it was a good initiative to spread awareness and a good opportunity for selfish people like us to forget our lives for a bit and devote a little time for another. We weren't that useful; our line made just nine cushions and that was all the fabric the organisers had for our line. Only one thing hit my mind when I saw the pile of end products; please, let there not be as many patients as those cushions and bags imply.

My travel buddy for the day had fun and it did her a lot of good in terms of cheering her up. She even met a like minded sewing-lover. I overheard a conversation of theirs at a store for crafting items (went something like this):

The friend: OMG, LOOK at all these different colours of thread and fabric!!! [squeals]
The other person: Yes! It's amazing, they have a good collection.
The friend: I mean, it's such a turn on, seeing all this!
[Shu: o_O .... ]
The other person: People who are not into this type of thing won't get it.
[Shu: Hmmm.]

Made me think if I told someone that the sound of starting the Jeep's engine first thing in the morning and hearing its crisp and roaring sound was such a turn on, I'd get that same look (or worse). So yeah, whatever floats our boats!

Life is busy but good

Shu's a quitter! The Salsa classes failed to launch. I've missed 4 classes now, due to busy after-work travel planning work and well, lack of prolonged enthusiasm for that type of dance style.

I've missed blogging (relax Shu, it's been only 2 weeks) soooo much. Many days passed when I wanted to write so badly but did not make it before my auto-shut down time.

On a serious note, I have come to realise that I am only as good as the things I practice regularly. It applies to nearly everything in my life; skills, thoughts, habits, etc.

There's only one thing on my mind and that's the destination I'm traveling to in a week's time. My days are plagued with disturbed sleep (rare in Shu-burbia), attention deficit disorders, panic attacks and respiratory ailments. The goal is NOT to die of exhilaration in the next few days leading to the actual holiday.

Rihanna's biggest fan these days:

Say hello to bloodshot eyes

I'm going to regret this milo I had at 12 in the midnight.

Dance classes are somewhat enjoyable, although tough. I'm getting several bits of good advice from the instructor like "Relax your shoulders, don't be too stiff", "Dont look down on your feet when dancing", "Look your partner straight in the eye, be confident", "Feel the music", "Relax", etc etc. There is a Hip Hop class going on at the auditorium just before my Salsa class. Today, I was a few minutes early and happened to see the Hip Hop kids taught a robotic dance move with "locking". Pretty amazing, I thought.

Last week, I was eating this stuff at work. Finished a whole pack in a few days. Wonder if Roald Dahl gave them the permission to use that brand name on the box.

I had to invest on a Lonely Planet Traveler's Guide for my vacation overseas. Been reading it diligently at work, trying to remember all the things a traveler must. The section on social etiquette states that one must never accept food with the left hand and must always eat with one's right hand. Great. The first thought was to add "disposable spoons" to my list of things to take. On second thoughts, I'll just give them a piece of my mind; "You want me to start eating with the hand that for 20+ years I've been using for other purposes?? And you'd rather run the risk of getting a bad case of diarrea yourself than see me accept your food with my left hand?? What have you done to the lefties in your nation??"

I say, grow some common sense.

On third thoughts, that might not go down well. I can't even speak their language!