The Tourist

Having caught two episodes of Cosmos just before bed and learning that Edmund Halley and Isaac Newton had an interesting history together, I woke up this Sunday morning with a thirst for an adventure! If not for Halley's encouragement, Newton may not have published his work on Gravity and history as we now have it would have taken a very different route! Anyway, Halley's comet passes Earth's orbit again in July 2061 when I'll be in my late 70's. If I'm alive and with passable eyesight and consciousness, maybe I'll catch it.

I decided to be a tourist today and visit the world's largest oceanarium - the S.E.A Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa. Although the park opened about two years ago and I even had the privilege to interview for a position of Marine Mammal Specialist there, I was yet to explore it! I was overwhelmed with the sights of marine life in the enormous tanks. The park made it possible for visitors to see the enchanting beauty of worlds underwater, just like a scuba diver would. I sincerely hope that a good proportion of visitors leave with an idea of what it is that we are slowly destroying with our collective demands on the planet and be a little more environmentally conscious. 

Sri Lanka's Port of Galle was a key location on the Silk Route as displayed in the Maritime Museum...

..where exports included precious gems and pearls, resin, wood, spices, beeswax, coconuts, turmeric, sesame and even corals and Hawksbill turtles.

The journey begins!

Unbelievably graceful, delicate and evolved to resemble seaweed - the Leafy sea dragons

Jellyfish are made of about 95% water! 

Coral reefs teeming with life

No, there were no blue whales at the park, but this poster made me wonder how fortunate we are to live in the time of the largest animal to have EVER lived on Earth! 

After making a quick detour to the Universal Studios Singapore (it pays to have a 6-month unlimited pass since I play the the role of tour guide quite often) to go on the Transformers and the Mummy rides and watch a few shows I hadn't before, I headed home to catch the T20 Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

Into the Blue!

Today turned out to be a great day. I got an invitation to go for a sailing class on short notice and I was not disappointed! Several hours at sea starting early in the day, learning to catch the wind in the sails and control a small sailing boat - was not as easy as it looks. We sailed to our heart's content, in the open seas and on one occasion sailed around a huge oil tanker! We were even allowed to jump off the boat and swim (more like float with the life jackets on) around in the water for awhile. After we were done, we had worked up a giant appetite and had a very satisfying lunch to conclude. My retentive memory is not too great so a lot of the theory on boat parts and sailing maneuvers that were taught has already bounced off my brain. But the sea always, always makes me happy, relaxed and charged! So thanks Sarah, for that out-of-and-into-the-blue invite! :P And might I add, Groupon vouchers rock!!

A laser bahia - it takes considerable skill to conquer the winds and make them work for (and not against) you. 

I am like a tortoise now, carrying my 'home' with me to work. I failed many times trying to reduce the 'junk' in my heavy hand bag because there was nothing I wanted to get rid of and I've come to accept that having a bad posture or chronic pains later in life will be the compromise for having everything I need within my reach now.

Inside Shu's bag
The food kit - bottle of water, a snack for emergencies and mints
The med kit - first aid for minor ailments, antiseptic wipes, tissues
The cosmetics kit
The weather kit - the sweater, umbrella, shades
The entertainment kit - music player and phone
The writers' kit - a book to read, pen and notepad
The wallet

The downside to carrying such a lot of things is that it is impossible to find any one item in a hurry, without having to sweep through so many other things. And it can be quite frustrating, say for example, if I had to find a can of pepper spray to use on a criminal.

Recently, I even carried a swimming kit in hopes of going for a swim after work. But for the five days I carried it to work, the country experienced heavy rainfall with thunder storms. And when I gave up on the idea and left the kit at home one day, lo and behold, that day turned out to be a sunny day.

When life gives you lemons, and it tends to do that a lot, you have to make lemonade out of them. I spent many weeks crying over how little time I had to do the things I usually enjoyed with the commitments of my new job. This regular complaint became such an ear sore, even for me. And I found out that with a little trimming here and there until life was reduced to simpler terms with a few expectations, I can get very close to a state of perpetual satisfaction (with a little margin for the occasional peak or trough).

All it took was a little mental conditioning and I've had to cut down on TV programs that were rather pointless entertainment, be okay with blogging only once a week, be okay with not being able to keep up with social networks online and offline, put some creative projects on hold, be okay with not being able to keep up with the latest news, save time spent on cooking by eating out instead and even turn down certain social invitations with company I don't enjoy very much.

Today, I've also completed a project that was pending for quite awhile now. And that was to make a collage from photographs of all the people that are dear to me and events in life that are memorable. Now I have a huge square of happy faces looking at me as I sit on my table to work. I'm extremely proud of my creative genius today!

Shu's handiwork. In this photo is also a panda that I've recently adopted. 

I'm sexy and I know it

No, that title isn't necessarily a reflection of what I think of myself. It's just one of those nonsensical songs being played on radio these days (by a band called LMFAO), which latches parasitically onto recurring thought bubbles and go around your head in circles all day. Also, my sister has fits of giggles when she recalls the video, which is my opinion is just scandalous (too outrageous, that I refuse to post the video on my blog!). But on a different level of contemplation, it is good to see men getting out there and balancing out the playing field, which is currently dominated by women. Go EQUALITY!

Other other day, a high profile guy in the company retired. He must have been in his late fifties, very competent at his job, drove a freakingly expensive car, wealthy (in case the car didn't speak for itself) and a recent divorcee. In his leaving speech, he said didn't have any specific plans to start working right away. Instead, he said he is "going back to thongs" (in his own words), to live in his villa by the beach in Indonesia. Sounded to me like he got tired of all the complexities and sophistications of a metropolitan city and he longed to go back to a simpler life to gather himself.

My ideal retirement plan would be to live by the beach. I'm extremely happy when I'm by the sea; my ears filled with the sound of waves and my eyes filled with the views of the sea. That's when the thoughts in my head are the loudest. I can go for the occassional swim or dive to check out the marine life (and hopefully not be decapitated by a shark or stung by a ray). If I can retire before I become feeble and senile, I'd love to write.

Dreaming is a good past time!