Wait, I'm Coming!

Not many people love their job, do they? Or like it in the slightest. I think it’s sad, because you’ll be working for at least 30 years (God willing). I’d hate it too if I was still doing the same exact thing as I did five years ago. Say if I were a lawyer. Surely I’d always work on legal cases, that’s a given. But I’d want to tackle bigger cases like corrupted politicians…no wait, that’s a norm…alright, a murderous politician! Though I think it’s getting common too but at least it’s more significant than trying to sue a neighbour whose dog keeps barking at night under some act that I’m apparently not aware of. It’s obvious I know little about law but you get my drift.

I’ve been so lucky, I’ve always liked my work. Most of my colleagues were (and are) nice people whom I don’t mind working with again and again. I'm in a stimulating line of work that excites me on most days (come on, nothing’s perfect!). Still, there’s this nagging voice inside my head screaming “I want to taste the world!”. There are so many things I want to experience. In my previous post, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to sense my jealousy towards those who go on expeditions and worse, actually doing it for a living. *pulling my hair out*

Among others, I want to sail across the Arctic ocean and study the polar ecosystem.

i.c.e s.t.o.r.i.e.s

I want to camp in the African outback and do research on the wild habitat.

v.a.g.a.b.o.n.d q.u.e.s.t

I want to trek the Amazon and gather significant data or discover new species.

s.o.d.a.h.e.a.d

I want to climb the Alps and scream my lungs out from Mont Blanc just for fun.

d.a.n.i.e.l a.r.n.d.t

And lots more!

That’s the kind of guts I want my kids to have. Explore their potential outside the box in this tiny but magnificent God’s creation. I realize there’s a paradox there but that’s how I see the world. I see it as a small globe in my two hands, I can just pinpoint anywhere I want to go and do whatever I want to (well, provided I have the money of course) but the abundance of knowledge is overwhelming. The whole week I was seriously considering the National Geographic's Young Explorers grant but I still couldn’t work out the right proposal. Most, if not all expeditions are bloody expensive which is understandable but it still frustrates me. I wonder why those millionaires spend their money partying. What a stupid waste. To each his own eh?

Maybe my time is yet to come. Maybe I still have more things to learn before embarking upon such huge feats. Maybe if I took my chance so early in my life, I would be killed in a freak encounter with some rhinos or frozen to death underneath a giant iceberg trying to chase a bearded seal. God has a reason for everything.

But I know one thing for sure.

All the little steps I’m taking lead me towards it and I will never lose sight of that big picture.

Expedition please!

e.a.w.a.g

d.i.v.e e.x.p.e.d.i.t.i.o.n

A Swiss research institute, Eawag, which happens to be one of the world's leading aquatic research institutes, is having a few positions for PhD students this year and they're most likely to go on expeditions for their research. *grumble*

Confessions

You know how our neighbourhood is relatively safe so there's no lock and we always let the window open because it's summer? Last night around 1am I heard something like someone walking in the garden so naturally I couldn't sleep until the crack of dawn. I was half expecting a pair of red eyes lurking behind the window blind. Being a good wifey, I didn't wake hubby up (thought I held his hand all night) just in case I was imagining things because well, sometimes I'm weird that way. Turned out there was a plastic bag in the garden. Yup, the joke was on me. I got spooked by a mere plastic bag.

Anyway, I have some confessions to make just for fun.

b.u.z.z.l.e c.o.m

• I don’t like pink, shopping, make-up, jewellery, handbag and all that jazz. I don’t mind people who like them though, I’m just not interested. So whenever some girls excitedly tell me there are sales somewhere or ask me out to a warehouse sale, I always ask where and then forget it immediately because well, I don’t care.
• I think high-heel is another means of torture, a long-term one. I don’t like buying shoes, it takes too much time. I have a really nice pair of leather boots and that was a birthday gift from the husband. Then we have the rugged hiking boots which hubby had to talk me into getting them for weeks. I did buy a cute pair of Crocs sandals on my own initiative but that was really because of the massive buildup. I honestly don’t get why something looks like rubber can be so expensive.
• I don’t really fancy coffee but it sounds so grown-up so I always have only a quarter of coffee with a lot of milk but now that I'm basically allergic to coffee, I'm starting to drink only milk with my coffee cup at work. 

There, it feels good!

Oh, my elderflower juice was a success and it tasted like summer. No other way to describe it, will post photos on my Facebook soon...after some canoeing and eagle-hunting tomorrow. *wink*

Sunday No Love

So turned out it wasn't totally a lazy weekend, I did go out and get some elderflowers to make the cordial. Let's see in five days if it's at least edible. The weather has been scorching hot but right now at 6.30pm, it actually looks like there's going to be a storm. No wonder weather is a popular topic around here, it keeps changing like Britney and her panties! Does she have it on, does she not? Okay, outdated joke. Bear with me, it's Monday tomorrow but the World Cup final is tonight so I'll probably have to go to bed later than I usually do and the thought of not getting enough sleep makes me grumpy. Coffee will not help anymore, I'm sort of allergic to it after the nasty headache a couple of weeks ago. I really love World Cup but I've had enough with people's posts about who's winning and who's not as well as Paul the Octopus hype. They get redundant after five minutes and it's not like those who don't know the result are actually interested in the game and those who do most likely did watch the game anyway. Oh, and I have to write a complaint e-mail to our Newcastle property agent. He verbally agreed to pay the bank surcharge with the deposit refund but he didn't. I'm easily pissed off by people who do not follow through on their words but I always wait for a few days before saying something so that I'm not clouded by emotion.

d.e.s.k.t.o.p r.a.t.i.n.g

Unfortunately for them, it's still pretty cloudy over here.

La la Land

I started my Saturday morning when I heard hubby trying to get the camera. He loves taking photos of me when I'm asleep but I'm a light sleeper so he doesn't get the chance that often. I got up around 9.30am only because hubby was pulling my blanket off the bed just so he could do the laundry. I had a video call with my family for over an hour while having a fat egg banjo and a steaming cup of roiboos tea with honey. It was my parents' birthdays last week and I had a carrot walnut cake delivered with some roses. I wish I could have the cake though. It's going to be a lazy weekend, I can feel it in my bones. No work at all, not even going out and feeling the sea breeze. I'm just going to stay inside with a nice book and have one whole cake with sparkling juice. 

Oh I just love this song. It reminds me of well, what else....my la la land!

Food Talk

I only had one ice-cream this week, that was progress. But I had a barbecue (since all chickens here are halal!), cheesy nachos with guacamole salsa and a moist carrot cake with cream cheese topping. I'm hopeless, sigh.

Despite my calorific fascination, I actually eat less here because Danish cuisine is extremely bizarre like raw herring marinated in vinegar and curry cream. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, trust me. I suppose that to me is like durian to them. Nasty! I love their pastry though. And rhubarb! I'm getting them fresh from the forest.

a.l.l.o.t.m.e.n.t

I absolutely adore their elderflower juice and the cordial is so easy to make. You just have to pick a basket of elderflowers, can be found literally everywhere including by the roadside but getting them from the garden or forest gives it a distinct flavour. Then these flowers are boiled with water, sugar and lemon. Leave it to cool and store it in the fridge for five days and voila, it's ready!

l.a.u.n.d.r.y. e.t.c

I was going to continue with the pastry but this food talk doesn't really help with my so-called health regimen, does it?