On my "To do" list

I’ve heard the phrase “Bucket list” thrown around a lot lately, clearly the movie has had some impact on people, and Jack Nicholson does do ornery rather well.

For myself, I have two very different bucket lists that I’m working from in my mind. The first one is the public one, the one I throw out to anyone who will listen, about the things I want to do at least once, sometime in my life, common things like Travel to Paris and go through the Louvre Museum, go for a hot air balloon ride (hopefully that one will be accomplished sometime in the next year), go for a helicopter ride, learn Spanish and maori and go for a boat cruise around the Pacific (theres one going in June next year, if I can save up that much money).

I remember having a conversation with some girls while I was at uni about all the things we wanted to do, see and experience and one of the girls put forward the idea of going to Oxford or Cambridge university. I didn’t think anything of it until I ran into her a year or two ago to find that she had done just that – spent a year at one of those universities. Good on her I say.

Then theres the other bucket list, the one that I don’t talk about for fear acquaintances and critics will try to talk me out of doing what I want to do. I shouldn’t put so much stock into what other people think, because they won’t ever have to walk in my shoes, but when their negativity towards my goals comes from a place of concern for me, I tend to end up feeling guilty about the things I want to do.

One of the goals I have in the back of my mind, which I want to do, mainly because it would be so exceedingly difficult for me, which would make it so worthwhile, is to do a 40 day fast solely on water. As much water as I want but just water. No I’m not claiming superhuman status like Jesus or other religious leaders. But for me it’s the ultimate test against myself, proving to myself that I would do it. That’s nearly 6 weeks of no food. If I could discipline myself to abstain from food, I think I could discipline myself to do anything I wanted.

I would never have conceived of the possibility of doing such a feat, but I have went to a seminar of a man – Don Tolman, who not once but twice fasted on water for 40 days. He went away into the mountains to do it and when he finished he drank 1L of pure fresh grape juice and ran the equivalent of a marathon, which was all documented by a film crew. I should try to find it on the net, come to think of it. He did say that its harder for women to fast long term.

I’m not sure what the difference is between fasting and starvation exactly, I think that they’re probably similar except that one is voluntary and the other is not. I would think that the outlook for the two would be different – one being more positive and the other looking towards death.

Don also had an alternative to the long fast, which was 20 days on water, in order to allow any parasites and worms living in the body to die, followed by a mega cleanse – bentonite clay alternating every hour with psyllium and flax seeds for 12 hours on the 20th day.

Fasting is not the only thing on my secret bucket list, but it’s the one I keep coming back to again and again. Its just so do-able. Really the only thing stopping me from doing it – is me.

Internet

The downside of moving cities that I never thought about before I moved here, is that I no longer have internet access. And nobody I know does either. Which completely sucks.

I missed writing in my blog. I took to writing lots of things on my laptop, which sadly is not connectable to the internet due to an incident with a friends small daughter.

Asking questions of the internet is a great thing. At work all internet access is blocked, except the work intranet, online banking, and the NZ Herald which has become my only link to the outside world over the past month.

The end of the rainbow

I saw a rainbow on my way to work the other day (new job, different scene, a lot more fog) and the thought that flashed into my head was "One more year" one more year at least til the second coming. Its the main sign that stands out in my mind from numerous lessons about the second coming. I think signs and wonders in the heavens was another one. I'm not sure exactly where in the scriptures it says that there will be no rainbows before the second coming (does that mean there will be no rain?) or if it was just an idea that someone came up with from their own interpretation of the scriptures. I had a quick look, but couldn't find anything in the topical guide.

In seventh form physics we made rainbows using hoses out in the school courtyard and made the observation that a rainbow would only appear (above and around the water stream) while you were facing away from the sun.

A rainbow is caused by the refraction of light which have been split according to their varying wavelengths, since all different colours have different wavelengths and vibrate at different speeds. Crystals will also refract light and split them into their individual colours. Speaking of which, I think they should take out the colour Indigo. Nobody really knows what it is. If asked, i would guess its like a dark blue verging on purple. There may as well be 6 colours in the rainbow.

I really like double rainbows. They're a rare commodity, but very lovely. I tried to take a photo of one once, but it turned out terribly. But i did notice that the colours on one were reversed. VIBGYOR instead of ROYGBIV

So i wonder if the scriptures when describing the state of no more rainbows, if its only referring to rainbows in the sky or ones you can make at home, with crystals or like the physics example referred to above.

I dislike the thought of no more rainbows. They light up the sky so beautifully.

Encounters of the Ferral Kind part 2

I found the rat, disgusting vermin that it is.

For weeks i assumed that it had died up in the roof and that the stench was unlocatable and unremovable. I was wrong.

My last day in my flat I shifted my bookshelf to load it onto the trailer and what did i find. Gross emaciated disgustingness lying under my bookshelf. I found the nearest tool I could (a pitchfork in the garden) to shift it outside. From where some other kind soul threw it in the bin for me, where i took a photo of it for future records. Yuk.

Degrees of Separation

I read once that if you go back 500yrs, assuming 25yr average per generation, there will have been 1 million people involved in your future birth. Assuming that each person has 2 parents, 4 grandparents (I have 6, but thats another story) 8 great grandparents and so on. Of those great grandparents, I only met 3, none of whom are alive at present. I didn't meet any gg grandparents. So closely linked (4 degrees of separation) and yet so far.

I met my nana's youngest surviving brother two days ago for the first time. She was the oldest in a family of 8, he was the second to youngest. I was stunned to see how strongly I could see the family resemblance in him, even in the way he held himself, and the intonations he used when he spoke.

In australia, I met a man who has a common ancestor with me - his gg father is my 4th great grandfather. But he told me after meeting me, that I am just like his oldest grand daughter - in looks, mannerisms and way of talking. He could only assume it was through our common line.

So what are these things called genes? And what determines which variants get put into some people in one generation and not others? I apparently *look like my mother, have my fathers expressions, look just like my sister, look nothing like her at all, am just like my mothers mother, have the "ormsby" look, and look like a distant cousin who i've never met before?

If we're all linked to so many people, ancestors, cousins, descendants, like threads in a tapestry woven together, I suppose it would be possible for one ancestors influence to spread exponentially down the line. But i wonder what determines who gets what part of that influence.

*all subjective comments from other people

Switching tracks

So one minute life is progressing along in one direction, and the next its switched in a totally different direction. A detour which i didn't see coming at all. I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with gratitude, owing to a prior experience I had.

I had a sucky boring job that was not fun and not going anywhere, just passing the time really. Into my head popped the bright idea of "counting my blessings" ie coming up with good things about it. I managed it. And within two weeks i had a better job. I didn't even ask for something better, it just came along when i stopped being fixated with how bad the other job was.

That was the first inkling that i remember having that there might be something to this whole idea of being grateful. Its as if looking at the good things, pours more good things into your life. Like presents from a smiling heavenly father.

I can't claim to know how it works, I have just seen it work, again, recently.

I was on an extra shift and I ran into a workmate who I don't normally see (shes on a different roster pattern to me) and she asked if i'd seen this job advert for a position at the airport in my home town. I actually hadn't. But since she'd mentioned it to me, I thought i'd check it out.

The next day I redid in CV and applied. Forgot about it til a week later when the recruitment lady called me for an interview. Did that. Forgot about it til the end of that week when she called and said i'd been shortlisted. Only then did i start thinking about all the things I actually like about where i'm living now, and I was surprised that the list was at least as big as all the benefits of moving back.

A few days ago she called again, to say they want to offer me the job and can I start asap. I called my team leader and she called me back the next day to say i'm finishing up in 2wks and can i have a minute to think about it pls? No? Ok so i have 1week after I get back from holiday to pack up my life (again) and transfer everything and start all over again. Only its not really starting again because I came from there? Right? We'll see.

And what was the point of me being in Auckland anyway? Was there a point? Now I'm not so sure. I thought I knew why i was going there when i moved, but that reason seemed to disintegrate before my eyes, so chances are that its a good thing I'm going back to where I'm usually happier anyway.

This post all looks like random psychobabble. But its weird that after months of trying to decide whether or not I liked Auckland, I think I might actually be sad to go.

Travel Musings

A few things I've learnt over the last few days

The difference between fiords and sounds (one is created by a river and v shaped, usually quite shallow - like the Malborough sounds, a fiord is carved out by a glacier, usually u shaped, very deep) Milford sound is actually a fiord, but that phrase doesn't roll off the tongue as easily. It was originally called Milford Haven but they didn't like that name either.

You shouldn't try to take photos of outdoor close up objects while travelling in a fast moving vehicle. It doesn't work. I have a lot of blurry photos to show for my efforts.

Where the Mirror lakes are located. I'd seen lots of photos of them growing up but had no idea where they were. They're just south of Milford sound. Beautiful, though a lot smaller than i expected.

Milford sound really is beautiful. I'm so glad i came down this way. Photos to follow.