Just to say

So, if someone says "You know I love you - right?"

Does that mean they love you, or simply that you should know that they do, without them actually having to say it.

Just wondering....

You can checkout anytime you want

As big as this ship is, I've actually been thinking; "How big is big enough?"
A week into my cruise and for the last three nights I've avoided the main dining hall; partly because of the people at my table, but mostly because I'm sick of the good food.
Discovering what you do and don't want to eat becomes more difficult as the cruise goes on - I'm thinking it's because you cant actually make anything for yourself, instead relying on others to read your mind EXACTLY.

I also miss my guitar and internet connection. I'm also thinking this may be more pertinent as time goes on. The heart wants what the heart wants, and doubly so if it cant have it.

A cruise ship is indeed like a floating hotel - but a hotel you cant really leave - at least not without getting very wet, or more importantly very drowned. Themes of "Hotel California" aside I believe that to enjoy the experience you have to make it less of one.

By this I mean, don't attempt to make the most of everything. Be lazy - potter about your cabin - don't feel you have to attend a lecture on Polynesia or Ceramic painting. Avoid the Bingo and the Bean bag Boulle - by all means lie in you cot and star at the ceiling - I will keep you sane when every one around you has slowly gone mad. [Note: This may have actually happened, given the behavior of some of the other passengers.]

I feel the ultimate day in a 'round the world' journey would start with a decent lie in, followed by bugger all else.

So - am I enjoying it ? The resounding answer so far is YES; but important in all this is never having to justify why - You just have to discover the reasons yourself.

Come join us - we are programmed to receive. :)

Clarification

Although I can often focus on the things that irritate the hell out of me - I must admit I'm enjoying the change of view, pace, and space.

I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to do this, as left to my own devices I'm sure I would have never taken the time to explore traveling this way.

So would I recommend this sort of touring?

Give me a few more days and I'll give you my verdict :)

Yikes !

Formal night tonight.

Hope I scrub up well. It's been a while....

Just hoping "they" don't look down on me :)

Food fight!!!!!

I now have definitive proof to the unanswered question; “Why are we alone in the Universe?”.

I should point out that I do not make this claim lightly. I have thought about this for almost an hour now, but unlike most of my fleeting thoughts - I still believe I am right in this.

Like most epiphanies, this though can in the most unlikely of places - the Lido deck of the cruise liner Dawn Princess.

I currently sit in the antithesis of the Lido deck. In the ships library there are still rules of etiquette to follow. Silence is golden, no one is chewing their cud, and the smell of old books fill the air. I feel the last vestige civilization surrounds me; a bastion of books to keep away the marauding horde of sheep - nay cows - shuffling between the pool deck and the food troughs.

God - I loathe crowds. Every day I find an area of the ship bereft of as many people as possible. Here, with nothing but deep blue ocean surrounding me I attain a small measure of self - disconnected. Here I understand concepts of “Far from the Maddening Crowd”, and “An Island to One’s self”; but at the same time I realize it’s always on my terms.

Breakfast and lunch offer two alternatives. You can either be served, or serve yourself.

Opting to be served avoids the crowds, and the fiercely pitched battles over table spaces, but inevitably has a downside - you never know who you’re going to be sat next to. Trust me: It could be just as bad. Another negative to this option is the size of the portions, and the time taken to dine; both decided by the hyped up waiter staff, who seem to be paid by a) the number of patrons they serve every hour or/and b) by how far they stretch the food budget. It’s a whistle stop tour - this silver service option.

Self service would almost be tragic, if it wasn't for all the adults playing musical chairs will full lunch trays. Those lucky buggers already holding a table stake, smiling with a false sense of accomplishment, are reluctant to give up their prize possessions, even well after they have eaten. There is nothing more demoralizing than seeing your fellow man walk aimlessly amongst the tables, his lunch ever cooling; a modern day flying dutchman - ever approaching an empty table, only to have it taken as he comes into range of possession.
I’d laugh if I sometimes wasn’t playing the dutchman myself.

Still, I cant help but smile when I imagine the production crew edit the day’s video tape and show it on some Asian reality TV show. It’s all there - man’s inhumanity to man. Class structures, and turf wars go head to head with the meek and the mad - stirring stuff, all ending as they finally find their spot to graze, smiling at those less fortunate still searching.

At the end of the day it’s just that simple. Why would you bother? There’s so many of us. We’re all on an important mission, and we’re always looking for that table to put our food tray on. We speak so many different languages - yet we are all the same. It’s a complex machine of people, places and purpose. Frankly there’s really no room for outsiders, except to look in and discover; so maybe, just for now, we’re really just not worth the effort.

I’m just hoping they discover the libraries.

Coral Sea

I find it somewhat humbling - traveling through the Coral Seas; where so many have died to protect the freedoms we now take for granted.
As I stand on the bow of this massive cruise liner, the sun shines down on a peaceful sea, as the wind blows past unhindered.
I wonder if this was how it was between the battles in the Pacific; between the horror of the war, a glimpse of the peace that was to come after.

No land, just an azure sea, and a total lack of perspective - except for our small part in the picture.

Yada yada yada

True Story

Albert, being one of the younger members of the cruising party, was always causing mayhem. Leading the remaining older passengers astray with his shenanigans, staff would always breath a sigh of relief after 7:30pm when everybody retired for the evening.

The Boat of Love

I'm hanging with Issac for the next three or so weeks.

When you think of me I'd like you to think of this theme song...



Good grief - just watched the video and threw up in my mouth a little.

These posts should come with a warning message at the beginning - not the end. Will post from the high seas, should internet be available.

Again sorry 'bout the clip.

Bye :)

Shorts

The weirdest thing - last week work was far to hectic for me to slip off to the gym at lunchtime. I was pissed.

Saturday I rode my mountain bike to the mall and managed a spectacular crash avoiding a jogger on the way home.

Sunday, aching all over, I got back on the "horse" again and didn't fall off...

Monday I slipped out from the office and embarked on my new arm/shoulder killing workout. After work I went for a cycle after work to unwind.

The weird thing - this isn't me - at all. I wonder if the pod people ever knew they were pod people?

Sidebar: My couch is filing for irreconcilable differences, and I still feel fat.

Wow this is amazing. Stolen from Chris.

The power of music and the interweb together in a unique vision.

COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY:
Eric Whitacre

Representing 12 Countries:
Austria
Argentina
Canada
Germany
Ireland
New Zealand - Yay!!!
The Philippines
Singapore
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States of America

Rain on my roof makes me happy

I've been thinking that so many situations we face are so similar, yet we continue to look for the differences, in some vague hope that being unique means we can make our mark in the world.
In truth our strength is in our common bonds, regardless of origin or creed.

20 Questions about privacy

I wonder how much is enough.

A couple of weeks ago I was sick, and missed out on a team building day. This was unfortunate - not because I missed out on a kayak down a slow flowing river, but because it provided my team an opportunity to discuss my love life.

To this day I don't understand what right people have to try and shape another life in their image of their twisted world. We all know someone who asks;

"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"When are you getting Engaged?"
"When are you getting Married?"
"When are you having Children?"

I assume it eventually stops - I mean how many times do you get;

"When are you planning on on dying?"

I wonder why this sort of thing irritates me so?
Is it because I want to be firmly in control of my own destiny?
Is it because I'm a very private person, who likes to keep some distance between their work and social lives?

I know what I like. I know what I want. I'm capable. I'm able.
But for right now - more importantly I'm pretty damn happy.

Except when my boss sends me an email today; addressed to me and a friend of hers it was entitled "Putting you two in touch...."

So maybe I'm not so much angry; maybe instead just a little sad.

.

Just shine dammit!

I've always found there is more than one way to tell a story.

When all you do is focus on the negative elements, you miss an opportunity to stand apart, and to look at a unique way of focusing on a positive.

Life is grand; life is full of choice.
You have more power than you think. Make it what you want - because if you don't, you'll be simply making it what it shouldn't be.

Look at this clip, as a case in point, and let that light shine in.

Hand me Down - Matchbox 20

I like the musical progressions within this song, the phrasing and the melody.



If only you could just wind the "whiny" down a little.

I've known too many people who like to play the victim. I dont tolerate them anymore.

One lesson learnt - God knows how many to go...

Imagine if this caught on.

It's a fucking stupid mixed up world.
I've got my God; he speaks to me every day.
Somethings I just cant work out, so I leave them be; even if I think they're wrong.
Because I know one day he'll make me understand
I've got that trust: It's called belief.
I'm a lucky man.

Anwar's Dad - Skins S01E09

Memories, light the corners of my mind

Well maybe not exactly.

Mum - skip this, you wont like it.

Pop psychology: The secret to truly moving on.

This just in.

1) Acceptance - accept that nothing in the past can be changed.

2) Forgiveness - Forgive yourself and others for past actions

3) Gratitude - Be truly grateful for what you have, and what surrounds you.


Two out of three isn't enough supposedly.

If any of you score 100% let me know if this works for you. :)

True story

In a previous life I lived in a small village in the south of France.

Summers came and went. The pace of life was glacial.

One spring day I put my tanned arm outside my window, and moved my hand as the wind blew between my fingers. It was divine.

Nothing ever seemed to happen. It was magic.

Inhuman Resources

It amazing how easily you can be dragged back into the fray.
Its amazing how the faintest smell of a situation can take the floor from beneath you; how other peoples issues can suddenly become yours again.

I know life shouldn't always be about me, so when I realize I've been hijacked on the back of someone else's amygdala, I get kinda angry that I haven't let the old stuff go.

Sometimes you have to be realistic and know that some things are bigger than you and me, and that revenge for wrongdoing only happens in the movies or our dreams.

For now I just hope that the one fundamental law of the universe is simply "What goes around, comes around".

Because justice is just so important to me right now, I really need to believe that.

Dendrite dilemma

It turns out, that when we're born, our brains are only wired for basic autonomic functions, designed to keep us alive. As we develop and do stuff, pathways develop in our brain. These neural pathways are created by Dendrites and get "stronger" with repeated use over time.

The really cool thing about these pathways, is that we are continually developing them. We still have the ability to great new skills; with time and effort those pathways can be strengthened to the point that they can become second nature, involving little or no conscious effort.

Equally gratifying is the fact that unused mental pathways can erode and wither - I'm not sure if the connection are ever truly broken, but most times we do have to partially relearn the skills....perhaps like riding a bike again as an adult...

I guess what I'm saying is that by accentuating the good, and eliminating the bad, there's still time for a much healthier balanced brain. It's a nice thought to think that with consistent effort we could all be much happier - eventually without even working so hard to make it so. :)

My only concern is that recently I've remembered some of my dreams - bizarre as they are I'm thinking that if my dreams are creating dendrite connections, I'm in for an awful lot of trouble...

Still - best not think about that eh :)