Lovely message to welcome the New Year in

Just received this message on my Facebook

babe how u doin? well first off this is bizzare! maly due to the fact that i have been trying to get in contact with u for awile now, then u pop up in a photo on face book. i was looking on that dating site plenty of fish lol,just browsing.. n stumbeld accross yourself.BOOM! how hot u are! anyway i sent a message to you regarding maybe catching up 4 a drink or dinner sometime,but couldnt seem to send. dont normally do this but as i said u caught my eye in particular, i no im only 25 but hey age is no barrier.i think anyway.pretty random all this babe but to good of n opportunity not to. if your keen let me no.would love 2.happy new year!x

He is a mutual friend of a couple of girls I know here. So I will do some research in that direction. Would say that written English might not seem his strong point...

Also, if he is 25, calling him 'babe' back might be a little weird....

Well, that's my ego massaged for today... and probably for the week!

Just a bit of a worry as when I asked him for a better picture of himself.. he said that the one on Facebook was a recent one... yep.. he's no. 15! So at least I will be able to recognise him from behind!

Happy New Year

And so the year finishes and a new one begins..

So what were my options on how to herald in the New Year...

People at work were talking about going to various people's houses. All the diving crew had their own plans... and no invite was extended to me despite them going round to one of their houses.

A friend invited me round to hers, but that involves a journey and a car (mute point).

And what about the other friends, one was working and finally the couple that I hang round with Mariella and Geoff asked if I wanted to go to the Courty (local slang for the Courthouse public house) - $70 for a ticket... so that was that.

So arrived at the Courty at 7.15 after madly rushing round like a blue arsed fly (not sure where that saying comes from). Mariella and Geoff were staying the night and the en suite bathroom had literally just been finished. So it was frantic hoovering, cleaning, dusting when I got back from work at 5.30. Me wondering why my Mr Fixit just hadn't finished off by taking out the debris, card board boxes and cleaned the new wall units.

The ticket was supposed to include food, but all was not boding well when I viewed a plate of prawns with a queue of 10 people leading to it. And that was only food that I saw all night. But what I did see a lot of was the free champagne which, of course, I had to get my monies worth!

Let's just say that after 12.00 my memory of events gets a little hazy.

12.00 found me sitting on the toilet. It wasn't planned - just that my bladder took me there at an unfortunate time and only realised whilst in mid flow. So what do I do....? At 11.59 I text my ex boyfriend to wish him Happy New Year and to say I missed him... NOOOOO!!! Yep! :

Three seperate messages (why didn't my brain just turn off after the first one).. but no.. I was in full flow and firing faster than an automatic rifle!

Each one getting steadily worse...

1. Hope you have a good one. Happy Birthday to Mel. Wish I was there! Happy New year! XX

2. Happy New Year

3. Miss You x

2.18 AM

Wish mel a happy birthday from me xpp
(not sure what the xpp was for.. probably a kiss and some drunken pp's added on for good measure)

Reply from him.7.03 am (which is an interesting time to text me back?) sounding pretty dead pan and not at all amused by my emotional ranting texting from earlier.

Will do. Hope your new year is a good one.

To be clear about this... with the benefit of clarity and soberness, yes I do miss him. But I made my decision for a reason and yearning for a type of relationship that he is unable to give me that will never change, so I still stand by the situation with no regrets.


In hindsight, it might have been semi subconscious to hide in the Ladies. There was a guy called Derek that was a little eerily into me saying 'I saw you here on Christmas Eve' and was hanging around me so it avoided any awkwardness in kissing him. I remember emerging and Mariella and Geoff wondering where I was so we did our Happy New Years then. After that, it now goes hazy... apparently Mariella and I danced and before I knew it we were back at my place sitting on the sofa!

Back of my mind is wondering if the December 2012 end of the Mayan cycle will effect plans for New Years Eve 2012! Strange to be welcoming in a year that has been earmarked by such uncertainty for the future.

Mayan End Age 12-21-2012

"An Apocalypse (Greek: “lifting of the veil” or “revelation”) is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted." — Wikipedia

"Both the Hopis and Mayans recognize that we are approaching the end of a World Age... In both cases, however, the Hopi and Mayan elders do not prophesy that everything will come to an end. Rather, this is a time of transition from one World Age into another. The message they give concerns our making a choice of how we enter the future ahead. Our moving through with either resistance or acceptance will determine whether the transition will happen with cataclysmic changes or gradual peace and tranquility. The same theme can be found reflected in the prophecies of many other Native American visionaries from Black Elk to Sun Bear."


So should be an interesting year ahead.....

Where's the pride in service gone.....

In the last two days I have been told:

Keep my brief for divers down to 15 minutes. Despite the fact that mine took 20 mins because they were new divers, I wasn't in a hurry and they were asking questions and I wanted to make sure they understood.

Not to help divers as they get onto the boat by helping them take off their fins at the ladder..."they are certified divers they should be able to sort themselves out".

These people are being charged $250 for 3 dives... don't you think a little help here and there might help?

Now I have to just wait and watch people trying awkwardly to take off their fins at the ladder and I can't help.

I love the diving part... but all the rest is SHIT.! I am gritting my teeth and hope that the new year will bring in other work options. Or that some supervisors spontaneously combust!

Is it so wrong to try to give people help. Also, in a briefing if I can address any questions and give a good briefing it makes my job so much easier.

I will write more about work in one of these blogs.. but just getting peeved by this take all the money and give nothing back in return type attitude.

Christmas Cards

Every year I send out hand made Christmas Cards. It's been a tradition for our family and one that I try to continue. Over the years, depending on time, and facilities, I have produced them - some more successful than others, but it's not the end result that matters, it's the importance of embodying what Christmas is really about. That is the gift of time and thought, not how much money one throws at it that is the important message.

Sadly the amount of cards I send out each years are now decreasing as people decease and my capability for mass production also is reduced. So this year only 8 sent out.

Images for the Christmas cards were photographed here in Port Douglas along the Captain Cook Highway. I like the idea of the Star of Bethlehem not just giving light to the wise men, but it's a light of symbolism throughout the year to all the places in the world.

One theory about the star is that it is called the Star of Solomon that was shining at this time, which was not so much a star but if you drew a line to all the planet's positions it then creates a star shape, which happens every 40,000,000 years. Though this did happen 5BC which could throw that theory off (highly premature baby Jesus?)

http://www.aloha.net/~johnboy/pageone.htg/pageone.htm

Views at work

Taken a couple of weeks ago... they are filming Reef Doctors here - a new series. This is the film crew loading up the boat at 5.00am in the morning! Who says working in the film industry is glamorous!




A day not diving - working as crew for ship to shore. Ferrying cruise passengers to shore in our diveboat. First had to drop off the customs people and their sniffer beagle dog (no, not for drugs but for vegetables and food!).

The Shadow within Ourselves

The Supervisor, Rob, on one of the dive boats to the Barrier Reef that I work on, is one of those typical London style bit of a geezer (think Ray Winston crossed with Michael Caine). On one level he is fun, makes jokes, but on the other he is the big I AM. There is an underside to him that betrays all this 'I'm a lovely bloke' aura. It is the arrogance of someone who has a chip on his shoulder. Even after working for 3 weeks as a snorkel guide, I asked to be signed off and he said I had to spend a day with him to see how he does it. So despite me having given snorkel briefings and marine talks that you can count on two hands I had to see how he did it.

It has got to the point that he now lords it arrogantly over customers on the boat. Today two guys came on and asked to dive. It was a busy day, but he could have easily accommodated them, but they were tall, good looking and when he asked if they could snorkel, they joked that they were better than the Japanese (they were Czech). To that he commented that that was very rude and that they can forget about diving that day.

Also, we had a lovely Russian family on board today. I consider that they were educated and wealthy - and all spoke immaculate English. They had all their own equipment including a camera set up that looked like the Star Trek Enterprise with headlamps. They wanted to rinse their gear. I didn't get the full picture, but I could see them talking and I could tell that Robs voice was doing the put down arrogant tone.

In the visitors book today I gave it to the family to fill in their comment was:

"The dives were wonderful and the reef and staff were amazing. Rob was extremely arrogant to me and also to my son who was upset by his attitude".


And so... he is now being accused of the one thing that he loathes in other people.

And so to the shadow within ourselves...

How do we identify shadow material within ourselves? One really easy way is to look at people who we absolutely loathe. They represent something we loathe within ourselves, our shadow material. Example?

I once asked a friend what kind of people irritated her the most. Her response?

"People who just go on and on and on and never make their point. I just hate that. That just keep rattling on and on, repeating themselves over and over again without ever getting to the point. I just hate that. Why don't they say what they mean rather than repeating themselves over and over again?"

(She continued on for another 5 minutes, but I'll spare you. You get the point.) I've noticed this about myself. People who really annoy me are usually doing something I do. Sometimes I'm aware that I do it, sometimes I'm not, unless I pay attention to what I'm "hating" in otherwise.

The more strongly I'm irritated by someone's behaviour, the bigger the shadow in myself.

It is an interesting exercise and it is SOOO TRUE!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning - lying in bed and received a phone call from my ex's sister. I had sent her a card and a letter explaining a little more for the reasons why I left her brother. So we had a lovely chat - that's the worst thing about splitting up with someone, you also split from the family. She is great and even congratulated me on leaving him!

Just noticed that the time on this blog is incorrect... it thinks it is yesterday.. how weird is that - even though my computer has the right time on it.... any ideas how to change that?

Then frantic text messages to all the flakies and friends wishing them a happy xmas.

Christmas and New Year are a time for reflection and contemplation. So what I have achieved in another year of my rather fast flashing life? Should it be even more poignant bearing in mind that 2012 is the Mayan change year - not so much the end of the world, but the end of a cycle - so this could be the last time to contemplate that!

So what have I acheived this year apart from my brain getting considerably more rusty trying to think? I have bought a house in Port Douglas, I have sold my flat in London and in the process of purchasing a property in Costa Rica. I have left a 6 year relationship. Travelled to UK, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, US and reconnected with such wonderful friends. Met and made friends with other amazing people. I have left my job 'in the city' and now working as a diver on the Barrier Reef and have moved 2500 km from Sydney to Port Douglas. I am finally getting back my 'mojo' and believing in myself again.

Whether one's life is ever on track is difficult. That's why this blog is good. To remind me looking back that a life is always full of that rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. I have to remember that life is made up of two types of people - the ones that concentrate on the lows or the other type that concentrate on the highs.

So I move forward hoping that I will be the latter one... that my life will continue to offer me highs to balance the lows.

Today off to the 'waifs and strays' party. Meeting up with friends at their house for the day. We have been asked to bring ice...... to keep the pool cool! That's a first for me!

And so to everyone who reads this blog.. thank you for your interest in little ol' me and may Christmas and New Year be a wonderful one for you all.

And what else happened on Christmas Day... yep.. got a bit messy.. my medley of drinks included 2 bottles of wine, sambuca shot, baileys shot and culminated in a water fight in the pool and my friend who ironically is a pole dancer and me swinging around on the the rotating clothes line. Gary (see previous blog) went to bed at about 10pm, though seeing his well shaped torso in the pool in the water fight got me a little excited! He rang me up this evening and asked "what happened to the clothes line.. ?". I ended up wobbling back on my bike (only fell off once), and was up bright eyed and bushy tailed (not!) for work at 7.00.

The following video is the hot tip way on how to dry your washing whilst imbibing! Yep.. that's me.. got spun off! Only trouble is, dried the washing but broke the washing line! Whoops just got the bill... $235.00 for a new washing line... still.. $120.. (splitting it with my co-washing line conspirator).. worth every dollar!