An Inconvenient Truth

I've just finished watching An Inconvenient Truth and I strongly encourage each and every one of you to see this documentary. If I had some extra dosh, I would buy you all a copy on dvd just so I could spread the message. But that in itself would use up too many resources ;-) So blogging and emailing this is the next best thing I can do.

For those of you who are a bit behind the times, or have been hiding in a cave recently, this documentary is about our need as human beings to take responsibility for what is happening to the world i.e. the HUGE issue of Global Warming.

We are all intelligent beings and we can all do something about the way we live in this world to make it a better place. And no, I have not turned into a 'tree-hugging greenie'....perhaps a 'chained-to-the-tree greenie' better describes it ;-p Jokes!!!

It's too easy for us to not do anything and think that it doesn't concern us. The change has been gradual and so we do not notice it all that much. But if we look down the track, in 50 years time, what kind of a world will we be leaving our children and grandchildren to live in?

I just read an article that Australia is making the move, starting to switch to 'clean-green' energy sources. The Federal Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane warns that households will be paying up to 40% more on their power bills than they currently are. I thought, well maybe if people were better educated and knew how to cut energy use in their homes, then this supposed hike in power bills wouldn't be that bad. What the Minister said brought to mind this Cree Indian proverb I remember reading, at least ten years ago now...

“Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught, will we realise we cannot eat money.”

I remember how profound that proverb was to me when I first read it. I remember showing this to a friend of mine back then, and she didn't understand what it was saying. She just didn't get it! I hope though that she gets it now.

And so, back to the point of this blog...Go and see An Inconvenient Truth (or go to www.climatecrisis.net), so that one by one, we can make a difference.

Tumble and fall

I had my first white christmas here in Switzerland yesterday. Petra and I left home just before 6am and headed to Andermatt (2 hrs away by train) with our snowboarding gear. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was excited all the same!

The weather was just absolutely perfect! Blue skies and lots of snow up on the mountains. So technically that's why I say I had a white christmas this year :-) The beginner slopes weren't open as there hasn't been that much snow lower on the mountains. So up we went...somewhere up there!! :-)

My first struggle was getting on a t-bar lift!!! It is extremely frustrating and after several attempts and several stackings...I was eventually paired with this older man on skiis. Incidentally this man had spent some time in Perth. I thought I heard him say he spent 13 years there, but as he spoke to me in broken english, I thought maybe I had heard him wrong! I almost fell off the t-bar a few times, but thankfully regained my balance and didn't fall down the side of the mountain :-) So when I got to the top, it was time to board down...

Let me first say that yesterday was my third time snowboarding in my whole life!!! First time I spent half a day on the 'magic carpet'. Second time I spent half a day on a slope which was no greater than 5 degrees I reckon!!! hehe...And I learnt there how to control my board. By the end of yesterday Petra said to me that I just came down a Red run and then a Black run!!! Wow!! First I learn to crawl, then I learn to run....and maybe in the next few weeks I will learn to walk!!!

Today my body aches all over. At least I got a whole-body work out!! :-) I have nasty bruises on my knees, sore butt, sore abs, sore arms and legs, stiff neck....yeh....it feels great!!!!!!! Thankfully as we reached the slopes early yesterday, there weren't that many people. I am sure that I was such a nuisance on the slopes as I would drive, then fall and tumble every so often! Luckily there was plenty of space and the experts could dodge me easily! :-)

The only way to learn is to pick yourself up and keep going. I guess that can be true of life in general as well. There were times where I fell and I just took my time to ready myself again. There were times where I just felt like sitting there on the snow taking in the awesome scenery. But, since Petra was very patiently waiting for me (always down a bit further), I had to keep it moving :-)

There was one point where I fell, and then I took a look at where I had to go next, and I just screamed like a girl! It was sooooo friggin steep!!! That was very scary (but not as scary as some other slopes I had to go down later on!!). But when you're up on that mountain, there's no turning back and the only way is down!!! So, what the heck...you just have to take a deep breath and take the plunge!! And then it's not really that bad :-)

Eventually I made it down to a crossroads. Petra said if we went left, it would take us back down to the t-bar and the other way...well we didn't know where that would take us, but it had chair lifts at the end of it. She asked me which way I wanted to go. There was no way that I wanted to go up on the t-bar again for the day so I said...ok, let's go the other way!!!

Unbeknownst to either of us, it was a black run!!! But you know, I made it down in one piece and survived to tell the story :-) There was one slope which was quite narrow and quite icy. I started coming down the slope and naturally stacked it halfway. I kept trying to pick myself up but it didn't work. I was afraid that people would come flying down the slope and I would cause them an accident!!! So I kept looking behind me and sliding down on my butt at the same time!! Thankfully no-one came flying down!!!

Another slope I ended up sliding down on my butt for most of the way. I thought...well, that works too! ;-) hehe...And then around that corner the run looked quite good and not too difficult. But I was coming down too fast and I had a pretty nasty fall which resulted in knocking the wind out of myself. It was scary as there was no-one around and I just had to sit there and try to regain my breathing. But then I was alright, picked myself up and had a pretty good run the rest of the way...until I fell again :-)

So yesterday, I stacked it heaps, face-planted a few times, knocked the wind out of myself, got stuck in snow (there was a nice lady skiier who came and rescued me :-)) and survived a red and black run :-) The weather was just perfect and the slopes weren't that full!! So all in all it was a great Christmas day on the mountains!!!

On the mountain train ride back I thought I heard some Aussie accents. I listened a bit more and then I said to Petra, an aussie can always tell an aussie accent. And then the girl next to us started laughing and said...'yeh, because it's so awful!'. And so I started chatting to them. A girl, her parents and her grandmother. The parents had lived in Cambridge for 12months and was going to stay another year before heading back to Brisbane. They were a funny bunch :-) I was just so happy to hear some aussie accents on Christmas day. Brought me that much closer to home :-)

To top things off, on the normal train ride back to Luzern, Petra and I were in a carriage with this girl who started playing her ukelele and singing as well. It was so nice as the both of us were almost passed out on the train and was just nice to relax and hear some music :-)

I got home and took a nice hot bath. It was superb! Then our friends Cynthia and Lena came over for dinner, and it was great to end the day :-) And then I just crashed out and slept like a log!!! It was a Merry Christmas indeed!! :-)

Tis the season...

Happy holidays and all that jazz....Last Christmas I almost scared the living daylights out of my mum and dad when I paid a surprise visit to Sydney on Christmas morning :-) The look on my mum's face was just so priceless!!! My dad just stood at the door a bit dumb-founded, and then he started laughing at me!! My brother had already heard the commotion and so I couldn't jump on his bed to wake him up :-) My godmother had tears in her eyes upon seeing me, and my godsister just jumped on me squealing :-)

Last Christmas was great in Sydney. Went out drinking almost every night at different bars around the city with my friends and cousins...wherever there was Happy Hour :-) Everyone was in a relaxed mood as it was the festive season. I really loved being back home. I always love it back home :-) Sometimes you get to a point in your life where you just feel stuck, and you feel like you need to get out. That was me in the later months of 2004. And so when the offer to work over here in Swiss came up, I had to take it. It was my ticket out.

Going a bit off track here...but anyway, it's funny how the beaches in Sydney are one of the things I miss most, but I was never really a beach-goer at all!! I guess just the beauty of the place...of my city...of home. I had to leave Sydney to really appreciate it for what it is. It is THE best place in the world to live :-) Now I realise this :-)

Back to Christmas....well, this Christmas I hope to be hitting the slopes somewhere. My flatmate Petra and I just went out today and hired our snowboarding gear for the season. I am super-excited about it all!!! I have only been snowboarding twice but I loved every bit of it...and am looking forward to stacking it heaps when I attempt slopes greater than 10 degrees...hahha...At least I am well-equipped with helmet and goggles this time :-) I think I could hug my snowboard and fall asleep :-)

So, as much as I love Sydney, I think this Christmas will be awesome!! It will only be my second Christmas away from my family. The first time I was in China with friends. I guess I have to make the most of the time I have left here :-) and also take advantage of being so close to snow!!!

Well, Christmas Eve shall be a feast as I join Petra and her family for Christmas celebrations! I will probably definitely need the exercise on Christmas Day after pigging-out tomorrow!!!

Eat, drink and be Merry :-) And if you're in Sydney, keep warm for a change!

60 Earth Hour

I was quite moved the other day when I read about the SMH's campaign "60 Earth Hour", for Sydney to do their bit for global warming.

I guess in the world we live in, we take many things for granted. I had heard about the iceberg floating to New Zealand from a colleague and I was quite shocked. The weather here in Switzerland has been quite erratic. So far the ski resorts are losing millions of Swiss francs per day as the snowfall is taking an extended vacation. We all wonder if the snow will come at all this winter, or if it will just be delayed by a month or two?

In Sydney also I have heard of strange weather patterns. There was snow in the Blue Mountains sometime in November...it never snows in the Blue Mountains! And the week before I visited Sydney they were experiencing very cold conditions for Springtime. But when I arrived in mid-November, there were two days where temperatures hit 38 degrees celcius out west. This shouldn't be happening.

Switzerland and Sydney are just two examples that I know first hand about. I am certain that it is happening the world over. It is good in a way that Mother Nature is finally throwing a hissy-fit and telling us all that enough is enough!!! What are we doing to our world??

I don't really care that the ski resorts here are losing millions of swiss francs per day. It's about time that more people took notice of what we are doing to this world. We cannot control nature. Though I must admit that Switzerland is probably one of the top countries in the world when it comes to preserving and looking after its natural resources. Their lakes are so clean and the air is so fresh. All the asian countries should take a leaf out of the swiss book on that matter!!!

Over the past few days I have heard, on three separate occasions, about this global warming issue. Firstly I read about the "60 Earth Hour" campaign. Then this morning I was chatting to my flatmate about 'electrosmog'. Additionally this morning my best friend spoke about the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", which I had only heard about but didn't know what it was about exactly. And so there you have it...coincidences? I think not.

It's a wake-up call. For me to do my bit for global warming. And I for one will start doing a few small things around the home. Every little bit counts. Don't think for a second that you alone cannot make a difference, because you can.

60 Earth Hour: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/let-there-be--less-light/2006/12/15/1165685862255.html

How to fight global warming: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/gsteps.asp

She

To the world she is a light
She smiles, she glows.
She laughs, she loves.

But who can see her?
Who can see into her soul?
Who really knows her?

She looks into the mirror.
She looks older and more worldly.
She looks sadder and more tired.

There is an invisible cord
that strangles her heart.
Her inner struggles
she hides so well.

But she keeps smiling.
Knowing that one day,
She will find peace.

the golden child

(dedicated to my godbrother Raymond...)

This child is golden.
He cannot be kept.
He cannot be tamed.

He will bring joy into your life,
But he cannot be kept.

His smile will brighten your day
His embrace will warm the coldest of cold cold hearts
His eyes will twinkle with mischief
His love will reach your innermost
His soul will raise your spirits

But in his body he cannot last.
He is a golden child.
He cannot be kept.
But his light will shine on.

a glimpse of god

I caught a glimpse of God
as I gazed upon the mountains.

God rose with the sun
Her light so magnificent, luminous.
Bringing in a brand new day.

Snow-capped mountains
Illuminated by a golden aura
against a breaking dawn.

My world stopped for a few moments
As God took my breath away.