Congrats, Ivory!!

I'm so proud of my sister.
Hahahahaha. I just thought I'd say this here. She got her article published in The Star.
And she did an awesome job too!
This is the link to the article she got published. Read it!

http://insanitysquill.blogspot.com/2009/09/he-had-always-wanted-to-be-soldier.html

The Heart Of Life

As a kid I loved bubbles. Didn't everybody?
There was nothing better than having a full bottle of soapy liquid and that ring thing where you blow your bubbles out of on a lazy afternoon. I used to blow hundreds of bubbles in the shortest time possible, and then run through the haze of bubbles I'd created.
Feeling the bubbles pop on my face, watching the sunlight spread into a million colours when it hit the bubbles in the air.
I was walking in Rundle Mall the other day, and there was this bubble machine. There were kids running around in front of it, popping the bubbles, much like I used to do.
It threw me back into the past a bit. And for I started reminiscing about my childhood and all the awesome things we did as kids that we stopped doing for some reason. Running until there was no breath left, laughing and talking so loudly without any care who heard us, wearing whatever we wanted to, asking whatever questions we wanted to. What happened?
When did we stop asking questions? When did we start caring so much about what others thought about us? And for awhile there, I yearned for my childhood again. I wanted so much to just go back in time and relive my childhood.
I know some people say the best time of your life is when you're at your peak. In your twenties. But I think the best time of my life was when I was a child. I had such freedom. Such freedom from the bad parts of life. From the worrying, stressful, responsible part of life. Isn't that the best thing on earth? Freedom?
Life works in such mysterious ways.
Or maybe it's God that works in such mysterious ways.
If you asked me 8 years ago, would I be here, in Australia, studying and working at the same time, Doing 3000 word essays, working 8 hour shifts, meeting new people everyday? I would never have imagined myself here.
Now, looking back, I see how so many things lead me to where I am now.
It was like God planted tiny little seeds along my path of life, to steer me down the path he wanted me to take.
If it wasn't for my asthma, would my parents have sent me swimming?
If I hadn't gone to that particular swimming class that day, would the coach have picked me for training? Would I have been swimming for almost 7 years, meeting all those awesome people, making lifelong friends?
If I hadn't been swimming, would I have been accepted into my high school?
I would never have met all those friends, never met those people who would influence me to make the decisions leading up till now.
Amazing, really.

There is a song by John Mayer that I really like.
As much for the lyrics as for the melody.
'Pain throws your heart to the ground, love turns the whole thing around. No, it won't all go the way it should, but I know, the Heart of Life is good.'
If we really sit, and think about it, everything we go through. Every tear, every frown, every laugh and every word. It all happened for a reason, God knew all along, God had a reason. So maybe we should all take the advice from this picture below and sit in silence for at least 10 minutes a day. Take that time to think about what you did today.
Did you make a difference?
Did you live life today?

Holidays

Nothing's been up these days.
I'm on my 2 week semester break now but it doesn't really feel like it probably because I've been so busy working and finishing up my damned assignments. They're never ending!!!
But in the meantime I've been swimming a lot lately, also most probably because I've got someone to go swimming with now so I'm a bit more motivated to swim now.
I've forgotten how much I love swimming until I've started swimming regularly. How could I have stopped for so long???
I've become so unfit it's not even funny. But at least I still remember to swim, so I'm getting there!! Damn, I miss those swimming competitons. The adrenaline, the people, the whole atmosphere in general, those warming-up sessions, those familiar rivals, the disappointments and the laughs. If there was a period in my life I could go back to, that would be it. The swimming days. But until someone creates a time machine that doesn't have fatal consequences, I guess the memories will have to do.
We had steamboat for Dileepa's birthday, maybe when I can muster up the energy I'll upload those photos here. If not, check my facebook!! :)

Surprise Party

We had a little pizza party at home yesterday. Because ( maybe) Nevis works as a delivery boy for Pizza Hut and we hadn't celebrated Arbi's birthday as he wasn't around for it.
11 pizzas. And they were delicious too!!!! I love pizza!
And then they took the cake out and surprise surprise, it was for all of us who had had out birthdays in September. There were 7 of us all in all, so our ages all added up to 151 years old. We were all pretty surprised because we didn't know it was going to be for us.
According to Lalita, we weren't even supposed to know about this party at all. But well, news spread, tongues slipped, and they had to make do with us knowing about the party but thinking it was just for Arbi only. :)
Me with my name on my slice of cake :)
Our cake.
Me with some of the brains of the party ( Lalita and Amanda)
Group photo.

All in all, it was a great party. Mostly because everyone's been so busy lately we haven't really hung out together much. So this was a great hanging out session and loads of fun!!! Thanks guys for planning this!!! :)

Springtime= Outdoor Sports

Now that it doesn't get dark at 5 pm, we've been outdoors a lot more to run around in the grass and soak some late afternoon suns. Spring can be lovely when the temperature doesn't drop too much.
So Douglas bought a volleyball net and a volleyball at Kmart and we've been playing this week.
Half the trouble was setting up the net before we can actually play, even after setting it up a couple of times, we still get pretty confused. And even though I suck so bad at this game, its all good fun!

The Art Of Racing In The Rain

This is a grrrreat book that my Mental Health lecturer introduced to us.
Its about a dog called Enzo who's on his deathbed, and while he's dying, he's reflecting on his life and you get a story about a family, only entirely from a dog's point of view.
There are so many things that make you stop and think and go, 'Mmmmm. I never looked at it THAT way.'
Awesome book, I'd recommend it for anyone.
And now, whenever I see a dog, I wonder, 'What is he thinking now?'

An excerpt from the book that I love: ( Eve, the wife, has been diagnosed with brain cancer)

'Today is the first day I am not dead.' Eve said to us. 'And we're having a party.'

To live everyday as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live. To feel the joy of life, as Eve felt the joy of life. To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter everyday. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something to aspire to. When I am a person, that is how I will live my life.

Spring

Spring has officially arrived!!!!
We realized that yesterday when the temperature went up to 28 degrees instead of the usual 20 and below.
Ahhhh. Unpredictable temperatures, sunny days, balmy nights, green green green.
Time for T-shirts, shorts, thongs and enormous amounts of sunblock.
And of course, hay fever.
Welcome back, Spring!!!!!