Bogged Down
Have been having a bad run with injuries and illness of late. Firstly, a bruised knee from soccer, then a bloodied nose from general unwell-ness and finally, a nick on the side of my eye socket from basketball.. Ouch?________________________________________________________________
It hurts when you feel age catching up with you. Where you were once sprightly and raring to have a go at gym, now you know an afternoon nap seems more enticing and practical. And imagine if you live in the midst of eighteen and nineteen year olds who seem to consume Energizer batteries instead of food, you know you are in trouble. Sports used to be fun when you have boundless energy and sprinting up and down the courts accounted to no more than a few slight pants quickly shaken off. However, sports is no longer fun when you have to keep playing the chasing game and avoid getting outpaced by that ebullient 1.85m opponent. Its worse when you whinge to your team mate and get such a reply:
Me: Hmm, I had a pretty rough time today. All these people are so big and quick.
Team Mate: C’mon mate, you will be alright. Don’t be so soft!
Me: Well, I nearly got taken out by that big fellow.
Team Mate: Toughen up!
Me: ………
Ouch… The cheerful countenance and blissful insouciance of your team mate just seemed to rub that more salt into the fresh wounds… To be fair, even David faced Goliath at a distance.. Table tennis anyone? _________________________________________________________________
The playing of the Guys and Dolls DVD in the background (a mate of mine got it off eBay) has got a tune stuck in my mind…
‘Follow the fold and stray no more Stray no more, stray no more. Put down the bottle and we'll say no more Follow, follow, the fold’
Opportunity
I went to watch a production last night, entitled 'Guys and Dolls'. This was a muscial which based itself on the 1960-70s New York scene and revolved around the lives of gamblers, cabaret singers and missionaries. Through this unlikely combination, the central theme of love is explored and developed. It was an enjoyable evening and the efforts of the performers were definitely appreciated judging by the thunderous applause. The musical left me thinking, is it true that any kind of 'guy' or 'doll' (slang for a female) can fall in love just as long as Cupid decrees? For the curious, in the musical, the hardened gambler Sky chose to renounce his former ways because he fell in love with the missionary Sarah. Is the lure of love that great? Perhaps it is, or is it Sky realised it was an opportunity to lead a purposeful life rather than one marred by violence and vice?Opportunity - a mystical being that presents itself in the most surrepitious manner and under the most unexpected circumstances. Am I like Sky, waiting to perceive the presence of Opportunity or am I like Nathan (In the musical, Nathan was another hardened gambler who spurned numerous proposals by his fiancée to get married), who shunned his Opportunity while it was present all the time? I choose to believe I am Sky. I hope that I am right. =========================================================In my drowsy, with eyes barely opened state, I was awoken by a song on the radio. Perhaps I was still in an ethereal world, but yet the song seemed to arouse a raphsody within me. Lament not it tells me, carpe diem! Opportunity, Pete MurrayAnd so it goes another lonely dayYour savin time but your miles awayYour fly was drownin in some bitter teaFor seeing lost opportunityFind your mirror go and look insideAnd see the talent you always hideDon't go kid yourself well not todaySatisfaction's not too far awayHold on now your exits hereIt's waiting just for youDon't pause too longIt's fading nowIt's ending all too soon you'll seeSoon you'll seeYour coffee's warm but your milk is sourLife is short but your here to flowerDream yourself along another dayNever miss opportunityDon't be scared of what you cannot seeYour only fear is possibilityNever wonder what the hell went wrongYour second chance may never come alongHold on now your exits hereIt's waiting just for youDon't pause too longIt's fading nowIt's ending all too soon you'll seeSoon you'll seeHold on now your exits hereIt's waiting just for youDon't pause too longIt's fading nowIt's ending all too soon you'll seeSoon you'll see
Snow Bound.. Once Again
The saying,'[l]ightning does not strike twice', seems to hold little weight for me as just barely two weeks after I bade a teary farewell to the Alps, I am going back again. It is a little different this time as the emphasis would not be on skiing. Rather, it would be on a team builidng and bonding activity of sorts. This has left me in a limbo as on one hand, I rejoice at the chance to reunite with snow, on the other, the conscientious side of me bemoans the loss of a free Sunday. Indeed, it is a queer amalgamation of emotions. Oh well, in this life, you cannot win all the time..or can you?Of late, I have been embroiled in a struggle to revive my former spartan and rigorous lifestyle in order to salvage a session seemingly marked by ill-discipline. By ill-discipline, I am of course referring to the lighter depravities in life, namely computer games and hours after hours of idling. What I badly lack now is temperance and an iron will to ward off these excesses, these contagious and addictive excesses. A smirk, a nonchalant smirk forms slowly on the face of Temptation. This past week has seen a more pleasing effort in attempting to catch up on the books I have set myself to finish soon; albeit my recalcitrant and lazy mind did succeed in forcing me to succumb to the lure of the egregious Temptation. Yet, all is not lost and I promise thee the fight will go on, even harder, to end the days I remain palpable to your influence. Indeed, it has been a long day and I shall end this post on a portentous quote.. 'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil' ~ (Matthew 6:13 KJV)Have a good weekend ahead.
