Camembert with Language

In rugby, a 'try' is a goal. You can argue about a 'touchdown' hyping football into the age of space travel - a game for the future - but you either get a 'goal' or not. 'Try' seems to imply you didn't necessarily accomplish anything.

Cricket makes about as much sense as rugby. Many numbers and names that are foreign and English. Why do they hate freedom so much?

And 'about' what are you going 'round'?

Trips with work may be slowing down. The peak season is past, and where is this summer, really? Only at 45 degrees South latitude. C-town is at ~42N, I think. And January would seem something like July. But maybe if we look at the winds and the ocean currents... Yeah, that makes a little more sense. Time off now and again is good for the soul anyway.

Pictures next time...

Bother

Rain. And on the full moon. Makes me tired for days to come staying awake awaiting nothing but rain instead of the full moon in the canyon. Noone would go with me either, so it was a solo drive up the lake with plenty of rain looking like Star Wars and reminiscent of Yoda in the last sentence. Who needs 'em anyway. I had devised my own clever schemes for pictures with plenty of glow sticks and the like. So I'll go get more pictures from the canyons for your enjoyment...

The Up and Coming

So next we'll have ourselves some full moon canyon pictures, all going well tomorrow night. At least pictures of glowsticks on helmets. The water levels have been changing dramatically and it should be perfect for tomorrow. The question still remains as to who will be joining me.

Off to complete a beautiful day that begs to ask why I'm sitting in an internet cafe. I can't answer these questions.

Errata

So, assumptions were made. As were mistakes.

January 7th would have been the correct date to state in the previous post. January 7th. One would think that a dutiful son would remember at least the end since the beginning was sometime (when was that?) in August. I can remember phone numbers from childhood friends which I haven't spoken with in at least the same amount of time, but can't remember the date of possibly one of the most interesting turning points -One that allowed me to make some of the most important connections with other people, one that possibly changed the direction of the current - in my life. I'll forgive myself, so onward to other mistakes:

Contrary to foresight, the foreigners were back playing Eminem louder than ever last night. They were not deported. They were not held overnight to be sodomized. Maybe they collected $200. Maybe they think playing the noise louder would be punishment for my ratting them out. Maybe I'll soon be sleeping with the fishes. Maybe its curtains for me, curtains for me I say. Or Maybe they're simply inconsiderate individuals. Regardless, their viewpoints or assumptions remain reflections of their own realities. Have at it. But turn your noise down.

Are you mentally divergent too, friend?

Day off from canyoning today. So I went canyoning. No pictures, as that would only incite envy, a deadly sin.

On Nothing

Quickly: Here is a view from the other entrance to my house. Exciting, huh?!? The Brazilians living upstairs were apparently (I slept, Eric was questioned by the po-po) escorted from their flat (one even in handcuffs) for selling that evilest of drugs, marijuana. That comma before marijuana shows that its superiority in evilness should be tacit to all. So now we are faced with lingering moral questions:

This event should end the constant boom-boom bass above my peaceful home and Eminem may finally get his deserved reprieve from having his horrible music be blasted incessantly for people to become upset to their stomachs from and to generally pity an individual that is responsible for making such noise. Eminem could likely be placed on the same level as the man that invented not just CFCs for aerosol cans, but Tetraethyl lead for an anti-knock agent in cars. Get it?

But this is at the expense of having people go to jail. At least they are not Americans, but rather a lesser people. I'm kidding. I've been reading Vonnegut. I'm not kidding.

Seriously:

I intended to take some time today to explain the synchronicity of what has been occurring in the nine year cycle that concludes today, January 9th. However, now that it has arrived, I find that I'm not prepared to discuss this openly with all of those unknowingly swimming together in the ether. I'm also finding not enough time to talk about my alternative topic. So read the post again from the beginning and enjoy it this time.

Binary Thought

A post of more time and consideration will show up in 2 or 3 days. Think of Laura's birthday dilemma.

Rather today:

Back at work for the most part. My precious fluid has returned but not in as uncomfortable of quantities. I'm keeping it this time. I'm going to be selfish. I try not to think what the doctor did (or is doing) with my fluids. Oint-Ment.

I believe in a grayscale for most aspects of life. I am not the computer from the GI Joe spoofs. Not zeros and ones, no on and off switches. But then maybe some things are binary. Either you've forgiven someone for something or you haven't; Either you've made a decision or you haven't. It seems that on a personal level, choice is binary. I suppose this would eventually lead to a discussion on freedom and projecting one's views on others. I believe that I'll avoid this...

Until two (or three) days from now, peace.

So this is the New Year

-Insert rest of lyrics here-

Out with the Old, In with the New


Got in the water yesterday to have a feel around about going back to work. There's a splendid gash on my wetsuit (guess where). The challenge at this point seems more psychological than anything else. There exists a hesitancy to use the leg, as well as an expectation of pain when there actually is none. I feel like Goose just died. Gotta throw away the tags...

Otherwise it's also time to get back on the other horses that have bucked me off at some point. You know, picking yourself up, brushing off the knees, forgiving the self and others, etc.

My Precious Fluids!

They've taken them from me! Vital fluids! At the doctor's!

As the swelling receded, in the gap between where the hematoma had etched its purple shininess to my leg, it became evident that I was carrying some liquid with me in my leg (Think water bed). So the doctor took it away from me yesterday. All of the more than one hundred milliliters! He didn't even ask if I wanted to keep it.

To my and certainly your disappointment, I forgot to take my camera to capture this unique magical event. In its place, I present to you a poem written by a one Eleanor Rawson, a Queenstown area local, entitled Animal Lover. The topic of the poem is how she, Eleanor Rawson that is (of course), is, in fact, an animal lover. And why? To the poem:

Animal Lover

I love animals, I love them so much
Some animals are small
Some are big and playful,
But the thing I love the most is that
They are not the same.
A mouse is small and a rhino is big.
A warthog is plain but a giraffe has got patterns.
A fish is fearless and a crocodile is scary.
You see they are not all the same.

Christmas in Kea

An attempt at being less enigmatic and more straight-forward for a change:



In most cultures there exists some celebration in which an individual is recognized as becoming an adult. Various manifestations include graduations, confirmations, etc. Symbolically all of these events are indicative of an individual maturing in the physical, mental and spritual realms - becoming, to a greater or lesser extent, autonomous. My sojourn around Christmas became a personal variation of this idea, though I was unaware of this outcome from the outset.

News of another week off work because of the leg was upsetting, my mind's ramblings were convoluted and I decided I could probably get away with some "light" hiking for a few days. So I went to Kea Basin. A kea is a bird that looks like this: (click). The basin is on the South-East side of Mt. Earnslaw, one of the more prominent mountains seen from Glenorchy. Not too far, but out of the way of nearly everyone.

I was given an unwarranted car to borrow with low idle/fuel injection problems, but cruised like a go-cart on the unpaved "roads." I got hiking around 8:45 PM. Simple hiking tasks seemed impossible: -Couldn't find the trail -walked waist deep through glacial creeks for an hour or so -couldn't get a lighter to work -white fuel burning on my pant legs... Settling in, I suppose, to mindfulness of the present and nothing else.

Woke up on the stream bed surrounded by sandflies (think no-see-ums). Found the trail, lost it and found it just in time for me not needing that trail anymore. Across the meadow, under an electric fence for sheep and cows, through bogs and up into the beech forest.

A couple hours and x-meter elevation gain, Kea Basin opened up. Never have I seen a more peaceful, magical, sacred area in my life. Two canyons pouring from the glaciers, which met up in the basin to become the final canyon down to the valley. A perfect day and noone around.

I played all day around the river and meditated through it all. I slept up on a bluff high outside of the basin, where it seemed like I could reach out and touch the glacier, which constantly made growling noises. Or was it thunder?

I was awoken by a large gust of wind. Time to finally test out the personal bivy. I had used it to fight off sandflies, what about high winds and storm while fully exposed?

Rain all the next day (Christmas). I made my way to an actual rock bivouac - an overhanging rock where underneath had been built up shelters and fire places. I spent most of the day there in mediation and writing, with one trip to get more pure glacier water. Clear stars that night.

Weather cleared on the hike out, and I visited a couple of shacks before making it back to the car. One final swim in the bluish water and it was time to tackle the road - a new challenge in light of the recent storm.

Back to Queenstown. The mind has been quieted for the first time in recent memory. The main purpose of the Hobbit (there-and-back-again) journey showing itself to be to a development of a stated current personal life philosophy/spirituality (always subject to revisions and additions) that strives to be as congruent as possible to doing positive/constructive works.

Full undadulterated photos from the journey are available here: (click)

Doctor sez:

One more week maybe? Then back to work?

Back to the axiom. Wishing Christmas and the inherent symbolism spirit to everyone.

Biking home today for no reason at all led to the spontaneous conclusion of disappearing. Time to go off for oneself. If the doctor says I can't work, I'll embrace that.

Life is a dream. Sometimes dreams affect you and you decide to interpret them. To accept or decline meaning is a personal prerogative.

Borderline love, illusion, spirit, life, nothing.

Love to everyone. I love you all. I hope you understand what this means.

Arrowtown

Give me some pie! I had vegetarian; Eric had venison. I won. Arrowtown is an old gold-mining town not far from Queenstown. Their architecture has remained true to the old feel, and now one may find many fine stores, ice creams, and pies. Right nearby is a dilapidated old Chinese settlement. They were either shorter back in the late 1800s or the shacks were small by their own right. <-Was that appropriate?

Physiotherapy says I'm not allowed to run, but am allowed to bike. Still no muscle damage, but removing the hematoma, which has hardened boundaries where if not treated, may calcify, entering the bloodstream and causing clots or strokes. I suppose I'll leave that run-on sentence alone and put up with free deep tissue massage.

Lessons in Symbolism

1. Incessant Christmas songs. I like Christmas just fine. But the songs create imagery of plastic people and plastic smiles like the nightmares of the old man in 'City of Lost Children'

2. Incessant Eminem. I'm sure that the people living in the flat above me have much to identify with a troubled childhood in a trailer park, etc. But it does disturb my peace, symbolically with the blood and the ears and the...

So if we accept the axiom that everyone/thing/event presents some informational nugget to learn from, is this a patience/tolerance/acceptance/ issue? OR is it about standing up for oneself in a store or at home and stating that one will not shop or attempt to coexist with the racket?

Bah

Borderline, Illusions and Divinity

Trouble gathering in the continuation of the present posting regiment. With the injury on its healing course, most incidents are occurring internally. So I could lay out the bouncing between 4th and 5th chakras, and discuss their relation to the christian sacraments and the sefirot of the Tree of Life, but this discourse has never been the purpose of writing here.
I'll simply say that I'm practicing mindfulness in the daily realm.
Walked to town. A huge rainstorm took out the power momentarily, and I plan to walk home again and play guitar.
Is the Divine the source of morality or are they equivalent?

Wha' Happen

In lieu of presenting another photo of the burgeoning hematoma, which is so much more glorious than ever, here's another from around town. Fixing people's bikes, playing guitar at home, on the beach. Apparently teaching a guitar lesson tomorrow. High free rates available.
Still no feeling of Christmas. Sunscreen in December? -Applied heavily. Melanoma lurks in every alley here.

Equality & Thanks

So anyone can make comments now and not need be afraid of giving up precious vitals such as dates of vaccinations, socioeconomic status or political/theological leanings.

Also, thanks to those integral in gaining perspective.

An Even Better Picture

Walking much better today. Physiotherapy in a half hour, with more electrodes and ice and compression. My meds say Retard on them. I don't think that is socially appropriate. Much more time for focus on internal issues for a time. Approximate return to guiding is Boxing Day. Put up your paci-fists.

A Better Picture

You can actually see the imprint of the boxer briefs worn under the neoprene!