Crikey - went to Australia Zoo

I know it wasn't on my 'gunnado' list but I went to Australia Zoo last week-end and I am sad to say that it was the first time I'd been.  It was fantastic and I felt a bit like a kid again feeding the elephants, cheering in the crocoseum and patting the kangaroos and koalas. 

I did, however, say I wanted to take plenty of photographs while I was in Brisbane and I certainly did that at Australia Zoo!  I was clicking away like a woman possessed.  What did we do before digital cameras?  I take hundreds now because then I've got a good chance of getting one or two brilliant memories.

Lately I've been thinking about 'passion' and I'm not sure I've ever had a great passion for any particular hobby or cause.  That's not to say I've not had an interest in things because I've tried plenty of different activities and enjoyed them but I've not had that burning desire to keep on doing any one in particular.  Alan had a passion for fishing and he lived and breathed it and I envied him that and now I wish I had a passion for something. Am I too old I wonder to get that?  I really hope not. 

Perhaps I need to live life a little more on the edge and try a lot more things to see if something sparks the passion.  I had been thinking of going back to scuba diving - something I did a lot of in my twenties and really enjoyed.  I have my kayak which is yet to hit the water and for those of you who have read my earlier blogs, I do love to boogie-board.  Fortunately the weather is now getting warm enough for me to start indulging in some of these summer activities so who knows, I might just spark a passion for one of them.

Being at Australia Zoo and seeing Steve Irwin's passion come to life really highlighted my lack of 'passion' for something.  I can pretty much tell you that my passion isn't going to be knitting or playing the guitar - both 'gunnado' items dropping fairly quickly on my list over the last six weeks.  If I'd had a true passion for them surely I'd have found the time to do more of them ...

Anyway, I am into my final two days of radiotherapy in Brisbane and will be back home this week-end and I am looking forward to getting Chewie back with me permanently and beginning the next chapter of my new life.  Who knows what it will hold but I have to remember not to become too complacent and try and live my life more actively and passionately and take the odd risk along the way because as the old cliche goes, 'life isn't a dress rehearsal'.

I think I'm becoming a little bit too philosophical with so much time to think about the meaning of life - maybe I'm spending too much time in the self-help section of the library and book-shops and think I may need to move into the 'Action' section.

 

Radiotherapy Update

Well, I'm already approaching my third week of radiotherapy and so far so good.  I've not been burnt to a crisp yet but it may be worthwhile buying shares in the Sorbolene company I'm using because I am now buying it by the litre - there is no need to muck around with those 250ml tubes.

The 'gunnado' list hasn't got too many ticks against it yet but, surprisingly, I've not been bored as I've had people with me most of the time playing tourist here in Brisbane.  I watched the AFL Grand Final at the Gold Coast casino with a Collingwood supporter so that worked out well, unless of course you are a 'Pies' fan.  I must say, as the match progressed there were more and more Geelong supporters coming out of the wood work, unless of course they were Collingwood supporters jumping ship.

We went on the giant Brisbane Wheel at Southbank which was quite good, admittedly it's not the London Eye but at least they have one that is still standing, unlike Melbourne!  As far as my Thai cooking class goes, I have gone and eaten at the restaurant to ensure that the food is good - I don't want to learn to cook 'dodgy' Thai food.  On the other hand, if it turns out I'm not that good at it I could always blame the cooking school ... good chance I will do that anyway.

Why do we use ... (dot dot dot) when we write I wonder?  It really does leave things up to the reader to interpret but I like it because it can say everything or it can say nothing at all.  Maybe it's a cop out but as the song goes, "You say it best when you say nothing at all".

I'm still knitting and am actually considering something a little more challenging having found a few videos online to show me how to increase and decrease stitches.  I think it's time I moved on from the basic square because life is too short for just squares - you need a few bends and twists along the way so you don't become too staid.  It's time I started challenging myself again - even if it is in the knitting arena.  Unlike other people who are diagnosed with cancer and go on to achieve amazing feats like conquering Mount Everest, starting their own Foundation etc etc.  It does make me sound a bit slack really but a very good friend of mine said that not everybody has to do something amazing, that the World needs cogs in the wheel as well. 

That sounds a bit like a cop out though, maybe we are all meant to achieve something amazing in our life.  If nothing else, getting diagnosed with cancer does make you question life a lot more.  At this stage though I've not got any answers - just questions.