contemplation

Posted on Fri 9 March 2007 at 08:09

Just sat here contemplating the world in general and my place within it  in particular.  And no, that doesn't mean I am sat in Steve's contemplation garden on the rock like  Hans Christian Anderson's sodding mermaid in the harbour at Copehagen.  Although that does bring a smirk to my face...... bloody big rock to seat the enorma-arse......and would it be slippy at high tide with all that seaweed......or even seawee as I put the first time round then realised my typo...... God, they would have to send out shipping warnings if I took over for the weekend to give her a break......and where would she go on a weekend break eh?.........my money is on a ski slope or Vegas - well, she doesn't see sights like that on a daily basis does she?......and if she went to Vegas and won, does she have pockets for the change?.........would she need skis or would she just use her tail? ......what kind of apres-ski would a mermaid be likely to indulge in?.........does she eat seafood?..........and  would that be matricide, patricide, cannibalism or a fish supper?......

Bugger, gone off on one again!!

My musings were actually taking me on a different tangent.  About how we strive for the what we perceive to be the pinnacles of self-actualisation, gaining material possessions, building relationships, making our mark on the world.  And to what end?  Will our acheivements makes the slightest difference to the world at large?  Not a jot unless we discover the wheel (bugger - pipped at the post) or wear a dress made out of safety pins (dammit - missed that one as well).  No.  I think for me personally, the best  I could ask is for people to like me and respect my opinions.  However, if they even say "God, that Karen was a daft sod eh?",  at least they will remember something!  What started me off on this train of thought was the fact that we have been here for over 5 months.  What a difference it has made to our lives.  To be right, we are doing much the same but doing it halfway round the world but it has a special  feel to it.  Getting up for work doesn't seem quite so difficult.   It will have caused a ripple in the waters of our families and friends lives but on a grand scale won't have affected global economy or world peace.  But to us it is the attaining of the dream, so long may it continue.  See:  musings.......no point..........just an attempt to put into words how we feel about being here.  One small step for mankind, one huge leap of faith for Burgesskind.  

........and does she read bedtime stories to her kids about me?............ by the light of an electric eel......

We went to look at one of my colleague's gully garden this evening.  I WANT IT!  Ours is a complete wilderness but hers has taken them the best part of 4 years work.  It is terraced and paved and planted and tidy.  It has given us some idea of what can be done with a gully section.  We need to start by spraying the groundcover with some kind of defoliant - agent orange is not on the 'must have' list though....Then we could see the contours of the ground and decide what to do next.  There are some seriously big trees down there so we will have to think about their fate also.  Once we have finished the last 'house' jobs we will have to get stuck in to that.  But not tonight.

.......if she were coerced into doing something, would she be 'mermaid' to do it?.........

I was walking down the lobby yesterday and Poppy kitty looked damned suspicious.  If a cat could put her paws behind her back, draw her toe along the ground and whistle nonchalantly, she would have.  Then she couldn't keep it up and went back to her game.......of tormenting Scottie kitty who had managed to get shut in the cupboard.  All I could see was a pair of white paws keep coming out from under the door and Poppy jumping on them.  Scottie could only have been in there minutes but as soon as I let her out she expected to be fed after her ordeal.  And who am I to deny her?  She told me in graphic detail (apparently) how awful it was in the cupboard and how it had seriously blighted her life.  I referred her to the toecap of my right shoe and she decided it wasn't that bad after all (didn't really, but it makes a better story).

............do mermaids get crabs?......

Driving through town this evening we passed a school and the name had me astounded - (can't remember the suburb)Normal School!   I thought "you can't call it that!"  But apparently, you can!  How unPC is that!  I was completely taken aback - I mean, could you imaging calling it that in Britian?  Someone/everyone would be calling for changes, waving placards and writing to the papers etc.  I think it is more along the lines of a 'normal' primary school rather than one like Melissa went to that cut off at primary 6 and then the kids go to an intermediate school.  But that sums up blunt-speaking New Zealand for you.  And good luck to them that they can call a spade a spade or indeed a bloody spade without fear of offending  all and sundry.  Almost, but not quite as funny as the Funeral Director's we saw in Blackpool many years ago and I kid you not  - Box Brothers!!  That one had me crying laughing for weeks! 

.....do they keep catfish and dogfish for pets?.............and if so, do they feed them on people-chunks?.............

Do I need to get out more?.........

answers on a small postcard to Copenhagen Harbour.....

Karen B