look Mum, I made my bed

In May, I wrote to you about my progress on my thesis.

The first six months of this year were rather hard, and overcome by pessimism and my flair for the dramatic and melancholic, I found myself in a place where I couldn't speak of my thesis without crying. 

I was overcome with the immensity of the hugeness of the entire thesis that I was unable to see that each small task I complete adds to the completion of the whole project. I then stumbled across a speech given by Admiral William H. McRaven at the University of Texas, from which I took one key message: 

If you want to change the world, start by making your bed 

"If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day.  It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another". 

It is this small task that I have incorporated into my life for the past three weeks, and have subsequently applied to my thesis - perform one tangible task a day, and it will get done. 

As I have been told many a times, I need to stop being so hard on myself and look at what I have already achieved, and use that as impetus to continue to strive for greatness. Everybody has days that are more productive than others, everyone has days where they wonder why on earth they got out of bed, everyone has days where they conquer major tasks - I am just like everyone else. 

So whilst I am still overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work I need to get done in the next 120 days or so, I know that if I keep chipping away at it and doing my best, that's all that I can do. Just keep going.

You can read the rest of Adm. McRaven's speech here. 

I ate a book

My favourite school holiday memory from when I was a kid was the time I went to the local library and borrowed 20 books (I was in a special high school book club and so I was allowed to borrow twice as many as normal kids, plus got first dibs on brand new books), and spent the two weeks reading and reading and reading...

I am most at peace when reading a good book - I remember one day when I was in Rome my friend and I actually spent the day relaxing next to the pool reading books, eating pastries and drinking wine from our stolen stein glasses. 

I spent time on this beach in Cambodia reading... 

Good stories can whisk you away from your life - I almost got hit by a bicyclist this week when reading a book - admittedly I was reading whilst walking home and didn't hear him coming. But it was such a good book, I needed to read it. 

Good books have the power to move you - I remember when I was reading "One Day" by David Nicholls, I was on a bus from Czesky Krumlov to Vienna and I actually threw the book across the bus and refused to read it for a few days, I was that angry at it. 

Books can bring you together with people - I remember a girl and I running from the bus stop to the book exchange in Lauterbrunnen so we could get there before it shut down, and then that girl and I became good friends (the same girl in Rome). 

Books are also good company - I went to Athens on my own for 5 days, and I spent many meals alone at God's Kitchen (highly recommend!) reading whilst devouring incredible food. 

I've spent many, many hours wandering book stores - not necessarily buying books but just browsing. I know that the girls at my local bookstore must think I am crazy or something. I love the Save the Children book sale and have spent too much money at it - I actually took a friend there last year when she came over to Perth on holidays... interesting tourist spot eh?

But I love a good book. Especially if it's about foreign places, good food, and a bit of romance. I love reading about other peoples lives, war torn countries, refugees. I love reading about those who have gone before me into the humanitarian field, their struggles and hardships and successes. I love cookbooks. 

There was no real point to this entry other than to describe my love of books and tell some travel stories. There are plenty more stories about books and travel that I have up my sleeve, but I'll restrain. 

it's just a kettle

At one of my workplaces (hooray for split placements - twice the stories!) I sit across from the tearoom. Normally this is fantastic, as we are the first to hear about cake in the kitchen, or know when your printing is finished (the printer is in the kitchen).

It's not fantastic when something changes, like for instance when we get a new kettle...

Exhibit A - our new kettle

It's one of those fancy kettles that can do different temperatures for the different kinds of tea, and is glass so you can see it boil (which I think is rather neat), and it's nice and big so lots of pots of tea can be made. And it's a good brand, so it's not about to break anytime soon.

But if you had've heard the complaining that went on about this new kettle, far out! It's just a kettle people! Sure it's nice and fancy, but so what?! It boils water, it looks nice, so shhhh! Don't get me started on what happened earlier this week when we got a new toaster! The old one was going to kill eventually, with it's makeshift handle! So our office manager went out and bought us a new kettle and a new toaster so we can have tea  and crumpets and not die in the process and all you want to do is complain?!And now I am writing on here complaining about them complaining.... ahhh the circle of life.

Wait till I tell you the lunchbox saga....