Bella vita

I've been having a mid-exams holiday the past few days. Should probably be studying for the MCQ's on Thurs and Fri but whatever. The worst is over!

No really good stories to share (actually yes I do, coming later) but yesterday I went for a walk at the beach on my lonesome, on a whim. First day it hasn't been bucketing down for about a week and the longest exposure to the great outdoors I've had for waaaay too long. Gorgeous. Blue sky with a mild breeze, not too warm, lots of families and old people and their pets. I smiled at some babies, some dogs smiled at me. I saw strange rocky area where there were three dead birds within a five metre radius and wondered what had happened to them. Hunters? Caught up in the storms? Flu? (back away) Two were seagull size, but another was larger. I wanted to say cormorant, but names of birds, like those of trees and flowers and geological features, are things I only know in books. One of my distant life goals is to associate these names with pictures, so that when viewing the natural world I have a greater conceptual vocabulary instead of "that's a purdy...green thingy". I saw people flying, swooping in the sky on hang-gliders and some form of seated parachute and was tempted to fork out cash right then and there to feel the freedom of it.

I walked for an hour and thought what a great thing it is to have a young, healthy (if unfit) body and a clear mind, and no serious cares in the world, and the future ahead. I made plans for a reshuffling of my life once the exams are over - just how to get organised and study smarter and spend time on what's important. And I decided I love Australia, not in a flag-waving way, because borders are arbitrary and ridiculous. Just the peace and beauty of the country, a beach walk on a Saturday afternoon.