What have I been up to? Stuff (as S. would say)
Amongst the things that have kept me busy and away from the blog recently are:
Diving: lately teaching has also led me to understand a little bit of myself better. Quality and integrity are not something I am ready to compromise no matter what. I'd rather not teach.
Climbing: I'd been planning for about a year, since the exhilarating trip to the 7th hole, to tackle the via Ferrata at Snake Canyon. This one has been physically tough but I enjoyed the challenge very much. I'm not going to describe it into detail: images are stronger than words and the video below plus the photos on flicker give u an exact idea of what I have put myself through.
On this trip I confirmed to myself once and for all that heights do not affect me at all (as long as I have a safety) and that my mind is highly rational despite what people may think judging by the kind of activities I sign up to. Hanging down, double strapped to a metal wire 100+ m from the ground is safer than crossing a busy road; you just have to convince your mind.
Conservation: I have popped to the UAE to help the Reef Check team from Dubai with some reef monitoring activities in Dibba a couple of weekends ago and delivered my first talk on conservation volunteering and the expeditions in Oman to a group of 60 5th grade pupils at a local school. Hopefully I will be able to do some more talks to the public in the near future.
Studying: amongst all this I am still hammering on with my project. I am teaching myself to program with visual basic .NET, researching (lots of reading!), writing, project managing and pushing my boundaries.
Piano lessons: I need to balance the logic with some art and creativity. I’ll be honest: I am finding it hard. Plus I see very little art in learning to read music and try to coordinate fingers that have a life of their own but this quote I heard today seems appropriate “ believe you can or nobody else will” and that is so true for many situations in life. The determination I need not to feel disheartened brings back memories of a very defining moment when my dance teacher pushed me to come out of my shyness shell as a child. Since then whenever I hesitate I think: I can.
This brings us to today. Today like any day was another inspirational day. Specifically today we attended the first TEDx event in Oman. For those who don’t know what TED and TEDx is about have a look at this link:
http://www.ted.com/tedx
S. and I often watch TED talks over breakfast to start the day in an inspirational way. It was a privilege to be able to attend a live event.
Today we were prompted to think (and write) about our idea of change so this is how I framed it. It is a bit raw but I only had a few minutes to think about it:
Change is evolution, renewal and hope.
Amongst the things that have kept me busy and away from the blog recently are:
Diving: lately teaching has also led me to understand a little bit of myself better. Quality and integrity are not something I am ready to compromise no matter what. I'd rather not teach.
Climbing: I'd been planning for about a year, since the exhilarating trip to the 7th hole, to tackle the via Ferrata at Snake Canyon. This one has been physically tough but I enjoyed the challenge very much. I'm not going to describe it into detail: images are stronger than words and the video below plus the photos on flicker give u an exact idea of what I have put myself through.
On this trip I confirmed to myself once and for all that heights do not affect me at all (as long as I have a safety) and that my mind is highly rational despite what people may think judging by the kind of activities I sign up to. Hanging down, double strapped to a metal wire 100+ m from the ground is safer than crossing a busy road; you just have to convince your mind.
Conservation: I have popped to the UAE to help the Reef Check team from Dubai with some reef monitoring activities in Dibba a couple of weekends ago and delivered my first talk on conservation volunteering and the expeditions in Oman to a group of 60 5th grade pupils at a local school. Hopefully I will be able to do some more talks to the public in the near future.
Studying: amongst all this I am still hammering on with my project. I am teaching myself to program with visual basic .NET, researching (lots of reading!), writing, project managing and pushing my boundaries.
Piano lessons: I need to balance the logic with some art and creativity. I’ll be honest: I am finding it hard. Plus I see very little art in learning to read music and try to coordinate fingers that have a life of their own but this quote I heard today seems appropriate “ believe you can or nobody else will” and that is so true for many situations in life. The determination I need not to feel disheartened brings back memories of a very defining moment when my dance teacher pushed me to come out of my shyness shell as a child. Since then whenever I hesitate I think: I can.
This brings us to today. Today like any day was another inspirational day. Specifically today we attended the first TEDx event in Oman. For those who don’t know what TED and TEDx is about have a look at this link:
http://www.ted.com/tedx
S. and I often watch TED talks over breakfast to start the day in an inspirational way. It was a privilege to be able to attend a live event.
Today we were prompted to think (and write) about our idea of change so this is how I framed it. It is a bit raw but I only had a few minutes to think about it:
Change is evolution, renewal and hope.
- Evolution is the force that pushes humanity and the world forward
- Renewal is the energy that brings about new ideas and makes room for new ways for looking at (old) things
- Hope is what helps us win the fear of change, without hope for a better world there is no (positive) change.
And now, in the knowledge of what has led me this far, I add:
Change is what gives me the drive, because change is the essence of life.
Change is what gives me the drive, because change is the essence of life.
