Saturday - Wednesday, February 11 - 15 2012 (diary)

The outback areas of Western, Central and Northern Australia are sometimes poetically called the land of the never never . . . , and very aptly so.
For like a straight line can only be drawn to its full extent in the limitless space of infinity, the concept of never only truly applies in the limitless time of eternity. Therefore land of the never never : land of eternity. That is certainly what it feels like.

In stark contrast to "never", the concept "not" (can not, must not, will not) reigns within a far shorter time span. It often applies to just an instant of the present, or, at the most, a short period of time. So where is the land of not ?

The land of not can be found all over the world where there are large cities or densely populated areas.
Here the people are being tightly pressed together within the narrow time slot of not, squeezed (like spagetti) into vertically elongated hierarchies of rich and poor, powerful and powerless, famous and unknown, extraordinary and indifferent. Within the confines of the land of not these differentiations seem normal, natural. But seen from the perspective of a wider time span it are but grotesque, caricature characterization of little relevance.

In the land of the never never those who live there are placed within the perspective of the Universe's reality, perhaps of some significance, but small within the framework of universal time where individual differences have become indiscernible.   Therefore in the land of the never never "everyone is equal" (as Nicole Kidman so perceptively observed when visiting Darwin a few years ago).

So that is why we love to live here. But it is not the only reason, for I for one (like perhaps many others here) feel that I here live at the nearest place on earth to where we originally came from when we were born and where we return to after we die : eternity !

Thursday - Monday, February 16 - 20 2012 (diary)

Interesting ! I had my regular 6-monthly check up with the GP and my blood pressure is very very good.
The doctor commented that here in the tropics the blood vessels expand in the heat causing the blood pressure to drop, whereas in colder climates the vessels contract with higher blood pressure as a consequence.
The negative side of living in the tropics is that one tends to drink more (alcohol) in the heat which of course puts stress on the liver. These days I am a rather moderate drinker as far as alcohol is concerned, drinking mostly at and after our bridge sessions. At home I mostly drink juices and soft drinks, with the odd scotch or glass of wine after 5.

To celebrate my good health (I have yet to get my blood tests done) I had lunch at Bar Zushi. I still go there at least once a week. Their sushis are fresh (made when they are ordered) and they also have a delicious squid salad.

My bridge activities are increasing again, with a new beginners course of 20 players which started this weekend. So there is lots to do in terms of preparation of quizzes, working up new example deals and so on.