I've barely been able to sleep.
It's dawn now in Kanchanaburi, the morning of the big adventure race. I'm staying in a hut on the River Kwai and all night images have been turning over in my mind of scaling rock faces, downhill mountain biking and jungle running.
2hrs until start time...off to get up, shower and drink some more water...
Confusion abounds tonight.
I just flew back into Australia from a 2-week tour of Vietnam and Thailand...both wonderous countries in their own unique ways...but more about that later this weekend.
Right now, I can't sleep. It's bloody-well 11.30pm, I've slept about 4 hours in the last 41, and I still can't get my mind to rest with my family, love, mates, career and musings of what fate has in store for me all bouncing around my head like a dusty old pinball machine on overdrive.
As Bob Dylan once sang, the times are indeed a'changin...
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
Sure, the rest of the song was a bit of a period catch-cry for the disgruntled youth of the mid-1960's at the state of the US Administration and social establishment, and Dylan was probably likening the Administration to the water, but what-ev.
I kind of like this verse...it says to me that sometimes you just need to be decisive when the waters of opportunity start to rise up.
Whatever lay ahead, I hope I get absolutely drenched. The next few months is going to be a very interesting time...
I can't sleep tonight. I've got a few things rolling around in my head including a younger sister who's going overseas, an impending performance and salary review at work tomorrow, a NATO missile air defence diplomatic spat and the societal ramifications of VB going to mid-strength.
So what better way to try to put oneself to sleep than to listen to disc 1 of my Soul Grooves album and take an innocuous internet-based psychology test. Clare is currently completing a subject in personality psychology for her degree - I'm trying my best to take an active interest in her current occupation. Not that I'm saying her degree puts me to sleep. Oh God. I think I've just dug myself a massive hole in a rising swamp.
So the test was to see which superhero I am most closely aligned with through their rigourous, sweat yielding questions. Here are the results:
I do find it hard to dispute the accuracy of "intelligent, witty [and] a bit geeky" (did I mention really really ridiculously good looking??), and must admit that I enjoy spitting web out of my wrists and scaling skyscrapers in my spare time.
However, I believe that I am still void of both "great power", if you exclude my superhuman homous-eating feats; and "responsibility", if you exclude my recent appointment as UN director of humanitarian and refugee aid to Burundi.
After idolising Batman in my formative years, I rocked in angst trying to work out how in the name of Gotham City I could be more like Batman's bitch, Robin. And who/what the hell is Green Lantern? Do I really have the personality of a Northern NSW, hemp-based outdoor camping light?
On the upside, Catwoman and Wonder Woman are absolute minxes and I'm glad that there are no psychological or genetic barriers to us hooking up. Oh god. The mind boggles.
On that note, I'm going to bed. Sweet dreams.
Why have I been up since 3:30am on a school night? Because my back right bottom molar is inflamed like a mo-fo and currently feels like North Korea is using the area as part of their nuclear testing regime.
The bonus is that I've already read today's stories on SMH online.
I'm going to see a dentist tomorrow.
