Wait. Add R to the List

Somewhere along the line I picked up a love of talking about the weather. It must have come from spending time in European, problem is in Australia it can be a rather dull subject. And then at times, it shapes the whole nation. Just take a look at what has been happening in the last week – catastrophic bushfires in Victoria, destructive flooding in North Queensland. My thoughts go out to all of the people suffering to the north and south. Those that have lost their families and friends and those that have lost their homes. I hope you can slowly piece your shattered lives back together again and move forward from the tragedy that has touched you.

Elsewhere, we have had sunshine and warm days for the last few weeks, which is why the weather can be a very boring subject. Unless of course you mention the drought or lack of rain, then there is lots of potential for conversation, tips on beating the drought in the garden, plants that have died and stupid council regulations. Anyway, the irony is, that although we need rain, frequently people finish a conversation about the weather with, ‘well I hope it doesn’t rain this weekend because….’

Our sunny spell ended a few days, when we woke to a grey day and the sound of gentle rain on the roof. Essentially, the perfect day to role over and go back to sleep. It would seem that for people used to sunshine most of the time, even a single raining day brings a certain lethargy. Explains a lot about the English. Well, this rain seemed to bring with it deep philosophical ponderings. The bushfires have sparked debate over wether or not global warming has contributed to the tragedy that has unfolded in Victoria. In the meantime scientists are warning over and over that we will be seeing much more extreme weather to come. But it would seem the public is quite sceptical over the role of global warming has played in this situation. The debate over wether global warming even exists has reared its ugly head. I had mistakenly thought that that debate was pretty much over and the next step was action. So I began to ponder what role could I play in reducing my carbon footprint. Could I cycle more, eat less red meat or switch to eating Skippy. I wondered wether I could set a career direction that could help create a more sustainable future. And then the depressing thoughts of why bother came flooding leading me to finish my entire bowl of pasta. It didn’t just stop there either, with further ‘therapeutic’ eating at dinner that night and the following day.

All had been going well up to this point. Since I decided I was going to begin this project about a month ago, I have been doing pretty well, being conscious of my moods and eating, but these last few days have gone right off track. On the grand scheme of things though, I guess it doesn’t matter. Besides, the forecast for tomorrow is fine and over 30 degrees!