Trying on shoes

Anyone who has ever went shopping with me would know that it's like walking with a drunk person.  I'm not able to walk in a straight line past the rows of shops.  There are constant distractions as you talk to me while we walking to the restaurant for lunch.  A stop at the shoe shop, a detour to look at the pretty summer dresses, pressing my face against the window to check out the bling bling like a kid outside a candy store...

Now I've been telling myself for months that I simply must stop shopping.  Anyone who is reading this would know that I'm leaving the country in just under 2 months now (omg has time flew past at the speed of light or what), and I simply can't keep shopping the way you all know I do!  But old habits die hard and there I was, finding myself in a situation again.  I've been walking past this shop for months now, looking at this pair of shoes.  The first time I saw these shoes I thought hmmm it looks pretty good.  After a few more times, and finding myself walking past this shop more and more often, omg, I simply must have these shoes!

As pretty as it looks, we all know that not all shoes fit everyone.  Me for example, I have wide feet.  These shoes will probably give me blisters and tell me to stop wearing them.  Deep down I know that I can't wear these shoes, but every time I walk past, and show my girls these shoes, they all think the shoes look great.  And they do!  So why not try them on?  Well I had this fear that I might love them so much that I must simply have it I'll buy it anyways even if it hurts like hell and I will never want to take them off.  A mistake I'm sure many of us have made once in a while, going home with purchases we later regret.  Yet, I know that if I don't try it on I will always wonder, "Well, what if it was a perfect fit?"

Finally after much persuasion from my friends, I decided to try it on.  Sadly, not only was it not the right fitting for me, they didn't even have my size.  Such is life.  At least now I can move on and back to my goal of not accumulating more STUFF in South Africa and leave with less baggage, um, I mean luggage.

Hahaha back to REAL shoes, I did find these babies the other day at Sandton.  *love*

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Happy DIY List

Oh my word only 2 months left before my new adventure begins.  Words cannot begin to describe the kind of emotions I am feeling lately.  The fact that I am piled with work thus giving me somewhat less time to think about things is in some ways a blessing in disguise I guess.  I'm excited, scared, overwhelmed, and much much more.  I am in such a comfort zone surrounded by so many amazing people that I question my desire to leave sometimes.  At the same time, my dear dear quads in Beijing, Taiwan and Australia, their gestures and offers for me to stay with them, and the support they have shown me for the journey I'm about to embark on has touched me deeply and I feel as special as ever.

It's been awhile, and it's time for another Happy List hehe

• Made my own yoghurt for the first time ever, thanks Prof Paul hahaha
• Smoothie made with my own yoghurt yummy yummy
• Having a roommate to chat with til late at night before we go to sleep even if it means waking up grumpy
• My 38 sexy bitch in Taoyuan telling me that her new apartment is opposite a yoga studio and that she thought of me, brings tears to my eyes.  I'm soooo looking forward to staying with you!
• My lovely short hair, so nice and refreshing for summer!  But gosh this hair really is on steroids, I think it's time to cut again SOON!
• Woolies frozen yoghurt.  Enough said.
• Collagen tablets.  LOL
• Restorative yoga.  Namaste.
• Braai-ing and chilling with good friends.  Good food and good company, what more can I ask for.
• Almond jelly and fruits.  Nom nom nom
• Rose tea with honey before bed.
• Braces Free! Woohooooooooooooo
• Waiting for my brother to come back from holiday with my new blackberry!

XOXO

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

"So what are you going to do when you move back to Hong Kong?"

That must be the most frequently asked question from various people to me lately.  My answer?

"I have no idea."

Seriously I have no idea.  Not the foggiest clue.

"OMG, but how are you going to make a living and pay rent and stuff?"

Once again - I don't know.

So I made one of the biggest decisions in my life, to leave all that I have behind in South Africa, go to India to learn yoga, bum around Asia for half a year, do a belated gap year in Australia doing odd jobs and travelling around with the money I make there, and no, I have no back up plan.  Maybe I will move to Australia.  Maybe I will teach yoga.  Maybe I will just get married and have kids and live happily ever after.  

"How can you not have a plan??"

Well I did for most of my life.  I planned to do well for high school.  I did.  I planned to get into university.  I did.  I planned to get a degree.  I did.  Almost 4 years after I graduated, am I doing anything remotely related to what I studied?  NO.  Do I want to be?  NO.  I did.  And I didn't enjoy it, so where did plans take me?  Absolutely nowhere.

Therefore I'm just going to go with the flow and see where life takes me.

Namaste.

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Progress

So I have a bendy back.  I knew that at the first yoga class I went to, and after the first time I lifted into wheel.  Apparently you need strong arms and legs to lift into the pose?  Well I don't know that, 'coz I have a bendy back and it just happens.  (Does this sound like boasting??  It's not, I'm just making a statement.)  

Anyways one of my friends called me a freak the other day when I did the wheel in class and she said that my hands and feet were so close together.  I didn't believe her because as far as I could remember, my backbends looked like this:

Taken in 2007 (??) by lovely yoga teacher Nadine Fawell

I'm not pro enough to say what's wrong with my posture or where I'm not strong enough or whatever, but now I look like this:

Ahhhhhhh progress.  I am pleased.

*Yogi's please give me some input on what is stronger or my back has just become even more bendy hahaha

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Scuba Happy List

Wow it's been awhile since my happy list making, been making more of other lists lately - mostly checklists and shopping lists hehe

• Scuba diving over the long weekend in Mozambique 
• Completing my open water dives, getting my "licence to dive" lol
• Seeing a sting ray and sea turtles, amongst tons of other fishies, what an experience
• Making lots of new friends
• Cafe, Pintos, and Kaya..... 'nuf said.
• Minimal stopping time over the road work section of our road trip, my praying worked! NMRK
• Watching the boys play the game of life.  Too funny.
• On a more scuba unrelated note, my payment to KYM finally went through~  Next step: plane ticket for India and travel clinic
• Exactly 4 months til I depart for my "pray, eat and eat some more" journey!

Oh how I love life~

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Happy India List

Wow it's been a while since one of these lists and there are just too many things to be happy about lately!

• Registered for the Heart of Yoga at KYM 
• Booked and Paid for an ashtanga yoga retreat at Purple Valley Yoga in Goa with Han
• Registered and Paid for my Teaching Training Course (TTC) with Sivananda Yoga at an ashram in Kerala
• Got a pricing for my plane ticket to India + domestic flights and the price was so fantastic even the travel agent was in shock!
• Found out I can apply for a Working Holiday Visa for Australia which will make travelling a little bit easier and less damage to my savings!  Han be ready for me to bum with you for 6 months - a year!
• Just over 4 months left before my new adventures begin :)
• My amazingly supportive friends making my decision sooo much easier despite how petrified I actually am
• Chatting to my Quads on Skype.  I love hearing you girls' voices <3
• Scuba diving in Mozambique next weekend!
• Having an awesome chat with Ivy on the phone today
• It's the weekend baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabyyyyyyyyyy~~~~~

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

As Dreams become Realities...

Although it's still some 5 months away before I leave for India, plans are slowly becoming realities, more and more so with visits to the travel agency, lonely planet travel guide for India in hand, yoga retreat being paid for, etc...  I have been feeling a rush of emotions in the last two days.  I am leaving.  This is real.  

Over the past two years as some of my close friends left for Beijing, Taiwan and Australia (you all know who you are), I've build stronger bonds with my girls who are still here.  Despite my excitement and anticipation of travelling the world and starting a new life half way cross the globe, my life has been in South Africa for the past 19 years with some very solid roots in the ground.  As I was reading this book where the author described how she longed for friendships like the group in Friends, or the girls in Sex and the City, a sadness overcame me because these were all things that I have and will be giving up in 5 months time.

I will miss shopping with my girls.  I will miss Creme Brulee at Michelangelo and high tea sessions with my girls.  I will miss playing Mah Jong at my house with my gold sparkly mj and talking gossip with my girls.  I will miss KTV nights with my girls.  I will miss lying in bed with our face masks on together.  And holidays together.  And ghost stories and being scared together.  This could go on forever.

This is like totally premature sentimental-ness, if I feel like this now, how will I feel when the time comes?! I miss you guys already...

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Our Yoga Dream

Okay so it's not 100% confirmed yet, as we have not even booked and paid our deposits yet, but I have a pretty strong feeling that KAREN AND HAN ARE GOING TO INDIA TOGETHER IN FEBRUARY!  

How did all this come to be?

Well so I've been going on about how I'm going to India and secretly I'm a little scared of going there on my own, since in all 27 whole years of my existence, I have not really traveled anywhere on my own especially a country like India.  To be honest I don't even know what to expect, although I am a bit worried about potential muggings I've read about online, or people taking your luggage on the train and refuse to give it back to you unless you pay them a ridiculous sum of money (by India standards) for "carrying it" off the train for you and taking their buddy's taxi.  

In addition to this, I am not sure how I'm going to survive washing my own clothes (hand wash, not a washing machine), no hair dryer, vegetarian cuisine (oh how I love my meat), amongst other things, and I was suggested by my beloved favourite yoga teacher in the world Nadine that I should read Yoga School Dropout by Lucy Edge.  Being the diligent student that I forever am, I quickly logged onto Kalahari.net and ordered the book as well as her second book, The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club, without even reading the first one (oh you all know what kind of shopper I am).

I have yet to finish Yoga School Dropout but it has been wonderful, funny, inspiring and interesting read thus far which totally deserves a completely separate post which I will do so some time in the future (perhaps when I actually finish the book).  And I digress....  So at the back of the book Lucy Edge put in a list of useful contacts (I don't know why I was looking at the back of the book while I was only half way through reading it...), and at the top of the list for India was "GOA, The Purple Valley Yoga Centre, www.yogagoa.net".  Being the inquisitive and internet-junkie person that I am, of course I went on and checked out the website and O-M-G (with Janice's accent from Friends), this place looks AMAZING!  I then spent the next few hours glued to my netbook, searching on all info about Goa and this yoga centre and frankly I could not find one reason why I should not go.

A super excited Karen tells her first and perhaps only yoga buddy to this day/best friend/sister/everything else that she is to me, Han, about this amazing place for a yoga retreat and after very little convincing if any at all, she decides to come too!  Not only will it be amazing to go on holiday with your friend, it will be extra special as we haven't seen each other for almost 2 years by the time we meet again in Mumbai in February.  On top of that, we have always talked about going to India together for a retreat or a course of some sort for all the years we've been doing yoga, this is like our yoga dream come true!  All we have to do now is book for the course, which I'm running into a bit of trouble with for some strange reason that I am sure we will overcome, and Goa, here we come in 5 months and a bit!

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Addition in My Master Plan

Consideration underway about two weeks of Ashtanga with Purple Valley Yoga and then staying behind in Goa for one week to enjoy the beaches and sightseeing before moving South to Kerala for my four weeks of teacher training course.  Or is that going to be too much yoga to fit in under 2 months?  Wait, can you ever have too much yoga?  Hmmm.....

Then come back to SA for two days and fly off to Mauritius with my girls for a week, fly back again pack my bags and off to Taiwan, Beijing, Bali, Australia!  How does that sound?  Mwahahahahaha my year of holiday here I come!  Just under 6 months to go!  Wooooo

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Addition in My Master Plan

Consideration underway about two weeks of Ashtanga with Purple Valley Yoga and then staying behind in Goa for one week to enjoy the beaches and sightseeing before moving South to Kerala for my four weeks of teacher training course.  Or is that going to be too much yoga to fit in under 2 months?  Wait, can you ever have too much yoga?  Hmmm.....

Then come back to SA for two days and fly off to Mauritius with my girls for a week, fly back again pack my bags and off to Taiwan, Beijing, Bali, Australia!  How does that sound?  Mwahahahahaha my year of holiday here I come!  Just under 6 months to go!  Wooooo

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Be the Change that you Seek

Ever since my scuba diving classes, I have not been able to get certain things I learnt in class out of my head:

• Did you know over 3 million sharks were killed last year?
• Did you know that much of the marine life by Seychelles is DEAD and there's nothing to see if you went scuba diving there?
• Did you know that there is a HUGE possibility that our children may not get the chance to scuba dive in their life time?
• Did you know that the result of all of the above is thanks to us, humans?

I did a little research after chatting to friends and thinking about all of this, I found this website http://5gyres.org/ which shocked me even more!  Human's excessive wasteful consumption around the world result in pollution, and much of this pollution ends up in the sea.  Worst of all is that the material that things such as bottles and tins are made out of are made to last, therefore, it does not disintegrate.  And even if don't litter, all the rubbish still has to GO somewhere, and a lot of that happens to end up in the sea.  Without trying to sound like a save-the-world-hippie-tree-hugger, there are things that we can do to minimise the damage that we are doing to our environment.  

But what can we do?

Here are some things that we can all do:

1. Recycle, recycle, recycle!
2. Try buy goods that do not have plastic or non-recyclable packaging (This is HARD)
3. Reusable shopping bags 
4. Do not print anything unless absolutely essential, reuse the other side of the paper for printing

And WHY should we do this?

Here are some interesting facts I found:

• Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours
• An aluminium can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now
• Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials
• Plastic bags and other plastic rubbish thrown into the ocean kill as many as a million sea creatures every year
• The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials
• Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled
• It costs at least three times more to dump rubbish in landfills that it cost to reuse and recycle
• On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish
• As much as 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted
• Every person in SA produces between a ½ kg and 2 kgs of waste daily, which equates to two bins of urban waste per week

So what can we do?  I compiled a list of things people living in Joburg can do....

• http://www.urbansprout.co.za/recycling_bottle_necks_and_batteries   - apparently some of the Pick 'n Pay's and Woolworths around the country collect rechargeable batteries and energy saving lightbulbs for recycling
• http://www.computerscraprecycling.co.za/ - You can recycle computer scraps through these guys!  And for those living in Cape Town speak to them http://www.virginearth.co.za/   
• There's a serious lack of recycling awareness in this country, therefore a lack of recycling bins, but if you speak to these people, http://www.wasterecyclers.co.za/ or these guys, http://www.wholeearth.co.za/ and they will come to your doorsteps to collect your recyclable goods
• http://www.collectacan.co.za/ - if anyone is interested in starting up a recycling business in can recycling, you can have a look at this site
• Take your unwanted glass bottles (like beer bottles!) to these guys http://www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za/, if you take it to a buy back centre, they will even pay you for the glasses, so you can buy more beer with it!

You can also have a look at this website for more tips on where you can take all your recyclable goods!  Be the Change that you Seek, let's all do our part for our environment.  

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

SCUBA Here I Come!

There's only one thing on my mind at the moment and this "thing" will continue to consume my mind for the next 23 days......... Scuba Diving in Mozambique!!!  Wahahahaha are you jealous?  Jealous jealous???  I cannot wait, it's going to be amazing!

This will be the first time I'm diving ever in open water, omg diving in the SEA!  What?  Me?  Karen the person who only learnt how to swim when she was in university?  Yes yes yes, this is part of the facing-your-fears-programme.  So last week we had three classes where we were taught all the basics and must-know facts and details about scuba diving (which were very interesting and fun and totally dry), followed by 2 sessions in a 25m x 25m, 5m deep pool over the weekend.  Given how little I am and my claustrophobic nature, a very tight and brand new wetsuit along with practically 20kg of gear did not work out very well on the first day!  Having a panic attack under water does not help with the breathing AT ALL!  But thanks to some very patient instructors, I was swimming like a fish underwater by the end of the second day, yay!

Wake up call #2 this month though - I really need to get fit!  Should probably start swimming at the gym when I get the damn car back (post on Wake up call #1 to follow....)!

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Go away bad vibes, there's no room for you here

"It's dangerous for you to go to India."
Translate: I don't think you should go. Translate: Don't go. Translate: Don't do that one thing you've been talking about for the last few years that you really want to do.
Translate: Don't pursue your happiness. Translate: Don't have dreams. I know the intention of that statement was out of concern, but it also transmit this negative energy known for burying dreams and happiness. This is exactly the type of energy I need to get away from. God please give me the power to transform all negative energy received into positive hopeful happy ones.

Sent via my BlackBerry

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Letting Go...

Today I did something I should have done a long time ago - I threw out all my notes and textbooks from my varsity days.  And let me tell you, it felt SO GOOD!  It is beyond me why I even waited that long to do this!  It started with the CFA notes which have to go to a friend.  Then from right to left I cleared out each of the shelves.  Finance III notes - out.  Financial Risk Management - out.  Finance Honours articles - out.  Investment Honours notes - out.  It got a little harder when I reached the textbook section.  Then I remembered Celia's facebook status update I saw yesterday: "it's (o)k to let go".  Yes it is.  I don't know why it was so difficult for me to let go of these books that I will never ever touch again anyways.  

One hour later, 10 trips up and down 3 stories, the recycling bin was full!  What a good feeling.   Letting go is not only okay, letting go is GREAT.  Whilst I was doing this cleansing exercise, it suddenly occurred to me, that the amount of stuff I have in my house (and believe me I have a LOT of stuff) kinda symbolises the baggage I carry on my shoulders.  Unwillingness to let go of things in the past will only weigh you down, and filling your house or your soul with unnecessary useless objects.  In order to let in positive energy, new love, new clothes, new furniture, you have to get rid of the old.

I feel lighter already!!!

*note to self: no more new things are allowed to come into my life right now though, NO MORE SHOPPING!

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Short Term Bucket List

Okay so I made this fairly huge decision recently regarding my life for the year ahead.  At first, some thought maybe it was just an impulse thing, and that when I calm down, I will think it's silly.  Well the initial anger and sadness which caused the decision in the first place has settled, yet instead of forgetting about my decision, I'm beginning to make very solid plans about it.  So here goes:

I'm moving back to Hong Kong!

Okay not right now.  But the plan is to save a targeted amount of money for a list of things I plan to do next year before officially settling down in Hong Kong, and I tend to lose track of things easily, or distracted at shopping centers... so let me make a list of things I simply MUST do or I will regret for the rest of my life.

1. Save enough money for one year living expense in Hong Kong
2. Save for plane ticket to Beijing to bum off my husband
3. Save for plane ticket to Taipei to bum off my 38
4. Save for plane ticket to Canberra and Melbourne to bum off the big wife and visit Nadine
5. Save for a potential yoga instructor training course in India + much needed spiritual journey
6. Save for a beach holiday reunion with my quads - potential destination: Bali
7. Get my teeth sorted - apecectomy next month, top braces off in Oct/Nov hopefully
8. Learn Scuba diving (hence save up for that too)
9. Visit Zim and steal some diamonds from Ori before I leave
10. Clean out my wardrobe, rid of all unworn clothing!!!
11. Find out when my cellphone contract ends and cancel it, switch to pay as you go, easy for escaping
12. Finish reading all books in my house before even thinking about buying new books
13. UPLOAD PHOTOS TO FACEBOOK (sorry guys, it's coming I promise...)
14. No more buying wool until all unfinished projects are done
15. Finish all unfinished knitting projects!
16. Take more photos
17. Play one game of golf on the course and not totally suck at it
18. Finish using all my cosmetics before buying new stuff
19. Change hairstyle - had the same one for almost 2 years and 3 perms later, it's about time
20. Learn Belly dancing
21. Learn a new language - potential choices: Japanese, Korean, French, Italian or Spanish

Okay I think I should leave it at this for now...  List to be edited to a long term Bucket List at some point.

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Face your fears

I have always wanted to make a pilgrimage to India and do a yoga instructor course.  I can't even remember how many times I have said that over the past few years.  Those of you who hang out with me regularly enough is bound to have heard me saying that on more than one occasion!  Well I've decided to do it!  

When?  Next year between May and July for 4 weeks

Where? Himalayas!

Why? Why not?

I have not applied yet because I'm still working out a schedule, drawing out time tables and stuff.  However, the more I read about this course on the website, the more frightened I'm becoming.  What am I afraid of?  Well let's see.

• 5 hours of yoga everyday plus chanting and meditation
• Vegetarian food for 4 weeks.  Goodbye KFC, goodbye lamb chops, goodbye medium rare fillet~
• Sharing a room with a stranger??  Yes I'm a princess
• No cellphones allowed.  No iPhone.  No Blackberry.
• NO INTERNET
• Outgoing international calls are dependent on conditions of the phone lines
• I THINK there's only cold water there
• You do your own laundry, BY HAND
• The travel to the ashram consists of one plane ride, one 6 hours+ train ride, one 7 hours+ bus ride, and then we're still 8km away....

So I don't think I've ever done THAT much exercise in my life ever.  Me vegetarian?  Hand washing clothes?  Life without BBM and facebook and email?  All that I think I can deal with, but the scariest part for me is the travelling to the ashram.  For as long as I have lived, I do not think I have ever make a journey that far in a foreign land where I don't speak the language.  I'm even scared to take the bus when I'm in Hong Kong because I don't know where it's going...  Whilst I am getting slightly intimidated and cold feet about applying for this trip, I'm not going to let myself chicken out of this!  I must face my fears, instead of letting it get in the way of my long time dream.   

Go go go Karen!  You can do it! 

XOXO

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

19句話

1、如果發簡訊給一個人，他一直不回，不要再發了。沒有這麼卑微的等待。 

2、如果沒有人陪，學著一個人聽音樂看書寫點心情日記。這是個好習慣。 

3、如果一個人很難過，找個角落或者在被子�哭一下，不需要別人同情可憐，哭過之後 
一樣開心生活。 

4、如果一個人開始怠慢你，請你離開他。不懂珍惜你的人不要為之不舍，更不必繼續付 
出你的友情或愛情，到頭來受傷的是自己他人不會為之難過。 

5、如果可以不抽煙，別抽。如果可以不喝酒，別喝。這是不愛惜自己身體的表現，如果 
只因一些人，那麼我們別傻了，愛你的人不會讓你難過的。 

6、傷心的時候找個信任的朋友訴說一下，不要一個人默默承受，這只會會更添寂寞感與 
憂傷。 

7、不開心的時候白天看看藍天晚上看看夜色，廣闊的天空自有屬於我們 愛，寧可高傲的 
發黴不要低調的戀愛。跟自己說我是最好的。保持一份自信。 

8、寧缺毋濫。不要因為寂寞隨手抓一個戀人，這對兩人都不公平，而且太缺乏責任感。 
找個知己不要是戀人。 

9、記住你喜歡的人的生日，包括你的家人，當然，還有自己。生日沒有人送禮物也無所 
謂，你可以買精美的禮物，送給媽媽和爸爸。 

10、閑下來的時候,放一段柔情音樂，翻閱幾頁好書，然後睡個懶覺，快哉。心情不好的 
時候,也可以睡一覺。 

11、從現在開始，聰明一點，不要問別人想不想你？愛不愛你？若是要想你或者愛你自然 
會對你說，但是從你的嘴�說出來，別人會很驕傲和不在乎你。 

12、不要太在意一些人太在乎一些事，順其自然以最佳心態面對，因為這世界就是這麼不 
公平往往在最在乎的事物面前我們最沒有價值。 

13、不要為了任何人任何事折磨自己。比如不吃飯、哭泣、自閉、抑鬱，這些都是傻瓜才 
做的事。當然，偶爾傻一下有必要，人生不必時時聰明。 

14、任何情況下，背後不說他人是非。如果一定要你說，說好話。多個朋友是好事，即使 
不是很要好的，總比因為自己說話不慎重不思考而多一個敵人好得多。 

15、允許偶爾看肥皂劇，但不可成為依賴。允許偶爾披頭散髮，但要注重場合。允許偶爾 
罵髒話，但只限在老友面前或者獨自一人時，記得說過後要忘掉那些讓你難過的事。 

16、一定要有幾個異性朋友，沒有非分之想.就是關鍵時候,幫你出出主意的好友。 

17、學會承受痛苦自己調整心態。有些話，適合爛在心�，有些痛苦，適合無聲無息的忘 
記。當經歷過，你成長了，自己知道就好。很多改變，不需要你自己說，別人會看得到。 

18、能不和人爭吵儘量避免。一個發怒的人是很恐怖的，會因控制不了情緒變成瘋子。忍 
耐然後思索問題的根源最後平靜心態解決它 。 

19、不管和誰有了矛盾和彆扭，解決的時間不要超過24小時。否則麻煩會更多。在可以接 
受的範圍內，先道歉。讓自己做做壞人不是件真的壞事 

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

The Really-Difficult-Happy-List

Well those of you who have spoken to me recently about the events in my life in the past week would know that, well, I'm not in a good place right now.  Emotionally, physically, mentally, everything.  NOT IN A GOOD PLACE.  For those of you who don't know, here's a brief summary:

• So firstly, on Friday this idiot rear ended into my car causing me to hit the car in front of me.  No major injuries except for a swollen lip (which is no longer swollen), bruised knees, and a sore back and neck from the whiplash (which I am getting sort out in a few hours at the chiropractor).
• Following such, there was some emotional abuse from my father, which is nothing new, because it's my father and that's what he does following any traumatic events in my life.  He likes to make my life even more unbearable.  I love my life.
• As a result of all the stress of the accident and my father, amongst other issues I'm having and not able to share opening because I'm an uptight person who does not like to acknowledge her vulnerable side because that's for the weak (yes, yes, I'm trying to do something about that), I have the FIRST and WORST flu in a year.  I have not been sick for a year, and once again, my body does what it knows best, transferring stress onto my body (or it could be the damn cold front hitting us right now, eh, whichever).

So amongst all this, one can imagine, the difficulty in compiling my happy list, when all I want to do is crawl into bed and stay there feeling sorry for myself.  But NO I shall not do that!  So here goes :P

• Suzi and Colin to the rescue at my accident scene.  And the thought of Suzi running down 5 flights of stairs to look for me (instead of driving her car), makes me feel super special knowing that I mean a lot to her.  I love you my friend.
• I'm SO happy I'm still alive.  If my car was as stable as a cardboard box, or if the idiot who hit into me was driving a tank, I'll be writing this list down below and looking up at you guys right now.
• I WAS AT THE WORLD CUP FINAL!  'Nuf said.
• Finished re-watching all 10 seasons of Friends.  Oh it's so funny it makes me so happy.
• The super sexy pictures my friend Andy took for me!  You are such a good photography and I'm SO hot!
• All this stress in my life is helping me open my eyes properly and has help me made a fairly HUGE decision about my life.  Hope I will go through with it.  Announcement to follow when plans are solid.
• A bunch of super supportive friends.  And I'm so blessed it's not just a handful, it's more like a truckload.  I love you all.

 

 

Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland

Happy List just for my friends

Whenever I am down, I am always reminded how blessed I am because I am surrounded by wonderful friends who are always there for me.  So in no order of importance, here's my happy list...

• Singing K with Emmie, Lucy and Suzi and group hugs!
• My baby's baby Colin for carry my heavy drunk ass up 3 flights of stairs.  In my defense, I was totally able to walk up the stairs myself, but your wife took my shoes already!
• My together forever always looking out for me.
• Yogi bear for conceding my awesomeness and that I may be even more awesome and more good looking than him.
• My husband Ivy, for the constant reminder that we will always have each other.
• My love enermy/big wife, Han, for always caring despite being millions miles away.

Obviously there are loads more special people in my life, but my fingers are too cold right now to type anymore. I love you all beautiful people!  XOXO

Winter Not-So-Happy Happy List

It's cold, and honestly, there's not much to be happy about when you're wrapped up like a Chinese rice dumpling and struggling to maintain feeling in your limbs.  That said, the WORLD CUP IS HERE, and the vibe is amazing with all the foreigners in town.  Everyone is amazingly friendly and happy and it's GREAT!  But the best thing this week is that, I finally got my hands on these.....

YAY!!!!!!!

Holiday Happy List

Been on holiday since the beginning of the month, whilst there was some pre-holiday stress due to all the work stuff I was trying to sort out before I leave, I managed to finish everything before I go and life is great.  Here's a temporary happy list without pictures... which will hopefully follow next week when I am back on my own laptop....

• Night life in Hong Kong, drinking at nice little pubs and walking the streets at 3am and feeling total security.
• Not having to drive around in horrid traffic for the past 2 weeks.
• MANGO
• Seeing all my girls who live far far away in Asia
• Eating with my girls
• Shopping with my girls
• Meeting new people
• First time in Taipei, and Keelung, and Tai Chung
• Food in Taiwan - nom nom nom
• Shopping in Tai Chung with my 38!!!!
• Finally getting my roots dyed and re-perming my hair and a cut after over 7 months
• Eating more
• Shopping more
• Wifi
• Lovely street food
• Extremely good Japanese cuisine at Mitsui in Taipei
• Swiping my credit card
• Air-conditioning
• Clubbing in Taipei
• More eating
• Attending Johnson and Monica's traditional wedding
• Seeing old friends after a couple of years
• More shopping

I think that about sums up all the happy events of my holiday.  Mainly eating and shopping hahaha.

Life is good. 

The Traveller

Wooooo travelling!  Blogging will be done at minimal level!

The Way to Sustainability - You're doing it WRONG!

Taking a detour from my usual happy posts and the object of this blog, but I really need to vent about this and share my opinion about this issue on a blog where probably nobody reads anyways.

So today I went to the airport to pick up a friend, and as I was about to enter the parking, my eyes almost exploded out of my sockets.  R30 for half an hour parking, R60 for an hour and going up by increments of R30 per hour.  WTF.  Prices have tripled since the last time I went a few months ago.  The reason for this?  World Cup 2010.  I guess the whole idea behind this is that all business entities are trying to milk whatever they can out of this big event where supposedly tourists will be flocking to South Africa from around the world, and why not make as much money as you can in the few short weeks where thousands of football fans are expected to come?

Domestic plane tickets are going for around R5000 during this period where supposedly loads of tourists will be wanting to travel around to see the favourite teams plane around the country in the various stadia.  Accommodation has doubled or tripled to exorbitant amounts, even in remote places where this is NOTHING except a brand new football stadium.

SUPPOSEDLY. 

Apparently though, there is a flood of unsold tickets because people around the world cannot afford to come, or concerns from volcanic gas in Europe causing the inability to fly here to watch the games, or fear for their lives due to the crime in South Africa.  As much as I wish for this World Cup to be a great success, personally I have a feeling South Africans are going about this the wrong way.

Yes we want to attract tourists.  We want to boost our economy.  Yes raising prices of everything ridiculously might help boost turnover during the few weeks of the World Cup.  But the question is are we attracting tourists here?  Are they coming here to pay these ridiculous prices?  Or are the locals the ones who are truly suffering and paying extra for all these things?  And is all this sustainable?

Not that long ago we were talking of the great recession, where millions of people around world were retrenched, fired, bonus cuts, involuntary salary cuts, etc.  At a time like this when there are still uncertainty where the gradual recovery in the world economy is sustainable, I do not expect people to splurge on a family holiday to South Africa to see the World Cup where it is very clearly NOT CHEAP.  International plane tickets are going at roughly R20 000, add to that accommodation, football game tickets, travelling costs, it all adds up!  And if a foreigner's first experience of South Africa is that things are in fact quite pricey, are they going to want to come back again?

Why not make everything dirt cheap, or at least remain at pre-World Cup fever prices?  That way, any Tom, Dick or Harry can come over and experience a bit of Africa, and possibly be tempted to come back again, and again, and again.  Are hotels and airline companies not making money at present prices that they have to hike up prices like that?

Honestly, I do NOT get it.  I hope for the best, really I do.  But all I can think right now is seriously?

Happy List following the *Perfect* Weekend

Oh what a wonderful weekend it was~

• Nothing better than starting your Saturday morning like so....

• Followed by crazy shopping and a whole new gym wardrobe! Woohoo I *love* factory shops and outlets!
• MacDonald's hashbrowns
• Blackberry messenger keeping me constantly updated on oversea friends' lives
• Hip shaking at belly dancing
• Not knowing what the hell you are doing at a latin dancing class and having tons of fun
• Going to a good yoga class, and at the GYM nogal!  AND learning during that same class that my flexibility has improved (even more?? On my way to becoming elastigirl? )! YAY
• Finding perfect buttons for my hoodie (note to self: please take pics when looking half decent and post up soon)
• FREE LUNCH! WOOHOO~~~~  Please do not ever underestimate my eating ability - you know who you are.  I'm waiting for free wine next time~~
• Seeing TWO rainbows at the *same* time - traffic was worth it

 

• Hiking day at Hennops with great company, great weather, great photo session! *BLISS*

 

Yummy yummy yummy!

It all started last weekend when it was one of my beloved girls' birthday.  Buying presents I find is becoming increasingly difficult as most of us have practically everything, as I much more prefer to give presents from the heart.  And so I baked.  I've had this cake recipe for almost a year now, but never tried it out alone since the person who initially taught me made the cake with me the first time.  Plus my scribbles were almost impossible to make out, I was a bit worried all the ingredients would be wrong and the cake would be a disaster.  BUT, it turned out GREAT.  It was a two layer cake (one chocolate, one plain) seperated and covered in chocolate icing and sparkly sprinkles on top.

In fact, it was so yummy that I just want to eat cake everyday...  So I baked AGAIN this week, but this time I made chocolate cake covered with irish coffee cream icing with cocoa powder sprinkled on top.  Nom nom nom...  Following my cake indulgence this week, I went to gym for 3 hours yesterday to make up for my sins hahaha (note to self: must go to belly dancing class AGAIN!)

Besides my cake obsession, the extreme knitting continues...  Am so very happy with how the Twinkle Hoodie turned out, was a very easy knit, took me less than a week I think.  Moderations made to the pattern was that the body is somewhat longer than what the pattern suggested and slightly longer sleeves too.  I loved how the sleeves are joined to the body and knitted in one piece, therefore minimal seaming which I still totally suck at.  All I need now is to get some big fat buttons and sew them on....  Where is a nice sewing shop for that?

(excuse the crappy resolution from phone camera...)

Have started the Karate Sweater already, in fact I'm much further along than when this pic was taken.  Very easy to remember pattern, leading to mindless knitting while watching tv and vegetating in bed...  One problem though, armholes appear to be somewhat bigger than the diameter of the sleeves, which also happen to be somewhat tight around my shoulders...  I am feeling too lazy to undo it and knit it again, just praying that the problem will be solved after a few wears, maybe it will stretch...  If I do ever knit this again, there are a lot of changes I would definitely make.  Hopefully will finish this over the weekend!

Constant home decor

After moving into my house for 3 years now, I'm still in the process of decorating.  It seems like an endless task at time, as there is always something extra that you can do to make your house more like a home - a home that screams out "KAREN" when people walk in.  A difficulty I'm having with my place are the walls.  The main space in the house is surrounded by 3 double volume massive WHITE WALLS which look soooooo bland and clearly that is not me!


So ever since I started doing photography, um, I should make it sound less professional as I'm not.  Let me rephrase, so ever since I started taking pictures on a more frequent basis, I've been thinking how I should just get MY pictures printed and put them on my massive walls!


Due to my still limited photography skills, I have a limited collection of good pictures, but do hope that it will expand as time passes.  I'm really keen to print this out... 

I am happy...

This thought occurred to me today when I was driving: we struggle to recognise and appreciate the simple happiness that happens almost every second of every minute, everyday of our lives.  How often at gatherings do we complain about our jobs, our spouses, our acquaintances, the problems in society, rising prices, the lack of time, people being too friendly, people being too rude, and the list is just endless.  I for one, complain a LOT.  It's almost built in me to be unhappy for some odd bizarre reason, criticising one thing to the next.  But it's not just me, we ALL do that. 

Today I was driving in the rain wondering if it was ever going to stop raining, when I looked into the horizon and it was all blue skies and white puffy clouds.  It was beautiful.  Why are we able to appreciate these wonderful things in our lives only when they slap you in the face with it?  Look around you, there are endless things to be grateful for and happy about every second of every minute, everyday of our lives.

A while back my beloved yoga teacher started this "Happy List" post on her blog which I attempted several times, and I found it DIFFICULT to find things I was happy about in a week, until my feeble attempts fizzled out.  But let's try this again.

• Joburg sky.  Look up, almost every day is a beautiful day.  Even today whilst it was raining in the North, the sky over the East and the South look beauuuuuuutiful!
• The birds tweeting outside as I type this post, somewhat offsetting the horrible drilling noises going on in the warehouse.
• Going to watch Alice in Wonderland in 3D tonight with my together forever kekeke
• Finally finishing the lace ribbon scarf last night! YAY!  It's about time, taken me long enough, and it came out beautifully :)
• THANK YOU SARS finally my VAT and PAYE numbers are out...  
• My order of from yarncountry.com has arrived safely today, was starting to get worried that it would get lost along the way although I doubt many people working at the post office would be interested in a box of yarn...  Can't wait to go home and open up and check all my goodies!  Winter wardrobe, here I come!
• Awesome photo editing tools like BigHugeLabs, Poladroid, and nEO iMAGING which adds to my photo fun~ (note to self, please upload the cool mosaic pictures when you go home)
• 4-day weeks!  We've had 3 in a row now, and it's a bit sad that this will be the last of the 3, but there is another public holiday coming up at the end of the month!
• Counting down the days to my Hong Kong/Taipei trip! *27 days to go*
• So happy that I have a netbook now and I will be travelling with my netbook this time, instead of lugging my heavy Vaio around...

Happy days~~~

Extreme Knitter

Everyone has a blog now days, so what's the challenge here?  Given the fact that I've had probably 3-5 blogs in the past few years where I've never managed to keep to one and maintain it (usually the idea and energy fizzles out after a few weeks...), shows how difficult it is for me to make a habit of something.  Blogging isn't the only habit that I've had difficulty keeping to.  In fact, almost everything I do, I seem to do it extremely well for about a month or two, then I forget about it, and go back to it after several months if not years...  This is one of the challenges I'm giving myself.  GET RID OF THE EXTREMENESS!  I am a total extremist.  Either I DON'T do anything for a few months, or I'm suddenly reading 10 books a month or, as I am doing in the past month, knitting frantically as though I would have nothing to wear if I were to stop knitting!  Balance is something I have extreme difficulty in maintaining, despite believing strongly that balance is the key to a healthy and happy life.

That said, I am very happy of everything I've completed in recent weeks...

This is not all, there was also one glove (the other one was finished about 18 months earlier), one capelet (which I have not had the energy to weave in the ends and block and take photo yet), and near completion is the lace ribbon scarf for my dear friend Ivy, a present I was meant to give her over a year ago!  I'm not a big fan of knitting scarves for my attention span don't seem to allow me to finish after the 100th row of knitting the same pattern.  I enjoy wearing scarves much more than I enjoy knitting the actual item, with the exception of knitting with super bulky wool because that will usually allow you to finish within the day!  However, I've told myself to suck it up and finish this scarf and the pattern is just toooo beautiful and finally after being more than half way done, I have memorised the pattern and no longer need to keep referring back to my notes...

I'm looking so forward to finishing this and giving it to my friend.  This makes me happy.

Here we go again....

So the other day I watched Julie and Julia.  Basically it's a movie based on two true stories: one of Julia Childs, the author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and the other of Julie Powell, a writer who attempted to cook all of 524 recipes in Julia's book in 365 days and blogged about it.  I identified greatly with Julie, for I, too, was looking for a challenge.

What kind of challenge one wonders?  Well last year August I quit my job, decided to do a 180 change in career path because I felt like I was stuck.  There were plenty opportunities moving forward in my job, and I knew I could build a career out of it, but do I really want to be an economist and do forecasts and write reports for the rest of my life?  Do I really care which direction each currency was headed tomorrow, in 3 months, 1 year, 5 years so that traders and decision makers of big important companies could make well informed decisions to their next move in the financial markets?  All I knew was that it was taking me weeks to get over a cough, my hair was falling out, I was waking up at 5am in the morning sometimes to get to work before 7am, only to sit next to this horribly annoying colleague of mine which emitted a cloud of dark and negative energy onto me the whole day (I'm not being very fair to the other colleagues though whom I all love very much).

So here I am 7 months later after making a radical change to my life.  Seven months ago I decided that I will do what makes me happy, which just launched all these other questions - what does make me happy?  How many of us know what makes us happy? 

This brings me here...  to the Pursuit for the Seven Wonders of My World....  Maybe even more than seven....