Christina Swan

I have discovered the secret to serenity amidst the stresses of daily life... to treat oneself once in a while. ("Once in a while" being everyday since I discovered television and the importance of WATER...) After about five years of being deprived of television, I have reverted back to having a favourite program that I like to watch - Beverly Hills 90210, on TV3 between 4 and 5 pm. Incidentally, I usually have that time off work and studies too. Nice :-) Instead of thinking that I am wasting time by watching TV, I now see TV as a way to relax and completely unwind. I never knew TV could be so useful! (I also make a few more imaginary friends this way, friends whom I know all about but who know nothing about me - Kelly, Brandon, Matt, Donna, Gina, Dylan, etc etc etc... yo hoo!)

As for water, I discovered a few days ago how to use a proper bathtub... I haven't had a bath for years BUT I decided to have one a few days ago. I now know which way round to sit (it dawned on me as I saw the "handles" of the bath the "wrong" way round), and with the help of some radox (some kind of purple bubble bath with relaxation liquid in), I fell asleep as soon as I lay down on my pillow - which doesn't happen often.

To make matters better, I decided to take a trip to the swimming pool today, and start exercising... exercise releases endorphins which is the "happy" hormone of the body, and I remember I always used to feel SO good after every exercise session before. After many months in a tropical climate in Santa Cruz, where the sun and humidity made it too stifling to exercise, and months in La Paz where the altitude makes your head spin even just by walking, and the whooping cough I contracted while in Bolivia, my exercise habit has been gathering dust on a big shelf marked "the past". But now, with a little help from Special K - which does a four week "beat the bad habits" program - I decided to take up the battle against my laziness, and complement my TV watching with some swimming back and forth. After 40 lengths and a visit to the sauna, I felt GOOD. I brought three members of my family to swim too, which enabled me to kill two birds in one stone and combine some "family time" with "spare time".

In conclusion I ask myself: is life a) what you make of it, or b) what happens to you while you wait..? I would go for "a" and point to the classic latin word "carpe diem". Seize the day! :-)

(I also worked out this blog can show pictures! Wow!)

Christina