Tibet

My dreams of a visit to Tibet are receding ... even if things have calmed down by September the current events will have soured my feelings. The stories that are coming out are heart-rending - here's one from a sound technician with a film crew. He wasn't actually in Tibet, he was in a border area that's mostly Tibetan. It's an amazing account, well worth reading.

I even dreamed about Tibet last night! The trip had been cancelled and I decided to go to China anyway, under my own steam, to see if I could get to Tibet by train. I was at the railway station trying to find the right train and met a Tibetan woman who was crying and distraught ... and then I woke up.

Some more links: Free Tibet, Friends of Tibet (NZ)

I'm eating so much better these days...

The canteen at work shuts at 8pm now, long before I get a break, so I've been taking a tasty, nutritious meal in instead. Lovely salads mostly, with home-made coleslaw and carrot sticks. Yum. Now and then I go for a hot meal (there's a microwave in the canteen) - couscous and roasted veg, or pasta. Today it was pasta - organic spinach rinkidinkis (or something) with a nice meat and veg sauce left over from yesterday.

So I put the pot of water to boil and sat down to look through my seeds and plan what I'm planting this year. Then I went into the kitchen to get something and noticed a strange sound. Oh the pot of boiling water! Right! I tipped in the pasta and made a mental note not to forget it.

Ha ha ha!!

Much later I was out in the garden preparing the vege patch for the first seed-planting when I smelt something burning. Hurtled into the house, snatched the smouldering pan from the stove and raced around flinging open windows. Every room had a foot-deep lid of smoke and the smell was incredible.

Bertie was startled by the sudden burst of activity, but didn't budge from his comfy spot on the rug. Until the draught got too chilly and he headed off upstairs. Pause. Imperious bark. I went up to see what the problem was and the problem was smoke: every room was filled with a pale haze, top to bottom. Bertie was on his bed, looking aggrieved. Obviously I cannot rely on being dragged out of the house in the event of a proper fire.

In other news: Well, nothing really. I've been dull and duller. Still plugging away at the gym but with minimal effect. I've started doing rowing and some weights, which makes it more interesting. Yes, that's how dull things are ... a rowing machine is interesting.