So many things to do, so MUCH time!

Not being employed, not working in the office 5 days a week, 10 hours a day plus 2 hours of commuting, does wonders for the brain and spirit to think and consider other pursuits in life.

When I was employed and being remunerated each month, I didnt feel compelled to 'improve' my life with other skills. Since starting work after university, I have not done any language courses, crafts courses, picked up any new sport (dabbled in wake boarding a bit once, which was where bjorn and i met!), or learnt anything new. All 15 days of my annual leave was preciously reserved for beach holidays where I could veg by the beach/pool, work on a tan and be mentally retarded for X number of days. Weekends were spent just recuperating from usually a 'big' Friday or Saturday - which meant lotsa comfort food, aircon, naps and TV. It was almost like, slaving away in the office & being paid for it is enough to validate my short temporary existence on this planet. Employment filled my life with stuff so I didn't have to bother need to think about what I reeeeaaally wanna do in this life.

Of course, this is just me and that part of my life. There are plenty of people in this world that have good work life balance. That participate in non-work activities like sport and volunteering etc. And I am only making a generalisation based on me.

But now... we have so so many things on our to do list! And we have to prioritise!

1. First aid course - being alone on ben resipol made me realise how ignorant and foolish of us to think that we were capable of taking care of ourselves when we didnt know the first thing about first aid.

2. Bushcraft/Survival skills - If we want to do more outdoor/camping we need to learn basic things like making a fire, building shelter, wild food foraging etc. Think Bear Grylls!

3. Cooking classes - Hopefully cheap and good ones in the neighbourhood comminuty centres. I want to see how people teach cooking, so maybe in the future when we set up our small holding somewhere in australia, we can grow our own organic asian veg and i can hold asian cooking classes from our farm

4. Knitting / Sewing - A lady who stayed at Fraoch lodge was knitting woollen socks and they were gorgeous! And apparently really easy to do. Definitely want to learn this one real soon!

5. Pottery - I love food. And recently, after staying with Tyr who is a super potter and eating off pottery at her place and some other places we've been to, makes me reeeeally keen on finding out more about how to do this. Apparently its not that easy, and u need lots of kit/room. But we'll see!

6. Hill-walking / Trekking - Bring it on! After a couple of hills we have done in Scotland, we're hooked BIG time. Love the exercise, fresh air, nature, stunning views, the streams, the solitude and mostly, the time Bjorn and I get to spend talking and chatting and enjoying each others company while being all alone in the 'wild', one with nature. According to Trail magazine, 'Walking does wonders for the mind, gives people a sense of betterment, and uplifting sense of achievement when you reach a summit and the chance to marvel at the sheer raw beauty of our natural hills and mountains.' - So true lor...

7. Language courses - I feel silly and awful that we're going to be in Spain for about 6 weeks and we hardly know any spanish besides 'Hola' and 'Gracias' and 'Paella' and 'Mi casa su casa'. If theres a way I could do a crash course before we go... hmmmm I'll need to check it out.

8. Travelling..... Oh oh oh, to go to someplace new, to try new cuisine for the first time, speak to locals about their homes, their land, their lives. I find it hard to find words to describe how important I think travel is to build character, expand our views, and humble ourselves at the same time. More more more please!

9. Read more and write more - Have been quite pleased at the number of books I've managed to read in the past couple of weeks. All completely life-enriching books, I'll name a few here that has been particularly good:

- The Omnivore's Dillemma - Michael Pollan
- Life Inc - Douglas Rushkloff
- Confessions of an Eco Sinner - Fred Pearce
- The Ultimate Heresay - John Seymour
- A Brave new world - Aldous Huxley
- No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
- The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

Alrighty, I think there's more to add on this list, but my shower is calling and I say this to those who are employed.... Have a lovely weekend! :) Coz you're going to need it.

Peace out...