2011 - What a year it has been, and we've only just got to the end of January! Queensland has been hit by some of the worst floods in history and is currently under seige from not 1, but 2 more Tropical Cyclones. A good portion of Victoria is also underwater, many of those places having not seen much of the stuff for the best part of the new millenium. Fires in WA have made their mark on the state already and the SW has just won a game of Russian Roulette with TC Bianca which turned out to be the 2nd biggest fizzer so far this year (the 1st possibly being the PM's new Flood Levy to rebuild QLD but that's all still up in the air).
For myself personally though, New Years Eve was a good night (minus 1 person going missing for a few hours after midnight - forever on now called "doing a Cameron") with the general "plans" for the year being pretty vague but simple. Try and save some cash, get at least one good holiday in later in the year, behave myself so my ankle heals up in time for the trip to Thailand (been booked since last May!) and generally just try figure out what to do in 2012. Planning anything more than that is generally wasted time as it never seems to work out, as you'll see.
Those plans above, whilst they haven't really changed as such (except possibly the 2nd holiday part) they have taken on a whole new meaning - especially the save money part. Previously just a claim to reduce my excessive spending habits on my cars and maybe start saving for a deposit for a place of my own. Now however, it's to be able to buy furniture and start paying a mortgage! There are 2 ways of looking at it and really it would come down to whether or not you believe in FATE or COINCIDENCE.
It started back in November last year (2010) when, instead of playing our normal game of beach volleyball after work one night, someone suggested we try out indoor cricket. Whilst I'm not that keen on playing the sport (or genearlly watching it for that matter) I thought "what the hell, might as well give it a shot" know full well I was gonna make a fool of myself in the process. 5 minutes into trying to bowl, one of the guys said I could have his shot at batting. "Cheers, I should be a little better at that" was the response, but 3 bowls in and I was soon proven wrong. A simple back step on the left foot to avoid a body hit and then moving incorrectly on the right resulted in a cracking sound that was heard at the other end of the pitch and me falling like a sack of spuds on the ground. The worst part wasn't the pain or even hearing it crack, but just seeing the foot poking sideways for that split second made the gut churn. After a good nights sleep (some good stuff that Panadine Forte!), they put me on the plane and flew me to Perth the next morning. The folks picked me up and drove me back to Bunno (or Bunbury for those from afar) where after 3 days in hospital, I was sporting a nice new titanium plate and scar to match.
Skip ahead 6 weeks to when I'm walking again (thankfully it was a quick healing process - sitting down to have a shower really sucked!), and I'm sure you can imagine I might be getting a little bored by now. So on my way home one tuesday arvo and I decided to go walking through some of the display homes at the neighbouring suburb or Dalyellup to kill some time - window shopping some would say. Well I got talking to the fella in the 2nd house and went over my basic finances, and it jsut so happened these guys specialise in doing deals for people like me. Relatively good income but nothing actually saved up. After going over the details with the folks, we met the guy that Friday morning and by the time I was flying out of Perth back to work that arvo (1st shift back since the cricket incident) I'd signed the contract to a House and Land Package. Spur of the moment? Possibly (I like it that way), but ill-informed? I don't believe so. I've been researching the property market for a while, interested in buying a place and the folks have their own experience to draw on so hopefully it will be a good move for my future.
As for Fate or Coincidence, some at work thought it was because of the cricket game, then that I took someone else's shot at batting, etc and so forth that led me to being in the situation that ended up with me owning my own patch of dirt. Whereas, there is always the chance that I would have just gone straight home to the TV. Or maybe I could've gone through there one day anyway to the same end. But had it been at another time, I might have been with mates, distracted or on a time limit, or maybe the sales person would be busy with another interested party, all resulting with the the higher probability that I wouldn't have sat down for the crucial chat that started the ball that is building my 1st Home rolling.
Just one of those things. "What if...?" The eternal question. It's this sort of situation that is great for filling in boredom. If you don't do something, say something or think something and just stick with the norm, then there is every chance that thats all that will ever happen. It only takes one small choice, to do something slightly different that can set the rest of your life on a course completely unplanned and unpredictable. I do believe that is the great adventure called Life!
P.S. It also goes to show, that maybe being bored isn't such a bad thing. It makes people do things that are out of the norm, gets them thinking of new ideas, writing books (or blogs!) and generally can be a lot more productive than I think people give credit to. As far as I'm concerned, I'm only building a house now instead of 5 or so years into the future because I was bored and filled the time with something other than watching TV!
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