Plate Tossin’ Cockatoos

Ally lives in a small town on the coast about two and a half hours south of Sydney. She’s only a block off the beach and a national forest and farmland sits between her and the nearest town of note, Nowra -- population 26,000. At night you can sit out on the patio and listen to the waves crashing on the beach. So peaceful and so great to be staying put for a short while.

Long runs have been along the beach in the mornings. One of the best runs I was greeted by a pod of dolphins not more than a couple hundred meters off shore. I was then greeted by a small shark that had washed up on the beach. I’d love to get out there and swim with those dolphins, but encountering a small shark -- even washed up on the beach -- is about as close as I want to get to one.

The other afternoon I was taking a little nap when all this racket woke me up. I looked out onto the deck and saw a whole collection of birds -- there were some Crimson Rosellas (absolutely the most gorgeous birds I’ve ever seen. I loved them), some crazy Rainbow Lorikeets, one white-hooded pigeon and a half dozen Sulfur Cockatoos. Those guys were most entertaining.

My SoCal training crew had this phrase for weight lifting -- “tossing plate”. These Cockatoos were lifting the plate of bird seed and moving around the on table. One of them picked it up and flipped it upside down on top of the seeds. Hmm... That didn’t work so well. So he picked it up and tossed it right off the table. Freaked them out when it shattered and they all split. I had to laugh. That gives “tossin’ plate” a whole new meaning. ;-)

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The Homeless Triathlete

I’ve been joking with people calling myself that. I have fun with it, but not so much tonight. Having an off day I guess. Someone said something on one of the triathlon chat pages that really set me off.

Then I went downstairs and there was this huge ass spider on the ceiling above my bed. It was a big ugly brown thing with two spots on its butt. Any big spider in Australia is bad news as far as I’m concerned. So, I took a shoe to it. Ugh. Just what I needed to see right before bed. Then I had this thought, “I want to go home... but I don’t have one.” Hmm... For the first time that bothered me. I saw some art work the other day that I really liked, but chuckled when I realized I have no walls to hang it on. I have no idea where might even be. I really loved it in New Zealand, but I'm not so sure I could handle a winter there. Crazy Kiwi's have no central heating. ;-)

One day my walkabout will end. Don’t know where, don’t know when, but I sense there will be a ‘someone’ to help me see ‘when and where’. Until then, I keep rolling along and enjoying each day as it comes to me.

4 April 2003

Aussie Humour

I saw a dead snake at the side of the road coming back from my ride today. It was fairly large and black with a red belly. I asked Ally later if it was poisonous and she said, “Only if it bites you.” Ah-ha! ;-)

8 April 2003

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It's in the Cards

Last night was an interesting and enlightening evening.

Ally had recently purchased herself a set of Tarot cards and last night had finished studying them. So I said, “Let’s try ‘em out.” She did a reading on me and it was rather interesting to say the least. All the cards I pulled were about change — big changes recently made, big changes yet to come, changes in progress, time for more change, things that had worked up to now no longer worked... and needed changes. You get the picture. I have been and still am making big changes in my life.

A few more interesting cards kept coming — rewards and introspection. According to the cards, I need to look inside, honestly, and let go of old ways of thinking in order to adopt new ways that will help me along my paths of success. My rewards will be great, but I have to let go of something in order to accept them. This takes me back to the Hermit card — introspection.

There is only so much you can read into the cards and they really are for entertainment, but they do make you think. There is an awful lot of change in my life right now, and there’s no end to it just yet. I also do need to get out of a few thinking patterns that are restricting me from my successes. I certainly do agree with that — there’s a bit of muck in the attic that needs cleaning out.

Following our readings (she did one on herself as well), we discussed our situations. I told her of the conversation I had with Gordo about being open — the full version — and she had some very insightful thoughts to share on the topic: Instead of looking at the things I don’t have, look at what I DO have. Focus on my positives and strengths instead of weaknesses and negatives. And the kicker, when in a group conversation, instead of sitting the back not saying anything because I don’t have the confidence in my knowledge or experience to speak (negative), listen to learn. By focusing on learning from what is being said (positive) I take the pressure of myself to speak and can then speak freely by asking questions. This all has a lot to do with my self-image and not being "good enough" in a few areas. Good thoughts.

So, in the wee hours of this morning I had an interesting dream. I was riding with the big boys — Gordo, Scott, Macca, KP and a few others. Our destination was a large barn set between two smaller buildings. All were a rusty mahogany colour surrounded by lush green fields. They of course had arrived ahead of me. When I walked in Gordo, Scott and Macca were standing with a tall fellow with long black hair. KP and a few others were standing off to the side closer to the door. I walked up to the KP crew and quietly stood there not saying much, my shoulders slightly slouched.

As I looked around the barn, I noticed it was full of classic cars, sports cars, expensive cars... it was either a showroom or someone’s personal collection. I also saw Ally standing there giving me a look that didn’t need words. I straightened up my shoulders and walked, tall, over to the Gordo crew. As I approached I said, “Hey guys.” They all turned to say hi, and the tall fellow with long dark hair came over and gave me a hug. Vince was his name, but most people would probably remember him by his show name — Alice Cooper. Yes, that’s right, I knew Alice Cooper. We were standing in front of a Rolls Royce with someone sitting in the back seat — it was Ozzy Osbourne. He waved at me and motioned for me to come over. I motioned that I would be there in a minute, Vince had something to talk to me about. Yes, I knew Ozzy, too.

“Pick a car, Wy. Any car,” Vince said. He wouldn’t say why when I asked, so I picked the Acura NSX. He smiled and said it was mine and would be in the driveway by the time I got home today.

Say what?! Alice Cooper just gave me a $90,000 car! I argued that I couldn’t take that. It was well above payment for the work I had done for him and I wasn’t so sure I could do enough work for him to justify it. He looked at me and said that I had helped him in so many ways — ways that I wouldn’t possibly even know — and that this was just a simple token of gratitude. The car would be in my driveway before I got home regardless of what I said.

Then I woke up.

I told Ally about the dream and she right away saw all kinds of messages in it. I used to run a music magazine and spent a lot of time backstage at concerts interviewing rock stars. I had to be open and social and conversational in those days. I had to walk in a room and speak up. This lends to the communication card I pulled and also the letting go of current thinking.

The car was the rewards card. My successes may not necessarily come from “work done” but also from positive affects of my “presence”. I have the ability to help people in ways I’m not even aware of, and my rewards will come from more than just business-based relations. More importantly, I have to learn to accept my rewards — however they present themselves to me.

Good thoughts and insights for “changes”. ;-)

The Bob Card

I ran this article past a good friend of mine because he “gets it”. I wrote it with the slant that I would post it here in my journals, but wasn’t so sure I really wanted to. He said that I should, that it could be helpful to others, as well as to myself.

I was telling this to Ally later and she made a comment about Alice Cooper reading it. I promptly made a flippant remark, “Ha! Like Alice would have any interest in reading that.”

Quietly, Ally grabbed her cards and started flipping through them as I rambled on about nothing. She pulled one card out of the deck and said, “See this? This is you.” The card was the Four of Cups. It depicts a man sitting under a tree with his knees held tightly to his chest, arms folded over his knees. Sitting right before him are three full cups. In the sky coming out of a fluffy white cloud is a hand holding out a full cup in the man’s direction. As well, the direction of the man’s eyes is such that he sees none of these.

What the cards symbolizes is that you have great wealth, great value, and many great things before you. However, you are too closed to see what’s right there. In order to appreciate what you have, you need to see what you have.

Ally told me this was my card — to remember what it means. Why wouldn’t Alice want to read my little piece? I needed that. I needed a token to help keep me straight and from slipping back into my old ways of thinking. So, I drew the card in my book and wrote a little note on it: “Much of value is available, but you must see it to appreciate it. Look at what you have!” When I finished drawing it, Ally took a look at it and said, “That’s Bob.” Ha! So true! The card has now been renamed as my “Bob Card”.

17 April 2003

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Groundhog Day

This was some kind of day. I woke up early in Sydney. Ally and I went down to the café on Bronte Beach for breakfast as the sun was rising. The morning had such a great feel to it. I’d had a great time here in Oz and had accomplished my goal of getting some good base miles in and trimming down -- I dropped five pounds in the last month here.

Ally took me out for some great rides. My favourite was up in Kangaroo Valley. We started at the Fitzroy Falls and then did a huge loop through all these old British-influenced villages. At the end of our first ride up there we went down and stood on the lookout over the falls. Yikes! Talk about vertigo! We stood on this platform that was about ten-by-ten feet and stood 100 meters parallel to the top of the falls.... which dropped straight down. Waaaaay down. The falls dropped into a canyon that looked as if it was cut straight down top to bottom. It was so high. I couldn't stand at the edge of the platform. ;-)

I hopped a big ole jet plane at 9am, flew 13.5 hours to Los Angeles and had another breakfast at a café on Manhattan Beach with Boop and Kayla as the sun rose... three hours before I left Oz. Trippy. I really wasn’t sure what time it was or what meal it was I should be having -- if any. I decided it must around midnight according to my body clock. Therefore, I would normally be asleep, this would be a dream, and I could eat whatever I wanted because it was only a dream and it wasn't real. Okay, maybe not, but it was an entertaining thought.

Everything was great until I landed in Vancouver and was greeted by my Mom and some terrible news. That’s as far as I go.

27 April 2003

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