100happydays

There’s light at the beginning of the tunnel (100happydays-day16) 

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Isn’t that a nice thought?

I’ve never heard anyone say that there’s light in the beginning of the tunnel. As many of you are aware, the saying goes “there’s light at the end of the tunnel”It helps people hold on to whatever strength or patience they have left, just hold on for one more day (things will go your way, hold on for one more day) since there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Whilst driving home (I love driving, but I’m getting ahead of myself, please read below) I saw this tunnel, I pass by it everyday but I never really looked at until today and since it’s quite late here, I had the whole road to myself (what blissful joy!), driving at 15km/hr, really taking my time, I take this photo. It’s probably the most inviting tunnel anyone has ever seen, it’s not dark at all. How lovely 🙂

So, driving, well that’s a love affair that goes back about 7 years now (wow, psychologists say that if a relationship lasts more than 7 years, it will last a lifetime, that’s promising :D). We go way back. Anyway all silliness aside, I love driving, it’s my favourite thing to do.It’s relaxing, just the road, my car, my music and I. This past year, since I go back and forth from Abu Dhabi to Dubai every weekend, thank God I love driving, otherwise that drive alone would take so much out of me.

Something I haven’t mentioned about me, I’m very emotional as a person, but I don’t get angry. It’s quite odd and when I do get angry I don’t actually know what to do with my anger, so I either cry it out, however I really do not like crying. Recently, I have discovered the most perfect outlet for my anger. I get inside my car, put my music on and sing at the top my lungs. It’s the best form of release. 🙂

That’s all for tonight, folks. Good night, sleep well, tomorrow awaits another wonderful day, filled with possibilities. 😀 x

Selectively Curious©

 

Scotland (100happydays – day 15)

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Just got home from work, it’s been a wonderfully long day.Today’s post will be short but sweet (maybe?).

The featured photo is a photo I took when were on our way to Inveraray from Edinburgh and it’s one of my favourites. I love how there’s a lake in the photo and it almost looks valleyesque (yes, I’m aware that is not a word but it’s so perfect for the sentence so maybe one day the Oxford Dictionary will determine it to be a word). I love nature and I love being in nature, especially in England (mostly because it doesn’t have dangerous looking creepy crawlies). Looking at this photo is nostalgic and takes me back to when I was there. I can almost feel the cold air as I inhale. I do miss it.

Here are a couple of photos of Inveraray:

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Oh I’m slightly confused now, my snapchat comment appears to be wrong I think (oops). Oh after double checking, it’s correct (false alarm!). I may be dyslexic, the spelling in the photo is actually wrong (triple checked, third time’s the charm, so many/too many r’s).

Sadly, the castle was closed, but look how beautiful it is 😀

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Scotland always reminds me of the movie “Brave Heart” which of course it should because William Wallace was Scottish. Random fact as the tour guide told us, William Wallace was actually a lowlander rather than a highlander. On the way to Inveraray  the tour guide did point out all the famous landmarks in relation to William Wallace and I thought that was quite cool.

It’s a shame my trip was quite short there and due to the weather we had to make it shorter (my friend was pregnant too) and a lot of the attractions were closed too as a result. On the bright side it gives me an excuse to go back. 🙂

Selectively Curious©

 

The mysteries of the sky (100happydays – day14)

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Don’t you just love pink skies? Why is it pink?

It’s like candy floss (or cotton n candy as some may call it). It’s delicious.

Scattering is a phenomenon which determine the colour of the sunset (or sunrise). Scattering occurs when the direction of light rays change due to molecules and small particles in the atmosphere. The phenomenon affects the colour of light coming from the sky and the details are determined by the wavelength of the light and the size of the particle.

I kind of regret looking up the answer, sometimes physics ruins the beauty of things.

Out of all the beauty in the world, my favourite part of nature is the sky. It reminds me of a huge canvas and it’s so beautiful to look at, it has the moon, the sun and the stars. It’s a sight which can be be enjoyed by all who can read this blog post. Some nations have mountains, some have seas, some have valleys, some deserts but the beauty of the sky can be admired by everyone and that’s wonderful. Even prisoners have the right to have a window because sky for most is a sign of hope, which is why many look up to the heavens when they pray and it makes people dream.

The featured photo is one of my favourite photos, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the sky that day and I wished that I could pause time so I could stare till my heart’s content.

On a side note, I’ve decided that I will write in my blog earlier in the morning rather than at night as I am currently doing. I think it will have a good difference in my creativity in relation to my writing. Let’s see how things progress.

Whenever I think of the sky, I think of one of my favourite quotes by one of my favourite philosophers (artists, inventors, scientist, he was pretty much an all rounder) Leonardo Da Vinci “When you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with you eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.”

Having said that, I am not particularly fond of flying, but being in the sky is actually magnificent and it’s amazing that flying has become so common and it was impossible in the time of Leonardo. “Flight” in his quote was him referring to his flying machine, I’m assuming and it can be applied in other contexts too. For example, once you have tasted high standards, it’s rare for you to lower them. I believe one must always strive to be better, even if it’s difficult. Positivity, perseverance and prayer can really do wonders.

I guess the quote can be looked at, in so many ways. Sky’s the limit.

Selectively Curious©

 

 

 

Relax, take your time to trust in me and you will find infinity (100happydays day 13)

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I love being near the sea.

For some curious reason, every time I look out into the sea, I think of the title of this post and sing the song (by Guru Josh). It’s such a chilled out song, I wouldn’t call it beach music, it’s got a really cool beat though. I’m actually listening to it as I type this. 🙂 Maybe it’s the endless horizon which makes me think of infinity, or the sky above the sea. I’m not entirely sure what it is. It’s probably both.

The featured photo was taken on one of my fishing trips. I love going fishing, even though I do not actually take part in the fishing (animal lover, can’t be responsible to kill anything). I tag along to these trips because I love the serenity I feel when I’m out at sea. The weather is always perfect and it’s excellent for taking photographs. I don’t much believe in star signs, but as a water sign and a pisces I feel the sea and I have a strong bond, that’s inexplainable.

Water is soothing, when I am very upset, all it takes is a shower and I’m back to being my happy self. If I happen to nap after I’ve showered, well, then I’m in a state of euphoria. Pure bliss. I’m sure I am not the only one who feels a certain degree of peace because of water. To quote John. F Kennedy “All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.” I love that he said “whence we came” old English is so charming. We are tied to the ocean, I do believe that.

Selectively Curious©

 

List of things I wonder about (100happydays – Day 12)

Posted on by Selectively Curious

Hi all, so I started this blog and I just wanted to talk about what inspired me. 

I’ve been wanting to have a medium to sort my thoughts for while so last year on the 31st of December I decided to create one. The title of my blog was inspired by my cats and my personality trait of being curious. I can safely say that I am curious about everything but I guess everything is an exaggeration because it’s impossible to be curious about everything, hence I am selectively curious.

The following is a list of things I was curious about today:

  • A friend of mine was having some trouble with a guy she is interested in. They’ve already established that they like each other but it doesn’t seem to be going in any direction. I’m curious about what he’s thinking, his behaviour is odd and I’m curious if it’s all just a game to him. Most of all, I’m curious about how it will work out.
  • I’m curious about why places of worship always seem to have the best architecture. In some ways it almost appears to be some sort of propaganda to lure people into a religion. Don’t get me wrong, I have an endless amount of love for good architecture and maybe it’s just coincidence that such places are always beautiful.
  • I strongly believe in “what goes around comes around” and it makes me curious, what if you didn’t go around so you don’t come around? In other words, what if you only do good but you get bad things come your way. Feels like the balance of the universe is flawed and that’s thought provoking
  • I was curious about why some people were a part of my life briefly. There are certain people I was close to and we are no longer on speaking terms. It’s weird when that happens. They say that everything is a learning experience but what if there was no lesson to be learnt, then what’s the point? Pondered on this for sometime, trying to figure out if it’s worth it to reach out to those people and ask how things were, or if it’s better to let thing lay as they are
  • I watched “say yes to the dress” and I was curious about what type of dress I would decide on and

Lastly

  •  I read somewhere that you can be a millionaire in 27 days if you start with $0.01 and double that amount daily. I did the math and I was surprised by the accuracy of the outcome. 🙂

(Featured photo: Google)

Selectively Curious©

Make the most of it (100happydays -day11)

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I saw this sign on the car as I was walking towards my car. It made me smile.

I like the emphasis on life, the sign doesn’t say “Enjoy life” or even “Enjoy your life” which is a more usual sentence in this context. It says “the life” because we’ve all only got the one. Food for thought?

It’s funny how people say life is short when the reality of it is that the act of living your life will be the longest thing you will ever do. I’m sure many of you have been curious about what your purpose is in life. I cannot say for certain but I think mine is to be there for people who need it most. I’m naturally a giver and it gives me joy to spread joy. I guess with time, the purpose will reveal itself. Until then I will explore all options and see how I can make the best use of my time in this world.

Hasta Mañana (aka see yo tomorrow) 🙂

 

 

Selectively Curious©

Rain in the desert (100happydays – day 10)

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I fell asleep before I published this.

Yesterday was a long day and as I did my weekly commute from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, it was raining. Unlike London, rain is welcomed in the desert such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It’s considered a blessing as it means that temperatures will drop to about 15 degrees (celcius). Those of you who watch Game of Thrones, I’m sure you are familiar with the wonder of when “winter is coming”, here in the UAE we often wonder the same thing.

Yesterday’s rain has determined winter to have arrived. (huray)

When I first moved to London, I loved rain, however after the first few days of rain my love was changing into something less favourable. I didnt want to get out of bed to go to my classes. I felt my body crave sunlight desperately. Having been in the desert for most of my life, I was used to having 360 days of sun, so I am very much a sunny, warm weather person. It took a lot of getting used to.

Have you ever been curious about why the weather effects our mood?

Since this post is about rain in the desert, I will only explore two types of weather, sunny days and rainy days.

Rain causes you to eat more. Rainy days can cause your serotonin levels to dip, which increases carbohydrate cravings.  It has been scientifically proven and according to Judith Wurtman, former scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet, eating carbohydrates helps people feel better because the carbs immediately increase serotonin levels.That explains why I wanted to have a jacket potato, every single day whilst in London. All day, erryday.

Now for sunlight, the positive effects are, to name a few, people are more optimistic, open to possibilities, helpful and makes people spend more money. Well now, if you’ve been to the middle east, which is filled with fancy cars, fancy buildings, basically endless fanciness (mashaAllah) the last point explains a lot. Lack of cloudy weather and increase in positive mood makes people shop and well in the case of the UAE, build a wonderful nation.

Over the years I have learnt to not be effected by the weather, of course it is much easier to remain a positive person back in the UAE, however even in London the last couple of years I was there, I would embrace the weather, whether good or “bad” because I knew, the sun would shine again. In the words of John Ruskin, who was Irish and I would like to take a moment before I quote him to emphasise how much I like Irish people. They’re so warm at heart and honestly one of the nicest people I have come across. Anyway this is what he said “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines in the hearts of the people and that keeps us all warm.”

(Featured photo: Someone I used to know sent it to me last year)

Selectively Curious©

Wakeboarding (100happydays – day7)

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It’s not easy.

I would not describe myself as an athletic person, far from it actually. I do like to try new things and in some ways check it off “my list”. I can honestly say that wakeboarding wasn’t on my list but I’m glad I’ve tried it a few times and that it is not me in the photo (I’m sure you know that already) but rather I took the photo of my friend, who is pretty good. I’ve used this photo as a happy moment because my friends pushed me to try something I was otherwise too afraid to try.

I’m not afraid of the water and even though I am not a strong swimmer, I love swimming. I wish I had more time and I wish I wasn’t as lazy so I could swim more often. I’m going to make my own wish come true. Anyway this photo made me realise that even though I may not be good at the sport, I am pretty good at taking sports/action shots. The featured photo is an action shot I took as he did a 360 turn. I have clearer photos but I chose this one on purpose because I thought it looked really cool. I love photography and how the camera captures moments that we may sometimes miss.

If anything, this is a reminder for me to get back on that horse (I guess board in this case) and try again. I have fallen into the water every time I’ve tried to stay on. Your body does get used to the pull of the cable but by the time my body was getting used it, I was exhausted. The anxiety is pretty intense too. Beginners, such as myself, are told to sit on the platform and slip our feet into the board, which is placed in the water. Once you’re ready, the guy (life guard I guess) gives you like a 5 second warning that the cable you’re holding on to which will be pulling you, is next, so that you may brace yourself (quite literally). This is what not to do:

  1. Don’t  just focus on holding on to the cable for dear life as this will just pull you away from the platform at which feels like the speed of light and you will be slammed into the water which feels like a cement floor (of course I exaggerate but not that much.)

Instead, try doing this (as I was instructed, but I didn’t listen or learn) lock your elbows to your sides and bend your knees, this is meant to pull you on top of the board rather than just pull you off the floor and make you fly (which is terrifying and not as fun as you might think, I felt my arms would come off so I had to let go… and letting go is scary).

I was going to continue the list of what not to do, but that pretty much covers it, in relation to my experience. I only went 4 times and on the 4th time I did manage to stay on the board, gliding for probably the longest 3 seconds of my life, it was marvellous and then I lost my balance and fell into the water . The sense of achievement I felt when I was in those 3 seconds is completely priceless.

I will go back, soon and one day post a photo of myself, posing with one hand as I glide smoothly across the water. Until then, I may continue sharing my sports photography :).

Selectively Curious©

Koalas can pass for humans…they may have the koalafications (100happydays – Day 6)

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I love animals.

I love how animals have more in common with us than we might think. We’re all connected somehow regardless of species. Taking anti discrimination to a whole new level, we are all one. Though, having thought about it, I guess we aren’t not really because humans eat certain animals and well let’s not get into that.

The point I was trying to make is that whilst on this planet, I think it is important to treat everyone with the utmost love and respect, no matter how hard that may be. Having said all that, I would like to take a moment and stress that I understand that it is somethings quite difficult, especially when it involves “creepy crawlies.” I dislike cockroaches immensely, I don’t kill them but that’s only because I am too terrified to come near it to kill it. Ah well it is what it is.

Anyway, going back to the point of this post, koalas share the same finger print as humans. That in itself is quite bizarre, because they are not primates and in terms of evolution their ancestors are separated by 70 million years of evolution. That’s quite a stretch for them to still have this trait. I do not want to get into the palaeontology of it all, frankly because it will divert away from the purpose of this post, which is not about evolution.

I found this fact to be quite interesting because until today I never thought about what the purpose of fingerprints actually was. Well apart from identification but it’s real natural purpose is to grasp. All along it was at the tips of our fingers and yet, I can safely say that only few of us grasped it. Pun intended.

It does make me so curious if there is a koala out there who has the exact finger prints as my own, we’d be finger print twins. That would be delightful 🙂

(featured photo: google image searched “koalifications”)

Selectively Curious©

Loch Ness (100happydays – Day 5)

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More than a year ago I went on my adventure to find the Loch Ness monster.

Ok, not really, I just went to visit the highlands and soak in the beauty that surrounds it and what a sight it was. Until my mini trip, I did not know that loch was actually pronounced lokh with the “kh” pronounced like a heavy Spanish J. Our tour guide was a jolly old Scottish man and the tour was on a bus. The driver’s seat of the bus would shake up and down as we drove along the beautiful streets of the highlands. My friend and I could not help but giggle at the sight of it. We were sitting directly behind his seat and him bouncing about as he told us various stories of the land was hilarious. I guess you just had to be there to really understand the hilarity of it all.

I’m sure most of you have heard about the Loch Ness monster. To those of you who don’t know this, the Loch Ness is the largest body of fresh water in Britain and it never freezes, maintaining a 4 degree Celsius throughout the year. Since its alleged first sighting in 1933, there have been various searches for the loch ness monster and it has never been found, officially. Though over the years there have been various reports of it being sighted and it is one of the main reasons people are drawn into the highlands of Scotland (other reasons being hiking and just the general beauty of the place) in the hopes of spotting the monster. Legend has it that it would draw in children, as if to play with them and give them a “piggy” back ride across the lake, only for it to drag the children down to their deaths and their livers would later be found washed up onshore. How random, I’d think the monster would also want to eat their livers for the added iron nutrition.

It’s quite curious why people have been on the look out for this, possibly, fictional creature for all these years. Some swear that they have seen it and I wonder, if it does really exist, if I would be fortunate enough to get a glimpse of it one day. Until then, I guess I can just enjoy the view, as it is gloriously magnificent. 🙂

Selectively Curious©