An Epic Weekend

I was lying in bed, trying to sleep away the emptiness. I experience moments and sometimes entire days where everything is covered in meaninglessness. Like no matter what I do I can't feel anything. The world is devoid of joy. I've learned over the years though, to not get so attached. Mental and emotional states come and go, and if I practice non-attachment then life retains a certain lightness no matter what, because I'm identifying with a deeper part of my being that is beyond thoughts and emotions.

I heard footsteps and looked out the window to see Silva walking up the steps with someone else. After they came downstairs that's when I remembered a Chinese helper was arriving today. I got up to meet the man. Jacob. He's been a student at The University of Queensland studying economics and wanted to change it up during his time off. He was amazed at the location and environment of the home.

One of the first questions Elissa asked him was, "What's your real name? Your Chinese name?" It's a funny situation because teachers in China obviously do not know Australian culture because they will tell students they need to change their names to fit in better, but the reality is Australians are so straight forward, they think "What are you trying to hide? Just tell me your real name." Haowen Guo.

Haowen was like a little kid taking everything in. "Ahhh it's amazing." He noticed the trampoline and it was the first time he ever saw one in person. As he jumped on I joined him, and just watching him trying to balance, his limbs flopping around like rubbery pencils, I couldn't help but burst into laughter, especially after secretly bouncing him higher and higher. Exactly what I needed. Afterwards I was on the couch reading and Elissa seemed to intuitively read my feelings of emptiness and came up to me all excited like a little kid full of unconditional love, "cuddle time!" I'm already saying I love you to this family.

As dinner was being prepared, sitting outside on the sofa, Haowen opened up my world to Chinese culture, explaining all the exotic food in the different regions of China, some history, China's relationship with Japan, the corruption in the government & school system, and lots more. At this point I have some mental momentum building which is making me feel better by the second. There is no substitute for traveling the world and being immersed in different cultures. Haowen said he loves spicy food so during dinner I gave him some exceptionally hot cayenne pepper. A few seconds later, "Oh my god." "Oh my god" ah ha. "I thought you liked spicy food Haowen!" As his mouth was on fire that's when I gave him a proper verbal welcome.

After that hilarious dinner I was teaching Haowen some of the daily work duties, taking full advantage of the fact that his English was good but not great. After a while he caught on that I was totally messin' with him. Hearing his accent and pronunciation of words I entered a state of hysterical laughter where everything was, for lack of a better word, hysterical. Soon we both couldn't stop laughing. I went to bed laughing that night.

From an internal perspective this day could be explained as this: From complete emptiness to non stop laughter. 

We kicked off the weekend with a early morning hike on one of the many trails in the local bush. Summer & Elissa got me into carrying weights in my backpack so I'm up to fifteen kilos at the moment. By the time I leave I'm gonna be a beast.

Group nap on the deck.

Even Siris joined in.

We had a heat wave come through this weekend so from about noon until four it's zombie land. One of the chickens died from old age and ten minutes into digging a grave my clothes were sticking to me from the humidity and sweat. I felt a burning on my leg and looked down to see heaps of jumping ants all over the place crawling up my legs. My leg went from burning to feeling like it was on fire for five minutes straight. They aren't poisonous, but damn did that sting! 

Perfect time for an afternoon journey to a local waterhole. It was so refreshing and peaceful. 

After I jumped in Summer gave me the update that there are eels, frogs, spiders that hide in the cracks and give out nasty bites, and other creatures lurking around. Thanks for the update Summer. 

Cheers everyone.

The new wildlife continues to inspire me.

Summer heat + waterhole + wildlife = a quality afternoon

Although Haowen doesn't know how to swim so he didn't get in.

That night as me and Haowen were sitting outside waiting for everyone else to get ready for Summer's local dance performance, listening to thunder that was so powerful it felt like it came straight from Zeus himself, he said, "ahhhhh this is life." Indeed. Indeed it is. Just before that, as the storm was coming in, the windows were still open and Haowen pointed out a large orange sized spider on the window that was right in front of me. Whoa! I'm chill with most spiders at this point, but if it can cover more than half my face it needs to be escorted outside the premises.  

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I swiped some off of Haowen's phone instead. Summer's dance included two other women and three chairs. No other word could be used to describe the dance other than sexy. Afterwards, the dance floor opened up, and that's when I saw Nick (who I've been going on hikes with) prowling in the outskirts. I immediately got up and brought him to center stage. Dancing is the best, especially when people that seem to be anxious or worried or too self conscious just let loose. 

Quality pics from Haowen. 

Silvanna having fun with some local clay that the Aboriginal's use as face paint. 

A new day and a new waterhole. This one was much more spacious and had some nice cliffs to jump off of. We picked up Summer's long time friend Jive (sweet name dude) and had another great afternoon. Recently Summer randomly came across research and anecdotal experiences praising the benefits of sleeping on the floor, and she inspired me to try it out. The main issue seems to be that because the muscles and tissues of the body have to conform to the mattress, they are never able to fully relax, as well as the fact that most beds are not good for long term posture and spine alignment. Me and her have an all or nothing mindset so we took pictures of our back and stomach and in three months we will be able to visually see any differences and feel any as well. 

From left to right. Summer. Haowen. Jive. Silvanna. Elissa. Tristan. Moi

It was Tristan's birthday so the day had many surprises and the food was exceptional. For dinner we had Seafood pilaf with scallops, salmon, prawns, and squid, vegetable flan, and a heavenly raw macadamia nut cheesecake (no dairy). 

Afterwards a dance party complete with fog and a disco ball Summer got in India. At one point I had my shirt off around my head doing robotic karate, Haowen was pullin' off some fresh Chinese moves, Elissa and Summer were dancing like hippy chicks in the sixties trippin' on acid, and Tristan was break dancing among other things. I secretly hid my camera (not that anyone would have cared) to capture the epic-ness. 

The night ended on a high note, going on a journey to look at some stars. We walked up to a decent spot and everyone layed out on the pavement. My two Australia sisters. My Aboriginal brother (Tristan is a civilized Aboriginal living in the modern world). And my Chinese brother. There were misty clouds blocking our view so we could only see a few stars, then a few minutes later it all cleared up magically. A few long stretches of silence just taking it all in, then a car swerved around the corner to see us laying on the pavement. Teehee. But wait, there's more. We walked down to a big pond where there was a mating frenzy of frogs taking place. I didn't know frog sex sounded so wild. There was a sound, i kid you not, that was the exact same as a woodpecker.

Summer and Elissa, being done with meditation & yoga classes for the year, had the rare opportunity of having a Sunday off, so we all (except for Eden cuz she had work) took a trip up the coast to the beautiful town of Noosa. First stop. Nutworks, which is a huge macadamia nut farm and across the street there happens to be a ginger factory. Ooooooo. The shop was intoxicating and I made the mistake of bringing in my wallet so I had to buy some chocolate covered goodies.

The Ginger Factory is like a tropical ginger Disneyland complete with rides and overpriced food and a train that goes around the outside. 

Being the ginger factory, I was hoping to enjoy a quality ginger beer, but instead I received a watered down artificially flavored drink with spirit alcohol added. "Hand crafted" my ass. 

We stopped at a local shopping center when we arrived in Noosa, purchased goodies for a picnic, and then drove the ten minutes to see Elissa's sister who lives right on a lake. 

Butterfliessssss

Picnic by a colorful saltwater lake + great company + pelicans + the deadly red bellied black snake = a refreshing afternoon. 

Lookin' fresh my Chinese brotha! 

Ladies and gents, I introduce you to the highly venomous red bellied black snake. As we were about to leave a bunch of nearby kids spotted it, and later it poked it's head out just so I could get a high quality picture. Thanks buddy. Enjoy swallowing all those frogs and other reptiles whole.

Tis' the season of snakes and mozzies

Cheers