Day 63...

WEDNESDAY 5.11.14 - I am thankful for... Paramedics

*Picture from sandgoanna.com.au

In case you weren't aware, today was 'Thank a Paramedic' Day! I honestly wished I had found out sooner because I see several a day, as I work in a hospital, and it would have been nice to tell one how much they are appreciated face to face. They are the unsung heroes of emergency medicine. First on the scene, on the front line, dealing with traumatic situations and sometimes even putting themselves in danger. They are even confronted with abuse from the very same people they are trying to help, usually due to drug and alcohol consumption by these patients. I myself have had a few personal experiences with being the patient paramedics have a attended too, and I can't speak more highly of them. One such instance was the first time I lost consciousness due to my heart condition. The two paramedics that came were named Nicole (my name) and Scott (my father's name). And if that wasn't coincidence enough, Scott and I had the same birthday! Weird! But besides that they were lovely and calm and extremely diligent. Because of this I considered a career as a paramedic myself, even going through several stages of the employment process but alas, it wasn't meant to be. So thank you to all the paramedics out there. You are a special people and you do a fantastic job without much credit. And if you are considering a career as one and have a heart for helping people, though I can't speak from experience I can imagine it would be terribly rewarding and encourage you to go for it.

Day 62...

TUESDAY 4.11.14 - I am thankful for... Enjoying fun festivities at work

Now today has been a very difficult one for me as I have been quite conflicted in my thankfulness topic...

Today here in Australia it was Melbourne Cup Day. The biggest event in horse racing calendar, the "race that stops the nation". I was looking forward to today. Though I was at work, the girls and I wore dresses and bought flower fascinators for our hair. Everyone brought yummy nibbles and soft drink. I'm not a gambler so the only time I ever really take a punt on anything is the Melbourne Cup, and even then it's just the work sweep. So I bought a few draws and hoped for the best. All for a bit of fun right?

The first moment I felt a little uneasy is when I saw about 10 grown men forcing one of the horses into the starting barrier. It did NOT want to go in and fought very hard against them. I thought at that time that it was unusual, seeing as these horses are born and bred to race, they have done this several times over to get to where they are now. So for a horse to not want to race or go in the barrier rose concern in me. But I'll admit once the race started I quickly forgot. We all clapped and cheered and barracked for our horses we had drawn in the sweeps. We congratulated the winners (sadly I was not one), ate and drank a bit more, then returned to our work. Shortly after the race we heard that one of the horses, the favourite to win no less, had collapsed and died on the way back to its stables post race. My heart sank. This poor, beautiful creature had just dropped and passed so quickly. They labelled it as a "heart attack" and he died of "natural causes". Natural causes in unnatural circumstances perhaps? Then I remembered the Melbourne Cup last year and how a horse broke its leg during the race and was put down immediately afterwards. Now, I want to stress that I am not by any means laying blame on anyone or passing any judgement. I do not know the first thing about horse racing or what it means to train a horse. I don't know how these horses are treated or how they are looked after, though the amount of money spent on these horses I always believed they were treated amazingly. I have not grown up in that environment and don't know anyone who has. So therefore I can't point the finger and say that he died because of the race. Maybe there were underlying health conditions or maybe it was just a freak tragedy, I don't know. What I do know is that my thankfulness topic was going to be the Melbourne Cup. So while I'm thankful for dressing up a bit and enjoying a relaxed 15mins or so with work colleagues during it, an animal died today which is connected to the race and, as an animal lover, I can't be thankful for that. Hence why I decided fun festivities at work was they way to go.

Hopefully this will change they way horses are raced, if that's what can be done to prevent such things from happening again. Death of animals to provide food or in defence of people, livestock and crops maybe be one thing, but death of animals in activities that are purely for human enjoyment? Unnecessary and disgraceful, and in saying this there are much, MUCH worse activities than horse racing. What I do know is that I will be wary of supporting such activities in future if deaths like this are linked directly to the activity. Of course this is purely my opinion based on what knowledge I do have, other people may feel and think very differently.

If you are a racing expert or have knowledge in such matters, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this matter. Please feel free to educate me on how it all works.

Day 61...

MONDAY 3.11.14 - I am thankful for...Anti-nausea tablets

Ok, so not a very enthralling one today. Work was unremarkable (in a good way) and nothing terribly bad happened, but I have just been a bit off since the weekend. Unfortunately it happens to me quite a bit, so I know it's just my body telling me I've either had too much on or pushed myself too far. So I had to stay home from bible study tonight (dislike!) and have a relaxing and early night. It's the nausea that affects me the most. I hate it! Actually, I don't know anyone who can stand it very well. Luckily for me, a little while ago, someone got me onto these anti-nausea tablets pictured above - not a great picture sorry but hey, I was feeling unwell. I honestly can't remember who. They are magic! I take one and within 15 mins I'm feeling so much better. I did still go to bed early, but at least I wasn't feeling too sick. So there you have it. If, like me, to are a victim to nausea every now and then, give these a go. I hope they work for you like they do me!

Day 60... Here already!

SUNDAY 2.11.14 - I am thankful for... Jacaranda Trees

I took a quick detour via home to do a load of washing before my bestie and I did a little sight seeing of Sydney before her flight home tonight. As I was hanging out the washing, my housemate's young daughter said to me excitedly, "Nikki, look at the purple tree!", purple being her favourite colour. I asked her if she knew what it was called, she shook her head, so I told her "It's called a Jacaranda Tree". You always know its spring when the Jacarandas start to bloom, which is a memory I have since being at primary school. The light purple flowers always look amazing in contrast to the green leaves of the trees around it and are found in many places around the world. There are several places here in Australia (that I know of) that have an annual Jacaranda Festival to celebrate. And did you know, the Chinese use the leaves to make a distinctive purple dye? There's your fun fact for the day. So I am thankful for beautiful and unique trees like the Jacaranda, that bring colour and life to spring.

Day 59...

SATURDAY 1.11.14 - I am thankful for... Water

Though I love summer and prefer hot weather to cold weather, today was very hot. The air-conditioning in our hotel room wasn't quite working properly, so our room was a bit stuffy when we woke this morning. After a lovely breakfast, my bestie went off to her conference session for the day and I went off to my Zumba class. It was quite fortunate we were staying about a 5-10min walk away from my usual Saturday morning class! There were so many people in the class today that everyone was dying of the heat afterwards; I was as red as a tomato and I must have gone through my entire water bottle in about 45mins! On the way back to the hotel I walked past the harbour and took the picture above, the water looked so inviting I wanted to just dive in! I also went to the hairdressers to get my hair done for the Gala Formal Dinner we attended tonight, as did my bestie, and halfway through it absolutely bucketed down with rain. Luckily, it had subsided so we didn't ruin out hairdos before the ball (First World problems, right?). When thinking about what I was thankful for today it did seem quite obvious... water. I am thankful that we can drink water to replenish our thirst. I am thankful we can swim in water at the beach, in a pool or lake (NOT the Sydney Harbour) for recreation and to cool down. I am thankful that here we have an abundance of water to bathe in and wash our hands to keep clean. I am thankful we have rain to water our earth when it needs it. Whilst I'm aware that water can be a strong and unforgiving force of nature (flooding and drought) there is no way we could ever live without it. Afterall, our own bodies are 70% water! Even though it seems to us that water is "always there", it's not the case for everyone around the world. I choose to not take it for granted.

Day 58...

FRIDAY 31.10.14 - I am thankful for... City Lights

One of my bestie's is here for a medical conference and she invited me to all the fun things organised for this weekend! Woo! Tonight we went on a dinner cruise of Sydney Harbour and once the sun went down, the views of the city lit up were fantastic. The picture above is of Sydney Opera House (for those of you not familiar with Australian landmarks) with the CBD in the background. Unfortunately, I only had my phone which doesn't take the best photos at night, but I think you can get the idea. It was nice also to see my bestie enjoy herself so much, not having been to Sydney very often, and appreciate all the different sights around the harbour at dusk and night. Though the breeze was quite chilly, many people braved it to enjoy the harbour by night as well. I couldn't help but think of U2's song 'City of Blinding Lights' in my head as we went around! So all in all it was a great night, the dinner was delicious and we met some great people and enjoyed the sights. If you ever get a chance to do a harbour cruise by night, I highly recommend it.

Day 57...

THURSDAY 30.10.14 - I am thankful for... Starting my Christmas shopping early!

Since deciding to only give Christmas gifts from charities and non-profit organisations (I mentioned this in an earlier blog) I have gotten in early and started my shopping today. I love giving gifts, shopping around for each person hoping I get something they will really like, but there's also something a little extra special about knowing the money is going to a worthy cause.Several people are being blessed by each gift I buy, the recipient, the organisation and the people/animals/places that are recipients of the organisations help. However, this is not as easy as it sounds because obviously your shopping options are a little more limited that just going to the local Westfields and doing it all it one hit. So today I had an idea of a few people's gifts and have gotten straight into it, knowing most of it will have to be done online and to prevent any stress as we get closer to Christmas. It's coming up quickly, and I planned to be super dooper prepared!