The D Monster!!

Hello petals

Well, here in Colombo there is an autumn of sorts happening! As most of you will know, autumn is my favouritestestest ever ever season and I thought that I would miss it dearly... but Sri Lanka has its own, somewhat tropical version. For one thing, it's considerably cooler than it once was (back in April I was almost baked Bec on toast!) and for another, every day is presenting the most spectacular storms. Absolutely stunning. Sometimes they're right above us and they make the house shake (that's not my most favourite part!), but at others they're distant rumbles, or silent flashes that illuminate the whole sky for a split second - that's what I love.

Lately life has been making me slow down and simplify and, although it was a bit of a painful process at the time, I'm now starting to feel the benefits.

Part One Of the Slow-Down Process

On my second day in Malaysia, at the beginning of a holiday that should have been KL, Melaka, Singapore and then Borneo, I had all of my stuff (with the exception of clothes and toiletries: phew!) stolen on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Two people on a motorbike whisked away my shoulder bag before I had time to say, "Goodness me!"; depriving me of my passport, all cash, all cards, MP3 player, mobile phone, digital camera, watch AND my Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei! You can imagine the implications of this! (Note to self: split up your valuables and wear your money belt on your person. Fool!) As luck would have it, I had friends in the city who were absolute angels and rescued me! I had a somewhat sedate break in KL and, briefly, Melaka... awaiting my new passport and exploring the country as cheaply as possible!

The Slow-Down Process Part Two

One day I suddenly developed a rather high temperature - the first time in my life that I've felt boiling hot AND freezing cold at the SAME TIME, plus a number of other yummy symptoms. After a hellish night of trying to make myself stand up and go to hospital, I finally made it there in the early hours of a Colombo morning and, da da daaaaa, the dengue monster had got me! Eight days, pain, nausea, rash and far too many needles later, I emerged from hospital and flopped into my own bed to begin the recovery process. Three weeks later (from the onset, that is) I'm still able to do little more than go to work and sleep (although writing this much in one mega writing fit is a definite sign of progress!). I'm sure you see the theme: slooooooooooooooooowing down! Most of the dengue time I wasn't able to read, or look at a TV or computer screen, so there was lots of time to contemplate and just be.

Doing battle with the

dengue demon

Apollo hospital, Colombo

Llch, rugby ball at the ready, making his

contribution to my recovery

Post-hospital confinement within my pink mozzie net...

wondering if the world was still out there

The outcome is that I've made some decisions. How delicious it is to make decisions... especially for someone like me ;) I'm not going to write about them here yet, but suffice to say that I feel great about having made them. The future is looking brighter again... I think I may have created the time and space that I need to finally move on from the last two years. Here's hoping :)

More on that next time... the energy levels are finally giving way. Home for the festivities in a MONTH! Woooooo!

Wishing you health, happiness and an encounter with something thought provoking each, each and every, every day!

x X x