Sharks and fruit

Here I am back at work after the long and lovely holiday break, and I remembered that I didn't write about a particular preoccupying thought that has been floating in and out of consciousness since Christmas time. Around Christmas time, a few shark attacks were reported on the news, one of them in northern Sydney (about two to three hours south of where we were staying at Marcus' mom's house). I was a little freaked out about going swimming in the ocean over the next few days, but went anyway. The shark attacks weren't around our beaches. Uh huh. Well I'm reading through the latest shark attacks today (there were one or two yesterday and then another one today) and there was a shark attack at one of the beaches we went swimming at during Christmas. Creepy. Though I must say, these Aussies are very good at fighting back and punching the sharks and certainly not all of the attacks (and possibly most of the attacks) are not fatal. Most of the people also make reference to knowing that they're in the sharks' domain and that they're really not to be blamed. The family of one guy that was killed from a shark attack specifically said they didn't want the shark killed. I suppose shark attacks are just the norm here, especially at this time of year. However, I do not like shark infested waters and will be quite happy to stay in the shallow and very clear waters when I go to the beach.

Apparently the jellyfish are another force to be reckoned with. I've gotten warnings about the blue bottle jellyfish and read about them here and there. The first time I went to Bondi (probably the most famous beach in Australia) we were walking along the beach and I saw a dead blue bottle washed up on the shore. It instills confidence...

I also saw a news program the other day saying there had already been 50 spider bites reported to the hospital this summer season, then the news report went on to show these gigantic spiders in jars, being poked far too close to a human hand. People also catch poisonous spiders so they can be used for to cure bites. I imagine that after being bitten by one of those spiders, you would want to stay as far away from it as possible. But I suppose it would be better to catch them so you can cure yourself, though.

Ew, enough spider talk.

On a positive note, the office has now decided to implement a trial at providing complimentary fruit to their employees to encourage healthy snacking. This follows their decision to stock up on green tea and chamomile tea over on the beverage side (though my floor suspiciously has no green tea and a giant collection of chamomile tea...I think they're trying to keep us in a daze). However, I have a nice little collection of peppermint green tea of my own that I drink out of a giant starbucks mug every day. I love giant mugs. I love mugs in general, and along with the mug that Bec just brought me back from Prague that says "Czech Me Out", my newest favorite mugs are red little hug mugs. It's the perfect shape for maximum hand-cup contact in order to keep the mits warm, which is a favorite occupation of mine due to the blue fingernails I often acquire...ya love this circulation...
Other than that, it's just reading (The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, a fictional book about medieval cathedral building and the people involved--a long one, but an easy read), working out, bbq's, and being lazy. Though yesterday I made a batch of chocolate coconut cookies with white and dark chocolate bits. Pretty tasty.

Comments

-::bee::- said…
That spider is trying to give you a high five.
January 12, 2009 at 9:19 AM
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