shark attack

My sister has been living in Australia for 6 months. We normally skype once a week and from my laptop screen I've watched her gradually get more and more tanned and more and more relaxed. The laid-back, outdoor Aussie lifestyle obviously suits her - I'm sure the constant sunshine definitely helps too! So there we were today, having a good catch up and I said that I'd been swimming this morning with a friend. My sister mentioned that she's considering signing up for a triathlon but doesn't know which distance to pick, should she pick the one with the longest swimming leg as it's likely to be her strongest category or a shorter leg as she doesn't want to spend too long in the sea because of sharks. Now I know there are sharks in Australia, and box jellyfish and numerous deadly snakes and spiders. I've been there myself. But I hadn't quite realised how much of a problem sharks were if you wanted to hit the beach. I thought they rarely attacked people but apparently I'm wrong. My sister, quite casually, told me that there have been 5 shark attacks in the last 6 months in Perth and they now even have 'shark watch' helicopters patrolling the beach. (I googled this in case she was winding me up but it's true.) Apparently the trick is not to swim at dawn. Or dusk. Or if it's overcast. And you shouldn't swim too far away from shore. I know Aussie's are renowned for being laid-back but haven't any of them watched Jaws?! I can think of a far better way of preventing shark attacks - JUST DON'T GET IN THE SEA!

the dark of night

I've just got back from an amazing two week holiday to India - I'll write a separate post about it soon. Partly because there is so much to tell and partly because since I've been back, I feel like a total zombie and can barely think straight thanks to a mixture of jet-lag and insomnia. I've suffered from both before but it's amazing how quickly you forget just how hellish it can be. Not that my holiday wasn't worth it but I would like to sleep for more than a few hours a night now please. 


I've never been one of those people who can sleep anywhere at anytime, (although I've always wished I was), but I'm not normally this bad. Falling asleep is totally natural but as soon as you start being aware that you can't, it becomes downright impossible. It's an odd feeling, being awake in the middle of the night when it feels like the rest of the world is sleeping (easily). 


I woke up at 2.30am this morning and once I got passed the frustration and irritation of still being awake, tried everything else I could think of to get back to sleep. Meditation, warm glass of milk, reading a book, trying to breathe slowly and deeply, lie still and think of nothing. None of them worked. Worryingly, I seem to have had reverse jet-lag where I'm waking up earlier and earlier each night, not later. Anyway, today I have promised myself a trip to Boots to see if I can buy an over the counter something to help me. I'm not really an advocate of sleeping pills but if they can help me just get a few more hours so I start to feel more human and less clumsy, I reckon it's worth a go. Especially because we're coming up to one of the busiest times of year at work and I need to be sharper than I currently feel. At least my recent long haul flight has confirmed that I'm the right career; I have no idea how Pilots and Air hostesses cope with all those time zones. But then a job in the airline industry was never going to be for me - I really don't like flying.