Morton Island and Buddah: The Brillance of Time Off

There are times to write a paper, and there are times to drink beer. There are times to have a victory massage in Austin, and there is a time to run a code at a hospital. There are times to walk along the Great Wall of China, a time for Stonehenge in College, for PICU in Austin, and there is a time in this crazy life to hang out at the Colosseum. 

Yesterday however, was not the time to worry about the papers I have due next week:

 

When I was getting ready for the interview for school, I started preparing myself on what UQ was all about - what their epistemology is. It boils down to a brilliant point one of my professors made: 

"the best theory, is one you make up every time you see a client. All of the theories fit together, but the words don't."  

(god i love school)

Another thing they're teaching me is something called "mindfulness" which is basically knowing "what time it is."

It is not time to worry about school: 

 

Grad school is a marathon. I'm worried that I'm not working hard enough some weeks, and overworking others. At the end of the day, its a 40 hour a week job on good weeks, 60 on normal weeks, and 80 on tough weeks. I'd like to think its the same work-week for everyone else, no?

 There is enough time in the week for me to enjoy what Australia, UQ, the Quest Society and life in general has to offer. Things I'll rarely have the opportunity to do, like sand-boarding in a desert.

Rare things, like snorkeling around old ship wrecks. 

Quest is a society of foreign exchange students run by Australian's. They take us all over, Byron Bay a few weekends ago, and now Morton Island...all of an hour and a half out of the city. My goal one night during our camp fire was to:

(a) meet everyone, and,
(b) get a picture with the nationalities represented.

France

Germany

 Ireland

Norway

Australia (obvioulsy, haha)

Canada.

The things I'll rarely have the opportunity to do:

Sand-board in a desert, snorkel with sharks, meet the people above on an island in Australia. Things like, running a code at a hospital, having a victory massage after getting into UQ, walking Stonehenge, the great wall, or the Colosseum. Jumping out a plane, or riding across the Korean coast line.

I've finally been able to pull all that motorcyle-riding, sky-diving, sand-boarding, into something that matters. I did it in an American hospital, a Korean classroom, and now an Australian University.

I think that is what keeps me going here; knowing that there is more to learn, more to see, more people to meet, more things to do, in all aspects of life - both professional and personal. It has me going to bed with a goofy-ass smile on my face and bouncing out of bed in the morning with that same smile. 

That cognition forces me to think about what I want to do, all-day-every-day. What's next?!?

That cognition doesn't belong in Morton, or for that matter, on this brilliant night in Brisbane. Its not time (at all) to work in Busan, Beijing, or Rome. Its not time to think about the massive paper I'll be working on all week, its not time to go to work, or ride a bike...it was time to worry about that shark. 

Buddhist mindfulness kept me from getting bit by a shark. 

Me and this crazy life will get there. (there, read: corner-offer at UT and a grown-up life). Its not time for that yet though. 

I'm just a young man living to make me old.

Live high, ya'll.