Week 35: 5 more days now, just 5 more days!

isn't it funny how things work themselves out in this world that we live in? 4 years ago, when i was a 19-year-old green-eyed undergraduate, i was asked this question: where do you see yourself in 5 years' time? i answered, in my then self-effacing wit, that i would most likely be working at some mediocre, possibly sub-par marine biology-related job, barely earning enough to keep myself in motion. well, it's nearly 5 years on now, and through twists, turns and severely good bouts of luck, i am now standing at the cusp of being an expeditioner on an Antarctic research program funded by the good tax payers of Australia (i know i know, you guys must be fucking bored of hearing me speak about the frozen southern wastelands but i promise this will be the last time).

truth be told, i've never in my life imagined myself to be an Antarctic researcher, and i'm still tossing that thought around my head wondering how the choices i've made along the way have led me to this path that i am on today. i always imagined myself working in a tropical environment - somewhere nice and warm; well, the tropics and antarctica are worlds as far apart as you can imagine.

what am i thinking?

5 more days to go and suddenly i've lost the enthusiasm and eagerness that i had felt when i was down at the Division. it is finally hitting home that i WILL be missing out on a lot of things; things that i thought i would be able to handle, but right this moment, that ability is beginning to look quite doubtful.

matters of career aside, my, ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW THINGS HAVE WORKED THEMSELVES OUT?? baklava, you know how much i love your sweetness, because i have an extremely sweet-tooth. you may be rather nutty sometimes, but that's what keeps me enthralled in your charms - the nuts i can handle; the crunch and crackle keeps me coming back for more. ever since i first had a taste of you 4 years back by accident, i've found myself entirely hooked on you, you're my dessert of choice. even though i was warned by many sources that you were drowned in enough honey to give someone acute Type 2 diabetes, i guess it's a chance that i was, and still am, willing to take. your cloying sweetness, sometimes overwhelming, still manages to pull surprises on me even though i think i know you so well. so many facets, baklava, you offer so much variety: rose-syrup, pistachio, walnut - it's enough to keep me entertained for a long long time!

you are my guilty pleasure, my turkish delight, my drug-like addiction (even though you are just honey-and-nut-filled pastry), and possibly my downfall. but who cares? i know i don't and i know that everytime i am done with the main course, you will be my first and only pick on the dessert menu.