Ding Dong Wake Up

In an article I was reading recently, the writer talked about how much of precision is involved in a chef's job. He has to come up with a really good dish, as quickly as he can and he cannot afford to make mistakes. He cannot afford to have bad days. He cannot afford to slip up on time or taste. He has to be perfect and efficient every hour of his work. 

That got me thinking. I've always believed that being a computer professional is probably the easiest and least risky job. That's probably why they are available at the rate of a dime a dozen too. You can screw up, get pulled up for it and then you get on with your job. At worst, you lose your job and find another one. The worst you can affect is mucking up a client's figures. Money? Inventory? How harmful can it be? Compare it with the job of doctors who have a patient's life in their hands, builders, even tattoo artists... they have to get it right at first attempt every time. The repercussions are huge and ugly!

Yet, I've noticed how non-computer professionals complain a lot less than the so-called "software developers". It could be because they are in a chosen line of work, unlike the mass of computer techies. 

Stand back and look around you. As the cliche goes, stop to smell the roses. A computer job is probably a lot less precise and stressful than the others. If you disagree, you are probably one of those who take more stress unto themselves than is necessary. If you don't turn up at work tomorrow, the impact is minimal. 

I took a half hour out to make a few phone calls today. Forgot that I was at work, forgot the people around me, forgot the 'issues' I was trying to resolve. There's nothing like chatting up an old friend and exchanging gossips. It is one of the most beautiful experiences of life. Hearing a voice from the good old days and laughing a lot, it blows away the stress of the day like it was nothing. 

Gold Coast @ $30

My meticulous calculation had ended in at least a couple of hundred dollars for the trip. The actuals were $30. Yes, that's right. Talk about savings!

Of course, we decided not to do the Theme Parks this time. Then the husband had a brainwave (uh-oh). We took the gorgeous beast sitting in our garage for a second outing. The "poor man's Harley Davidson", as the owner calls it, licked the roads of Surfers' Paradise. Quite an adventure it was, riding the cruiser at 100 to 110kph, on the highway. As cruisers are not quite built for that speed or such a journey, the beast protested by gently swaying occasionally but was generous enough not to cause more fuss than that. No doubt, it was the husband's uncanny 'auto skills' at display. Even when the wind threatened to blow my helmet away and had me clutching at it with one hand, he drove single-mindedly like there was nothing bothering him.  

To give myself some credit here, my navigator skills were put to test when we forgot to pick up the directions I'd meticulously observed on google maps and written down on a piece of paper. I did well, I must say, we never got lost. Once we arrived, it was the herculean task of finding parking. Not a single bike in sight. Where do we park? We decided that a car park was as good as any. Not too sure of that, we cruised about until we reached what looked like a residential area, with parking allowed on both sides. Free parking, woohoo! 

The beach was one of the best I have seen. White sheets of sand, cool against our feet and a cool breeze all the while. The sun was out, just enough for light but not too hot. It was the first time I've been at the beach in a not sunny weather. It is nice. The water was beautiful. The white waves looked picturesque against the two shades of green and a shade of dark blue of the water. I've never seen a single beach with water of different colours before. The natural shades were simply fantastic. 

After a quick lunch of beef steak sandwich, fish & chips, we walked around the Centro mall. It was interesting in a funny way. The husband almost got caught by a group of girls in blue cheerleading dress with pom-poms participating in some sort of a competition that required him to buy something at the condom store in the mall. This, just as we nearly crossed the road to avoid the group in red & black, then continued on, not finding them around. Little did we know that group was on to the next phase of their 'treasure hunt' and the pom-pom girls were hunting their prey.

After over half an hour of trying to master the art of shooting a boomerang and have it fly back to us, we packed up. The best we could do was make it fly with a swoosh and turn around a wee bit. The fun was in watching the sea-gulls swoop down each time the boomerang fell to the ground, and flying away just as quickly as we approached. Pretty birds!! Reminded me of one of my favourite books. 

Soon, dark clouds formed in the sky and we decided to get home before the storm got us. We never found out if the stormed came crashing down in Gold Coast because all we felt was a light drizzle as we circled a bit, looking for an exit to the highway. Once we found it, it was another adventure at 100kph, flying down the Pacific Motorway. This time, the bike shook less, in spite of the strong wind because I had shifted my seating position and let the husband get better control of the beast. My bums never stopped talking long after I got home. I think they hate me now. 

To celebrate taking a day trip at less than 1/4th of the estimated price, the husband and I decided to treat ourselves to a movie. Suffice to say we spent more on those 2.5hrs of 'Inception' than we did on our little beach outing. We deserved it, that is our excuse.