Damsel(s) in Distress!

I thought about this title two weeks ago when my climbing buddy fell from 10 feet high while climbing a boulder. It's not supposed to be a major issue, I don't think, unless one landed awkwardly - like on one side of her foot and proceeded to sprain her ankle. She had all the necessary attention to her injury but still hobbled around at the airport while I became her "blessed" porter.

I say "blessed porter" because we both happened to be travelling out of the country two Sundays ago. She was off to Singapore for work, while I was on my way to Bangkok. And since our flights were an hour apart, I was able to help push her luggage trolley along with mine while she concentrated on walking with three legs (the third being the walking stick acquired from a Mt Kinabalu climb some years ago!)

She resolved to requesting for and travelled on a wheelchair when she got to Changi Airport ... LOL!

With her injured, I too am in distress because ...

1. I now have to get used to climbing alone. And if I don't have a buddy, I can't do top-rope climbing and am restricted to bouldering, and even then, not where it involves climbing upwards (since I have no one to spot me), but rather traversing the boulders ... which really means I will visit Camp5 a lot less than I would like to ... except for doing fun climbing with my new climbing buddies ...

2. The reduced exercise each week has caused some restlessness that in turn may have led to sleepless nights. This all began while I was in Bangkok and has continued until now. The buckwheat tea one evening seemed to have been the miracle cure for insomnia, but then I really couldn't tell if that was THE reason I slept soundly that evening, or the fact that I had not slept a wink in two nights.

Given my resolution and theme to upgrade myself in 2008, it appears that being a damsel in distress has some positive perspectives as well ... the one-on-one private coaching for the time being should technically improve my climbing in leaps and bounds.

The other is I've made tremendous progress with my knitting. For the first project, I am almost at 20 inches with the first sleeve and if I work at this, I should be able to finish it during the Chinese New Year holidays.

I also started a second project - a neck scarf, which I hope can be completed soon, and should be on to a third piece - a simple cardigan.

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This has been a week of milestones ...

1. I've moved to a bigger room so I now have more space to spread the mess! And I think my room looks a lot neater and more tidy. I no longer see match-box cars crawling the streets of KL highways from the 65th floor room at the Twin Towers offices, rather I see the busy traffic of human silhouttes passing by just outside my room and heading towards the entrance/exit of the office. In short, I now have a window-less room and a different kind of view ... like a fish in a fish bowl ... feeling somewhat trapped!

2. I've also been offerred the opportunity to study again. And I really want to do this. While this is great news, it is under prayerful consideration as many factors need to come together before i can spread my wings and begin to fly with this mission. But right now, I need to figure out how to make ends meet ... my wings feel clipped!

So, in short, I feel like a "damsel in distress" ... but certainly not as bad as having kicked off my own fins while swimming against strong currents during the first dive on Christmas Day in Koh Bon last December!

OK ... as history and Hollywood dictate, the damsel in distress ought to have her Prince Charming/hero come to her rescue. Well, either I am blind or he's really late ... .

For all the good times and challenges in life, Psalm 136 bids us all to give thanks to God for His faithful love for us endures forever. This I will do.