Focus

Disclaimer first, being that Luca is currently using me as a makeshift (and somewhat gangly) climbing frame even while I type. With this, I'm surmising that many sections of today's post will make little sense, or at the very least be littered with typo's. 

Now that my excuses are set in concrete, we can continue with the usual nonsense in arial lower case. Above is a scene seemingly ripped directly from "20000 Leagues Under The Sea". Obviously Kirk Douglas has aged well, as a cherubic 6 year old grins from within his air filled chamber. In reality, this was the first picture taken during our midweek trip to Deep Sea World, located under the Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh.

As anyone who's been caught in the tractor beam of his incessant chattering lately can verify, Luca has an absolute obsession with our undersea world. I can't quite recall when his interest was first piqued (though it was encouraged greatly by his visit to Granda Ian's fish factory a year or so ago) but over the past several months he's become more and more fascinated. He even frequently chooses to watch the Discovery Channels on TV over watching cartoons when we have the television on now. Above is a picture of Luca in the undersea tunnels. The grin was permanent.

One of the sharks as it swam overhead, one of the many times I though Luca would meltdown in utter excitement.

 "Luca, stand still for one second so I can take a picture of you"
 "But Dad, look at that and that and that and that and........"

A decent variety of creatures were present, including a set of seals. The one pictured approached the fence where Luca stood and was no more than a foot from him for a few moments. Luca's conclusion? "He doesn't smell very nice"

On our way out, predictably with toy tat from the gift shop in tow. The overpriced plastic nonsense was worth the money for that permanent grin however.

Still on the fishy related theme, the picture above was taken earlier this afternoon in Aberdeen's Maritime Museum. I've lost count of the number of times he's begged to be taken here now, with the picture above showing his (strangely) favourite bit - an old poster showing the different fishes native to our shores. I wonder if my Dad has anything similar at his factories............

But that's the fun over. As of tomorrow both myself and Carole return to work (and Luca to school) after the Christmas/New Year break. A bleakly depressing prospect. Perhaps I've allowed myself to become too sedentary during the period but I'm struggling to motivate myself to return tomorrow. I will of course, as everyone feels like this from time to time but I'm struggling to see a real point in what I do for a living. Is this the onset of middle age depression?

My questioning was exacerbated on Friday when I bumped into an ex colleague at a race. He works for Scottish Athletics these days, having taken the brave jump from our industry. He'd been sacked from a few companies in the logistical game (turnover in our industry is exceptionally high) and eventually came to the conclusion that he shouldn't bother soldiering from company to company, but instead make the leap into doing something he actually wanted to so instead. I envy him.

On the subject of the run, it was one of 3 races in 4 days I entered last week - a 10K, then a 3K, then a 5K. Great fun jumping between the distances, I really enjoyed it. I'd never ran a 3K before, which essentially is a sprint and really good stuff. The 5K was terrific too, and I obliterated my PB in the process. My favourite, however, was the 10K. Carole and Luca had come along to watch me finish, and I heard a small voice screaming "Dad, Dad" from the crowd with just under 1K to go to the finish line. Instinctively I ran off course to locate the young one, and re-entered the race hand-in-hand with Luca. Unbelievably (albeit at a slow pace) he managed to run non-stop with me to the finish line. It was lovely, I was very proud of him.

To finish, in horse related news, we'll know in the next week or so whether any (more) relapses are likely as Harvey comes off the drugs. The likelihood and best courses of action are well discussed, but for now it's just a matter of waiting.

**Useless fact of the day - In 1954's "20000 Leagues Under The Sea", The film opens on what purports to be a copy of Jules Verne's original novel. The book is turned to Chapter One, which is titled "Alarming Rumours!" The actual title to Chapter One in Verne's novel is "A Shifting Reef."**