Stuck on you

What is guaranteed to distract you? What is your “Ooh, shiny!”? asks a WordPress employee who proclaims:  “I like to think of myself as a focused, disciplined person. I make lists, I schedule my day, I plan my work and work my plan.”

I wished I could proclaim that I am an ode to discipline but then I would disgrace another value which is important to me namely honesty.   For a person who is attention deficient just about anything is guaranteed to be Ooh Shiny. But as I need to work and live and be productive and function, I need to know this and take measures to compensate. If in your professional live you react to all the shininess it will certainly take the shine off your abilities. And this is also true of your personal life. Too much shininess is fool’s gold.

Having said that I believe the most hardened disciplinisyst (of course there is such a word – you are seeing it right in front of you)  would have been distracted by the Stick Insect as it materialized out of the blue onto my upper-arm and started the long trek down to my hand. For some it may have been an AARGH or EEK (i.e. less shiny) but for me it was certainly a photo opportunity. I also realized that it already had a much longer trek at speeds it would not be accustomed to.

In the post Electrifying Order I mentioned how I cycled up a mountain in between the Electrical pillars and going down the mountain certainly produced electrifying adrenaline. But what I didn’t mention is that I saw a Stick insect on a bush, took a few photos of it and then continued taking photos of the surrounding view from the mountain (being the reason why  I cycled up there). When I returned to the bush ( which was next to my my bicycle and blue daypack), the Stick insect was gone. Pity as it was the first time ever I saw a live Stick insect. After my “electrifying” ride down the mountain I took the daypack off and immediately saw the insect on my arm. The Stick must have stuck to the blue daypack all the way down and rubbed off on my arm or climbed onto my arm when I took off the rucksack! This time it had all my focus and I displayed it on the wooden railing in front of the chalet where we were staying for a proper fashion shoot.

I assume it is a Stick Insect – not my field of expertise. The body remained straight I did not see it bend once or curl up its back end.

And here is a 3d photo for you without 3d glasses being necessary. It is clad in South Africa’s sport colours – the green and gold. I therefore make the logical deduction that that in the insect world they are the national cricket team (and take turns to be be the cricket stumps).

The wrong end of the stick looks like a head with eyes and pincers to confuse it’s enemies. That is called something – maybe the entomologists out there (amateur or professional) can help me out. Or maybe it is just an insect tow truck operator…

⇑ Later that day I drove (with the car this time) to go and take photos of a hops plantation (I was obviously on leave) but ooh shiny-ed myself and stopped to take this photo.  A crow is literally distracted by and gathers shiny objects thus appropriate to include the photo here. The photos of the hops can be accessed via an Afrikaans post – but I assure you the photos speak all languages. KOM HOP(S) SAAM MET MY!

A few years ago when we had the financial crises (I work in the financial industry) I was reminded that assets and shares inherently remain fool’s gold as do gold itself. We cannot do without it, even if you do not invest in it your pension fund does but…

You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver 1 Peter 1:18… to read further click here