July 8th 2008:
I had a day off today!!!!!
It was so lovely to have a lie-in and know i didn't need to be up for any reason.So i stayed in bed until about 10am (yes thats a lie-in now!!!) And then i went and chilled out by the pool and read my book.I don't know if i have mentioned already but i have really got back into my reading being here and have already taken out like 6 or 7 books from the library we have here. I think with being on my English degree i forgot what reading for pure pleasure was and so i am really glad to be back into it again. I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" which is an absolutely amazing book.It really got me interested in history and the stories and relationships surrounding Henry VIII and his era! So i am beyond happy that i have resumed my reading,although no doubt by the time September comes back around i will be reading for my studies again.But don't think that i don't love my course material because i do,for the most part. It is simply that sometimes i miss reading something simply for the sake of enjoying a good book!!When you have to study a book in detail it can make or break it for you,because you either discover a new level of genius behind the words or you realise that it isn't all that it seems in the first place.

Anyway...after i had read by the pool i came back to the apartment and relaxed some more and sent a few e-mails and updates to people and just enjoyed having time to do so. I also wrote some postcards so as soon as i can get hold of some more stamps i am gonna send those on,which i am excited about because i enjoyed writing them. Another simple pleasure which i had forgotten,writing. I mean please don't get me wrong i still enjoy typing my updates and little messages and memo's on my laptop but i find that there is a certain unexplainable pleasure in putting pen to paper and writing whatever first enters my head.But then again,thats probably just me.

Then this afternoon,Luke came over and we chilled out and caught up on events and gossip and whatnot and then we headed over to Magic Kingdom to go find a present for his friend Becky and also so i could go on some rides that i had not yet had the chance to experience.We spent about 2 hours finding the perfect gift and thinking up an engraving for the miniature glass slipper we choose!Once that was done with,the real fun began. I got to go on the Peter Pan ride,which was one of y favorites so far, it was amazing.You go round and take the trip to Neverland,like they do in film.You go into their bedroom and over London and to Neverland and its amazing.It's all done while your sitting in a flying boat and you feel like you're a hundred feet up because everything below you is miniature.I also did Space Mountain,which was amazing, it was so crazy because it throws you up and down and to the sides and it's pretty intense but it is deffo one of the best rides by far :D I would say it was easily equal to Rock n Rollercoaster!!!

While we were in the cue for Space Mountain, me and Luke got onto the topic of religion.Luke is a pretty religious kind of guy and i don't blame him.He has been brought up with religion and he believes in what it stands for. I,on the other hand, have not been brought up surrounded by religion,really my Nana Hopkinson is the only truly religious person in my family and so i have not been raised with a typical "Christina" upbringing.It was intriguing to listen to the answers Luke gave me to some of my questions and one of them resounds with me quite deeply and so i wish to share it with you...
I posed the question as to why God would kill innocent children with diseases such as cancer if he was such a fair and loving being.
His answer was simple...(not a direct quote,but the general gist!!)
God,is rewarding these children for being phenomenal beings by letting them enter Heaven (a happier and better place than earth).We often see death as a punishment but it is only a punishment for those of us left behind to deal with it.Those who leave us are going to a better place and so Luke explained that maybe the children he chooses to leave earlier are children who have touched the lives of others and have inflicted a powerful change on lives and therefore should be rewarded for their strength by receiving an early departure from the world we live in ,that can be so cruel. And instead,giving them the chance to be in a happier place for much longer ands pare them the heartaches they may face living in a world like the one we live in today.
I had never before considered this view and was surprised to find that i agreed strongly with it. I like that idea of seeing these deaths as a reward for them rather than a punishment for us. It was truly enlightening and although i cannot profess that i will revert to a life of Christian faith and solid belief, i would definitely like to hear more about some of the options and alternative explanations that they have to offer.

So today was full of firsts for me :)