Today I crystallized where I stand regarding sustainability and how it relates to my career:
I believe it is the most important issue we face in our times, worldwide, and I want to know I am a part of the solution and not just a bystander.
And it's not only about small things (which are still apparently unusual to most people - like having our electricity 100% renewable, or rolling my super into ethical investments, or rigorously recycling) - it is about making sure that my skills, what I do everyday in my job, has a positive impact.
Now, next step is to figure out what exactly my contribution will be...
I believe it is the most important issue we face in our times, worldwide, and I want to know I am a part of the solution and not just a bystander.
And it's not only about small things (which are still apparently unusual to most people - like having our electricity 100% renewable, or rolling my super into ethical investments, or rigorously recycling) - it is about making sure that my skills, what I do everyday in my job, has a positive impact.
Now, next step is to figure out what exactly my contribution will be...
Labels: career, sustainability
Weekend away in Jervis Bay
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 3:22 PM.
A couple of weekends ago there was wonderful weather in Sydney - warm and sunny, crisp autumn day. So just for the sake of enjoying the outdoors, we decided to go for a drive - and decided to go to Jervis Bay, 3hr drive down South Coast from Sydney. I wanted to go there for a while, since I heard that beaches in there have the whitest sand in the world. 4 years later, there we were, driving to spend a weekend in Jervis Bay :)
View towards Gerringong, a very cute little town on South Coast - 2 hrs from Sydney
Driving through Berry; in the Austrian clock shop - fascinating collection of cuckoo clocks :)
View towards Gerringong, a very cute little town on South Coast - 2 hrs from Sydney
Driving through Berry; in the Austrian clock shop - fascinating collection of cuckoo clocks :)By the time we got to Jervis Bay - stopping at lookouts, for coffee, for lunch - it was evening, and the glorious Saturday was over. We stayed at Dolphin Sands B&B - which I do not recommend by the way, not at the price we paid for it - but that's a different story, I'll surely be writing some warning to fellow travellers on TripAdvisor.
A pecularity of small towns, even touristy ones, in Australia - restaurants close early, after 9pm you won't find an open kitchen. But takeaway pizza was pretty good anyways :)
The beautiful thing about going away from a big city is that you start noticing stars again. That night the sky was full of stars, we could see Milky Way, and Saturn, it was beautiful. And due to amazing android smartphone application I could finally find the Southern Cross! (it's to this part of the world what the Polar Star is for Northern hemisphere). Seriously, how cool is that - you point a phone screen at the starry sky, and it maps the constellation on the sky! and picks out the stars for you, and even can find via special compass whatever the planet or a star you are looking for! pretty impressive, and I'm sure if people saw this technology 100 years ago they'd think we are aliens or witches or gods :)
The next morning however the weather turned; sky covered in clouds, and looked like it was going to rain, but considering we drove all this way, we decided to stick to the program :)
We drove through Huskisson, on to Hyams Beach - which officially is recognized in Guinness book of records as having the whitest sand in the world! not sure who checked every beach in the world for whiteness, but anyways :)
I'm sure this place is much more beautiful in good weather (as you can see by clicking on the link above), but it was still very nice:
They say when it's sunny, the sand is very bright - due to the some mineral in the sand that makes is creaky ans shiny; кварц I think
We then carried on into the Jervis Bay National Park ($10 entry); past Green Patch beach and camping area, to Murrays beach.
That was probably a highlight; smaller secluded beach, with sheltered, clear turquiose waters and eucalyptus trees by the water.
I can only imagine how beautiful it looks on a sunny day... well, will be definitely back to check :)
Someone has set up a camp on the cliff, and had a fire in a little cove off the beach; another guy had a hammock hung right on the beach; forbidden but or so tempting!
and a little forest visitor on the beach! this is a wallaby, a small kangaroo
unfortunately, soon after it started raining, and we packed up and went back to Sydney, driving the south coast tourist route from Nowra, and stopping in Gerringong for a cup of tea (I love that town!). Have to say, even in bad weather South Coast is lovely :)
Definitely going to be back in Jervis Bay for wandering and camping :)
A pecularity of small towns, even touristy ones, in Australia - restaurants close early, after 9pm you won't find an open kitchen. But takeaway pizza was pretty good anyways :)
The beautiful thing about going away from a big city is that you start noticing stars again. That night the sky was full of stars, we could see Milky Way, and Saturn, it was beautiful. And due to amazing android smartphone application I could finally find the Southern Cross! (it's to this part of the world what the Polar Star is for Northern hemisphere). Seriously, how cool is that - you point a phone screen at the starry sky, and it maps the constellation on the sky! and picks out the stars for you, and even can find via special compass whatever the planet or a star you are looking for! pretty impressive, and I'm sure if people saw this technology 100 years ago they'd think we are aliens or witches or gods :)
The next morning however the weather turned; sky covered in clouds, and looked like it was going to rain, but considering we drove all this way, we decided to stick to the program :)
We drove through Huskisson, on to Hyams Beach - which officially is recognized in Guinness book of records as having the whitest sand in the world! not sure who checked every beach in the world for whiteness, but anyways :)
I'm sure this place is much more beautiful in good weather (as you can see by clicking on the link above), but it was still very nice:
They say when it's sunny, the sand is very bright - due to the some mineral in the sand that makes is creaky ans shiny; кварц I think
We then carried on into the Jervis Bay National Park ($10 entry); past Green Patch beach and camping area, to Murrays beach.
That was probably a highlight; smaller secluded beach, with sheltered, clear turquiose waters and eucalyptus trees by the water.
I can only imagine how beautiful it looks on a sunny day... well, will be definitely back to check :)
Someone has set up a camp on the cliff, and had a fire in a little cove off the beach; another guy had a hammock hung right on the beach; forbidden but or so tempting!
and a little forest visitor on the beach! this is a wallaby, a small kangaroo
unfortunately, soon after it started raining, and we packed up and went back to Sydney, driving the south coast tourist route from Nowra, and stopping in Gerringong for a cup of tea (I love that town!). Have to say, even in bad weather South Coast is lovely :)
Definitely going to be back in Jervis Bay for wandering and camping :)
that time of the year again...
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Thursday, September 02, 2010 at 2:37 PM.
...when I get restless about purpose.
It's a funny time now, my age. I'm 27, and in some sense it's just the beginning, but on the other hand, as one of my friends wisely put, there are less and less things you do for the first time in your life. School, first day in uni, getting a first job, going for the first time overseas, it's all done.
Of course there are many other wonderful experiences awaiting - like family, and going skydiving, and the first day of retirement :)
And it's a funny feeling I have - should I hurry up and create some value, find purpose and not compromise on things I do, because the time is ticking and life is short?
Or can I still just be, because I'm still young, and things will happen when the time is right?..
Oh, the burden of over-achieving in your youth :) I cannot simply enjoy the comfort, there is a constant need, more urgent some days than others, to get to that bloody self-actualization pyramid top.
Here's to another restless evening...
It's a funny time now, my age. I'm 27, and in some sense it's just the beginning, but on the other hand, as one of my friends wisely put, there are less and less things you do for the first time in your life. School, first day in uni, getting a first job, going for the first time overseas, it's all done.
Of course there are many other wonderful experiences awaiting - like family, and going skydiving, and the first day of retirement :)
And it's a funny feeling I have - should I hurry up and create some value, find purpose and not compromise on things I do, because the time is ticking and life is short?
Or can I still just be, because I'm still young, and things will happen when the time is right?..
Oh, the burden of over-achieving in your youth :) I cannot simply enjoy the comfort, there is a constant need, more urgent some days than others, to get to that bloody self-actualization pyramid top.
Here's to another restless evening...
Labels: reflection, self-actualization, thoughts and feelings
Blasts from the past and why I love vthem
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 3:56 PM.
I had a great day today. You know these moments, when something unexpectedly good happens, and you just can't help but smile happily, just because? Well, today was a day like this :)
I got a message from a long-lost friend of mine, from those tender early AIESEC years, when everything was just the beginning. Didn't expect to at all, people from Belarus don't usually find me on facebook, but was so great to hear from him.
I love such blasts from the past, now probably more than ever - so many things happened in the last 10 years, that sometimes I don't remember all the good stuff.
And then there is this moment, and you go into your old emails just because this getting in touch made you nostalgic, and you find all these messages and see the younger self, and remember all that was important and dear at the time. And then you find more emails, from more people, and remember even more stories, and feel warm and fuzzy. I do, at least :) Was tough, too, often, but there were many things that inspired, that mattered...
Just feel so grateful for everything that happened, for all the people that were and are a part of my life. Makes me appreciate it all, and want to say thank you to all who hold dear. thank you :)
I got a message from a long-lost friend of mine, from those tender early AIESEC years, when everything was just the beginning. Didn't expect to at all, people from Belarus don't usually find me on facebook, but was so great to hear from him.
I love such blasts from the past, now probably more than ever - so many things happened in the last 10 years, that sometimes I don't remember all the good stuff.
And then there is this moment, and you go into your old emails just because this getting in touch made you nostalgic, and you find all these messages and see the younger self, and remember all that was important and dear at the time. And then you find more emails, from more people, and remember even more stories, and feel warm and fuzzy. I do, at least :) Was tough, too, often, but there were many things that inspired, that mattered...
Just feel so grateful for everything that happened, for all the people that were and are a part of my life. Makes me appreciate it all, and want to say thank you to all who hold dear. thank you :)
I recently decided to research if I'm eligible for Lithuanian citizenship.
I was born there, and inspired by my friends who got citizenship of countries like Italy by having one grand-parent from there, I decided to see if it would work for me. Surely it would as I was born and spent the first 3 years of my life there?
Well, it doesn't.
People from other places, born in USSR time, and who left when it was still USSR, are not accounted for in Lithuania.
It is probably fair, there is complicated history, etc.
And it's not that I mind really too much; I wouldn't live in Lithuania, I would just want it to have an EU passport so it's probably good not to give me citizenship :)
But what I don't agree with, is the fact that people, who never been to Lithuania even, who for example were born in the US, whose parents and grandparents were born in the US, and only whose great(!)-grandparents were Lithuanian, are more eligible than I am.
USSR is a part of Lithuanian history, not the best one for Lithuanians, but it is. Russia (and Poland for that matter) goes back for hundreds of years in Lithuanian history, and cannot be simply crossed out... I also don't like Nazis who killed 2,5 million people in Belarus in 4 years, but I don't translate it to dislike of everything German.
I actually relate to Lithuania a lot, being born there is part of who I am - the paper that marks the beginning of my life - birth certificate - is in Lithuanian language. My father calls me and my brother as 'Russian, of Lithuanian origin, from Belarus' - which is who I am. My first life memories are from Lithuania.
Yes, we left on our accord, but why then give more rights to people who have never even lived in Lithuania and have only 1/16 of their descent as Lithuanians?..
well, anyways, I can live with the fact that life isn't fair :) And it's up to Lithuania to decide who they want to accept.
I wanted to find out in principle, and I did, and now I know for sure.
My identity is in my head anyways, it doesn't need a paper to confirm it, and it doesn't know borders :)
I was born there, and inspired by my friends who got citizenship of countries like Italy by having one grand-parent from there, I decided to see if it would work for me. Surely it would as I was born and spent the first 3 years of my life there?
Well, it doesn't.
People from other places, born in USSR time, and who left when it was still USSR, are not accounted for in Lithuania.
It is probably fair, there is complicated history, etc.
And it's not that I mind really too much; I wouldn't live in Lithuania, I would just want it to have an EU passport so it's probably good not to give me citizenship :)
But what I don't agree with, is the fact that people, who never been to Lithuania even, who for example were born in the US, whose parents and grandparents were born in the US, and only whose great(!)-grandparents were Lithuanian, are more eligible than I am.
USSR is a part of Lithuanian history, not the best one for Lithuanians, but it is. Russia (and Poland for that matter) goes back for hundreds of years in Lithuanian history, and cannot be simply crossed out... I also don't like Nazis who killed 2,5 million people in Belarus in 4 years, but I don't translate it to dislike of everything German.
I actually relate to Lithuania a lot, being born there is part of who I am - the paper that marks the beginning of my life - birth certificate - is in Lithuanian language. My father calls me and my brother as 'Russian, of Lithuanian origin, from Belarus' - which is who I am. My first life memories are from Lithuania.
Yes, we left on our accord, but why then give more rights to people who have never even lived in Lithuania and have only 1/16 of their descent as Lithuanians?..
well, anyways, I can live with the fact that life isn't fair :) And it's up to Lithuania to decide who they want to accept.
I wanted to find out in principle, and I did, and now I know for sure.
My identity is in my head anyways, it doesn't need a paper to confirm it, and it doesn't know borders :)
Labels: identity, Lithuania, nationality, Russia, USSR
Climate change in one paragraph
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Friday, December 04, 2009 at 1:05 AM.
I read today this article in The Economist on Copenhagen summit & what needs to be done, and found one of readers' comments expressing exactly my view:
The whole article is HERE
"I don't care whether the science is right or not. I will pay for carbon emission stabilization because I hate high stake gambling...even when odds of loosing are indefinitely small."
The whole article is HERE
Labels: climate change, COP15
