Infernal distractions

I wish that I started every morning full of energy and enthusiasm but that is not the case. What I do is start with long lists of things to do which are rapidly subsumed beneath the demands that leap on top of me whenever my eyes are on something else. I’ve just spent an hour on the telephone to someone, briefing them on the proposed Marburg website. Maybe because they live and work in Byron Bay, they were exceptionally relaxed and chatty, so much so that I ran out of credit on my mobile phone and I had to call back by landline.

I found out that Byron Bay has a population of 8,000 but has about 1.5 million visitors annually. Perhaps it is the ocean, the whales, the Blues festival, Splendour in the Grass or just the friendliness of the inhabitants. We are not aspiring quite so high in Marburg – after all, where would everyone stay? They might even have to install traffic lights, or provide parking. And then the Residents’ Association would be less than popular.

This whole process of developing the website is taking much longer than I anticipated. Perhaps it is my inexperience in committee work and the very convoluted workings of Marburg life. The highlight though is the people I have met and with whom I have worked. Painful though it can be sometimes to get things done in the country (anywhere really), working with community groups is always rewarding in the less-tangible things – feeling part of a community, getting to know people, finding out whom is related to whom (really essential knowledge in a small town) and doing something for a community in which you live, amongst other things. It’s not good for time management though.