My pocketbook quote book once said:
" We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
An efficient jog today led me noticing the gutters on the street. Street gutters in Singapore are mostly clean but still, there are some gutters with water ponds as it was after a rainy morning. After considerable minutes of jogging, I can already feel the strain in my legs. But how can I track my jogging distance? How far did I run? (without using any mobile apps or anything). I suddenly saw this tracking marks near the gutter saying 3.3 Km. But of until what distance? But the starting point is from where?
Especially Parks intended for jogging and walking, it should have substantial tracking marks as you cannot merely identify where is the starting point of the intended distance marks. Every entrance of every park should identify its zero (0 Km) over the total distance of the overall running track/ park. Distance marks should be consistent all the way to the running/ walking track or it's intended pathway.
Another gutter of life a ran into is another article from the same book called “Design with the other 90% Cities” by Smith. I keep on reading and reading every now that serves as my break time from my continuous review periods is the SONO Water Filter. Rainwater harvesting from roof gutters, roof drains in India and storing it rainwater tanks for drinking is one common practice in Bangladesh and India. The issue is that it is indeed the cheapest source of water for drinking especially on slums but, is it safe? The SONO water filter is a system prevalent used in Bangladesh to remove Arsenic specifically aside from Bhopal and Chernobyl that caused the biggest mass poisoning population according to UN. Arsenic is a metallic form of poison that cannot be barely seen on any form of color or smell and even with our own naked eye. This inexpensive SONO filtration system only uses two-bucket filter strains through sand, charcoal, and brick chip in order to remove unwanted toxins and produce a safe potable water for drinking. Thanks to the Chemist professor, Abu Hussam from George Mason University who designed this system that can help people from slums up to at least 14(fourteen) years of usage at the rate of one hundred (100) liters per day enough to supply a family of five (5).
I also have that gutter moment, I feel like I am like that stagnant water on gutters of the street when I am in the midst of my dream and my everyday 8-hour job. I want to find time to study after work but that "brain-drain" won't let me. I realize that my brain needs to have a break from all of these office blockages. Finally, my hunger for creativity leads me to this...
All of us ultimately starts with different kind of gutters in our lives, but it's all up to us to...
Don't just look down but instead, also have that courage to look UP to the different "STARS" or DREAMS of your life...
This is Elsa, reminding to not stop craving for life, signing off in School of Thoughts…