10 things to be thankful for today

As an American tradition, Thanksgiving has never been celebrated among my family or many families here in Australia, unless they've had some American or Canadian influence. Traditions aside, in the lead up to the silly season, when often the commercialism and the statement of it all takes away from the genuineness of it's purpose, it's a pretty good time of year to take a step back and think about what you really are thankful for.

So here's just 10 things in my life that I'm thankful for today.

1. I'm thankful first and foremost for family, friends and a beautiful man who love and encourage me, and I them in return.
2. I'm thankful for a well paying job that offers me security and challenges alike.
3. I'm thankful for having had the opportunity to study whatever I wanted, to read whatever I wanted and be afforded knowledge that in many countries and cultures is either still denied of women or simply cannot be afforded for anyone. 
4. I'm thankful for both the times my family did it hard and those when we lived well, because it's taught me to be appreciative, taught me to be resourceful and taught me to be compassionate.
5. I'm thankful for having lived in the country, the bush and the city in this enormous country of ours that so few get to experience the true breadth of.
6. I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel, to be in a position that has afforded me the opportunity to explore other countries, meet long lost family members and experience things I never dreamed I would.
7. I'm thankful for a creative mind that takes me on many journeys.
8. I'm thankful for the harsh words said to me throughout my life that have thickened my skin and thankful for the encouraging voices as well that have fed my soul and ambitions.
9. I'm thankful for clean running water available at my beck and call.
10. I'm thankful for my little home, that each night I am sheltered, comfortable and surrounded by nice things and for all the little things it is teaching me in this new phase of my life.

This list could really go on and on. Yes we live in a country where there are many opportunities available to us, but above all that, all the little experiences in life, good or bad have influenced who I am today and how I interpret the world around me. So we might change this or that, if we had the opportunity to do it all again but from where I'm sitting, I've got a lot to be thankful for.

What are you thankful for?

Love thy sister and thy self

I've been witnessing a little too much womon hating lately... by other women and you know what? It's really got to stop.

First we criticize women for not changing their names when they're married, now we're criticizing them when they do change their names.

We criticize them for being too fat, then we criticize them for being to thin.

We criticize them for not breastfeeding, then we criticize them for breastfeeding in public.

We criticize them for not 'contributing' to the workforce and financially to their families, then we criticize them for neglecting their children by also having a career.

Why is there so much scrutiny on a woman's choice? On a woman's right to make her own decisions? And why, oh why, when we burned our bras and banded together for women's liberties are we now judging them for the biggest liberty of all? 



A woman's right to shoes - I mean choose

You have the right to choose your lives ladies and you know what - it can be whatever the fuck you want. 

It shouldn't matter what it is you choose, the name of the game is that you get to choose it. And whatever your fellow ladies choose - respect that it's their choice, because in 2014 Australia, thankfully we can! 

So let's drop the judgement, ladies and pick up the empowerment!





*I saw these images recently and thought 'Amen Sista!' For more truely inspiring peices of acceptance check out Carol Rossetti on Tumblr.

Inspiration - it's everywhere!

I believe it to be true that when you open yourself up to opportunities, speak up and put something out there, the universe conspires to get you what you need. 

What I needed was inspiration and lately, the universe is absolutely showering me in it! I feel like a never ending packet of sparklers and each day someone or something is just the flame I need to set me in a crackling, fizzing, sparkling fuzz. Alight with beauty and a fierce tingling flame.

And once alight, all it takes is one quick connection to spark that flame in someone else.

Lately I have been meeting people. Really meeting people. People I feel instantly connected to. Some might call them kindred spirits. Not only that but I've been taking them with me when I leave, embedding them in my networks. One random conversation in a room full of people, one turn down a street towards a new shop, one word outside an event, one word at a dinner party and there they were. Other people just like me, ready and waiting to open their floodgates of inspiration and support.

I feel like a sponge at the moment, soaking everything up then wringing out the residue to mop up the juices again and again. 

I've realised that there are so many inspiring people in this little town of ours. People who are generally interested (and interesting!) and you know what - they genuinely want you to succeed! They genuinely want to support you and value your support in return.

It's often too easy to get stuck inside your own head. To talk things over with yourself so many times that you talk yourself out of them. We're our own worst critics in that way. So talk to some other people about it instead! Get out of your head and get into the real world because it's full of amazing people flickering with inspiration.

So go get sparkling!

Much love
A spongy, sparkly El x

Back in the land of the living

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been well... ah... absent lately.

I'd love to say that my absence from this space (and several other spaces both physical and virtual... and mental now that I think of it) is because I've been on some spectacular trip sunning myself, sipping cocktails or trekking through majestic mountains with my nearest and dearest... but no. I've been working. Working harder than I ever have before on a program/event. But I must say, climbing that metaphorical mountain has been a significant challenge and the view from the top is pretty darn good actually. I've not climbed down yet, I'm staying up here with the sunset for the time being, assessing the world from this height and appreciating every bit of it.

But now that the climb is over and the next phase begins, I've been taking time to rejoin the land of actually living, instead of the land of the working dead - yes I mean working, not waking.

I've been able to appreciate little things like the smell of jasmine from a tree in full spring bloom, the incredibly happy face and wag of tail from my hound running around the park, even a cup of tea. I've had time to start new projects, to read beautiful books, to eat cake and start planning a big exciting trip in the not too distant future with MR. There's been time to sip wine on friend's front porches, to watch soccer grand finals and to celebrate the coming of the new season with those I love. 

I've come out of my cave just in time for my favourite time of year in Perth. When the sun wakes earlier and goes to bed later, as do I. When I want to be out in my garden more, want to exercise more, want to generally celebrate more. And the sunsets are starting to become really beautiful too.

It's good to be back in the land of the living.      

Thia week's pearls

1. Blue skies and sunshine - hasn't the weather been fabulous! What winter?

2. Forgetting which Tuesday of the month the play writer's meeting was and going into the city on the wrong night... so I bought myself dinner and had a glass of red over a good book in one of my favourite bars. I should do that every week!


3. A much overdue lady date with a girlfriend and spotting another kind of date at Elizabeth's Bookshop on the way home. I love love love this concept!

 

4. A Sunday roast chicken dinner (not pictured because we were too busy gobbling it) with my beloved, in which all elements were perfect - which is more than I can say for my last attempt with floury gravy and woody parsnips. Sunday roast success!


5. The book club - come food and wine club that was altogether the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

6. Love, friends and family making my week.

25 reasons being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be

When I was a little kid I couldn't wait to be a grown up. It all looked so glamorous and dramatic(in terrible 90s style ofcourse). I dreamed about having a briefcase and trotting off to work in a pencil skirt and stilettos like my mum. As a teenager I simply couldn't wait to be able to do whatever I wanted and when I first started uni, I couldn't wait to be taken seriously. All these things we dream up for our adult lives... turns out their a little bit bullshit!

Call me pessimistic but lately it's dawned on me that being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be. And I don't even have kids! Those mother effers got it bad! The saving grace is that I do get to wear pencil skirts and stilettos, thankfully briefcases went out of fashion! I think we should all go eat fairy bread and play in the sandpit.

So here's 25 reasons why being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be.

1. When something goes wrong at your house you have to fix it/pay for it because you own the bloody place.

2. You realise The Never-Ending Story had nothing on your pile of bills - that never seem to stop coming, never, ever! Not to mention the pile of washing that's taken up residence in your spare room.

3. There is still someone telling you what to do, only they are called 'Boss' and 'Bank' and 'Water Corporation' instead of 'Parents'.

4. You have to make decisions about the rest of your life because 'what do you want to be when you grow up'... well it just doesn't apply to you anymore.

5. You have to admit when you're wrong.

6. You can't eat cake anymore without thinking about how hard you're going to have to work in the gym to work it off.

7. People expect you to 'know better'.

8. There's no fairy bread at parties.

9. You only get 4 weeks holiday a year instead of the 12 weeks they accustom you to at school and the 3 months you get at uni.

10. Your life is consumed with getting rid of unwanted hairs (not to mention the cost of getting rid of said unwanted hairs).

11. Drinking a whole milkshake makes you feel sick.

12. People will still say 'no' without giving you a reason. And it will still not be fair.

13. You realise your parents were right about a lot of things.

14. You have less and less disposable income.

15. There's no hope that you're going to get any taller.

16. You still get pimple breakouts - what the hell! They told me that was just puberty!

17. All of a sudden - poof - imagination gone!

18. Your body starts to hurt... in your 20s. This is not something that happens to old people.

19. Your friends start dying... again, this starts in your 20s, people are taken from your life way too soon.

20. Kissing and holding hands rarely make you giddy anymore.

21. Christmas and birthdays get less exciting.

22. You have to cook your own dinner... every night.

23. Mostly your weekends are just as busy as your weeks and they're filled with house things. Buy this, cook that, weed this, fix that, pay this, wash that - 'Muuuummmm can I go to the beach now???'

24. All dreams of being an artist/singer/dancer/poet/historian go out the window when you realise you can't make any money out of them.

25. You look back at photos from when you were 16 when you thought you were fat and wish you could be that thin again!

This week's pearls

1. This lovely morning walk and My Houndy's 'No I will not sit still and pose for a photo when there is so much else for me to do in the park!' face.

2. A fabulous family dinner at The Reid's - no picture from me but such a lovely, hilarious, joyful, silly, wonderful evening that is all the great stuff of life.

3. This wrapping paper - I don't know why, I just love it!

 

4. Getting our built in wardrobes... well parts of them, after 5 months of living in our little place! Finally we have hanging space, and soon drawer space. The rearrange of our room and the clear out of 'stuff' that has followed and will continue for the next couple of weeks is certainly a therapeutic exercise.

5. These socks, which I'm sure you'll agree really need no introduction.   

6. A beautiful Friday lunch of duck and fennel salad, with a gorgeous friend at The Peasant's Table.

 

 

7. Awesome toilet wall graffiti at The Bakery and ofcourse, dancing to The Preatures on Saturday night.

Lesson in patience

I've never been patient. 

For this Miss, patience is not infact a virtue. 

And lately that patience has been tested.

Through losing things, through IKEA wardrobes, through work and loud talking and piles of washing and dishes and forgetting my glasses and the busyness of everyday life that never seems to stop.

But today I found solace in music and Chet Faker gave me the reminder I needed to slow down, relax, focus, persevere. Be patient. 

*Apparently the title of this song, Lost in Patience, is a piss take of his own saxophone performance on the track.

Lost

I've recently come to the realisation the my house may in fact be the Bermuda Triangle. Somehow, (don't ask me how) in our little ten by six unit, things are just going missing. Never to be seen again.

'What things?' I hear you say - well to be quite frank, every bloody thing I seem to need. Is. Currently. Missing. Somewhere in the ten by six.
Things I've lost lately:

• an SD card
• an SD card reader (possibly with the above mentioned SD card still in it)
• my heat bag (from I'mgettingold.com - hahaha yeah shutup!)
• pens - where the hell are all my bloody pens!
• apparently everything of my external hard drive (you've got to be kidding me!! Ok maybe this is not the fault of the ten by six but right now I need to blame someone...thing.)
• possibly my mind.

Seriously, if you're missing something, it's probably at my house. But before you come dashing over, permission let you down gently. All hope is lost, it's now been sucked up in a ten by six vortex. 

 

Or maybe David Thorne has moved on from messing with people's graphics and taken on ten by six projects?

This week's pearls

This week's pearls brought to you from my brand new laptop! After almost 6 weeks without one, it is a welcome experience to read on a 13 inch screen instead of that of my iPhone.

1. This beautiful coffee coconut body scrub made for me by a lovely friend. I'm yet to try it but cannot wait!



2. A meeting with some wonderful writer friends (and some decadent pastries... not pictured).

3. There are few things in this world that cannot be solved by Dim Sum. Seriously, world leaders, take note - eat Dim Sum!

 

4. Beautiful flowers I just couldn't resist buying - love love love them!

 

 

5. This striking tea cup and saucer gifted to me by a fabulous friend (what am I saying, all my friends are fabulous and so are tea cups!).

 



 

6. Quirky coasters (a very well chosen gift from my Mum).

This week's pearls (the birthday edition)

1. Beautiful yellow tulips. Yellow flowers are just absolutely my favourite! 

2. Taking my favourite 7 & 9 year olds to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 - forgot how much fun kids movies are! 

3. A dainty bracelet brought by beau for my birthday.

4. Friday night surrounded by beautiful friends - felt so spoilt & so blessed.

5. Poached eggs with a sweet potato, ricotta & pinenut crepe & rocket salad topped with sweet potato chips. Sayers - I love you!

6. Impromptu trip to the Leederville Farmer's Market reaps handsome rewards of the vegetable variety.

7. A support crew of the marsupial kind brightening my work day.

This week's pearls

1. Catching up with some of my favourite Perth playwrights and a very exciting endeavor in the works for Fringe World 2015!
2. This animal print ceiling that I saw a cow's face in. Can you see it too?
3. Get Your Shorts On at Revelation Film Festival - great short films by very talented local film makers. Love seeing what Perth creatives are thinking up. It was fabulous!
4. My current favourite footwear.
5. Lifting 45kg in a squat - this made me feel pretty proud of myself, even if I did want to die a little bit afterwards.
6. This Friday night scene.
7. The absolutely amazing projections over some of Perth's beautiful old buildings on Friday night.

This week's pearls

1. The sunrise last Tuesday morning - did anyone else see it? I didn't get a picture so can't even show you but letting my pup outside on Tuesday morning there was a beautiful orange-pink sky painting the world in pink and orange hues.

2. Orange painted finger nails & toe nails (new favourite colour to brighten many a wintery day).

3. Visiting all of my family in general, and this little cherub in particular.

4. A few days of sunshine amidst a stormy winter. 

5. Those silly jokes with family members that have you splitting at the seems with uncontrollable laughter. 

6. New earrings from my favourite market Mindl Beach - arguably the best market in Australia.

Fifteen minutes with Phil

A few weeks ago my life took a dramatic turn. I interviewed someone famous. That someone famous gave me 15 minutes of their time. And not just anyone famous, Aussie indi-rocker Phil Jamieson, front man of Grinspoon, who's music was the soundtrack to my adolescent years.

 

I remember when this film clip came out.  I was maybe 10.

My sister and I used to dance around the lounge room watching it on Rage.

Oh the pressure I felt forming any kind of questions to ask him about his upcoming shows, the relief that it was a phone interview - God knows I would have stumbled over more than just my words if it had been in person for the sheer excitement at even having this opportunity. How did I get here? 

The interview was all about his solo shows in the wild West (-ern Australia) something he told me he really had no choice but to get out and do; such is a rock star's life - can't just go out and get a normal job like the rest of us less musically talented plebs, ofcourse. 

Last night MR and I headed off to his show at The Saint - Oh so much fun, even for my Scottish-born, Middle-Eastern-expat-bred boyfriend, who didn't know many of the songs before last night. (I consider this an essential step in his Australian rock history education and in our relationship.)

Highlights included the early years favourites: More Than You Are, Just Ace and more recent tracks like Better Off Alone, Minute By Minute and I absolutely loved the reworking he did of Comeback. We were hoping for Chemical Heart but you can hardly complain with the set list - it was ace. Just ace ;). 

We had a few giggles at 'Jamo does Lana Del Ray and Katy Perry' with covers of Play With Magic and Blue Jeans - interesting reditions to say the least.   

 

So, this isn't from last night but from a few months ago 

- loved this version last night though!

There's still a few shows around the West over the next week so for all the deets, head on over to my Weekend Notes page.

It was a real pleasure to have those 15 minutes a few weeks ago to talk to one of my music idols. I was surprised by the exuberance in his voice - something we're not necessarily too used to from old PJ and he'd commented that having so much time off after Grinspoon's 'hiatus' had changed his perspective a bit. We laughed over the awkward moments he now finds himself in as a parent (like being the 37 year old man in flannelette, shopping at Best and Less for underwear for his daughters dance class) and talked about the old and new music. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. And so I'll leave you with this little piece of wisdom from my chat with Phil Jamieson, that probably sums up life for most of us as we grow up.

"I find life, as I get older fills up with other stuff and my priorities somewhat change. My approach is less woe is me and teen angst and how angry I was at everything. It's more about celebrating life and celebrating just being here and this time we've got. I'm a little more joyful than I probably was when I was 18." Phil Jamieson

This week's pearls

So I'm starting a new series on this little blog of mine. Each week, I'll be bringing to you little pearls that have made my week. Maybe you might like to join in and share yours. Call it an experiment in positivity or just an appreciation of all those little things in life that are beautiful.

1. Starting with this beautiful urn - I pointed it out last week & said that I loved it. So yesterday he comes home "I bought you a present", just because. Best. Boyfriend. Ever! 

2. Patterns - something I love about this time of year is brightening my day with colours and scarves. I like pattern combinations and I'm not afraid to show it.

3. Strolling through Fremantle amidst chilly sunshine 

4. Cuddles on the couch with this guy!

5. Reading - constantly! 

6. Quiet, cosy nights in. 

7. Unbelievable sales at Harbour Town!

Reading - finally!

Over the last couple of months I have struggled to find a book in my stack that really captured my interest. I've picked up a few different books, persevered for a few pages, picked them up again, forgot where I was at, lost interest, picked them up again, reread the same few pages and then pretty much given up. That's not to say they're bad books just... not what I'm in the mood for right now. And then I picked up Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Noone Writes to the Colonel and by the first page I was hooked.  I've not read one of his books before but have been meaning to read this one for quite sometime. Already I want to read more of his work and can see me wanting to add to my already large 'stack' once I've finished this one.

It's a short book, more of a novella really so I'll probably be having the above dilemma again in another week. But for now, I'm happy reading. My only regret is that I started it on a day when I couldn't just sit in a corner and devour it over several cups of tea. Such a travesty!

Are you reading anything fab at the moment? I'd love to hear if there's a book you think I absolutely must read.

Still I rise

Let's not do that thing where I say it's been a while since I've posted.

It's boring. 

Let's just rise. 

Rise like Maya Angelou did, out of everything and get on with it. 

Last week the world lost a truly incredible writer and mind and a truly incredible voice for humankind (it is coincidence my rhyming here, I tell you). I've been watching videos of Maya over the last few days and she has certainly lifted my spirits as she did for many people all around the world for decades.

So today I think, no one can say it better than Maya - so here's a piece of my favourite poetry in spoken word. May you rise to see another day and may you sass it all the way.

In between it all

Between a crazy, hectic work schedule, a significant birthday for MR, a dead MacBook and the rain messing with my washing cycle, there hasn't been much attention paid to this there blog lately. But suffice to say, the weather has certainly awakened my dormant pile of sticks and cinders and sparks are beginning to bounce of my belly like an atomic reaction. Bubble and fizz my head is filled, well largely with air ofcourse but that's the stuff of bubbles really isn't it. 

I have been scribbling away with the chances I get & I just say I prefer scribbling to structure for a change.

So far autumn has brought me everything but a drenching (thank goodness). There have been visits from beautiful family members, sunflowers, snuggles under blankets on the couch, copious amounts of red wine, coupled with so much love and friendship. In the spare minutes I daydream. Mostly about little trips. I love little trips & that's all there will be this year. I am feeling quietly content in the quirky mess of my mind & there is a great deal of joy in that. 

And for now that's all I've got. 

Cool, calm, creative

And so it is finally, FINALLY, autumn. The days are cooler and the nights are chilly. The fans have been switched off and blankets for snuggling up on the couch brought out. I have worn/carried a cardigan with me every day this week. There have been several moments when I have genuinely felt cold. Finally green leaves are starting to brown, although others might skip this stage entirely and just fall anyway. And the best thing - it's finally red wine weather. I forget just how fond I am of red wine during the summer months. But now that burgundy stained corks have been popped, it's making me think that I really am a cool weather person. There is something so intimate about cool weather. It's romantic, the dark and the rain. It's cosy, cuddly, couchy weather. It's dinner parties in cosy apartments weather. It's love in a jumper weather.

I've not yet donned tights and I'm still yet to purchase a new umbrella and I don't want to even contemplate how my jeans will be fitting this year (note to self, buy tights, buy umbrella and for god's sake keep up the exercise!) but the change in weather is already bringing with it a change of mood. I am always more creative in the cooler months, and my brain it ticking away with lots of little ideas to fill the time spent mostly indoors in cooler months. 

So let there be words and wine and creative endeavors. Let there be curling up on the couch and reading and chatting together. Let there be storms that rumble (but l

et me know be caught out in them). Let there be friendship and cardigans and love.

How does the cooler weather effect you? Do you see a distinct change in mood with the change of seasons? Or am I just getting old?    

My writing process

I've been invited to be part of the 'Writing Process' blog tour by the fabulous Lady Salsa herself; Karen from Karen-Ology.  Karen writes with heart. She's a spiritual and caring person who gives much of herself for other people, and her blog is something she writes for herself. She also writes at A Compulsive Story about her battle with food addiction.

My writing process
I was supposed to post this yesterday - which is within itself telling of my writing style. Need I say more? Ok, ok, indulge me.

What am I working on?
Most probably too many things. And that's entirely my style. I wouldn't recommend it. Focusing on one thing at a time is most probably a better strategy if you ever plan on actually finishing anything, but, what can I say, I get bored and there are far too many characters in my head demanding my attention. Ok, so really what am I working on? Poetry, lately a lot of poetry. Some rhythmic, some free verse, some just plain observation as I see it. A play - slightly controversial in nature but meant to be funny and possibly drawing a small amount of inspiration from old comedian Bob Downe. Two book projects (and not getting particularly far just yet) - both loosely based on two short but significant parts of my life. The first, adapted from my family's experience of living on an Aboriginal community in the late 80s/early 90s and the second, a story of what children get up to when left to their own devices, set in a small seaside/bush town across the harbour from Mandorah where I grew up. Ofcourse I'm blogging here and also occasionally writing at Weekend Notes Perth. I've also recently discovered the unique power of writing crap... but there'll be more on that in another post coming up very soon.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hhhhmm how does one answer this question without sounding completely up one's own arse? I mean really? Hhhmmm, well I think because it's honest to my style. Everyone's writing is so unique, everyone's ideas are so unique and if your writing is an honest representation of your idea then it's unique to anything else. I think especially with the two book projects, these are unique to my experience of a life journey that not a lot of people get to have and that's what makes them different. 

Why do I write what I do?
Because I couldn't not write it. I think writers write what they write because the story smoulders inside of them and getting it on the page truly sets it alight. 

How does my writing process work?
Well sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes all I have time for is blogging and that makes me proud that at least I get that far. But my writing process starts with an idea. An idea I just absolutely have to write down (for fear of forgetting the bloody thing) and usually pops up at an entirely inappropriate time (when I'm at work is the worst because I don't have time to explore the idea right there and then, which is the best moment to harness it). And then there's a cup of tea. Or a glass of red wine. Or a gin and tonic. Either way there's a beverage. I write down all the bits that are in my head and then I usually walk away from it for a bit. It's then that it becomes an infatuation. A love affair. I can't stop thinking about it but I dare not speak of it. I dare not even write it. There's usually wine involved. I just think about it for a good amount of time. This could be a few weeks or a few months. What can I say, I'm a procrastinator. I didn't say this actually works in any successful way particularly often, but it's how my brain works. With a full time job and all those other wonderful things of life, I often don't make the time I should make to dedicate to my writing. Often I come back to an idea after a period of time and rework it. I find I work really well under pressure and with a deadline; it's how I got through uni. All my best ideas happened the night before it was due. When there's no deadline, my motivation to finish it any time soon melts away. And this is something I need to work on. Something I will work on. Also, talking to people about my ideas makes them more real and this often gives me the push I need to just bloody well get on with it.

Who's next?  
So this is the bit when I'm supposed to pass the baton onto someone else for the tour. Problem is, while I read a lot of blogs, I don't actually know that many bloggers :/ So instead of completely dropping the ball, let me refer you on to a few lovely bloggers I've been following for a while. 

First of all another local Perth blogger, Shannon Meyerkort from Relentless. Shannon is not your average 'mummy-blogger'. She has three young girls and her blog is a combination of all those relentless life that is parenthood. Her writing is honest and honestly hilarious. It is writing without fear or that internal female sensorship. Shannon says the things about motherhood many women are thinking but none are actually brave enough to say. 

Allison Tait is a freelance writer slash author slash blogger from the East Coast. Alison writes books for writers including Get Paid To Write, Career Mums and So you want to be a writer. On her blog she writes writing tips and advice for writers, snippets of life and features many a Q&A from other wonderful writers. If you need some inspiration or some information to take your writing to the next step allisontait.com is absolutely worth stopping by.

And now for something a little bit different, but altogether fabulous from Matthew Sharpe, an American novelist with several successful books on his nightstand including The Sleeping Father and Nothing Is Terrible. But his writing at Very short stories r us has got me hooked. What started as an experiment in self publishing to post one very short story per week has now gone on for a total of 48 weeks to date. Now if that's not commitment to the craft, I don't know what is. I love short stories, especially when they are done this well. When something can be delivered so succinctly and have an impact in such a short time, it's almost perfection. 

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you stick around. If you want to join in the Writing Process tour - do it! And then comment here with a link, I'd love to know how you go about it!
 

   

On a big jet plane...

Photo taken by me on the way from Dubrovnik to London, 2010.

You know those people who are absolutely terrified of flying? Like even just the thought of the confined space, the ear popping as the plane takes off, the anxiety of being so high up and the possibility of falling out the sky (probably heightened now by the Malaysia Airlines plane mystery-media sensationalism) is just too much for them to even think about? 

I'm not one of those people. 

I love flying. I always have done. And I've done a lot of it being that my family are spread all over the country and I just, ooh aah, love to travel. But there's just something incredibly exciting to me about flying. My parents often recant one of my very early flying experiences. I can't remember if we were off to Bali for a family holiday or to Melbourne for a family visit but either way it was about 4 in the morning, and I was about 3 years old. For 3 year old me, the excitement of being on a plane and going wherever we were going was a much more external expression than the internal one I have now. I took it upon myself to share this excitement with my fellow passengers as we embarked the plane by holding my little arms out like an aeroplane and singing "Up in the air, I fly, zoom, zoom, a-zoom a-zoom zoom!" (a PlaySchool hit at the time) at the top of my lungs. I'm sure had all the passengers not thought I was particularly hilarious in this expression, they would have really hated me.  

But, still after 27 years and countless domestic and international flights, after airport dramas and lost luggage, after crazy turbulence and added luggage fees, after horrible microwaved meals and almost missing flights, after sleeping (or not sleeping) on airport seats at 2am and the many teary farewells - I still absolutely love flying. 

I love me an inflight gin & tonic!

I love packing my bag, planning what I'm going to take in my hand luggage, choosing a book to keep me company (which I'll most probably ditch for the inflight entertainment if there is any). I love checking in at the airport, watching all of the other people and wondering where they're heading to. I love getting into my seat and waiting with anticipation to be up in the sky. I love looking out of the window and seeing the world below, the patterns of the vast landscapes below. I love looking down on the top of the clouds. Ofcourse I love the free gin and tonics (when they're free), that always seems to be my inflight beverage of choice. And most of all I love the destination. I love being somewhere else, even if just for a few days. Whether it's an all too familiar visit with much missed family or a brand new holiday destination, once I step on to a plane, I feel like I'm on holiday and I feel instantly relaxed. 

There will be a few plane trips this year, as has become quite normal for me; one for family, one for work and one in just a few short days for a much needed mini break with MR. And I can't effing wait! Looking forward to bringing you a few snaps from our holiday on my return.  

Selamat tinggal! 

101 Books

It's official. I have an actual problem. I realised last weekend that I hadn't read anything since moving into our new abode and with all the craziness of the move before that - suffice to say it's been too long between books. (Since then I've been pretty much inhaling Chuck Palanhiuk's Choke - awesome read.) But that's not the problem. Oh no, no, no. That is the least of this gal's problems. Read on.

So once we finally put the bed together and the shelves up, I decided it was well overdue to let the books out of the boxes. But with so many books and so little space, I figured I better be reasonable and you know, just unpack the books I hadn't read - because those are the priority. If I do that, then I'll have something to focus on, a pile you know... turns out, it was a little more than just a pile :/ 

Hi, my name is El and I'm a book-aholic.

A selection of the unread books I own. It's a travesty. It's a problem.

I wrote about my book diet earlier this year and now the reality of just how necessary it is for that to be imposed is sinking in. I have a first-world real booking problem here. 

Now some of these I have actually started... and not quite gotten around to finishing before I got distracted by some thing, some book else (wow I'm sensing a life pattern here - eek), but at least that's a start I suppose. But the overwhelming pile of books just kept growing until it took over the whole bed! And then I counted. There's 101. 

Holy shitballs I have alot of reading to do!