Twenty nine - oh so sublime

Soooo.... I turned 29 last week. I'll admit at first I wasn't thrilled about the whole idea of 29.

The prospect of 30 doesn't seem to fuss me so, but 29 did. I'm not a particularly negative person by any means (generally quite the opposite) but earlier in the year I'd labelled 29 a 'nothing year'. A sort of wasteland between 20s and 30s that didn't quite feel like it fit one or the other. Was. Not. Thrilled.

And then I realised - some pretty fucking fabulous things are happening this year!

Firstly - I'm writing shitloads! Corporate (and getting paid for it - winning!) fictional, factual and theatrical. It seems the last few years I've really started to develop my writing style, really started to feel it. Something they always say you will establish overtime and voila! I can finally feel it coming through! This whole concept of being a writer is actually starting to feel real.

Secondly - I'm getting involved in theatre publicity and over the next 6 months will be assisting on 3 shows. Theatre is something I've always been insanely passionate about but have only rekindled this over the last four years. I'm loving writing short peices and meeting fabulous writers in the Stages Playwriting Group as well.

Thirdly - I'm putting plans in place to start my own business. Something that mixes my creativity and marketing/events experience which is super fabulous! I'm having such a great time harnessing my creativity and being inspired by so many things (Pinterest you devil!). And I'll have more on all of that over the next few months.

Fourthly - (is that a word? Forthly.... hhmmm doesn't sound right, let me check the dictionary....) I'm ticking off some fun things on my Thirty before 30 list, and now less than 12 months to go - it's certainly time to get moving.

And last but most definitely not least - MR and I have recently booked our flights to go to the US for 6 weeks in December! Yahoo!!!! This is a trip we've been planning for some time and while it has changed over time we are super excited for a little adventure. New York for Christmas and New Year, New Orleans, San Francisco, Austin or Chicago or both, Napa Valley, maybe Yosemite National Park. In just a few short months - cannot wait! So there'll be more on that soon too :)

29 is infact, very far from a nothing year! By comparison, it's actually one of the busiest year's of my life and I'm certain over the next 12 months it will only continue to be. I suppose every year is only what you make it. So let's make it pretty damn awesome.

What are you up to this year? I'd love to hear what's on your Thirty before 30 lists.
 

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!