Opera House at VIVID

Last night a friend invited me to a VIVD ideas talk on Digital distraction. I jumped at the chance and we went a little early to walk through the Botanic Gardens.

So not only did we exercise our minds and senses, we also briskly walked a few kilometres in the chilly night air.

Crowds were down, to the point that it really wasn't crowded at all. Locals seem down and foreign speaking tourists are up. Which makes for a nice music in the background, all the melodic languages enveloping you as you walk past.







All in all, it was a very satisfying evening, as we caught the train home discussing the ideas raised in the talk.

So I am loving VIVID again (you knew that would happen, I'm so easily charmed) and loving living in this very beautiful city.

Linking with #BlueMonday

There isn’t always a cure, but there is often a better

I was reading a blog by Queer Little Family while doing the link up rounds and they finished with "There isn’t always a cure, but there is often a better." It struck me as the most succinct summary of managing depression, anxiety and many other of life's difficulties. We may be caught up in the terribleness of our situation (external or internal) but that doesn't mean it's forever. We may not alter it at all, but we may work out how to live with it.

I read once that a good thing to say to a suicidal person is not that things will get better, because maybe they won't, but that 'Maybe you won't feel this way tomorrow'. The next day, or even later that day is all we can aim for. The rest is so intangible. So is the past, if we can stop ourselves revisiting it (although that is a topic for another blog).

As you get older, life gets harder in many ways. But life does go on. Finding your new path can be extraordinarily difficult. You can't change the irreversible. You can however, find 'a better'. You can learn to manage the circumstances, mental, physical or external. And more often than not, you can surprise yourself with where you end up.

Linking with #MummyMondays #KCACOLS  #Dreamteam #StayClassyMama and #TwinklyTuesday

I leave you with one of my favourite videos from a truly inspirational athlete. 



This one is an interview and covers a little more the psychological aspect. Not 'how am I going to live my life without legs, but how am I going to do all the things I need to do without legs?'

Muted.

Highlight of the night - you blow the bubble and the colours change. Fun and Gorgeous.

Went for a VIVID dinner that implied promised views, however our table was away from the windows. While we could watch the Bridge and Luna Park, it was partial obscured by other diners. I did walk over when tables emptied to take photos, but the experience would have been far superior had we had a better table. We did ask to move forward to an empty table for dessert but that was left for a pending booking (who failed to show by the time we left at 9.45 so I suspect was never coming, however maybe someone was booked for 10 pm on a Sunday night. And to be fair there did seem to be second sittings on all the other window tables, so maybe it was just bad luck).

This was quite beautiful! Photo doesn't do justice.

The food was okay and you got matching wines, so I guess price wise it was good value - cheap for a three course meal, and if you got a window table, worth doing for something different. Service was not good however - 30 mins before our welcome drink arrived and order taken. Matching wines arrived mid course, not with the new course. But let's suppose that was just a one off for us, rather than their standard.

However, the most disappointing was the glittering view of the city. The colours of VIVID this year a are muted. The waitress pointed out that last year it was so bright and dazzling, and this year they've gone less bright as the theme is interactive, so you need to be down amongst it. I did think our walk thru the Rocks was more impressive so she may be onto something. I must also say that Luna Park looks great.



You know how much I love VIVID, so I'm not prepared to write it off just yet. Will be back soon to check it out up close...More picks and hopefully a cheery post to follow.

Linking with #GlobalBlogging #MCoW #TheRandom #WWOT #WordlessWednesday #Keithsramblings and #SayCheese

Lights on! Vivid starts in Sydney

The festival of art, music and ideas sets the city ablaze with playful light installations around the city. We started the exploration with dinner at Lotus in Barangaroo, and their VIVID dumplings.

During the meal, the festive fish rang back and forth in a school, hilariously banging on the glass restaurant window near by.














A stroll through Barangaroo up to the Darling Harbour show (every 20 mins) and over to PlaySpace ended out the evening.















Crowds seemed low to me, so maybe the early bird catches the worm.













For those that don't know, VIVID runs until 15 June. Family friendly and free.

 

Linking with #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #TravelTuesday #MummyMondays #OurWorldTuesday #ThruMyLens and #WWOAT

 For better photos of the Barangaroo Marri Dyin, see my pictures from last year here. 

Magnificent Niki Lauda

All my life, Niki Lauda has been in the back ground. Part legend obviously; a recurring joke when we played a board game, Flutter and if you purchased the airline, we'd all start saying "I'm Niki Lauda" in that accent). The much repeated story of people on the flights and he would announce he was in the cockpit, listened to with envy. And of course, the story of disaster and come back. A true world champion three times over, but a legend that eclipsed even that.

Wikimedia Commons - Gillfoto

I have seen him many times in real life, at races and at the Opera House (as tourist).  Without fail I'd have a flurry of excitement, and blush and be rendered mute if in very close proximity.

It will be very weird not to look for that iconic red cap in the pits.

However, he is a reminder that you can live your life doing what you love into your later years. With grit and determination, and never giving up, you can achieve whatever you need to.

And that is exactly the message I needed to hear today.

The world of F1 is saddened today, and the fans know all too well they don't make them like that anymore.


Linking with #MySundayBest with my OLD photo on Niki Lauda from the Monaco GP in the 90's (and if you haven't seen Rush, check it out!)

How to go about spotting a forgery?

I purchased a painting on the weekend. The tag was titled "Yue Minjin and the Symbolic Smile". I love Yue Minjin and seen his work in Singapore and Berlin (Tim Raue and I are one degree separated by shared love of an artist).
I did not pay market value for a real Minjin work, so I am presuming it is someone's HSC effort though it is a good copy. I don't really care, it makes me smile. The vendor wouldn't give me an email for the person who sold it, nor did they have any details about the painting.

I want to get it reframed as the frame is chipped. If it is a real Minjin, I might invest a little more in the frame and get a framer to do it so I don't damage* it. If it's a knock off, I'll just IKEA it myself.

But how do I find out? Does anyone know? Is there a catalogue of Minjin's work?

*I dropped my phone unknowingly and it bounced under my car and spent an hour lying on Parramatta Road. Amazingly it was still there when I retraced my steps. My degree of clumsiness and ability to damage things is at a level you may not have comprehended before....

So what I am loving this week is that smile. Every time I walk past it I involuntarily smile back. I am also loving that I didn't destroy my phone just four days after upgrading. For those that follow my ranty hashtag #Ihatemyphone, I still hate it - all the problems appear to have transfered to the new handset - and the camera is not that good as I didn't get the latest one. However the battery is working for now so that is an improvement.

What are you loving this week?

Share my Snaps! Nature

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So I am focusing on the photos of last school holidays fun and the beauty around Sydney to be enjoyed. Let's leave it at that for now.
















Just because the weather is getting cooler, doesn't mean there's not a reason to enjoy the beauty of nature.

The photos are from Scenic World in the Blue Mountains, The Calyx in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and Cottage Point (for the tourists).   


 You don't have to go far to get out into nature and the therapuetic effect is instantaneous but long lasting.

 

 Infact it might be just what the doctor ordered for me today....

Linking with #FloralFridayFoto