Share Four Somethings - May

Something I loved I've enjoyed some good talks and shows at the Writers & Comedy festival. Lots of food for thought. Kayaking at Sunrise was definitely the winner, followed closely but fun and frivolity with friends, dancing to Furnace & the Fundamentals and Hot Dub Time Machine. Always good vibes with the dance crew! Countdown is on for Vini Vici! Getting my kids together for Mother's Day fun (or any fun) is always a highlight.

Something I learned Nerve-racking and nerve wracking are both correct. Wracking is probably form old English. I only thought it was nerve wracking so there you go! Probably more than you need to know about it here.

According to one of the authors at the Writer's Festival, a lot of American fiction will be set in 2014 or there abouts so they don't have to deal with COVID or Trump as it becomes too intrusive to the story. I've not noticed it but I also haven't read any modern US fiction of late. Have you noticed this? I have noticed COVID doesn't exist in the 2022 Australian book I read - or it doesn't warrant a mention, nor the Japanese books I've been reading - but they are sort of timeless.

Something that went well Our youngest is learning to drive. The other two never bothered so yesterday was the first time I sat in the car with a learner driver. She'd had a number of lessons with a driving instructor so it wasn't her first time, but it was still a nerve wracking experience. She did well as did I, though apparently I clutched my seatbelt too much in her opinion! Ha! 

Something I let go of  I get annoyed about some unreciprocated invites, and lack of effort from people that I thought of as friends. I more often than not give the benefit of the doubt, but my patience after years of this is wearing a little thin. However, I am working on addressing that. In The Comfort book there is a line about not always being the person to reach out. He quotes Anne Lamott "Lighthouses don't go running all over an island for boats to save; they just stand there shining." So I think I need to let go of reaching out all the time, and if that means I stop seeing certain people, that's not a problem. I am working on being comfortable with that, as it makes me feel a little mean and petty. 

Another month has come and gone. Mid year is upon us!

Linking with #ShareFourSomethings #TalkaboutitTuesday #MuralMonday

As aside, I went to visit my friend in the aged care and it was Nurses week and this was in the foyer. I found it sad about the low pay. Seriously, NSW Govt, do better.

Share Four Somethngs - July

I'm not sure if I misunderstood last month's post. Are we changing the prompts or was that promoting prompts for another link up? Anyway. I've done both so just read the apporpriate one and I'll be back to normal next month...ha!

Things I've loved and/or disliked  I've had a great month so narrowing it down to one thing is tricky...My friend is going to Ibiza to see Like Mike & Dimitri Vegas and Lost Frequencies so I'm loving that for her - infact beside myself with jealousy (the good kind). 

I went out with my eldest (whose moved out of home) to see a gig together (Andre 3000) for the first time in a long time, just the two of us. It was lovely for me to see the relationship evolve from Parent/Child.

I've also started rewatching Dispatches From Elsewhere and still loving that. (Andre 3000 is in it). I'm loving this song.

 

Linking with #GardenAffair

Things I've accomplished I hope this prompt goes as I feel I've achieved nothing. I have been taking a break so let's put it down to 'being on holidays' but I think it was really just disorganisation. I did book myself to Auckland to see Grace Petrie on points, as I miss her Sydney gig yet again. Ali Wong's insta photo of Piha Beach is what pulled me over the line to go....Other than car hire, I managed to get cheapie cheapie everything.

Linking with #MondayMusicMovesMe

Some things need improvement My focus and organisation. Enough said!

Things I've noticed My twitter feed is being ruined by American politics. Normally on race weekend my trending feed is just all F1. It's my happy go to place. Now there's all this other 'news' which is something I'm trying to avoid, as on Twitter it's the really ugly side of people. Interestingly my FB doesn't seem to have been infected in the same way - not entirely sure why but maybe the FB algorithym is more tailored? 

 what we're currently loving See Above.

looking forward to Got a full weekend booked for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Looking forward to being mentally stimulated and made to think! I am going to different sessions with all different friends so I'm sort of holding court and catching up with about 10 different people at different sessions. 

Finally getting around to seeing the Archibald prize exhibition. Got free tix, thanks to Schwartz Media (won them).

savoring Went to the new former Rockpool chef restaurant 20 Chapel Rd. It was lovely - it had garlic prawns in the style that was my favourite growing up in restaurants. It was a real trip down memory lane, and oddly comforting (I guess because it was what I had with my Mum & Dad). My Proustian Madeleine if you will. So more than the food, I guess I was savouring those moments in my childhood, flashes of forgotten memories when my Dad was larger than life - his booming laugh embarrassing us all, as all the diners looked at us.

celebrating Friends' birthdays. There seem to be a lot this month!

 and 

remembering See above, re my dad.

Linking with #ShareFourSomething #WOYP #ArtdateThursday #TrafficJamReboot #TheRandom #TalkaboutitTuesday

Share Four Somethings - June

Things I've loved and/or disliked I love VIVID, I love how festive it makes the month. Nights with nothing happening turn into quick after dinner excursions. The many posts of VIVID are here, here and here.

I went out with some people I didn't know (invited by someone I've only met a few times and her friends) to see a folk singer I didn't know. I didn't listen to his music beforehand. I have to say, I had a great time. The women were friendly and inviting, and I felt comfortable the minute I turned up, which is not that normal for me. They were the type of women you think 'oh, I'd love to see more of you'. The singer was great, and even though his songs were quite sad, his banter was hilarious so it was a very uplifting evening. In one song he pulled a person out of the audience to sing with him (you can see it on my Insta, 3rd panel). She was amazing!

He also sang this gorgeous song about falling in love (and getting married for a second time). It's so beautiful. So sending this out to all the second time arounders....

Things I've accomplished Under doctors orders for some health issues, I've cut out alcohol. I didn't drink every night but I did enjoy a negroni some evenings....I've gone 30 days, had one (planned) slip up for a friend's 50th and then back on  (or off booze, I guess). Even managed a party where I walked round with a glass of champagne (to avoid attention) but never sipping it. It's not making me feel better so I am not the poster child for sobriety. No clear head or better focus...but hopefully my liver is enjoying the break.

Linking with #MuralMonday

Some things need improvement Focus. I'm not sure what is happening but I never seem to be getting enough work done at the moment...need to be more rigid on tasks and less distracted (or slow to start, I think is the problem).

Things I've noticed I did iFly (indoor skydiving) with my youngest and what I noticed is this should be an activitiy aimed at middle aged women. All the mums in the group had the hugest smiles while doing it - more than the kids and the dads. All the women were beaming when they finished and giggly with excitement. I think there has to be something there, that for the 2 minutes, we are free and elated, and remembering how we used to have carefree fun! So perhaps in the 'improvement' section I should have written 'More time dedicated to carefree fun!'

The unrelated photos are just some things I've enjoyed noticing this week.

Linking with #TheRandom #WeekendCoffeeShare #WWWhimsy

Share Four Somethings - May

 

After such a bumper April, I don't know what I have to talk about in May. Infact I can't beleive it's time to write another one of these already!

Things I've loved and/or disliked The Comedy Festival has been filling up my evenings and allowing catch ups with all different friends and date nights with my husband. I've also enjoyed a few return visits to the Biennale at night to see bands. Again catching up with different friends. These free or low costs excursions are also only an hour or two so great for week nights and still home by 9 but had a night out. Making the most of what's on offer...and now it's time for VIVID!! My favourite of all.

Things I've accomplished It took me until the last few days but I submitted my story for the Grief anthology. I'm not 100% sure it's what they are after but I like it, and I am hopeful I make the cut. It felt really good to write again. I'm hoping to write something this weekend while partner is away.  

Some things need improvement I have a month to write this post yet every time I scramble about with what to say. I am going to try to do this as a month long effort next month, so when it falls due, I'm prepared.

Things I've noticed Specifically Australian, political but not leaning in either way. During the pandemic, the stress on the economy was in great part said that we needed migrants for our economy to grow and the border lockdown was bad for the economy. However, now both parties are saying they will cut immigration. Yet we are a country that requires quite high migration for the economy to flourish (birthrate doesn't cut it). No one in the media seems to be mentioning this. I am trying to decide if this is like the very fast train and something that gets mentioned every election but never really going to happen, or if both the media and the politicians think people in this country are stupid and don't remember anything that they say from one year to the next?

The photos are a bit more of the Biennale (there's one month left to check out all the sites). And walking around town....

Linking with #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #TrafficJamReboot  #ShareFourSomethings  #WWWhimsy #SundayBest

Share Four Somethings - August

This month has flown past and it's now less than a month until I go to Singapore. I'm so excited!

Something I'm Loving: I was really loving the World Cup. It was great to watch with friends and get to a live match. It was also great to see the support for Women's Sport (where it was not discussed as  anything other than sport) and amazing to see out lesbian players that also wasn't a point of discussion. It just was. It would be nice if the male players could do the same. And F1, look what women can do? Half the world would get behind a female driver!

This photo of Mary Fowler in flight is my favourite of the Cup.

Something I'm not loving is that I trod on my glasses while exercising - don't ask - and am wearing my old glasses because I can't deal with the cost of replacing the new ones...I can't believe I was so stupid!

Max Frost finally released his new song after teasing us with 4 bars for about a month, so I was walking around singing just 2 sentences over and over because I didn't know the rest of it but it was soooo catchy! Please note the clip has a lot of flashing at the beginning so maybe not good for people with epilepsy or eye issues.

 

Something I'm Learning That the bank can just decide not to let you buy something. Field day tickets went on sale and I rushed to buy them (Claptone *sigh*). I got in the queue and landed on the cheaper first release tickets. My card was declined so I assumed it was because I typed a number incorrectly. I tried again but still declined. I then got a different card (even though i knew there was plenty of money on the card I'd been using). By then the first release was gone and I had to pay for the more expensive second release but I got them, so while annoyed, was still happy. That night, I get a call from the bank about a security issue. I asked if it was about the Field day tickets. They said they couldn't tell me unless I gave them my birthdate and I said no, as they'd rung me. I then had to call the number on the back of the card, wait 48 minutes to be told the cheaper first release amount matched a fraud pattern so they'd declined it. How people were ringing the bank within 4 minutes of the tickets going on sale is beyond me. We were skimmed over $17k one time (we were overseas and just kept moving money to the card because our travel money card had been eaten by an atm and we only had that credit card so didn't realise until our return) and no one noticed we were in New York, London and Vietnam all at the same time, but but $394 set alarm bells off....go figure!

Something I'm reading I saw this stat on Forced Adoption: At the height of forced adoption in Australia (1971-72), one in 28 babies was adopted. 200 babies every week. And even if you were going to be married they took the babies ‘because you’ll have other babies’. Currently 200 babies a year are put up for adoption. So a little trip down the rabbit hole found this podcast which is very enlightening. I am slightly disgusted that the people who are meant to follow the teachings of the Bible were totally okay with ignoring the "Thou shalt not lie"
commandment (on the most basic level of their abuse).

Please note this website has a number for support if you have been impacted by this and need support. 

There were a number of articles at the time of the inquiry, like this one, which somehow I missed at the time. I am surprised this all slipped past my radar, and I am sad it was hidden in secrecy and shame for these women for so long. these women who were taken advantage of by people in power, duped by the very people meant to help them.

Something I'm eating  I've only eaten in a restaurant once this month! I had sensational lobster dumplings and shallot pancakes at Lotus before the theatre.

 I have been drinking out though, so I'm still spending the money! Opps. (Fancy Negroni at Tina The Musical.)

Short and Sweet for #ShareForuSomethings this month. Also linking with #TheRandom #MondayMusicMovesMe #FriendshipFriday #WeekendCoffeeShare and #WWandPics