Moving Off The Grid

I mentioned earlier, we have to move house.

I am currently renting with a friend. It’s been awesome living together. We’re the best of mates. It is the end of an era. An era that has spanned some five years.

But, they’re selling the house we’re in.

Now, he’s moving in with his girlfriend.

Gah, bloody girlfriends! Who needs them? What a nuisance.

So, I am heading out into the big, wide World alone. Uh-oh! It’s scary. It really is.

I found an option. What do you guys think? Reckon I could get internet access out there?

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My Weekend Schedule

Oh my, I have a busy weekend ahead.

Friday night will consist of reffing some junior indoor soccer. I love that. They are great kids. Last week they all told me I was the best ref ever. So, naturally, that makes them my best friends.

After the reffing gig, I am heading off to a Christmas party run by a friend. Well, a friend and her housemates. I think it’s a big one. I’m just tagging along. I like Christmas; I like friends; I like festivities; why not party for the sake of them all?

Saturday I am spending for lunch at my dad’s house. My brother and his girlfriend are going too, so that’s good. She hasn’t met our dad yet, so I’m helping with moral support. I don’t see dad an awful lot. There’s mixed feelings there. I’m in a good mood tonight though, so I won’t share them.

Sunday is a ‘Welcome Home’ party for a friend who has been studying in the USA for the last couple years. He’s returned! It will be great to catch up and party in his honour.

So, yeah, a reasonably busy weekend awaits. And all the while, I have to apply for gigs and find a new house. We’re getting turfed out of ours, because they’re selling the joint. As if the Christmas holidays weren’t hectic enough already!!

Shine However You See Fit

I visited mum the other day.

She has the Christmas tree up, as she does every year. And the tree is well decorated. The decorations are mostly traditional. She has the baubles, and the other little ornaments. The star, and of course the tinsel.

My favourite of all the decorations on that tree however, are the lights.

Not simply because they are lights. The lights are not necessarily my favourite decoration on other trees.

But these lights are special.

These lights are slightly older than I am.

Mum cannot remember their exact age. She thinks she’s had them over thirty years.

Oh yes, these lights are troopers.

And after thirty years you may expect issues.

Well, you wouldn’t be completely wrong.

Don’t get me wrong. They do work. They have always. They just don’t conform to the rules and guidelines set out by the original light-makers.

And for that I highly respect them.

You see, they are meant to flash blue and green on, and then switch to the red and orange. And alternate in a logical pattern.

They have followed a different pattern as long as I have known them.

Really, they are radical.

And sometimes they stick to a pattern for a Christmas period, and then it’s different the following year. Sometimes they follow a different pattern each time you turn them on and off.

They legitimately have a mind and will of their own.

It makes lighting the tree all that more exciting.

I will be very sad the day they stop altogether. I love those lights. They have character.

Recipe Failure

I saw a blog prompt suggesting bloggers talk about a time they had a recipe fail. Okay.

I don’t have recipe failures myself. Not because I am a good chef. Simply because I tend not to take risks in the kitchen.

I mean, we’re dealing with food here. I don’t mess about with food. I’m not risking ruining my dinner. That’s just reckless.

But, I do remember when my two brothers and I were still living at home, mum decided to make a pavlova.

It was a half-failure.

It tasted amazing.

Unfortunately though, it fell apart.

Picture four people sitting around a table with a spoon each, helping themselves to communal pavlova.

Yeah, ridiculous.

But deliciously ridiculous.

Intuition vs Logic

I had a blank. So, I searched for Blog Prompts. I found an ‘idea bank’. I liked it. There are over 600 topic ideas. That’s ridiculous. I don’t need that many. But I did like this one…

‘Review your own blog’

I’m totally kidding. I hated that one. That one smells of smug pretentiousness.

Okay, here’s my review (apparently by my inner child (he’s 13)):

This blog is boring. Needs more pictures and boobies. -1/10

Okay, how about this one?

If you were soap on a rope whose shower would you be in?

That’s pretty creepy. Next…

And then a weird thing happened. Well, it’s not that weird. Thinking long enough is going to dislodge the mind-block at some point and the thinking juices are going to flow.

I thought of something to write about. Something that was sparked from conversation tonight. So, it really shouldn’t have been that difficult to come up with as a blog topic. This took far too long.

I was sitting beside the court at soccer tonight, talking with my close friend, Aaron. Best bloke in the World. That’s a fact. You’ll find that in any Encyclopedia worth its salt.

Anyway, I forget how, but someone we know there came into conversation. I won’t say who. Odds are good my friends don’t read this crap (my blog), but you never know. And I, being ever open and far too honest, admitted, “I don’t like that guy. He’s not a good guy.”

Aaron accepted my position, but suggested he can’t be that bad. He has no reason to dislike him.

And that was when I tried to explain something. And this is not limited to judging someone’s character. This is meant generally in the use of all facets of life.

Reason and logic are governed by your mind. And assessing anything based on the rhythm of the mind is okay, but I had no reason to dislike him either. And I explained, it does not have to come down to reason. I see something in him, with my intuition, that I know I don’t like, and I don’t trust. But I feel my intuition is pretty well honed. The mind operates with logic, but our intuition can see beyond. Our head and our gut operate on different wavelengths. Reason will see things our intuition will not, and our intuition will pick up on things reason cannot.

The trick is to be able to hone and make use of both our head (logic/reasoning) and our intuition.

He called me a hippie and laughed. But he kind of knew what I meant. Or at least he knows I have that access to intuition. But I find it interesting that intuition as I know it does not seem to be a universal thing common to everybody else. Or at least not everyone is aware of it/its uses.

That isn’t something I realised tonight. Just something I was reminded of. And Aaron is absolutely a very aware person. I’m not saying he’s wrong, either. By all accounts, reason and logic would not dispute this other guy’s character or moral compass. But, somehow, I know different. And it isn’t deduced from reason.

Do you relate to this? Or did you just laugh and call me a hippie as well? Haha, I’m fine with either response.

My 5 Must Haves On A Deserted Island

I missed a Daily Prompt I wanted to do.

Okay, so I probably missed a few. But, I missed one in the last couple days. I don’t know how. I’m definitely slipping.

Anyway, the prompt was, “What 5 things are must haves with you on a deserted island?”

1. My trumpet.

Yeah, I haven’t played in a while, but I still remember how. I was pretty immersed in it. Had a band and played in a few others and everything. I miss those days. Anyway, point is, if I can’t listen to music, I damn well want to be able to create it. So, I’d take my trumpet.

2. A pet.

I’d need some form of companion. I think it would help my sanity massively to have a pet dog there with me. I don’t have one at the moment. I live in an apartment. But in the future, when I have my own place, I’ll have a dog for sure. I grew up with them. Love them. Man’s best friend. I’m assuming I can gather enough food for the both of us. He may even help with the hunting, if I take the right breed.

3. A hatchet.

You know that shit is gonna come in handy. Firewood needs chopping, branches for shelter need chopping, etc. Anyone read that novel, ‘Hatchet‘? … exactly.

4. Fishing reel.

Thinking practical now. Fruits and such are great, but meat is handy and I’d assume fishing would be easier than hunting. I at least have practice with that one.

5. Flint and steel.

I’ll want a campfire. Warmth, cooking, all that. And try starting a fire without a flint and steel. Tough work.

So that’s my list! What would you want to take on a deserted island with you?

Now THAT’S A Happy Meal

My brother and his girlfriend visited me tonight. Out of the blue. I got a phone-call just after midnight. I was sitting on the couch, writing. I had the music channel playing on the telly. I guess they figured I’d be up. You wouldn’t call normal people at that hour. The call was from his girlfriend. She didn’t even have to ask if I was up. Just if I was home. She did ask if my housemate was awake. He’s interstate. She said they were in the area looking at Christmas lights and felt like popping in for a visit.

I love getting visits from them. I love my brother. We’re extremely close. And his girlfriend has only been on the scene for a couple of months, but that’s going really well. I’m glad, because she is awesome and they’re damn good together. I think the world of her already. So, naturally I was ecstatic that they felt I warranted an impromptu visit in the middle of the night.

And with them around (especially my brother) you always get odd snippets of conversation. I’ll leave you with some dialogue. I know, he’s a massive liability. Try going out in public with this guy. No shame.

Brother: I should put a dance pole in my room.

Me: You don’t have room in your room.

Bro’s GF: Put one in the… kitchen.

Bro: Yes! Then you can sexy dance while you make me a sandwich!

Bro’s GF: (laughing) I could do that!

Bro: You could use the mayonnaise as pole lube.

Me: Mayonnaise is not pole lube.

Bro: Oh, that was weird. I just got turned on and hungry at the same time.

Bro’s GF: Can we get cheeseburgers on the way home?

Bro: Aaaand clamburgers.

Me: They don’t sell those at McDonalds.

Bro (winking at his girlfriend): They don’t have to.

Self-Indulgence Is Underrated

Well that was the most self-indulgent meal I’ve ever cooked for myself. I think.

I do go through waves of really valuing and hence acting on feelings of indulgence. I am feeling particularly self-indulgent tonight.

I sit here now with what I just prepared: Steak with avocado, garlic prawns, and a side of pasta salad with a glass of wine. And it didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Maybe I did it wrong.

Tastes like I did it right.

Nice work, surf and turf. It’s almost as much fun to say as it is to eat. “Surf and turf”.

How do you like to indulge?

‘Me’ Music – Actor Cameos Edition Part 2

I felt like doing a music post. I did one 3 months ago (that long?? I thought it was, like, weeks!), that included songs with famous actors in the music videos. That was fun, so here is another selection.

This first one is pretty new. It is ‘High Hopes’ by Kodaline. I like the song. Admittedly, I chose it because of Liam Cunningham. He’s awesome.

This next one is stacked with Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Will Forte and Ed Helms. It is of course ‘Helpless Wanderer’ by Mumford and Sons. (Mumford and Sons are winning this race, as I had their song ‘Lover of the Light’ featuring Idris Elba in my other post).

Next is a Pharrell Williams song he did for ‘Despicable Me 2’. The song is called ‘Happy’. Don’t blink, ’cause you’ll miss them, but quick cameo appearances are made by Jimmy Kimmel, Magic Johnson and Steve Carrell.Mostly I just posted this song because it’s good fun. I love Pharrell. Genius!

Jake Gyllenhaal and RZA appear in this Vampire Weekend song, ‘Giving Up The Gun’.

And now last, but certainly not least… surprise, surprise, it’s ‘Carried Away’ by Passion Pit, starring Sophia Bush!

One Down, Two To Go (and then a typical ramble)

So, I really feel like posting in this here blog today, particularly since I have not done so much lately. But, I was really struggling to find what I wanted to share. I still have nothing overly interesting coming through these fingers, so I am just going to share with you my study schedule for next year. Boring, I know. Apologies. Slow news day week here in EJ-Land.

I am now enrolled in all my next-year subjects, so I thought maybe I can talk about that a little.

For those new to the blog… heavens, why??

Haha. I kid.

Kind of…

Anyway, for those new to the blog, long story short – I bailed on my teaching career and enrolled mid-this-year into a Professional Writing and Editing course. I still have next year and the one after before I’m fully qualified and informed. One year down, two to go.

For those old to the blog, I’m terribly sorry about banging on about that.

So, next year, I am officially enrolled in; ‘Editing Practice’, ‘Writing Fiction – Story and Structure’, ‘Writing Non-fiction – Research and Readership’, ‘Copyediting and Proofreading’, ‘Building a Strong Narrative’ and ‘Writing for the Print Media’.

Which is all great for me, because I’m completely undecided on what to focus on in my final year. So, having a massive range like that next year will (hopefully) enable me to make an executive decision on my major. This semester I completed Desktop Publishing and Corporate Writing. Not the official subject titles, but effectively what they were on about.

So, options galore. And if you know me, you know I have a love/hate relationship with options.

Quick fact: I am extremely adaptable. Extremely.

You could give me no options. Just say, “You’re doing your major in Fiction Writing for Children,” and I’d be fine. Given the options actually available I’d never choose that. But, you get my point. I make do with whatever’s available and am happy to do so. Always.

With options however, my head gets overloaded. Not even my head. I’m not using my head. I stopped using my head earlier this year. It was like a mid-year new years resolution. (My actual New Years Resolution was to be more selfish. An interesting one, I know. Made sense for me. I’m happier now.) So no more head either. My instinct and intuition are sharper than my head. And they take ‘me’ into account.

But, as I was saying, options just befuddle me. I love Editing, I love writing Fiction, I love writing Non-Fiction, I love writing for Media, and I surprisingly really enjoyed the Corporate Writing deal this year. I found I was very good at it. Maybe I go with what I end up being best at? Who knows. I surely don’t. Not yet. I can’t decide. Too many good options I think I’d be happy with.

Although if I went with what I’m ‘best’ at, I may end up with Publishing, because I got a High Distinction (90) for that one. A Distinction (78) for the Corporate one. I’m already more confident with this stuff. Such a difference when you know it’s ‘you’. My other two Degrees were splattered with Credits and Passes for the most part. But, they had exams. Oh, god… exams. The bane of my existence. Give me a portfolio-based assessment any day.

And this is the first time in my ENTIRE schooling that I have been involved in something more portfolio based. It’s wonderful! My instinct has always leaned me towards creativity, but sadly that head I was using for 28 years wanted to lean towards the academics. ‘Cause I was good at them, too. It was all Science and Maths at school. That’s what the ‘smart’ or ‘successful’ kids did. Ha! What a load of bollocks. Took me far too long to see through that bullshit. And I thought I was ‘aware’. Well, I guess I am moreso now. Just took the right culmination of life experiences.

Although, it’s not that I wasn’t particularly aware at that point. I just think I failed to take an active interest in my own life. I, like many, have always been great at giving advice, or assisting others towards positive self-discovery, but until recently absolutely failed to deliver that for myself.

But if you’ve been following this blog this year, you know that has changed. And I am very thankful for it.

I am also very thankful to you guys for trudging through this bollocks. I should really sit down with a plan before I write here. This is the result of improvisation. Again, so many apologies.

I might do a music one next. That’s long overdue.

Thanks for enduring that. I love you all!