Author: Chickadee

Microblog Monday- reading and audiobooks

I have been listening to a few audiobooks recently. Partly because my old phone is now basically an mp3 player on our alarm clock and I also now have audible on my phone. So far it has been mostly re-reads. I have been listening to various Discworld books at night. They are quite good because the story is only part of the appeal, it is the insights and the characters that I enjoy, so I can listen until I fall asleep without worrying that I have missed something.

On my audible account, I have started a couple of new books but also listened to ones I read years ago. Listening is a very different experience from reading. I think I prefer re-reading books in audio because of my other reading quirk.  I often (usually) will read the end of the book before the rest.  I need to have an idea of what is coming up to fully enjoy the book.  I don’t like overly suspenseful stories.

I find it really interesting that there has been such a boom in audiobooks recently.  Is it because we all now carry around portable players (phones) so we are used to listening? Or was there always this pent up demand that no one was catering for? My mum preferred to listen to books when we drove long distances, so consequently i “read” quite a few interesting books.  I can remember sneaking out to the car for the final tape of “far from the madding crowd” because we arrived home with about 20 minutes left. For a long time, I preferred just to listen to music, but podcasts have lured me back.

A good narrator is important.  I am ambivalent about one author, I like her books, but the narrators she has don’t work for me and it is putting me off her books.

Microblog Monday – catch up!

So, we are back from our very busy trip, and work was just busy when i got back. So i feel as if i am always trying to catch up.

There are a lot of big changes rolling through my industry at 1 July this year and it feels like everyone stuck their heads in the sand about them…

And some big birthdays in the extended families this year.  My fortieth means a big birthday for my day as well, just add thirty years to my age.  That is next weekend.  The weekend before this one was Greg’s nephew’s 21st- so we went to Rocky for it.  J will turn 21 later this year, so we are making plans around that.

It’s been really busy, but i can’t remember anything!

So here’s a picture of my dark mark at a trivia night- I was bellatrix.

On holiday!

Partway through the arduous process of getting to Europe. We flew from Brisbane to Seoul today, are staying overnight at a nice hotel (courtesy of KoreanAir) and will be flying to Paris tomorrow. 

Now I remember why I have not been enthused about travel to places far away- the endless time in a flying tin can.

Korean air has been pretty decent, I am looking forward to a flying visit to Seoul on our way home.

Observing

My office looks out onto a small city park, a busy road and an Anglican cathedral.  We are on the second floor (third to some- we have ground, first floor and then second floor), so close to the ground.  My little office enjoys observing life outside. We see a lot of weddings and a lot of tow trucks.

A few of the weddings are big traditional affairs, with lots of guests. They aren’t the interesting ones.  The cathedral is popular with overseas couples who use a wedding service.  Getting married overseas, using traditional western wedding trappings was very popular in Japan when I lived there.  It’s cheaper than the big Japanese wedding for many.  The customers of this wedding company are all Asian, so we are guessing that is what is happening. This sort of service is very popular in Queensland, as it is already a good travel destination from east Asia. We can recognise the company- it’s always the same planner, the same limo driver (and limo), the same sequence. They come over to the park to take pictures and drink bubbles.  We get to look at the dresses, the groom’s suit (is it white? Is it grey? Is it shiny), the family (sometimes there are friends and family) and the general behaviour of the groom. The wedding party has to jaywalk across a four-lane road- some grooms are more solicitous of their wife than others, sometimes the couples hold hands but not often.  It’s always a happy moment when we get to observe a wedding!

Updating

So, I have not been posting.

No really good reason, just life is busy and I am stressed. I write the posts in my head, they just never make it further.  

Tomorrow is my 40th birthday.  It isn’t an easy one.  I remember back when I turned 25, a co-worker (who was in her 30’s) stated that she had a mental breakdown at that age.  This was the day before my 25th birthday.  She had struggled with her expectations of what her life would be like at that age and the reality.   That was not an issue for my 25th or 30th.  But apparently it is this time.  I have been struggling with this for a few months,off and on. Hopefully it gets easier after the big day.

I don’t have huge celebrations planned- a lunch tomorrow with some co-workers (and my boss told me that I didn’t need to rush back afterwards- which would be great, but I have stuff to doooo) then dinner out with my husband (venue yet to be determined).  A big family dinner on Saturday- my siblings are coming to town for that. 

I am going try to write more, but we shall see.

February

Hmm, maybe I should try and post once in the month.  I don’t like this month and it doesn’t like me.

Things I did:

Went for a second opinion on the whole infertility thing. Plus side- nothing else obvious we should/could do.  Bad- same thing, there is no magic bullet

We went to Melbourne and saw Bruce Springsteen

I thought some embroidery


I did some watercolour- the watercolour class was late January and then we had a watercolour night with QCWA in February 

I saw a large spider in a car park


This most recent weekend we went to the beach


I also had a busy work month, there is an industry wide change that came into force this year. The deadline for reporting the information was today, and a lot of decisions had to be made this month.  It is a complex change and I have spent too much time explaining it.

Not sure I am looking forward to march- I have a big birthday coming up.

Microblog Monday- doing things that make me uncomfortable

So I went to a weekend art class about painting watercolours.  It was interesting.  I was definitely outclassed. A couple of the other students were school art teachers, so had art skills.  My drawing skills are not great.  It was fun to play around with paint and colour and practice. But it was challenging.

I was uncomfortable at points because I did struggle with the process.  I wasn’t confident in my skills, so it was not always obvious what to do. The pieces of work that the teacher liked were not necessarily the ones I liked.  Sometimes it is important to try to do things that are outside my comfort zone.  Making art-painting, drawing, sculpting all require you to look at the world around you.  Sometimes it is just about looking at the small details, sometimes it is about looking at the bigger picture. 

I have also been making phone calls that make me uncomfortable, trying to get appointments.

Because I was at the class all weekend I did not march, although there was a march in my town.  My feed has been full of the marches though- I wish I had been able to participate.

Still struggling

I started writing this last Wednesday (nov 2) buts taken me a while…

I got a call from the obstetrician who we were seeing today.  There were no abnormalities with my d&c and the chromosomal analysis  was normal.  Just like all the others. Although this time the doctor did say that this didn’t mean there was a genetic abnormality, but that it wasn’t a a gross chromosomal level. So short of highly intensive genetic analysis (which may not be an available thing) we will continue to have no idea.

I don’t know where to go from here. We have seen the fertility specialist and we do have an IVF plan, for when we want.  We could go down the path of sperm donor as well.  We could stick with our own stuff but do emetic analysis. We could do nothing.

I don’t know.  

I don’t know if I can say I am depressed, but I am not functioning at a normal level either.

after that election, I am somewhat grateful I don’t have a child.  I am genuinely scared that we are headed for a global conflict, or at the very least problems that are going to get worse…

No

Some thoughts.  In 2010 I worked as an election official in a federal election in Australia, where we narrowly re-elected our first female prime minister.  It Some thoughts.  In 2010 I worked as an election official in a federal election in Australia, where we narrowly re-elected our first female prime minister.  It was so narrow that the result, in the end, was decided by the few independent MPs.  What I noticed that day was that at the end of the day when we counted the ballots by hand, was that the conservative parties had election observers present but the left did not.  At least one of the observers was the adult son of another observer.  The conservative party was better at indoctrinating their message. Lefty, social justice parties are not so good.

In part this is for very good reasons- we believe that everybody has the right to an opinion and a voice, and we tolerate others’, even as we disagree (or at least this is my view on this element).  Conservative parties are much less tolerant of others opinions, they are like the bossy person in a meeting who will not let others disagree.  They win because they are so focused on making sure that their opinion dominates.  In order to preserve liberal democracy, this tendency has to be overcome.

Progressive politics racked up an amazing number of wins in the USA (and worldwide) in the early 20th century.  These were achieved largely by women, despite the fact that they often did not have the vote (that was one of the wins). How can we do that again?

Those of us who live comfortable lives often forget how hard-won those are, and how fragile they are for others.  If you are upset with this election, don’t bunker down in your safe suburb, or in your group of like-minded friends.  Go out and be the action you want.  Make noise. so narrow that the result, in the end, was decided by the few independent MPs.  What I noticed that day was that at the end of the day when we counted the ballots by hand, was that the conservative parties had election observers present but the left did not.  At least one of the observers was the adult son of another observer.  The conservative party was better at indoctrinating their message. Lefty, social justice parties are not so good.

In part this is for very good reasons- we believe that everybody has the right to an opinion and a voice, and we tolerate others’, even as we disagree (or at least this is my view on this element).  Conservative parties are much less tolerant of others opinions, they are like the bossy person in a meeting who will not let others disagree.  They win because they are so focused on making sure that their opinion dominates.  In order to preserve liberal democracy, this tendency has to be overcome.

Progressive politics racked up an amazing number of wins in the USA (and worldwide) in the early 20th century.  These were achieved largely by women, despite the fact that they often did not have the vote (that was one of the wins). How can we do that again?

Those of us who live comfortable lives often forget how hard-won those are, and how fragile they are for others.  If you are upset with this election, don’t bunker down in your safe suburb, or in your group of like-minded friends.  Go out and be the action you want.  Make noise.