Back from the dead

I feel like I'm going to be one of those bloggers who constantly apologises for late posts!

I'm a perfectionist, a procrastinator, and I feel like I'm never home. Doesn't help with the regular posting business, does it?

I think the solution to my blogging tardiness is also the solution to my life: to stick a Post-It on my forehead that says "Stop Worrying" - preferably backwards so I can read it in the mirror when I look at myself!

So before I can overthink even this very post I'm typing right now, I'm just going to bring Vacuuming On Holiday back from the dead right now and update you on what's been happening!

Firstly, I was very kindly nominated for the Harmony & Peace Award by my favourite and most inspirational pow-wow blogging pair, Michelle and Anne over at Crochet Between Worlds. This happened way back in December last year! How neglectful am I? What a way to thank them for their consideration! frown emoticon To be slightly fairer to myself, I did immediately draft - not one, but two - entries in response! So what happened to them? Well, the fact is I'm so new to this, I couldn't even name 7 blogs that I regularly read, let alone 7 blogs that fit the profile! I spent so long fussing over this task that I just never got around to actually doing it (story of my life). My goal for this week is to do justice to my Award, and get it and my nominees loudly and proudly posted up for all to see and share - so watch this space!

Secondly, I've recently returned from a mammoth non-stop 6 week jaunt in the Australian countryside working as an Ecologist! I'm very lucky I landed this job and I'm pretty thankful for all the cool, talented, amazing people I worked with and all the new things I learned. I handled beautiful and fascinating animals from lizards and snakes to birds to frogs to bats. I spent quiet moments in glorious ruby red sunsets admiring the unique outback landscape. I missed home and family and friends and the fun of the city, not to mention I was pretty exhausted by the end of it! But it was a memorable, rewarding, valuable experience, and I hope more like them come my way in future.

A cute little free-tailed bat I helped rescue - basically just another day at the office. This species Mormopterus is one of my personal favourites. I love the way they hide their eyes behind their ears!

Thirdly, after many fears about delaying my entry into full-time employment, I have decided to take the plunge and go on another long trip - this time to South East Asia! It's something I've always wanted to do, many years before I ever stepped foot in Europe. I've sought advice from everyone under the sun, and while opinions have at times been very divided, the general consensus - and what I've ultimately chosen to live by - is that now is the time to do it. Everything comes with a trade off. Maybe I will have to fight harder to land a good job when I come back. Maybe it won't come as easy for me as it would for someone who works straight after graduating from university. But it won't be impossible.

The thing with going on adventures is that afterwards life inevitably settles down. More importantly, I know I'll regret it if I don't travel now, before things like kids and bills and climbing up the career ladder become a terrible reality. Happiness happens in the present, not in the future.

Sawn Rocks, a beautiful feature of the Mount Kaputar National Park in northeast NSW, one of the places I visited while I was working out bush. The organ pipe-like rock columns were formed naturally, just by the way the lava cooled. I told you geology is awesome.

Anyway, wish me luck! I'm nervous but excited! I feel like the decision to travel and explore the world is a really relevant one for many people in their twentysomethings; it comes up constantly in conversation. It's a stage of life when everything seems ripe for the taking, and there's just not enough time or money to satisfy all the things we want to do. It's when we all want to start making a name for ourselves in our jobs and have really satisfying, fulfilling work. But we're also young, and fit, and our feet are itchy. And even though we know we're not old, we're also starting to look ahead to when we will be. What will we be doing with our lives when we're  in our 30s, 40s, 50s?  How do we reconcile all these desires with our responsibilities?

Do you know anyone who's had to make a big (and seemingly life-changing) decision like this before? Maybe you've had to make one yourself. Please share in the comments how you tackled it! I'd really love to hear from all of you.  

To end this on a lighter note, I dined at world famous Japanese Restaurant Tetsuya's back in December with acquaintance and travel journalist Paul Oswell from Shandy Pockets. I was very lucky to get the impromptu invitation, and didn't quite realise the enormity of the experience until I was already there! I mean, of course I'd heard of Tetsuya's, and I knew it was rather fancy, but I didn't know just how fancy. He and I were both rather unprepared and therefore pretty blown away by it all!

I was super chuffed to visit the shiny kitchens, which was impressively organised and controlled - not at all like the steamy, hot, noisy, chaotic back stage scenes of five star restaurants you see in movies. We even got to visit the cool and quiet dessert kitchen, where a lone pair of calm and collected pastry chefs prepared the many small pretty sweet things in peaceful solitude.

Tetsuya's behind the scenes - making marvellous delicious things.

Paul has finally released the review of our amazing degustation meal and fine dining experience, and you can check it out here.

That's it for now. Catch you again soon!

 

This week I smiled because

This week was a bit of a tricky one when it came to smiles, but discipline does pay off because I'm a pretty happy chappy this Sunday looking back on the week that was, ready to celebrate my wins where I can and not sweat the small stuff.

Monday: Had a check up with the doctor and everything is right as rain! Can't take good health for granted. (Remind me of this next time I skip the gym.)

Tuesday: All-day quality catch up time with my best friend P. Haven't seen her in literally years, and she is as beautiful, sweet, and inspirational as ever. I've always said the truest friends in our lives are the ones with whom time and distance does no damage - and this is certainly true of P.

Wednesday: Plumber emergency this morning to repair the broken tap that flooded the kitchen last night with hot water. Not so fun. But hey, the problem was fixed for good. And who doesn't love lifetime warranties? As stressful and tiring as it was cleaning up the mess, Mum and I laughed about it later.

Thursday: Enjoyed the rare experience of couch potato-ing with my sister who has this week off and was therefore was able to hang out on a school night!

Friday: Today ended up being Parents' Day as I did grocery shopping with Mum in the morning (my favourite kind of shopping) and had dinner with Dad in the evening. They shared some funny stories which gave me ideas for a writing project I've been stewing on for a while...

Saturday: Went to an AMAZING gig - at which I was fully prepared to dance all day and alone (while well lubricated, since, as we all know, that ensures the best moves are implemented on the floor) - but to my surprise, my gorgeous bestie D joined me at last minute, and her company simply added to the sheer delight that was hours of proper top quality house and techno spread across three stages, stretched out over a stunning day that melted from summer sun into musky dusk through to deep night. Pure magic.

But it didn't end there. Then, because I'm a very lucky girl, I also got to see my close friend J and a bunch of our lovely mutual friends at her well-earned graduation party.

Sunday: A totally indulgent and leisurely day with the two stooges who always make me laugh. Food, nails, massage, movie, walking in the sunshine, lounging on the couch, and a few D&Ms, made for a pretty much perfect day.

Overall, this was a week that topped the gratitude scales. I took on a few more responsibilities at home, learned how to ask for advice, and made role models out of my friends who are all manner of empowering traits combined. I'm quite honoured.  

 

This week I smiled because

Monday: Random catch up with my beautiful bestie M. She treated me to a play produced by my favourite theatre house, and I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it! Conveniently for me, it was indirectly about creative writing.

Tuesday: Had a nice long chat and some sweet hangs with a couple of friends in Hyde Park on a hot, windy, sunny day that now and again randomly involved thunder. Gorgeous.

Wednesday: While I was out with my dad, who's a pretty gruff guy, I started noticing all the little ways he shows he's proud of me. Felt pretty nice.

Thursday: I had the most amazing popcorn. Honestly, I was like Tolkien's Gollum, crouched over this massive bowl of happiness in front of tv in the dark, shoveling that stuff in inbetween amazed giggles. You gotta try it. Make it on the stove with some oil like normal. Melt some butter in the microwave. As soon as the popcorn's ready, pour the butter over, sprinkle in lots of salt, some sugar, ground cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, and cayenne pepper, then toss like mad. You're welcome.

Friday: I met a nice tourist from the US who I found out has his own travel journal. He was reviewing Tetsuya's, a super fancy Japanese restaurant, and he invited me to join him! Not only was this a rare and mind-blowing fine dining experience for me, but I also got it for free, and with good company. I'm very lucky.

Saturday: I slept most of this day, so really, what's there not to smile about?

Sunday: Lazy day with the two stooges, D and T, who I've missed very much. Brunch, TV, tea, ice cream, more food, dessert, more TV. I think I may tortured D with my terrible fake French accent all the way through one of my favourite foodie movies. Love it.

 

This week I smiled because

A lot of good reasons to smile this week!

Many of them have been writing-related. I decided to give the annual NaNoWriMo challenge another try this year, even though I was still partying it up in Europe when the clocks ticked over into November 1st. I'm very proud of what I've done, even though I didn't "win" for various reasons. Because you know what? Without NaNo, I wouldn't have written as much as I did! Here I talk a little bit more about what NaNo means to me and my experience with it this month.

Monday: Over 3k words.

Tuesday: Over 5k words. (Wow!)

Wednesday: Nearly 4k words.

Thursday: Over 3k words. Also, this was somehow my most focused writing day in ages. Later on, I went to a super cool hip hop bar with my beloved F to watch a rap battle. I saw some amazing talent and met some friendly strangers. Then on the drive home, my friend's friend, a kind and seriously skilled MC, blasted the beats in the car and did some improv rap out the window. Great memories! Oh, and I stuffed my face with this heart-stopping creation:

If you haven't been to Mr Crackles on Oxford street, then you must. Pork belly roll with crispy crackling. Drool... 

Hustle and Flow on Regent street. Fantastic little joint with great art and a rather interesting shot challenge.

Friday: I dropped the writing ball a little today. But I went to an amazing techno gig in the evening with a simply brilliant DJ out of Detroit, Mike Huckaby. I literally danced till dawn. It wasn't easy to show up on the d'floor alone, but some lovely fellow boogie-woogiers gave me kudos for my bravery.

Spinning and shuffling at the Burdekin Hotel on Oxford street.

Saturday: I welcomed home my sister who I haven't seen in ages! I also caught up with some friends I hadn't seen in months, who greeted me with cheers. Way to feel loved! A day of reunions.

Sunday: It’s a lovely day. Hot, bone-dry, and typically Australian. The sky is darkening to a deep ominous blue, the wind is picking up in that unsettled way just before a storm breaks, and though there isn't a breath of moisture in the air, there is loud, rumbling thunder overhead, and it's getting louder and closer every minute. It won't be long before lightning is splitting the sky and the rain is bucketing down. Very moody. Very beautiful.

 

The New Normal + Flashback Blogging

Hi all! It's been weeks since I've last posted. The reason for that is simple, and may I say, was totally predictable: I had no time to blog about my holiday while I was holidaying!

This blog post pretty well sums up my attitude to travel blogging, and I have learnt (read: am learning) not to worry too much about how I approach it, because everyone is different anyway.

I'm back home now in my beloved Sydney. Like a migratory bird, I've chased the sunshine, and summer here is proving to be another beautiful one. When my family picked me up from the airport, we made many jokes about how life is "baaaaack to normal!"

I've now got the opportunity to leisurely reflect on the four months that was. Flicking through thousands of photos, and pages and pages of my handwritten journals (see, I kept up to date with something!), I can't describe how bittersweet it is to know that it's all over. My precious memories are the key to reliving all the special moments - infinitely so, if I wish. Which is why I don't feel like my trip is something that's "ended". Now that I've had all these incredible experiences, they will stay with me forever, reminding me that life is never just "normal". So in a way, I'll always feel like I'm holiday!

With that in mind, I fully intend to treat you to some flashback blogging in the coming weeks, sharing with you the things that made me smile, laugh, or cry (embarrassingly often) while I traipsed around Europe.

Meanwhile, I won't forget that Sydney is a stunning holiday destination in its own right. Like most, I take it for granted because it's familiar to me, but I'm truly lucky to live in a city that tourists are vying to visit even for a day, and which sits arguably in the top ten of the list of world must-sees. From now on, I'll be more appreciative, something I had to cross the planet to learn. I really do think gratitude is the secret to happiness.

Enjoying the perfect Sydney Harbour on my first weekend back home: the Bridge, the Opera House, the brightly lit Lunar Park, even the ferries. That night, my siblings and I saw Sir David Attenborough speak live! Something to tick off my bucket list for sure.

How do you feel about your hometown? Are you indifferent, or do you adore it? What do you love, what do you hate? Please share below, I love comments!  

Bonus random trivia: Do you know which Aussie artist made an album of the same title as this blog post? Person with the first correct answer gets kudos.