Sunday, March 30, 2008
Being Human 101
A quote that moves me because it seems to sum up everything I've been through so far:
"Being Human 101: Make Mistake, Apologize, Fix Mistake, Learn From Mistake, Live a Bit, (repeat)."
From Megan Wallent, whose site describes her male-to-female transition in a way that is elegant, throughtful, and calm.
I just seem to make more mistakes, more frequently, than most. Ho hum.
Light dawns even at the lowest points, though, as I put my intentions out into the world and gradually, from unexpected corners, people respond.
I've been corresponding with a sympathetic writer who emailed me after I left a comment on her blog. Another friend has sent me a link for a job she thinks I'd be perfect at. Finally, out of all the CVs I've been sending, I have one definite and one possible interview for next week. And I've volunteered to help out at a couple of things ... more details to come if I'm accepted ...
And Project Snapshot 2007, for which I interviewed 3 Australian writers here on this very blog, has won the Ditmar Award it was nominated for. I am, officially, award-winning - a fact I have already added to my CV, and a certificate is on the way. I may have to take a photo of it. I have never been award-winning before, except when I was part of a winning pub quiz team and marched proudly home, bearing in triumph a tin of amaretti biscuits that no-one else fancied.
Congratulations to everyone else involved, and particularly to my fellow artiste, and to Alisa, the guiding genius behind Asif! Twelfth Planet Press, and so much else. Meeting such interesting people is inspirational. I don't know quite where the energy for all their projects (reading every Australian specfic short story published during the entire year, anyone?) comes from. There are some people, though, whose influence spreads wider than they realise, and who put good things into the world that didn't exist before they thought of them - and I'm grateful to know them.
Reading Patry Francis' words also puts me into a frame of mind that is at once thoughtful and grateful for the things I take for granted.
I think my advice for anyone going through a period of self-doubt would be to find somebody to say yes to you. About anything. When you feel helpless and as if your skills are not valued ... make an offer, whether it's lending a book or making a cake, and see how much more energised you feel when someone accepts it. No-one is going to call you up and request that you do them the honour of writing for them. You have to keep making those moves, and maybe one in ten or twenty or seventy-eight will say yes.
Experimental baking is making me happy ... as is granting wishes.
Labels: a good day, ASif, cooking, friends, grand plans, Inspiration, jobs, life lessons, Patry Francis, volunteering, writing
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tagged!
Four jobs I’ve had:
Chocolate sample distributor (best job ever - I spread a lot of happiness)
Library assistant (another fantastic job, where not only did I learn a lot, but I got to help other people to learn as well)
General hand in a fish factory
Barmaid and cocktail waitress (I was d*mn good at this.)
Four movies I can watch over and over:
Shaun of the Dead
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Singin' in the Rain
Amelie
Four places I have lived:
Brasov, Romania
Columbia, Missouri, USA
Melbourne, Australia
Nelson, New Zealand
Four television shows I love to watch:
Thank God You're Here! - an Australian improv comedy show
Time Team - eccentric, enthusiastic archaeologists excavating ancient sites around Britain, live on camera, over three days
NCIS - of all the procedural investigation shows, this has the best characters
Grand Designs - ardent couples producing incredible dream homes by adapting old castles, digging into hillsides, using rammed earth or reclaimed stone in a cutting edge way that usually goes wildly over budget and takes much longer than planned. It's always rewarding, though, to see visionary people eventually achieve their dreams.
Four places I have been on vacation:
Menorca, Spain
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rovinj, Croatia
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Four of my favorite dishes:
A proper Mexican burrito, spicy and satifying
Our famous ancient family recipe chocolate mousse, with single cream
Grandma-at-Deal's coronation chicken and potato salad, followed by Hedgehog Pudding, a huge, coffee-buttercream filled pudding
Casserole with green beans from the garden and the wonderful mashed potatoes made by Grandma-at-Selsdon - what was her secret? More salt? Real butter? Cream? I can still recall the taste, although she passed away many years ago.
Four websites I visit daily:
www.guardian.co.uk
www.slate.com
www.crazyauntpurl.com
www.somethingpositive.net
Four places I would rather be right now:
In a hot bubble bath in a land without water restrictions ... actually, make that a thermal hot pool in Iceland
Back home hugging my family
Dancing at a street party in Mexico
Magically at the top of Mount Taranaki, New Zealand, without the effort of having to, you know, climb the thing.
Four bloggers I am tagging:
No pressure on anyone!
Chocolate sample distributor (best job ever - I spread a lot of happiness)
Library assistant (another fantastic job, where not only did I learn a lot, but I got to help other people to learn as well)
General hand in a fish factory
Barmaid and cocktail waitress (I was d*mn good at this.)
Four movies I can watch over and over:
Shaun of the Dead
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Singin' in the Rain
Amelie
Four places I have lived:
Brasov, Romania
Columbia, Missouri, USA
Melbourne, Australia
Nelson, New Zealand
Four television shows I love to watch:
Thank God You're Here! - an Australian improv comedy show
Time Team - eccentric, enthusiastic archaeologists excavating ancient sites around Britain, live on camera, over three days
NCIS - of all the procedural investigation shows, this has the best characters
Grand Designs - ardent couples producing incredible dream homes by adapting old castles, digging into hillsides, using rammed earth or reclaimed stone in a cutting edge way that usually goes wildly over budget and takes much longer than planned. It's always rewarding, though, to see visionary people eventually achieve their dreams.
Four places I have been on vacation:
Menorca, Spain
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rovinj, Croatia
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Four of my favorite dishes:
A proper Mexican burrito, spicy and satifying
Our famous ancient family recipe chocolate mousse, with single cream
Grandma-at-Deal's coronation chicken and potato salad, followed by Hedgehog Pudding, a huge, coffee-buttercream filled pudding
Casserole with green beans from the garden and the wonderful mashed potatoes made by Grandma-at-Selsdon - what was her secret? More salt? Real butter? Cream? I can still recall the taste, although she passed away many years ago.
Four websites I visit daily:
www.guardian.co.uk
www.slate.com
www.crazyauntpurl.com
www.somethingpositive.net
Four places I would rather be right now:
In a hot bubble bath in a land without water restrictions ... actually, make that a thermal hot pool in Iceland
Back home hugging my family
Dancing at a street party in Mexico
Magically at the top of Mount Taranaki, New Zealand, without the effort of having to, you know, climb the thing.
Four bloggers I am tagging:
No pressure on anyone!
Labels: chocolate power, films, food, jobs, memes, television, tourism, travel
