Destination: Some Place Else

I was tangled up in some extremely weird looking pose thinking if you were a stranger to yoga you would think how on earth will that benefit you. I know when I was doing personal training, my instructor would often say, but I like to sweat, yoga is just too boring. Once upon a time, I thought that too. But I can tell you right now, that is a myth. I sweat, I breathe, I push myself into these awkward positions-but in return I have never been more flexible, I am getting more toned and am full of love and compassion.

I’ve had years of working in hospitality or lugging heavy film equipment and now often sitting in front of a computer all day. I’ve realized that without yoga I would be a sorry sack of aches and pains. I have been doing classes off and on since I was about 17 and it has always been my savior. Last night, I thought to myself, I am going to do this for the rest of my life because it makes me feel good. That is after all my biggest and most simple mantra, if it feels good do it, if it doesn’t, then don’t.

I have especially loved my classes at Yoga Concepts in Richmond where I’ve been going for over a year. My instructor Jane is a poster girl for why you should do yoga, she looks amazing. But it is not just that, she also starts every session with positive words about caring for your inner and outer self, having a compassionate heart, how important breathing is. So every time I enter the room, no matter how I’m feeling, I always leave with a clear head and good thoughts.

I think we can all forget just how important stretching is and not just after going for a big run. Someone at my work said the other day that sitting at our desks all day is like what smoking cigarettes were like in the 50s, acceptable but bad for your health. It is no surprise that I get neck and shoulder pain when I’m all hunched over my desk, or even sore wrists when typing too much. That is why doing things like yoga is so beneficial. My posture is straighter, my core is stronger and I feel more energized. But we could all help ourselves by getting up more often and walking around the office, going outside for your lunch break and even doing a quick stretch.

The other great thing about my yoga class is the meditation factor. It is a way to clear your mind and forget about stress. Simply focusing on your breathing can be one way or through visualization, there are many techniques. Lewy & I have done meditation classes together where you also learn to clear and balance your chakras. He gets up and meditates every morning which I know I should do too. But I also meditate in different ways. When I run, I focus on my breathing and the music and there is nothing else. When I swim, it is the same-ok bar the music bit. Sometimes when I sit on the tram, I close my eyes and breathe and do the same. Yes I may look like that weird girl who has fallen asleep on the tram, but in fact, I am probably more aware and alert that most of the weary eyed travelers.

Point is, most of us live in a world where we all get so busy and wrapped up with schedules and work, so we all need to give ourselves some tender loving care too. I am renowned for being an extremely busy girl, but I also believe I give balance to my life by doing things like yoga or doing exercise or stopping to read a book on my own. Lewy started doing the classes with me too and I’ve noticed just how much stronger and flexible he has become-and hey it’s a nice thing to do together. I turn 32 this year and I feel better than I ever have, so isn’t that saying something. I also know as I get older, I don’t want to be weighed down by negative thoughts. So either tangled up in some crazy pose or doing my downward dog, it is good to know I am doing something for my physical body, my inner emotional and spiritual self and creating a more beautiful mind in the process.

Weddings, birthday’s, engagement’s-they are all times when your friends and family come together for a special occasion. These are also the times that get me thinking. I look around the room and I think about history. People who’ve known me since I was little or had pimples, dressed like a tom boy, had my first date, got drunk for the first time. You see some people have come and gone and that is ok as they were there at that time for a purpose. But I also have the best of friends, an amazing partner and a family who are my rock so I am one lucky girl.

Life is fleeting, we all know that. It is full of beautiful moments that at the time can seem like they will last forever, then one day, it is 20 years later and you think wow where did the time go. I often wonder then why do so many people wait till it is often too late to tell the people they care about, that they love them. I think I’ve always had a lot of love to give, I don’t ever want to say too much as is there such a thing? But it did take people to pass away for me to really grasp the idea of mortality and that though your love may last forever; people do not. So really why wait till it is too late?

I’ve been spending the last ten years especially, telling my loved ones how much they mean to me. I tell friends they are beautiful, I hug my parents, I smother my niece and nephew with kisses, I adore my partner and sister, I tell new friends I like them. What are people afraid of? I mean really isn’t ‘love and happiness’ what we are all searching for (thanks Al Green)? You can have all the money in the world, and yes you can buy the most expensive heater, but that ain’t really going to keep you warm at night. Money won’t honestly laugh at your jokes, tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it, it won’t love you even when you’re sick. Because that it what true friendship and love is for.

Yes the times they are a changing and you need to keep up with it. We now live in a cyber world, where it is a fact that we often have less human interaction and more virtual. We talk on the phone, text, we now online date. I’m not criticising this either as I have been born into it, but I just fear it tends to bring walls up between people. But it does also connect us in ways that the early pioneers would never have dreamed of. I just think we need to use these resources to our advantage. I know when I was living overseas I didn’t see my families face at all and it was hard. But now with programs like skype and facetime, isn’t it amazing that you can talk to a friend half way across the globe like they are right there sitting in your lounge room.

Trying to be all philosophical, I’ve said to a few people at these special events something that I’ve really recognized about myself in the last few years. Yes I would like to be successful in my career and financially, but my true measure of success is when I look around at my friends and family. I am truly a successful woman because of them. Because they love me just as much as I love them. So really as you get older, isn’t it important that you tell them all this. That you don’t wait till next time you see them. That maybe someone was having a shitty day and all they needed was a hug and you didn’t give it to them. So this week I urge you to turn any hatred or bad thoughts into love and compassion, help another and tell them that you care.

I just walked down the street to pick up my lunch. As I smiled and said hello to this old, little Italian lady she giggled, ‘oh you run, run and I move like old turtle’. Now I wasn’t quite running, just walking my usual pace, but it really got me thinking-wow we need to look after our bodies while we have full use of them. I’ve got to say that the last few years; I’ve really been trying to live this mantra. Sure I still like to go out and party, wake up occasionally more hungover than I should. I still like to devour a big, fat, dirty pizza from time to time, but I also balance the good and the bad-so I can do these things. As life is meant for the living and I’m not going to completely deny myself of a piece of chocolate cake from time to time. Though that old phrase of you just watch out, when you hit 30 it gets harder, is true.

Gone are the days of ‘I can like so eat anything and I don’t even need to exercise, I just don’t put on weight.’ Now I’m not sure I was ever fully like that, but there was once a stage where I really didn’t have to try that hard not to stack it on. But by my late 20s, I was starting to get more aches and pains, sore neck and back, always tired, my jeans started to feel constrictive and I thought you know what by the time I hit 40, I’m screwed. So I made a conscious decision to get fit and quite frankly, I’ve never been fitter than I am now. There is no reason why you can’t get fitter as you get older, you just have to decide to want it. I started looking at what I was eating-less carbs, more protein, more vege, less sugar-and really you don’t have to be a scientist, it actually made me feel better and lose weight. This is not meant to be a preachy blog about losing weight, as quite frankly I hate diets. But rather than falling for the disgusting gossip magazines picture of ideal weight, how bout we just get healthy and learn to love our shape, curvy, round, boyish-but please not paper thin.

Now I know there are a thousand diet fads out there, but I think this healthy eating combination and one very simple equation can make you feel better-exercise. Weird hey? I swim, I do yoga, I do boot camp, I run, I dance and I walk. Maybe none of this is your cup of tea, but if for nothing else-just walk. I decided on our trip to Peru while walking along the Inca trail, that life is so precious that why waste the time we’re given. I don’t want to waste my ability to go outside and walk under the sun or in the rain and notice the world go by. Because one day, it is a fact that I will get old and I will find that simple pleasure, much harder. One day I will be slow like old turtle.

Since I’ve been back I’ve been walking to work 1-2 times a week. It takes me an hour and it makes me darn happy. I listen to my music, and walk fast or slow depending on my mood. Hey sometimes I try and mix it up and run a little if I feel like it. Especially while it is summer, take advantage of a free, fun activity where you can -see things you never see when driving in your car. You smell flowers, get smiles off fellow walkers, hear a dog bark or a baby giggle or you can just crank up your favourite track and clear your mind. Any stress that I might have just leaves. I find I actually have more energy too.

So maybe this year, instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs. Instead of driving to the shops 20 minutes away, just walk. You might find that your bad day gets great, that a worry you can’t shake, doesn’t matter anymore and you also get a great bonus-you get healthy.

Vegas. The land of glitz and glamour, of big dreams, sleepless nights and empty pockets. Where wannabe stars rise and fall, sleazy strip clubs and booze on tap 24/7. You can burn $1 to your entire life savings, you can walk away cashed up or cashed out. You can visit Paris, New York, Italy in a day, you can live like royalty, see artists perform or rest by your pool bar in its endless summer.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Las Vegas. I’m not a gambler. I actually get saddened when pensioners sit their wasting what little money they have on the pokies. I know families are destroyed from addiction, lives ruined. I mean I just came from spending over three weeks in Peru, you just couldn’t get further on the spectrum. One minute, I was sitting on the Andes contemplating life, nature and lack of materialism and just how good that was for my wellbeing.

Then, there I found myself after a great drive from LA, rolling down the famous vegas strip, madly snapping my camera in an attempt to capture just how crazy this town is. But I gotta say, it did suck me in with all it’s over the top glory and flashing neon. There is just nothing quite like it. You can either hate it for what is represents or just go with it and respect the fact that it doesn’t pretend to be anything else- this place is about sex, money and good times.

No matter what time of the year it is, I can imagine it is busy every day. We were there from Sunday night to Wed morning and it felt like a weekend everyday. There were casinos on every corner, shops for the rich and the everyday chick, you could eat virtually any cuisine, stroll through hotels that make you feel like you’re in different parts if the world and there are big shows to cater for every taste. You could go on your own, on a bucks or hens, as a couple or with your family. I’m sure the young boys walking down the street with mum and dad would love being handed the endless cards with hot bodied, big busted woman on them too.

Now I could list all the things we did but really as they say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Really it’s a place that you have to experience yourself. I will say go with an open mind and an open wallet and you should fit right in with all the hopeless Vegas romantics.

Beth Orton was right.
There is a comfort in strangers.
In transit, I try to rest but the confines of
Space prevents me. Later though-
a young boy tired by travels, his eyes heavy
Like all surrounding us, falls asleep.
His small head rests upon my
Shoulder, his hand gently on my lap.
A weary mind thinking I’m his mother.
I feel comfort, and do not move him-
Maternal instincts wants him to rest.
Like at home, restlessness slowly fades away.
It is here, we sleep as though family, to awake
Again as strangers. But now, with a newfound
Familiarity he turns to me and says,
‘It’s still a long way till home isn’t it.’

10.18am 31/01/14

I’ve always been intrigued by the way strangers behave with other strangers in confined spaces. Lifts for instance- a metal box no larger than a big cupboard holding from 1 to about 10 people at any given time. You walk in, face the front, sometimes standing so close to someone you’re touching, and say nothing as it glides between levels playing that really shitty, repetitive music. Often you don’t even acknowledge that person. Then on arrival, you exit and go about your day, never to know the story of that person. I mean they could be brilliant.

Or the taxi. A man or woman drives you around for what can be over 30 minutes and some people sit there in silence. Yes, sometimes I get in and have absolutely no desire to make small talk. But then there have been days when I’ve heard the greatest of stories. Life stories, of refuge, of struggle, of immigration, of happiness. Many are sad stories of intelligent men who were once successful in their motherland- searched for safety or for a better life in Australia and couldn’t get work in their field. I’m sure we all have horror stories of taxi drivers who are rude or dangerous, don’t know where they are going etc, but then there are also the ones with the stories (can you tell I like a good tale)- if you choose to listen. Maybe I am just the type of girl who people open up to, but I believe I also ask the right questions.

So then you have the plane or bus or train or tram. Again, you board, you sit or stand in silence next to someone for sometimes hours on end. OR- sometimes you get those rare conversations that makes you see the goodness in people. The ability for strangers to open up to other strangers when they think maybe they will never meet that person again.

I sat on a plane next to a retired naval officer from Dallas to LA last week. I sat down and pulled out Breakfast at Tiffany’s to read. But before I could open it up, he introduced himself and before I knew it we were chatting like old friends. In a matter of hours, because he felt like opening up (he later said sorry you prob didn’t know you were going to sit next to chatty Kathy) or because I felt like listening-he told me stories of naval commitment and hardship, of seeing every single state of America and many countries around the world, living in New Orleans and how his wife had made the best bread pudding and then correcting himself to say late wife as she had died the year before. He was a really good guy.

I know I harp on about taking the time to talk to strangers, but conversations like these above, make me feel comforted by the fact that though there is violence and anger and hatred in the world- there are also moments where strangers can be momentary friends. From pulling down my social wall, I have at times made fleeting friends or lifelong ones. You never know- the stranger sitting next to you could be your future best friend, lover, brother in law or maybe you exist in time together just for that shared experience, then you move on to your next. I guess you will just never know unless you decide on that day you might turn to a stranger and say ‘hi, are you having a good day.’

So many moments in films,
Where a bare breasted woman
Sits in bathtub having an epiphany
Moment. This is it for her,
Right now. Not epiphany,
But realisation that there
Needs to be more
Bare breasted time in bathtubs-
To have time to have any
Realisation or epiphanies at all.
It could also be in the park on
A walk. Sitting on a tram listening
To music instead of driving to
Work. Running, dancing, being
Still. Just give yourself time
To be my friend.

8.45pm 22/1/14

Ok right now, I am in Lima, Peru- a great holiday destination. But for 30 minutes I could have been in Switzerland, the Maldives, or my own backyard because I just had a bath. Have I gone loco? Had too many pisco sours that made me confuse the awesomeness of a real holiday with a hot, bubbly sensation? Or am I just talking about something we know feels good, but just don’t do enough of.

Maybe this will be a boring blog, but I felt compelled to write. Since not having a bath in my own home, I haven’t had one in over a year and just forgot how damn good they make you feel. I mean there is just someone about stepping into hot water and letting the day slide away. Any tension, any stress seems to slide off you, down the drain and into abyss. Yes I did set the scene as if romancing myself. Bon Iver check, mojito check, dim lighting check, close eyes, lay back, unwind……and ok a fancy hotel bathroom did help, but your regular, homely one works just fine too.

There is a good reason why the act of bathing has been such an important part of many cultures. Yes to cleanse the body, but also for religious and therapeutic purposes. I am no stranger to some of these practices though it has been with slight embarrassment on occasion. My first experience with overseas cultural bathing, was awkward to say the least but on reflection I did see the beauty in it.

So a friend went to Turkey and told me about these awesome bathing houses that I just had to go to- ‘yes you go in naked but so is everyone’. Ok I can do that, sure. So as I travelled onto Turkey later that year on my own, I thought why not give it a go. I hesitantly stepped out of my clothes, wrapped myself up in a towel and got ready. The first bit was strange to say the least. As a young boy watched me have a shower- I decided I didn’t want to take my towel off (obviously as I was nude) so he must’ve thought I was mental. Then I was taken to a sauna where I thought I was going to die of dehydration as no one came to get me. So all alone, I got out after 45 mins all wrinkly like your favourite nanna and discovered to my horror, that all the other women were laying about with their bathers on. Crap…… Ok the towel on is still seeming pretty awesome right now, maybe I’ll just move to the next room. But now the tricky bit was the body wash/scrub and massage. All I say is a) I did some pretty awesome towel manoeuvres to cover my lady part b) that day I had two men helping c) it was possibly a longer than usual massage d) I was very clean after.

So that was maybe not the best example of beautiful bathing, but hey you have to share your funny stories right? The nicer experience was in Japan. Those dudes have it all worked out. Hard day at work, why not strip down, lather your body up and wash it all away in a beautiful hot spring or onsen. Yes, it can be a little overwhelming at first to get nude with either a room full of strangers or your good mates, but after a while it is actually more liberating than embarrassing. Any tension quite literally slids down the mountain and before you know it you forget that you’re starkers.

I remember a good friend of mine bought me a present to the Melbourne baths a few years back. It was like stepping back into time. Edith Piaf was playing, rosemary sprigs floated in the water and as I undressed and sat in the tub, I was transported to another place. The scent of the water conjured up memories, then the heat would clear my mind. Now you might not have a ticket to Turkey or Japan or even a tub in Lima ready, but a bath can be just as good as a quick holiday. So either check out any of the local bath houses in your area or use your own or a mates, fill up, step in and float away.

Green endless Andes,
Bright blue sky.
Sitting on pachamama-
This could be just for me.
No one here,
Except the three of us.
So on ledge we watch, be still,
Be silent, be free.
Take in this moment,
Like it could be our forever.
No city pace, stress is a foreign thing.
Only nature’s sounds,
Waterfalls running,
Birds soaring above.
The trees dance with the wind.
We could be part animal, part
landscape, part of history.
This will be the place
I go when I can’t find
The stillness I should have in the daily grind.
12/1/14. 9.26pm

I truly believe that throughout your life you can be touched by such beauty that it can forever change you. Certain experiences make you grow, make you learn and make you want to inspire. Upon returning from a 4 night, 5 day hike to the Inca trail and Machu Picchu, and also visiting the Sacred Valley-this is my state of mind, body & soul and god it feels really good.

I have never in my life been so challenged by what lay before me. Everyday, our amazing guide Reynaldo, would point out where we would have to walk to for either our lunch spot or camp site and it just looked so incredibly far away and impossible to reach. In theory, it didn’t seem like a lot of Km’s to get through, but you don’t take into account the hills, the steps and the altitude. But as we climbed and climbed those thousands of steps, the will in me grew stronger and before I knew it we were there, looking back at the spot we had come from. The sense of achievement is overwhelming when it coincides with the absolute sheer beauty that surrounded us. Knowing that we went from 3,000 ft to 4,200 ft in a matter of days, is unbelievable. Sure, there were times when I was panting with lack of oxygen, when my legs were burning so badly from pulling myself up and down the largest of rocks, but that is why it was that more rewarding when we got to the top of the mountain. I can imagine the high five was invented in a moment like that.

Every day pachamama (what the Andean people call Mother Earth) would provide us with something new. She gave us rain- we did come in the rainy season, so not surprising. There was the light rainfall where at times I just had to stop and let it fall down on my face. I realised I hadn’t stopped and stood in the rain properly for years, I recommend it. Or she poured down so hard while we slept heavily in our tents from the long day. There was the most beautiful rainbows, waterfalls, sunshine beaming down on us and lighting the way for the day ahead. Snow capped mountains, endless green mountains covered with flora, hundreds of types of birds. I even allowed myself to be at peace with the insects- though my legs have a few mosquito bites to heal. Aside from this, seeing the many Inca sites was a privilege. You truly feel like you’re watching your very own live history channel.

It made me gain the hugest of respect for nature and it gave me the real realisation that we need to look after our Mother Earth- because without her we are nothing. Being outside, you see those four elements at play. Without water, there is no life. We need the earth to provide the soil that grows vegetation so we can breathe in the oxygen, our air. The fire can be from the sun’s energy. Without it, not only would we freeze, but we wouldn’t be able to breathe (you know the old process of photosynthesis, which allows plants to recycle carbon dioxide- see this is where science class did come in handy). All at play, if you really watch, it is magical.

I guess I sort of neglect taking the time to watch nature when living in the city. Of course if the sun comes out, I want to sit outside. But to really stop and watch and be at one with it, is a whole other thing. On a personal level, we can all do our part to try and slow down global warming – I know certain ‘experts’ assure us it does not exist, but you just need to see ice caps melting, glaciers receding and landscapes changing to believe it does. If only more bigger organisations would do their part……..ok I digress.

Being in Peru for what will be just over 3 weeks and spending time with the Andean people, has been a beautiful experience. Largely, because for most, this is a way of life; working with the environment or at least having a total respect for it. Whether it’s through offerings or farming, they love their pachamama and I think us other folk, can take a leaf from their book. So take a break from the tellie, Twitter and being connected and go outside, take your shoes off and just feel the earth between your toes- I promise you it can be much more rewarding than the latest Facebook news feed.

So if you like to think of yourself as a bit of a party animal, food connoisseur, cocktail buff, architecture expert, jazz lover, swamp advocate- then New Orleans is the place for you.

No matter how hard one might try, it is virtually impossible to have a bad time there, because either everyone is either drunk or is in the process of getting there. Now I love to eat, and I think there have been times when some of my friends have been astounded by just how much I can shovel down – but in this city- it’s what you just gotta do. There are so many local delish dishes that still makes my mouth water and pants expand just remembering them. Lewy and I even went as far as to do a cooking class so maybe I’ll attempt some of the dishes when we return…..but here’s a run down of delicacies you just have to try if ever you venture to the city of great tunes, booze and yummy food:

Oyster Rockefeller, gumbo, BBQ shrimp, pecan pie, fried anything (even alligator), poboy ( oh yummmm as many diff kinds), blackened fish, bread pudding, lobster bisque, jambalaya, étouffée…… Ok we did do other things than eat, I promise – but my lord did we eat good. But we also walked a lot too as we stayed in Treme- so thankfully my waist line has only moved a little.

So next : the cocktails! I have always been a fairly good drinker, probably a little too good at times. But wow, those bar tenders just don’t care about shot glass limits- they are all about the free pour and free pour they do. There would be maybe a Bloody Mary, a bayou bash ( kinda like a sangria but with southern comfort), pimms cup, grasshopper, Moscow mule, Sazerac….the list could just go on, you are not spoiled for choice. But then I was wondering why oh why was I getting very merry very quickly…..that old drinking rule of don’t mix your drinks is there for a reason. Needless to say, it was certainly a way to enhance checking out the next awesome and my favourite bit about New Orleans – the music…..

There are some amazing musicians out there and a lot of them are on the Main Street corners and sidewalks. Our preference was to stay mostly clear of Bourbon street ( I’ve done my really trashy days, it was a bit like Surfers paradise if it was spring break.). Don’t get me wrong it is lots of fun in that section, but we were there for New Years, the playoffs for the Super Bowl ( and woo hoo the saints won- now that was a very fun night partying with the locals) and sugar bowl ( the college playoffs) so it was filled with many, many booze hounds who started to get a little gross by the end of the night (I mean I am a picture of beauty at the end of my big nights out). We did do a few local bars there and loved the Bombay club.

But by far Frenchmen st is the best for good quality jazz and alike. The spotted cat, Blue Nile and d.b.a were awesome…saw a washboard trio, harmonica/ electric guitar soloist, big brass band, a lady who could have been Billie Holiday reincarnated and more.

Now I want to point out there are so many things to do because this place is full to the brim with history- there are cemetery walks, ghost and voodoo tours, steamboat rides, swamp visits ( that was fun), cocktail tours ( again fun), architecture talks (amazing buildings wow)…….and lots more.

Part of the charm of New Orleans is the people too, they love their city and are very proud of it too! They also know how to make fun of the fact that a lot of the locals love their drinks too. So can you tell I loved it there ?

But another thing it did was made me realise that Melbourne can be a like a lil NOLA too. It has so many little bars and clubs and restaurants to offer and us locals often only touch the surface of places to go. So in this new year, appreciate the fact that most of us are lucky enough to eat, drink and be merry some of the time. But to do it with recognition that there are many who can’t and to maybe stop and help them out. In 2014, appreciate your friends and family and even that drunk dude on the street cause he probably has a pretty great story.

So finally, we are on our big trip. Yes, you know the one I haven’t stopped talking about, especially over November and December. For those I drove insane, apologies. But you have to understand one thing about me. By nature, I am a free spirit and travelling is one of the things in my life that completely and utterly nurtures and respects that. I love Melbourne, but I cannot ignore the fact that when I am away I feel free and I am completely inspired-and the lead up to that makes me all excited like. If I had the money and the time and I could bundle up my friends and family with me, I just think that maybe I could travel for the rest of my life. But you know, travelling doesn’t always have to mean going far away, just to someplace else……..

But that big jumbo jet flew through cotton wool skies and over silky water spans till we were in the city that truly never sleeps. This was my second time in New York and I gotta say, I love it even more. There is something about when you touch down and put on your wooly jacket expecting to get sleet, but you get snow. So there, I said it, I love Winter in NYC. I know most actual New Yorkers couldn’t think of any thing worse than a wintery wonderland in their local area. I admit, the masses of crowds are unbearable over the holiday period. Just be smart and don’t do what we did and decide to check out the Christmas tree at Rockefeller centre on Xmas eve or in general travel anywhere at peak hour, then you should be fine. If you’re claustrophobic, then it’s your worst nightmare, so choose a remote beach. But if you like to drink mulled wine while watching ice skaters and reruns of Home Alone in Bryant park, then this is your place.

I say work out the top things you want to do and work from there. I mean everyone has their list right? You know the one with all the places you gotta go and see and eat and drink at. To be honest, if we did all of that, we would be there till next Xmas. We did try, don’t get me wrong. We drank cocktails at the Whythe hotel in Brooklyn-Viewing Manhattan from the other side of the island is damn beautiful, especially while sipping on cocktails made just for us. Or having some nibbles and drinks at cafe Mogador down the road. Checking out a NBA game and deciding that we were going to barrack for our recently adopted Brooklyn nets but then being totally ok that they lost. Eating fancy hot dogs at a cocktails bar called ‘Please Don’t Tell’ that to enter you have to go through a phone box in a different hotdog joint. Or what about seeing Thievery Corporation at Webster hall, hands down best gig I’ve been too (maybe it’s cause all the guest singers could be there) -it was hell good and I got hell drunk.

Being total tourists we had oysters at Grand Central Oyster bar with Jimi who has worked there for 35 years serving the freshest of delicacies, or having the biggest pastrami sandwich and potato laskes at Katz deli, Time square at night, walking the Brooklyn bridge, the Harlem gospel choir at BB Kings Blues Bar, the Statue of Liberty boat ride, MOMA, I mean the list can go on or on the weirder side, seeing ‘Sleep no more’ – a Macbeth interpretation alike to eyes wide shut, that I absolutely loved, but yet was bewildered by, something that you really have to see for yourself……..

But you know what, it’s the small stuff that makes me the happiest. It’s that taking it all in moment.

I was watching the owner at the Great Jones Cafe off Bowery St in NYC ( a fav of You Am I), it was a full house, people were laughing and sharing stories and in that moment, he was real happy. I will never know exactly what he was thinking, but he was wearing a smile over something small. I get these moments, I feel them all the time. They make me laugh, they make me cry and they make me grateful. A smile from a stranger on the street, an old song on the radio that wasn’t from my time, but I appreciate its value, a perfect winters day, catching up with a friend that you haven’t seen in over 7 years and it being just the same, trying a new drink but you still can’t pronounce it, a laugh with friends, looking at your partner and smiling over something you both just saw but don’t need to say, a film you cry over, a kiss that was unexpected, when someone tells you they love you and they truly mean it. That’s the stuff that makes me truly free spirited and at the end of the day I don’t have to travel across the globe for that either. So take the time to take it all in over this holiday period and don’t be so busy that you miss all of this cause it is it the most special. Xx

Breath gets harder, heat beat races, sweat forms, shivers throughout body, pupils dilate, mind goes elsewhere.

Yes, this could be the intro for some sexy scene, but if I added just one more line…

…..all colour drains from face and that faint, queasy feeling comes on…….

Then this is the description for many people when talking about donating blood.

The idea of being jabbed with a long, sharp needle can turn even the most macho of men into a whimpering mess.  Funny enough, not to pigeonhole an entire gender, but it is often men who can’t handle being pricked, probed or investigated.  Maybe it is because women have to tune into their bodies at least once a month, that we are sometimes just better with this sort of stuff.  I guess for those women that decide to have children, a little pain is just preparation for the big showdown at childbirth.

That being said, there are a huge amount of women & men who couldn’t think of anything worse than seeing their own blood drain out of their nimble bodies for any other reason than a blood test.  For those people, relax I’m not going to come running at you screaming ‘how dare you, you must give blood.’  I also know that not everyone can give blood either.   BUT:  if you have been thinking about it and just never got round to it, then DO!!!  There are so many people in this world who constantly need healthy blood to survive.

These are some of the ways your blood can be used (might have to click on image as this pic looks teeny)

What spurred me on to write this, is that I’m going to give plasma for the first time next week (apparently I have sick as veins for it) and the other is cause I just witnessed another type of life saved from this very thing.  Though it wasn’t from a human, it was from a dog –for another dog.  My sister’s poor little Labrador Sasha ate some rat poison (we think by eating a rat) and got very sick, very quick.  It has been a really scary week for her family as there was a while, where we honestly didn’t think she was going to pull through.  To be honest, in all the times of donating blood for humans, did I ever stop to think, well shit, animals need blood transfusions too.  So maybe you don’t feel up to the jab, and I know it seems a  little inhumane to make your dog do it instead-but if you have a healthy animal-it is worth chatting to your local vet and seeing how you can help out too. After a blood transfusion this week, Sasha is home and doing better and fingers crossed keeps heading in that direction.

I went along with a friend about 4 years ago to donate blood and together we gave it a go.  Now it’s not to say that the reason you ever donate anything (your time, your money, your blood) is to get a reward from it.  But there is something about sitting at a centre, surrounded by other donors and just knowing that by this small little gesture, you might possible save a life or many.  I’m not going to lie, it’s a pretty good feeling, especially when you think, what if this was my friend, family or lover.  You never know what will happen in your lifetime, because one day, you might need it too.

For more information check out:

https://www.donateblood.com.au/ready-to-donate/make-appointment

Or read this article –there is evidence to prove that donating blood can also be beneficial for the donor.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2333882/Donating-blood-good-YOUR-health-receiver.html