I’ve been all about the Real Talk Radio podcast recently. Some of the guests are amazing and awesome, and some are completely ghastly and make one ultra-stabby, but I always get something out of listening – even the horrid guests trigger a good deal of very productive introspection.

I paricularly adored the idea of compiling a list of 2 minute things that bring you joy to bust out when you’re feeling a bit meh; making a “when life works” list – the conditions that need to apply to have an excellent day/week/&etc; and a whole bunch of other great stuff which, of course, I’ve forgotten to note.

Each episode ends with a bunch of rapid-fire, reader-submitted questions which change each season. These were the questions from the recently released season 4.

• What does taking good care of yourself look like?
• Who are 2-3 of fave peeps to follow on social media?
• Looking back over your life, what is one thing you are most proud of?
• What is one thing in your life that is no longer serving you that is time to let go of?
• What are 2-3 books which have had the biggest impact on you or that you go back to regularly?
• What’s your guilty pleasure?
• Favourite thing to give as a gift?
• What’s a habit you’d like to break or one you’d like to build?
• What’s something you feel really excited about that is coming up for you in the next few months?

I found them really thought provoking. I have no idea how I’d actually answer them, but I’m giving it a good deal of thought in my down time. The books are a particular challenge! I’m a voracious reader, but biggest impact?

This is not really the text message you want to receive:

INTERNODE:Your fault requires further investigation by a technician. This will be completed by 7pm 03/05. You do not need to be in attendance.

ZOMG! What? Another week? 

While this is inconvenient and annoying for me, it is the most difficult for Bessie and Joe/Frank – who have all of their Uni coursework in the cloud. 

Unfortunately we live in an uncivilised backwater where free wifi is not plentiful, so there’s been much using of mobile data and heading out to save and/or print stuff from other locations. Pah! 

xxx

This rather puts a cramp in my plans for daily blogging! 

Posting on the phone is full of suck. And there is no way I am using the  heavily monitored SML Internet for anything of that kind! I see rather shorter posts in our futures.

I need to check if I can insert new pix here (that I haven’t previously uploaded to the webhost). 

Test:

I suspect that image will end up insanely large, but seems to have worked.

xxx

As part of those exciting SML developments I’ve been occasionally vague-blogging about, a new member of my team started today. 

He’s like a grown up – and professional! Unlike the rest of us who are kind of over-grown teens. Fortunately he is suffiently quirky enough to fit in, having recently renovated the interior of his quite suburban house to resemble, well, the thing that jumps to mind is the palace of versailles – no, really.

There’s not a little pressure because it’s the first time (apart from Vincenzo) that I’ve had someone in the team I’ve chosen myself and who hasn’t been a cast-off from another department. Should be fun times ahead! 

Still no access to the InformationSuperhighway – could be another 48 hours. ARGH!

It has kind of snuck up on me, but it is amazing how just about everything is online now – so you’re pretty much screwed if you don’t have connectivity. 

Despite this, I managed to avoid going into the office and reconstructed a couple of million dollars of calculations using some old emails and a document attached to a calendar invite. Thank TheUniverse for locally saved emails – stupid cloud.

And thank TheUniverse for physical media! We watched a DVD this evening rather than streaming something (which of course we couldn’t do).

And a little more unnerving is how many times I went to look things up (or look at things) on the laptop – dozens and dozens and dozens of times. Perhaps I need to have a good hard look at how I’m spending my time.

It’s not all pining for the Internet though. We did get out bright and early for a very under-fuelled 78.52km ride this morning (must carb load and take more snacks) – spectacular day, but we’re definitely feeling the sleepy and were in bed well before 9pm. I expect this means the kitties will wake me at about 3:30am.

We’ve had no internet in ThePalace(OfLove) all day. 

This has been quite horrible. The support people at our ISP are wonderful, but the whole thing is proving a complete mystery to everyone. 

We went out and bought a new modem (which is a story for another time), thinking that our current one had finally died after too many overheating episodes – nope.

I’d planned to get a bit of urgent work done this afternoon, but instead spent my time troubleshooting and on the phone with support. It’s a public holiday tomorrow and I’m really hoping I don’t have to drop into the office to get this stuff done – maybe there is enough info in my head to reconstruct a relatively complex spreadsheet? 

Thank TheUniverse for mobile phones!

At the end of one of our favourite bike routes is a really lovely Moreton Bay fig – or Goblin tree (using our preferred nomenclature)

This is one of my very favourite kinds of tree. I was particularly excited when some self-seeded when we were in Glebe – and are still growing strong almost 4 years later:

probably needs a re-pot

When we stopped to snack on our ride last weekend, we noticed there were figs all over the ground – so I thought I’d grab a couple and see if we could grow some more wee trees:

Will report back.

Well, that was a week!

I was pottering away in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon wrapping up the final prep for Joan’s kitschy Italian birthday dinner when Joan called me and asked me to come and fetch her because Ajax had broken up with her.

Yep, just four days before they were to fly off on a romantic beachy-resort holiday to celebrate her birthday ¹.

You might mentally insert whatever comments you might feel appropriate here.

Anyway, we had a rather full house for a couple of days, and then yesterday Joan was all screw-it and #YOLO and booked a flight to the US. She’d already had the annual leave booked for the birthday trip and figured she may as well use it. I quickly grabbed her some reading for the flight:

And we were up early this morning and off to the airport:

Good for her!

We’ll be working to make a space for her in ThePalace(OfLove) while she’s away – hopefully something rather better than the current situation of the inflatable mattress on the floor of Don’s office.

The babies can’t think of the last time they’ve all lived together – but it would be at least 15 years. This will prove interesting indeed!

xxx

¹ Ajax has gone on the trip solo.

I belong to a professional association who have recently undergone a bit of a re-organisation, re-focus, re-branding … all the re-‘s

They’ve recently started a regular talks which they’re calling The Essence of Leadership … the branding of which bears a rather remarkable resemblance to another series of talks:

Yep, a complete and total coincidence, I’m sure.

Riesling: for the joyful travel.

It is a pill box – and it was all I could do not to buy it (but we have quite enough clutter already thankyouverymuch)

So, about that recent decluttering …

I’ve had these DVDs for around 11 years – and I have never watched them.

I accepted that I am never going to and gifted them to Heather who was delighted (and will probably also never watch them).

xxx

I also accepted that I was never going to repair the old, broken kindle, so wiped it and put in the e-waste stash.

I was having a hard time deciding what to do with the Iliad. The battery won’t hold a charge and it is quite annoying to read while plugged in. But I do love it – the screen is large and the resolution on par with the much newer space-kindle. If I wanted to replace the battery, I’d need to get out the soldering iron – which on the one hand, there’s one of my 50before50 goals (#33); on the other, seems like a bit of effort (and there are “put electrical tape everywhere else you’ll short something” warnings all over the InformationSuperhighway). Plus, I have a kindle already.

Holding onto this for a little while longer while I make the decision. I’m really conflicted.

xxx

I was pretty ruthless with the stuff in my bedside table and by toiletries shelf and moisturisers and such are now either in use – or tossed. Why I was holding onto things that were awful on my skin is a mystery and I really, really didn’t need the buckingham palace souvenir lavender toiletries Arnie and his partner gifted me, sweet though the gesture was.

xxx

I also tossed a bunch of cleaning products, including two different types of kitty urine remover.

Unfortunately this doesn’t mean the kitties have stopped weeing everywhere (monsters), but these do not work anywhere near as well as well as white vinegar, bicarb soda and hydrogen peroxide.

xxx

And I bid farewell to a bunch of clothes I realised are past their use-by date – some tired cardigans, jeans that are way too large and other bits.

It really hard to acknowledge that I can’t get away with ironic clothing anymore without looking ridiculous (I rode that train quite to the limit I think). So the achiever shirt was off to Bessie (and Don’s version off to Joe/Frank – yep, matching ironic shirts)

And the crazy cycling shirt I bought on ebay, in the charity pile. The raod cycling bit made me laugh, but it felt like wearing a plastic bag. I probably should have just laughed about it on the internet.

I also put every pair of shoes that was elderly, that I hadn’t worn for ages (including my old hiking boots), or was not comfortable into the pile for the charity bin. That accounted for quite a bit.

I accepted that these awesome muji shoes I bought in Hong Kong were a half size too small.

Luckily, I could replace them – this was amazing, as I’d been looking for this size on and off for ages.

xxx

And un-pictured: this book and the complete works of Shakespeare – which no-one will read, even if they wanted to, that’s what kindles are for.

xxx

And there is definitely more where all of that came from!

I was pretty deflated to learn that behind advent door #2 was … exactly the same thing as door #1

However this did reinforce that I like it quite a bit. My skin feels really great – and this time it did last 7 days.

And I realised that it is hydra plus active fluid, which I worked out by a combination of shoving blank paper in the empty ampoule and reading the back of the box.

xxx

I was expecting the repetition to last a while, but door #3 served up something new:

algae active fluid – slime power!

While still good, I wasn’t quite so jazzed by this one. I’m assuming I’ll get at least one repeat, so we’ll see how I go at the end of the two weeks.

At this point I’d probably actually buy the hydra active fluid.

xxx

There is another decluttering post in the works, but I will note this here because it fits with the theme.

In a frenzy of using stuff I’ve impulse bought (or ditching it), I busted out the enzyme cleanser which I was upsold along with the advent calendar.

This is a weird powder that you mix into a paste with water. I’m using it in the shower – which can make it difficult to get the correct consistency. It is very gentle, but still exfoliate-y if that makes sense. I’ve been using it for about a week, and I’m pretty pleased with how it is working – my face is very soft. That said, it is a bit fussy to use and I don’t know that I would seek out another – I shouldn’t have to worry about that any time soon as there is tons of it in the container.

xxx

I’m usually not such a beauty product person, but I’d have to say this is actually pretty fun. It is like a little present every Monday.