I was feeling pretty pumped today. I found (and binged) an awesome new podcast called The Women’s Prize for Fiction podcast, named for the prize founded by author Kate Mosse. I try to seek out women authors and podcasters and this a brilliant, inspiring and fascinating. Well worth a listen. Then I got to work feeling like I could take on the world which is wonderful but instead I had to reconcile the accounts. Ho hum 🤓
But I got stuff done. I bought my friend the best wedding present. It’s cute and quirky like the bride and a bit odd, like me. I don’t know about you, but wedding presents aren’t like they used to be, gravy boats and flatware and shit. I hope she likes it.
And then there’s the grind…Another friend isn’t having a great day. She’s got a boss from hell and today it got tough. It’s the daily grind that wears us thin. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger they say…but sometimes they lie.
I wax and wane like everyone but I’m getting better at staying calm when I would have previously been messy. I did find myself in a very claustrophobic situation the other day and panicked. I’ll admit I kind of pushed my way through a crowd of people but I thought that was preferable to having a panic attack. I hope nobody noticed my rudeness but now the challenge is to find myself in that same place without reacting next time. What doesn’t kill me…
Picked up a guide to the Byron Writers Festival today while shopping at Bookface at Pacific Fair. I am determined to attend; it will be my first. I am trawling through the programme for the most appealing workshops and talks.
One author is offering a talk and a couple of workshops called The Writing Process. Another is talking about philosophy. I can’t wait. I’d so love to jump in my time machine* and go back to my late teens and make some different educational choices. I’d study history at high school and not be intimidated by the cool girls who dominated that class. I’d do a BA in art history at University of Queensland. Sigh.
Listening to Jo Frances Penn’s latest offering on her Books and Travel podcast didn’t help. She spoke of her time studying at Oxford. Only Hogwarts could have been more magical. Now I’m feeling pumped again.
Happy Friday all. I hope it’s more pump and less grind. ☺️
*i don’t really have a time machine