Thursday, February 24, 2011
Update on new years resolutions
So....I have now joined a gym. Went there on Monday for my first PT session and let's just say that I am now, and it is Thursday, only being able to start walking properly again. Alex, the name of my PT pushed meofo hard, too hard I think. I told him i needed to be able to function during the week, and did he listen? SHOCKER. anyway apart from the muscle pain I am also feeling dizzy and generally look and feel unwell. So much for exercise making you feel better. Needless to say I am scared shitless about my session on Monday. After I kill alex will let him know that I am not going through this again.
Reuniting with old school friends, 20 years later.....
A few weeks ago now my lovely sister Nits, organised the Mount Gravatt High School reunion, class of 91. When we all first heard that she was planning on organising the reunion I immediately thought...BRILLIANT! This is gonna be a lot of fun! I think a few people were a little unsure how it would go, and seeing peeps they hadn't seen for so long.
As time past and the reunion date got closer and closer, I must confess to quite a few strange thoughts and emotions going through me...like....what if everyone has changed so much that I hardly recognise them??? Or....I should have been more successful with my life....what have I even done that I am so proud of that I can talk about......will they think I look really old now??? Blah blah, the list goes on. Some nights I was even kept away with these thoughts.
So....the big weekend arrives. Nikki (an old school friend) and I , who both now live in Sydney are catching the same flight together, which is a happy coincidence, so I guess you could say my reunion starts even before I get to Brisbane. It was lovely to hang out with Nik and chat about old stuff and new stuff. She drove us to the airport and we had even more time to nabber on because our flight was delayed. We got to Brisbane and Nits and Chook picked us up from the airport, which was extremely kind of them seeing that we didn't land until about 10.30 pm. We dropped Niks off at Fis place and then headed back to Nings. Of course, all three of us were so excited just to even see each other that we stayed up until about 1.30am chatting. Finally we got to bed, but honestly I hardly got a wink from the nerves of it all and neither did Chook......so we woke up feeling hardly refreshed but with still excitement in our bellies.
There were a few disputes as to wether or not this was a good location, but I honestly thought it was perfect. They may not have had the greatest wine selection and it might have smelt like we were in the middle of a sewerage plant....but it completely made sense that we were there. If we hadn't of been we couldn't have walked up to the high school to take a wicked trip down memory lane.
Well the 7 of us rocked up early, just so we would definitely be the first seeing Nits was the host after all. The first people to arrive were Chris and Dave, who left in year 10, so none of us really knew them very well. Then the peeps started to flow in. The highlights of the night for me were Dave Perry - who has such a great laugh that took me back 20 years instantly, Lee Webber who used to be the shy boy down the street, who has now turned into a sexy, confident fireman.....Lee Smith, who well seems to be exactly the same....Brad ,Trent Allen and Darryl Pryde - who stole the show really...and gorgeous Chip...who is such a sweet guy, always has been and still is. Chris Wardle was also there whom I spoke to for a lot of the evening - and what a great man he has become as well. Later on in the evening Mick and Saylor turned up which was more than wicked. Ramsay was hilarious - such a dry sense of humor, and it was good to see Monty again - who also has hardly changed all these years. All the girls that were there were so good to see again, especially Rens who is always so good to see. Danielle has blossomed and is looking amazing.....some blasts from the past like Kerry Lynch, and Tina (who unfortunately I didn't get to speak to very much)......were also good to lay eyes on again. It was too brilliant though hanging out with Jules and Chookster...and Katherine (man....so many memories with Kath that I had forgotten about, probably because we were stoned most of the time). To cut a long story short the whole night was spent chatting about old memories, and dredging up things long forgotten. I for one hardly spoke about life now....and it really didn't seem to be much of that going on in the conversations I joined into.
The night flew - and before I knew it I was rallying the troops to head to the oval. It was too funny. We were a bit everywhere - some people were getting drinks from the bottle shop, whilst others had already started walking. Half way up I got stopped by Lee Smith who suggested we break into groups of 3 and all meet on the oval. I thought it was hysterical...."Haven't changed a bit Lee! Live a little - don't you think it would be a giggle if we did all end up in the lock up?" He didn't find it very amusing. So we all eventually made it onto the oval steps..... On the way through Trent was making hysterical comments about the new found Fen Shui that the high school has seemed to have adopted since we had left. There were trees, grass and little hills everywhere. Covered areas for students to hang out in....benches, chairs. I must admit when we were there as students the school looked more like a concentration camp than anything else. Even the benches we got to sit on were made out of wire fencing.....VERY COMFORTABLE. We also had to stand on parade in the hot sun in the mornings, and we all clearly remember people fainting on parade because of the heat, but now the pampered little students get plenty of shade. None of that going on anymore - I bet they even get to sit down! Anyway -it was very funny. It was great to be there with everyone......and to share old memories and a laugh in the very spot it all happened 20 years ago. At one stage Trent tried to get us to play some drinking games.....we were meant to form a circle in the dark on the steps..and if we got it wrong we were going to have to skull warm beer...I don't think so - we have to draw the line somewhere! It took quite a long time to get Trent to give up on it......but it was very funny.
Eventually the night had to draw to a close...or we had to head out of the high school, surely we would have roused some of the neighbours by this stage. We headed back to the pub, which impressively was still open until 2.30 am (so used to London bars closing at 1!).....then we headed to Micks parents house which was even more of a spin out. Some very funny things happened there - "You look like you've swallowed a fridge!" Some fine words from a fine man..... ;0) It was crazy being back in one of my main party houses from when I was 16. I went out with Mick too all those many years ago - so all those memories came flooding back as well.....CRAZY! Chook, Kath and I (who I might point out at this stage have always been the last standing)..then had to sneak into our shared room with Nits and Jules who went home earlier in the night with Nik and Fi - a lot of giggles for sure.....and a slightly peeved off Jules....sorry Jules! We arrived home just as the first birds started to sing, which put an even bigger smile on our faces....JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS. Chook stated something pretty obvious though which was when will we learn???? To get our own room so we can stay up and not piss anyone off???? I'm not sure Chook - I don't think we will ever learn.
So in a nutshell, it was so good to step back in time for a night, and see all the old faces and hear all the old voices. It would be something I would love to do again - and I don't think I'm alone in that. The only problem is is what then? It seems to be one of those nights that can only happen once..... All I can say is that I'm happier for it that it did happen....and it's just so wonderful to be assured that we really were surrounded by some wonderful people while going through those traumatic years of puberty.
As time past and the reunion date got closer and closer, I must confess to quite a few strange thoughts and emotions going through me...like....what if everyone has changed so much that I hardly recognise them??? Or....I should have been more successful with my life....what have I even done that I am so proud of that I can talk about......will they think I look really old now??? Blah blah, the list goes on. Some nights I was even kept away with these thoughts.
So....the big weekend arrives. Nikki (an old school friend) and I , who both now live in Sydney are catching the same flight together, which is a happy coincidence, so I guess you could say my reunion starts even before I get to Brisbane. It was lovely to hang out with Nik and chat about old stuff and new stuff. She drove us to the airport and we had even more time to nabber on because our flight was delayed. We got to Brisbane and Nits and Chook picked us up from the airport, which was extremely kind of them seeing that we didn't land until about 10.30 pm. We dropped Niks off at Fis place and then headed back to Nings. Of course, all three of us were so excited just to even see each other that we stayed up until about 1.30am chatting. Finally we got to bed, but honestly I hardly got a wink from the nerves of it all and neither did Chook......so we woke up feeling hardly refreshed but with still excitement in our bellies.
Needless to say - the evening started well. Fi, Nik, Jules, Kath, Chook, Nits and I, all booked a room at the Garden City Motor Inn....which was too funny for words. We rocked up and there was a pool on full display of the car park covered in mosquito netting. BRILLIANT! So wish we all got in our togs and took a pic of that now - would be too funny. The rooms turned out to be really comfortable..so we all got ready and then headed to Garbo for a bite to eat. Had some wicked burgers, then jumped into a cab, after being haranged by some friendly drunks, who took a particular liking to Fi...and then we were on our way....just a short trip down Logan road to the Mount Gravatt Tavern.
There were a few disputes as to wether or not this was a good location, but I honestly thought it was perfect. They may not have had the greatest wine selection and it might have smelt like we were in the middle of a sewerage plant....but it completely made sense that we were there. If we hadn't of been we couldn't have walked up to the high school to take a wicked trip down memory lane.
Well the 7 of us rocked up early, just so we would definitely be the first seeing Nits was the host after all. The first people to arrive were Chris and Dave, who left in year 10, so none of us really knew them very well. Then the peeps started to flow in. The highlights of the night for me were Dave Perry - who has such a great laugh that took me back 20 years instantly, Lee Webber who used to be the shy boy down the street, who has now turned into a sexy, confident fireman.....Lee Smith, who well seems to be exactly the same....Brad ,Trent Allen and Darryl Pryde - who stole the show really...and gorgeous Chip...who is such a sweet guy, always has been and still is. Chris Wardle was also there whom I spoke to for a lot of the evening - and what a great man he has become as well. Later on in the evening Mick and Saylor turned up which was more than wicked. Ramsay was hilarious - such a dry sense of humor, and it was good to see Monty again - who also has hardly changed all these years. All the girls that were there were so good to see again, especially Rens who is always so good to see. Danielle has blossomed and is looking amazing.....some blasts from the past like Kerry Lynch, and Tina (who unfortunately I didn't get to speak to very much)......were also good to lay eyes on again. It was too brilliant though hanging out with Jules and Chookster...and Katherine (man....so many memories with Kath that I had forgotten about, probably because we were stoned most of the time). To cut a long story short the whole night was spent chatting about old memories, and dredging up things long forgotten. I for one hardly spoke about life now....and it really didn't seem to be much of that going on in the conversations I joined into. 
The high school oval
The night flew - and before I knew it I was rallying the troops to head to the oval. It was too funny. We were a bit everywhere - some people were getting drinks from the bottle shop, whilst others had already started walking. Half way up I got stopped by Lee Smith who suggested we break into groups of 3 and all meet on the oval. I thought it was hysterical...."Haven't changed a bit Lee! Live a little - don't you think it would be a giggle if we did all end up in the lock up?" He didn't find it very amusing. So we all eventually made it onto the oval steps..... On the way through Trent was making hysterical comments about the new found Fen Shui that the high school has seemed to have adopted since we had left. There were trees, grass and little hills everywhere. Covered areas for students to hang out in....benches, chairs. I must admit when we were there as students the school looked more like a concentration camp than anything else. Even the benches we got to sit on were made out of wire fencing.....VERY COMFORTABLE. We also had to stand on parade in the hot sun in the mornings, and we all clearly remember people fainting on parade because of the heat, but now the pampered little students get plenty of shade. None of that going on anymore - I bet they even get to sit down! Anyway -it was very funny. It was great to be there with everyone......and to share old memories and a laugh in the very spot it all happened 20 years ago. At one stage Trent tried to get us to play some drinking games.....we were meant to form a circle in the dark on the steps..and if we got it wrong we were going to have to skull warm beer...I don't think so - we have to draw the line somewhere! It took quite a long time to get Trent to give up on it......but it was very funny.
Jules, Me and Chook, great to be back together again.
Eventually the night had to draw to a close...or we had to head out of the high school, surely we would have roused some of the neighbours by this stage. We headed back to the pub, which impressively was still open until 2.30 am (so used to London bars closing at 1!).....then we headed to Micks parents house which was even more of a spin out. Some very funny things happened there - "You look like you've swallowed a fridge!" Some fine words from a fine man..... ;0) It was crazy being back in one of my main party houses from when I was 16. I went out with Mick too all those many years ago - so all those memories came flooding back as well.....CRAZY! Chook, Kath and I (who I might point out at this stage have always been the last standing)..then had to sneak into our shared room with Nits and Jules who went home earlier in the night with Nik and Fi - a lot of giggles for sure.....and a slightly peeved off Jules....sorry Jules! We arrived home just as the first birds started to sing, which put an even bigger smile on our faces....JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS. Chook stated something pretty obvious though which was when will we learn???? To get our own room so we can stay up and not piss anyone off???? I'm not sure Chook - I don't think we will ever learn.
Chookster, Jules, Me and Lee
Fi and Nick with Trent
So in a nutshell, it was so good to step back in time for a night, and see all the old faces and hear all the old voices. It would be something I would love to do again - and I don't think I'm alone in that. The only problem is is what then? It seems to be one of those nights that can only happen once..... All I can say is that I'm happier for it that it did happen....and it's just so wonderful to be assured that we really were surrounded by some wonderful people while going through those traumatic years of puberty.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Slowly ticking off my new years resolutions...
OK -well I do walk or try to walk at least 3 mornings a week. This week however it was a little screwed up because I went out on Friday night and Tom had to start work early a few mornings, so I only managed 2 walks. It has been a really hot week in Sydney as well - today it's reaching at least 40 in the city....man - I swear it feels more like 50. All the fans are going in the house....which helps cool things a little.
Here are some pictures from my walk. I start it with a stroll down a lane way of gorgeous paper barks and mid way round pass a beautiful Lake/Pond. There are horses doing their morning exercises and plenty of other walkers and runners. It's a great way to start the day and I am so much happier for it. Life is good at the moment...which is wonderful...
Am sure this is a little too large to call a pond no??
x
Here are some pictures from my walk. I start it with a stroll down a lane way of gorgeous paper barks and mid way round pass a beautiful Lake/Pond. There are horses doing their morning exercises and plenty of other walkers and runners. It's a great way to start the day and I am so much happier for it. Life is good at the moment...which is wonderful...
The lovely lane way of paperbarks....
Am sure this is a little too large to call a pond no??
x
Spike starts school....
Can't quite believe it but the little guy started this week. He is off to a good start with no tears so far, am hoping they don't start when the novelty wears off. I thought he looked too cute in his uniform, although starting on a day that was 35 degrees was a little harsh, especially with the chunky school shoes. Tom and I are so pleased that he is not too upset about the whole thing.
Haven't really met any school mums yet - they seem to all know each other already. Am not too bothered, have enough mates already - besides the school is so small with no canteen, pretty much no anything, not too sure how I would get involved with the school. Am sure there is a way. Am hoping to do some freelance work for Juan for his pizza boxes, have a feeling I need to buy a new computer and software first though..which Tom is keen to do. We will see how this old machine deals with it all.
OK - well first one at school and one to go. HALLELUJAH! No tears from me I can tell you!
xx
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