Category: Useful Things I did Today

I’ve been sleeping with the Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam next to my pillow for a few weeks now, and in the last week I’d pretty much given up hope that the trip was going to be possible. Yesterday I decided to just MAKE it happen, and hopefully the consequences won’t be awful, and the trip will be wonderful, exciting, scintillating, jaw dropping, awesome, super, perfect, and just good fun.

When Mark and I got married, my grandfathers gift to us was to arrange for Roger Scott to photograph the wedding (he said he didn’t do weddings – but I loved his work so much, I pleaded with him and promised that it would be fun to photograph), and he also gave us some money so that we could go on a honeymoon.

We banked the cheque, but life kind of got in the way – first Mark was studying, then doing exams, then trying to find work, and then teaching his first class of pre-pubescent miscreants, and trying to keep breathing, keep turning up to school to face the little horrors, and hopefully to learn them something.

Now my fabulous parents have stepped in with a very generous, extremely thoughtful gift, and I feel like we’ve been thrown a lifeline. This trip is something we both desperately need, and the thought of not being able to go until next year was heartbreaking, and yesterday was like the sun peeking through the storm clouds. The storm clouds are still well and truly there, and rumbling ominously, but there is hope.

We’ll fly out of Sydney on December 30th, spend the night and the next morning in Bankok, and the arrive in Hanoi at 7.30pm on New Years Eve. I’d like to have a nice-ish hotel booked, I am accustomed to budget travel, but the thought of spending NYE in a hovel, in a new country where I don’t know the language, have any friends, or even know how to get to a good vegetarian restaurant is a little less than appealing. I’m not thinking five star, but something with electricity and running water would be good.

Anyone know of a good place to spend New Years Eve in Hanoi ?

Picture from here. Worth a read.

From Hanoi we’ll go to Halong Bay, which everyone has seen on postcards of Vietnam. Apparently it’s a magical place, if a bit of a tourist trap.

After Halong Bay, the plan isn’t fully mature. We’ll spend about a week going down the coast to Nha Trang, where we’ll be picked up by the people from the Whale Island “resort”, for a week on the island. Although it’s called a resort, I believe the accommodation is more bamboo hut than Club Med (which is totally fine by me !). The island has a wildlife sanctuary within walking distance, and I think I’ll try and buy the waterproof housing for my Olympus that I’ve wanted for ages so that I can photograph my snorkelling adventures. On the island I imagine we won’t have a lot to do, just relaxing, and snorkelling, and photographing creatures, and hopefully eating yummy food (they say they cater to vegetarians).

We’ll leave the island on the 19th, and head south to Ho Chi Minh City. We fly out on the 23rd, so we’ll have a couple of days to wander around the Mekong Delta.

I’ve created an account on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree messageboard, and will be doing loads of research in the next few weeks.

If you’ve been to Vietnam, and have a story to tell, some advice, a must see spot, whatever, I’d love to hear from you!

We’re going to Vietnam.

The picture is of the gorgeous Indigo, on the day of Hamish and Heathers wedding. She looks a little like I feel right now. A little bit scared, a little bit excited, but open to whatever possibilities the future might hold.

Dad doesn’t have cancer. At least, not in his throat. Happy Happy Joy Joy. It’s a Lipoma, a fatty tumour which is quite common, and nothing to worry about too much. Another visit to the doctor in 2 months, and hopefully an all clear.

And Kris just informed me that Crocs aren’t content with owning my feet 29 out of 31 days. They want the other 2 days too.

Announcing Crocs Ballet slippers, and Mary Janes.

Last time I went swimming, I felt very proud to have done 10 laps. Today I was aiming for 15, but that was an uneven number, so I settled on 16. After 16 I still had some reserves, so I kept going, and made it to 20.

And then I went shopping. I’m so looking forward to being able to buy clothes and feel good about trying them on, but in the meantime, I still need clothes. I bought a couple of dresses that aren’t too horrible, a few tops, and a pair of work pants. And a bra. I won’t admit to what size it is, but it’s a long time since I was a 12b.

So – more swimming, more cooking and eating at home (my food is so much better than takeaway), and maybe this time next year I’ll be buying summer clothes without cringing.

It’s 11am and I am still in bed. I got up to do some housework, and made my breakfast coffee, but it was cold out, and I have stuff to do on the computer. Apparently I am now officially “Permanent Part-Time”, so Wednesday is my day to go to Medicare, the dentist, do some gardening, play with bunnies, knit, and ponder my future.

I am considering going back to some sort of formal study, but I am still at a complete loss as to what to study. Here are some ideas, and pros and cons.

1. Journalism.

Pros: I like writing, and used be be better than average at it. I can spell, and punctuate, and though my grammar could use a little lift, I don’t embarrass myself often with how I express myself. I embarass myself with WHAT I say quite often, but I say it well. Also, it doesn’t have to be a 9-5 job. I am not good at the 9-5 thing. I don’t mind working crazy hours (as evidenced by my 12 years in the film industry), and I don’t mind uncertain income, not knowing wether you’ll eat from one day to the next. I don’t mind having to chase work, and I quite like the idea of writing for multiple publications and stretching my mind a little.

Cons: Years of study. What if I hate it ? If I hate the study, I will be crap at it. I am really, utterly, disastrously bad at staying focussed on things that bore me. I could stare at a crack in the wall for four days solid if it interested me, but couldn’t watch a single hour of cricket. If you paid me. And supplied endless vodka martinis.

2. Photography

Pros: I like the pictures I take, and I love creating beautiful things. I can work alone, follow my heart, and spread joy with my work. I can tell stories, document life changing events, and have an excuse to keep up my gadget habit.

Cons: Every idiot with a camera thinks they can be a professional. My grandfather was a professional photographer, and a man who praised sparingly. In the year that I studied photography at school, he praised exactly one of my photographs. One. It’s not like me to be discouraged easily, but his opinion meant a lot to me, and I was discouraged. So discouraged that I didn’t pick up the camera again until after he died. So I really have no idea if I am any good. Mum and Dad have been wonderfully encouraging, and so has Mark, but I need to show my pictures around, and be open to the idea that *I* think my pictures are great, and my family supports me, but no-one else needs to see them. That’s totally OK, but I need to expose myself a little, and I am working up to that point.

3. Graphic Design

Pros: I have the equipment, I have a strong visual sense, and I love design.

Cons: Again, it’s a very competitive market, and even once I have the skills, I’ll have to find clients and make money. I don’t know that I have the passion to make it work

I have always been moderately good at things. Not a superstar in one particular field, but better than adequate at most things I try (excepting sport and music – let’s not go there). Every few years I find a new interest – first it was bunnies, then gardening, then knitting, and now photography. I’m still interested in all these things, but knowing about my short attention span is probably a vital thing to consider in any change of career. I know I could learn almost any profession on the job, but academic study would be hard for me to stick to unless every day held a new challenge, and reward. Or, perhaps I should go back to the BA I was doing externally at UNE – at least I could take a different subject every semester, and maintain interest that way. Unfortunately, that would take forever, and qualify me for exactly what I am doing now – pondering my future.

Ever have a period of negative and nasty thinking, when you started to feel like you couldn’t achieve anything, that you would forget to breathe if it wasn’t an automatic response….

I’ve been like that. Feeling so negative and down on myself that I couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag. But thanks to the miracle of time, spending time with people who think I am ok, and some very lovely and supportive comments on my blog, I have been starting to feel better.

And this morning, I decided I wanted a stat counter on my blog. I’ve recently been surprised to learn that many more people than I expected actually read it. I just assumed that since I only get one or two comments a week, that I must be getting about 3 or 4 visitors a week, or maybe up to ten. But I suspect the number is higher than that. I love comments – it helps me know who is reading, and makes me feel that you care.

So I added a stat counter. I researched it, created an account, copied the code, edited my php, uploaded it, and checked that it was working, all before 9am.