Putting myself out there

A few weeks ago, at a local rainbow picnic day, a photographer came up to my friends and I to ask if they could take a picture of us for an anti homophobia campaign. I’d seen the website publicised, and immediately said yes. Zenia came up with our punchy message, and we shared our vegetarian picnic with the poor staring inner city vegetarian hipsters who had come to work without a picnic – they were glad of an alternative to charred mammal flesh.

And here we are.

We’re all people, people! Unfortunately they got Squish’s name wrong, but I hope they will fix it soon.

Then, Australian Marriage Equality contacted me to ask me if I was interested in travelling to Canberra for a full day of meetings with politicians about same sex marriage. Would I? You bet.

Next Tuesday (if Mark gets his leave approved), we’re travelling to Canberra. And on Wednesday, I’ll spend most of the day in meetings with politicians.

And in an entirely unrelated note, people keep asking what we are planning for November. I don’t feel up to doing anything amazing to commemorate my boys on the anniversary of their birth, or the anniversary of Archie’s death. Last year I lost a friend because my grief didn’t follow her guidelines, this year, I am just going to do what feels right at the time.

I am very fortunate to be officiating at a wedding on the 6th, so on Saturday we might go to the cemetery, on Sunday we’ll be focussing on the love that Archimedes and Aubrey brought into our lives. Then going to a rocking wedding 🙂

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UPDATE – they fixed the spelling of Inigo’s name, so the link changed. Fixed now, thanks Meg!

If you’re interested in schools

read this.

An American journalist and his wife sent their three kids to school in Russia. A very moving piece, and doubly interesting because of the migrant and refugee kids in Australia who turn up on the first day of school here without speaking (or understanding) a word of English.

Mark and I are still struggling with our decision to send the Squish to the local public school. But articles like this make it seem like a good outcome is possible.

10 minutes to spare

It’s been a little quiet around here – the big assignment for this semester was due at midnight tonight. I got it in at 11.50pm.

I don’t see an HD on the horizon for this bit of writing!

Perceptions of infidelity in committed relationships correlated with Cognitive Experiential Self Theory.

Phew!

Being Shy

Now, if you’ve met me, you would probably think that I am the least shy person in the universe. That I could talk the leg off a donkey, and then convince it to go for a walk. That I am bolshi, and brave, and bossy.

But for a long, long time, I was really shy. Super shy. So shy that I was the butt of every playground joke, and found it almost impossible to make friends. I was a bookish, nerdy, strangely dressed freak, who never cut her hair, never saw the cool tv shows, and even had a weird lunchbox (my mum had this strange drive to put food in there, not junk). I was “that kid”. The one that spent every recess and lunch time in the library. The one that hated going to school so much that I developed a painful cramping condition in response to the stress of going to school. The one that was bullied, and teased, and taunted, and then, eventually just ignored. Invisible.

At the end of year 11, I switched schools. Thanks mum and dad, I know it didn’t seem like it did me much good academically, but socially, I was in a new world.

Nobody knew me, so I could be whoever I wanted. I fronted up at school that first day as an unknown quantity, and became one of the cool kids. Finally, I realised that the only difference between the cool kids and me was that the cool kids acted like they knew everything, were comfortable in every social situation, and always knew how to act. They didn’t of course – but they knew how to pretend. Fake it ’till you make it.

Eventually, I grew up a bit, and didn’t mind being a freak. And I realised that we’re all freaks. And the only difference between the freak in the corner, and the freak on the dancefloor, is that one simple trick. Just keep talking the talk, and one day you’ll find yourself walking the walk.

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Inspired by a link posted by a friend on facebook the other day – How to be More Confident.