Today's Motto

It's MLK Day in America.  Martin Luther King Jnr. Day, named in honour of that wonderful activist for peaceful civil rights.  It's celebrated at around the day of his birthday each year.  Today I read this quote of his , which is exactly what I needed to read.  In fact ,if I was superstitious or spiritual, I might even think I was meant to read this quote and was pointed to it by some supernatural force…

FAITH IS TAKING THE FIRST STEP, 

EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T SEE THE WHOLE STAIRCASE

 photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I have just had coffee with my work buddies, LF and Cherry and I let myself fall into a slump about quitting a perfectly good job to chase my dream.  What the HELL am I doing?  Am I utterly mad?  As Dr Razzle pointed out to me yesterday, he would like to be an astronaut rather than an orthopaedic surgeon but he has to be responsible , before then pointing out how many journalists there already are in the world…  And by the time I finish, I will be 50.  Who is going to give me a job when I am 50?  This was demonstrated at the coffee shop when I asked the waiter if there were any jobs going.  He looked at Little Friend and asked her why she wanted a job. Well, it's not HER that wants a job - it's me!  When quizzed, the guy said it was usually younger people who wanted to do waitressing.  Younger?!?!  So, I obviously was looking haggard and for that matter, just because LF is little, doesn't mean she is young.  So, there we were being exposed to two types of discrimination in one conversation!  Cherry is hugging herself too because with my departure, she has now been promoted.  Oh lordy. Now I know how roadkill feels…  

Time to stop wallowing in pity and write some letters and write some stories and write, write, write and read, read, read and Get On With My Life!  One day, when I AM a successful journalist/writer, I will look back on this slightly scary, insecure time and be happy and grateful I did take the plunge  

PS: I ache all over from running too, so that is not helping much.  And yesterday I swam 50metres freestyle in the pool in 1m 23secs but when I got home, I checked the world record, to discover it was about 23 seconds, full stop, swum by Marleen Veldhuis. This is what she looks like underwater. I do not look like that…

I look more like this…

Day One

Hi readers!  

So here I sit before my computer on what is to become my First Day as a Proper Writer (well, in my mind anyway).  I have been sure to attend to matters of personal hygiene so that I don't end up here at 4.30 this afternoon, in my PJ's surrounded by empty coffee cups and biscuit crumbs.  I have read - somewhere - that it is very important to dress and groom and approach the day with dignity and poise, two of my very strongest features (ha!). I have no lipstick on!  Nor earrings….

Okay, I'm ready.  I even have one of my signature GIANT flower brooches in situ.  As for coffee - how many cups can I have in one day?  I heard writers usually drinks lots of the stuff.  And if they smoke, there are ashtrays everywhere.  Thank goodness I don't but I do fear for discarded Chokito and Twix wrappers… As I look around my "den", it is not letting me down in the "dishevilled chaos" stakes.  I have piles of papers, magazines, filing and stationery stacked all over the floor and leaning precariously on the desk top.  This is all GOOD fodder for my brain cells.  Now, to overcome PROCRASTINATION (defined by my dictionary as to "put off doing something").  I fear this is due to a slight lack of confidence, or anxiety about trying to write that Walkley Award-winning article for my very first university submission.  Just relax….  Big breath in, big breath out, in… and out….  Should I put my glasses on?  Oh, the washing is ready to be hung out.  Maybe I will just drop an email to my friend Jenny in Texas….  These are all the excuses flying through my mind.  Yes okay, so I am writing right now, but that's not really the same, is it?

A beautiful park bench in Paris - would love one in my garden…

For those of you who are wondering about my sudden "official" writing status, let me tell you my EXTREMELY exciting news.  As you will recall from my rant in "GiddyUp Jen" prior to the Gold Coast Marathon, I fired off a letter to the editor of "Run 4 Your Life" magazine  to complain about what I felt to be a poor representation of the running community.  This week the editor wrote back to explain, whereby I countered with a few suggestions for the magazine about being more inclusive of average and novice runners.  He then wrote back basically OFFERING ME A REGULAR COLUMN IN THE MAGAZINE!!  It will be called "Beginner Bites" (my idea) and will be aimed at those runners, like me, who are not gazelles. And, there's even more.  I am going to be PAID!!  Can you believe it?  I am so happy and so excited and so scared and, and, and, well… just about speechless.  It is a life-long dream and it is starting to gather momentum.  Yippeee!  My first deadline is 20 September so, today I hope to write something, to get the ball rolling. I also have my profile piece to write for my Feature Writing assessment and of course, I can not forget my blog readers.  I LOVE TO WRITE!  How lucky am I?

So  now, as part of my procrastination plan, I could tell you about my evening at the Ekka last night.  The noise, the colours, the sights, the rides…..  I went with a friend and her three kids.  OMG.  What an eye-opener.  What a shock to my system.  I had fun though, despite the cake decorating pavilion being closed - and the dog pavilion.  There were fireworks, and teacup rides with a two year-old and even a strawberry ice-cream though one mouthful of blue fairy floss tipped me over the edge.  I won a dolphin toy at the clown thing and came home with a bag of licorice (which I will probably consume today in my angst)

A "small" serve of strawberry ice-cream.  How can people eat 16 of these in one day?

 Finest Queensland Brahmins

The prize-winning agriculture display 

I know I'm a nurse and all but the live sheep birthing display was a bit much and I had to run away with my eyes closed.  Even as I type this, my mouth is in a grimace…

Ha, ha!  Okay, see you later folks and time to start the Serious Stuff.  Should I get a glass of water first?  And this plastic seat is so hard. I  wonder if I have a cushion handy….