Endorphin overload

I’ve had the most amazing – and hectic – few days.

On Friday night I went to see Boom Crash Opera play at a pub in Balmain and they were AWESOME.

We ducked into a Thai place for dinner beforehand and the band were there getting some takeaway, which was pretty fan girly. DD asked them when they were going on stage and they told us 9.30pm. I thought that was a bit late for our vintage, but we made it through … with some Nurofen for my aching hips before bed.

DD knew a bloke from the support band, who played a very entertaining set in heels and coloured suits. They hadn’t even heard of Boom Crash Opera and were both surprised and impressed by how great they were, as were DD’s friends Scott and Lara who came along with us.

The tickets were my Christmas present and we were supposed to see them months ago, but the guitarist got sick and they had to postpone.

The gig was the bulkest of fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to a band of their calibre performing before. The lead singer Dale Ryder still has the most fantastic voice and he looks mighty fine for his age.

You know you’re getting old when you find yourself thinking: “Now that’s a hot 69-year-old up there on stage.”

The audience raised the roof singing along to hits like Onion Skin and Dancing in the Storm and I was on just a high when the show ended.

On Saturday night I headed to the ICC Sydney to see an Elvis show. It was meant to be my mother’s Christmas present from my sister and I, but she wasn’t feeling well so we took our friend Nathan instead.

Nathan told us he was wearing a white jumpsuit to the show, so I raced out and got costumes and then he changed his mind at the last minute and came along in regular gear.

Dammit. As quite a bit of time and money had gone into the costume procurement my sister and I decided to dress up anyway.

She looked incredible in a female Elvis costume. She’s taken up boxing for fitness and is super toned. I wore a 50s poodle dress outfit and a black flip wig. I haven’t taken up anything for fitness and looked like John Travolta playing Edna in Hairspray.

I felt a little self-conscious at the FIFA Fan Festival before the show. Though I was also very excited to see the Matildas win. It was such a mind-blowing moment as the crowd erupted in cheers.

I felt a bit teary yesterday to see it was the highest rated TV sport program of the past decade and Seven’s biggest ever streaming event with a massive 7.2 million viewers glued to the screens.

What an incredible, watershed moment for women’s sport.  

As for the Elvis concert, it was a blast.

The largest group of performers that Elvis ever shared a stage with was 47 musicians and singers. This show featured over 100 musicians and singers on stage … and an impressive number of elderly people in wheelchairs in the front row. Nathan reckons we were the youngest people in the room, which is saying something when two of us are the wrong side of 55.

We were very raucous due to the Matildas win and a skinful of wine. We sang all the songs at the top of our voices and laughed our heads off and even cried. Well, I cried during Love Me Tender, which was my mother’s first-ever record, a gift from my Nan for mum’s 16th birthday.

I woke up on Sunday morning feeling a bit dusty and suddenly realised it was ill-advised of me to have gotten stonkered when I had a complimentary Sydney Tall Ships Whale and Sail cruise booked for 10am … out on the high seas for five hours …

It was a teensy bit rough and someone puking over the side at one point … fortunately not me, despite persistent, low-level queasiness. I could barely eat my vegetarian lasagne for lunch, so possibly a few more cruises in high swells might kick off a diet nicely.

We sailed past Benny the Seal at the Sydney Opera House and were surrounded by a pod of dolphins as we went out through the heads, but sadly there were no whales to be seen, other than a distant spout as we headed back to shore.

My salty sea dog got to do some steering though.

Then we finished off the day with takeaway Mongolian Combination and Stir-Fried Greens from the Han Court in Avalon. Nom nom, suburban Chinese on the couch is delish.

I walked back through my front door at 10pm feeling pretty knackered.

It’s a bit terrifying that it’s now Monday and I am facing a five-day working week. I am getting too old for this pace.

Fortunately this week is free of after-work engagements, so I can focus on finishing off the book project and catching up on some sleep.

Hope you had a great weekend too.

Song of the day: Elvis “Love me tender”