How was your yesterday? Mine was good and annoying, in equal parts. On the annoying front, NBN reminded me that it’s cutting off my access to the internet from 8am until noon today. That sucks because I have a major freelance job every Friday that requires me to write like a woman possessed for three... Continue Reading →

There's a buzz in the air in Sydney as we count down the days to leaving lockdown. I've been invited to two 50th birthdays, we've rebooked DD's birthday sunset cruise, I'm organising to use a restaurant voucher that's been languishing on my desk, we have two concerts coming up in Newcastle ... and that's all... Continue Reading →

I lost the plot about life in lockdown - and life in general - over the weekend. When I got a little teary on the phone to DD, he suggested I pop up to the Northern Beaches for my first sleepover in FOREVER. When I texted to say I was on my way, he replied:... Continue Reading →

I'm in shock. The kids want to go on holidays with me. And they've even agreed on a destination: Fiji. The eldest has been anti-beach over the past few years. I don't know why, perhaps it doesn't fit with the alternative, head-to-toe black attire vibe. So I was stunned to hear a beach holiday was... Continue Reading →

It was International Coffee Day on Friday …cue an avalanche of coffee-centric press releases and the terrifying news that there's a global coffee bean shortage. Nooooooo! The price of coffee has surged 21.6% this year to $3.65 a kilogram, according to IBISWorld, with climate change-related weather events affecting key coffee-producing regions. Drought and severe frost... Continue Reading →

A sweet 20-something HR person called me yesterday to tell me I didn't get a job that I interviewed for last week. She hadn't been on the interview panel, which was a grim 45-minute affair that left me feeling like I'd been through a police interrogation. She'd just been tasked with the unhappy job of... Continue Reading →

My mind was a bit blown yesterday when I discovered Jack Nance was only 47 when he played Pete Martell on Twin Peaks. I thought he was OLD. He’s the one who drawled the iconic “wrapped in plastic” line in the first episode. And I didn't realise he was also the lead character in Eraserhead.... Continue Reading →

I’ve mastered many skills in my life, but there’s a long list of stuff I’m just not good at: putting needles on records, saying no, learning to swim, driving manual cars, eating peas, ordering Uber Eats ... In regard to the last one, I can't bring myself to get a badly paid person pick up... Continue Reading →

If you're reading this blog post and you live in NSW, I'm curious: how do you feel about the freedoms for fully vaccinated people that kick in next month? Admittedly, the government has been a bit obtuse with the details. It’s supposedly a “three stage” roadmap, but they didn’t explain what happens when we reach... Continue Reading →