The joy of to-do lists...and dinner is arranged

I am enjoying my home holiday so far. There's been sunshine and I have done a few things on my to-do list.

And yes, I actually have a to-do list. I love lists - or more accurately, I love to cross items off my lists. I like the feeling of accomplishment, of overcoming my tendency towards laziness and procrastination.

I don't usually write to-do lists during the week because, being a legal secretary, what I do and when I do it is mostly dictated by others. But I go into every weekend with a to-do list, and I put everything on it, even stuff that I do every single weekend and don't need to remind myself to do, like buying food. All for the buzz of crossing it off!

I know, it's a bit tragic. But! I don't usually allocate times or prioritise anything, so it's not totally anal and lacking spontaneity.

Decluttering pt 2

I have nearly completed the second phase of my big clean out. Last night I went through all my cupboards and ruthlessly culled everything I haven't worn or used in ages and am not likely to. I threw out two bags of rubbish, two bags of cardboard and paper went in the recycling and I have heaps of stuff to go to the op-shop. I just have to get it there now.

(On a side note, while going through my stuff, it occurred to me that one of the downsides of the proliferation of gadgetry these days is that you end up with a corresponding proliferation of assorted cords and adapters and chargers and plugs whose purpose often becomes a mystery...but you don't want to chuck them just in case! I put them all in a box in the bottom draw of my desk.)

The next and final phase of my clean out is to go through years of paperwork which has been shoved in shopping bags because I was too lazy to properly file it.

Dinner up-date

The dinner with the man from my past is on Thursday night. I'm excited but nervous.

Are you a writer of to-do lists (or any other kind of list)?

My irrepressible snowball of happiness

I discovered something on Thursday night that I expected would leave my recent fabulous mood all squashed and gasping for air...but it didn't! Woooh!

I found out my ex boyfriend (the on-off dude) is seeing someone else already, despite insisting for months he didn't want to be in a relationship with anyone. The old "it's not you, it's me" line. Not that I believed it, but discovering he has moved on so quickly did knock the wind out of me for a bit.

I was furious at first and my ego is still a little bruised, but...WHATEVER! I'm still happy - and I didn't even need to gather up my thoughts and whip them into a positive frenzy to get there. They did it by themselves.

And that makes me even happier. It's a snowball of happy. It is irrepressible!

Blogger drinks

The drinks on Friday night were fun. It's surreal, in a good way, to finally meet people in the flesh after reading so much about their personal lives and opinions online. I even drank beer and liked it! It was a beer hall, so I thought "when in Rome..." (well, after I discovered they didn't serve spirits I thought that).

It pleases me when I think I don't like something and then I discover that I don't actually dislike all of it afterall. That's how it was with hip hop/rap music. It used to be in my "nup, don't like it" basket, but then I heard some songs by Aussie bands The Herd and the Hilltop Hoods that I enjoyed.

It's good to keep an open mind. It's a quality I find very appealing in other people.

Decluttering pt 1

Phase 1 of my Big Clean Out is complete. With the help of a friend with a car, I took a bunch of unwanted household chemicals to a council depot on Saturday and it felt good to be rid of them. Afterwards we had a nice lunch in the sun on the deck of the Maribyrnong boat house, overlooking the river.

Good, but not grate

Saturday was a warm day and it was beautifully balmy walking into the city to meet my friend before The Grates' gig (I took the pic above on the way). Families barbecued their dinner beside the river and little girls in summer dresses did cartwheels in the park.

Anthony and I then ate too many dumplings at the Shanghai Dumpling House to the accompaniment of Englebert Humperdink's Please Release Me and other cheesy music. Despite our full tummies, we had Trampoline sorbet for dessert - I had lemon, pineapple and passionfruit and it was deliciously refreshing. As we sat on the footpath eating our sorbet, two guys sauntered past wearing nothing but boxer shorts! Hmmm. The city is a strange place sometimes.

The Grates gig was good, although it didn't live up to the high expectations I had after seeing them in 2006. I confess, however, we watched it from the seated comfort of the upstairs bar which probably didn't do the show justice. We were both feeling worn out and couldn't face standing for hours in the sweaty crush of the crowd. Gah! We're old! We were among the oldest there and before The Grates came on stage, we amused ourselves spotting people older than us, of which there were...several. Apparently I have um...youthful taste in music.

The joy of absentmindedness

I keep forgetting that I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Every time I remember I get a little buzz of joy. Wheeee! Holidays!

Did you have a good weekend?

Gleeful anticipation

I remember when I was a kid saying to my mother that I wish it was my birthday already or Christmas or the school holidays or some event that I was excitedly looking forward to, and she would tell me not to wish my life away.

I've always been quite impatient and found it difficult to happily wait for much-anticipated events. But - somehow, without intending to - I seem to have learned to relish counting down the hours, days and weeks until a Big Day arrives. Maybe it's part of getting older.

I'm so excited about so many things at the moment - small things and big things - that I'm practically bouncing. I feel like a little kid before Christmas.

My favourite show Scrubs returns tonight. Yay! I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for it all year and now it's finally here! (It's on now actually, I'm typing during the ads).

I have drinks after work tomorrow night with a group of people I "met" through the Ask Sam dating/relationships blog on The Age newspaper website. Some I have met in the flesh once or twice, some I only know through the information they have divulged online - which is sometimes a lot. There are some amazingly intelligent, wise, funny and quirky people who comment (the blog itself is rarely worth reading) and I'm looking forward to meeting them offline.

Saturday night I am going to see one of my favourite bands, The Grates, perform. I have seen them once before and it was an awesome, high-energy gig so I have high hopes for this show. (Oh, and I'm having a fill of tasty dumplings with a friend in Chinatown beforehand.)

And next week I'm on holidays! Wooooo! I'm not going away. I'm sure people at work think I'm dead boring because I often have "home holidays". I love Melbourne so much that I'm happy having a week off work without leaving town. I have heaps of stuff planned, much of it aimed at catching up and getting on top of things, including having a great big clean out at home. I know, it sounds boring, but I love the catharsis of cleaning out the clutter and having a neat and orderly home. I got rid of a lot of stuff about six months ago but this time I'm going to be even more ruthless. I like the idea of paring things right back to the bare minimum.

I have also been in touch with someone from my past who has suggested we catch up over dinner, and I'm cautiously excited about that. (For anyone who read in my first ever post that I had just emerged from an on-off relationship, it's not that guy!)

And, that's on top of the other things I've written about recently, including going shopping with a cheque from the tax man to buy myself a flash new camera, and having a whole month off over Christmas. I'm also considering rearranging my flight home to visit friends up north for New Year's Eve.

I can't wait...No! I can!

Do you enjoy anticipation? Do you like having home holidays? Are you a hoarder or declutterer?

It don't seem right...but I like it

It doesn't seem right to say this on a blog that is about positivity, but having a good rant usually makes me feel good.

I write a blog on Myspace, and every now and then I have a vent about stuff that annoys me, from the trivial to the substantial, and I usually feel quite cleansed and pleased with myself afterwards.

That's how I felt tonight after posting a blog there about words I dislike (which is just as much a rant about pretentious wankery than anything). Maybe it's because my work day was full of little irritations that built up and needed an outlet?

Feeling good through negativity. Hmmm.

Rainbows...and a very useful coincidence

I struggled to find the glee today. Yep. I have a cold but had to drag myself in to work early to cover someone else who was away sick, so I had one leg in my cranky pants before I even left home. And to make things worse, a cold snap hit the state overnight, pulling us back into the grip of winter.

The end of the working day was a relief...but as I made my way to the tram, weighed down by two bags of groceries and with a wind straight from the Arctic freeze-drying my ears, it started to rain. I didn't have a spare hand for an umbrella. It was about 12 degrees C (that's cold for us!) and I didn't have my mittens either. Harrumph!

But then I looked up and saw the arc of a rainbow against blue sky through a gap in the city buildings. Oooh! A rainbow! I thought as city workers rushed by me. My crankiness dissolved. The glee is always there...you just have to look for it.

I managed to get a seat on the crowded tram too, which was very welcome. It was a recently vacated seat and it's the only time I remember being happy to sit on a seat still warm from someone else's backside!

Yet another happy little concidence

You may have read that I am planning to put my tax return towards buying a fancy pants new camera. Before I hit the shops though, I needed to do some research, which is my least favourite part of buying a new gizmo.

But what should zing into my inbox today, but the latest instalment from Degeeked.com, a list of the top 10 digital cameras! Thanks, guys, you read my mind! (This is a great site for anyone who has a touch of the techno-twits about them, like me.) I'm starting to wonder if I'm somehow effortlessly and unconsciously bending the world to my will!


Good sheet

This is stupid, but it really pleases me when I manage to fold the fitted sheet perfectly, all smooth and flat and neat. Maybe it's because I finally seem to have got the knack of it after 20-odd years of sheet folding!

Is there anything that is guaranteed to dissolve your bad mood instantly? What silly little things give you pleasure?

Discovering new music...and my favourite tree

I had a boyfriend once who used to buy a CD and then only listen to the songs he already knew and liked (this was before iPods). I could never understand it, not because it's a waste of money, but because it's a wasted opportunity to have one of those moments that give you goosebumps.

Every time I hear a song I love, I think, "Wow, this is great - I have to hear their other stuff". Quite often I discover something wonderful. For example, years ago I saw Aussie folk/roots trio The Waifs perform Lighthouse at the ARIA Awards on TV and it was the beginning of a love affair. I bought the CD and then all their other CDs and listened to every single song. If I'd just listened to Lighthouse and London Still (their big radio hit) over and over, I never would have discovered all the other songs I love just as much. I've also seen them in two awesome live shows. They are one of my favourite bands. I still get goosebumps when I hear Lighthouse, too.

On the band Wagons

And this weekend I had another goosebumpy moment. Yesterday I spent most of the day sitting in the sun listening to free live music in the Alexandra Gardens. Many of the acts were unknown or little known to me, but I thought I'd check them out and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved Melbourne band Wagons, described by Rolling Stone as "powerful gothic country". Lead singer Henry Wagons has a fantastic deep voice reminiscent of Johnny Cash. If you love a bit of country like I do, check 'em out. I've got both their albums on my iPod now and can't wait to see them live again.

I also really liked Kristy London, The Verses, Rosie Burgess, Custom Kings. The Audreys, who I've seen live twice before, were great too.

The day ended with a fantastic fireworks display on the river, set against the beautiful backdrop of the city skyline, the Sky Wheel and a series of illuminated, inflatable sculptures (above).

Leafy

I was pleased today to see my favourite tree - a Golden Elm with a massive canopy that glows green when you stand under it on a sunny day - is starting to get its leaves back.

Cupcake quickie...and tax

Yum! Ladybird cupcake.

More good news!

The guy who does my tax informed me today I should get a tidy little sum back this year - as opposed to last year when I had to pay the taxman extra for the first time ever.

I'm not particularly money-motivated, but a cash injection from the taxman will help pay for a new camera to replace my very basic digital camera (pic above taken with even crappier phone camera). I love taking photos, so a more advanced camera will be a fabulous treat. Something else to look forward to.

Noooooo!

My baby...I mean, my laptop is in hospital for minor surgery, so until it's discharged, I won't be blogging so much.

I will save up the glee.