JayBloPoMo: Day 6

I have finally started reading The Elements of Eloquence, the third book by Mark Forsyth (aka the Inky Fool). It's been sitting on my bedside table for more than six months, waiting patiently. I've been reading Alexandra Horowitz's On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes for most of this year; even though it's interesting, it was taking me ages to get through it because I wasn't reading it every day - or even every week.  

Then a week or two ago I watched the episode of Australian Story about young Victorian Brooke Davis, whose debut novel has caused a huge stir in the literary world. She wrote Lost and Found seven years after the sudden death of her mother to help her answer the question: How do you live knowing that anyone you love can die at any moment?  Sounds morbid, I know, but it's a question that's exercised my mind over the past few years too. 

The book isn't morbid. It's been described as heartwarming, quirky, and a "fantasy fable that asks big existential questions with a very light touch". 

While I was at it, I also bought Burial Rites by another Australian, Hannah Kent. Like Lost and Found, Burial Rites was Hannah's debut novel, written as part of a university writing course, and threw the literary world into a tizzy. I decided to buy it because it's set in Iceland (a recent fixation of mine) and a friend highly recommended it. 

I'm keen to start reading them, but I made myself finish On Looking first and I knew I couldn't keep neglecting The Elements of Eloquence any longer. I wouldn't have expected to laugh out loud at a book about the figures of rhetoric, but I have several times so far. (The chapters are brief which makes it perfect for bedtime reading when you're tired!)

JayBloPoMo: day 5

Oops. Forget to post yesterday. I'm blaming my medication. Really. For the past few months I've become increasingly worried that I was in the throes of early onset dementia because my memory has noticeably deteriorated. Trouble finding the right word in conversation was the main 'symptom', but there were other examples - forgetting the last digit of the debit card PIN I've had for more than 15 years, forgetting entire (albeit brief) conversations and trouble remembering names. 

I've been genuinely scared about it. There are nearly 25,000 people in Australia under 65 - including in their 30s and 40s - with younger onset dementia, so it's not as crazy as it  might sound. I am going to be 42 in a few days...  

But some quick googling revealed verbal memory problems, especially difficulty finding words, are a side effect of the migraine prevention medication I've been taking for about six months (Topamax for anyone who wants to know). Talk about a huge relief! I'm not demented! 

I saw my GP on Friday and I've started weaning myself off the drug. Hopefully it doesn't take long for my memory to come back.  I like being able to think of the right word when I need it. 

JayBloPoMo: day 4

 A sunny but chilly start to Friday, although I had warmed warmed

 up enough on the walk to work by this point to take off my scarf 

and undo the top few buttons of my jacket

Panda power! A power point at the bottom of my building. 

The photo is bad because I was running late and didn't want to

 kneel down to take it.

I wore my shiny new shoes to work. They're pewter rather than 

silver. Maybe I've taken a B&W photo by mistake? (I can't remember 

if the carpet in my office is bluish or greyish.)

JayBloPoMo: Day 3

I've been listening to Jack White's second solo album, Lazaretto, for the past few weeks. I don't LOVE it, but it's growing on me more and more. I'm loving the song Alone in My Home  though. The album version is piano heavy, but I also like this string quartet live rendition. 

(Is the woman's ukulele smaller than usual?)

I got a modest payrise. Modest like a flannel nightgown. I wasn't expecting a flimsy negligee, but I was hoping for something that showed off a bit of leg. I've been working hard. So this isn't particularly gleeful to be honest...more a case of trying to turn my disappointment into gratitude. I could have missed out on a payrise altogether. 

Peanut butter on toast. Yum. 

JayBloPoMo: day 2

I found half a gluten-free sandwich in the kitchen at work this afternoon.  I know! Who doesn't get excited about a left-over sandwich? It was surplus catering, not just someone's uneaten lunch. There's often food left over from partners' meetings and the like, but this is the first time there has been gluten-free sandwiches in the offing. I'd already had lunch, but I helped myself to it anyway.  It wasn't disappointingly bland, but that didn't completely cancel out the small thrill of finding it.

A guy from the finance department at work came to collect a big cheque from me (no, not one of those novelty giant cheques). He and I have swapped offices - he's in my old building and vice versa - and we spent some time discussing the pros and cons of both workplaces. Sheepishly he opined that the toilet paper is better quality in his old office - my new office.  I  can't say I've noticed.

I had a good night's sleep and a very productive day at work. That doesn't happen every night/day. 

I will post some photos here at some point. Baby steps. 

JayBloPoMo: day 1

I've decided to change the name of my daily blog posting efforts for July from PerbloPoMo to JayBloPoMo. It just sounds better. Still silly, but better. Now, on with the glee! 

I mentioned yesterday that my firm has moved offices. That happened a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want to leave my sunny corner location, but my new spot is pretty good too. We're on the 38th floor and we have a great view out over the bay on one side, and towards the hills in the east on the other. If Eureka Tower wasn't where it is, I'd almost be able to see the roof of my flat. 

The new office is a few more blocks from home.  It takes me 40 minutes to walk it in the mornings (when I walk it; lately I've been oversleeping and catching PT), but tonight I walked home along the river instead of through the city and I did it in 35 minutes. I reckon I'll struggle to shave much more time off. 

It was lighter when I left work tonight. Surely the longer days can't be noticeable yet? We're only a couple of weeks past the shortest day. Or have I just not been paying attention? I have actually been leaving on time most days since we moved offices because my workload has been much more manageable. Wooh. I'm enjoying that. It almost feels like a novelty. 

I cooked celeriac on Sunday for the first time. I think it was the first time I've eaten it too. I smashed it to go Cumberland sausages and really liked it. I'm not one of those people who loves their vegies, but my celeriac smash was a hearty winter warmer. Next up I'm going to make soup with it. 

Welcome to PerBloPoMo!

Hello? Yes, it's me. Yes, I know it's been 4 1/2 months since I've shown my face around these parts. I just can't get my blogging mojo back. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's not as if there's been no glee in my life. 

The past few months have been some of the busiest, most exhausting and stressful of my working life (nutshell: my firm went through a merger and office move), but I didn't lose my eye for, and appreciation of, the little pleasures of life. That's a win in terms of the reasons I started this blog, but I do miss the writing and sharing.  

So, to try to hunt down and recapture my blogging mojo, I'm kicking off Personal Blog Posting Month (PerBloPoMo) - a month of daily posts - from tomorrow. July is my birthday month, so that automatically makes it a little bit more gleeful than the other months. I've taken the day off work for my birthday for the first time ever, but haven't decided what I'm actually doing yet. 

That's all for now. See you tomorrow for PerBloPoMo Day 1!