All happening

It's been a big, noisy weekend around these parts. The footy's back, which drew hordes of people to the MCG, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix screamed its way to the chequered flag just the other side of St Kilda Road from my place.

Even though I sometimes have a little whinge about being crushed on a tram with sports fans or having the bejesus scared out of me during fireworks season, I do love being in the thick of things. No way would I swap it for a life in the suburbs (and yes, I have lived in the suburbs).

Today we were blasted by the sonic boom of a fighter jet flying over the grand prix circuit, followed by a couple of hours of high-pitched squeal from the Formula 1 cars, and then The Who fired up for the after-race concert.

I love the buzz in the city during a major event - even if I don't care much for the event itself, but as it happens, I am fond of both AFL and the grand prix. Yes, I admit it. I like fast, noisy cars. I find the rumble of a V8 engine aurally pleasing. I was socialised that way, having grown up with a rev head father and brother and been carted around various motor racing events in my childhood. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Sunday scenes

Honey, I shrunk the musical comedy act...

Tripod performs at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl's

50th birthday freebie concert

Jayne and Michael at the 50th birthday concert (yes, it's my face!)

The sun setting over Princes Bridge

Southgate

New flatmate and sensory delights

Dim

I have a new flatmate! Well, subject to the landlord's approval, I do. Not the guy, the girl. I'm disappointed he said no ("Something else came up"), but I think I'll be happy sharing with Anna. I'm pleased finding someone good wasn't a prolonged exercise, too.

Walkabout

After Melbourne's second hottest day ever (0.5 degrees off the record of 45.6 or 114.8F), we had a weak cool change late this afternoon. Yay! I'd had enough of dessicated eyeballs and feeling like my head was going to burst into flame as I set foot out of my office. It's now a pleasant 24 degrees outside (at 10.30 pm). Because it's much cooler out than in and I haven't walked much this week, I took myself for a walk along the river into the ciity and back at 9.00 pm.

It was beautiful out there - a sensory delight. There were bats flying low over the river as I crossed the Morell Bridge and a sliver of moon hung low in the sky just beside Eureka Tower. I could hear gunfire and voices from the open air cinema in the Botanic Gardens, and then a roar from the crowd watching the Australian Open Tennis at Rod Laver Arena.

The breeze was deliciously cool on my skin. There were lots of couples and groups (and a few possums) along the riverbank making the most of the brief reprieve from the the heat. (It's going to be 37 tomorrow.) I could hear the throng of people at Federation Square and the Transport Bar long before I got near them. People were gathered to watch the Nedal v Verdasco match on the big screen in Fed Square.

Somewhere, someone was cooking snags* on a barbecue and the smell wafted to me on the breeze, along with the sound of bagpipes played by a busker on Princes Bridge.

The city buildings were unusually dark because of massive black-outs caused by "a major supply interruption", which has left 350,000 houses without power (obviously not me) and the train network in chaos.

Although I've seen it hundreds of times, I stopped to admire the view of the city from the south bank of the river, looking over the Swan Street bridge and the long reflection of the illuminated Nylex Clock on the river. I heard something stirring in the black water but I couldn't see anything apart from ripples and rings on the surface. Dang. Crisp leaves scuttled along the footpath behind me as I walked, carried by the wind.

I know I've said it before, but gee, I love where I live.

* sausages

The year that was

OK, it's time to gaze into the navel of the year that was and pick out some bits of gleeful lint to reflect upon. It's been a momentous year for me - it started out very ordinary and got worse but then it gradually came good. It's ended up pretty damn fine.

In keeping with my happiness commandment to dwell on the positive (see sidebar right), I'm not going to catalogue the bad stuff that happened this year (the blog isn't called Shiteful afterall). I can't ignore the bad stuff altogether because much of it turned out to have a silver lining. Silver lined belly button fluff. Hmmmm.

So...the good stuff...

* After realising around this time last year that I was wallowing in a pit of negativity, crankiness and rollercoaster emotions, I went to see a counsellor. Ten sessions later, I emerged much calmer, happier and more positive, but that was just the beginning of the journey (Gah! I wanted to avoid that word!). In addition to the counselling, I have done a lot of reading and reflecting and thinking about my values and priorities and I'm not the same person now that I was at the beginning of the year. There's still some stuff I want to work on, but I'm happy with how far I've come.

* New and improved me sees life through new eyes - kinda like little kid's eyes, the sort that notice small stuff, the every day joys I never used to notice but which, it turns out, actually make me happy - hence Gleeful was born. I have never considered myself to be a passionate person but seeing my life through kid eyes has administered a kick in the pants to my dormant passion and woken it up at last. I feel so much more engaged with and interested in life now - with the place I live, with the world around me, with the whole world. I feel more grateful for what I have and more in touch with the things that really matter to me.

* I split up with my boyfriend (again, but for good this time). OK, it sucked at the time, but I'm over it and I'm happier now. Maybe the highs aren't as high as they were when I was with him, but the rare lows I do have now aren't anywhere near as low either. I am consistently pretty damn happy for no real reason. I've swapped the emotional rollercoaster for the merry-go-round of contentment. Far less vomit and tears.

* I realised I would probably be fine if it turns out that I never have kids. Which means I feel no pressure to find a man while my eggs are still fresh. Which means I am far more content with being single and childless as I stand on the brink of my late 30s. Yes, I would like to find a man to spend my life with...but there's no rush. Life is great as it is.

* "You don't have to live your life the way other people expect you to." This quote, from US entrepreneur/blogger/traveller Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity made a real difference to my self-acceptance and happiness levels this year. Sounds kind of obvious when I look back on it, but when I read it, it was a liberating, "Hey, yeah!" moment. Can't believe it took me 30-odd years to work that out. It was an important factor in the realisation that actually I am pretty happy even though I have so far failed to acquire a life partner, children and a mortgage (or even a car) like many of my friends. Non-conformity is ace.

* I started this blog on 1 September and it's been a wonderful and rewarding experience in more ways than one. I started it partly to distract myself from my sadness over the end of my relationship and partly to bring to life my happiness commandments to stop and take notice, and to appreciate the small things. It's done those things exceedingly well. In the beginning, it got me out of my head (where I would have just ruminated pointlessly about my ex) and consciously searching for gleeful things to blog about. But now (most of the time!) I just see life though a gleeful lens without even thinking about it. And if all of that wasn't enough, I've made some new friends in the big wide world of blogging, and very much enjoyed the contributions of 'old' friends who followed me outside Myspace. Thanks guys!

Other stuff that was great...

* Finding out that instead of having to move out of my flat, I would be offered a new 12 month lease (albeit with higher rent).

* Falling hopelessly in love with Melbourne after living here since I was 19.

* Seeing two favourite bands, The Waifs and The Grates, perform live again.

* Discovering a new favourite band - Melbourne country outfit Wagons. I saw them live three times and have been listening to their three albums on my iPod for months on end. Yeah, I might be a little bit obsessed.

* Getting my swisho new camera and getting excited about taking photos all over again.

How was your 2008? What are proudest achievements? Your most gleeful moments? Or are you just kinda glad it's over?

Good news!

My building sold at auction two weeks ago, and I have been in a state of uncomfortable uncertainty since. But good news! I found out today the new owner wants to sign us all up to new 12-month leases. Hooray! I get to stay in my sunny little inner city haven!

It's such a relief and I'm thrilled to bits. The only thing that could possibly dim my joy is that the rent is going up (amount TBA) and I will probably be forced to rent out the spare room. But at least I have the option of getting a flatmate to share the rent, hey?

I adore living on my own, but the more I think about the prospect of sharing again, the more enthusiastic - or perhaps the less apprehensive - I am about it. There can be positives about sharing - including the potential for making a great new friend - but the benefit that appeals to me most right now is the extra $100+ in my hand each week.

Finding the right person to share with will be the key, but maybe that could be fun too. I want to share with a guy, so I might meet a lot of (hopefully not creepy) men...

The view

The photo above is the view from my lounge room window. When I look out the window from where I'm sitting now, the full moon is staring back at me.

More of 333

I dropped into 333 Collins Street Monday afternoon to admire the gorgeousness of the domed vault. Here's a couple of better shots of it than the one I posted on Sunday, with bonus Christmas tree top.

Odd bicycles and more than words

I saw a man riding a very big unicycle by the river, clad in very padded trousers. I like the way you see some strange sights in a big city. I grew up in the country - no unicycles there (big or otherwise).

I even saw a man riding a penny-farthing bicycle in the city once too. It made me think of the poem by Aussie bush poet Banjo Patterson, Mulga Bill's Bicycle, which I liked when I was a kid.

Not just word games

I discovered tonight that www.freerice.com isn't just about words - you can choose your quiz subject, from topics including geography, maths and science. Cool bananas.

I gave my brain a workout trying to remember the capital cities of the world.


Seen anything odd lately round your way lately?