A Long Awaited Update: Dubbo, Mike Tyson v Jake Paul, Missy Higgins & Life In November

I haven’t made a genuine peep since the turn of the season in September, so here’s an update. I’ll give you the TLDR:

September came and went. I finished university, and the weather heated up and I am glad for it. I started boxing again, and that has been fun. I want to have cool hobbies when I am in my late 20s, so I’m preparing now. October was next – got Laneway tickets (very excited). Finished uni. My sweet, lovely girlfriend went on nursing placement, unfortunately brought me some germs home. Got a bit sick for a little while. Was second shooter again for my wedding photographer friend Sammie. Got tickets for Yours & Owls (very exciting also!). Taylor graduated, very proud. Women Illawarra hosted Reclaim the Night Illawarra. I livestreamed the night and also wrote a story for the Flame about it. I am a woman, so I can multitask like that. November comes along. I went to a beautiful book launch for a story I was writing. It made me feel very peaceful. I attended an exciting meeting that sets me up for a fresh fun new journalism venture next year. My friends came over to watch the boxing match on my tv (highly entertaining). My sister had a beautiful baby girl. I made a brief trip to Dubbo. We saw Missy Higgins! Next week we are seeing Crowded House! Christmas is nigh…

Now, I will extend my yap. Feel free to stay on board, but no pressure!

Side Note: I think that the phrase “yap/yapping/yapper” will age horribly. It’ll carry a similar energy to millennials calling dogs ‘doggos’ and ‘puppers’. Remind me to revisit this statement in 6 months.

A word on finishing uni: In Leiu of my 2 expensive bits of paper

As mentioned, I finished university a little while ago. I don’t actually much remember the last few weeks of my degree. I’m sure I was stressed and frantic. I did hand in all my assignments early, as I was keen to be finished. I got my marks back the other day, and I am pleased with them, considering I stubbornly stuck to my guns instead of following tutor’s advice on projects this past semester. Examples include handing these images in for an assignment on portrait photography:

My graduation ceremony (the whole cap and gown of it all) doesn’t happen until autumn next year, but it’s a relief to be finished. It’s also insane that I took 5 years to get two degrees that I’m sure I could have gone without, but it will be interesting to see how they influence my life going forward. On another note, my loved ones (Taylor and Snake) have done incredibly well with uni and I am so proud of them. I’ve already raved about Taylor’s graduation, but it really was such a privilege and honour to know and love such a wonderful, interesting and fun friend all the way through our university careers. My wonderful, interesting and fun wife, Snake, has just finished her first year of a nursing degree, and it has been so fun and interesting to hear her talk about that. A nursing degree certainly takes more effort and care than a media degree, and I am so proud and impressed (but not surprised) of everything she has learned and every trait she has that makes her great at it.

No Nothing November: Failed

My dear sister was due to have a baby sometime in November, and I’ve known this for a while. In preparation and in celebration (of finishing uni), I had decided not to do anything in November. The plan was to have no plans, leave my calender empty, do not take a pen to paper on the matter of the month. There have been months this past year that overwhelmed me – I’ve had a lot to do and not a lot of rest time in-between. I kept thinking, okay, I just have to get to the end of (insert literally any month of 2024), and then I can chill out. And month after month, opportunities came up, plans were made, and it was out of my hands (not really, I do this to myself). November, I thought, might be different – but of course, life waits for no one, and I did, in fact, do things in November.

That said, I feel really grateful and excited that I get to do so many things and have so many great experiences. To be able-bodied, capable and somewhat financially stable is a privilege I don’t take lightly, and I don’t have many regrets about saying ‘yeah, can do!’ as much as I do.

Thoughts on Mike Tyson v Jake Paul

To preface, I don’t condone violence, usually. But growing up doing MMA competitively has perhaps meant that I don’t see contact sport as inherently violent. That said, both Mike Tyson and Jake Paul have last names that should be given names, and there is some grotty violence in that, I think. I have been missing my busy friends quite a bit lately, and so the big fight seemed like a great time to reconnect in person. It was very fun for me, although the main fight itself was disappointing and rather boring to watch. However, if I’m giving my two cents on the broadcast: Cent 1: The women’s fight was insane and great, I should watch women’s boxing, perhaps. Cent 2: I can’t believe we all had to see Mike Tyson’s bare bum on live Tv. I feel like the memes were too few and too fast to move on.

Dubbo, a place of dreams (and dust)

I made a quick trip home last week to meet my new baby niece. She is, of course, a wonder, joy and miracle, and I am very glad she has graced the earth so. I am very excited about it, and I wish the best for my sister and her beautiful young family. I am very proud of her.

On the topic of Dubbo, I have all the usual commentary. It was obscenely hot and there is no ocean to fall back on. There should not be palm trees there, the roads are wide and the sun sets later than it does in Wollongong. It was great to catch up with my family and friends, even if for a few short days.

Can I interest you in performing a rain dance to Scar by Missy Higgins?

Snake and I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Missy Higgins’ Second Act tour in Bowral on Saturday night. It was pouring rain for 80% of the evening, but we are young and tough, so we persevered. In fact, we are younger and tougher than a huge portion of the crowd there. Some people called it quits before Missy even sang The Special Two! We are young enough to take it as a great honour to see her perform her cover of Troye Sivan’s One of Your Girls. We stayed put in quest of a boogie, with ripped and somewhat ineffective ponchos, and a brand new soaking wet two-person camp chair. It was awesome. Missy Higgins is such a delight. Ruby Feilds opened for her, as well as Eurovision star Kate Miller Heidke, who I am a little scared of, because of her bird and witch-like demeanour. Nonetheless, a night to be cherished and remembered!

Routine Weather Report

By the time I post this, it will be summer! I am glad for the warmth of the sun. I always feel like life is less fun when it is cold. However, it’s supposed to be a wet summer this year -and that concerns me. Prior to The Great Flood of My Room, circa April 2024, I didn’t mind a bit of rain. Of course, my room is weather-proofed now, but it still stresses me out a bit. I hope that feeling will pass with every storm my silly little room endures. Aside from the impending rain, the Illawarra is beautiful, and the air is alive with the sound of creatures. The flowers are flowering; the ocean is warming, the grocery stores are lush with genetically engineered fruits to try, there are exciting times ahead. One particularly exciting time in the near future is the upcoming Crowded House concert at the Opera House! It will be grand and splendid. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it later.

Closing Statement: I am open to suggestions…

To finish off, let me break the fourth wall and talk in the blog post about the blog. So, I’ve been writing on this blog on and off for around 7 years now. Depending on what life has looked like at any given time within those years, I have written long posts, short posts, posts about very silly things and posts about less silly things. I’ve sometimes posted multiple times in a week (there wasn’t much else to do in lockdown), and sometimes it’s been months between posts. The only real consistency I’ve had with it is that it’s always remained a personal outlet and sort of hobby/project.

I am always surprised that other people read my posts, but to my recollection, I’ve never really asked what anyone thinks of it. I’ve never asked if there’s anything I could put together that would be particularly interesting to read. Recently the blog has just been work stuff and the occasional life update (which again, is a brain dump personal outlet for me). Since I’ve now finished uni, I’m sure that my blogging behaviours could change again, but I am aware that we are well past the “When I Grow Up I Want to Work For BuzzFeed” era, and I don’t really know what people use blogs for anymore. I should probably try out reading someone else’s blog regularly. Anyway, my point is – If you’re my friend, and you read my posts, and you have any fun ideas to share, please let me know! Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this and thank you for being here.