Mid Autumn Catch-Up: Yours & Owls, Winter Whinging and Recommendations

It’s been a while since I last wrote a general life-update blog post, but I am currently sitting on the blessed South Coast Line, its Autumn (seeping into Winter at an alarming rate). I’m on the way to catch up with a friend who I met in Uni, and after about 6 months of post-bachelor degree life, it’s an apt time to reflect. Plus, what better time to silently blab in a word document is there than on the train? So, off the top of my head, the last few months have included a really fun music festival, Yours & Owls, lots of scheduling, getting into a rhythm as work picks up, complaining about the incoming winter, and enjoying some new music, tv and general media. It’s been somehow both very relaxed and busy. So, if you please, stick around while I unpack all of that and more.

Chronologically speaking: Yours & Owls

I’m sure you’ve heard about this already, my dear friends. But it would be remiss not to mention Yours & Owls, from a record-keeping standpoint. So, for the record, it was awesome. I had so much fun, and I’m thrilled with some pictures I got. I had a wonderful boogie with my friends and my wife. We got to watch the Goo Goo Dolls play Iris, from the very back of the crowd. We got stuck in a porta-potty related situation. Some of my friends from Dubbo came along and that was so lovely. My friends brought their son, Mike Wazowski, who I’ve put on the front cover of this blog post. Read this other post if you want to know anything else about the festival, and see some cool pictures.

From there: Getting in a rhythm

I feel like I’ve been in such a pleasant rhythm with work lately, and it hasn’t come as a sacrifice to my fun and friendships. I’ve been in a good rhythm across the board, and doing a brilliant job balancing everyday things like washing and cooking, exercise, working, recharge time, social life—obviously I’m not on top of all of these things every single day, but there’s no all-or-nothing behaviour in my life right now. This all might sound really obvious but I can definitely get caught up in one thing or another and abandon any sort of life balance, so it’s an achievement in my books.

I’ve tried to become a library person. I try to get to the library to write as much as possible. This is hard sometimes, as I have an ever-changing schedule which requires me to be at different places, but I find that I do more work in less time if I’m in the library, than if I’m at home. Again, the ‘don’t work where you sleep’ idea sounds obvious, but it’s actually impressive to me how well it works, so I want to mention that.

I have made a real effort recently to get to boxing on a Thursday afternoon, and it always makes me feel good, even when I don’t want to go. With winter coming up, I have to be realistic about how often I’m going to want to go for a walk—and I love a walk; it makes my brain work—but indoor alternatives to movement will surely help when it’s too cold to enjoy nature. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it already, but for Valentine’s day, Sinead took us indoor rock climbing, and that was very fun, so maybe we can do that again as a treat. My dear friend Taylor and I have also organised a quick gym session for a couple of weeks—and this has been very fun and fruitful for me. Mostly because we’ve figured out a common time where we can catch up weekly and do something that’s good for us. I look forward to it every week. We have fun.

Winter strategy: Give me daylight savings back now!

I’ve been squeezing the last sweet droplets of summer from every (increasingly short and cold) day. Historically, I am not a fan of winter, and it is not a fan of me. But in an effort to conquer winter 2025, I will have to change my mindset. Instead of “I hate winter”, I will say “I prefer summer”. I’ll report back on how that goes.

Other plans to help smooth the pillow of a dying summer:

Coming up next:

Just in this past week, my wife has had a birthday and Lorde has announced new music on the way – both very exciting occasions. In the next couple of weeks, I will have my birthday too, and on that same say (May 3), Australia will vote in the federal election. It’s my birthday, so please have a moment of consideration before you vote in a silly way. As a birthday present, I will accept a detailed description of your vote ballot. I also got tickets to see Ball Park Music’s tour in a few months, which gives me something to look forward to in these challenging times. Also, it’s Easter soon – so don’t forget that, if you need to buy presents for your loved ones. Don’t forget Mother’s day either – it’ll be the weekend after May 3, so maybe while you’re out voting, hunt down a nice present for your mum.

Recommendations

Buy new staples: I recently bought some New Balance 9060’s, and I am obsessed with them. The girls at work joke that I sleep with my laces tied. I am excited to put them on every morning, it’s true. I also recently got some nice jeans from Kmart, if you can believe! Which I think will be my favourite for a while. If you’re stuck in a rut, I recommend finding new staples — whatever that means for you. Life will feel beautiful and fun and new.

Watch: I’m watching YellowJackets, finally. I watched the first few episodes in 2023, but then abandoned the show. My wife has been watching, and she likes to discuss theories, so I’m catching up. Adolescence was great, themes aside, I was really interested in it being one continuous shot per episode. Married at First Sight was a good, light pastime, and although it was kind of disappointing, I miss it already. A Handmaids Tale is back. Autumn is the perfect time to relive your teenage Dystopia favs, even if you have to suspend the reality of the situation in 2025. I’ve been watching a lot of Hunger Games content lately, and I think I’ll commit to reading the last two books soon.

Listen to: Ball Park Music’s new album, Lucy Dacus’ new album, Bon Iver’s new album. Maybe an audiobook if you’re into that sort of thing.