I journeyed with Tangerine Man* (my husband), on an 8-hour each way road trip for a couple of days to Melbourne, Australia, and came home with some fresh perspectives.
15 Things I’ve learned (or done) so far this year
- We saw a wonderful skull exhibition at a gallery we’d not been to before.
- A generous French woman (who we stayed with) said I “… could be her daughter”, because of our ages. Me: “Yes!” :D
- Took trams and trains – Melbourne has a great public transport system – and despite taking ‘wrong’ ones and getting on and off at various ‘wrong’ stops, made it home with generous amounts of walking.
- Found out that I am kind of soothed by op shopping (thrift store shopping) … Kinda disappointed but I guess it could be worse, right? It could be expensive or do no good.
- I have noticeably progressed with my FODMAP foods self-knowing. No problems while away, hoorah! I discerned my quantities, and even ate at a mexican restaurant!
- Went to Side Hustle book tour talk. After a long day of walking and crowds, I lit up in recognition of ‘my’ people in the queue. Chris Guillebeau speaks well, using stories to creatively make his points, is appreciative of his world wide community, and was friendly as he signed my copy of Side Hustle School. [Currently reading it!] “What’s next?”Â
Photos of the event are here (glad I somehow knew it was wear a striped top day!) and were taken by Peter Fritz who is doing interesting work supporting mid-life reinvention. - Saw this cool wobbly reflection
- Saw lovely art making a statement on an everyday electric hub thingy. Do you know who painted these?
- Drove! [Grateful for a reliable car!]
- Caught up and had dinner with my adult son
- Recorded some grids on footpaths (sidewalks) … they might make nice textures for photos, or patterns for pictures. We’ll see.
- After toying with a great many words over the previous days and on the road trip, I’ve chosen a fitting one for my 2018 Word of the Year… Embrace. I started smiling when I alighted on ’embrace’ – a good sign, right? I think it’ll work nicely for me in 2018, and will wrap around [see what I did there?] many aspects. For me, it relates to quality of life, self-acceptance, relationship consolidation, skills and interests consolidation, embracing of whole self-ness, and of course actual hugging! [I’m nervous putting a private, not-yet-played-out guidepost ‘out
therehere’ in ‘public’, and I’m not wanting any feedback on my choice, thank you.]Â Have you ever used Embrace for your word of the year? I feel it may be a popular one… - On that note, do you want me to illustrate/decorate your Word of the Year? Check out my new service here.
- Once my word was discerned, I was able to complete my 2018 Vision Board upon our return. Fun :)
- I resolved to make a priority of art in 2018 … my next blog post is about how I’m going to make sure I do!
How has your year started, dear bold soul? I’d love to hear… drop a comment below or on my Tangerine Meg Visual Artist Facebook page.
Talk soon,
Love Meg x o
[PS added later… If you ever go away, who do you get to look after your cat? A neighbour or a cat-sitting agency? On the flip side, if you love cats, cat-sitting could be a cool side hustle! This post from Grubby Cat talks about considerations if you think you’d like to cat sit :) ]
*Not his real name
Glad you enjoyed your Melbourne trip and EMBRACED the delights of the city.
I think 2018 will be quite a full year for me too.
Susan
Good luck and love for your full year, Susan! Can’t wait to hear how it plays out :)
Love Meg x o