Perspective smack down

Every now and then, something smacks you with a little reality check. A little something the dictionary likes to call perspective.

This morning, having come from a 70 hour working week, working on Saturday and an all nighter on Monday, I started flicking through the photos of a friend who was in the second week in of her year long trip around the world. At this point I was feeling both jealous and resentful. I'm pretty sure I did some out loud sighs too. Then I read an email about this guy who I knew from Adelaide had died from cancer. He wasn't a friend, just someone I knew years ago, but still, for anyone to die before their time, and especially at 27 is so unfair.

We all know about seizing the day and living everyday like it's your last. But this isn't realistic. You can't be afraid of death. You can't go and sky dive everyday or tell your boss to go fuck themselves. While you can embrace life to the best of your ability, fun needs to be funded. So, of course, you need to find a balance. Doing nothing but work all week definitely isn't. It's easy to get wrapped up in life, in work and ourselves. However, it's easy to make sure you do fun things and don't waste your life in front of the TV or something else just as time wasting. But like anything, it's about making an effort. But not the fake smile kind of effort, more like the effort that makes you think after, man, I'm so glad I did that.

So get out, take a walk, see a friend you haven't seen in a while, draw something, bake a cake, pick up the phone, plan a holiday, do something, anything, whatever the effort, it'll be worth it.

Sorry if this was really preachy.

Amen.

Forgive me, I've been busy

I’ve been busy trying to balance the stuff I love doing with the stuff I hate.

I’ve been trying to think of a way out of 9-5. An out to meetings, selling and being told I’m not chirpy enough.

I’ve been looking for a flat, for a new place and a new start with my best buddy.

I’ve been trying to be more tolerant to bullshit, but end up ranting regardless. Maybe even more than usual.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Everything is good. It’s great in fact. It’s just when you finally work out what you want out of life, it’s frustrating that getting it seems so far from reach. But enough about that. Let’s talk about the warehouse conversion that Luke and I are moving into.

It’s beautiful. You know when you walk in somewhere and you just know it’s for you? Well, it was exactly like that. I was almost afraid to say I liked it in case it was way out of our price range. But it wasn’t and now it’s ours. It’s got an amazing kitchen and I can’t wait to use the oven, it’s so big and shiny! It’s been great living in my big house with my four, sometimes five housemates, but it’s time for something new. It’s time to make the trip across the river. Straight up and then a little to the right. It’s time to embrace the bus and listen to da yoof’s hip hop blaring from the backseat rather than having my face in someone’s armpit on the Northern Line. I simply can’t wait.

The funny part about moving East London is the fact that it’s cool. And Luke and I aren’t really cool. We’re kind of on the far outskirts of cool. Actually, I might be a bit farther out than him. For all of you unfamiliar with East London, it’s the home of the over sized specs, hats, tights, baggy blazers, shoes with no socks and guys with floppy, half shaved hair. It’s a place where outrageous is encouraged, if not expected. But having said that, you also have those who appear effortlessly cool, but without a doubt spent about three hours tweaking their high waisted jeans before leaving the house. And then again, you have the people who are actually just fucking cool.

I must go. It’s 530pm and I have a long night of work ahead of me.