Friday August 7. On the fly

I thought I had it all sorted. History should have told me that this isn't the way I rock. My plans are about as stable as the writing I saw in the sky over work today - here one second, gone the next. And so it was. I ran around like a headless chook packing and planning because I had "volunteered" to drive my mother to Stanthorpe for a funeral. A six-hour round trip and an overnight stay wasn't exactly the relaxing weekend I had in mind but I knew it was important to my mum to farewell her cousin so I put my hand up. But at the last minute Uncle Philip, who had pulled out earlier due to an injury, decided he was well enough to go so I was subbed out. So I rearranged my re-arrangements and started again. I would have liked frosty country pics but the drive I am pleased to have missed out on. The closest I got to nature was the kookaburra sitting on the fence next door.

Thusday August 6. Day 218. Long day's journey into night

I may not be spectacular in the kitchen but setting the microwave on fire is a special effort even for me. Best of all I'm not even sure why or what I did other than turn it on to start the flames. Bizarrely, even for me, I decided that perhaps what it needed was a good clean because it could have been some historical heating accident on the roof of the microwave that was the problem. So I cleaned it and tried to set the kitchen on fire a second time.Top effort. In all that I lost my glasses which is only a problem if I need to see. And then I found them again just in time to see the dog escape. He dodged and weaved until he got bored playing "evade the owner" and ran into the front door of the house across the road, found a bed and curled up for a nap. And all that before work.
I am a magnet for crazy mornings. Most days I get to work feeling, often justifiably, like the hard yakka is over for the day. So by evening, after the afternoon crazy of mum's taxi commitments is over, I generally want to hit the couch and stay there. The dog and my fitness goal dictate otherwise. So off for an evening walk. No matter how big the struggle to get there is I must say I never regret it. The view of the city from the Kangaroo Point cliffs is special and a bit of exercise gives you the energy to face whatever crazy tomorrow might throw up.

August 5. Day 217. Over the top

The canine support crew

Some times it is a step too far. So it was today at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. Today was my delightful niece Amelia's 12th birthday. Today was also day one of her new life in Australia having spent all of her life living in Hong Kong since birth. She wanted it to be special and my brief was to make it so. After consulting with my sister Lisa we decided that abseiling down the Kangaroo Point cliffs would be awesome. Amelia is a try-anything sort of kid and should have been totally up for it. And she really, really wanted to but in the end just couldn't take the one giant step off the top. I have to say that our leader Matt was so patient, so encouraging and a delight and I know Amelia enjoyed pushing herself right to the limit even though she didn't make it over the edge. The birthday girl may not have done it but the rest of the group - me included - conquered the cliff and at the bottom their was a party. It may not have panned as planned but it was still a birthday to remember. 

August 4. Day 216. Stories of my demise are greatly exaggerated

Oh what a dreadful tale of woe - at least that's what they'd have us believe. It would be easy to think that I work not only in a dying industry but in one that is deader than the trees it used to be printed on. But today I was again reminded that there is not only hope but room for optimism. Story 1. Breakfast at the Convention Centre where the wonderful Leigh Sales was awarded with a QUT outstanding alumni award. Leigh is an amazing journalist who has an ability to cut through the crap and noise and get to the truth. Then story 2. Tonight Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Narratively Noah Rosenberg addressed an audience of students at QUT about a model of storytelling beyond the 24 hour clickbait. Both are inspirations and both remind me why journalism is a great industry and not a dying industry. It also reminded me why I wanted to be a journalist in the first place. Because there is no end to the interesting stories out there that need to be told. The challenge is not finding the stories. The challenge right now is finding the right way to link the storytellers with the people wanting to hear their voices. That is not a tale of woe. That is just a story where the ending is still being written.

Breakfast is served

August 3. Day 215. Time flies

Weird things humans. For 12 years I have whinged about the parent/teacher interview. Twice a year I've rocked up to the school for what feels like report card speed dating. There's a giant countdown clock projected on the wall and a buzzer sounds when your allotted seven minutes is up. Two minutes to locate the next teacher and room. Repeat. You do gain insights a report card alone can not give and get tips on the upcoming semester. But for a girl who loves a bit of a chat it only ever feels like it scratches the surface. For the teachers it must be a special kind of torture but they are faultlessly polite and helpful. And yet I'm the one who whinges. Until today. At the end of penultimate interview, the Economics teacher casually said "I guess this is your last one of these then". And it hit me. I was seven minutes away from never having to go through the process again. The sun was setting on yet another chapter of my life. And I simultaneously felt like doing a happy dance and bursting into tears. But most of all I would have liked to go back and see those other teachers to thank them again properly. But that bird had flown the coup and my seven minutes of fame was over. Time flies

August 2. Day 214. Birds of a feather

It was supposed to be a quiet Sunday afternoon stroll in the park but someone forgot to send the noisy miners the memo. That lot live up to their name regularly and today was a special performance. As my ability to speak avian is very limited exactly what the issue was unclear. But it was a curious pattern. They would be sitting there all content and at peace with the world, seemingly enjoying each other's company. And then with no warning or apparent trigger it would be on: full throttle fighting. Of course such behaviour does happen in the human world. It's pretty much how siblings do things. They love each other dearly but the ability to ruffle each other's feathers is unrivaled. Oh the joy.

August 1. Day 213. A lot of bull

When you live with a child whose life's passion is the theatre, the phrase "break a leg" is a frequent uttering. Of course, as he's never performed in a production such as the very accident prone Spiderman,  the likelihood of any fracture is slim to nothing.
But if, like my friends Toni and Brett, you have a child with a passion of rodeo riding injuries are a far more realistic outcome despite all the obvious precautions. For years now I've been promising to see young Steele ride but until today I hadn't managed to make it happen.
Steele was competing in the Under 16 event of the rodeo being held as part of the Pine Rivers show.
Today wasn't his day and his ride was short. I didn't even manage to capture a shot because the support crew was between me and the rider.
But all was not lost. I did get to see some amazing young people in the ring.
These kids are amazing. Hopping on a bucking animal and holding on takes a whole lot of guts but they did it without even flinching.
No child was hurt today but one of the support crew was flattened and knocked unconscious. After being attended by ambulance crews he was able to walk from the arena. Later he was back. Like I said, guts. I was impressed and just a little bit in awe. 
 On top of that was able to enjoy all of the other activities on offer as part of the show (apart from the food. As delicious as a dagwood dog and fairy floss may be, I'm pretty sure they don't actually appear on any prescribed diet).