kjp

Hello there! This was the first line of my 30th birthday speech. More on that below.

Well, yesterday I thought something along the lines of "I can see clearly now the rain has gone", or something like that. A lyric from a song. Anyhow. I thought that as I walked out of the glasses shop wearing a new pair of glasses. Two reasons for them: my prescription has gotten slightly worse; and I wanted to try transition lenses (aka: Photochromic lense", for those that like technical terms or who thinks that 4 = 5), before my possible overseas trip to deserty places next year. Not taking a pair of prescription sunglasses = one less thing to loose. They're similar shape to previous pair, just black rim. Anyhow, the song also seemed appropriate given my recent (last few weeks) gradual improvement in health (below).

Anyhow, the (the glasses) were tested out today when I went up Mt Greville - a mountain near Aratula. This was with the Brisbane bushwalking club. More on this in another post.

So, way back in April I turned 30. It was a really good occasion - I really enjoyed myself. On the Saturday the day before my birthday I had a reasonably large BBQ at New Farm Park under the big trees by the river, which was excellent. On the actual day was a nice lunch on the river in the city, followed by a few drinks out in the valley in the evening. Great times.

Since April (up until mid/late July) (and probably before), however, it's probably true that things haven't been / weren't the best. I probably have not, for a long time, been particularly concerned (ie: cruising on autopilot) about my health, mental health included. This isn't really sustainable. And, in particular, it was suggested (from someone who knows about these things) to me that I should be careful. Since then I've been (a) exercising each day (or virtually every day) - usually in the form of walking to work, and (b) trying to do more (and varied) things. It's very difficult to see how long I should have been more careful. I suspect for quite some time (ie: 4 or 6 years, or quite possibly more), but maybe excluding times when I've had to concentrate on a particular project (going overseas, organising things for 30th birthday, etc)?? Dunno. This is quite upsetting in a way - quite a lot of time that I've wasted (in a way); well, not used as best as possible. But, I suppose, life only goes forward. In recent weeks life does seem to be better.

Hmmm.

Anyhow, so, I try and do lots of things these days. Tuesday night rehearsals are great. The gig last weekend was really good. I played my small solo bits pretty well. Apparently there's a recording of it, which I'll be trying to get a copy of. Wednesdays are (well usually) trivia. Thursday night Applied Philosophy course is going well, really interesting. Although for me it's more interesting/theoretical, as I don't practice, so it's not so much “applied”. Anyhow, also in there are occasional walks with Brisbane Bush Walkers. Also, on Sunday nights I've been going to dancing (jive) classes at the nearby dance school. I started this in preparation for last weekend which was work's annual dinner dance. It was an excellent, really enjoyable night. The classes paid off - much better/confident on dance floor, apparently impressively so. The night was also combined with the annual casino night. My +1 wanted to gamble (she'd usually be a dancer), and I wanted to dance (I'd usually be a gambler). Role reversal or something. I'm planning to keep going (dance classes), as I don't usually do anything on Sunday night anyway, and it’s very convenient to get to, and it's relatively easy for me: half of it is timing which I'm good at due to the music side of things. Following instructions is easy, so it's actually pretty good.

On the cards are (a) further applied philosophy courses; (b) drawing course; (c) Arabic language course for later this year / next year.

I'm going to be going through my clothes. I have half a decent pile of old clothes to give away to the Salvos or Vinnies, but I'll probably add to it a bit more to the pile. Some new clothes are in order. I haven’t bought clothes in ages: “Clothes make the man” (Twain).