January 2017

 Tuesday 17th January 2017

I woke up this morning feeling tired but great. Full of optimism and enthusiasm towards the future. I have a new word to describe life.

This sort of sums things up for me right now. It opens up infinite possibilities. I haven’t been kind to myself over the past 15 years and as a result I find myself on the cusp of turning 65 in relatively bad physical shape. Overweight, unfit, pretty unhealthy and addicted to alcohol, which by the way I haven’t had for the past 5 days. Now it’s time to undo the damage and get healthy, fit and well so I can enjoy each day of my travels, my “coddiwomple”.

Allissa is in Mexico with Joel. We had a great “viber” conversation this morning. She seems to be loving this leg of her trip. Currently chilling out at a beach somewhere down south on the Pacific coast of Mexico before moving on to Mexico City for three days and then to Tahoe to really chill out in the snow for a few more days before flying across the Pacific Ocean back to Australia. Funny thing was that I started worrying about her at 10pm on Sunday night. I never worry about Allissa, then I started worrying about my Mum who turned 90 last year. She feels tired and her appetite has gone down the drain.

I had a long telephone conversation with my sister Helen last night. She needed her brother or just someone who was willing to listen without giving too much advice. She just needed to dump it all on someone who was there for her and maybe I’m the one person she can do that with. As she said “I (Helen) don’t do calm well!”. I learnt a lot from the words that we shared and appreciated the years that I have spent trying to unfold the simple truths of life, learning how to let go of the past and forgive myself and anyone else who I have shared my “coddiwomple” with. I need to remember that not everyone can let go and consequently complicate their lives by letting the past, present and future mingle into a broth of complexity that is like quicksand. It’s easy to sink into the quicksand like some poor unwitting cowboy in a 1950s American Television wild west show. I always felt really sorry for a cowboy who got caught in quicksand and sure as hell feel compassion for a person who gets caught up in significance and complexity and that broth I was just talking about. I really felt for Helen. She doesn’t show her vulnerability easily but it was good for her to just free form through whatever she had to say about whoever or whatever she had to say it about.

The day begins. It’s going to reach 38 degrees celsius at some point today.

I’ve recently revisited Jack Kerouac and his words and the way he reads his words. He reads like a jazz musician plays. I created a music track over something I found on the internet. I did it quickly, without thinking much and it works in it’s simplicity.

https://soundcloud.com/user-942496834/the-beat-generation

It’s now dark and the day has gone. A relatively straight forward day with a bit of drama thrown in for good measure. I spoke to my Mum and told her about Helen and how she needs to feel loved and appreciated and like a good mother that’s what she did and it worked a treat. I rang Helen and she was over the moon that Mum had told her that she was the only person who did anything for her. They were both chuffed. It’s amazing how much power a few words of acknowledgement have. A mighty tool for those not too proud to care for others enough to make them feel useful and important.

Finn had some friends over. He worked hard to make this happen. I cooked sausages, corn, onions on the BBQ and chips in the oven. Much appreciated.

It looks like we got a 19 day booking from an Indonesian family for Crimea St in June. 

Another day in paradise.