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Decisions, decisions…

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Many decisions are having to be made in my life right currently, and they all seem to hedge on each other being decided first. I feel like I’m going round in circles! Decisions, decisions and none are close to being resolved!

One decision I have been wrangling with is about spelling.
That’s right: spelling.

To others it seems a rather trivial one, but to me it’s fundamental. I have always prided myself on being a good speller, and on my extended vocabulary. So in my decision to relocate here to the US, I really didn’t think about having to alter myself and the way I communicate as much as has been asked of me. They still can’t understand me when I go through drive-throughs (not drive-thrus!), or leave voicemail messages. But the issue of spelling has been probably the toughest.

My grasp of the English language sure makes me feel superior in a country that lacks ‘colour’.  I have persisted in the face of adversity with rogue substitutions of my letter ‘s’ for ‘z’ (and even in my pronunciation of them as zeds), and the removal of all redundant ‘u’s. I labeled my ‘jewellery’  as such in my Etsy store and now my search parameters are increasingly limited. I was even berated in front of people by a rather impertinent colleague for sticking to my guns and writing the date the right way: Day of the week/Date/Month/Year.

I have been fighting what I thought was the good fight.  After all, I am the educated one who writes correct English! Yet, from their perspective, they are not ill-educated. They don’t see that by my persisting to communicate in British English means that I am above them: they just think I can’t spell.

So that leaves me here, being the pompous Australian arsehole to the Yanks, much like the British appear to us as Australians. I am in their country, communicating with them and being paid to be knowledgeable about them, and yet I am refusing to. Whilst I do think Australian are culturally superior to Yanks (particularly when we wear the flag as a cape and bang on about people being ‘dickheads’), I am actually being the proverbial dickhead. Me.

Maybe part of me laments changing my spelling as a way for me to stand out, to remain the outsider, to keep my ‘novelty’ card in play. But I have to see it less as ‘conforming’ and more about me committing to a life here. Plus, respect is a big part of it, and I should respect my new countrymen and countrywomen enough to make this step, even though the very thought of it makes me shudder.

I guess  I really haven’t come to a solid conclusion about this (and thus, how I plan to spell things on this blog), but I have taken the steps to address my misplaced feelings of superiority. By altering my spelling, I am committing to to something I have already committed to. I think I need to do what is necessary to fit in over here and further my career. And have my crafty work found by people searching Etsy!

xTRP

My Life List

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I stumbled upon the Mighty Girl site through some link love on Twitter, and I am enamoured with Maggie Mason, she of Mighty Girl.

On her site, she has created a ‘Life List’ of all the things she hopes to achieve throughout her lifetime. I think that’s a choice idea, because sometimes I’d rather not fail, so I don’t bother to put myself (and my feelings) on the line to even try. Especially when it comes to the big stuff where you can really fail. Plus, even as this big birthday looms large, I really don’t know what it is I want.

So why not tackle head-on my indecisiveness and ability to gloss over that which I have not had the courage or opportunity to do? Plus, by putting it out there in the universe, I will be held accountable: no chickening out! I want to be the most focused and best version of me that I can be.

So here’s my version:

MY LIFE LIST

  • Visit India for the Holi Festival
  • Eat better, and eat more socially and environmentally responsibly
  • Ride bikes around Gotland, an island off the coast of Sweden when my Mum’s side originates from
  • Take in a match at the Nou Camp in Barcelona
  • Make at least one day a month an ‘anniversary’
  • Make one night a week ‘Date Night’
  • Start a legitimate crafty business
  • Spend Christmas 2010 back with my family in Sydney
  • Be the only person on a desert island (for a few hours)
  • Host a fabulous birthday party for someone with all the trimmings
  • Become a dual citizen
  • Learn how to surf
  • Live downtown in San Francisco
  • Make a felt and button bouquet for a bride
  • Have a big bay window with a window seat to sit at read in the warm sun
  • Learn how to play: guitar, bass, cello
  • Sail somewhere on a boat
  • Become fluent in German
  • Live in Germany
  • Hike up either: Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Everest Base Camp
  • Have our own place to call home
  • Mount a map of the world to foam and plot our next trip
  • Become an ‘expert’ in something
  • Fly on one of the world’s most dangerous airlines
  • Be lucky enough to have David Bromstad of Color Splash come in a makeover my home in a whimsical blue and green colour scheme
  • Make a cake/cupcakes from scratch (including the icing!)
  • Compete in a triathlon
  • Drive home in a silver Porsche Boxter one day, and throw James his new keys
  • Take traditional tea in a Japanese tea house
  • Go to a Gaelic Football match
  • Go to a Hurling match
  • Observe and write as the world go by for an afternoon in a French Cafe
  • Plant and tend a small garden
  • Have my own studio space for my crafty and writing endeavours
  • Buy a beachfront property to live and work from in Thailand
  • Write a song
  • Go tubing down the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng, Laos
  • Borrow Cousin Charlotte for a day and go on adventures: to the Zoo, enjoy a Charlotte-friendly treat down on Pier 39 watching the seals, do crafty stuff
  • Sit for a whimsical portrait in an appropriate ‘fit’ for my face: The white doll-faced look of the silent movie era? A 1940s pin-up like the one on front of the Memphis Belle? A mod icon?
  • Go pick fruit: berries, apples, lemons, oranges, pears
  • Find a new group of friends after my new ones leave in a month or two (one of the downsides to living the expat lifestyle…)
  • Have a family portrait taken — just the two of us
  • Go camping in Yosemite
  • See my husband’s name on a flyer as the headlining comedian
  • Try Nackt wandern (you only live once!)
  • Bottle my own wine
  • Speak to my Aunt more
  • Sleep in a treehouse
  • Plant citrus trees (and be around the watch them grow)
  • Get eaten alive by bedbugs in Vientiane
  • Go pick my own flowers in a field
  • Learn how to make sushi
  • Have James arrange a surprise for me unexpectedly
  • Host my own High Tea with fresh sandwiches, pots of tea and good conversation
  • Go on safari in Africa
  • Take more of an interest in styling myself
  • Gather the courage (despite my horrendous physical aversion to them since school) to try brightly coloured tights
  • Get married again! In Vegas! On a quiet beach in Hawaii at sunset! In sunny South America whilst doing the tango! At Frankfurt Airport in Germany! In the Swedish countryside near a red-barn! Atop the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland! Back home in Australia! Under the Aurora Borealis! Atop the Eiffel Tower!
  • Become a mentor to a local kid
  • Visit Pebble Beach in the flesh
  • Have Josh relocate from Chicago to San Francisco and achieve what he wants out of life in sunny California
  • Write a book
  • Make the SF Stars Pacific Coast Netball League team
  • Institute a ‘special’ day of the week, much like Maggie’s Chocolate and Champagne Wednesdays

I’m actually surprised with just how many things I came up with, considering I’m generally rather indecisive. I plan on trying to do as many of those as I can, as well as adding new things that come to mind. I’ll house my new dreams in a Life List page, you can find up in the top right hand corner of this site (or here).

What would be on your Life List? What are types of things that inspire you and that you hope to achieve in your lifetime?

xTRP

I really don’t know what it is I want.So why not tackle head-on my indecisiveness and ability to gloss over that which I have not had the courage or opportunity to do? Plus, by putting it out there in the universe, I will be held accountable: no chickening out! I want to be the most focused and best version of  me that I can be.

Six things I love

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Six things I love:

1. KATE BUSH

I have been listening to my iPod on shuffle whilst working recently, and rediscovered her masterpiece ‘Wuthering Heights‘.  I just love how strange and interesting she is, and have been captivated by her dancing since I first saw THIS.

2. LESLIE of FEISTY ELLE

I have had the immense good fortune to meet this talented San Francisco designer and call her a friend. It’s amazing to see how professional she is, and how well run her crafty business is. She’s a real source of inspiration and advice for me.

Leslie at her Feisty Elle stall at Capsule SF

And I just cannot get enough of her Jade Teardrops right now! They’ve been my favourite for over a month.

3.  THXTHXTHX – a thank you note a day

Every now and again, I spend some time clicking on a bunch of links on other people’s blogs and see where I end up. And yesterday, I stumbled upon this Tumblr blog called THXTHXTHX.

Dear My Own Laziness...

[Source: THXTHXTHX]

I had to laugh, especially because I have  black garbage bag full of clothes to donate to the Salvos and they’ve been here at least six weeks now.

4. JOB HUNTING

Tomorrow is Election Day here in sunny Northern California, and at sunset, my role is completed. We mobilised, had overwhelming support  and (most thankfully), we didn’t have any opposition materialise. It’s been a dream ride with a dream candidate.

So now, I am job hunting.

I have listed it as a ‘like’ because it’s a new opportunity for me to work elsewhere and see what can be achieved.  Although actual the process can be quite a drag, it’s interesting to dream about where this next phase in my life could take me. I have been afforded such a marvellous opportunities with the Campaign and I hope I can find something in the outside world that comes close…

5. THE WORLD CUP

I wouldn’t go so far as saying I have World Cup Fever, but I am getting excited about this event. It has been four years since I shed tears as I drove home over the heartbreaking loss to the Italians. So much has happened since  2006: I moved overseas, met the man of my dreams, travelled for a few more years, got hitched in Vegas and ended up moving to the Bay Area.  And now, the Socceroos are back at it.

We’ve been listening to the Guardian UK’s daily podcast about the daily happenings in South Africa in the lead up, bought the FIFA World Cup 2010 game for the PS3.  We’re trying to psych ourselves up as much as possible, but I think the real excitement will come on Friday at the opening game.

When it comes down to Soccer, J will always go for the English.   A few years back, it would have been sacrilegious to have barracked for another team (“I go for Australia, and whomever is playing the Italians”), but now, I’m not so sure it is as clear-cut for me. I don’t think this year’s Aussie team is as talented as the one from 2006.  Yet I presume I’ll barrack for them because you always want to see Aussie teams do well. Lord knows we’ve had enough defeats lately (poor Sam…).

I don’t feel anything for the US team (Landon  “Yawn” Donovan), yet I don’t feel much for the English or the Germans or < insert qualified team here >. But we’ll see what happens in a few days…

6. THE REBECCA PROJECT ETSY SHOPFRONT

I have been really working hard over the past month to make things happen with The Rebecca Project.  I have been madly producing templates and creating new products for launch in my new Etsy shop. And we’re SO CLOSE to launch, I can feel the palpitations of the universe.

It would have been really great to have my new line available for the lead-up to the World Cup, but what can you do? You can’t rush creativity. I will have to kick my own butt for the laziness, however.

So keep your eyes on The Rebecca Project’s Etsy Shopfront for the grand opening! I’m excited!

xTRP

Currently obsessed with: reinventing furniture

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This week’s current obsession is with reinventing furniture.

There’s a billion blogs dedicated to painting absolutely everything white and then distressing  it to make it appear as though you dug it out of a Beaujolais farmhouse. My current obsession is with painting everything white, but it’s the crisp whiteness of Scandinavian reinterpretation of mid-Century modern (MCM) furniture.

Revamping mid-Century modern classics

[Design*Sponge: Elien’s Desk]

I ADORE  this reworking by Elien in Belgium of an old desk that was featured on Design*Sponge. She has given it a new lease on life, yet stayed true to it’s original design of simple, functional and aesthetically pleasing. J’adore!

From tired and old, to hip and terriffic!

[Design*Sponge: Joanne’s Credenza]

And this credenza went from being dull and boring, to being imbued with a sense of Scandi chic. Love the practicality in the revamp: the wine rack is a great idea.

I’m on the hunt for my own MCM masterpiece to reinterpret!

xTRP

Tahoe!

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A few years ago, J worked at a summer camp just outside of South Lake Tahoe, and loved it.  So finally I had a chance to go up there and see for myself where all of these fabulous adventures took place.

We took off up to Tahoe for a few days over the Memorial Day long weekend for a break: from life, from work, from… reality.

The southern shore of Lake Tahoe

But  I was unable to switch off from my Blackberry life  and just use nature to recharge. My mind was cloudy and prevented me from fully appreciating it. Eventually, I was able to move forward, quiet my mind and soak in the the tranquility of the towering pines and the water lapping at the shore.

Looking over the lake, towards North Lake Tahoe

It had even snowed in South Lake the week prior and made for such marvellous alpine scenery. At times, it all looked rather Austrian but with more redneck hillbilly local types instead of ice cool Austrians who sprechen Sie Deutsch.

The view from the Lake Tahoe Golf Course

Yet for all the beautiful photos captured, I just didn’t “feel” it. The next time we head up to Tahoe, I think we’ll head back to North Lake Tahoe. It’s an easier (and less hairy) drive, and the vibe at Truckee was much more to my liking. Even if the family cabin is haunted…

How about you?
How do you recharge, and in what part of the world do you love to unwind?

xTRP

In mourning for LOST

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Call  me what you will, but I am one of those who tuned in on Sunday night to witness the finale of a show that has captivated my attention and hijacked portions of my thoughts for numerous years. I speak of what everyone in the blogosphere is writing about today: LOST.

I struggle to be in the same place at exactly the same time each week, so with the aid of DVD (and only two or three seasons of actual waiting weekly for new episodes) and the marvellousness that is my DVR, it was possible for me to get into LOST. And I am so thankful I did!

LOST was far more than a TV show. It was a social dialogue. I have had some incredibly deep and revolutionary conversations with people about aspects and theories about the show, conversations that would have never been possible previously (how deep do you really get with your neighbour on the validity and experience of good v evil?). The show has made me cry incredibly hard, it has made me laugh at periods of ridiculousness (polar bears?!) and it has captivated my attention for long periods of time (which is a miracle in itself!).

And last night’s final episode didn’t disappoint. There are still many questions, but I like the flexibility in making up my own mind about what it all “means” (and wish to thank the writers for enabling the viewer to be relatively autonomous).

Today, both of us have been in mourning. We have sat and pondered the meaning of the show, floated different theories and discuss at length our interpretations of certain sequences of events.  Our moods have fluctuated dramatically just as in periods of upheaval, of death. A little dramatic, that’s for certain, but we have lived and breathed with these people for years: We would look out for them, we would talk about them and look forward to seeing them the following week. I wouldn’t go so far as calling them friends, but they were a part of our lives. And I’ve never been great at endings…

I read that some people had viewing parties and what not to celebrate/commisserate together, and from the looks of things, the seriously cool Razzmons went all out for the finale. It involved LOST-themed vanilla buttercream cupcakes (yum!) from a Dharma Initiatives box. Aren’t they awesome?!

Kudos to Razzmons for her awesome themed cupcakes!

{Photo by Razzmons}

So farewell, Jack. Farewell, all. We will both miss you more than we can accurately convey, and thank you for being part of our lives. Life, as well as death, is a journey.