The A to Z of being G

Earlier today I was reading through the latest posts from my fave bloggers (the list is on the right) and saw that Kirsty's I must confess prompt for this week is an A to Z to describe one's self. I thought to myself that surely this would be an easy task - what a fool I am!

 

Anyhoo, after much thought, here's the A to Z of being G...

 

Arachnophobic. Spiders seriously freak me out. I pump half a can of spray on them (so they go white). The poison doesn't kill them, they drown. Alternatively I scream out to the lovely Wayne to come and kill it.

 

Big. As in tall. I'm just under 6 feet 2 inches tall.

 

Chatty. I'm always up for a chat or a chinwag and will happily talk to pretty much anyone.

 

Dancing queen. I love to bust a move and like nothing better than shakin' ma booty around the house with the music cranked up.

 

Eyes. They are the first thing I notice about a person. Some people look at teeth, hair or 'other things', but for me it's always the eyes.

 

Foodie. I LOVE food. I love trying new food, cooking food, but most of all eating it.

 

Gay. I'm gay, just in case you hadn't worked that out!

 

Horn bag. You'll never hear the "not tonight dear I've got a headache" line from me. Just being honest. If that's weirded you out, you shouldn't have been such a voyeur!

 

In love. Soppy but true. Still very much in love with the lovely Wayne after almost 25 years.

 

Just me. What you see is what you get. No airs, no graces, just me. If you don't like it, there's the door! 

 

Kitchen nazi. The kitchen MUST be mess and clutter free. The rest of the house can look like a war zone, but not the kitchen.

 

Loud. I am loud. Those who know me can attest to this. If there's a room of people, my voice will be the one heard even if I'm talking 'quietly'. My laugh can also be heard from afar.

 

Moody. On occasion, I may or may not be moody. Apparently.

 

Novocastrian. I'm Newcastle born and bred. Well mostly. I did live in the Blue Mountains for a few years as a pre-teen.

 

Open book. I've been told I don't have a poker face at all. My face gives away exactly what I'm thinking. Always has, always will.

 

People watcher. I seriously love people watching. I could sit outside at a busy café or the like and watch people all day. People fascinate me.

 

Quotes. I love quotes, whether inspirational or just plain thoughtful and nice. I have a couple that are faves and I wrote about my most favourite quote and its author here.

 

Romantic. I am a hopeless romantic. To prove my point, my absolute fave movie is Love Actually, which is watched a number of times a year.

 

Sensitive. I'm a sensitive boy. Sometimes things cut deep or affect me deeply. You won't know though as I'm not an open book with my inner most emotions.

 

Toy boy. As the lovely Wayne is 5 years older than me, I'm technically a toy boy.

 

Unco. I'm definitely unco, or uncoordinated. I near killed myself recently when I was on crutches for a week.

 

Voyeur. I guess I'm a voyeur as I love hearing and reading peoples' stories. That's probably why I love blogs and enjoy a good autobiography.

 

Wine lover. Not a lot I can say about this. It is what it is. Cheers!

 

Xtrovert. Hey I was struggling with X. They say opposites attract and that's very true in this household as the lovely Wayne is quiet whereas I'm an extrovert. Especially with a few wines on board!

 

Young at heart. Although I turn 48 later this year, I certainly never act it.

 

Zeds. Or zzzzzz. I love a good sleep-in and apparently am not a morning person.

Like I mentioned at the start, I'm linking up with Kirsty at My Home Truths for her weekly I must confess linkup.

 

 

As an aside, don't ask your husband, wife, partner to assist with this list. If they are a smart arse like mine, you will get suggestions like A=arsehole, B=biatch, although he did redeem himself with C=cute.
 

Do any of these "characteristics" strike a chord with you?
Do you have a smart arse better half (or child even)?
As I've said, I'm a voyeur with this kinda shit, so please share.
 

G. xx
 

The impatient patient

I've been out of action for the last few weeks as I had to have a little op that has resulted in me taking things very slowly whilst I recuperate.  And I'm doing just fine too.  I should also confess that I'm not known for being the most patient of souls at the best of times, so you can imagine just how patient I've been as a patient!

You know how opposites attract, right?  Well that's kinda how it is here.  The lovely Wayne is very patient (well with me anyway) and has looked after this here patient very very well since I came home almost two weeks ago.  There have been a couple of days where I have needed a dose of reality - you know, those days where you feel a little sorry for yourself.  Well he has been very patient and understanding and has just ignored that.  He truly is a gem and I reckon I'm a very lucky guy.  These past couple of weeks have made me thankful for a couple of things...

1. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the lovely Wayne is my rock.  Thanks handsome, you are my world and you go out of your way to make sure I feel like the centre of your world - love you long time. xx
2. In the scheme of things, my op and recovery are but a blip on the radar.  I've given myself a stern talking to during this time and told myself to drink a cup of concrete and harden the fug up.  True story!

The lovely Wayne - he's kinda awesome in my book!

What did I learn from this?  I have to confess that I'm an impatient patient!

Do you think opposites attract (are you and your significant other opposites)?

Are you an impatient patient?

What are your tips for learning how to be a little more patient (asking for a friend)?

I'm linking up (a little late) with Kirsty at My Home Truths for her weekly I must confess... linkup.  You should too, confession is sooo liberating you know!

G. xx

Stop the stigma

It is a sad fact that bullying and mental illness only ever get a showing in the media when something dreadful happens.  When someone dies.  Surely I’m not the only person who thinks that’s kinda fucked up wrong.  Bullying and mental illness shouldn’t only be trotted out when someone dies as a result of them.  They need to be discussed openly and people educated about them on a regular basis.

 

I’ve previously touched on being bullied when I was younger and the effect that had on me.  Still has on me.  Yes, it still messes with me.  I still have dreadful bouts of depression and anxiety and have only recently acknowledged that sadly, it is here to stay.  I maybe a 6 foot 1, 47 year old man but I still have days where I think there is only one way out.  Thankfully they aren’t too regular and I can now recognise what they are and how to get myself through them.  The battle never truly goes away though.  There are days where I simply can’t function, when doing the morning routine (breakfast, shower, etc) is almost impossible, let alone leaving the house and negotiating traffic and work.  And life.  On the bad days I don’t make it to work and end up taking the day off with no pay.  No pay – because that is easier than confessing that I’m one of those people with a mental illness.  See, that there is the stigma that I’m talking about.

 

When we only highlight bullying and mental illness when people die, we feed the stigma that already exists.  As a society we should be destigmatising bullying and mental illness.  Without the stigma, maybe more people would seek and receive help, and hopefully not as many would die.  Education is the key so people start to understand the toll that bullying and mental illness can have.
 

EDIT: Speaking of education, I encourage you to read this blog post by a fellow blogger Sandra.  She has captured what is for me, the essence of depression (and is quite similar to how it affects me and many others).
 

I'm not looking for sympathy, just sharing my story and hopefully reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and bullying.

 

Lastly, please be kind to others, and spare a thought for victims of bullying and those with mental illness.  They don’t want your pity, they want your understanding.

 

G. xx

 

If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline: 13 11 14.

Confessions of an elite athlete

Hi, I'm Gawee and I'm a sporadic slack as shit blogger.  Oops wrong confession!  I'm actually linking up with Kirsty from My Home Truths for her I must confess... link-up.  This week's prompt is sport.

 

I must confess, that I'm the pinnacle of athletic prowess, an elite athlete if you will.  No sport too difficult, no game too competitive, no match unwinnable.  I scoff at my opponents, adjust my gear (no not that) and proceed to annihilate them.  And then of course I wake from my slumber to realise I'm more sporty spice than sports star.  Okay, so maybe I'm not even sporty spice - old spice maybe?!

 

Okay, so onto my sporting life.  This won't take long.  As a youngster I played soccer, but my heart really wasn't in it.  Once I was old enough to exert some influence I started tennis and later, mixed netball.  There was also a smattering of orienteering thrown in there too.  I'm not terribly good at any of these sports (I'm a bit unco) but enjoy them, especially tennis and netball.  I'm actually better at netball than tennis.  Fancy, a gay man being good at netball - who'd have thought!

 

As a self confessed car nut, I was very fortunate that the lovely Wayne bought me a rally driving experience for one of my birthdays.  It was awesome, and I do believe the instructor (who had an uncanny resemblance to Robbie Williams) stated that I was a natural.  If you ever accept a lift from me, consider yourself warned that I'm a would-be rally driver!

image source

This brings me to my TV sport of choice.  I like a good rally, but particularly like the Dakar Rally.  I live for January each year so that I can watch the 30 minute snippets every night on SBS.  The lovely Wayne knows only too well that that is quiet time.  As for other kinds of racing, they bore me.  I can't think of anything worse than watching cars go round and round a circuit.  Hell, I even pity the poor drivers.

 

So there you have an insight into the life of a not-quite-elite-athlete.  If only wine and cheese consumption was an Olympic sport, I'd have shelves of medals!

 

Anyhoo, like I said I'm linking up with Kirsty today for her I Must Confess... link-up.

Would you like to 'fess up about your sporting prowess? Or do you have something else you'd like to confess? If so, head on over to My Home Truths and leave a comment/link - you'll feel better for it, trust me.

 

G. xx

What if...

This week there have been a few What if... moments for me.  You know, those moments that make you think.  Those moments that make you contemplate how different things could be, or could have been.  This latter one is one I'm not comfortable with as I firmly believe in looking forward, and only looking back to learn, not to dwell.  But alas, I have dwelled a little this week on a couple of occasions, but I did make sure I learnt something each time.  This is how it went...

 

On Monday I received a letter in the mail advising that my drivers license was overdue.  I was genuinely surprised by this.  I have a 5 year licence and as it's something I never look at I take it for granted that I'll get the renewal letter when needed and will renew it accordingly (like many others I'm sure).  Well guess what - the renewal went missing in the mail and I never received it.  So I've been blissfully unaware that I've been driving unlicensed for over 3 weeks!  Needless to say this was rectified first thing Tuesday morning, but it made me think what if I'd had an accident - my insurance would be void as I was technically unlicensed!  This opened up a can of worms (in my head).  Suffice to say I did learn something when looking back - check your bloody license every so often!

 

Tuesday morning dawned with the news of the Boston Marathon bombings and all the ensuing horrors, grief and dare I say, the mis-reporting and sensationalism in the media.  My heart truly goes out to the innocent victims and their families.  I personally struggle a bit with how appalled I am with humanity for such a cruel act, but how on the other hand how amazing humanity is in supporting and helping each other.  It really is a knife edge sometimes.  All of this made me (rather selfishly) think what if my parents were there - they will be in a month.  How would I feel?  How would I cope?  And then, how are the people there now coping?  What did I learn?  Not so much a learning, but a reminder.  Tell your nearest and dearest that you love them.  Often!

 

And then it was Wednesday.  Dare I utter these words: Go New Zealand!  No longer will I join my fellow Aussies to laugh at jokes about our kiwi neighbours as they are truly showing the way.  In case you missed it, yesterday New Zealand legalised same sex marriage.  I'm so happy for all the same sex couples in New Zealand who will now be able to legally marry and enjoy the legal rights that that brings.  I just wish Australia would get its shiz together and do the same.  So this great news made me think what if Australia legalised same sex marriage and the lovely Wayne and I could get married.  Would we even get married after all this time?  If so, how?  What?  When?  Where?  My ever restless mind went off in all directions with this one!  So what did I learn from this (even though I wasn't actually looking back)?  I learnt to not lose hope.  Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to marry my man in my own country one day!

G. xx

Memories of matchbox cars

Okie dokie, it's Monday which can only mean one thing - it's time to link up with Kirsty from My Home Truths for her I must confess... linkup.  So what am I 'fessing up to this week?  I'm following the prompt for this week which is your earliest childhood memory.

My earliest childhood memory surprises me in one respect but not in another.  As the elder of 2 children (by almost 3 years) you would think that my earliest childhood memory would involve the arrival of my sister considering it would have changed the whole dynamic with my parents and I.  But it isn't.  I don't really have any memories of my sister until she was old enough to 'play'.  Sorry Girly Girl.  Ironically my first memory is from just a few weeks after her birth though.

When I was almost three, we moved house.  Me, mum, dad and the Girly Girl.  On the day we moved into our new home, I can vividly remember being installed at the front living room window (it went almost down to the floor) with my tin of matchbox cars so I could drive them along the window sill.  Mum has since told me that was so I was out of the way, could watch what was happening and was still in sight of all concerned.  I can still remember driving my matchbox cars and watching men lugging furniture into our home.

So why doesn't this memory surprise me?  Well I've loved cars all my life and still do, so it's fitting that my earliest memory involves cars.

 

Anyhoo, like I said I'm linking up with Kirsty today for her I Must Confess... link-up.

Would you like to 'fess up about your earliest memory? Or do you have something else you'd like to confess? If so, leave a comment and/or link up over at My Home Truths - you'll feel better for it, trust me.

G. xx

Devices and de-Vices

Well hello there, it's been a while since we last chatted.  No particular reason, guess I've just been in a bit of a blogging funk and so took a break for the month of March.  Here it is the first of April so I'm free from my self imposed blog silence.

Time for a confessional methinks.  And what better way than to link up with Kirsty from My Home Truths for her I must confess... linkup.  This week Kirsty's featured 'fess up is about how many devices we have and how we use them.  Hmmm, amazing isn't it that you never think about some things until someone mentions it/them.  Between the two of us here, we have two laptops, two iPhones, two non-iPhones (read, crappy work phones!), two iPods, one iPad (so far!) and a Sony Playstation.  Now I use these items primarily for work, social media, music - you get the idea.  The lovely Wayne on the other hand uses all of these devices to play/game on.  See, I'm the grown up and he's a 51 year old child!  Love ya babe ;-)  There's also the most utilised non-tech device in our abode - the Nespresso coffee machine.  One word - heaven!

 

This confessional also got me thinking about de-Vices that I have.  Lets face it, I may have a few vices (yes, I'm well aware that will come as a shock for most of you), but they too come in useful at times.  For example, I have been known to procrastinate.  This has been useful as it's taught me to think on the fly and make things work at the last minute under high pressure - usually because I've been putting the task at hand off until the last minute.  There's a whole lot more vices but I'll save them for another time!

 

Anyhoo, like I said I'm linking up with Kirsty today for her I Must Confess... link-up.

Would you like to 'fess up about your devices (or even vices)? Or do you have something else you'd like to confess? If so, leave a comment and/or link up over at My Home Truths - you'll feel better for it, trust me.

G. xx


PS; I have to share this exchange with the lovely Wayne whilst I was writing this post...

     Gawee:  Tell me what you see as my vices, I want to write about them.

     The lovely Wayne:  How long have you got?

     Gawee:  Haha, I'm being serious.  No consequences I just want to write about them.

     The lovely Wayne:  Not a chance, I want the peaceful life!

Hmmm - the wise words of a clever man methinks...LOL.

Twenty 12 – a year in review

This time last year I reflected on 2011 by way of a meme - an idea that I copied from one of my favourite bloggers, Elizabeth of Scarlet Words (you can read about Elizabeth’s 2012 here).  I’m completing the meme again this year as it’s such a great way to reflect on the year that was.  Again, thanks to Elizabeth for sharing this brilliant idea and encouraging others to join in.

Okay, let’s get started…

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?

I’ve always loved photography but haven’t really done a lot of it other than happy snaps.  During 2012 I started participating in photographic challenges (mainly those by Chantelle of Fat Mum Slim) and started taking lots of photos with my iPhone and then editing them using the myriad Apps that are available.  I’ve loved it – the composition, the subjects and the editing.

 
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Mostly yes.  My intentions were to be fitter, healthier and lighter, and to blog more.  They all get a tick.  For 2013, it will be more of the same as I want to improve on all these things again as well as take lots of photos!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes.  Two very dear friends welcomed daughter number two in April.  I wrote about gorgeous little Marlo here.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully no.

5. What countries did you visit?

Australia!  Does that really count?  We did have a wonderful week in a beach-front house on the New South Wales north coast – it was just what we both needed at the time.

 
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

More ‘us time’.  The lovely Wayne and I still battle with conflicting work schedules so I’d like more time together to just hang out.  Simple things like picnics, lazy afternoons, cooking, walks, movies – you get the idea.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

There’s the usuals (birthdays, anniversary, holiday up the coast) however 2012 had a few ‘biggies’.  There was my promotion and my recognition at work (see Q8 below), but the one that I guess really rocked me to my core was my dad’s diagnosis in July with a brain tumour.  Although it has affected me and made me rethink a lot of things, we were extremely fortunate that there was a wonderfully positive outcome in the end and my dear dad is now absolutely fine.  I blogged here about how thankful I was for the way this whole episode played out.

My dad, and the scar down the back of his head
which means he'll be around for a long time yet!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

My biggest achievements (yes there’s 2) this year were my promotion in August, and being awarded a prestigious award in December for my contribution to the organisation where I work.  You can read about my award here.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not ‘switching off’ when I left work.  I had a tendency to still be ‘thinking work’ even at home – I was known to leave myself voicemail messages at work at 3am on occasion!  I am slowly learning to switch off - I guess I’m a slow learner!  LOL.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Aside from a slight back strain during our recent house move, I consider myself very lucky to have enjoyed good health during 2012.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably my new laptop (the old one died) – well let’s face it, how on earth could I blog, etc without it?!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

The lovely Wayne (aka The Boy Wonder!).  As mentioned in Q7, my dad needed urgent brain surgery during the year.  The lovely Wayne was just so wonderfully supportive at a time when all of us were really feeling scared, worried and upset.  Thanks babe. xx



The lovely Wayne (aka The Boy Wonder)

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Three come to mind.  Those awful radio announcers who played that joke on that poor English nurse; Alan Jones for his vile comments about PM Julia Gillard’s father’s death; and the gunman who shot those innocent children in the USA leading up to Christmas.  Some people really are just oxygen thieves!

14. Where did most of your money go?

The usual stuff – household expenses, food, etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Our holiday in September.  Our week of staying in a beach-front house was wonderfully relaxing and we had been looking forward to it for months.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?

Dare I mention it?  Dare I let it rear its ugly head again?  I’m talking of Gangnam Style of course.  Yes I liked it initially, but then it became a little tiresome.  It is however the first tune I thought of when reading this question, so I guess it’s the one for 2012!  I won’t embed it here as I think we all know how it goes!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

a) Happier (still happy!)

b) Slightly thinner

c) About the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Relaxing, photography, reading, and spending time with the lovely Wayne.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Placing unrealistic expectations on myself and my time.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas was a quiet affair for us this year.  It all started on Christmas Eve with us again adhering to our tradition of watching Love Actually (I so love that movie).  Christmas Day started with a lovely breakfast for two at home – think poached eggs, smoked salmon, mushrooms, tomatoes and good coffee.  For lunch we popped up to the nursing home and spent time with the lovely Wayne’s mum.  Later in the afternoon, we made our way out to my mum and dad’s place.  Here we had a lovely casual evening with great food and lots of laughs.  As an aside, I had a bit of fun with the Elf Yourself iPhone App (thanks Elizabeth), so here's the lovely Wayne, our friend Tracy, and me...



21. Did you fall in love in 2012?

I stayed in love!

22. What was your favourite TV program?

In keeping with last year’s British TV theme, we have again loved predominantly British shows.  We NEVER miss Alan Carr Chatty Man – that man and his show are an absolute scream, you really need to check it (them) out.  There were also the usual suspects of QI, Graham Norton, Grand Designs and Top Gear.  A notable mention must also go to the Australian series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries which we thoroughly enjoyed.

23. What was the best book you read?

I haven’t read any books of note this year as most of my reading consisted of reading lots of amazing blogs.  I did however enjoy a couple of coffee table books I picked up during the year - Wine Dogs Australia and Why Dogs are better than Cats are both entertaining and contain gorgeous photos.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

There’s been several again this year including Lana Del Ray and Paloma Faith.  The one that stands out though is Of Monsters And Men.  This Icelandic group made an appearance on The Graham Norton Show and I just loved them.  I’ve already mentioned Lana here, so here’s a little something by Paloma and OMAM...

25. What did you want and get?

I wanted my dad to get good news after his brain surgery – it was the best news as he got the all clear and recovered completely.  I also wanted to get the job I’d acted in for 18 months, and I did!  I was finally promoted permanently to the position in August.

26. What did you want and not get?

Again, marriage equality.  Oh alright, and the winning lotto numbers!

27. What was your favourite film of the year?

Sadly this year we made it to the movies just once – one of the pitfalls of our lack of time together as we’d rather have a quiet night in!  Anyhoo the movie – we loved The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep.  We did however watch a number of great DVD’s during the year.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 46 years young on my birthday!  You can read all about my birthday here.  Suffice to say it involved a gourmet breakfast, lots of seafood, champagne, wine, ice cream, blood-letting, and a washing machine!

29. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Sharing it with the lovely Wayne, friends and family.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

Corporate and casual – not at the same time though!  I also had a bit of a ‘thing’ going on with glasses (spectacles) this year – I bought four new pairs during the year.

31. What kept you sane?

The lovely Wayne of course, and keeping a good sense of humour at all times.  Oh yes, and wine!

This guy kept me sane (or is that insane?) during 2012

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

No one person comes to mind actually.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

It’s the same as last year.  Australia’s appalling policies and indecision regarding asylum seekers and marriage equality.  It amazes me that we are so behind the times with these two issues when we are leaders in so many other areas.

34. Who did you miss?

I miss my regular catch-ups with a dear friend Tracy in England but we’ve undertaken to have regular (& possibly long) skype sessions this year.  I’ve also missed two very dear friends at work who have both been on long term leave during the year.  Luckily for me they are both back during January.

35. Who was the best new person you met?

Again this year there’s been a number of new people who I’ve met.  Some have been through work, some through other friends, and then there’s the online friends I’ve made this year through blogs and social media.  The stand out though would be a former colleague, and now great friend, Kerry.  We just kinda clicked.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

Cherish those you care about – tell them you love them often and give them hugs often too!

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Motivation a powerful strength

Hesitation was my first instinct

I got the notion my weakness was

Total devotion it’s okay because

I will hold back tears

So I can move in the right direction

I have faced my fears

Now I can move in the right direction

Move in the right direction – Beth Ditto & Gossip

So there you have it dear reader, my 2012 year in review.  I’d love to read your 2012 in review so please feel free to leave your answers (or a link to them) in the comments if you feel so inclined.

 

G. xx

 

 

Mayhem, Moments & Mentions

Mmm, before we get started I realise I must acknowledge that my last post was almost three weeks ago - yes I know, shocking!  Also, apologies for the length of this post - one of the pitfalls of not posting for almost three weeks!

 

Mayhem

These last few weeks have been a wee bit busy around here.  At work, I've been ridiculously busy with the planning and organising of one of THE biggest days of the year for where I work as well as for me personally (more about that later).  On the home front, His Handsomeness and I are moving house this coming weekend so have been immersed in all the tasks that that involves.  Yes I know, just over a week out from Christmas - it's all or nothing here!  Suffice to say, things are a little crazy around here at the moment, but dare I admit that I do thrive on a bit of a challenge - and yes, I know I may regret those very words!  I have a plan and am focussed firmly on next week when it will all be behind us.

 

Moments

I mentioned above that one of the biggest days personally for me at work this year happened last week.  A bit of background to get into the story.  I work for an organisation with over twenty thousand staff spread across many sites throughout the country.  Each year, suitably deserving staff can be nominated for a prestigious internal award.  The senior executive then determine if the winner(s) are worthy.

 

In my site of 700 staff, only one person was deemed worthy/suitable for this award - that person was me!  To say I was honoured is an understatement.  What made the award even more special for me was that last week, the man at the head of the the organisation where I work (he's numero uno out of 20,000 plus - we'll call him the great leader) came to my site and whilst visiting, presented me with my award in front of a large number of staff.  I have never felt so proud and honoured.  I was presented with a certificate, a trophy and a beautiful gold watch.  After the awards ceremony the great leader thanked me personally for my work and insisted on buying me a drink while we chatted.  I'm still on cloud nine about the whole affair!

 

Mentions

Also during this last week, the lovely Kirsty from My Home Truths mentioned, or rather tagged me in a blog post about five ultimate Christmas wishlist items.  Now I know I should be wishing for world peace and no hunger etc etc, but the rest of this post has all been about moi, so why change the theme now?!  Anyhoo, in the spirit of the tagging, here's my five ultimate Christmas wishlist items...

 

1:  An apartment in Melbourne as I just lurrrrve the eateries, shopping - hell, I love everything about Melbourne.  An apartment in Paris and Tuscany wouldn't go astray either!

 

2:  To be able to spend time with my very dear friend Tracy in England - we would sooo have the bestest time wreaking havoc on all and sundry!  Hey, if I had the damn apartment in Paris it would be a day trip to visit!

 

3:  A Porsche (the 4wd one).  Sleek, fast and sexy - it would have to be black too!  It would be a fast day trip from Paris to see Tracy!

 

4:  Marriage equality here in Australia.  After over 23 years together, it would be lovely if His Handsomeness and I could legally marry in our own country.  And honeymoon in our various apartments of course (and visit Tracy perhaps)!

 

5:  A full head of thick brown hair!  Don't laugh, I'm just being practical here - a follically challenged man would get a cold head in those northern hemisphere winters!

 

Now that I've shared my five ultimate Christmas wishlist items, I have to tag up to five other bloggers to share theirs - it will just be two, as the others I intended to tag have already been tagged!  Over to you...

Scarlet Words

 

Tune into Radio Carly

Do you have an ultimate Christmas wishlist?  Please share below, 'coz I'm nosey like that.

G. xx

Health and donations

A few weeks ago I mentioned a routine visit to my doctor and how he wanted me to have all manner of tests undertaken (except a pregnancy test!) and would like me to lose some weight.  This week I had my follow-up visit with Doctor P to find out the results.  I have to say that I left feeling pretty darn pleased with myself, even if I had been a little nervous about obtaining the results.  It appears that although I could lose some weight, I am in fact the picture of good health - those were the good Doctor's exact words!  And to top that off, I've now lost 5 kilograms in 4 weeks!  So what does one do?  Goes out for dinner to celebrate of course undo all the good work!  I may have indulged in a rather decadent dessert and a decent quantity of wine too!

 

This got me thinking that my bodily organs are actually in okay condition.  On many occasions I've said to His Handsomeness that I wish to be an organ donor.  I've always added that as I wear glasses, drink, don't always eat completely healthy etc, that should the donor decision need to be made, there probably wouldn't be much that could be donated anyway.  Like I said, this has made me re-think this.  The result is that I'm keener than ever to be an organ donor now because I may actually have something recyclable.

Image source

Australia has a national organ donor register which you can read about here.  Note that I'm not trying to recruit, just sharing my new found awareness.  I know that this is after all, a very personal choice.

 

How do you feel about organ donation?  Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject of organ donation.  No judgements will be made, I'm just curious (ok, maybe a bit nosey too!).

G. xx

Confessions of a procrastinator

Way back here I blogged about my grandiose plan to participate in Fat Mum Slim's photographic challenge by composing diptych photos and blogging about them every day.  Ha!  What a crock of the proverbial. 

I must confess that I got to day 18 and failed my self imposed challenge miserably.  Sunday wasn't completed due to a dreaded migraine however that indeed signalled the death knell as I must confess that I have done nothing but procrastinate since.

So in the spirit of a true confessional, I'm linking up with Kirsty over at My Home Truths as part of her I Must Confess weekly link up.  Note that I'm not actually a religious zealot or the like, it's a case of confession cleansing the bloggy soul.

 

As a side note, I will probably (note I didn't definitely commit!) randonly participate in the remainder of the FMS photographic challenge however I won't be sharing here.  You'll be able to keep up with any photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

 

Do you have anything you'd like to get off your chest or confess? If so, link up or leave a comment over at My Home Truths - you'll feel better for it, trust me!

G. xx

It's in the bag

Here I am half way through the photographic challenge.  The prompt for day Fifteen of the November Photo A Day Challenge is In your bag (You can read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

Today's diptych composition consists of the contents of my bag (my backpack) and a close-up of said backpack.  As today was weigh-in day for Weight Watchers I had my Weight Watchers folder in my bag as well as the latest edition of the Weight Watchers magazine (it has some fabbo ideas and recipes for Christmas).  Also in my bag today were gum, tissues, a pen and my umbrella.

 

As an aside,despite the food I consumed yesterday I still had a very good loss at the Weight Watchers weigh-in today.  My total loss for my first three weeks is 4.6kg.  Very happy.  I'm starting to feel the changes in my life with increased energy, better sleep and some items of clothing aren't as snug-fitting as they were.

G. xx

The birthday boy

Today is Day Fourteen of the November Photo A Day Challenge and it's also my birthday!  The prompt for today is Man made (You can read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

 

 

Let me get to the photo first then I'll fill you in on my birthday.  Today's diptych composition consists of a large wall clock which I bought from a fabbo little boutique in Leura in the Blue Mountains, and a chocolate bouquet.  Both are man made and both are loved by yours truly!

 

Okay enough about the photos, lets talk about my birthday (coz it's all about me today, right?!).  Lets start at the beginning.  A few weeks ago I mentioned a routine visit to my doctor and how he wanted me to have all manner of tests undertaken.  Well due to my procrastination with the barrage of blood tests, I needed to have them done TODAY, my birthday!  So this morning we (yes I made the lovely Wayne accompany me) toddled off to the pathologist so they could take what seemed like 90% of the blood out of my body - happy bloody birthday!  At least the pathology nurse wished me happy birthday.  Speaking of said nurse, it turns out that we worked together 25 years ago so had a great little catch-up chat whilst I was drained of almost all my blood (I am sooo not a drama queen).

 

Following this, the lovely Wayne took me out for breakfast to a fave cafe with gorgeous lake views not far from home.  Whilst there, the cafe proprietor advised us that it was the cafe's first birthday today and as such, all patrons could have a free slice of celebratory birthday cake, so we did!  What made this extra special was that unbeknownst to me, the lovely Wayne had advised the proprietor that it was also my birthday.  My slice of cake arrived with a candle on it ;-)

 

 

We didn't do lunch as we were both still too full from our breakfast grazing.  Dinner however necessitated food, and of course wine.  As a starter we enjoyed large juicy pacific ocean oysters naturale with a glass or two of champagne.  This was followed by a large amount of king prawns enjoyed with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.  The evening feast concluded with a serve of cookies and cream ice cream - yummmm.

 

 

 

Presents.  Yes I know that's what you really want to know about.  Let me just say CD's, clothes, champagne, chocolates and a washing machine!  Yes, a washing machine.  No, the lovely Wayne isn't an unromantic man, it was all about timing.  A new washing machine was required and just happened to be purchased on my birthday!

 

As I sit here this evening enjoying (another) glass of wine, I'm very thankful that I've again had a wonderful birthday and have received lots of wonderful birthday wishes from lots of lovely people.  Thank you.

 

G. xx

 

 

The Loser

Today is Day Eight of the November Photo A Day Challenge - the prompt for which is Something you do everyday (Read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

As I've mentioned previously, I'm currently undertaking the Weight Watchers 13 week program to create a healthier me.  As part of that, I fill out what is known as a points tracker - it's a kind of food diary.  This has been quite an eye-opener.  Go on give it a go and keep a diary of everything that passes your lips for a week - I guarantee you'll be surprised.  Anyhoo, I digress.  Back to today's diptych composition. It's a shot of a page out of my points tracker and part of the front cover. I'm currently filling this out religiously every day.

 

Something that struck me today (weigh-in day) is that there's now one day a week when I want to be a loser!  Who would have thought?!  FYI, I've now lost 3.5kg and I'm only 2 weeks in!  I'm a loser and I'm loving it! 

 

Note that I may or may not have indulged in a glass of wine this evening to celebrate being a loser!

G. xx

Reality check - the follow up

Image source

Yesterday I posted about the in-yo-face reality that I'm fat and old....LOL (you can read about that eye-opening experience here).  Over night I've decided that it was indeed the kick in the proverbial that I needed and as such, it has spurred me into action (well as much action as a chunky gay man can muster whilst maintaining an air of fabulousness!).

 

Let me explain.  I'm fortunate enough to work for a fabbo employer who has a wellbeing program for staff.  In my specific location, one initiative that has been pioneered is the Weight Watchers at work program.  Now although my employer doesn't pay for this, they are fully supportive by allowing such programs access to our staff and staff access to this potentially life changing program.  Soooo, today I've paid my money and joined up for a 13 week program.  All of which is accessed in my workplace during my lunch break (the weekly meetings are even held on the same floor that I work on!).

 

Normally one wouldn't wish to share such personal insights however I've done this so that I'm publicly accountable - ie, motivated to not look like a procrastinating idiot!  Now I'm not going to turn this blog into some sort of weight loss diary, however I may from time to time share snippets of my journey.  Note that I'm not attempting this weight loss for aesthetic body image purposes, this is being done from a personal health point of view (this is how I'm justifying my reduced wine intake to myself!).

 

Now I do have all the Weight Watchers literature, however if you have any gems, hints or tips, please, please share them in comments below!  My future less-chunky-healthy-self will be grateful!

G. xx

The reality check

Today I had an interesting experience during a routine visit to my doctor.  Some would even say confronting, although the reality is that it was in fact just a reality check.  Don't panic, it's all good!  Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself.

 

Every 6 months (ish) I have a routine check-up with my doctor - today was that day.  All was good, well until I popped onto the scales.  Now I will admit that I (and the lovely Wayne) have been slowly but surely gaining an extra pound here and there, and the occasional item of clothing has started to fit somewhat snugger (is that even a word?), but I wasn't prepared for what my dear doctor said.  He informed me (what I knew deep down) that I needed to lose some weight.  I guess the thing that surprised me was how much weight he suggested I lose.  At a minimum, 12 kilograms and a maximum of 20 kilograms!  I was thinking maybe 5 kilograms.  I guess that's why he's a doctor and I'm not - LOL.

 

Now I know that this isn't life and death kinda stuff, but it was the following conversation that gave me a rude awakening.  Doctor P checked my chart and announced that I am almost 46 (this is true) and that I'm at THAT AGE where it would be prudent to test me for every damn thing known to man!  Now I'm not afraid to admit (like most men) that I don't exactly embrace the idea of needles and the like, but seriously, I'm sure the only test I'm not having in coming weeks is a pregnancy test!

 

Anyhoo, I know that this is all sensible stuff to do, I just feel that I'm still far too young and vibrant to be bothering with such matters.  I mean to say, it's not like I'm as old as the lovely Wayne (love ya babe) - LOL.  So there you have my upcoming challenge - to lose weight over the coming months that encompass both my birthday and Christmas - heaven forbid I'll have to curb my wine intake.

 

Have you had an experience that has made you realise your actual age?  I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to leave a comment - it'll just be between the 2 of us ok!

G. xx

The School Reunion

I'll preface this post by saying that I'm not seeking sympathy or the like - I'm just sharing what is whirling around in my thoughts at the moment.  I've been mulling this post over in my head for over a week now as I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to say or even whether to say anything at all.  As you can tell, I've decided to put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard!

 

This coming weekend there is a school reunion happening for my year from school - it is 30 years since year 10.  I've been contacted by a few people to invite me along and ask if I was going to attend and therein lies the dilemma.  You see, I've been struggling with the decision of whether to attend or not.  Now I know this is not exactly a 'life decision' but I've still struggled with it.  I guess I should provide some context.

 

I'm a passionate advocate for anti-bullying laws in schools and society in general and this isn't just because I'm a gay man who has witnessed bullying.  I've been bullied - as a teenager it was relentless.  Now I'm not going to go into specifics or name and shame, but on a daily basis throughout my high school years I was bullied physically, mentally and emotionally to the point where it affected my grades, my self esteem and my self confidence.  I'll confess that I considered suicide on a number of occasions.  What's that saying? - "Your school years are the best years of your life" - pffft.  I never, ever want to relive that time of my life.  I got through it though because I had the most wonderful group of friends, some of whom were also experiencing the horrors of bullying first hand too.  I haven't mentioned my family as part of this story because I never let on at home - I was too ashamed and embarrassed.  In hindsight, that was ridiculous!

 

Has all this shaped the person I am today?  Most definitely.  Some of it good, some not so.  I think it's made me a champion of the underdog, sympathetic, empathetic and passionate about certain causes.  It's also made me lack self esteem and self confidence as an adult and has caused hideous bouts of depression at times.  As for now, I'm finally coming out of that place.  I have a wonderful partner of 23 years who has shown me that it doesn't matter and that I can succeed.  I'm proud of the fact that I've been anti-depressant free for a number of years now and I gain self esteem and confidence on a daily basis - I'm in a good place and I think it's evident to those that know me.

 

Anyhoo, back to the indecision.  The voyeuristic part of me wants to go to the reunion to check them all out, the moved-on part of me feels that I already keep in touch with the people from school that I wish to keep in touch with, and then of course there's the scared little teenager!

 

And all that, dear reader, is the reasoning for my indecision on this matter.

 

So what did I decide to do?  I'm not attending the reunion.  Does this mean that the collective 'they' have won out?  Does it mean I've moved on and these people cease to be a consideration in my life?  Or is there still a bullied, hurt and scared teenager lurking just a little too close to the surface for comfort?  Perhaps it's a bit of all three!

 

Wow, this has been quite cathartic as I've never shared these thoughts and emotions with anyone other than the lovely Wayne and now here I am putting it out there on the WWW. Hmmm, that's me, all or nothing!!

 

What would you do?  Would you go to your school reunion?  Or have you been already?  Feel free to share your reunion thoughts and experiences below in comments.

 

G. xx

 

Preoccupied

image source

Apologies for the current blog silence - got 'stuff' going down at the moment which is keeping me preoccupied.  Normal transmissions will resume shortly!

G. xx

Of slackness & anniversaries

No it's not what you think!

Slackness

In my last post where I showed my month in photos as part of the Photo A Day Challenge, I did say that I was looking forward to participating in the July challenge.  Well I did have the best of intentions to do so however a combination of things has put paid to that.  Firstly, I've been quite the social butterfly as it was our anniversary last week and the lovely Wayne's birthday this week.  Secondly, I've been flat out doing long days at work.  And thirdly, I've been a slacker!  The result is that I have managed just one photo as part of the challenge so have decided that I'll take the month off from photo challenges!  These same three reasons (oh ok, excuses!) are why I haven't posted either.

Anniversary

Like I said above, last week the lovely Wayne and I celebrated our anniversary.  It was our 23rd anniversary.  We celebrated with dinner out at a fave little Italian Restaurant followed by hot chocolates and decadent desserts at a specialty chocolate cafe.  It was a great evening and I may or may not have had one glass too many of red wine!  I do love it when the lovely Wayne volunteers to be the 'skipper' (ie, designated driver).  I also received a lovely card and flowers too!  I guess I'll keep him!

The card I received from the lovely Wayne

This years anniversary was actually a bit of a milestone anniversary for me. You see, the lovely Wayne and I have been together since I was 22 years old and as this was our 23rd anniversary, it meant that I've now spent more of my life with him than without him - pretty amazing really. As I'm technically a toy-boy, it's still a few years before the lovely Wayne experiences this kind of milestone!

How long have you and your beloved been together?  And what special thing do you do to mark the occasion?

Shoes, shanks and sun

Today's post is a bit of a catch-up kinda post as I haven't posted my photos for a few days - no excuse other than I've been a slacker!  ;-)   Ok, here goes...

June Photo A Day - Day 22:  From a high angle

I had planned on a spectacular shot for day 22's prompt of from a high angle.  It was going to be a shot from the roof of the 9 story building where I work (I have connections!) however the day got away on me and I sadly missed the opportunity.  Instead, I took a photo looking down at my feet!  Well it is from a high-ish angle as I'm almost 6 feet 2 inches tall!

June Photo A Day - Day 23:  Movement

The photo prompt for day 23 was movement.  This was easy.  Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day and so I went for a leisurely walk along the shore of the lake to soak up some of the winter sun.  While I was gazing at the water a group of people paddled past standing up in canoe thingys (technical term, trust me) offering up a perfect photo opportunity, so I clicked!  Here's the result.

June Photo A Day - Day 24:  On your mind

Today's photo prompt was on your mind.  Well now what was on my mind when I realised I hadn't taken today's photo was what to prepare for dinner this evening.  You'll be pleased to know that whilst I'm sitting here typing away, Lamb shanks are cooking away and will be served on mashed potato and accompanied by steamed greens.  Anyhoo, here's some of the ingredients that were on my mind!