My Instagram Feed

Are you on Instagram? I am. You can follow me on allaboutg242. Be warned - most of my photos are of wine(s) that I'm drinking that evening. 

I like tasting different wines but since my memory is as efficient as a leaky bucket I often forget what wines I've tasted, so I've now taken to photographing the wines I'm drinking.

World of Theatre: Secret Bridesmaid's Business

Back in February I had attended an audition for a play that was being put up locally entitled Secret Bridesmaid's Business. It's penned by an Australian author and is very current in theme and setting. The audition went well, but I was leaving on honeymoon the following day, for three weeks. So I couldn't attend the second auditions and there went my chances to be part of the cast. However, if you can't get in through the door, try the window. 

As luck would have it, the ASM dropped out quite early on in the play and I was offered the role, which I accepted. So my April and May have been spent watching people rehearse and giving them their cues while they were still learning their lines. Theatre is a huge commitment and almost every evening was spent at the clubhouse, but the cast are great, so it's just like spending time with friends.

We're now already 3 shows into the run (there are 9 performances in all) and the audience's reactions have been wonderful. Listening to the same play over and over again can become tedious and so you start to wonder whether people will enjoy it and find it funny. But they did! People are laughing and crying and leaving the theatre questioning, which is the best reaction of all. 

So, it's now time for a plug (applicable to anyone in Malta over the next two weekends). Come and watch Secret Bridesmaid's Business at St James Cavalier. You will not be disappointed :)

The Blogger Wasteland

I decided to deal with the fact that Google Reader is closing its doors. I wasn't overly fond of it, nor was I loyal because I have used other feeders before, but it was the place that had all my blogs stored, so ultimately it was convenient. But, come July it'll be gone. (Unless the petitions going around somehow make an impact on the Google heads...) 

So I decided to transfer all my blogs to BlogLovin' which I had signed up for a while back, but never really used. What came of this? I did get my blogs transferred but I also realised just how many defunct and forgotten blogs there are out there in internet-land. It's almost a junkyard of blogs... not going anywhere, but still there to be used if the owner ever decides to log in and type a few words. These blogs didn't make the cut. Any blogs that haven't been updated in 2013 I left behind. 

It was also a good way to have a clear out. Sometimes I'd follow a blog because I'd read a post or two that captivate me, but then our paths differ. The author's posts and my interests are no longer in sync - it happens. 

If you're looking for a new reader, I'm on Bloglovin' - this isn't an endorsement, but it's good to share information :)

Living a cookie-cutter life

Article: Oops, I accidentally wasted my entire 20s and I feel fine

It's a long article, but do read it if you have the time. We're inundated with quotes about happiness and truth and faith, which, while are all positive and potentially true, are also a bit too idealistic and perfect. There's always going to be a quote that will make you feel better, as much as there's going to be one that will make you feel worse - so so you choose one over the other? Do you accept one and not the other? Do you allow a quote written in a pretty font over a picture of a beautiful sunset to dictate whether your work/partner/life is truly what you want?

Society sets life goals and some people feel the need to meet them in order to have achieved a successful life. These often differ based on gender; a woman typically needs to be married to her soul mate by her late twenties and have had her first child by 30; preferably a top-of-the-class university degree is also squeezed in there somewhere. She also needs to know how to prepare a roast, sew cute curtains and ensure that her family have a healthy breakfast every morning. A man's life goals according to society tend to revolve around his career with every man aspiring to be his own boss within 10 years of graduating, while also sustaining a family and accumulating wealth and possessions. 

These life goals are by no means wrong or bad, but they are not for everyone, and not conforming to these cookie-cutter ideologies doesn't mean that your life is over/worthless/futile. 

Just like the author of the article, I don't feel that I wasted my 20s, I feel that I lived them. I did some stupid things and I did some great things - this isn't about right or wrong. Ultimately, I really do believe that life is a journey and not a destination (I think Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right with that quote) and currently I truly believe that the 30s are the best decade for any woman (maybe even for men, but I can't say!)

Moments in Memory

I enjoy photography - taking photos, being in photos and just generally capturing moments. However, sometimes I feel that I (and maybe this happens to others too) focus too much on photos and not enough on the moment

We recently came back from an amazing honeymoon in South Africa where, on Day 5, I had my camera stolen. I was inconsolable for a while and sobbing huge, heaving tears because I had lost hundreds of photos, and it really is a loss, BUT, I was there. I experienced it all. Yes, a  photo serves as a memory, but my own memory should do the same thing. And a photo is a static moment in time, my memory is like a video that captures sound and movement and feelings. I realise that photos last and memory can fade, but hopefully, feelings, if nurtured, will remain.

I was going through the same emotions with my wedding photos, feeling that there weren't enough captures of the evening party - although I have 2 DVDs worth of beautiful photos! And then I needed to stop myself to think back to the day and to how I was feeling. I had an absolutely wonderful time and didn't want it to end. I remember saying 'let's do this all again next week', and I really would've done so, if I could.

At the risk of sounding old and possibly like a broken record, time does pass by an at extraordinary pace and sometimes that's frightening because I don't want to spend my time thinking about how things that have passed might have/could have/should have been better; I want to experience the moment and have good personal memories about it.

31

I've turned 31 since my last update. 

Dress: Oasis

Earrings: Accessorize

What Saturday is all about

Tomorrow is my first Saturday 'off' in a while. And by 'off' I mean that I don't have 'official work that I am employed to do'. Obviously I still have plenty to do, not least, wash my hair, which, while seeming a relatively basic task, is incredibly difficult to find time for when you leave the house at 7:30 a.m. and return home at 9:30 p.m. (I'm not going to sleep with wet hair!)

Then it's a couple of errands and in the late afternoon I have a few friends over for tea - which, I also still have to prepare everything for. Spontaneous preparations might result in success :)

It's back to work on Sunday, and that's pretty much the extent of my weekend. What's yours looking like?

Argofuckyourself *

If you're searching for a good film to watch, then Argo comes highly recommended. I watched it yesterday evening after hearing, from various people, just how good it was. And they were right. It's a gripping story, and a true one, which makes it all the more amazing. I'm sure there were some Hollywood moments added to the film; however, the story remains true. And what really struck me is that this isn't a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence - hostage situations happen all the time. They're currently happening in Algeria, so who knows what they're going through and what efforts are being made to rescue people.

It was a mini-date evening for us, and one that was needed, especially since I've been working every single day from Monday to Sunday for the past 3-4 weeks. 

 These three characters are just too cool

*You'll understand the title once you've watched the film