Aspirations - Pain - and Deep Dismay

A spectacular morning at our mooring on Pittwater.
Calm, beautiful blue sky, why want anything more?

My BFF in Atlanta, Jae, sent me an email on Sunday and the first words were, "What's happened to your blog?"   It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post... sorry Jae.  She always has a way of snapping me out of self-indulgence and bringing me back to reality.  Jae can read my mind too.  Guess that's what you get from being best friends for 40 years!

I haven't been able to write.   I've got/had a bad 'blog block'.  Every time I sit down at the computer I feel overwhelmed at how mundane and insignificant anything I do or think seems.  I'm stuck.  It's all due to 3 things - Aspirations - Pain - and Deep Dismay.  Let me explain.

Goals - aspirations - are driving me at the moment and are consistently at the forefront of my mind.  Two in particular. 

My first goal is to find a job.  We were at a monthly "cruisers" dinner at the yacht club last Friday and George took great glee in telling our retired friends from the Cairns cruise that I was looking for a job.  They all looked at me like I had sprouted two heads and horns.  "WHY?", everyone asked amused.  "Because I can't stand housework and I feel like my brain is corroding!", I said.  The men gave George that, "so she's doing the housework mate - nudge nudge", look.  And the women gave me that shared smile of, "I'm with you there sister!".   I spent days at the end of January putting my resume together - after not needing one for the past 30 years.  It was a mammoth task but I'm pretty happy with it.  And I applied for a job!  Got the application in right on time and, unfortunately, no response to date.  But it's only been a week.  Anyway at least I've started and already past the first hurtle.

The next goal is losing the 3 kilos I stacked on since returning from the Louisiades.  Turns out losing weight after a period of much socialising is bloody hard!  There's a lot of bad habits that need breaking all at once.  And that's where PAIN comes in.  I met my first week - well 2 days actually - in the gym with a major level of commitment and enthusiasm.  And then spent the next 4 days in agony.  The back, knees, feet, arms, legs ... you name it ... were all killing me.  Nothing much was spared.  This week is better.  I've managed to get through 2 gym days and can still walk so progress is being made.   Wine has also been dramatically curtailed as have the potato chips.  *sigh*

Finally, and probably the biggest stopper, is my deep dismay at the absurdity of the current political antics being carried out by the Abbott government.

I know that political comments make so many people turn off.  I apologise.  I promise this will be short. 

So much of what's been done and legislated against leaves me alarmed with real dread for the future. But the biggest issue coming is the way the current government - and their backers - are leading our economy down the supply-side, trickle-down, market fundamentalist views previously held by Bush, Reagan and Thatcher.  This economic strategy has failed wherever it has been tried and, more importantly, it expands and puts in motion crippling inequality.  The sad thing is no one really cares that much.  We Australians have a "She'll be Right Mate" attitude to most things and this seems like its just another case of those loud pollies making a lot of noise - nothing much to worry about.  This freezes my ability to blog happily about my great life more than anything.  It bothers me.  I've seen it before - George also experienced it while in Thatcher's Britain.  If you feel like it have a read of this terrific article from the Australian Independent Media Network for a good sense of what is and can happen.  It's called, A Society for the common good.

Anyway - enough of that.  It looks like my "blog block" is well and truly broken.  Here's a picture of Molly with her new toy - just to be really banal!  See you tomorrow back here, I hope.