R-E-S-P-E-C-T the RSVP

Something that happens with an RSVP
is there should be a certain amount of R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Arethra was Frank and said it up straight
Don't be a doodle and bail on a date

We live in a time where plans can change 
at the hit of a button things can rearrange
or re-align, reconfirm, remind, rewind
 but can't commit to "yes" or politely decline

This is why I'm on a RSVP rant
to swallow another weak excuse, I simply can't
For not coming to rehearse, to drink, to birth-
days, going aways, musical soirees
"sorry I didn't come, I developed a rare infectious disease that day"

I am guilty of this too, 
it's a curse of our generation, tough to tell it's true.
We waffle on and waft around with watery abandon
opting in or opting out like choosing which leg to stand-on

So I'm typing with fingers on keys like a hammer
coz it's time that manners
were given some swagger
Like being on time, or bringing a present
ignoring mobile phone chimes, just be present

That's cool, that's swag, manners? That's dope
"Will you come to my birthday?" I can only hope
Rethink the next time you get an offer for a drink
Give a reply that's honest without making a blink

It hurts more to make plans then cancel
make them again and again, like a shitty romcom sequel.
Respectable is fashionable
so which one are you?

In or out,
there or not,
yes we want to have cake and eat it too, but time is short

They don't remember what we do, but how we make them feel
commit to your response then follow through, FOR REALS

Jj

I am becoming a cat lady.....

Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to get to long term look after a friend's cat as she was moving away. 

My previous housemate had a cat and I had enjoyed having a furry friend around, but wasn't on the cat market (which apparently is quite stressful and competitive, I'm not kitten.)

But lo and behold, before I knew it, he had me in the palm of his....paw.

How do you do?

The more I talk about him, the more it makes me believe I am feeling fastidiously fascinated with my feline friend. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, to the point where I have sat outside talking to random dogs when their owner is in a shop, or gone to parties and spent more time with the dog than the guests.... but the fact that I wish that Max (the cat) could txt me or send me snap chat updates of what he's doing in the day kind of makes me want to pawse and think if I'm going a little off the radar...

That thing about how having pets makes us happier, having something to look after, something that wakes you up in the morning (to feed it or because it's licking your eyebrow) is true. Max has helped me compose songs, dance moves and overcome struggles by being a purring presence, ready to listen, lick and sit on my lap/laptop. 

Cat ladies have been depicted in pop culture (The Simpsons, A Clockwork Orange, The Office) and they are often older spinsters who choose cats as companions or are career driven. 

Well- Florence Nightingale had many cats named after famous public figures such as Gladstone and Bismarck. 

Florence was pretty smart, and I like to think I'm pretty smart- I come up with interesting ideas and suggestions, but lately all of those have had something to do with....you guessed it.

And this is why I haven't written a blog for a week. People ask "what's new with you?" in the back of my head I'm like *don't say cat * and I say, "uhhh, I bought a new hat" ?

*rhymes with cat-dammit!*

*scratch that idea*

*you have 'cat to be kitten me*

*that pun was purrfect*

*no*

*just stop*

*just paws*

*you're killin me*

*whisker away at once*

*ahhh!*

Jj

The C word

The  C word.......
at this time of the year, for many of us, the C word that is more frequently on our lips is CHRISTMAS. (I can't believe it either, one part of me still feels like it's 2013)

It's a joyous time of year, with indulgences and spending and sharing and laughing.

But that's not the C word I'm meaning.

I'm not talking about that other C word that is very rude and rhymes with "blunt" either.

I'm talking about CANCER.

As I'm writing, I'm shifting awkwardly in my chair, wondering how to approach this subject. You might be shifting in your chair too, as the C word might strike pretty close to home for you.

Like depression, motivation, compassion and self love, this is one of those touchy subjects that I could waffle on about when really, I feel like a bit of a fraud as I haven't lived them all to the extent as you or someone you may know who has mattered to you has. 

My dad, the strong, brave father of 4 was diagnosed with a tumor in his sacrum 10 years ago. Initially we thought the pain in his lower back was a sports injury- he was playing soccer, golf, cricket and running. When we found out what it was, there were a million "what ifs"

How much time? What will change? What can we do?

Through radiation, chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants and a truck load of prayer, Dad has lived the most fulfilled, loving and daring life, proving that when you learn that your life might be cut short, you can either sit back and reflect on your memories or you can go shop at Kathmandu, learn to use and ipad, and travel around the world to make new memories.

In his case: climbing Mt Fuji, going to Wimbledon, learning the piano, walking the Camino trail (100km) in Spain, taking a train across Australia, opening up and reaching out to family, and working full time (to name a few)

In terms of how Cancer has affected me- I have learned that you don't have time to hold personal grievances (especially between family members)
Grudges get you nowhere. 
Sing all you can, spend your money on memories not things. I am closer with my siblings considering we live so far away from each other, and small talk is nice, but figuring out how you can positively help the person you are talking to is so much better- whether it's by making them laugh, distracting them with a story, being interested in them or questioning them. 

I'm going to keep it simple.

Cancer sucks. It affects people who don't "deserve" it (Dad doesn't drink, smoke and is fit.)
There are people at your work, school, cafe and church who are living with it.
If you don't donate any money, donate your smile. Donate your ears, your cooking skills, your hugs.
Cherish your time, your body and your loved ones for all those who can't.

So when the stress, frivolity and materialism of Christmas starts to get under your skin, let these words put it in perspective.

"For Christmas, some of us want a new bike, a new phone, a new look, but someone living with cancer wants just one thing, to win the battle"

As I sign off this post, I'm going to send out a strong thought/prayer for those in my life affected by the C word. You are welcome to do it with me 

Jj

When things go left, go write.

“Tears are words that need to be written.”

― Paulo Coelho

With the pace of our lives ever increasing, sentiments being trimmed down to 140 characters or a series of emoji, the art of writing is starting to take a backspace. I'm not talking about how there are less people writing novels and articles (I haven't researched it and have no idea, there could be more thanks to how easy it is to blog and become an overnight success) I'm talking about putting pen to paper and going from there, starting with the date, writing about thoughts and possibly delving into hidden ideas or suppressed emotions. 

I have been writing a lot lately; and have had so much to say and nothing to say at the same time, which is why I have found a few quotes about writing from the greats. 

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

― Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway was a pretty dark fellow. Things in his life certainly went "left", like when his first love who he wanted to marry abandoned him for an Italian officer when Ernest was recuperating from his shrapnel wounds in both legs. Or when Hemingway pulled a skylight down on his head thinking he was pulling on a toilet chain in a Paris bathroom. This left him with a prominent forehead scar, which he carried for the rest of his life. And so he continued to write.

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.” 

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

― William Wordsworth

Maybe write for no one, with the same abondnoment you did when you were a child writing your name in the steamy car window. 
Maybe write for yourself, a letter to discover in amongst those receipts you keep hoping to claim back on tax. 
Maybe go to write and end up doodling on the top corner of the page, starting with a swirl and rippling it out into stars, cubes and any shape your imagination produces for that fleeting moment. 

Maybe write when you are angry at your sibling for not being in touch with you.
Maybe write when you need to address the way you are being treated by a friend.
Maybe write when you have lost your job, your sense of self or even your mind. 

It doesn't have to be poetic, it doesn't have to be true, it can just be you.
Or you pretending to be someone else, like a Giant who wishes he was small, or what your Grandfather would have written to your Great Grandfather to ask to marry your Grandmother. 

It can be a list, it can be a poem, the most amazing thing is when you write something you discovered that was unknown. When things get hard to bear, bare your soul between the lines.

By being deliberate and making clear sentences, it can help out thoughts unclutter and become clearer. And you can live in the moment as you write it, and reflect over it later. 
Like making a "to do" list when you are stressed...

Make the pen your friend.

When things go left, go write. 

JJ

Pain: discipline or regret

My mother (who is a key source of inspiration for me, read all about that here)

Had a poster of this quote on her wall 

Pain:

Discipline

Regret

I don't know who it's by, and I didn't really understand it at the time. In fact, eight year old me was wondering why my mum would want a poster with such mean words on her door and not a poster of something cool, like Hanson or Jonah Lomu.

But now I am older, I'm starting to see why.

Sometimes, being disciplined can be painful. Making myself wake up at 6.15 am to go to boxing class is pretty painful, especially when it's sparring and I actually get punched in the face. 

But not waking up, not being disciplined, is also painful. It's the bitter pain that's regret. Regret doesn't hurt immediately, but after a while, it starts to creep into your heart, into your gut, and you are left wishing you were more determined, disciplined and scratching your head saying "shoulda, woulda, coulda." Regret hurts.

"But what? Why must we choose pain either way? I don't want to be in pain, I just want to live my life", you say!

Well, as research says; it is widely believed that regular exposure to painful stimuli will increase pain tolerance – i.e. increases the ability of the individual to handle pain by becoming more conditioned to it- Navy SEALs are put through the most intense training to prepare them for facing the most dangerous people in the world. At first, it almost kills them, but the ones who survive and graduate from training have a desire so strong that they can teach themselves to deal with the pain or training. Or, spending that little bit of extra time to make your lunch at home might hurt initially, but if your desire to eat healthily and save money is strong enough, you will get used to the "pain."

If they can train themselves to deal with it, so can we. We just have to want it. We just have to choose. 

Here's another one.... 

Sometimes things that bring us external pleasure can bring us internal pain; (eg. gossiping about someone you actually care about because everyone else is, getting really drunk or spending your day on Netflix) can feel good on the outside.... but if you think about it, it might be hurting you on the inside (wasting time, damaging your liver, hurting your friends.)

And things that can bring us external pain (doing a million burpees, saying no to sambucca and stepping up and speaking the truth in a gossip sesh) can bring us internal pleasure (getting strong and healthy, staying true to oneself, etc).

Now I'm not suggesting that by abiding by this mantra/idea/thought process is the only way to live and we should all become massochist perfectionists; I mean, there are times when you can see that the external pleasure (getting really drunk) is not actually going to bring you any internal pain (it's your birthday dammit!) so you do it and enjoy it and reap the consequences joyfully, with no regrets, just like a mother hugging her child that peed it's pants. 

Once again, it's all about making a choice. Looking at the potential reaction of your actions. Taking the time to breathe, focus and look ahead, then breathe, reflect and maybe rethink is something that doesn't cost us any money but can give us so much that's good.

Train your brain to handle the pain that's disciplane. (Discipline.)

Jj

Back to blogging and Benedict Cumberbatch

After my brief hiatus of writing and producing a show, I'm back, pencil sharpened, and bright eyed.

Like when you buy new jeans but don't know what to wear them with, I've got this fresh start on my blog but am a little unsure what to write about.

In my time 'away', I completed the first 2 seasons of the new series "Sherlock" with Benedict Cumberbatch as the title role. It's not the first time that I have been sucked into liking an actor because of being immersed in the TV series but this is a full obsession.

And due to the fact the Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (gee his parents win at names!) is extremely talented and genuinely a nice guy (who photobombs on the red carpet and struggles to say "penguin"), I'm ok about it. I know this because I have pretty much seen all his interviews, behind the scenes and some audition/rehearsal videos and we're more or less mates. 

This is the world we live in. I feel connected to someone I have only seen on screen and social media and never met. The dopamine release I got when watching those thrilling episodes back to back whilst sewing costumes and eating dark chocolate I have now managed to string out with an afternoon of serious YouTube stalking and occasional updates from twitter and instagram. It's strange isn't it? 

Celebrity culture, once restricted to royalty and biblical/mythical figures, has pervaded many sectors of society including business, publishing, and even academia (thescilebrities). Mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity, and increased our desire to know them. A trend has developed that celebrity carries with it increasingly more social capital than in earlier times. These people living the 'desired life' with their jet-setting lifestyle, epic creative projects and appearances on cool late night shows make us feel things; jealous, inspired, happy, angry (I'm looking at you, Kimye.)

But back to blogging.
It's one of those things that, like everything on the internet, some people make an overnight success at, going viral and getting sponsorships and endorsements. It's also one of those things that, like everything in life, it can take a lot of hard work, persistence and creative balls till people start noticing.

So, until next week...

Jj

Don't judge a band by it's covers

I was all set to go to my friends' gig last night, but their singer was sick so they were taken off the program. Keen to get out of the house and keen to catch up with her, I went to the gig anyway.

With a mulled wine in hand, we listened to the end of a female folk singer's set as she described her final song as "really whiney but gonna do it anyway." It was good.

The next band was setting up. They looked like a collection of high-school music teachers; one was even wearing a name tag . The lead guitarist was in an elephant grey suit with a chain hanging from his belt to his pocket, that I suspect he had his wallet or keys or smartphone dangling from. There were members with long hair and thinning hair among them.....and boy, was I excited to hear what they were going to bring to the party. 

To put it simply: they rocked. They were energetic, experienced and claimed to not have had a rehearsal since 2002. The lead guitarist did that thing that Pete Townsend from The Who does where he holds his guitar up away from his body and plays it. Their songs were about the pubs of Melbourne, girls they used to know and the mischief they got up to in the 70s and 80s; how breaking into cars was people watching and a great way to find new cds and narcotics, among other things. I looked around the audience- all 15 of us, and saw smiles and engagement. The band wasn't caring about who wasn't there, how the venue was only a fraction full. They knew the most important people were there, us, the ones sitting in the seats watching them, and that, to me, is what really rocks. 

In Amanda Palmer's book: The Art of Asking, she tells of how when she was young she lied to people when they asked what she wanted to be 'when she grew up' 

 "a lawyer, a doctor, a veterinarian, I liked my cat, I figured I qualified. The truth just sounded too stupid. I want to be a rockstar...an artistic one, a cool one, like Prince, Janis Joplin, Cindy Lauper."

I guess it's inspiring to see people who continue to do what they love, even though there are hundreds of young-tattoo wielding, electronically enhanced  and hashtagging up and coming artists out there. It's inspiring to see that passion is stronger than embarrassment, and that you should never judge a band by it's covers. 

Jj 

Snacks at Hanging Rock

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have the WHOLE DAY OFF.

Instead of lolling around watching TV series back to back and leaving the house only to go across the road for coffee, I made the most of it and grabbed a bunch of mates, a bunch of snacks and bolted out of the city.

The destination of choice was Hanging Rock. A park in the Macedon ranges that boasts views, a racecourse that is also a popular concert venue (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Ed Sherran have played there), and is the location for eerie ghost stories that the best school camps are made of.

It was pretty cold so the uphill climb was a great way to warm up and ward off my mate's hangover. The mist and the twisted rocks and hiding places made definitely gave it that eerie feeling. We climbed and jumped and laughed and hugged. It was less cliché than my previous sentence makes out and honestly good clean fun. 

I have this theory that only when the thing you've been missing enters your life do you realise you were missing it. I didn't realise that I was missing the feeling of crisp country air on my face till I had it, making my nose cold and drippy. 

I didn't realise that I was yearning to see wide open spaces till I was sitting on top of that rock looking at the vista of a few farms and towns absent of skyscraper or crane obstructions. 

Is there anything in your life that you might be missing but don't know you are?

The pounding heart and breathlessness from a new physical challenge?

The stillness and control from some mindful breathing and thinking?

The extra time and productivity from going to bed early and waking up early?

The joy bought from being back in touch with an old friend or family member? 

Whatever it is; you deserve to have it.

Go and get it

Jj

A Procrastination Poem

I procrastinate with coffee: procafinate daily. A hug in a mug that wakes me up like a thug, I only shimmy, don't shrug. Things aren't getting done but the buzz feels like business, busy with lattes, long blacks and biscuits.

I Procrastinate with food: promasticate and crunch; I have all this stuff to do, but first I'll have lunch. My to do list might get shorter if I first have a cracker. This deadline is going to be late, but it's a nice day to bake.

I procrastinate with drawing: proillustrate. My tasks are creative, so to get the juices flowing, first I'll draw this dress, then next minute I'm sewing. But maybe a mind map is the key to success, I'll proillustrate with pens paper, whoops, made a mess.

Yoga is to conducive to productivity, or is it just pro-mediating. To tackle the to do's got my shakras to tap, light a candle and lie down, whoops that's just a nap.

Procrastinate with going to the toilet: prodeficate (eww sorry) Gross concepts aside it can be known, that epiphanies occur when sitting on the throne.

I procrastinate with love: procrastidate. Hoping good feelings and a romantic glow will help those ideas and tasks commence to flow. Dates aren't distractions if they have great conversation. Constructive conversation. Productive procrasti-dation.

Putting it off isn't going to get it done faster, too many distractions could lead to disaster. Stalling and crawling makes the finale further away, this is why I'm going to upload this blog TODAY.

Jj

Winter is for Theatre

We are past the shortest day of the year down under, yet we are still in the thick of winter.

Never fear!  I have a suggestion of top quality entertainment that is way cheaper than the movies, and if you go, you will not only be entertained, enlightened and excavated out of your winter burrow, but you will also be supporting local talent and going to an event that's never been created before. Consider yourself a pioneer patron and get down to the Courthouse Hotel's WINTERFEST 2015. For the first time ever, the Courthouse Hotel will be playing host to comics, musical theatre stars and improv groups across a 3 day theatre festival. 
More details are here and here too


But why theatre? 

Well, since it's the industry I'm trained in and the most passionate about, I'm pretty biased........ 

But I think going and being entertained by people's stories, characters, and creativity in a live environment is an experience that just can't be replaced.

Take when I went to a friend's show in the Melbourne Cabaret Festival last week (another example of the many things going on in Melb that means you probably didn't know it was on) - I was sitting in the audience and she came singing through the audience to a terrific live band. There were lights in my eyes and a huge smile on my face. Not just because my friend was absolutely killing it, but because I was experiencing the brilliance of the talent at close range with about 50 other people. We were sharing in a magical moment.

"Television is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome."

T. S. Eliot

You won't be lonesome at the theatre.
You can hear other people laugh. You can feel them stiffen in their chairs when things get tense. You can, God forbid, talk to them at intermission. You can be carried away as soon as the houselights dim. Through the characters learning more about themselves as their story unfolds onstage, you can learn more about yourself. See and hear and feel music performed live without auto tune, editing or ads. 

Do yourself a favour and get down to the theatre. It's more live than the movies, less intense than a sports game, and has an abundance of interesting people. Plus it's warm and serves wine. 

The show must go on, but this blog post must not. 

fin.

***exits stage right

Jj

Something more poignant to ponder

"I can tell you from experience; the effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. Because everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart,and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart."
- Jim Carrey

(see the full video for his uplifting valedictory speech here.)

I am a firm believer in the saying that people aren't going to remember you for what you do, they will remember you for how you made them feel.

Last week, I had an interaction with someone who made me feel pretty crappy.
Last week I had another interaction with someone who I made feel pretty crappy.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew harm was done. I managed to reconcile the situation somewhat and believe it was actually the knock back I needed to reflect on how I was coming across and how I was making people feel.

We often get told "you're amazing" "you are so smart" "you are funny" "you are so determined" "you are so tough" and so on.
It's not as frequent that we get told " you make me feel energetic" "you make me feel weak around you" "you make me feel special" and so on.

I understand, it's not like you are having a txt conversation with your friend and they ask you to download Orange is the New Black season 3 for them and they respond with 
"Thanks, you make me feel cherished."

But when I cast my mind back to the people who have had the greatest effect on me, be it teachers, friends, family or even someone I met waiting in the portaloo line at a music festival, it's not what they said or did that had the greatest effect, but how made me feel.

This idea as been steeping in my mind over the past few days and I thought I'd share it with you. It can be hard when our job involves teaching or leading in some way to teach/lead from a place of light; sometimes to maintain authority we feel like we need to revert back to archaic methods of discipline, decorum and drilling. 

BUT to reignite creativity, innovation and learning, we as teachers, leaders, parents, friends and lovers must remember that if the effect we have on people makes them feel ashamed or afraid (or embarrassed or intimidated, to use less dramatic words) then they will disengage. The sparkle that is your smile, your time and your empathy is what engages them, so you can all 'sparkle' together.

Over the last couple of days as I've been chipping away at this blog, seeing through these glasses makes things more beautiful and balanced. 

I share this blog and I share this idea with you. Let me know what you think and maybe you can try it too.

Jj

I dream of Jean(ie)

Alas, it is now officially Southern Hemisphere winter. It's the season for scarves, mulled wine, pale skin, chapped lips and jeans.

Get excited. 

I marked the beginning of winter by purchasing some from Dejour Jeans. If you are in Melbourne, this place in Brunswick is a must as they are a tiny candy shop with stacks and stacks of jeans in various colours and fits, and they tailor them to you; shortening the legs, taking in the waist or getting rid of crinkles around the knees all with a flick of their tailor's chalk and sometimes within the hour. 

My new black high waisted skinnies from Dejour fit like a second denim dreamskin. They are shaped and hold all the good bits in. They require me to do a wiggly dance to put them on and give me a red mark around my waist that looks like I have had a caesarean if I eat too much. I also got some green corduroy skinnies which are super cool but I have no idea what to wear with and when I tried them on at home I had that "these don't belong on me" feeling that you get when your eyebrows are dyed too dark or you are wearing shoes that are too big. Don't get jealous now.

Re-adjust your waistbands and slither into you slacks: here is a brief Jean-elogy.

17th Century- Jean and Dungaree were crucial textiles from the working class people in Italy, France, England and India as they were so robust
1800- Massena's troops entered the town a with uniforms cut from blue cloth called "bleu de Genes"
1871- Jacob Davis called them "Blue Jeans"
1873- Blue jeans were patented by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis
1950- James Dean wore them in "Rebel Without a Cause" - wearing jeans was a symbol of youth rebellion and was banned in theatres and restaurants
1960- Both men's and women's jeans had the zipper down the front, generally fit quite loosely, much like a pair of bib overalls without the bib. Until 1960, Levi Strauss called its flagship product "waist overalls" rather than "jeans".
1970- Jeans were general fashion for casual wear in the US- Flares in particular
2011- "Jeggings" enters the 12 Edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary
2015- with the popularisation of Normcore, Mom jeans are back in fashion, as are ripped jeans with perfectly symmetrical rips in the knees, and yoga pants being accepted as normal pants to wear everywhere, regardless of whether you actually do yoga or not.

"Do your jeans ride low?

Does your muffin top overflow?

Do we see that part of your butt that you're not supposed to show? 

Do you change in to your jeggings

That aren't jeans, they're just pretending, do your jeans ride low?"

If you answered yes to any of these, I knew your pain once. Avoid the breeze around your kidneys, detest the trend for the factory distressed, and take the time to find the fit that makes you look fit. Be it mid-waist or bootleg, show some taste and avoid the jeg.

Winter is tough. It's dark when you wake up, it's dark when you get home. Your feet get wet, your skin gets dry and your nose gets crusty like a cracked nipple from blowing it too much. But find yourself a hard-wearing winter essential (that requires you to do a wiggly dance to get into to warm up) and your legs will be laughing.

Jean-uinely.

Jj

The Hangover

Seedy, sifty, hanging, overhang, brown bottle flu, hurtin, wine flu, with the throb, fur-tongued, needing grease.......

These are a few common ways to describe how I am feeling right now. I can't make any promises for how this post is going to turn out as it feels like my head has a small child in it whose shoes light up when they stomp, so the child feels the need to stomp all the time. I have used the good old copy paste function to get most of the content of this blog, because aside from that and eating corn chips, that's all I can manage.

The Urban dictionary defines a Hangover as:

Nausea and headaches often caused by way too much f****ng alcohol. Can be identified by the ashtray in ones mouth,the vomit on last nights clothes,the want to never drink or eat again,the great dislike of sunlight, the undesirealbe urge to apologise to all the people you spent the night with, the stranger in your bed and need for a glass of water and many many asprin.

I did not wake up to a stranger in my bed but a bowl that looked like it contained some kind of cereal with icecream, probably with extra chia seeds in there to try get those superfood magic powers at 3am... 

Wikipedia says:

While the causes of a hangover are still poorly understood,^[2] several factors are known to be involved includingacetaldehyde accumulation, changes in the immune system and glucose metabolism, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, disturbed prostaglandin synthesis, increased cardiac output, vasodilation, sleep deprivation and malnutrition. Beverage specific effects of additives or by-products such as congeners also play an important role.^[1] The symptoms occur typically after the intoxicating effect of the alcohol begins to wear off, generally the morning after a night of heavy drinking.^[3]

Interesting, but ohhhhh the pain.

I really don't know how much more I can punch out right now. "But what's the point of writing Jj, if you aren't going to commit to completing it?" you say.

I don't really have an answer, I'm too busy scrolling my newsfeed to make sure I didn't get comment happy in the cab on the way home.

Oh no that's right, I wasn't on my phone in the cab, I was eating chips.

Is there a moral here? Am I going to say I'm not drinking to excess again? Can I do the whole rap section of Shaggy's "It wasn't me?"

The answer to those questions three is : NOT YET. 

There's not a moral yet because I haven't planned this blog, just like I hadn't planned to factor my hangover into today's workload.

I'm not going to say I'm not drinking to excess yet because I do it once in a blue moon and the last time I did it was my cousin's wedding where it was fantastic NZ wine and I woke up with a sour fejoa lolly stuck to my back (seeing a trend here) and that time and last night were BUCKETS OF FUN.

Nothing else went into the buckets too. 

I can't do the whole rap section of Shaggy's "It wasn't me" yet because I had the lyrics up on the kitchen wall so when I'm working at the counter I could practice but someone took them down and I asked everyone in the household about it and they just said

"It wasn't me"

Jj