a blog 'bout a book

It can bring you hours of entertainment, can be taken anywhere, doesn’t need charging and usually costs $20 or less.

Reading is one of those things that I love but don’t always allocate time for. It’s one of those econo activities where even just two minutes spent doing it makes me happy. (other econo activities are doing burpees, practicing the piano or meditating)

Sometimes I can’t finish books, others I can’t put down; unless I fall asleep reading them and they hit me on that sensitive point on the bridge of my nose.

The books I read get tea spilt on them, crumpled in my bag, and lost under the bed. I love to lend them or steal them from my friends and I’m sad when they end.

I just finished reading YES PLEASE, an autobiography and life guide by Amy Poehler, who you may have seen on Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation,  hosting the Golden Globes or as the mum on Mean Girls. Look her up, or even better, check out the book.

*****Disclaimer : below is a direct exert from the book and not mine but Amy Poehler’s and she rules. This is pretty rad advice from someone who has aced their career but started from the bottom and worked damn hard.

“ Treat your career like a bad boyfriend…Your career won’t take care of you, it won’t call you back or introduce it to its parents. Your career will openly flirt with other people when you are around. It will forget your birthday and wreck your car. Your career will blow you off if you call it too much….your career is f**king other people and everyone knows but you. Your career will never marry you.

Now, before I extend this metaphor, let me make a distinction between career and creativity. Creativity is connected to your passion, that light that drives you. That joy that comes when you do something you love. That small voice that tells you, “I like this...You are good at it. Keep going” That is the juicy stuff that lubricates our lives and helps us feel less alone in the world. Your creativity is not a bad boyfriend. It is a really warm older Hispanic lady who has a beautiful laugh and loves to hug. If you are even a little bit nice to her she will make you feel great and maybe cook you delicious food.

Career is different. Career is the stringing together of opportunities and jobs. Mix in public opinion and past regrets. Add a dash of future panic and a whole lot of financial insecurity. Career is something that fools you into thinking you are in control and then takes pleasure in reminding you that you aren’t. Career is that thing that will not fill you up and never make you truly whole. Depending on your career is like eating cake for breakfast and wondering why you start crying an hour later.”

Hell yeah.

******Second disclaimer: This is also another bit from the book and sorry it’s making the blog really long and kind of a cop out by me for not really writing but this bit totes rulz.

“Let me take a minute to say that I love a bossy woman. Some people hate the word, and I understand how ‘bossy’ can seem like a shitty way to describe a woman with a determined point of view, but for me, a bossy woman is someone to search out and celebrate. A bossy woman is someone who cares and commits and is a natural leader. Also, even though I’m bossy, I like being told what to do by people who are smarter and more interesting than me.”

I concur that HELL YEAH rhymes with POEHLER for a reason.

Alas, I now have book withdrawl and will have to go back to reading the cereal box until I have a new paper pal to capture my mind.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, even more if you can lend the book to me. I would lend you “Yes Please “ but it’s not mine.

Jj

Bike rides and good vibes

Ever since living in Denmark, the humble bicycle has been my preferred mode of transport. The advantages of riding are endless, from being good things for exercise and the environment, saving time and money, and offering the daily elation of wind through your hair.

My friend posted me this link, http://vimeo.com/110052827

And it got me fixed on fixed.

I have always had road or ladies bikes, but had wanted to make the transition to a fixie for a while, so hopped on gumtree and picked up this beauty.

Her name is Lagertha. Largertha is a character on the TV series Vikings and is an absolute babe and boss.

If this isn't enough reason to watch Vikings, here's another....

This is the main character 

This is his brother.....

Season 3 of Vikings is out on Feb 19 so you could commit and get through seaons 1 and 2 just in time.

But back to my bike.

The simplicity of riding a fixie really rings my bell. No gear changes and simple breaking means my energy can be focused on what is around me, from the hazards to the houses, and the smooth peddling motion is as constant as your first breaths in a yoga class (or equivalent) 

My "newest" favourite possession, Lagertha, has had me getting out of bed with a smile, wondering where I'm going to ride to that day.

That and the weather in Melbourne has been quite pleasant.

Steve Carell said:

"Look at Albert Einstien, he rode a bicycle. He was also an early student of Jazzercise. You never saw Einstein lift up his shirt, but he had a six-pack under there."

If Einstein did it then it must be cool.

If you want to join my bike gang, I have one spare. If you have a bike and want to ride together, let me know. If you are wanting to get a bike, do it, and if you are afraid, it's never too late.

Jj

The New Year Blog that is late and so not really off to the best start......

Ahhh....January. It's the time of year where we all turn around and wonder where the previous year and our 'six-pack' have have gone.
It's the time of year where we take a look at ourselves and evaluate how things were, and look ahead to what we want.

I have had to turn around in circles looking at why I haven't posted on this blog for so long. I had started to write a really deep one (which might come out at some point) but realised that whilst turning in circles and not posting, I've actually been dancing which is a pretty relevant distraction.

Dancing around Queensland, New South Wales, New Zealand and my bedroom.

Wherever I have been, I have made many discoveries which I could write about. Moments where my jaw has dropped, or eyebrows raised, because I have learnt something from someone, or experienced the birdsong at sunrise, or the feeling of hot rain.
(and all that poetic stuff)

 But if I share them with you, it wouldn't allow you to discover them yourself, in your way (which means quite a lot more, just like if you found a really good fruit shop who gives you boxes of mangos for $4 wouldn't be as good as if I told you about it, as I probably would have bought all the mangoes anyways)

"The Voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

The things I have been doing in the interim between my last blog aren't too unusual or extreme, but some have been in a different place, with different people, and that has made everything seem 'new.' Just like how young kids get so excited when they experience things for the first time, we could enrich our lives immensely if we approach with wonder and discovery and always challenge ourselves to new things. 

Yes I went there. I may have made this post about 60% lamer by posting that picture but it sums things up nicely.... and so my weekly challenge is to make sure I have another post up next week!

What's your weekly challenge?
Jj