Catch Up With A Mate

I continue to move in a direction

It just so happens this morning as I worked out with my fabulous personal trainer I was in the presence of arguably the most popular boy band in the WORLD…ONE DIRECTION!!

5 guys, buff young things, all wearing singlet tops and tiny shorts, and the hair styles….not something you expect to see during a 7am work out session….hair blow dried and riddled with hair product, teased to perfection and causally sweeping across the face of the kid who looked remarkably like Harry Styles…. the token blonde kid,  hair neat and tidy, the trendy guy with the cap on backwards….I could not focus in on the other two….my gaze was fixed on the Harry look-alike.

Oh it made for a fun work out session…even more so when One Direction music was pumped through the gyms sound system…Live While we’re Young…

Working out with Sydney’s version of One Direction…the perfect way to start the day

xx

Small Steps

Of late, everything has fallen by the wayside….It started slowly, then gained momentum…till just about everything that composed of my day seemed to be overwhelming….work, cooking, cleaning, socializing with family and friends, exercise, the art of a good nights sleep…and off course…blog writing….

As I write this post I am by no means back on track….that will take time….but I think I can feel the wheel of change slowly turning…It helps that I have fantastic family and friends, a supportive workplace,  a fat black cat that is very affectionate, lindt chocolate etc etc

Inspiration to write comes in may forms….yesterday when I received a message from a blog fan who said that I had inspired them to make my breakfast dish of Omlette with chorizo, brocolli, red onion and lemon

I got a boost…felt inspired

Of late I have found it impossible to think that I could inspire anyone….but that little note of thanks I received yesterday gave me a much-needed boost, a push in the right direction / or just a direction…and that it what I needed most…

Small steps

And to keep to boosting going…I ask you to vote for my blog in the 2013 Best Blog competition…I have been a bit slack in getting the voting thing happening…but if you enjoy my blog I would LOVE you to vote for me via the link below

Vote for CATCH UP WITH A MATE

Catch up with a Mate has been entered into the Australian Writers’ Centre: Best Australian Blogs 2013 competition.

Check out the website : Best Australian Blog 2013 Competition

To my fabulous followers, I would ask that you vote for me in the Peoples Choice Awards. Voting opens on the 28th of March ( stay tuned for more details)

Note to Readers: Catch Up with a Mate is currently writing its award acceptance speech and posts will be delayed until furthur notice.

It would appear that I slept for an entire month…January 2013…where exactly did you go? Or more to the point, what was I doing for the first 31 days of the New Year?

Oh, that’s right…I was wishing myself far from the reality I was facing…I wanted that elusive thing we all want from time to time….CHANGE…not in relation to the small stuff ie a different bowl of breakfast cereal or a new pair of shoes….No I was after the BIG KAHUNA of CHANGE…new job, new home, new life partner ( or in any case, just a partner)…and I wanted it all in the click of an instant….a McDonalds Happy Meal approach to life….I was certain it was MY TIME…January, 2013 was going to be my month, where my new life began, where I parted with the old me and debut the new and much improved version of Catch up with a Mate Kate.

Yet something got in the way…it is called February!!

And with the start of a new month, an awareness that this process of change I so long for, crave to the point of obsession, needs to be tended to in a caring and loving manner. I have to be gentle with myself as I tread the path towards ‘greatness’ . I cannot set myself deadlines, I have to accept that this is a process from which I will learn and grow…one which I hope bring about the changes I so desire in an organic fashion.

I have to also accept the possibility that it won’t ( how adult of me!!)

It can also be said that it would not be fair to ignore feelings of restlessness….they are present for a reason and I intend to pay them the respect they deserve…But January has come and gone…and I listen I did…I listened so intently that I felt overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness, I felt powerless to change even the smallest aspect of my life…

No doubt the coming days, months,even years will be coloured by my desire for change…I will have ups and downs..with setbacks revealing new truths about life’s  possibilies….I have realised that the ideal career, partner, friend or home life cannot be presented to me on a platter….whilst it might be nice, it would not be satisfying…as the saying goes...’ Its not the destination, but the journey that is the reward’ or said more poetically, in the book I am currently reading, The Life of Pi ‘ To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one’s life away’…I have to actively be part of the change process…there are no iffs or buts about it!!

Yes, January, the month that got away…February, the month in which I emerge from the shadows, feeling lighter, less weigh down by the enormity of the challenge I have set myself for 2013…happy to admit that I am in this for the long haul…change is on horizon, if I squint my eyes, I can just about see it.

My five sentence fiction story this week was’nt really fiction…it was fact.

And the girl in the story was me….I am the person who has spent the last few weeks in a downpour of emotions…the good, the bad and the ugly. To read this short piece, click here.

Yet I would not have it any other way!!

Being so consumed with feelings of sadness, joy, anger, disappointment, elation, optimism and fatigue…sometimes all at once…has made the task of focusing on anything, let along writing…a challenge.

Even as I type this I am less than certain that these words actually do justice to how I am truly feeling!!

But of one thing I am certain…the feelings that have consumed me of late are part and parcel of any given day ….and because of them I feel alive, in the moment, the here and now…and that is something wonderful.

It has also prompted thought as to the motto I will live by in 2013….The phase I have stuck to throughout 2012 ‘Expect the Unexpected’ has a nearing expiry date.

It has served me well….taught be so much, revealed new truths about life, love, work and relationships.

It has set the foundations for new year ahead, and two quotes come to mind, both are strong contenders for motto of the year 2013

‘Fortune favours the brave’  Latin Proverb

OR

‘Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it- boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now’  Goethe

I have just under five weeks to make a decision about the words that I will live by in 2013.

Dear readers, which would you choose? What words will you use to shape the new year? With only 5 weeks left of 2012, it seems the perfect time to ask, put it out there and be bold!!

I am sitting in my car, my house / small flat / bed-sit is infested with fleas ( YUK)

I am waiting for a pest removalist to come around and exterminate them all, every last one them…

Luckily I have my lap top with me…and I also have my wits about me….I deem this the perfect time to write a blog post.

Two days ago I got a reminder from the site that hosts my blog, WordPress, that Catch up with a Mate is up for its annual renewal ( meaning they want cash) Not much cash… but cash non the less!

It got me thinking…my blog is almost 1.5 years old…I can’t believe it!

It also got me thinking…what is my blog really about? Has it changed, grown, cross-pollinated since its humble conception in May 2011?

I have to say YES….the blog, like me, is changing…constantly….

Initially the blog was used as a vehicle for documenting catch up’s with friends/ mates. I had hopes that by documenting my catch ups, others would be inspired to do the same.

I had hopes that places I visited, exhibitions, seaside pools and beaches, cafes and  restaurants I frequented would get people of the couch, and out and about in pairs / small groups….kind of the like 1980’s campaign ‘ Life be in it’ but with a 2011 twist.

I had visions of endless conversations and catch ups taking place in my local community, home town, and the movement sweeping the nation…and then the entire world.

Dream big or don’t dream at all!!

It is early days….the movement has gathered 29 blog followers, 8 email followers and I have 35 face book fans.

So far my most popular posts are about Anzac Biscuits, the death of Whitney Houston and my lament about not eating a chicko roll as a childhood in the post – The Taste of Childhood.

Anzac Biscuits

RIP Whitney Houston

The Taste of Childhood

It appears most of my followers are the result of my creative writing ventures…My weekly five sentence fiction stories bring the most ‘traffic’ ( blogging term for viewers!) Check out the blog ‘ Five Sentence Fiction’…hosted by the wonderful Lillie McFerrin…inspiring stuff: Five Sentence Fiction

My creative writing piece that has proved most popular was about Forbidden Love: Forbidden Love

Then there are the blog posts that have evolved over the past 1.5 years, the Friendship Fire Starters , posts offering suggestions on how to ignite friendships, new and old, posts on Domestic and International travel and as I explore low  carb / low sugar cooking options…you guest it…recipes have started to appear.

As I change my blog changes…it is evolving with me.

It is nice to see how far it has come, and exciting to think where it will take me and who will join me for the ride

So as I pay my humble renewal for the right to host my blog site…I do so with high hopes…that the Catch up with a Mate audience, small though it may be, will continue to be inspired , prompted to action ( ?!)  and engaged by its content for another 365

It is day Six of the 2^nd annual Catch up with a Mate month…when I go out of my way to catch up with friends and family, make and a special effort to reconnect with those I hold dear.

So far so good….The 2012 launch party at the Hollywood Hotel, Surry Hills , Sydney was lots of fun. The concept of inviting 10 guests, who in turn would bring along a friend they longed to catch up with was a good one( in theory I thought!!)…BUT in practice….it FAILED.

A total of 3 on the invite list turned up….and only one guest brought a friend, three friend actually, who had they caught up with the night before.

Yet despite attendee numbers being down…my small party embraced the night with gusto…drinks flowed, tasty food was consumed and most importantly honest conversation and lots of laughter continued until the midnight hour.

In the days following the launch, their have been coffee dates and a yoga session, a 30^th Birthday party, Yum Cha lunches and a Thai dinner with friends, a phone conversation with a friend I have seen in many months…

I have also spent a time alone, with Flora the cat by my side. Often during that time feelings of loneliness have surfaced, not of the fleeting variety…the ones that hang about….Which in turn has spurred me to act….I vow to no longer ignore such feelings….Catch up with a Mate month 2012 will inspire me to be the change I seek….

I look toward the weekend with joyful anticipation…the impending nuptials between my little brother and his beautiful bride to be.

I am busily preparing myself for the celebration, my gift is slowly coming together, I have got the outfit under control, the hair and make-up appointment booked in, the Friday pedicure / manicure treatment, I’ve written the reading I’m to give at the service and sent it through to the celebrant….It has, to say the least, been quite an involved process….but of the enjoyable kind!!

Come the wedding on Sunday, I can sit back and enjoy, soak up the love and good vibes ..Oh, and laugh and giggle at the wedding dance…Fingers crossed they choose to sway about to the Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan  classic…’Especially for you’!!