Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2012

In a couple of hours I will board a flight, an international flight….I am bound for Ubud, Bali.

I am excited about my 10 day holiday.

But I just got home from a café breakfast, walked home through the parklands, collecting my laundry from the laundromat on the way…

And with each step I took on my morning stroll, I felt self-assured, mindful of my sense in inner calm and inner peace…I guess you would call it HAPPINESS?!

You know you are in a GOOD place, when you are faced with the prospect of 10 days in a tropical paradise and you realise your happiness levels would remain unchanged if, instead, you stayed home for the same period of time!

Don’t get me WRONG…I am getting on that PLANE…there is nothing more I would rather do!….

But personal happiness and joy comes from within…I FINALLY get it…after many years of looking outward for joy, blaming my unhappiness on everything OTHER than myself….Not willing or strong enough to take accountability and ownership of the direction my life was taking…

Well that was the PAST

So today take a PLANE, and on this journey I take with me my new outlook and perspective, my suitcase packed to the brim with two particular travel items : Happiness and Mindfulness

Off to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2012, a literally festival set in the tropical paradise. I am volunteering to work there, have been assigned the role of Main Area Supervisor for one of the festival venues…

Check out the Festival website…be inspired and transported to a place in which happiness is plentiful:

www.ubudwritersfestival.com

I can’t wait to immerse myself in the festival vibe, feel the hot humidity of the Balinese climate on my skin, take in the sights, sounds and smells of my holiday surrounds….be captivated by the smiles of the Balinese people.

I hope to write about my experiences in UBUD daily, keep a personal journal…When I get back to Australia I will share some to the wonderful tales that will no doubt have transpired….

Then again…I might not be able to help myself…So inspired I might be that I won’t be able to stop writing post blog posts at a rapid rate, 3 a day?

Who can say…But to truly enjoy a holiday, and the respite they provide from the everyday,  you have to be present in the moment, open to new experiences….not sat in front of a computer screen diligently recording events as they happen around you!

Happy Days Ahead!!

Bon Voyage to Me!!

CUWAM: Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Weber Musical Theatre

Love Never Dies : Melbourne

Love Never Dies…I have followed the show from Melbourne to Sydney…The Phantom of the Opera =sequel…Whats not to LOVE??

On Wednesday the 8th of February, 33 people from my work place ascended on the Capital Theatre, Haymarket, Sydney to see former colleague and customer service extraordinaire, Mr Ben Lewis play the leading role aka The Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Weber‘s new musical.

Ben stole the show, his voice soared above all others, it commanded your full attention…he was mesmorising.

Do yourself a favour, and if you get the change to see ‘ Love Never Dies’, do it…it is worth it for Ben’s voice alone.

After the show was over, 33 people from my workplace patiently waited at the stage door exit for our Phantom to appear.

Ben, ever so humble, greeted us all with hugs, smiles and much laughter. Our attempts to woo his back to his former place of employment clearly failed. I had printed off the current job vacancy list for the University, duty statements galore, and handed over a bag full of promotional material, pens, Sydney University  Koala Bears, stickers, even a Sydney University mouse pad…but the Phantom seems destined for bigger things…Next stop ‘ maybe London’….Why not the customer service counter of the University of Sydney exchange office I ask??

And two days later, the office is still on a high, there is much talk, the occasional spontaneous sing along…all Phantom based of course…

A nice way to add a bit of spice to the week of office administraion…Love Never Dies….and our office’s love for Mr Lewis seems to be as strong as ever after Wednesday nights show.

Love Never Dies is on at the Capital Theatre, Haymarket Sydney until the 1st of April, 2012

For ticket bookings click on the following link: Ticketmaster

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