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October 2007 Dear webfriends,
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Dear friends First of all, just want to establish I am still alive – just an extremely slack correspondent! How are you all? Really? That’s fantastic/awful/interesting/kinda disturbing (please focus on most appropriate option and feel personally and relevantly responded to). I’m middling – getting over flu and fascinated at just how much mucous a nasal cavity can reasonably hold. I’ve spent so much time in bed over the last week there is a Nicole-shaped indent in the mattress and my cats suffer from abandonment anxiety whenever I leave the apartment to fetch mail. Still, antibiotics are coursing through my body as I write and I trust that soon I will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of my neglected and tissue ridden abode, to,, well,, go to work next week and stuff. The last several months have been mostly great fun. Working for Wesley Mission continues to be really satisfying and challenging, and with a new superintendent (for non-churchey people out there, like a CEO) also newly inspiring. Check out our new website – www.wesleymission.org.au – it looks rather funky I reckon. Somewhere lurking in there is a photo of me singing at Rev. Keith Garner’s post-induction supper with a distinctly sour looking Rev. Fred Nile in the background; I’m sure he’s just, um, meditating on the spiritual significance of the lyrics or something. My MBA studies are going far better than expected, or deserved. I see this as a clear example of God’s grace and mercy in my life. I’ve successfully completed 3 out of 12 units – one of them the Financial Management/Accounting subject which is good to get out of the way – and I’m taking a break this semester to clear the head. I’m supposed to be using this time to get healthy, fit, and creative…………….. So hey, how about this weather? Hot huh? At the end of March I am going to see my all time fave band, U2, doing their Vertigo show – twice – just in case I miss something the first time in the midst of my delirium. I expect that Bono will be very pleased to see me there, and single me out in the crowd again like he did back in 1984 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre when my fellow U2 fanatic friend Danielle and I found ourselves heralded by the great and mighty one for being the only 2 people in a significant section of the audience actually dancing. I think his immortal words were (pointing at us) “Hey girls!!” (us – “gasp!”) “Keep rockin’!” (us – “AHHHHHHHH!!!!!”). Sigh. I think there’s something in that for all of us. Not a lot to tell you on the singing front – did a show last year at Jenolan Caves at Christmas, which was enormous fun particularly because of the company and the after-show party, and in January recorded for a dear friend of mine, Chris Griffiths – very talented singer, songwriter and producer – a CD of covers to serve as backing music for the Bjelke Petersen physical culture competition. It sounds a bit obscure, but it’s a big thing over here and they have their state championships at the Opera House. I do the female vocals and Chris records all the backing tracks and male vocals to sound as close to the originals as possible. I could be doing anything from Kylie Minogue to Christina Aguilera to Aretha Franklin. It’s so much fun and we have a great time recording it every year. A
couple of weeks ago I went on holiday with my family down the south coast,
Cheers Nicole |
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Hullo web-friends and passers by! So I am still alive. Just thought I should state that out front. Where to begin on the variously fantastic and mundane events of my life since I last wrote? Well, probably with my trip overseas last November is as good a place as any! It was probably the most enjoyable and inspiring holiday I’ve had in a very long time (see photos and video on website for visual evidence…). Highlights included:-
I arrived back home exhilarated and completely broke. Christmas with the family was made even more memorable by the presence of my gorgeous nephew (and now also god son) Noah. I am taken aback at just how much I adore this little boy and plan to post some photos of him on the website soon. This year I started my MBA – wow what a shock to the system that has been. I’ve had to try to remember how to be a student all over again, and get used to the whole essay writing thing. So far I’m doing pretty well, but each week feels like a bit of a slog alongside long hours at work (which I still love – very happy at Wesley Mission). In a week or so I will be on holiday with friends in Thredbo (ski village around 6 hours south of Sydney for my international readers) – very excited about this and also thrilled at the prospect of hurtling down a mountain on my backside prior to downing a few butterscotch schnapps in a variety of ski lodges. Music wise – not a lot to report beyond some recording and session work, and the odd solo performance, with the possibility of a cabaret style show later in the year. I’m tinkering with song writing again so this may lead to bigger things down the track. Or not. Part of the problem is a distinct lack of energy, which I think is primarily fatigue as a result of the recent events of my life, which brings me to my main piece of news. I have just entered the realm of penny pinching, mortgage paying home owner! This is still very shocking for me, because I expected to be a rent paying tenant for a long, long time. It all started when my landlord put my rent up by nearly $40 per week, and it occurred to me that I was paying an awful lot of money to albeit a very nice man, but not someone particularly concerned with my long term financial security. So I started down the track of loan applications (very very stressful…) and apartment searching (fun,,, but also kinda stressful…) and a couple of months later, BAM! I owe several hundred thousand dollars to a rather large financial institution and its going to take me a really, really long time to pay it off. Yippee?? Actually, yes, yippee – I love my new home. I love that it’s mine. I love that no one save the bank and our Treasurer can mess with me. I love that I can paint the walls lime green if I want to. I love that I can share my home with my friends and family and that it is truly mine to share. I feel very blessed, almost overwhelmed by the fact that I am living in this lovely apartment with my (still shell shocked) cats, surrounded by boxes and still looking for my can opener. This may well become the subject of a praise song down the track, something along the lines of “O Lord thou has truly blessed me with ring pull canned food, carpet-less floors and a village nearby that sells great coffee in the midst of trees and quite near the waterside,,, thanks and praise to You….”. Or something a bit more inspiring lyrics wise. Now, back to unpacking…. Will post photos soon – thanks for reading Cheers Nicole |
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Hi website friends It's been a while since I last wrote, and there's a lot to chat about! Since my July musings I've travelled to churches in Lightning Ridge and Kiama to sing and lead worship - both of these trips were a lot of fun; I met some inspiring people, was blessed to be able to catch up with some dear friends and experience the love of God in a real and humbling way. In Lightning Ridge in particular, where life is difficult for a lot of the people there, it was a privilege to hear people's stories about their finding, or being found by God during even the most devastating crisis. Next month I'll be singing at an event in Baulkham Hills to raise money and awareness for breast cancer - I will post more details about this closer to the time. The most significant event that happened in the last couple of months however, was the birth of my nephew Noah. My sister Kylie underwent a very difficult labour and my brother-in-law Matt also deserved a medal for courage under extreme duress, but the end result was a beautiful, dare I say, perfect little boy. I have many friends who have had babies and I have very much enjoyed watching them grow, even chuck, poo, scream from time to time and slowly develop their own unique personalities and quirks. I've loved being a 'quasi-aunty' to some of these bundles of burping, squawking, yet strangely mesmerising little bundles of joy, but nothing could have prepared me for the intense connection and deep love I feel for Noah - from the first moment I laid eyes on him and in the weeks ever since. Everything he does, even the most mundane thing, is a source of wonder for me. I miss him in between visits and have been compelled to purchase baby clothes and baby 'stuff' everytime I'm within walking distance of a kids store. I can't wait for Christmas so I can have another excuse (like I need one...) to buy more bibs, jumpsuits, rattles, booties, wraps, stuffed toys, books, educational devices..... Now I know that being an aunty is a very privileged role - you get to visit and have fun and cuddles and deal with the inexplicable crying ("he's fed, he's burped, he's changed, he has the dummy, he's not cold, he's not hot, he hasn't chucked, what the hell????"), the odd pooey nappy etc for a set period of time and then go home - it's dead easy. But I never imagined I would love seeing him as much as I do, even when he's screaming blue murder, or feel as reluctant to leave him even when my eyes are popping out of their sockets and I have a half hour drive ahead of me to get home. Now some of you, my fair readers, may be rolling your eyes, shaking your head and uttering words such as 'maternal urge....biological clock....", and maybe there is an element of that (but I still can't see myself with one of my own just yet though). I think mostly however, I am genuinely, indisputably, irrevocably in love with my nephew because my darling sister is his mother, and my lovely brother-in-law is his father, and there is something profound and beautiful about that and I just truly desire to be the most supportive and loving aunty I can possibly be. I also have dibs on being called "cool Aunty Nicole" and have begun to refer to myself with Noah as such - pathetic and in fact very un-cool, but true. It's even more uncomprehensible to me that God feels this way about me (not the 'cool God' bit, the 'in love' bit....). I feel as though up until this point, my understanding of God's love for me hasn't been as complete - I can't imagine what I will comprehend if and when I have a child of my own. But for now, the experience of loving my nephew has been a profound revelation of 'how deep the Father's love for us, how rich beyond all measure....' So expect the baby photos soon. You have been warned. In November I am very blessed to have the opportunity to head overseas again. I'll be visiting friends in Berlin, London and New York and will be doing a little gig in a cafe in Greenwich Village the week before Thanksgiving. My friend Jon will be accompanying me on piano, and I will do a set of jazz, blues and soul covers. Its going to be a lot of fun and maybe a vaguely intimidating experience but I am really looking forward to it. Okay thats more than enough from me for now! God bless, and I'll write again....well, soon-ish..... Nicole |
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I have a secret to share with my web-friends......it will not come as a huge surprise to those of you who have seen me do my soul diva thing up on stage but even this has surprised me a little.....I am.....irrepressibly....irrevocably.....a salsa queen...... Over the last 8 weeks I have meringued till the sweat gathered in places unspeakable, shimmied and bomba-d and butterflied, doubled, dipped, shined and gyrated in the most appallingly uncouth fashion, discovered my inner-Latino AND I HAVE LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! Thanks to Maggie and Rollo and even Claudio from the Latino Fever School of Dance I have successfully completed my beginners "Hot Salsa Dance Excitement" course and on the first Sunday in August I move on up to.....wait for it...."intermediate level" aka "The Even More Darn Hot Salsa Dance Extremely Excitement Ooh Baby" course.
One of the things I've loved most about this experience is that even when you're stuffing up it's screamingly funny, you can still manage to look kinda cool and you get a bit of a work-out into the bargain. With the exception of one tall dark male who had no sense of irony and who the women nick-named "Robot Man" because of his unfortunate lack of rhythm, coordination, or anything remotely resembling self-deprecation, the guys were great fun and the whole class (around 40 of us) enjoyed a real sense of comraderie and, where necessary, mutual admiration. Last Saturday night we celebrated our 'graduation' with a "Salsa Cruise" around Sydney harbour which apart from some seriously dodgy moments when people were desperately clinging to the roof during a spot of rough weather, was fantastic. As for my next 8 week course, only time will tell whether this leads to greater things, or possibly an embarrassing journal entry involving a feather boa and a man named Guido.
On a more serious subject, I am still church-less, so to speak. My beloved "Plunge" church disbanded a few months ago - it didn't really fit the vision of our parent Anglican church any more and although painful we decided to call it a night after 8 soul-stirring, challenging, sad, joyful and complex years. Now I've had a pray about this numerous times and God knows I'm a bit picky when it comes to my churches but does anyone out there really think it's unreasonable to want to go to a church where the people are authentic, humble, inquisitive, appreciative of the arts, partial to a cafe crawl or the odd drink at a pub, who enjoy singing and love Jesus? I'm still looking - but if anyone out there belongs to a church like this and it's within roughly a 25 minute drive of Balmain then I'd love to hear from you.
Finally, would appreciate your prayers for a weekend I'm doing at the Anglican church up in Lightning Ridge at the end of July. Their pastor Rick Maude and his wife Danielle are very dear friends of mine from waaaayyyyyy back (we're talking teenage years) and have asked me to do a set of songs (including stuff I've written) for a womens night on the Saturday and then lead the worship the following day at their morning service. I am really looking forward to it but a part of me wonders whether I still have that little flame in me. I haven't led worship in a while and though I believe that God created me to be a worship-per and can use me even when I'm a bit dry and doubtful, I do wonder at God's timing with this; my not being currently involved in a church (outside of Wesley Mission) and all. So please pray that in spite of my feelings of un-readiness, and yes a bit of unworthiness too, that people's hearts would be touched and that we will all be brought to the throne of God in a powerful way that weekend. I'd also like some prayer for the pilot who will fly me up and back in a rather small plane. Keep him safe and alert O Lord we pray.
That's all for now - in my next journal entry, which will definitely happen before November, I will have more to tell you on a little gig I'm doing in New York around Thanksgiving time.... see ya
Nicole |
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2004 Well its been an interesting 6 weeks since I last put, well, finger to keyboard in the journal writing sense! It would be no great exaggeration to say that my trip exceeded my expectations, which were numerous and largely intangible. I met beautiful people who shook my foundations and stretched me beyond what I had happily regarded as safe and comfortable, relationships with old friends were re-defined, cities were re-explored and okay that's too many "re" words in one paragraph but you get the drift. I experienced a whole range of emotions - joy, exhilaration, fear, wonderment, grief, confusion, hope..... and, with the exception of LA, just one kind of weather - bloody cold. But then, I've always been a bit of a cooler climate gal! Can I just rhapsodise about the brilliance of New York for a sec? It stimulates and excites me like no other city I've ever visited - if ever you get the opportunity to go, don't hesitate. I was very blessed to be able to spend most of my time there with a good buddy of mine Jon Callow, a fellow L'Abri alumni and former flat mate who is living in (of all places) Greenwich Village and working as an education consultant with disadvantaged primary schools in Brooklyn for the remainder of the year. We his friends at home are suitably envious, and also rather proud of Mr Callow, because its a tough job. And that's where the sympathy stops really because I mean come on, he is living in Manhattan after all. And he has 400 channels and gets to watch the new season of The Sopranos. I had an amazing time in Washington DC and the Gospel Music Academy was very worthwhile. There were some inspiring and thought provoking sessions, particularly by Margaret Becker and Natalie Grant, which I am still trying to process. Thankfully, I took notes. Unfortunately, they are largely illegible and will require weeks of translation. It was nerve wracking to have my songs placed under scrutiny - I ended up submitting "My eyes look to the sky" before a group of 10 other songwriters and an industry/record label guy. We were fortunate to get the one A&R person who would attempt to listen to our entire song rather than replicate a record label context and cut it off after 30 seconds. He (and the rest of the group) were very encouraging and also gave me some constructive feedback which was really helpful. I also got an email from a prominent music programmer with a large gospel radio station in DC who was good enough to take the time to listen to my CD and give me his feedback - again, a mix of encouragement and constructive comments - all good. The most important thing though, was that I felt God affirmed my songwriting gift (in whatever capacity that will end up being) and I was challenged to nurture and stretch it a bit more. I plan to make more time for myself to just sit at the piano and listen to God's still, small voice and put some new songs together soon. I'm also interested in collaborating with other (more talented) friends of mine and trying some different things. So stay tuned for more on that as I go along! Its taken me a good couple of weeks to recover physically and emotionally from the trip, the final leg from London really shattered me (no I'm not expecting sympathy at all! because it was entirely worth it!). My job at Wesley Mission has changed again and I am now responsible for all aged care operations in the organisation, both residential and community. So I am about to embark on a steep learning curve but I much prefer this to standing still. I'm looking ahead to a women's conference some good friends of mine up in Lightning Ridge have asked me to speak and sing at in late July, which will be a wonderful experience and one where I hope to be useful but where I also expect I will learn a lot from. And of course there is now a concerted effort towards budgeting for my planned return trip to the US in November for Thanksgiving, DVD purchases notwithstanding. Ramble on to you later Nicole NB: To see photos from the trip to the U.S - click here |
| February 2004 I am continually amazed by how God reminds me in wholly unambiguous ways that He is my God and He is very particularly interested in the somewhat mediocre details of my life. About a month ago I was, in my usual pessimistic fashion, in the process of closing the door on my CD - feeling a bit tired about it, not sure what else I could or even wanted to do with it, wondering what it was all for, weeping over my bruised and battered credit card etc. I reached a point where I felt reasonably philosophical about the whole thing - 'well wasn't that a good experience/learned a lot from that/some people touched by it/all very positive" but just throwing it 'out there' to God that I was ready to call it a day and look towards the next 'project', whatever that may be. I was in the middle of my disturbingly obsessive web search frenzy about all things American (more on that later) when I happened upon a little folder in my "Favourites" (which I have to admit had been gathering dust) called "Gospel Sites" and clicked on the Gospel Music Association webpage. After numerous clicks exploring interesting tangents I found out that they were holding a 2 day Gospel Music Academy in the 3rd week of February in Washington DC. Now normally this would've been an "oh that's nice" piece of information, only this time it was enough to cause a rather large double take on my part. Because I'm going to be in the U.S in February; in fact, I'm going to be in Washington DC in the 3rd week of February (play sound effect 'theme from twilight zone' now) After a week of agonizing over the extra cost and the loss of 2 precious days with one of my dearest friends (her response when I asked her if she would mind if I went to the academy was "If you don't, I'll kill you." I took that as permission.),, I took a deep breath, surrendered my credit card details and registered. I also entered 3 of my songs in their song writing competition "Lament", "Great is Your Love" and "To Bless Your Holy Name". This latter detail is less about the competition from my point of view and more about the fact that the judging panel, made up of people in the gospel music industry, are obliged to send me written feedback on each of my songs - what a precious opportunity when usually the most written feedback you could ever hope for from a record company is "Thanks but no thanks"!!. So what am I doing in the US? Well, it's a very indulgent holiday on my part and excuse to visit some dear friends of mine, one an Aussie who is presently in Manhattan on a 12 month working visa, my former tutor from L'Abri and his family in Connecticut who I haven't seen in nearly 10 years, my aforementioned friends in Washington DC and friends I made while living in London back in 1995 and haven't caught up with in ages! So I'm a very lucky girl - I leave this Saturday 7th and its very hard staying focussed on day to day life in the meantime. But hey, what about that gospel music academy thing - pretty cool huh? Go to the Gospel Music Association website and check it out www.gospelmusic.org Meanwhile, all is good with me. I am working for an organisation I love (Wesley Mission) and generally enjoying life. My show in Jenolan Caves last December went really well and if and when I get involved in other shows/musicals I'll let you know provided its not an embarrassing disaster that is better left unspoken of. I will write again in March/April (some time around then anyway) and no doubt will have many adventures and misadventures to bore you with, or else I could make something up and embellish it in a compelling and highly readable way. Love to you all Nicole |
| Wednesday 10th September 2003 Hi folks Sorry its been such a long time since I wrote, but life's been a bit, well, mad lately! Since my last entry I've a.. Got a new job b.. Organised a show/cd launch....and survived.... c.. Did numerous other things, including spending a week at a health retreat and performing in a fantastic show at Parramatta Riverside Theatre called "Seasons". Re. the job - I am now (very happily) working for Wesley Mission, a church based organisation in Sydney, and I am the Group Manager Community Aged Care Services - just a fancy way of saying that with regard to any community aged care programs run by the Mission, the buck stops with me! I have a wonderful boss, colleagues and staff, and the programs range from a school for seniors with over 1000 students to home care programs, to homeless aged care programs. I have an office in the city and I'm really enjoying the 15 minute commute every morning! God has been really gracious in providing for me in such a specific way - which God tends to do when you let Him - even down to my first pay day falling on the day before my rent was due! Re. the show/cd launch - which was last Saturday night (see copious photos that my lovely brother-in-law Matty has posted for me, plus stay tuned for details of the DVD which will be on sale through the website once I've got round to it!). I don't know where to start with this one - firstly I want to acknowledge that I really felt God's presence and even intervention in the lead up to the night, and on the night itself. In many tangible ways too - through the love and generosity of my beautiful and talented friends who performed, worshipped and worked their behinds off behind the scenes to make the show possible. I've included a list of all these exceptional people elsewhere on the site and you'll see photos of a lot of them - the truth is, I could not have possibly done the show without them and I thank God for them. I want to particularly acknowledge Gary Monger, whose superb arrangements, tireless rehearsing of my singers and countless other favours too numerous to mention literally enabled the show to go ahead, Rob Shepherd, who (incredibly) volunteered to be my stage manager and organised people, props and equipment with a cheerful countenance that even I couldn't crack in my stressy moments, Richard Neville who volunteered his expertise and sheer talent with lighting to make the show breathtakingly beautiful to look at, Simon Koenig who in spite of illness and his own all-consuming schedule set up and engineered a highly professional and excellent sound for the evening, and finally my family - Mum, Dad, Kylie and Matty - who worked so hard in the lead up to the show and on the night and managed to look after me in the process - BLESS YOU ALL!!!! Now the night itself - well it's a bit hard to speak of it in any objective fashion and to be honest, it's a bit of a blur really! The visual theme of the night was the colour red and all the tables were covered in red material with centrepieces of white candles and red gerberas. There was plenty of good coffee, tea and numerous varieties of cake to be had and with the black gospel music playing in the background the atmosphere was warm, joyous and intimate. I felt really calm just before I went onstage and once I was there, surrounded by my friends and with an audience of around 200 predisposed to have a good time and forgive any mistakes my voice made, I felt really comfortable and happy to just worship without inhibition! The first set was, shall we say, energetic - I opened with 2 of my more up-tempo songs "Nothing I can do" and "Awesome & Great" (the latter song is from my first recording with St Pauls Castle Hill - "Great is Your Love") and then moved into a gospel cover set with Macy Gray's "I can't wait to meetchu", 2 songs from Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace album "What a friend we have in Jesus" and "How I got over", accompanied by my superb gospel choir, and then it was my great pleasure to finish this set with 2 songs from the Sister Act 2 soundtrack "Joyful Joyful" and "O Happy Day" with the wonderful Green Valley Youth Choir. We had a 25 minute break and the second set opened with 2 songs by the Green Valley Youth Choir - "Immortal Invisible" and "Hymn" - they sang these beautifully and it was a perfect way to move into the more worship-oriented second set of songs. I overcame my fear of accompanying myself in public and played keys while singing "My eyes look to the sky" and "Lament" - with the heart-breakingly gorgeous string quartet supporting me (again, arrangements by Gary "the genius" Monger). During these songs a lot of people in the audience sang with me, which was fantastic. My awesome band and backing singers joined me onstage for the final 3 songs "Great is Your Love", "Praise the Lord O my soul" and "To bless Your holy name" - the latter of which was elevated to levels I never imagined possible when I first wrote it by the involvement of the Green Valley Youth Choir and their angelic voices joining us! We had 2 encores - the first of which "His eye is on the sparrow" with Gary on keys and my gorgeous and talented sister Kylie singing with me - I can't even begin to express what it meant to me to sing with her and I wish we could do this more often. Finally we finished the night with "I'm on my way" - the wonderful Mahalia Jackson cover on my cd "Out of the Valley" and made even more so by the musicality and talent of Anthony Bock, David Grant and Yo Willenberg. For those of you who came along and supported me that night - thank you so much for coming and being a part of a very special night for me. If you missed the night (WHAT!!?? ARE YOU CRAZY!!???...only joking), then take comfort that you may be able to get a sense of what the night was like from the DVD - I'll keep you all up to date with where I'm up to with that, and start praying that God will provide me with the finances, the resources and the people I need to put on another show in the near future! At this rate, 2004 is a possibility if I ever recover from this one.......... Okeedokee, I'm going to bring this rather long journal entry to a close - I promise the next one will not be so far away this time! Love Nicole |
| Sunday 30th March
2003
It feels a bit trivial to post a diary entry that doesn't focus on the war or something very serious, but I feel so overwhelmed by it that I don't think I'll even attempt to get into it. Suffice to say - nothing is ever black and white, no side is ever totally good or evil, no one has a monopoly on truth ('cept for God, that is), and, well, lets just pray for a swift resolution to a painful, devastating situation. For my first journal entry, I would like to share something a bit more personal with my web friends and visitors. A couple of months ago my management position was made redundant as a result of a restructure - now I am about to enter my 5th week of unemployment, and I feel rather happy all things considered. Admittedly, a redundancy payout has enabled me to continue to live and enjoy life without the stress of having to find work straight away. For the first time in a very long while, I have the gift of time. Time to think, breathe and dream. This is such a beautiful, sacred gift! Sleeping in most mornings is also a beautiful, sacred gift. I spent part of my second week of non-employment at a spiritual retreat in Dee Why (for international readers, one of the beach suburbs north of Sydney) at the "House of Sacred Space" and during that time started writing in a journal. I came up with a list of over 90 things I wanted to do or experience over the next few months while I take stock of my life. These things ranged from "Enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony", "Go to dance classes at the Sydney Dance Company", "Read bible more regularly", "Go to a movie at least once a fortnight", "Clean bathroom,,,,properly", "Wash balcony windows" to "Write journal entry for website". Guess I can tick at least one thing then. I had plenty of others, obviously, and some a bit too embarrassing to reveal at this point in our relationship, but I must say I felt positively glowing with energy and accomplishment by the end of it, like I'd vicariously achieved everything I set out for myself simply by writing it down. I felt the joyous presence of God as I allowed myself the luxury of dreaming and planning for nurturing my life in ways I haven't had the physical or emotional energy to even contemplate in recent months (or in the case of the bathroom, years,,,). Not only did I write lists (including a very self indulgent and largely pointless list of my favourite TV shows - in case you're interested, The Simpsons, Buffy, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos and yes, even the exquisitely horrendous Bold and the Beautiful featured...) but I wrote impassioned letters to God, honest reflections on what had happened at work and how I felt about it, possibly theologically dubious expositions on psalms that nonetheless made perfect sense to me, and numerous other scribblings. With each page of my journal I wrote colour and life and flesh and spirit back into what had recently evolved into a dry, weary shell of an existence. So what do I have planned for my 5th week of being non-employed in the the 9 - 5 sense of the word? I'm just working through my list - and this week includes meals with friends, going to the movies, cleaning my bathroom and donating blood (hopefully not at the same time). I also plan to give some thought to planning a CD launch - more news on that front as it starts to take shape. See ya later! Nicole |
which
contrary to what you’d expect a ‘family vacation’ to be, was really
enjoyable. My parents and I 
have joined my sister, her husband and little
Noah – my ‘darling nephew’ – for 5 days in a beach house for the
last couple of years. We get to chill out, pig out, and Kylie and Matt
have 3 very willing and doting babysitters so they can have the occasional
break. On the subject of doting, I am still head over heels in love with
my (soon to be) 18 month old nephew. Everything he does is worthy of a
sonnet. It is simply that irrational. But I mean, look at him, he is
adorable and
cannot possibly ever do wrong. Okay I’ll move on now.
So
that’s probably more than enough from me. I will attempt to be a bit
more regular with these journal entries but I won’t promise anything as
it will only lead to unmet expectations, recriminations, misplaced guilt
and post traumatic stress. So lets just say I’ll write again some time
before I turn 40. And anyway, you could always write to me!!