January 2013

So it’s January the 31st which  means I’ve been focused on my personal “Fuck it, Enough” crusade (or changing my life one step at a time) for a month, and I have to say, it feels good. Many of the things I’m doing have been on my list of things I’ve wanted to change for such a long time, so putting my stake in the ground and going for it has felt very empowering. As such, I’ve had a really positive month, where I’m excited about the future, and while I have no doubt that some of the things I’ve done could have contributed to an overall improvement in my feeling of wellness, I think it’s my determination to do this that has had the biggest impact on my mindset. I’ve also had some incredibly supportive comments and conversations with people all over the world (some of whom are going through or have been through some horrendous shit) and they are also launching their own “Fuck it, Enough” crusades – which is incredibly awesome. Most people have something they want to change in their lives, whether it’s losing a bit of weight or changing a crippling mindset they’ve identified that limits them. The reality is, every day I talk to people who want to change something, but for some reason, it’s really hard to do – which was exactly me before January 1st2013. It’s hard making changes, because it’s so easy to keep going as you are, but I can assure you (with my month’s experience behind me J) if you are able to focus on changing the things you’ve been wanting to change – no matter how small – it feels brilliant. Like I said when I launched my FIE crusade, there is much I can’t change that is doing my head in, but while I’m working on those challenges, it’s nice to be in control of the things I can change. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking in the last month, and obviously before that, but the one thing I’ve known for a long time is us humans are really terrific at lying to ourselves every day. We tell ourselves we’re alright when we’re not – we often need a big health crisis before we make a change. Many of us ignore symptoms that creep up on us and get used to feeling lethargic or uninspired. We just accept it. Taking life by the balls is not easy to do, it takes real resolve and then a lot of discipline, so I’m just pleased I’ve been able to cross over from accepting the status quo that wasn’t making me smile, to taking control of the things I can change and being committed to it. I’m obviously in this for the long haul – which is why I went public with FIE – really working to change habits and mindsets that I believe stop me from reaching my full potential. That’s all I want to do – be the very best me I can be in every way. So I wanted to share my focus areas for January and what I’ve thought and achieved so far. Actions Wheat free for one month – the start of the month was a bit of a scramble working out exactly what was and what wasn’t wheat free. You think it’s obvious, but wheat is a sneaky little bugger and it turns up everywhere. But once the scramble was over and I worked out what was good to go, it has been relatively easy for me. As a result of going wheat free, I feel lighter, I’m never full (or heavy) after meals – even Indian – and I lost a few kilos to boot. I had one cheat night for our anniversary dinner, but otherwise it’s been 100% wheat free and I like it. There are many many symptoms associated with eating wheat, some consider it the worst GMO you can ingest, the arguments for going wheat free are really significant, and I’m committed now. I thought it would be harder, but the best bit is: it makes you think about what you’re eating and you plan more in advance. Steve is also OK with going wheat free now and he wasn’t keen on the idea at all. The good thing is we found a gluten free pizza base, so as long as he can have pizza once a week, he’s happy. His challenge has been business dinners. He turned up for a meeting recently and there was a table full of dim sum – no chance there. He’s worked hard to stay wheat free though and I’m so pleased to have his support on that. He thinks it’s good for him too. If you’re interested, here’s the blog I wrote about my reasons for going wheat free  Stretch in the morning, walk in the evening – my goal is to build my strength again, before I really start pushing myself as I like to do. It’s been good to re-commit to the morning stretches ‘cos it really is a great way to wake up and start the day. If you want to do this, put a yoga mat by the bed and as soon as your feet hit the ground, make yourself do it – it’s only five minutes of your whole day and makes a massive difference. I also remembered Thymus Thumping which I’ve added to my morning stretch routine. In addition, Steve and I started going for a walk in the evening and this has been AWESOME! The best bit is doing it with Steve, because it’s the highest quality talking time we’ve had since the boys came along, so we really get an additional benefit from it – it’s real togetherness. I’ve also enjoyed the feeling of moving again, and as we have some good hills in the area, it definitely feels like a great workout for both of us See an Osteo – OK I

Driving seems to bring out the worst in people, and it doesn’t matter which country you live in, the case is pretty much the same. Steve and I do not believe we are alone reacting the way we do when someone cuts us off – with the typical “you fucking bloody idiot, what do you think you’re doing!” escaping our lips. However, we’ve got two very impressionable little loves sitting in the back seat these days, and after Jax said one too many fucks at school, his extremely religious teacher had a little word with us – ooops. We needed to change our ways… well a little. The thing is, I’m not much of a screamer when it comes to dealing with idiots on the road, but if they’re putting my mini-men’s lives at risk, I do have a tendency to explode. My husband, on the other hand, is definitely a screamer. When we first met, it was constant, and then I explained that the only person impacted by his rants was me, so why bother?  He toned it down, but as a super protective husband and Dad, he can’t always control himself. However, a solution was required and we decided that blowing kisses to bad drivers was a terrific way to deal with the situation. When we do it we feel better and immediately calmer, it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek so we laugh, and the boys are learning that when someone is driving like an arsehole, the best thing to do is blow them a kiss. Cool – we like that one. But then you get off the roads and blowing kisses to rude arseholes can look a bit weird, so I took on board Deepak Chopra’s lesson of giving people silent gifts of love and joy – I just decided to apply it in a different way. My tactic is this – if someone is rude to me, ungracious, pushy, ignorant, or just plain horrible, I picture a big ball of white light in my heart and send that ball of light to their heart, picturing that ball where their heart is ,and then I silently wish them love and joy always. It’s simple, effective and it works for me. Some people believe this action is a direct energy transfer and if more of us did it, the world would be a better place. The belief is that if we all offer the silent gift of love and joy (or abundance or wealth, or success, or whatever) to everyone we interact with every day, we can raise the energy levels in our world up to a higher and more peaceful frequency. That’s a very good thing right? I have absolutely no idea if this is true, but I feel that it could be. However, the one thing I do know is this: when I offer the silent gift of love and joy to horrible people, I immediately feel better. I don’t go where they are, I don’t return the aggression, and as such, negative experiences leave me feeling peaceful, happy and calm. So my conclusion is: if it makes me feel better then that is a good enough reason to do it. As such I wanted to share it as people seem to enjoy my blogs on this sort of stuff. Now if someone was verbally bitch-slapping my kids, I wouldn’t be sending them love and joy, ‘cos that’s when the protective Mumma comes out, but that’s another blog. Anyone else do this? Or have another strategy that works for them? You know I’d love to know right? Also if you decide to give it a go, let me know if it makes you feel better? That’s the purpose of doing it after-all. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

In recent months I’ve been doing a fair bit of home-schooling with my lads. This is not something I ever dreamed of doing and I have to say – it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I definitely have new-found respect for home-schooling parents that’s for sure. However, with Lex’s speech delay we are also dealing with education delay, and I just want to make sure he’s caught up in all areas of his life so he can fly. He’s also hit that age where kids can be cruel and I don’t want him picked on or called stupid – ‘cos he’s certainly not stupid! In the process of doing this, I’ve had an epiphany. Many many times I’ve literally had to stop the words in my mouth from coming out, as I can feel a negative motivation coming out that is supposed to inspire them positively. That’s not me, but I think many of us were raised this way – ‘if you don’t work hard at school you’ll be collecting the garbage’, or ‘if you don’t get good grades you’ll be cleaning the streets’ or ‘you’re burning the candles at both ends’ (like that’s a bad thing) – but this is NOT how I want to raise my boys. I want to raise them with passion and enthusiasm for life, and have recognised I’ve got some old programs running in my head that were put there when I was a kid. This means when nothing else comes to mind, they just want to pop out. So I have decided to re-program my mind and come up with motivations that are positive and should exceed the desired outcome – for my boys to be great, passionate, kind men that are chasing dreams no one else but them thinks is possible. If I can do that as a parent, then I will have achieved something really magnificent – because I definitely don’t want them to be limited by any of the things I say. Before I start, I’d really LOVE to know what positive motivations other parents use? I’m planning on sticking a list on my bathroom mirror to really make them stick and would love some feedback – the more the merrier! 1.       Anything is possible – Reach for the stars my love, the view is awesome from there 2.       Love of learning – Learning is the greatest gift of life, it takes you to places of magic 3.       Dreams are yours to make – Work hard at school my love, because what you do today will ensure that every dream you have will be possible 4.       Focus on self – Don’t worry about anyone else – what they say or what they do – just always be the best You you can be 5.       Winning– Winning is the greatest feeling buds, so go for it and be a winner. BUT if you don’t win, that’s OK too, as long as you gave it your all. Remember to always ALWAYS shake the hand of anyone who beats you – because they also gave it their all too 6.       Winning (from a movie) – You don’t have to like it when you don’t win, so always remember to use it as fuel to drive you harder next time 7.       Self-belief– The sun shines out of your eyes my love, don’t let anyone else take that sunshine away 8.       Anger– Don’t waste time being angry – anger makes your body feel all yucky inside. Everyone makes mistakes, so forgive and forget, smile and move on 9.       More for anger – When people are angry towards you, most of the time it’s because they are hurting inside. Be kind towards angry people, because they often need it the most 10.   Bullies and compassion – Stand up for yourself and the people you love, but more importantly, stand up for anything or anyone who can’t stand up for themselves. There are bullies in this world, so if you stand up for yourself, they’ll leave you alone. If you stand up for others, they’ll leave them alone too. BUT talk to the bully – find out why they’re hurting ‘cos maybe you can help. There is nothing more important than compassion 11.   Kindness– Be kind to everyone and everything – the world needs more kind men 12.   Living life at full speed – Live life to the max my love. Take every opportunity to master the things you’re passionate about, laugh from the depths of your belly, dance in the rain, climb mountains, fear nothing, be open to everyone, treat life as the greatest teacher, love easily, respect everyone, and life will be awesome 13.   Be true to your word – when you give someone your word, honour it. If you just can’t, tell the person why and be honest. Many people have forgotten to honour their word, so be an example to everyone of what it means – because you can lift people up if you do 14.   Coping with disappointment – Disappointments will happen in your life – people will let you down, opportunities you are excited about won’t come to pass. Don’t worry. You’ve been given a gift, a lesson to learn, so learn the lesson and stay excited about the future. All is as it’s meant to be, and I bet you something better will come your way 15.   One I saw on Pinterest recently as a way to live – Wake up, be awesome, go back to sleep There you go, I spent 30 minutes in a taxi this morning putting this together and of course, many are inspired by the things I read. I know I could refine them and add a million others, but it’s a good start to re-programming my mind. Right, now it’s your turn – any little gems you use to positively motivate and inspire your kids? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea Join me on Facebook at Withoutthebollocks 

When I first moved to Singapore, I used to notice a lot of older Singaporeans standing around, peacefully thumping their chests. I thought, what the hell is that all about? Well I found out – it’s called the “Thymus Thump” and it’s a great technique – if done every day – to make you happier and increase the strength of your immune system. I’d forgotten about it, but saw it mentioned on Facebook this week, reminding me it would be a terrific habit to integrate into my morning stretch routine. So I’m thumping again. Singapore is an amazing combination of East and West, but it is the old wisdom of the East I am most drawn to – most of which was off limits within the Catholic world I was brought up in. Like meditation, mindfulness and yoga, there are many ancient practises that come from this part of the world, and people are going back to them today in droves. There’s definitely something to it. I found this background on a blog called “The Universe Inside Your Mind.”  “The Thymus Thump (also known as the happiness point) can assist to neutralize negative energy, exude calm, revamp energy, support healing and vibrant health, and boost your immune system. “A simple but very effective energy technique involves tapping, thumping or scratching on the thymus point. The word thymus comes from the Greek word ‘thymos’ which means “life energy.” The thymus gland lies just beneath the upper part of the breastbone in the middle of the chest. Its role is in keeping your own life energy vibrating in high frequency. When the thymus gland is in harmony [it] can increase your strength and vitality. Dr. John Diamond, author of “Life Energy” maintains the thymus gland monitors and regulates the body’s energy flow. Therefore when there is an imbalance in energy flow, the Thymus Thump can help correct it. ‘The thymus gland is linked between the mind and the body thus when there is emotional or physical disturbance can cause the thymus gland to shrink and cause depletion in this vital life energy.  “How to do it: “You may thump in the middle of your chest with your fist (think Tarzan) on the point shown on the chart. Or, you may want to rub softly or firmly or scratch with four fingers of your hand. Do this for about 20 seconds and breathe deeply in and out. You can also add an affirmation such as “all is well in my world.”  “You will know when you have activated the thymus gland as you will feel a little tingling or a subtle feeling of ‘joy’ or ‘happiness.’ Another hint is to do three thumps at a time but emphasise the first thump more firmly. For some people it may take a little time before you ‘feel’ anything. Persevere and you will get it and well worth it. “Do this every day to ensure your life energy and thymus gland is activated but do several times a day if you are suffering from anxiety, panic attacks or stress and allow your life energy to come alive.” Here’s some more background on “Health and Wellness Unleashed,”from India Divine and even Oprah has covered it, although more about tapping here. Dr. John Diamond is credited with bringing this and other concepts to the Western World back in the late 70s, and here’s some background on him if you’re interested. If you want a visual demonstration, here’s a quirky video from a bloke entitled “Get Higher – Faster than a Red Bull” Anyways, I was reminded of it this week, and thought perhaps someone else will appreciate a reminder, and for people who’ve never even heard of it, something to consider if you’ve been feeling a bit down and blue in recent times? Who knows, it could work. It’s a habit back in my day for sure. If it’s good for the oldies here, it’s good for me. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

Steve and I were out for an evening walk recently, trying to sort out who does the banking this week while he’s in Hong Kong and I’m racing around Singapore with all sorts of other stuff going on. Then I said hang on a minute, this banking malarkey is making our life harder and it’s been the case for two years, we need to sort it out. Steve’s been trying to get me on the case for those two years – so it’s completely my fault – but everything else has seemed more important. As such, I finally took a step back and realized how much harder our life is because of this one aspect. But my block has been our temporary living arrangements. I haven’t wanted to sort it out until we have a permanent address, so we don’t have to go back in again and change all of our records. I expected the temporary address to be a short term thing, but as it’s now a long term thing, I reckon it’s time to do something about it regardless – for Steve’s sake as much as mine. Some people consider me a control freak and maybe I am, but the truth of the matter is: I have always tried to design my life to make it as easy as possible. I like everything to have “it’s” place, so I know exactly where anything is when I need it. I HATE not being able to find what I need, especially if it hasn’t been put back in its “home.” Thankfully Steve complies. When I get ready to run out the door, I need to be able to grab and go, ensuring I’m on my way as quickly as possible. That’s how I roll. As such, anything that impedes my need-for-speed must be sorted out ASAP. Does that make me a control freak or just an organiser? I don’t know, life’s just better when it’s easy I reckon. If you’re wondering how to define what makes life harder, I’d say it’s anything that regularly makes your jaw (or bum) clench, your stomach tighten, or turns you into a screaming harpy – especially if it’s an inanimate thing. If those reactions are due to the humans in your life, well that’s another thing all together, but “sorting it out” might not be a bad idea. If it’s kids, patience and love, patience and love, patience and love.  Seriously, what makes life harder is anything that consistently has a negative impact on your day and drives you nuts – emotionally or physically. These things can build up over time – so you just get used to them – and they’re usually at the bottom of your to-do list because mostly, it’s a ball ache to resolve. As such, due to their priority placement on your list, they never get done. Super organised people suggest tackling the things at the bottom of your to-do list first if you want to be more productive. It makes sense. So my list of things to sort out to make life easier 1.       Our banking situation – one bank, all accounts, linked, etc… – sorry Steve 2.      Our Internet connection falls over several times a day and it drives me NUTS! I mean it really does generate a lot of negative emotions – i.e. frustration – and that’s not good. It also drives Steve nuts. The problem is, we can’t fix it, and when we’ve asked the IT guy where we live to fix it, he blames our provider. The provider blames the system where we live. We never seem to be able to get anyone to take any responsibility and we just want it sorted. Therefore we have agreed that we will stop at nothing until it is resolved – no matter how annoying it is. We will find an answer. To give you an example, it’s crashed five times while writing this. Not handy when uploading to a blog…. 3.      Steve’s desk is catastrophic and an unworkable space. When he’s in Singapore, he works from home, and he’s spent too much time working amidst chaos – we need to sort that out and get him comfortable. BUT he also needs to make this a priority for himself – he’s not the best at keeping his personal work space in order – right love? My desk could do with a dust and a clean-up too 4.      A getting out the door quickly issue for me is shoes. In Singapore, you don’t have closet-space for shoes, as such, you have shoe racks inside and outside the front door. It also means you don’t have mould issues, as is the case in an enclosed space – it’s the tropics. Well the top of our shoe rack features a pile of colourful Crocs, mini-human running shoes, Heelies, and everything else our lads accessorize their feet with. My shoes are jammed underneath, piled on top of each other, and well, that adds about 10 seconds to my exit. I need to find a solution, because it also looks messy, and messy is not me With that I would love to ask what is your “making life harder than it needs to be” challenge that you can resolve with a little bit of will and focus? I’d love to know. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea PS: if you’re looking for some simple tips to make life run smoother, this article has been doing the rounds in social media land recently – “50 Life Hacks to Simplify your World.” Apparently Life Hacks are the little things you can do to make your life simpler. I think my above list are more than Life Hacks, but good to keep front of mind, as a messy, disorganised life, is not the best way to be happy apparently. I do like the paperclips for cables in this piece, but one wonders – when will we be truly wireless?

It feels like almost every day we are hearing horrific stories about violence towards women, but there is something much worse than the actual violence committed in my opinion – the people who witness it and do nothing. I’m not a do-nothing-kind-of-girl, and even though it is a different case, when we found out our son Lex was being physically abused by his teacher, I didn’t feel angry towards the lady who did it. If anything I felt very sad for her. My anger was squarely directed towards the other teachers who had witnessed this abuse towards many children over a seven year period! Why don’t people act? Why do they protect themselves when someone who can’t stand up for themselves is in need? Why, why, why? I don’t understand it, because many times I have stepped in on a violent situation, even when I knew I was putting myself in danger. I can’t help it; because I’d rather have the shit kicked out of me, or be killed, than feel the shame of not doing anything.  I didn’t step in once, because it seemed like some serious drugs were involved, however the shame of not doing something to protect that woman ate away at me for a long time. I’m not claiming sainthood here; it’s just who I am – standing up for people not able to do it themselves. Sometimes I feel disappointed when I do it. Many years ago my sister and I jumped in between a bloke who was beating a woman. When he left, she ran after him… fuck it! In recent months the world has been horrified by the gangrape/murder in India. I feel heartbroken for that girl, her family and everyone involved. It was disgusting human cruelty and it makes me sick. But what also made me sick about that situation is no one helped her for an hour afterwards. She was lying naked on the road, bleeding to death, and no one lifted a finger. Then another gang rapeon a bus in India a couple of weeks later – at least action has been taken. But there have been more as well, including a woman raped and hung by her sari. But it’s not just India. Here’s a story from China (it’s not nice viewing) where onlookers did nothing when a man beat a woman on the street. Thirty people witnessed it and did nothing. But if the world thinks it’s only the developing nations who get up to this shit, we then have the rape in Ohio. This article is a good comparison between the brutal gang rape in India and this equally brutal gang rape in America. Then again, watch this disturbing video where a football player laughs at what was happening to her – oh so bloody funny. There’s a turd whose honour is worth protecting – not. This town in Ohio is making out it was the 16 year old girls fault for being raped and it’s all about protecting the football team. Come-fucking-on – what sort of world are we living in? Are the parents not completely disgusted by their sons? Apparently not, because their future, as well as the future of the football program, is far more important than this young girl. Don’t they have daughters in this town? I just hope she gets the hell out of there, because in many people’s eyes, they will always see her as a slut – a word I never use. Can’t a teenage girl get drunk these days without being raped and urinated on? What fine, outstanding pillars of society this community is raising. But don’t worry boys; the community has got your back because it’s OK to do this to a girl – as long as you’re good at sports. Terrific message huh? On Mamamia – an Australian site I follow, but couldn’t get access to this article today (?) – they posed a comment that deeply resonated with me: With the way society views rape these days, it appears “that it’s a woman’s responsibility to not get raped, rather than a man’s responsibility to not rape.” So girls, once again, it’s our own stupid fault. As you can probably tell, it makes me bloody sick and it’s time for change. The first change is all of us saying e-fucken-nough! The second change is for no one to stand around and do nothing, or better yet, make that a criminal offence, although I believe we should be driven to act in people’s defence by our soul, not because of a legal requirement. The third change we need to address is the societal bollocks that makes men think it’s even OK to do this – and the case in Ohio is testament to this reality. It’s not OK, ever, to be violent towards any woman, for any reason. And having a vagina does not make the woman responsible. It’s not right, it really isn’t. I don’t believe all men are rapists and I know that the vast majority of men are bloody lovely blokes, but I am feeling outraged right now. I’ve had enough of hearing these brutal stories and I’m even more pissed off by the apathy of those standing witness and doing fuck all. At least I know I’m raising two boys who’ll stand up and be counted. Their Dad will make sure of it. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea PS: The image above has been circulated on Facebook recently with these words. I can’t give credit, because I don’t know where it originated, but when all else fails, good to know the ladies in pink have got your back… “The Gulabi gang (from Hindi gulabi, “pink”, transln. “pink gang”) is a group of women vigilantes and activists… originally from Banda in Bundelkhand district, Uttar Pradesh, India, but reported to be active across North India as of 2010. It is named after the pink saris worn by its members. The gang was founded in 2006 by Sampat Pal Devi,

If I’ve learnt one thing in my life, it is this – positivity beats all other options. Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

It is said that if you take the time to be awed by the world we live in, you can be a happier person. Awe inspiring moments happen everywhere, all the time and they can be big or small. Awe can happen witnessing people showing great kindness to other people, animals or nature; watching two people who are meant to be together falling in love; watching people standing up to oppression at risk to their lives; experiencing nature in its breathtaking beauty such as a sunset, a full moon, or majestic mountains; witnessing great artistic or creative talent that makes you think and inspires you; or man-made structures that take your breath away. I could go on. For some reason I was thinking of the awe inspiring things I’ve seen throughout my life and started making a list of them to recapture how I felt in each of those moments. Focusing on my life right now, as well as future plans, it seems to crowd out these great memories that changed my life for the better. I shared some of them with Steve the other day, and he mentioned a few of his own in response, so I thought it might be worth sharing here, and perhaps, if you’re inspired, you can share your awe inspiring moments? I’d love to hear them. Now, before you think I’m having a brag-fest on all of the amazing places I’ve traveled to, I need to point something out. When everyone else was growing up and doing sensible things, like buying homes, nice cars and essentially, securing their futures, I decided to take a different path and invest in my memories. This was a very focused decision, and while I’ve got an amazing memory investment portfolio, when the chips are down financially, I don’t have any back-up. So I’m not bragging here, just taking you on a tour of the home I didn’t buy. I’m getting closer to being grown-up and investing in bricks and mortar though… I think. So here are my awe inspiring moments – both natural and man-made – and in no particular order: The Taj Mahal – the great monument to love. The first time I saw it, it took my breath away. So delicate and beautiful Abu Simbel in Northern Egypt – the statues and the way man moved to save them when the damn was built – awe inspiring Sitting in a hot spa in Costa Rica, while the volcano heating that water was going off in the background. It was scary and powerful at the same time seeing that lava coming down the mountain The first time I drove into Edinburgh, at night, I couldn’t believe how beautiful the city was. I thought I’d seen everything that could take my breath away until that moment When we were living in Noosa, I have never seen full moons like it – big, orange, beautiful moons. The Milky Way from my Dad’s “farm” outside of Wodonga is very special too Another great aspect of Noosa was a beautiful little possum that used to visit with her baby. Towards the end of our stay, she had another baby and would visit us every night with both kiddies – very cool. Another awe inspiring animal encounter was the day I came face-to-face with my first Hummingbird while sitting in a café in Antigua, Gutemala Falling in lovewith Steve was truly awe inspiring The first time I stood in Times Square, NYC was unbelievable – I’d only seen it in the movies before then Coming into NYC on the train from Boston a week after September 11 and the twin towers not there… The view from the trains in India – observing life, in all its forms, waking up first thing in the morning – the women and children first, followed by the men When I flew into Nepal and saw the Himalayas popping through the clouds, and then having them as my backdrop for the next month – majestic is an understatement The first time I stood in Tiananmen Square in 1995 and reflected on all that had happened here Standing on the Great Wall of China – looking at it weaving through the mountains in both directions The Island of Isis in Egypt, one of the few temples that survived the damn flooding – so beautiful and delicate, but also interesting as part of its history is its defacing by the Christians Reading the hieroglyphicsin the  Egyptian pyramids – I’d studied Egyptology at university, so it was amazing being there, reading it in real life The Island of Phi Phi in Thailand (2004, so pre-Tsunami devastation) with Steve for our one year anniversary – simple, calming, happy, beautiful, and peaceful Our honeymoon in Kao Tao, Thailand– we just talked and got to know each other even more?! It was spectacular The pleasure we gave everyone who came to our wedding Sitting in Kowloon with Steve for the first time together, by the water, looking at the Hong Kong skyline. We had both done this many times alone, sitting in exactly the same place. It was super special sharing it together for the first time that Saturday night in 2003 Understanding the scale of destruction the Tsunami wrought from our balcony in Phuket, when we lived there for a few months. The entire village of Kamala Beach, which we overlooked, was wiped out My first day in London, at the time there were no skyscrapers. I couldn’t believe how low and beautiful the city was The view from my apartment in Glebe in 2002 – overlooking Sydney Harbour, including the Harbour Bridge. I lived there for a year and took tremendous pleasure in this view every day Standing in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, enjoying an Airshow and being gobsmacked by the Cathedral that was standing there in ruins after an earthquake more than 20 years before. It was beautiful in its destruction and the fact they’d never rebuilt it Chichen