Some kids prank called us last night.
I hung up.
When the phone rang again I ran to the kitchen, and DH called out to me to leave it.
I picked up the phone, and this time the kid was putting on a gruff voice, trying to disguise his tone. I listened for a second or two and then called out to DH: "It's some 5yr old playing with the phone!"
Immediately the gruff voice stops, and an indignant kiddie voice says "Hey, are you calling me a 5 yr old!"
I laughed, hung up, and never heard from them again.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Codependent!
My husband just spent 2 weeks in Malaysia on a business trip.
I've always thought of myself as a particularly independent person. However, the past weeks have shown me to be the exact opposite. My routine was shaken. I missed meals. I was repeatedly late to work (unheard of!) and gradually spiralled into a minor breakdown. Clearly, his absence had a profound effect on me. Sure, I may do my own thing and we're not joined at the hip, but I like to know that he's around all the same!
Obviously, I am not codependent in the technical sense of the word. Codependency is actually a negative, harmful trait, more in line with excessive preoccupation with the happiness of others and self-sacrificing in a way that can actually be destructive to the relationship. I'm not like that. I am too selfish and have far too much self-esteem to sacrifice myself on the altar of servitude. Yes, I am considerate of his needs and try to be a loving, generous wife. But I also expect as much in return. I put my needs first, and pursue my own life as a balanced individual. So I think I'm ok. Maybe, just maybe, it's just *love* that made me miss him. (Combined with an easily triggered lifelong mental instability that requires routine and stability, as well as somebody to talk to, which resulted in the aforementioned minor breakdown).
Bruce Cameron has some interesting theories on what makes a happy marriage:
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/humor/bruce-cameron/secrets-to-a-happy-marriage.html
If that's the case, we're heading in the right direction as I gradually shrink and DH slowly piles on the pounds.
But really, at the end of the day, I think a happy marriage is about wanting to be with the other person. That's what makes us willing to put the petty things behind us and choose to be happy together. Not sweat the small stuff. Support the other person. And if wanting to be together means I miss him when he's gone and get a bit crazy, then I don't think I should be complaining. There's worse things in this world than being in love.
I've always thought of myself as a particularly independent person. However, the past weeks have shown me to be the exact opposite. My routine was shaken. I missed meals. I was repeatedly late to work (unheard of!) and gradually spiralled into a minor breakdown. Clearly, his absence had a profound effect on me. Sure, I may do my own thing and we're not joined at the hip, but I like to know that he's around all the same!
Obviously, I am not codependent in the technical sense of the word. Codependency is actually a negative, harmful trait, more in line with excessive preoccupation with the happiness of others and self-sacrificing in a way that can actually be destructive to the relationship. I'm not like that. I am too selfish and have far too much self-esteem to sacrifice myself on the altar of servitude. Yes, I am considerate of his needs and try to be a loving, generous wife. But I also expect as much in return. I put my needs first, and pursue my own life as a balanced individual. So I think I'm ok. Maybe, just maybe, it's just *love* that made me miss him. (Combined with an easily triggered lifelong mental instability that requires routine and stability, as well as somebody to talk to, which resulted in the aforementioned minor breakdown).
Bruce Cameron has some interesting theories on what makes a happy marriage:
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/humor/bruce-cameron/secrets-to-a-happy-marriage.html
If that's the case, we're heading in the right direction as I gradually shrink and DH slowly piles on the pounds.
But really, at the end of the day, I think a happy marriage is about wanting to be with the other person. That's what makes us willing to put the petty things behind us and choose to be happy together. Not sweat the small stuff. Support the other person. And if wanting to be together means I miss him when he's gone and get a bit crazy, then I don't think I should be complaining. There's worse things in this world than being in love.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Jersey Boys!
I finally made it!
First, let me say, I do love Franki Valli. Yet despite that I hadn't run out to see Jersey Boys. I just didn't know whether it would work or not. I like the music, sure, but what else is there?
The creators of Jersey Boys clearly know that people coming to the show won't know what to expect. A nice performance of a few Franki Valli and the Four Seasons songs, tied in with their storyling.... ok then. So they manage to shock us with the opening performance, which is the complete opposite of what anybody in the crowd expects. It's foreign, it's loud, it's crazy, boy do they have our attention! And then they launch into a funny story narrated in turn by each of the Four Seasons, who have a superb rapport with the audience in between delivering the hit songs with gusto in jaw-droppingly awesome vocals. Ok, I'm not overhyping this am I?
I knew I was at a great show mid-way through the first act when I realised we'd already stopped the show a couple of times with lengthy applause and cheering, with the actors having to wait to continue once we settled down. And this wasn't even a full house! And it wasn't even the end of an Act!
Be warned that the show contains very vulgar language. They play up the Jersey element a lot. There are bits that seem a bit silly, or a bit disjointed. But overall it's endearing, it's amusing, it's just great fun.
I wasn't sure whether Jersey Boys could make an interesting show. In retrospect I'm *still* not sure what it was exactly about it that made it so good.
Maybe it's just this:
Awesome, classic songs, performed by very talented and funny guys, who narrate their story to the audience with passion and wit.
Sydney was well and truly on it's feet for this one, myself included. And they gave us an encore! In truth, we would have happily waited for another encore, everybody was still primed to go. We were loving every minute of it.
If you're a fool like me and have put off seeing Jersey Boys, book your tickets now, before it's too late!!
What: Jersey Boys
Where: Theatre Royal
When: 9th March, but you can go now!
Tickets from http://www.ticketmaster.com.au
First, let me say, I do love Franki Valli. Yet despite that I hadn't run out to see Jersey Boys. I just didn't know whether it would work or not. I like the music, sure, but what else is there?
The creators of Jersey Boys clearly know that people coming to the show won't know what to expect. A nice performance of a few Franki Valli and the Four Seasons songs, tied in with their storyling.... ok then. So they manage to shock us with the opening performance, which is the complete opposite of what anybody in the crowd expects. It's foreign, it's loud, it's crazy, boy do they have our attention! And then they launch into a funny story narrated in turn by each of the Four Seasons, who have a superb rapport with the audience in between delivering the hit songs with gusto in jaw-droppingly awesome vocals. Ok, I'm not overhyping this am I?
I knew I was at a great show mid-way through the first act when I realised we'd already stopped the show a couple of times with lengthy applause and cheering, with the actors having to wait to continue once we settled down. And this wasn't even a full house! And it wasn't even the end of an Act!
Be warned that the show contains very vulgar language. They play up the Jersey element a lot. There are bits that seem a bit silly, or a bit disjointed. But overall it's endearing, it's amusing, it's just great fun.
I wasn't sure whether Jersey Boys could make an interesting show. In retrospect I'm *still* not sure what it was exactly about it that made it so good.
Maybe it's just this:
Awesome, classic songs, performed by very talented and funny guys, who narrate their story to the audience with passion and wit.
Sydney was well and truly on it's feet for this one, myself included. And they gave us an encore! In truth, we would have happily waited for another encore, everybody was still primed to go. We were loving every minute of it.
If you're a fool like me and have put off seeing Jersey Boys, book your tickets now, before it's too late!!
What: Jersey Boys
Where: Theatre Royal
When: 9th March, but you can go now!
Tickets from http://www.ticketmaster.com.au
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Speaking in Tongues
This was one of those fortuitous moments that I'm patting myself on the back for, although I really deserve no credit. I hadn't been to the theatre for awhile (ok, so I went to Dr. Zhivago, but it felt like awhile!) and Mandy mentioned this play was on. I didn't know what it was about or anything about it, but said to go ahead and book us tickets.
In the days to follow I learnt that this is in fact a hyped production of a beloved Aussie classic, and was now a fully sold-out season. And we had tickets!
Speaking in Tongues was written by Andrew Bovell and first premiered in 1996 at the Stables theatre. The screenplay was the inspiration for the 2001 film Lantana, and the play has won awards and made it's way around the world since then. This was it's homecoming to the Stables, and it didn't disappoint.
The writing is pure genius. The character's lines overlap with perfect symmetry, the emotion and poignancy in their voices hangs in the air during the carefully constructed pauses. The storyline is vague yet somehow crystal clear, because it's entirely character-driven. We see into the hearts and minds of the characters as they reveal the deepest, darkest, emotionally driven sides of themselves and their relationships. It's all about relationships, primarily about marriage, but for each character it's also about something more. There is basically no set to speak of, and I could count the props on one hand.
Because of this, the acting has to be superb, and it was. There is a cast of 4, who play numerous characters between them, yet at times I truly believed that I was watching an entirely new actor rather than the same one in a new role. If I had to describe this show in one word I would say "clever", but it's so much more than that. It's deep, it's sly, and it challenges certain things about ourselves that we'd rather not think about. Superb.
What: Speaking in Tongues
Where: SBW, Stables Theatre
http://www.griffintheatre.com.au
In the days to follow I learnt that this is in fact a hyped production of a beloved Aussie classic, and was now a fully sold-out season. And we had tickets!
Speaking in Tongues was written by Andrew Bovell and first premiered in 1996 at the Stables theatre. The screenplay was the inspiration for the 2001 film Lantana, and the play has won awards and made it's way around the world since then. This was it's homecoming to the Stables, and it didn't disappoint.
The writing is pure genius. The character's lines overlap with perfect symmetry, the emotion and poignancy in their voices hangs in the air during the carefully constructed pauses. The storyline is vague yet somehow crystal clear, because it's entirely character-driven. We see into the hearts and minds of the characters as they reveal the deepest, darkest, emotionally driven sides of themselves and their relationships. It's all about relationships, primarily about marriage, but for each character it's also about something more. There is basically no set to speak of, and I could count the props on one hand.
Because of this, the acting has to be superb, and it was. There is a cast of 4, who play numerous characters between them, yet at times I truly believed that I was watching an entirely new actor rather than the same one in a new role. If I had to describe this show in one word I would say "clever", but it's so much more than that. It's deep, it's sly, and it challenges certain things about ourselves that we'd rather not think about. Superb.
What: Speaking in Tongues
Where: SBW, Stables Theatre
http://www.griffintheatre.com.au
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