Contributors

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

What I'm grateful for April 14...



1. MEN WHO CAN FIX THINGS: I once dated a fella who at the age of 30 had never changed a light globe and didn’t know the difference between a pelmet and a skirting board. Please! I was raised in a house where the men fixed things, built things, knew the names of screwdrivers, could handle a jigsaw and a hammer. With that in mind, I’m grateful to the young fellas building my mum a new fence, just because they all love her. I understand it will be finished tomorrow. The pics above are from early morning today. The young fella’s identity is protected as he doesn’t want to be recognised in case other women in Sydney want fences built. ‘I’m only doing it for Elsie,’ he said.
2. BOXING: Wow, what a workout tonight. I did a boxing class at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence. I’m grateful it only went for 60 minutes. I was watching the clock from the minute we started. I had Miss Ashlee there for support and inspiration.
3. AFTERNOON PICK-ME-UPS: I’ve got six weeks until I need to deliver my mss Paris Dreaming to Random House, and as far as I’m concerned I will do whatever it takes to get me through the day and reach my deadline; with word count and storyline just as they need to be. And if meeting that deadline means I need caffeine and chocolate at 3pm, then so be it. Today I’m grateful for the freedom I give myself to do what needs to be done. Oh, and I’m grateful for the Kit Kat and the Coke Zero that got me through the arvo.
4. DOUBLE DIPPING: I’m grateful the food in the fridge is all mine. It means I can double-dip and no-one yells at me.
5. MOTIVATION: I’m grateful that I am and have always been self-motivated. It’s the only thing that makes sure I get the job done, whatever it is. Friends often ask me how and why I don’t sleep in, or watch telly in the middle of the day. I never sleep in anyway, and my TV never goes on before the end of the day. I couldn’t imagine lying around watching tv in the middle of the day. Aside from that, when you’re on salary you get paid for eight hours regardless of the time you actually spend ‘working’ – don’t get me started about smokers on the footpath – but when you work for yourself you have to actually work eight hours (in real terms ten hours) to be able to bill for eight hours. So motivation to work is essential. Anyway, I love what I do, so I’m grateful for that, because it never really feels like work.

2 comments:

Krissy Kneen said...

I changed the oil in my motorcycle today which is a job I was dreading and it turned out all I needed was for the fella at the servo to hold the bike up so it didn't fall on me. I do not know men with powertools. Your mum is lucky.

Dr Anita Heiss said...

Hey Krissy, nice work with the bike, I am VERY impressed! And we love the fella at the servo too!
And yes, my Mum is lucky!