Aieeee.
I've already quietly filed away a personal post on the illnesses of other family members this year, in the drafts section, as this has never really been that kind of a blog. However, it is true that people close to me have been very sick this year, and will be for some time. But on top of that, I am going to be having a strange life for the next couple of months.
I threw a tantrum with unexpected rewards attached last week, after hearing my son's behaviour in care had deteriorated to new lows, not previously recorded. As I said to the manager over the phone, "if they haven't told me about this, then what else is going on that I haven't heard about?" Oh. My. Goodness. So bear with me because this site will be on hold for quite some time while I get that all sorted.
In the meantime, some literary people, and an 'early adopting' kind of blogger deserve serious gold stars:
Lisa Dempster, director of the 2013 Melbourne Writers Festival, for an expansive and exciting programme. I thoroughly enjoyed the London Review of Books sessions I attended, as well as taking in a thought provoking session with music writer Simon Reynolds. And I could have gone to plenty more...!!!!
The Sydney Review of Books - subscribe to their newsletter now, if you haven't already. Between the freebies at LARB, LRB and SRB (as well as the Literary Saloon at the Complete Review) you will have a lot of things covered book review -wise.
Alexis Wright and Giramondo, for another stellar outing with The Swan Book - I have mentioned this briefly in a post I've written for Readmill, the ebook app. The ABR review carries more information than I can put down right now and you can find it here.
And something to look forward to, and buy: new books from Richard Flanagan and Thomas Pynchon.
Finally, someone I began my blogging days reading has started posting again. This is always a good thing. Welcome back, Dervala Hanley.
Don't be good while I'm away, HAVE FUN. I will work hard, and I will have fun and think of you all.
And yes, I will keep scrapbooking at the little place, because it's faster.
Faster is my son's favourite word. Say no more.
Well, I like the look of this for now. I tried out the whole new navbar thing on a sample blog over the past couple of weeks and I think this will help with a number of things,
one: reading too many feeds and not enough books (believe me, a wider page is a frightening thing to a linkster);
two: trying to write occasional posts in a quieter vein;
three: still reviewing the odd new title here and there, but taking time for the 370-odd articles I have bookmarked to read, as well as rereading other books, and pasting in quotations from things I like here and there;
four: Reeling and Writhing keeps its name and URL - there was a brief flirtation with a new blog, and it's over.
Thanks for your patience with my self-indulgence and hopefully temporary insanity. If I could get at the code on the 'Browse' page and put those lists into columns, believe me, I would. I won't be here quite as often in the future, but I will be here, while I am spared.
El tagged me last week, when I was in the thick of a few things (don't try saying that five times quickly). I've finally cleared these items for release. So here we go:
What was I doing 10 years ago?
Helping with a Safety House committee, playing piano for a school choir occasionally.
Writing a romance, in a totally non-theorised litsnob kind of way, just to see how hard it could really be - and hey, it's harder than you think to write one you'd actually like to read. As I told my sister at the time, it was like completing a toile (calico or cheap fabric mock-up) for a haute couture garment and deciding, nope, this design is not really cutting the mustard, is it. )
In 1998 I attended a twenty-year school reunion and realised I did not want to go around for the rest of my life telling everyone my son has autism and my life is screwed, and resolved to go back to university and try to get whatever a real job might be, so that I had something else to talk to people about. (I just realised that now, tarting up this draft. That was ten years ago. Whew.)
For that year and several following I was also trying to make sure none of us disappeared under the collective weight of autism and epilepsy, being the linchpin and main communicator with disability service providers, doctors, and three schools while my husband consolidated his career. Ten years on, we have fingers crossed - give or take more than a few glaring inadequacies in TEH SYSTEM, we seem to have broken on through to some kind of 'other side' - so far, so good, nobody's dead yet. In fact, we're 'feeling rather better' on a few fronts. Unrealistically, almost foolishly so, for the next ten years may be even busier. But at least I'm no longer terrified of the prospect of the next five minutes. (As Therese Rein has said, sometimes you just need to get through the next five minutes...)
All that said, I am looking forward to our thirty-year school reunion later this year. It's going to be a blast, and I may even turn up unfashionably half-grey, or nude. Or both. Nude reunions on Facebook - now I'd like to see that.
Five snacks I enjoy in a perfect, non weight-gaining world:
1. King Island Roaring Forties blue, crackers and good red wine (all ingredients are part of the snack). David, whatever you bought us at the Standard the other week was very impressive, I hope you find out what it was because I am in need of some more.
2. Lindt dark chocolate with orange in it (both kinds).
3. Left-over burgundian beef casserole, OR curry, OR veg and gravy beef stew with tomato and paprika, cold, in chunks from the fridge. (Also cold pizza. YUM.)
4. Crumpets. Usually cooked and hot, though.
5. Doughnuts shared with young nephews and nieces.
Five snacks I enjoy in the real world:
6. All of the above, but I try to eat less of them.
7. Those rosemary grissini you can get in Safeway.
8. Coffee from Atomica in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Or Culinaria at Brentford Square, Forest Hill, which is getting better all the time.
9. Baby carrots, celery sticks with raisins, rice crackers (getting a bit sick of them though).
10. Viognier, sauvignon blanc and semillon blends, brandy and lemonade.
Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Get a collective of billionaires on the job. Given that along with the money I have the networking skills of a media mogul, right? the world in the palm of my hand, so what am I waiting for? what are they waiting for?
2. Fix climate change with said billionaires, and make everyone promise NEVER NEVER to mess up the ecology again.
3. Buy several farms and set up cluster housing co-ops with other families with disabled children to care for. Harass all state governments to provide permanent support and staffing, as well as ongoing third party insurance to provide for supported accommodation in the future.
4. Bribe the Brumby government to change its mind about the desalination plant and recycle Melbourne's water instead. And install a fleet of cloud seeding aircraft at Ballarat and Bendigo, and put some serious scientific research and/or funding into this.
5. Buy that gorgeous creamy yellow and black schooner that's always moored at the St. Kilda marina and learn how to sail her. And blog about it.
Five jobs that I have had:
1. Shop assistant in Clark Rubber
2. Parent/ disability advocate (ongoing and permanent position)
3. Wedding singer - just the church, no opportunity to abuse the crowd there though.
Unfortunately.
4. Personal care worker
5. Cataloguer
Three of my habits:
1. Drying the skin under my rings (quite a new one actually - there are good strong ridges on both ring fingers that require attention several times a day).
2. Not putting the packaging from shopping away immediately - leaving it lying around so I can feel I have achieved something by handing over cash and carrying something home again. I think.
3. Stopping in the middle and wishing, quite abruptly sometimes, that I was somewhere else.
Five places I have lived:
1. Kingsbury, Victoria
2. Heathmont, Victoria
3. Mitcham, Victoria
4-5. Ocean Grove and Wye River (Vic.) for so many holidays that they almost qualify as two additional places.
Tagged: anyone who would like to do it :-)
