I made this

It was something I'd been aiming for since I started working at the Prison, and the process has been in train for a year. It took me eight months of solid work; developing guidelines, battling delays, recruiting volunteer staff, and overcoming unceasing 'technical difficulties', but finally, FINALLY I have managed to get the Freo Prison Collection into the digital age, aka the 21st century.

While I can't be blamed for the design or the interface, I still feel an incredible sense of achievement in getting the first 750-odd items from the Collection, as well as related Subject records, online.

You can search the Collection here.

This is the first major thing I have achieved since my Dad died, and the fact that he's not here for me to share it with him has made me feel his loss more keenly in recent days. I suppose it's not that odd when you think about it.

It has been nine months since he died. I'm sure he would have been proud, and I know he would have enjoyed browsing through the objects and reading the background info. I really, really wish he could have lived to see it.

Things I like about Perth

In the spirit of the new year, and keeping shit POSITIVE, I'd like to tell you about some of the stuff that I actually like about where I live now:

1. The firetrucks are red. Which is as things should be, only in Canberra they were yellow. Which is an abomination.

2. The dog beaches. They have awesome dog beaches here - not just the piece-of-crap seaweed-infested, goes-under-water-at-high-tide beaches that no-one else wants to swim at, but actual decent beaches where you can enjoy a paddle with your pooch. Win!

3. Street signage. At pretty much all intersections of any consequence there are signs before you reach them, telling you what street is coming up next. Genius for those who are new in town and trying to navigate their way around without a GPS. Yep, that's me - keeping it old skool and using a map!

4. Winter. It's great here in winter - it gets cold enough overnight to feel like you've had a change in season, but it's not so cold that you can't bring yourself to leave the house. And the days are glorious, because sometimes they are rainy and cosy, and other times they are sunny and warm. Also, the scraping of the ice off the windscreens in the mornings only happens occasionally.

Mmmm, winter. It's still a long way off, but I'm dreaming of it now. Especially since it's forecast to be 41 degrees for the next 3 days in a row, argh! But you know, staying positive, so better sign off there!

2 years ago...

This time two years ago I made a short trip to WA because one of my best friends was here. She'd just had a baby, and it was her birthday, so I thought it would be great to visit her.

I stayed at a friend of my Mum's place in South Fremantle and enjoyed walking to the beach and the cafes every day. Basically, it was an awesome little holiday, and made me go "I want to move to Fremantle!" There was Clancy's Fish Pub, there was Little Creatures Brewery, there was the beach. I loved it!

The next month I saw a job being advertised at Fremantle Prison, which I'd visited while I was over. I applied. I got it. It felt like fate.

Geez that seems like such a long time ago, but also like hardly any time at all.

Life is weird like that!

A strange and unusual feeling

Yesterday evening, as I was driving to derby training, I felt a strange and unusual feeling come across me. I felt... happy. And hopeful.

I was actually looking forward to derby training (it's been ages since I've felt that way - even though I mostly enjoyed training once I was there I usually spent most of the day not feeling like going), and, even more shocking, I felt hopeful about my future at my job.

It felt weird. And I was scared to let myself feel it, coz what if everything turns to shit and I go back to being unhappy again?

I guess if that happens then it's good to have had this period of hope. Better to anticipate good things and occasionally be disapointed than to anticipate bad things, and, even if they never show up, feel scared of hope for the rest of my life!

Roller Derby: The return!

After almost 5 months off the flat track I have returned to derby training with the new year. I was really hesitant about this, knowing I was going to be starting my PhD, and recalling the terrible commute, which, when you add it to the training timetable, means I'm not eating dinner until 10:30pm two nights a week. But in spite of all this I went back for the first training session of the year last week, and - surprise, surprise! - I enjoyed it.

I have to pass my Level 4 test (again!), which is scheduled for the end of the month. PRD have rolled into the new year with two sessions with Texas skater Smarty Pants, which has been a great opportunity for me to start over with the basics - crossovers, stops, etc. A great way to re-enter the sport, and I feel that the time off means perhaps I am a bit more of a blank canvas, and can take on board new techniques. I haven't gotten back into proper scrimmage yet, though the couple of scrimmage-based drills I've engaged in have felt so chaotic! Reminds me once again of the first time we scrimmaged, when it felt like I had NO IDEA of what was going on and I imagined I was completely all over the place. I also have to learn the new rule set, which has some pretty big changes, especially applying to penalties.

I'm honestly not sure what this year holds for me in terms of derby. I think last year the big mistake I made was placing too much emphasis on it, as an alternative avenue of satisfaction to work. Of course I didn't stop dedicating myself to my job, despite saying that I was going to (ha!), and what with a couple of injuries, derby did not provide the fulfillment I had hoped it would. I didn't have a lot in me last year, but hopefully this year will be different. At least, I'm doing everything in my power to make it so!

Granite

View from Peak Head, Torndirrup National Park

I never really believed in crystals or that kind of thing. But having just returned from a fabulous trip to Albany, which is firmly set on granite, I am wondering whether there is something to the idea of the vibrations from certain rocks or minerals after all.

I was born in Sydney, which is sandstone country. I've always felt comfortable with sandstone, and indeed in the bushland that thrives on it. Turns out I also feel comfortable on granite.

Both Canberra and Perth sit on limestone. Limestone is a young rock, whereas granite is sedimentary rock (like sandstone) that has been cooked, forged by the crashing of continents and the pressure of the earth. Granite has had some life experience. You know where you stand when you're on granite. Not like the shifting limestone sands of the Perth Basin...

Maybe what I'm getting at here is something like the Aboriginal concept of 'country'. That the place you are born in somehow indelibly marks you, and nothing can be quite right until you return there.

Good, honest granite!

 For the past seven years I've been living on limestone. I think maybe when I move again I should think long and hard about the landscape that I'll be moving to. In fact, since I'm aiming to move on from here regardless, maybe now is a good time to start thinking of some good sandstone or granite country to aim for next!

Snapping out of it

So, maudlin me is taking a bit of a break. After all, there's only so long you can be miserable for before having to just step back, reassess, and start taking control. Also, it's hard to be unhappy when the year is winding down, Christmas is on the way, and I've got 10 days off work coming up. Huzzah!

I have decided to try and let go of the things that are out of my control. Okay, so tried deciding that several months ago, but now I'm getting a bit of outside assistance so I can actually get the tools to make it happen. I have had enough of banging my ahead against the brick wall of... well, everything really, and it's time to just let it go.

My trick to making this happen (besides my counselor) is giving myself something that I can focus on that is within my control. And to that end I have applied and been accepted into doing a PhD at ANU. Still ironing out the practicalities, but I start next year, and am aiming to get it done in 5 years. I'm excited!