international women's day

Today is 
I N T E R N A T I O N A L   
W O M E N ' S   D A Y

It is also a week in which media (and social) commentary has been focused on the future of the Clipsal Grid Girls.

Following a heated debate on the weekend with a dear friend, whose opinion I often share on many an issue - I wasn't sure if I wanted to voice my opinions on either of these topics. 

There are women far more eloquent and definitely more passionate than I, to discuss these issues. From both sides.

And so I decided to carry on, as if it was any other day.. because, I thought to myself, if women want equality we should not be satisfied with just one day on which we are to be celebrated or have a voice.

This, by the way, echos my opinions of Mother's Day being the sole day to appreciate Mother's; and likewise Father's Day's purpose to remind us of our appreciation of our Father's - We should be thankful and grateful 365 days of the year.

Oops.. I guess I'm not very good at keeping my opinion to myself after all. 

(And for the record - I think the Grid Girls add atmosphere and entertainment value to a very long, and often uneventful car race. They are to Motorsport, what the tinsel is to a Christmas Tree - not 100% necessary, but pretty to look at, and certainly not doing any harm. If you think the role of the Grid Girl is derogatory to women, then I hope you didn't buy a movie ticket to watch Channing Tatum take his clothes off in Magic Mike. Admiration of the human form - it's all in the name of entertainment, is it not?)

I don't want to stand on a feminist or anti-feminist soap box and make sweeping claims, because it's just not my thing... 
Although the influx of Girl Power quotes on my Instagram feed today has been interesting to observe.

I just wish that women were always this supportive of each other - in life and in business.

"We live in a society that wants to pit women against each other,
and it's our job to resist the tyranny of that"
- Lena Dunham

So, on International Women's Day 2016, how about we start to make a concerted effort to celebrate each other on the remaining 364 days of the year?

xx

f e a r l e s s

Hello, my name is Andie

and I am Queen of the What Ifs.

You know - 

"Yeah... we could do that but what if...?"

I mean, I'm not running around town like Chicken Little 

(ie. screaming "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!")

But I am pretty thorough in evaluating all potential outcomes of a scenario, 

particularly the ones that could end in catastrophe.

I'm the girl who likes to have a Plan A and a Plan B.

Also a Plan C, D, E... 

Well.. You get the picture.

And so it is with great intrigue that upon choosing my word for 2016,

I started to see examples of it everywhere.

I hadn't even announced it to anyone yet.

But over the past few weeks, several people, in a variety of conversations about a range of topics have stopped me in my What If tracks and asked

A N D I E , W H A T ' S   T H E   W O R S T   

T H A T   C A N   H A P P E N ?

Answers to this question have varied depending on the scale of risk involved;

but the consensus is something like 

"I might look silly, but I'll get over it"

or 

"It doesn't work out... so then I move on".

I must admit -

even the worse case scenarios tend to be far over-shadowed by the excitement of potential of success.

And so, following on from my Word of the Year in 2015 - Balance - 

I am excited to unveil my word for 2016...

Yesterday, at the end of my Hot Yoga class, the teacher spoke to us about... yup, you guessed it ... 

FEAR.

Specifically her recent fears related to meeting with someone she had matched with on Tinder.

Let's all take a moment to appreciate that despite their calming voices and ultra-flexible bodies, 

Yoga Teachers are real humans too.

What struck me about her story,

(in addition to an ego-driven "See? Perky blonde yoga teachers struggle to find decent men too")

was that fear is relative.

We all have different fears.

These fears are the result of our own stories.

The stories we tell ourselves are not real.

So this year I am making a conscious effort to ditch the What If's.

This year is about being fearless.

xx

dear universe

Things people have said to me in the past week that I refuse to believe :

"Living it and dreaming it is different"
- The response to my confession that I am a dreamer with big ideas and lofty aspirations.


"You've had too many holidays in the past few months"
- Someone who I have promptly eliminated from my life.


"It is what it is. There's nothing we can do about it."
- A colleague on going to work in a corporate office environment and clock watching from 9 til 5 Monday to Friday and working for the weekend.


- - -


I've long believed there is more to life than the daily grind of the corporate hampster wheel,
so in the spirit of the New Year and inspired by books, emails and certain individuals,
I am openly proclaiming to the universe that this is the year that I start to manifest my dreams.

D I D   Y O U   K N O W ?

It is estimated that 98 out of 100 persons who are dissatisfied with their world do not have a clear picture in their minds of the world they would like for themselves?

People drift aimlessly through life, dissatisfied, struggling against a great many things, but without a clear-cut goal.

So, Dear Universe, as the sun sets on another weekend; 

And I prepare for my second week back at work in 2016, 

Please hear me when I say that I no longer want to feel trapped by my reality.

And this little blog, which currently provides me with an escape, is the catalyst to this change.

The ability to blog when and wherever I want has made me look around at so many inspirational women who are successfully achieving their dreams.

So here's to taking baby steps toward achieving my dreams.

And toward the growth of this little blog in the next 12 months and beyond.

Because there's no such thing as travelling too much or being 'stuck' in a job, life or situation.

xx

2016

Can you believe it's been a year since I wrote these words?!

*Insert cliched commentary about how 2015 was literally over in the blink of an eye; etc; etc.*

Actually, upon reflection 2015 was probably 

M Y   F A V O U R I T E   Y E A R   E V E R

I'll be the first to admit that I have the memory of a goldfish..

So it is at the end of the year (or beginning of a new one, as the case may be),

that I am thankful for this little corner of cyberspace,

where I come to write my thoughts and download my memories or moments.

Lucky I do.. 

Because it means I will never forget some of stuff that has shaped me; 

helped me grow;

and made a better person etc etc.. 

in the past 12 months.

Like the time;

I made a Wedding Cake 

I went on a date.. that made me never want to date again

I realised I am an optimist

An 'almost' broke my heart

Miss Emmy started an Insta account

(and has since surpassed me in her number of followers...)

I jumped on the #selfie bandwagon

I played Tinder

I made a cheesecake with 1 KILO of cheese

I wrote this post just so I could google Hot Guys

I sounded smart. Because math.

I discovered the meaning of life. In a beer ad.

I justified my Resting Bitch Face

I turned 30. And didn't have a breakdown

So   T H A N K Y O U   2015.

And here's to 2016...

xx