My dress-up box

Maybe I am a little touched, have too much time on my hands (not that I’ve noticed recently) or it’s just my inner actress scratching to get out. But I think everyone should have and make use of a dress-up box.

On the whole, TV is boring. So when I’m not cranking up the stereo and dancing around the house for my own amusement, I often play silly buggers putting together different ensembles from whatever I have lying around. Some of them are to wear out for real and others just for a giggle around the house.

Although to be honest, the line between dress-up box and the clothes and accessories I choose to wear out publicly is getting more and more blurred the older I get – sometimes when I get up in the morning, I ask myself: “who do I want to be today” …well, tonight Michael, I’m… [a vamp], [a rocker], [a wholesome farm girl], [retro chick] …whatever – just insert as appropriate.

It’s nothing to do with how I look to others; it’s about playing, amusing myself, letting my imagination run wild and not being afraid to express myself. Yeah, sometimes I’m sure I come off as pretty tragic, but I actually don’t really care too much what others think. That's the beauty of getting older.

Admittedly, I usually play this little game alone (most people just don’t seem to have the same depth of inner child that I do). But I recall some rare occasions playing silly buggers with people not afraid to act the fool - not surprisingly, they have pretty much always resulted in all concerned rolling around on the floor in fits of shared uncontrollable laughter. Good times.

So my top tip for today folks - be a big kid and don't be afraid to play with your inner idiot…

Single white female

Johnny Appleseed has been lurking for quite a while now, tempting and tormenting me with opportunities of change. After much deliberation over many months, I’ve finally decided to bite the bullet and go for a bit of a lifestyle shakeup. Goodbye rural pad and hello slap-bang inner city living (notwithstanding that this is Nelson we’re talking about here folks!)

Sometimes the universe just pushes you along in a certain direction. Where it becomes uncomfortable to remain in the status quo, whereas everything fits into place so seamlessly when you actually find the courage to move forward in some way. It takes on a life of its own and seems futile to resist. So despite an element of the unknown (where would we be without that), I’m just going with it.

I have a fantastic great big house in a primo location without even trying or jumping through the usual hoops - and a landlady who is bending over backwards to accommodate me. Every time I walk in the door, a harmonious vibe hits me in the chest and puts me in a good place. There is plenty of room, charm, character and amenities plus, complete with a fantastic office space to work from. All good.

What I need now is a housemate or two - and guess what? You can help me! If you know anyone groovy looking to share with someone else groovy (i.e. me), then please point them in my direction. But I’m also thinking you could help me with my flatmate selection criteria. We've all been there over the years - flatmates in all shapes, sizes and grips on reality (perhaps that should be another blog post). It’s bloody difficult to choose who to share your sacred space with from just half an hour’s chat and a perhaps a shared pot of tea.

So come, bring on your gems of knowledge and suggestions please…

Message in a bottle

On Saturday night I drank whisky from a bottle shaped like a naked lady whiling away some enjoyable hours in this Evans Bay boat shed. Strangely, it was the exact replica of an old empty bottle I shelled out the princely sum of $4 for only a few hours before in a weird and rather overwhelming Wellington second hand store. That’s really neither here nor there, but I liked the groovy coincidence.

This is Simon’s boat shed. I only just met Simon, but I like his style and I like his boat shed very much. Where else can you be in the wild heart of Wellington swapping jokes, chugging back beer and looking out over the lights of the city while waiting for your fish to smoke for dinner?

An old valve radio sends out tinkley tunes from AM frequency. Someone strums on the guitar. We all lounge around on ancient furniture, looking at the various old time decor salvaged from here and there (also bought for little more than $4 I suspect). I like the feeling of stepping back in time in unexpected places.

A bicycle bell rings outside in the still night air; more friends coming to call on the way home from night time city festivities. Someone melts chocolate fondue and we dip fruit and laugh a lot over funny stories and senseless amusing banter.

So I discovered the origins of my silly naked bottle. If it had a message inside it, it would have been about appreciating the simple silly things in life that make you feel warm inside just like whisky does.