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Do the dumb things I gotta do

About 6 months before my 29th birthday, I decided I was going to make list of dumb things to do before I turned 30. Not because I thought I’d stop doing dumb things once I turned 30, but just so I could say I’d done them. I got 12 done, and did another a few months before my 31st.

1. hide 43 treasures 2. milk a cow 3. bungee jump 4. Send a message in a bottle 5. Record a song 6. visit a planetarium 7. Swim with dolphins 8. Tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue 9. Throw a dart into a map and travel to where it lands 10. Get a tattoo 11. take a moonlit walk on a beach 12. finish crocheting my tetris blanket 13. Send in a postsecret 14. try sushi 15. learn the thriller dance 16. write a screenplay 17. go on a road trip with friends 18. Have glamour photos taken of me 19. bake a Croquembouche 20. crochet a hat 21. Take a pole dancing class 22. Go to a strip club 23. get a professional massage 24. dye my hair purple 25. go on a pub crawl 26. have brunch with friends 27. Give blood (well, I tried, but they wouldn't take it!) 28. spend a day taking photos of my city 29. visit all the Australian states and territories - 5/7 30. eat at a teppanyaki style restaurant

Now less than a month away from my 35th, I thought of this, and figured maybe I should try updating it, adding some new things and see if I can’t get 40 done in the next 5 years. But any good chronicle of stuff should start at the beginning, so consider this the origin story :)

#thirty things #30before30 #touch the puppet head

Reconnect with a childhood friend...

Truth be told, the challenge was to “track down” a childhood friend but I honestly have already tracked down all of my childhood friends in the last few years –and I mean all… I tracked down a girl who I was “best-friends” with at 7 years old, a classmate I had in Paris and hadn’t seen since 1993. I found her on Facebook 20 years later and wrote her a message, sure she would 1/not remember who the hell I was or 2/think I’m nuts for tracking her down. But turns out she did remember and she was happy I sent her a message!

A couple of years ago, while on a trip to Paris, I went to the building where my grandparents used to live and I knocked on the door of the 5th floor, where these two girls my age used to live. I found of them still there, with a baby of her own!

There’s the friend I wrote letters to for years who I finally reunited with in New York; and the friend whom I couldn’t even remember the name of because I was four the last time I saw her, but through detective work (and the help of my dad) I tracked her down too…

So anyway, I was a little out of friends to track down… So for today, I decided to reconnect with a friend I haven’t spoken to since I was a teenager. And I saw that she just had a baby! It turns out we live in the same city, and we spoke on the phone earlier today and I’ll be visiting her and her newborn very soon :)

#CountdownToThirty#ThirtyDays#ThirtyThings #OldFriends

#countdown to thirty #thirty things #thirty days #old friend

thirty.

I recently celebrated my thirtieth birthday. The birthday that I had been dreading, fearing, and loathing since eighteen. You know what? It turns out, that it has been my best birthday yet! In honor of that, here are thirty things I’ve learned on my way to thirty. I’m very excited to reside the next 10 years in this decade. My twenties was a whirlwind, but overall it was good too me. They tell me it only gets better from here on out… well I’m ready!

1. Have a dream, and follow it. – Nothing is impossible. I have come to discover, when there is something that I want badly enough, I don’t stop at anything to achieve it. Reaching those goals no matter how big or small is fulfilling.

2. Failures are not mistakes. I wouldn’t take back the horrible moments for one second in my life. It has made me the fabulous work in progress that I’ve become today. Those failures are the life lessons I needed to go through to work towards being my best possible self. Everything I’ve been through is only preparing me for exactly what I have been asking for.

3. Placing emphasis on what others’ think/say/do is a complete waste of time. Just do you, boo boo.

4. You may end up loving the things you once hated.

5. Money doesn’t define nor can it buy happiness. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring me the most joy.

6. Just because they are family, doesn’t mean that they are good people.

7. Love ISN’T enough. Its okay. See: Mark Manson’s Article here.

8. GO WITH YOUR GUT.

9. Don’t put people on a pedestal. It can lead to major disappointment. Remember, we are all human and nobody is perfect.

10. WHERE you are in life is not WHO you are.

11. There’s a whole world out there beyond Los Angeles.. Beyond California.. Beyond the United States. EXPLORE IT. If at all possible, go somewhere, any place you have never been before. It’s a wonderful world out there. Its waiting for you to see it!

12. People come and go. Some people are only meant to be in your life for that moment in time.

13. You cannot change things that are out of your control.

14. It’s OKAY to NOT be married or have children by a “certain age”.

15. Not EVERYTHING is ABOUT ME. Sometimes people are going through the motions. If they aren’t talking to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something you did. Don’t take that personally. It’s not always about you.

16. Do what you LOVE. Honestly, do it. You’ll be so much happier that you did.

17. Your parents are people too. It’s a crazy concept, isn’t it? They also feel, make mistakes, and have wants and needs. If you’re lucky enough to have good parents like me, cut them some slack now and then and don’t forget to tell them you love them.

18. Hard work does not go unnoticed. PERIOD.

19. Most of time what you fear, isn’t as difficult as you imagine it to be. JUST DO IT ALREADY.

20. Life is too short… For bad dates, bad relationships, bad friendships, bad vibes, bad booze, bad food, bad music, bad company.

21. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Yes, really. Some things aren’t always what they seem. Give it a shot, and the result may surprise you.

22. You never stop learning. Continue to improve yourself. You don’t know / have experienced everything, so learn as much as possible.

23. Complacency kills. See number 22.

24. Don’t be in a hurry to have it all. What did they say? It’s not a race, it’s a marathon. Just because everyone else has the things you want, doesn’t mean they’re ahead or you’re behind. It just means that’s their journey and you have yours, so enjoy the ride.

25. Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

26. Everyone isn’t the same. Just because you’ve had a bad experience with one person, doesn’t mean the next person will be the same.

27. Being single is fantastic. There is nothing like your own independence and having a real opportunity to truly get to know yourself.

28. Agree to disagree. See number 13.

29. It’s okay to let people care for you. People DO care. Let them.

30. Put yourself first. Don’t forget about yourself, because in the end, you’re the one who has to live with you.

#thirty #thirty things #life #lessons #thirty things at thirty #thirty is the new twenty #30 #30 lessons at 30 #30 is the new 20 #birthday #hbd to me #word #tbh #good night

1-4; Without music, life would be a mistake.

I made my debut performance as a guitarist when I was 11 years old. I’d had my guitar for about 6 months and I’d convinced a couple of friends to put together a band, so that we could play Wonderwall in front of 800 other school kids. We didn’t win the competition of course, but I guess that’s where it all began. Truth be told, I’d already performed as a violinist a year or so before.

So yes, I’m big on music. Since then I’ve been in more bands than Mike Patton and I’ve played more shows than I can count. Everything from post-metal to folk to indie; as a guitarist, a drummer, a vocalist, and even as a cajon player.

Currently I’m involved in…maybe four different music projects. Two of these are in very early stages, but I’m plenty busy with gigs, song writing and rehearsals.

Having gotten tired of watching band after band break up I decided to go it alone. The result was Steve & The Sea; a folk-but-not-folk singer-songwriter thing where I make more noise than should ever come from a single guitar. It’s taken it’s time to develop, but I’ll be recording an EP soon.

And from playing open mic nights as Steve & The Sea, I made myself acquainted with a local folk musician by the name of Alexander Isembard. Anyway one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was playing cajon in Isembard’s Wheel. Alex runs a tight ship and within weeks I had learned dozens of songs, performed several gigs and had several more in the pipeline.

Music will always be something important to me. I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to make a career of it, that I do it just for my own enjoyment. It’s definitely a little from column A, a little from columb B. Regardless of where it goes, I’ll still be playing.

So for tasks one to four, I will tour, and I will record albums; both as a solo artist, and as a band. I guess that’s the next logical step. To experience life on tour; take away food, sleeping on floors, running out of clean clothes. All of it. Recording is an interesting process too; I mean it’s frustrating beyond measure, but in the end it’s worth it. Maybe. We’ll see.

#ambition #bucket list #thirty things #to do list #item 1 #item 2 #item 3 #item 4

So where do I begin?

I guess it all started about a year and a half ago. No wait, two years ago. I’ve clearly already wasted too much time. I would go to her flat nearly every night, and we’d spend most of the evening just watching sitcoms on E4 and eating pudding; both of us too tired from work to take on anything more challenging. Graduation was almost two years behind me, and here I was coming home from an exhausting shift, taking calls from angry customers who’s broadband connection had once again failed. I was drained, and completely void of any direction or hope. I had no idea what I was doing with myself or where I was going, or how I would find a way out of this circle.

And so, equally worn down by my constant complaining and emotional outbursts, she suggested I make a list of thirty things to complete before I reached thirty. I was twenty-three at the time. In fact we both would, and we’d help each other out.

The relationship didn’t last, and for the next year or so I was busy building a new career, or starting various new projects as I tend to do, and the idea slipped. So faced with the inevitable ravages of age, I decided it’s time to pick it up again. I’m going it alone, but I’m going there anyway, so I might as well make the most of it.

So here we are. I’m 25, single, working in a pretty nice job in media and living in a pretty nice flat in the city. But life doesn’t stop when you’ve got things where they need to be. Sure I’m doing all right where I am. But why stop there? I’ve got 4 years, 7 months and 27 days (or 1,700 days) to complete thirty things, and they sure as hell won’t do themselves.

#bucket list #thirty things #introduction #ambition #to do list

#3 Finish a piece of art just for me

I know I already blorged about finishing this... and I stand by that lame effort! But I just worked my arse off on this little project to finish it for my Nephews nursery and I am really super proud of the end result.

It was a MASSIVE challenge and I am going to dedicate a full article to its process as it took me on quite a journey.

#three #thirty things #illustration #art #progress #process #proud

#3 Finish a piece of art just for me

OK so I guess this isn't the kind of "art work" I had in mind back when I wrote this item for the list... but after having a think about it, it certainly fits the bill.

A little while back I was commissioned to create a logo for a lovely lady, she wanted an illustrated logo inspired by an old (and iconic) sign of the Skipping Girl (from Sydney Aus).

I of course got very excited and started my creative process, sketching out thumbnails of my interpretations and in the end I came up with 5 solid sketched ideas. The main 3 were;

#1 a childish version of this skipping girl in my illustrative style

#2 a more age similar version of this skipping girl in my illustrative style

#3 a closer version to the original sign, keeping that neon look going

The client ended up really loving this third option and that's the one we went with in the end. She was really happy and so was I! And that was the end of the project...

UNTIL NOW! Sort of.

I was cleaning my desk recently (yes you heard that right, cleaning my desk! PRAISE ME!) and i found the old sketches I did for Skippin' Girl. Even though they were rough and just drawn on crappy print paper, I couldn't throw them out for some reason. I really liked them! So I pinned them to my paper board and once again forgot about them for a time.

This weekend I had some time to kill and, feeling inspired by some amazing people on Tumblr and Pinterest I thought I would give bringing them old ideas to life a crack. It was purely for my own pleasure, just to see if I could have made the ideas work as logos.

I redrew them, inked them, scanned them, cleaned the lines up in photoshop, traced them in illustrator and then brought them back over to photoshop to be coloured (something I usually do in illustrator but since the project was just for me I thought WHAT THE HELL MAN LETS GO CRAYCRAY IN PS!).

I have to say, I really enjoyed the whole process. If my old client were to see these, I know she would still pick that third option. It really worked with the style she wanted and these remakes are very far from her original idea... but as iconic logos I think they would have both worked well.

What do you think internet?

And thats the story of how I sort of cheaped out on this list item and didn't feel bad about it one bit!

#three #finish a piece of art just for me #the list #thirty things #art

#7 Make a strawberry pie with my own strawberries

SOOoooo this one had to be slightly modified due to the fact that I am incapable of growing goddam strawberries for some reason!!! I have planted like, 6 or 7 strong strawberry plants now. Looked after them (mostly, kept them watered and shaded and loved... and the dam things either die from insects or they just never actually flower. I think this year after planting so many I have eaten 2 strawberries. Not enough for a pie.

But I still really wanted to knock this off my list! Instead of a strawberry pie, I thought "fuck, why not step it up and make a Cherry Pie instead!?" .. Cherries being my most fav fruit in the world you see.

So I did! And heres how:

YOU WILL NEED:

Pastry 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup sugar (I used brown sugar) 1 egg ¾ cup plain flour ¾ cup self-raising flour Filling 1kg fresh cherries, pitted 2 tablespoons sugar pinch of ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup water 1 tablespoon cornflour

MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN

Wash your cherries and pit with your hands. Enjoy cause this takes fucking ages and shit goes everywhere.

Combine sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and two tablespoons of the water in a large pan. Cook stirring over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add cherries and stir gently to coat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove from heat.

Combine cornflour and remaining water in a small bowl and stir into the cherries. Return to heat and cook, stirring gently for 3 to 4 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, cover and cool completely.

Your Cherry Filling is COMPLETE! Yeahhhh eat some, it tastes so good!

STEP 2, THE PASTRY Alot of people might skip this step, choosing to use premade pastry slices. Trust me when I say, dont be a lazy jerk. The pastry soaks up all the juice from the cherry filling and tastes so good you want to American Pie that shit! Preheat oven 180°C/ 160°C and grease a 20cm pie dish. Didnt take a photo of this step because seriously...

Using electric beaters, a fork.. whatever you got to mix butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in egg. Add sifted flour (both types) and stir until mixture just comes together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Press enough of the dough over base and up sides of dish to form a 5mm thick pastry case. Trim excess. Personally, I had NO excess because i was using such a huge pan for my tin thingie, but if you have left overs keep it for the top of the pie.

Place dish onto an oven tray. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with dried beans or rice (this is to stop it from raising too much). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove rice and cook for a further 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and then spoon in cooled cherry mixture. Awwww yeah look at that shit! Roll out remaining pastry between two sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick and large enough the cover pie. Trim edge with a knife and press the edge to seal. If you want to get fancy, brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle the pie with sugar! Cut a circle in the centre of the pastry top and discard. (this is to let the steam out so the center cooks properly)

^ I couldn't do any of that cause I had no left overs, so instead I used some pre-made sheets and tried my first pie lattice! I sliced the pastry into 1.5cm lengths and just layered them ontop of eachother, leaving about 1cm between each slice.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan then cut and serve warm or cold. Serve with custard or ice-cream. awwww yeah put that in your mouth!

#7 #strawberry pie #seven #30 before #thirty things #The List