Everything I can think of

My biggest problem/barrier when it comes to blogging is not having the time to make it a priority. Obviously the day job comes in at number one because it pays the bills. And lately my work for SYAONZ has come in at number two because of all these events I've been invited to (goodbye weekends) and the fact we've set up a website which still needs a lot of content to be written or assigned to writers. Which is fantastic, and I'm so excited by all the stuff that's happening, but that takes a lot of time too. Then there's my art which is so very neglected right now, due mostly to the lack of time but also to the lack of space in my house. And then there's all the video footage I have stored on Charlie's iMovie (sorry) which I need to whittle down into interesting videos for my YouTube channel, just because it's already helped my speaking-confidence substantially (that and public speaking). And lastly there's blogging. Which I miss. And Caitlin's visiting NZ in two weeks which is so exciting, and I suspect is what caused me to gain a new follower today (hi!) even though I'm posting nothing...

The GUILT!

I'm going to try and play catch-up this week, and perhaps that will get me back into the habit... It's tricky too though, because all the SYAONZ stuff I want to recap here from a personal point of view, I kinda also need to post on the new website in a more professional way.

I should stop apologising and explaining myself and just write, right.

For some reason this image looks better on Facebook than Blogger?

Okay, we covered the Fit for Work Summit in another post. Next was a Halloween party Charlie and I went to at our friends' house. It was a small gathering which was perfect for me because sitting around chatting and playing drinking games is far more appealing to me than mingling with strangers. And the food, oh the food. Best hosts ever. Charlie dressed as La Parka, and I dressed as Becky from Sin City. The absurdly expensive facepaint I bought from Gordon Harris was TERRIBLE, and flaked off my skin within an hour or so of application. I was terribly unimpressed. Followed all the application instructions for prepping my face and using thin layers etc. Tried a sponge and a brush. Just terrible.

The day after that party was almost summer-like so Charlie and I caught a bus and went to visit Wellington Zoo - the first time for both of us in years. Quite a few of the enclosures had changed a lot since the last time I went, and definitely for the better. I do have mixed feelings towards zoos in general, but can't deny I just love seeing the animals. And after missing all kangaroos when I visited Australia (okay, I think I missed a roadkill spotting while dozing in the car) I got to pat one, so that was exciting.

The next highlight after that expedition was throwing out everything I'd said about running my iPhone 3GS into the ground, and instead swooping on a gold iPhone 5S with Telecom as soon as my contract with Vodafone ran out. I just couldn't resist, and I'm so glad I went for it. Had no problems with Vodafone's customer service etc. but their reception in my hometown is terrible, and Telecom offered a better data deal (though still atrociously low. Seriously, who uses the bajillion minutes and texts these plans offer? It's such a scam). So yeah, having a phone that reacts instantly is fabulous. Even though I knew it'd be shoved into a case, I still desperately wanted the gold because I'm an irrational, easily-swayed consumer. This is probably a blog post in itself, but the difference between this phone and my very first cell phone ever (which was such a dream-come-true at the time) is hilarious. I got the Sony Ericsson T206 when I was probably about 14 (?), and boy did I think I was fancy.

Next was the Arthritis New Zealand conference on 9 November at the Waipuna Conference Centre in Auckland (great venue), where I stood up and gave my (slightly adapted) speech again in front of 220+ people on a proper stage. It was exhilarating to be honest, I loved it. I got a laugh at one point and was kind of shocked so probably looked a bit startled-possum before chuckling and carrying on... Really hope I get more opportunities to practice/improve my skills. We had workshops in the afternoon which were really interesting - one brilliant presentation on employment law in relation to chronic illness. Definitely a major to-do of posting notes from that on our website. It was unfortunate there still were very few younger people in attendance, so SYAONZ will definitely try to encourage more of our lot to attend next year. The content of the conference itself is quite valuable for a lot of people on a personal level, but it'd also just be great to make more of an impact with having a lot of younger faces in the crowd. Sarah still got a comment from another (elderly) attendee that she was too young to have arthritis. Groooan.

On Friday just gone I flew up to Auckland again for a one-and-a-half day workshop with 30ish CEOs and managers mostly from not-for-profit organisations in the health sector. I got invited after my Wellington speech at the Fit for Work Summit, and while a lot of it was well above the level SYAONZ is at, it was still super interesting - even relating back to my day job at a not-for-profit - and pretty inspiring to speak to leaders of organisations who started out just like us. We're in such a good position having over 600 people already involved in our community, it's just hard to know where to take it next, so is still an ongoing discussion. Would definitely be easy to over-commit and crash and burn, so we'll be doing some careful thinking about that.

On Friday evening all the workshop participants went to dinner at Vivace which was delicious and a lot of fun. Dylan came along after a work event for a few beers, and as always it was really great to catch up with him. Got back to my hotel room in the wee hours, and contemplated watching a movie before seeing the cost, crap TV, and rubbish selection. Watched YouTube instead. Could surely get used to staying in hotels though! BUT I have to say, the front desk service at Rydges was so bad. So very cold, not at all welcoming. I wasn't asked at all about how my stay was or anything like that on check out. I don't even think the guy said goodbye. Pretty appalling, and I checked out well before there was any line in the lobby. Guess I didn't look rich enough.

In amongst all of this (okay, a while ago now) I got a new tattoo, which those of you following me elsewhere have probably already seen. I'd originally hoped to get Malika Rose to do it, but it was getting a bit iffy as to whether she would be at the Tattoo Expo in New Plymouth or not, so I decided to get Michelle at Sinatra's (now Tattoo Freaky) to do it instead, and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I still haven't taken a decent healed picture even though it's been weeks, so that one snapped right now in terrible lighting will do for now. Yes, it's Captain von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Because reasons.

Also some time ago I had a lovely day with my family - one of Wellington's first summery days this season. We had brunch at Chalk on the waterfront which I really liked, and then later in the day I took my parents and sister to see Gravity (the boyfriends weren't keen, unimpressed).

That's it. That's all my photos have managed to jog from my memory. We're all caught up.