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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
Caitie had a friend (Toni) come to stay after school on Friday night. That was fine, no dramas. I took them both to Armageddon on Saturday. They disappeared very quickly. I took some photos (no decent ones really  ) and then came home, and we returned hours later to pick up the girls who seemed to have had a great day.On Sunday we drove the girls to Waipu, where Toni's mother was staying with her boyfriend. Gorgeous place. Not so much the building itself which seemed fairly average, but lovely rural setting, with a small lake (which I suspect is actually a dam for the farm) that the girls went rowing on while Steve had a cup of tea and we talked with the adults and some friends of theirs that were visiting. The male friend was hilarious. Classic 'small town country guy' I thought. He had a kind of mullet, and he sprawled in his chair with his beer like he couldn't be more laid back if he tried. And he kind of mumbled, and his fiance (they're getting married next weekend in what sounds like a classic barn raising kind of shindig) kept telling him off for language and stories (he was telling us about how male goats pee on their own faces). So funny. We were talking (because the kids went for a swim) about how important it is for kids to learn to swim in a country like New Zealand, and I mentioned that we learned in the school pool and at Lake Tomarata. And the guy said "Tomarata Lake? You must be a Mangawhai girl!" "Well, I'm actually a Tomarata girl but no one has usually heard of Tomarata..." "I live in Mangawhai." Ahhhh... He'd only been there for 13 years though, so I didn't even bother with the 'So do you know....' or 'Have you heard of...'. I've been out of Mangawhai's social group longer than he's been in it. It was funny though. On the way home (it's at least a two hour drive each way, and longer on a public holiday weekend) I started getting tired and achy. My neck was quite sore. When we got home, we just pottered on our computers. Monday I had a runny nose and sneezes, and still achy and tired. Felt like I was coming down with the flu, but no nausea, and the runny nose was really mild. I did manage to capture some utterlly gorgeous photos of some baby silvereye birds in the feijoa tree next to the house. So cute! Tuesday I stayed from work. Very much fatigued with muscle aches. Just walking up or down the single flight of stairs was draining, and I usually jog up them. I took the opportunity to do some scanning of my memorabilia with the Photomyne app that my sister introduced me to, but literally standing on my feet for half an hour made me so tired I had to sit down and recover. Like, what the fuck? That's so ridiculous. I went in to work on Wednesday. Still a bit tired and achy, but I thought I should go in. I was having trouble concentrating and thinking clearly, but nothing too major, just a bit like you do when you're tired or brain fatigued. Just after midday, I started getting these flashy lights in my peripheral vision on my left side. So weird. Then I felt really disorientated, and like it was hard to focus my vision. I described it as being 'light headed' at the time, but looking back, that's not really what it was. I think my vision was blurry, and so I was therefore disorientated and struggling to focus. It's hard for me, blurred vision, because my vision is SO bad normally that it's hard to tell what's normal and what's not. That probably sounds weird, but let me try and explain. I can't see without my glasses. My focussing distance is about a handspan in front of my nose and everything beyond that is a serious blur (just blurs of colour mostly). When I'm wearing my glasses, I can see clearly through them, but I still have blurred peripheral vision because my glasses don't cover the entire field of my vision. I don't get the blurred peripheral vision with contact lenses, because they cover my entire field of vision. But every now and then the wobble in my eyes (I have nystagmus which means my eyes constantly twitch back and forth, something I refer to as a wobble) gets bad and I can almost see the distortion that the movement of my eyes make. Normally my brain compensates for the wobble so my vision isn't constantly wobbling, but when I'm tired (or have been drinking) sometimes I see it for a few seconds. That's kind of what it was like. So it was kind of like I was looking through my glasses but my vision was as if I wasn't wearing glasses, but not a steady continuous thing, but more like if I just focused hard enough, I'd be able to see. Like I was having to really concentrate on just seeing. So weird. The flashing lights and disorientation freaked me out, and I went down the road to find a doctor, but when I got there I chickened out. I didn't want to see a strange doctor. I called Steve. Not sure what I expected him to do honestly, but he's my go-to guy for reassurance.  He told me to book an appointment with Jason, our regular doctor. So I rang, and they could see me at 4:30pm which was unexpected as they're usually really busy and same-day appointments are hard to get.By this time the flashy lights and disorientation/blurred vision had gone. I thought the walk in the fresh air (we still had lingering effects in the office from the SkyCity convention centre fire last week) had done the trick, but apparently they normally only last about half an hour, so it was probably just coincidental timing. I was starting to get a headache though, and I remember saying at my desk "Man, my head is killing me." I meant to leave about 3pm but had to get a payment authorised before I went, so it ended up being about 3:30pm. By the time the train arrived at Swanson, it was 4:30pm and I knew I was late for my appointment. I tried to ring the doctors to let them know but got voicemail. I called an uber, and it dithered around near me for about 10 minutes but never turned up, then it cancelled on me. Bastard! I tried to ring the doctors again, and got voicemail again. I called another uber, and this one arrived. I got to the doctors at 5pm, and Steve had beaten me there. They accepted my apologies and told me if I waited they'd be able to see me eventually. Jason asked me a bunch of questions and then did some tests on me. One was to see if it was a pressure headache (I had to bend over and stand back up to see if the movement made a difference, which it usually does with a sinus headache) because I explained that it was the same kind of feeling - like a sense of pressure in my forehead and behind my eyes. But it was quite one-sided. And weirdly, it was on my right, whereas the flashy lights had been only on my left. The other tests I recognised as testing for a stroke. I had to smile, frown, lift both arms to shoulder height, touch my nose and then his finger with my finger, repeat for the other hand, and close my eyes while he touched my face to see if I had any loss of sensation. He asked if we had any family history of migraines and if I'd had them before. I said I wasn't aware of any family history, and I'd had bad headaches before, but hadn't called them migraines. Didn't migraines make you throw up from the pain, and last for days and weren't treatable with over-the-counter medication? Mine weren't like that. He told me it was a 'migraine with aura'. Well alright then. The headache wasn't so very bad though, which was weird. He gave me some Rizatriptan to deal with the headache. He gave me enough that I'll be able to use them if I get any more. He also told me to get my eyes checked in case eye strain was contributing. He said the smoke issues in the office from the fire could have been a contributing factor, but we'll never know, and it's also possible that I had a mild virus over the weekend or that it was all a big lead-up to the migraine. I went home and went to bed and read for a while, then ate dinner, then back to bed. At this point I couldn't really read anymore, so I listened to an audio book for a while, then gave up and just had some quiet music playing at a very low volume and just lay there in the dark in a sort of dozing state until Steve came to bed, at which point I went to sleep. This morning, me being me, I immediately googled migraine with aura and migraines in general. So interesting! About 15% of people suffer from migraines and it usually runs in families. Apparently if you're prone to migraines you should ensure that your air quality is good, so that does make me wonder if the smokiness in the office contributed. The 'aura', which is the flashy lights and blurred vision I had, is rarer. Only one-third of migraine suffers have that. So one third of 15% means only 5% of people have migraines with aura? I had the weirdest sensation of deja vu when I was reading about the auras. I'm sure I've looked that up before, especially the line 'Occasionally, an aura can occur with little or no headache following it.' But I searched my journal and I can't find any reference to it. Although apparently I use the word 'headache' a lot in my poetry. Aura can include tingling and as soon as I read that, I thought 'Oh, I had that too' but I couldn't tell you now if it was in my hands or my face. I think I was too distracted by the flashy lights.And then there's the fact that I only had the flashy lights in my left eye, not both eyes. That may mean that it was a 'retinal migraine' and caused by the eyes rather than the brain. I couldn't tell you if the blurriness was in both eyes or one. Retinal migraines are even rarer, and only 1 in 200 migraine sufferers will have a retinal migraine. So that's, what, half a percent of migraine sufferers? So half a percent of 15%? Aw, I'm special. Apparently women are more prone to migraines than men, especially after puberty, and as you get older, they are more likely, until menopause when they generally go away. My elderly neighbour Colleen suffers from migraines. She had one earlier this year that they thought was a stroke, but turned out to be a migraine. Apparently menstruation cycles affect them, and I was told that taking the Rizatriptan with estrogen-based contraceptives could lead to a stroke. Thankfully I don't use any estrogen-based contraceptives. Weird that you don't usually get migraines when pregnant or after menopause though. Clearly something to do with hormones, huh? Apparently if you're prone to them, they get worse during menopause before going away (in most cases) after menopause. Ugh. For retinal migraines, apparently 'there are no triggers that are specific to a retinal migraine, but the following factors can trigger a regular migraine: - emotional stress, tension, and being overtired - sensitivity to ingredients in specific foods - too much caffeine or caffeine withdrawal (I have been caffeine-free for years if you exclude chocolate!) - bright lights or loud noises - changes in sleep pattern - hormonal changes in women - medications that lead to swelling in blood vessels (I don't take any medications normally) - excessive or regular use of pain relievers for headaches (I rarely take painkillers) - not eating or drinking enough Some people have a higher risk of a retinal migraine than others, including: - people under the age of 40 years (only just! I'm 40 next March) - individuals with a personal or family history of migraines - people who have another condition, such as atherosclerosis, epilepsy, lupus, or sickle cell disease (nope) Retinal migraines also affect women more often than men. Apparently you don't use triptans to treat a retinal migraine though, and I feel like the Rizatriptan I used yesterday helped, so maybe it was just a regular migraine with aura? *shrugs* 'For example if you look through the right eye and close the left eye, you see twinkling lights but when you look through the left eye and close the right eye your vision is normal. In migraine with typical aura, when you alternate which eye you look through the visual disturbance will be seen with either eye but possibly more prominent with one eye or the other.' If it happens again, I'll have to check that. It could be that I was seeing it to the left but out of both eyes? I asked my family if they were aware of any history of migraines and both Mum and Dad said no, but both my sisters said they often get headaches which cause them to go to bed early. I found a thing on Wikipedia which tells you how to differentiate a headache from a migraine: The diagnosis of migraine without aura, according to the International Headache Society, can be made according to the following criteria, the "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 criteria":  Five or more attacks—for migraine with aura, two attacks are sufficient for diagnosis. Four hours to three days in duration Two or more of the following:- Unilateral (affecting half the head) - Pulsating - Moderate or severe pain intensity - Worsened by or causing avoidance of routine physical activity One or more of the following:- Nausea and/or vomiting; - Sensitivity to both light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia) If someone experiences two of the following: photophobia, nausea, or inability to work or study for a day, the diagnosis is more likely. In those with four out of five of the following: pulsating headache, duration of 4–72 hours, pain on one side of the head, nausea, or symptoms that interfere with the person's life, the probability that this is a migraine is 92%. In those with fewer than three of these symptoms the probability is 17%. So I was thinking about the bad headaches I get sometimes. Yes, they usually last four hours or more (but not more than a day). Yes, they're often on one side of my head and almost always pulsating. I have a high pain tolerance, so I would say most of mine are 'moderate' but occasionally I get a really bad one. I hadn't noticed the physical activity aspect, but since I usually retreat to bedroom, I guess I avoid physical activity. I don't usually get the nausea and never vomiting, but I definitely get sensitivity to both light and sound. That's why I retreat to my bedroom, because kids are so fucking noisy! So I usually hide in my bedroom with the lights off. I don't usually have any inability to work for a day, but maybe that's due more to my high pain tolerance than anything. Who knows? It sounds like I've definitely been having migraines though. I just assumed that migraines lasted days and so mine were just bad headaches. So there you go! My sisters are going to try and take note of their symptoms next time and see if they're having migraines or just headaches. I think mine are easier to diagnose because a) I don't drink much alcohol so I don't have hangovers and b) I often describe them to Steve so I'm more aware of the symptoms. When I have a headache, I often ask Steve to rest his hand on my forehead (something that over the years of our relationship has become known as 'stoshing') and he'll sometimes say 'Is it pulsing? Because I feel like I can feel it pulsing." And I'll say yeah. And also I'll be aware that it's on one side, because I'll be saying "No, move your hand to this side", sort of thing. So I think that's why it's easier for me to look back and be able to tick off things on that list. Tension headaches are on both sides and not pounding, apparently. I've had those before, but my headaches are usually pounding or pulsating, whatever word you want to use. I stayed home from work today as my doctor suggested, even though I could have gone in. I still have a headache, which is the first time I think I've been aware of a headache lasting longer than a day. Although technically it didn't start until yesterday afternoon so hasn't been 24 hours, but they usually disappear overnight when I sleep. I was supposed to be going to the Xero roadshow today, which was a series of seminars and things about the Xero accounting software we use, and I can imagine that being noisy and I just don't think I'm up to that. I could have gone in and worked at my desk, but decided to play it safe. That whole flashy light thing really threw me yesterday. Wikipedia tells me that people who work with a migraine are a third less productive. Ha, I believe that and am surprised it's not more. Apparently migraine with aura and strokes present quite similarly. You can have difficulty speaking and ringing in the ears as well as the disturbed vision. Apparently the key difference is that a migraine with aura has positive symptoms (you feel or see additional sensations like the flashy lights, tingling, etc) whereas a stroke has negative symptoms (you lose sight or sensations, such as vision loss, numbness). That's why my doctor made me do all the stroke tests. I had no numbness and I don't think the blurry eyesight was vision loss per se. It looks like the vision loss you get with a stroke is more of a dark spot in your vision, rather than the blurriness I had, but don't quote me on that. Migraines with aura appear to be a risk factor for ischemic stroke doubling the risk. Being a young adult, being female, using hormonal birth control, and smoking further increases this risk. Well, fucking good job I don't smoke then! And maybe good job I'm probably considered middle aged rather than a young adult these days? I don't like the idea that I'm at increased risk of strokes though. Ugh.Wait a second. Apparently there's such a thing as abdominal migraines.  'The diagnosis of abdominal migraines is controversial. Some evidence indicates that recurrent episodes of abdominal pain in the absence of a headache may be a type of migraine or are at least a precursor to migraines. These episodes of pain may or may not follow a migraine-like prodrome and typically last minutes to hours. They often occur in those with either a personal or family history of typical migraines.'  Woah. That would explain so much! Like, why I keep having abdominal pain and the doctors say there's nothing wrong. Fuck you, doctors! Next time I'm going to see if the abdominal pain comes before a headache. Sounds like the frequency with which I get them is very low compared to most. I probably get one every few months. Apparently frequent is more than twice a week. And to be chronic, you have to have them for more than 15 days a month or lasting more than three months! Holy shit, that's what I'd call a migraine! No thankyouverymuch! Interestingly, Botox has been shown to help chronic migraines. Weird!So yeah, have learned a lot about migraines today. Now that I know all the info, I'll be able to recognise them more easily. The 'prodrome' or the precursor to the migraine is the trickiest bit. It includes yawning, which I did a lot of from Sunday-Tuesday but I also do when I'm feeling carsick. Irritability is another one. And considering they can follow changes in your menstrual cycle, I'm not sure that's helpful. Fatigue and muscle stiffness especially in the neck and shoulders. That's what I had Sunday-Tuesday too. Food cravings. Hmm... I'd love to use that as an excuse as to why my diet fled out the window after only a week of being on it (we're removing white carbs from our diet) but somehow I think it would be exactly that - an excuse!  Trouble concentrating or expressing yourself - I had this too. Steve and I refer to this as being 'brain dead' and he gets it when he's worked himself too hard. I was definitely having this on Wednesday morning because I remember saying 'Sorry, I'm a bit brain dead' because I couldn't think of the word I wanted or how to phrase what I wanted to say, and I know I did this Sunday-Tuesday with Steve.I'll try to make a note in my journal of future migraines so I can recognise frequency and any patterns. Will be interesting, although I confess that I'm not actually looking forward to the headaches themselves! |
| 1. Your favorite childhood vacation. We didn't really do vacations as children. We did a 'working holiday' for 18 months in England in 1986-7, but I was attending school then, so it didn't really feel like a vacation per se. The only other one I really remember was a trip to the Coromandel, where we went camping. I remember heating water on a small gas stove to make coffee for Mum and Dad, and we were using tinned 'coffee and milk'. I honestly don't really remember much else about that trip. Weird that the tinned coffee and milk stuck in my mind! 2. Write about your favorite teacher. At primary school, my favourite teacher was Mrs Bartlett. She was just lovely. I caught up with her years later at a family friend's 60th birthday, and she didn't remember me. It was weird to think that she had an impact on my life but I never had one on hers! She remembered my elder sister though, which is funny because she was quiet and shy, and I was outgoing. At high school, my favourite teacher was Mrs Davidson, who was my form teacher but never actually taught me a subject. She was fierce, but you also knew she genuinely cared about her students. I invited her to my wedding years later, and she came. Was awesome. She passed away from cancer a few years after that. I didn't get to go to the funeral. 3. Write about the first time you held someone's hand. You mean as boyfriend and girlfriend? I guess that would have been Alan. I think we didn't really like each other, but we were both sick of being single (we were 13) and we liked each other as friends. He moved in to the farm across the hill from me, so we were within walking distance of each other. We met up, and walked around the farms holding hands. We never kissed, although in hindsight I realised that he wanted to. I really didn't like him that way. Thankfully we decided we were better off as friends, and we remained friends for years after that, until after we'd both married and had children of our own. I think his kids were about 4 and 5 the last time I saw him, and they're 16 and 17 now or something similar. Been ages. But we might end up catching up for his wife's 40th in November, because I spoke to her recently on the phone. 4. Write about the last thing/person that made you smile. Most days, my sisters and my mum send messages in a group chat forum on Viber. My younger sister sent through photos today of her kids all dressed up for Halloween. They looked so cute. Then she sent through all the 'discarded' photos she'd taken trying to get that one decent shot. So funny. Mum was talking about the old photos in the family albums, and I commented that in the day of film cameras, my sister would have had to just go with the first photo she'd taken, no matter how bad it was. So it's not really that our photography skills have improved, just that we're not limited to the first photo we take anymore.  5. Write about a time you were lost. I remember once that Dad was burning the gorse on the farm. I went for a walk to find him. I don't know how old I was, but I would have been at primary school. Certainly old enough to go wandering on the farm without anyone thinking anything of it. This time, however, the smoke was so disorientating, and I got lost. On our own farm. It was so silly, but I couldn't work out how to get back to the house because the fire was in my way. When I didn't come with Dad, Mum sent Dad out to find me, and he found me and took me home. It stuck in my mind, because it was so bizarre to get lost on a farm that I lived on my entire life. 6. Write about your first job. Like most young girls, I did babysitting jobs. I babysat for the Gows, I think after my elder sister left home as she was their regular babysitter before then. They had a tiny baby. Well, in my memory it was tiny. It slept all night, and I didn't really have to do a single thing to earn my mother. But I also babysat for the Quinces, and man, I earnt my money then! They had a primary school aged boy and twin toddler boys, and they were all ratbags, especially the twins. They'd climb out the windows and run off (we were on farmland in the middle of nowhere, thank goodness) and they'd scream and laugh and never go to sleep when they were supposed to. They were little shits! 7. Write a letter to your 14-year old self. Dear Elle, I think the thing you probably most want to hear is that one day you'll find someone who will love you with all his heart, and he won't care about your weight, and he'll think you're amazing. You will have kids with him, and while life might not be what you dream about as a 14 year old, it'll be good and you'll be happy. If I could give you some advice, it'd probably be this: - Don't judge other people too harshly. I know sometimes you are (or will be) critical of the situations they get themselves into and the decisions they make in those situations, but one day you too will face temptations and situations that you struggle with, and then you'll feel ashamed that you judged others. But don't freak, everything will work out in the end. - Keep up the writing, the journalling and the photography - you'll be glad you did. Mostly, just enjoy life as much as possible. Elle 8. Write about why you write. Because I enjoy it. Because I find it just challenging enough to keep me interested without being so hard that I get frustrated. Because I enjoy looking back at my writing after time has passed. 9. Five years from now, I will be... Hmm... I'll be 44. In all likelihood, still working at the same job, since I really like my boss. I'm hoping that at least Jayden will have left home, since he'll be 23 by then. Caitie will be 19, so not sure she'll have left home yet. Hopefully Steve and I will be doing more travelling, and he won't be working so hard because he'll have more employees to do the work with him. I think we'll probably still be in the same house... I think we'll be there for a while yet... 10. Write about your dream vacation. I want to travel around New Zealand's South Island with Steve, just seeing whatever we want to see, and taking heaps of photos. I'd also love to do a fishing trip in the Islands (maybe Niue?) with Steve and catch some big fish, that'd be cool. 11. Do you like to be alone or with company? Both. I'm an introvert, so I definitely need my alone time, but I do crave social interaction. I get some of that at work, but sometimes I just want to go to someone's house and have dinner and drinks, or go dancing. I love dancing, but Steve's not really that keen, so I don't get to do it very often. 12. You have $300 and a Prius, describe the 2,800 mile road trip from NYC to LA. This is incredibly difficult for me, because I'm not from the USA. And 2,800 miles doesn't mean much to me. I do love road trips though. I'd be keen. Steve and I like to just travel in the right general direction, but stop at anything that takes our fancy along the way. It might be a shop, a photo-worthy view, something historical, a place name that amuses us, whatever. We'd have great fun. 13. Write about your biggest goal. My biggest goal. Hmmm... I guess my biggest goal is to be debt free in retirement so that I can enjoy my retirement. I know I need to stop spending money willy nilly to make that happen, but saving is something that I truly struggle with. And there's a part of me that acknowledges that Steve's health in retirement will mean that travelling will probably not be comfortable for him, so I have a need to do our travelling before then, which means spending instead of saving. But it's something I'm always aware of. Maybe we'll be able to downsize our house and pay off our mortgage and debts that way, once we don't need to work in the city anymore. 14. Write about your biggest fear. My biggest fear is losing a loved one. I've been crazy lucky in life. I've known two of my grandparents in my lifetime and one died aged 80 and the other died aged 92. Then I became close to Steve's grandparents and they died in their 70s and 80s. All seemed elderly by the time they went, and while it was sad, and I miss a number of them, it felt like they'd had a good innings, you know? But I've never lost a friend and never lost a parent, sibling, spouse or child. And it freaks me out. It really does. 15. A conversation you and a stranger have on a plane. Plane conversations are usually pretty superficial, even when you're stuck together on a flight for 14 hours. I've had a few conversations with strangers on planes, but most people are usually happy to mind their own business. When I've spoken to people, it's usually been a matter of sharing stories about the dramas the airline has put us through, maybe touching on plans for what we'll do at our destination, the reason for the trip, that sort of thing... 16. A time you or someone you love was scammed. I've never lost money to a scam, at least not that I know of. I've even been pretty lucky buying stuff over the internet. I've bought clothes that were shit, but that's the risk you take, right? But Steve has been ripped off with buying stuff over the internet, paying $40 or more for a phone charger for his car and getting something that fell apart as soon as he opened it and was worth about $2. But otherwise I think we've been very lucky. 17. Describe the life of your favorite singer. I don't even know who my favourite singer is! Wow. Um... Paul McCartney maybe? He's been a pretty consistent favourite for a long time. Okay, so without Googling I can tell you... - He has played music all his life. - He came from a poor working-class background in Liverpool, England. - He joined a band in high school and became famous in his early twenties. Maybe late teens, but I think early twenties. - He became so famous that he travelled the world and couldn't go anywhere without fans screaming and fainting at the sight of him. - He married Linda, and they were so in love that they only spent one night apart for their entire marriage. He was devastated when he lost her (to breast cancer?). - After the Beatles split up, he formed Wings. He released a song called Silly Love Songs, because John Lennon had a go at him about singing silly love songs and how no one wants to listen to them, but Paul is a romantic and he likes love songs. - He married again, but what's-her-face was a bitch, and they divorced. - He married again, and he seems to have found happiness and love again, and I'm really pleased for him. How's that? Not bad? 18. Write about a piece of furniture in the room you’re in. I'm currently in the office at work. My desk is a corner desk, so it extends to both my left and right. It has a light wood veneer. I have a set of three drawers on either side of me. It's quite big - I can't reach either end from where I'm sitting, or the back. It's also got a moveable thing for the keyboard that moves up or down depending on how much pressure/weight I put on it. Yeah, that's about it. 19. If I knew then what I know now. I wouldn't have been so judgmental of people who get themselves into stupid situations and make stupid decisions. You can't know until you've been there. You really can't. You can think to yourself 'I would never have put myself in that situation in the first place' but you don't really understand what led that person to make those calls, those decisions, and until you've been in the same situation, you shouldn't judge. I learned that the hard way. 20. If you could travel back in time, where would you go? I'd like to visit some of my ancestors and see how they lived their lives. Maybe even just Nanny, my grandmother who died before I was born. Or maybe I'd go back a few generations or ten generations... I dunno. But yeah, that's what I'd like to do, see how my ancestors lived and what they were like. 21. You have a billion dollars in your bank account. How did you make it? By winning the lottery and then carefully investing it following the advice of a trusted financial adviser. There's not really any other way I'd make a billion dollars. 22. If you could do anything for work, what would you do? Maybe photography. Genealogy research. Event planning. There's a few things I'm interested in, but the market for those things in New Zealand is very small, so only the best can make a living at it. And I've always had family commitments that have made it difficult for me to take a job without a set income. 23. You live on an abandoned island, describe your morning routine. Sleep. Swim. Read. I can imagine myself being uber lazy if I was living on a deserted island. Although, maybe I'd need to be more proactive at simple survival stuff? I don't know. But I'm picturing long lazy days.  24. You’re in a foreign country and don’t speak the native language. This is not really something that appeals to me, honestly. I feel that if you go to a foreign country, you should be speaking their language, not expecting them to speak yours. And yet, there are countries I'd like to visit and I don't speak those languages. So I guess you've just got to be polite, be mindful that they're doing YOU a favour by speaking your language, and pick up at least enough of their language to greet them and tell them you don't speak their language. 25. Describe how you think your grandparents met. My paternal parents met at a dance, during WWII. My grandfather was on shore leave. They danced, they talked, and when he walked her home, she said 'They had a bit of a cuddle on the doorstep because that was all you did in those days.' He sent her things from overseas, stuff like silk and stockings that were rationed during the war. When he came back from war, they married. I think my maternal grandparents knew each other through family. Did they live next door to each other at one point maybe?? 26. You wake up today with the superpower of your choosing. I'd love to have a super power. There's so many that would be awesome. The ability to teleport would be one of the most valuable in my opinion, because NZ is so far away from the rest of the world. I'd love to be able to teleport and save on travel costs. And time, you waste so much time in travelling! Imagine being able to teleport from work to home and vice versa! That'd be awesome! 27. None of your friends remember you, describe yourself to them. I'm short, only 5'2". I have short brown hair and really bad eyesight so I wear glasses all the time. I'm overweight and you'll pretty much never see me in a dress or a skirt. Jeans for the win! I'm a little quiet when I don't know people, although not afraid of public speaking, but I'm noisy when I'm comfortable with the people around me, especially when I laugh out loud. I love creative projects, and making gifts for people. I do photography, blogging, writing, etc., and a number of these things will end up in your gifts from me! 28. You have the power to stop time, what do you do? I definitely take advantage to have a sleep in. But maybe I just pause time at those moments when things are awesome, just to enjoy them for a bit longer. When the kids are being sweet, when we're having fun, when everyone's smiling... Those good moments, the ones you don't want to end, those are the moments I'd want to stop time. Not forever. Because no one wants to be stuck in a certain phase of their life forever. Although, once the kids have grown up and moved out of home, maybe I'd want to pause it for longer and longer so that Steve and I never grow old. I dunno.29. You have 10 days to live. How depressing! I'd want to spend as much time with my family as possible, and make sure that I'd written down or recorded everything that I'd want to be recorded so that after I'd gone, no one would ever say 'I wish I could ask Elle this' or whatever. I think spending time together is the most crucial thing though. Not travelling, not going to theme parks, not ticking off bucket lists, just spending time together with loved ones. 30. What small things have you seen and taken note of today? Hmmm... - The guitarist who is busking on the street outside the office window. - The breeze from the open window. - The sunshine. Love that the warmer weather is finally here, although I suspect we've still got some cold fronts to come before summer arrives properly. - A lady in the office offering to buy a doughnut. - My boss confiding in me about some issues he's having a client. It's good that he feels he can talk to me and trust me, and respects my opinion. |
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