Archives for December 2014

The grinch who thinks your new year resolutions need to change

December 28, 2014 by Lana 10 Comments

I hold grave concern for my cheerful nature and sunny disposition. In fact I think I’ve turned into a grinch. A Christmas grinch if you will, because even when I am being a grumpy old nitpicker I like to keep it seasonal.

It started in the lead up to Christmas where I was in danger of becoming evangelical in my zeal about letting the world know that not everyone celebrates Christmas. I was spreading the word of Judaism faster than you can throw tinsel around a tree – not pushing the religion at all, that would be odd given I have not a religious bone in my body, but gently trying to explain that not everyone celebrates Christmas, not because they’re odd or trying to be different – simply because it’s not part of their culture or belief system. It would be like me celebrating Diwali or the entire Western world celebrating my birthday.
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Filed Under: Featured, My Views

It’s been such a hideous week, let’s turn it around

December 20, 2014 by Lana 9 Comments

It feels almost redundant to start this post telling you what an awful week it’s been. There isn’t a person who hasn’t felt it – from the siege in Sydney to the terror in Peshawar and the absolute tragedy of eight children murdered in Cairns, it’s been hideous. Horrifying. Scary even.

I tried to stay in bed but that didn’t work. The world moves on. Staying under the covers doesn’t make anything better for anyone else..

We can’t pretend this stuff isn’t happening – bad things happen when good people do nothing. So yes, we need to be aware – we need to put an end to violence in any way we can, we need to respect the people whose lives are lost in senseless violence and heinous acts of terror. We need to make a difference in any way we can – if through making our voices heard, through donating time or money, if by showing solidarity or putting pressure on government to make humanity part of its manifesto. We need to talk openly about domestic violence and mental health. We need to talk about poverty and terrorism and the disenfranchised and the angry. We need to try and make a difference.

But right now we also need to look at the good. We need to remember that there are more good people then there are bad, we need to focus on the flowers in Martin Place and the #i’llridewithyou hashtag. We need to remember the helpers, the good people, the people that care.

And if it’s hard to find it in the news right now we need to look at the good stuff that’s happening in our own lives. And I’m going to do just that by looking at all the good things that happened to me this week

I went to two beautiful Bar Mitzvahs both with magnificent outlooks

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One at the Museum of Contemporary Art

And one at Bronte Beach

How amazingly lucky am I to live in this city? And to live in a home where even my dog can’t resist the view

My nephew did amazingly well in his HSC. Not that I am surprised. He is as smart as he is as all round amazing. Any profession that gets him would benefit from his calm, beautiful and compassionate presence.
My niece got a new job and she’s going to excel at it. They too are lucky to have her. My sister makes very special children.
I received the most beautiful message from one of my eldest friends, one who has seen me at my worst and who still loves me even though she knows all my bad bits. Thanks Gab. Thank you so much.
It’s school holidays.
I found a meme that sums me up perfectly

I went to the doctor and even though I have a chest infection, a fever and feel all round yugh, he told me to stay in bed. So I DO get to stay in bed but it’s under doctor’s orders. I love my bed and even though it does no good to anybody else there is no place I would rather be right now – so I’m viewing it as a good thing.

What good things happened to you this week?

Filed Under: Featured, My Views

Hearts, Strength, Peace and Hope to the hundreds of families affected in Peshawar.

December 16, 2014 by Lana 2 Comments

I’ve read the news headlines countless times. I’ll be honest – I read about skirmishes in in Afghanistan and Pakistan and gloss over them. Sure I am aware of what’s going on, on a very superficial level but it all seems so distant, so foreign, so very far away.

But I think yesterday changed that, I think the events that took place in Martin Place yesterday have changed the way we will react to news for a long time to come. I don’t think that we were the target of a terror group, I don’t think the Australian way of life is in any way endangered but I do know that our senses are heightened. We are all feeling fraught. I do think terror came that little bit closer to our front doors even if it was ushered in by the media.

Tonight we read about a terror attack in Peshawar in Pakistan

BBC News reports

At least 100 people, 80 of them children, have been killed in a Taliban assault on an army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistani officials say.

Five or six militants wearing security uniforms entered the school, officials said. Gunfire and explosions were heard as security forces surrounded the area.

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A Taliban spokesman says the assault is in response to army operations.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters are thought to have died in a recent military offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area.

A school worker and a student interviewed by the local Geo TV station said the attackers had entered the Army Public School’s auditorium, where a military team was conducting first-aid training for students.

There are no real words to describe this terror. None that convey the enormity of the situation, that can describe the horror, the loss, the anguish.

But today when we read about Pakistani children being killed we think about the three children left behind after their mother perished at the hands of a very disturbed man in Sydney. We think about our children. We think about the mothers of these children murdered in Peshawar and we feel our chests close. We hear their anguished screams, we feel one hundredth of the pain that they feel and even that feels like it could destroy us.

I have no pithy ending, no grand solution – not even a suggestion. Just a heart full of sadness and a fervent wish for peace. For all.

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Featured

It’s times like these that I let the people I follow on Twitter speak for me

December 15, 2014 by Lana 5 Comments

For the longest time I have been petrified of terrorists in the same way that some people are afraid of say spiders or clowns. It’s been an irrational fear that has been with me since I can remember. Long before the media were informing us of terrorists on planes, I have been spotting suspicious people on planes – on my honeymoon 23 years ago I didn’t want to fly because of my fear of terrorists. I was flying from Johannesburg to George which is much like travelling from Sydney to Wagga Wagg. No terrorists likely. Still I was petrified.

Today’s events in Sydney have not yet been confirmed as a terrorist attack but they have terrorised me. I can hardly think.

I feel selfish to even talk about how scared I am because even I can see that, in reality, I could not be safer than I am right now. I cannot imagine how the people inside that cafe are feeling – and I cannot imagine the fear and hatred that is going to be present after this has all been settled and everybody is safe and well.

The small mindedness and the fear that a situation like this brings is almost as bad as the event itself….

But I can hardly think – so I have been spending my day retweeting

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As I write this post three of the hostages have been released. I hope they are all released soon. And that everyone is safe and no one filled with hate.

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Featured

Dear pool man, about that text message…

December 9, 2014 by Lana 13 Comments

When I first declared my love for my builder ~~a million~~ six months ago, there were a lot of people that told me that over time I would change my mind, that by the end of the renovation my tune would have changed and I would be cursing and muttering hate filled expletives under my breath when his name was mentioned.

It’s not true. Although a LOT of time has passed and a FORTUNE of work has been done I can still safely say that our builder was brilliant, fantastic, reliable and dedicated – a pleasure to deal with and if I ever lost my mind and decided to renovate or build again, we would use him without even thinking about it.
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Filed Under: Featured, renovation

Who would design a game like Grand Theft Auto V? (and why my son will never get to play it in this house)

December 4, 2014 by Lana 4 Comments

I am a very lenient mother, there’s not much that my child doesn’t get away with. Added to my leniency and tendency to spoil Little Pencil, there is my husband’s laissez faire attitude to growing up which has resulted in a child who has seen a lot of movies that kids his age should probably not see. He roars with laughter on the couch next to his father as he watches comedies meant for adults over 18 and he can quote Ecclesiastes after watching Pulp Fiction, in fact when we traveled to France last year he was a little too excited about the Royale with mayo at the MacDonalds.

So far he’s turning out okay, other than the typical teenage stuff which seems to be contained to mini cyclones, he is a compassionate, understanding and kind kid. He loves his family and friends, he is sociable and confident and so far has shown no signs of becoming a violent offender. He clearly knows and can separate fact and fiction better than I can (I cannot watch action movies at all – too terrifying). [Read more…]