A belated summary - End of Month 5

#1 – The Fundraising Ball. I don't want to let this beat me. But I think it is going to take up so much of my brain space to make it work, that I need to either dedicate myself to it or get a lot of other things out of the way first. I'm veering towards the latter.
#2 – The Other Fundraiser. This only partially counts I suppose, but the choir show we did raised money for Cambodian orphans. So although I didn't organise it, I was involved...
#3 – Laughing Strangers. I've not had any dedicated laughs, and this is a problem. Hopefully I will find a new job sooner rather than later and this will help across many levels.
#4 – i. Mediation. Same same.
ii. Song Per Month. I'm starting to lose track of these: August - Mallow. September - Blow On In. October - Tiny Mantis. November - Kitty, I'm A Train Wreck. Ah. So I'm one short for December. My bad. Two this month, then.
iv. 26km Coast Track. Fingers crossed for good weather. Note to self: buy camping gear. Where is an Argos when you need one?
#5 – Songs About Challenges. Similarly: August - This Song. September - Sausages. October - Ballad of a Substandard Cyclist. November... oh dear. I've got 2 in the works which should bring me up to speed. Promise.
#6 – Bathurst. No progress. Cripes, when are school holidays? Maybe Easter would be a good time for this.
#7 – Gospel. Ah, it feels good to have at least put a big fat COMPLETED stamp on something. We're on hiatus until February.
#8 – Children’s Hospital. Still haven’t learnt any kids songs. Ok, wow. I need to get organised on this one.
#9 – Harbour Walks. We've only got as far as Manly to Balmoral so far. Hmm.
#10 – Driving. I am sort of driving. More on this later.
#11 – Tasmania. The best thing about this challenge is I keep forgetting that it is happening. Everything is booked and it is VERY EXCITING.
#12 – Scrapbooking. I've been slowly compiling bits and pieces for this, but I've had trouble trying to find an appropriate scrapbook to stick it all in. I'm determined to find one this month and get the ball rolling instead of just nudging it out of the way with my foot in the hallway.
#13 – Cooking. I'm doing ok with this one, but I need to start working out what my 7 dishes are actually going to be. At the moment I'm doing a lot of experimenting but not a lot of committing to memory.
#14 – TV. Why won't you call me back, television stations? I would make excellent TV fodder! Ben thinks we may have to get around this one on semantics. The cogs are turning.
#15 – Horseriding. I'm hoping to reschedule this soon.
#16 – Sydney to Gong. COMPLETE, although I still have the ridiculous tan lines.
#17 – Reunion Dinner. I emailed Father BC again but no reply. I think if this is to work, we're going to have to do this without him.
#18 – Breakdancing. Now that its a new year, this is back on the agenda.
#19 – The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. COMPLETE. Ben read it too. At first I wanted someone to talk to about it, but then we decided it was a bit too dire and we should leave it at that. I'd like to read it a second time though, as I have a tendancy to swim into literature, immerse myself in it, and then dry myself off and totally forget everything I just read. It's odd.
#20 – Yeats. I need to get some software for my computer. I have big ideas and no patience to put it into practise.
#21 – Youtube. It has taken too long for us to get Ellipsis, the lead 'single' from Dusker's EP, off the ground. We now need to get onto recording new stuff and we have a new lead single. On the offchance any Dusker fans are actually reading here I won't spoil the surprise about which it is. But we'll need to record this new song, and put together a new storyboard for a new video. Ugh.
#22 – Busking. This shouldn't be so hard, but I am fussy and want to play "the right songs" and learn them all without having to look at the words while I'm playing. It is becoming clear why so many buskers play Oasis songs.
#23 – Cliff. I have reservations about this, but I guess I won't really know until I see it on the Coast Walk.
#24 – Protest Song. I need to catch up on songwriting in general.
#25 – See Challenge 4.ii
#26 – See Challenge 4.iii
#27 – Blood. COMPLETE, and it left me with a ruddy great bruise. But I still want to continue doing it.
#28 – Japanese. Did I mention that learning a language is really hard?
#29 – Parents. Progress. More about this later.

Today is the last day of what has been a glorious, wonderful, relaxing and desperately-needed break. I have had to stop myself thinking about what tomorrow will bring, as I find myself having heated conversations in my head, my heart start racing; my frustration growing; my despair surfacing. It's going to be about as much fun as running barefoot across a desert of porcupines, but I am resolute that today should be about smelling the roses and stargazing, eking every last drop of joy from this time as I can.

PS. A welcome is extended to Ariella Rose who arrived at 1am yesterday, right on time. She was not already wearing clothes, as my dream had predicted, which was good news for her mother. Biggest of big loves to Carla and Jez, two of my most favourite people. New little people certainly do put things in perspective.