Uh, I'm sorry, what?

So, like, I turned around, and thirty was staring me in the face, kind of like this:


As you can see, I fell off the band wagon a little bit. Sorry about that.

A few weeks ago, I read this blog post. The timing was impeccable. My feelings at the time were reflected in Jan's realisation: goals should not be chores. And for her to write that post at almost the exact point I felt it, with her doing a similar 30 before 30 and a birthday only four days after mine... it was too poignant.

I don't feel disappointed or regretful about the last few months. The only thing I really feel sad about is letting other people down. People were excited about the concept, I put a lot of faith in my 29 and most of them returned that faith. I gave almost every task I was given a good shot, although full completion of tasks is a little more sketchy. It felt so invigorating to make and re-make those connections with people, to feel a rush of expectation, to be inspired, to be challenged. But somewhere between July 22nd 2010 and now, stuff changed. Personally, I feel that some of that stuff might not have changed were it not for this project, even indirectly, and it is for the better. It has been not only a good lesson in self-evaluation, but a valuable lesson in what we can and can't control. And some things we can't control include idiot bosses, school holidays, cars that choose to break down every second day, the weather, people who won't answer emails, the fact there are only twenty-four hours in a day and seven days in a week, and also that no matter what I say "yes" to or how I choose to spike my hair , I am not Danny Wallace. Fortunately.

Most of all, I am still bristling with the joy of turning 30 (although it still feels very distant, I'm sure that will change in a few days), and with the accomplishments of the past year.

Oh, and I guess I should probably tell you about this:

WINTER BALL! Please help us raise some money for spina bifida services.

On my 29th birthday, Ben brought all of the postcards to the restaurant, and after dinner he relished in reading them out to me, one by one. Katie's postcard, instructing me to "hold a fundraising ball for the charity of your choice for 500 people", was the very first one. Can you imagine that? Eating an amazing meal and getting ready to hear 29(ish) pieces of your destiny, and that's the FIRST ONE. I nearly forewent desert. Nearly.

For some reason, it was very important that this - in many people's eyes the most difficult of the tasks - not go undone. I realise that we will probably not get 500 people there, but it otherwise fits the brief. All of the acts are going to be wearing formal gear, which is going to be so much rad, and we're encouraging the punters to as well. And with any luck, we'll make some extra cash for Northcott Disability Services. So if you're in the Sydney area, please come - Gallery Bar @ Oxford Art Factory, this Friday. Don't buy me a drink, just chuck a fiver into the donation tin.

"I'm not thirty yet," she grinned.

Charity begins at home?

A Fundraising Ball. For 500 people. 500. People. Ball. Katie G, are you crazy?

I am having multiple anxieties about this particular challenge. Not least of all, I hate balls. I was dragged kicking and screaming to my own debutante. Therefore I know very little about them. Also, 500 people is a seriously huge number. I know somebody who is involved in the operation of one of these for a charity. It’s a masquerade ball that has been running annually for 3 years now. She is part of a huge team inclusive of the 3 major organisers, plus a finance team, plus a bunch of sponsors.... and the most they’ve ever had in attendance is about 400 people. After advertising for a whole year... Yeeeah.

Perhaps this is somehow more viable in smaller towns, such as where both Katie and I grew up. If half the population of the town rallies together for a cause, there’s your 500 immediately. Maybe that’s the trick.

Consensus is, this is by far the most difficult and involving of the challenges, and perhaps the only way of making it happen is to join an already existing committee for such an event. Picking my cause was the easy part: Spina Bifida research. But strangely, googling it didn’t yield a large national organisation for it (not one with a working website, anyway), only state ones. And my state’s site doesn’t look like it has been updated much since 2008. That’s a bit depressing, considering it’s the second most common physical disability in Australia, after Cerebral Palsy. I even established that Spina Bifida Awareness Week is the first week in September, which is soon... but why have I never been aware of this awareness week before? Hmm. I contacted the group to see if there were any events I could get in on.

My third and less pressing anxiety is that I’ve been set three separate fundraising-based challenges, and that is kind of a drain on my well-meaning friends and colleagues. I did speak to Tracey the other week who said something like “mine was only supposed to be a small one!” (bless her) but nevertheless... people can only be so charitable.

The instructions do distinctly call for a ‘Ball’. I’m starting to wonder if a gig counts as a ball. According to Wikipedia, it just needs to be ‘formal dance’ with attendees wearing ‘evening attire’. Perhaps I can get around it that way – by shaking up the original idea of a stuffy old ball. I could hire an indie venue (if there are still any left open) and put on a gig.

Someone (I have forgotten who, so forgive me) also suggested getting around the whole thing on semantics. Like getting a huge beach ball, writing “Fundraising” on it, and throwing it around at a festival. Points for effort, but somehow I’m not sure that idea will fly.

I’m workshopping it.

PS. In other news... just found out they are making 'The Amazing Race - Australia'. Amazing is an understatement. Ben is silently relieved to know that his Britishness makes him ineligible, but Jaimi has stepped up to the plate to be my partner. Seeing as our short-lived imaginary cooking show (called 'The 3-Second Rule') never made it to broadcast anywhere outside our kitchen, this may just be our shot at the so-called Big Time.

Halfway mark

We're moving to Summer Hill in 2 weeks! I'm so excited! It's a sweet little unit with polished floorboards and a lovely little sunroom and enough size for one Me and one Husband. Awesomeness abounds.

Meanwhile, time is slipping away on the postcard front... but I'm halfway there! Here's five more to get us to the Fifteen mark.

MELANIE...


KATIE...


CRAIG...


ROSALIND...


REBECCA...