By Mitch D.
Authors Note: The following article contains liberal doses (dollops, even) of sarcasm. Please proceed with your tongue firmly implanted into your cheek.
I must confess, I am disappointed.
No, my friends, not the utter disappointment that arises when the Blues lose the State of Origin again, or when Steph returns and creates havoc on Ramsay Street and causes pain in the lives of your favourite peeps. No, this is just a mild feeling…
Of let-downedness…
This Queen’s Birthday long weekend I was lucky enough to escape the dead of Sydney winter and hightail it to Far North Queensland, (where they enjoy the far more respectable temperatures of around 27 degrees).
Speaking of FNQ, did you know that the wet tropics Heritage Area covers just 0.1% of Australia’s land surface, yet the Daintree Rainforest contains 62% of our 385 butterfly species?
God, I love this sunburnt country and my own sunburnt skin.
But this blog post isn’t about rubbing in my holiday (that’s merely an added bonus!) No, this post is to acknowledge some important people that I have neglected since beginning this blog on 1 July 2012…
It’s apt that my twentieth challenge completed should be the twentieth from the list: ‘Share one last weekend with the Canada girls in your twenties’!
Would you believe it has been over 8 years since we all last managed to be in the same place at the same time?! I guess it’s harder when you don’t have the lure of free drinks and dodgy early naughties pop music to draw us in, but we did the math and realised the last time we all managed to be in the same place at the same time it was for mine and India’s 21st birthdays! There have been a few occasions where we managed to get three of us together, but we obviously had such a great experience on our travels that we just haven’t stopped since. With homes spanning Cairns to Melbourne, it’s no surprise that even when we’re in the same country it’s not always convenient for the four of us to catch up.
Like all old friends, however, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been apart…
Since returning home from my travels to India and Nepal I have been extremely busy eating frogs.
By Kevin L.
You can go pretty much anywhere you like in the world. It might take a bit of money and time but there’s not much in your way beyond that.
However, there are a couple of places that present something a little more troublesome in the way of barriers.
For one thing, going into outer space is kind of out of the question for most people. This is not to say it can’t be done. Richard Branson is working on it but it takes quite a bit more money than you or I have in our back pockets. We can fly at lower altitudes more easily but space remains out of reach for the average person.
Another place that is more challenging to visit is under the ocean. I mean, you can’t just GO there and visit. At least not without the right gear and the right training. Most people never go there. Not in the way that allows you to actually visit the place. You know, sit about and admire the view and that kind of thing.
Yet, that too is possible and accessible for most people. It’s just that not so many of us do it.
By Andy S.
When Amanda first mentioned she was doing “The List” I was so happy for her. I believe life’s there to be lived to the fullest and having a tick off list with a deadline is the best way to motivate yourself into getting out there and trying something new.
Speaking of trying something new, this is my first ever blog post and to be honest it’s not as easy as Amanda makes it look! As I’m sure you’re aware by now, Amanda’s an amazing writer and loves sharing her thoughts and feelings with the world. In many ways I’m the complete opposite in those regards – but I’ll give it my best shot.
By Shelley L.
Allow me to begin with a quote from one of my favorite childhood movies – Dumb & Dumber (no idea how it didn’t make imdb top 100)
Lloyd: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary: Not good.
Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary: I’d say more like one out of a million.
[pause]
Lloyd: So you’re telling me there’s a chance… *YEAH!*
By Roslyn L.
Amanda has explained why I may have come up with the challenge “Host a dinner party using 3 of your most loved foods and 3 of your most disliked foods” in her blogs of 5 July and 10 Jan and if I had actually carefully read those blogs before she surprised me with the idea that I was to be one of the invited guests, I wouldn’t have been so apprehensive about what I was to face for dinner on Saturday night.
By Ryan L.
Being the caring, sharing family that we are, we (Amanda’s siblings and one sibling-in-law) decided to help with one of her most difficult challenges yet – watching one of her ‘top 100’ movies of all time – 2001: A Space Odyssey.
As a child I developed a bad reputation.
Not the kind of reputation that might lead to tattoos, motorbikes and teen pregnancy, mind you.
No, the sinister reputation I developed was for being a fussy eater.
Some might even have dubbed me the World’s Fussiest Eater. Those same people might think I still suffer the affliction.
I’m here to dispel some of the awful rumours that have been going ’round about Baby Mandy for the past few decades…
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