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A fresh start in a new town in a new year - hello 2022!

It's difficult to reflect on 2022 when 2021 ended on such a mixed way. With the plandemic it seems that a government job isn't very secure if you want to care about your health more than a living. The Monday before Xmas break I was "stood down" as I supposedly am unwilling to work.  Nothing seems to make any sense. Here's an excerpt of the letter So I'm on forced leave till 7 February.  I don't have much in the way of leave and as a fixed term contractor I don't have any long service leave. At this stage based on my No Regrets policy I'm still OK with my decision. I do not actually understand how this can be legal but unfortunately I am no lawyer. The other bad news at the end of 2021 was the passing of Auntie Ivy. May she rest in peace. I was very saddened about the event but also somewhat mollified that she died doing something she loved. She loved abseiling and died from "falling" in an accident - the article - https://7news.com.au/new...
Recent posts

Update February 2016

I never published this previously but found it in my drafts so doing a bit of a tidy and retrospectively publishing this in October 2021 Photo update of what I've been up to in February 2016 Pepper in Peakhurst... obviously we were trying to do some paving in the courtyard: Looks like the back fence was being fenced up a bit more... this was mainly to stop Pepper and Sprocket from barking so much... I don't know if it really helped in the end. Must have been around Chinese New Year as I went to the temple in Glebe...  Steamboat or Hot Pot at Avelyn's.  Definitely must have been for Chinese New Year! Putting in garden beds in the front yard.  This ended up being for a tree or two.  Maybe my fig tree from memory. Plane food... hmmm... where was I going? Ah the US!  I think my Uncle Patrick had just passed and I was heading out with my Mum to be with family. This was in an outlet store in Long Beach sort of area.  I just remember doing a lot of...

No Regrets Policy

No Regrets  At work, there were a bunch of "no regrets" initiatives and it prompted me to think about life and decisions or life choices.  Big or small I realised you could attach a "no regrets" lens to things or at least decide based on less regret!  But I also wanted to look at lens by taking responsibility for my decisions and have since adopted a No Regrets Policy. At one stage I was thinking about writing a book. Not for anyone but for myself.  It was going to be WWYD or What Would You Do?  (Or in my case, What Would Yvonne Do?)  This policy is part of the imaginary book. What is a Policy?  I work in government and I still don't really know what a policy is!  But to me it's a principle or a framework in which to work within.  So that's what I do with my No Regrets Policy. I either make a decision with that in mind - should I buy x?  Will I regret not getting it?  Will I regret getting it and not using it?  Will I regret mi...

Malabar to Watsons Bay Hike - Mapping it out using Map My Run

 When organising (I use that term super loosely!) a hike, I wanted to be able to see how many kilometres it was going to be.  The tool I use to use when I would travel and map a possible jog / run I would use Map My Run , so I resurrected my account to map the hike from Malabar to Watsons Bay.  Part of it will overlap the Bondi to Manly walk .   Create Routes or Search for a route from millions at MapMyRun I'm sure there are web and normal apps that allow for hiking path drawing to follow but it's funny how the mind just wants a simple option and has a "go to".

The Croissant Diet Experience with a CGM - Sept 2020

I've been on the bandwagon of The Croissant Diet (TCD) for a little while.  Maybe 6 weeks or so.  And I thought I should document things a bit. There was a great summary by Brad Marshall on Twitter on what The Croissant Diet actually is: Eat LOTS of long chain Saturated Fat and avoid PUFA like the plague. Also avoid MUFA. If you want to eat some starch, go for it! But smother them in SatFat. That’s the whole thing, really. — FireInABottle (@fire_bottle) September 21, 2020 What I'm eating: Meat - beef or lamb mostly as this is low in PUFAs and high in stearic acid. Fats for cooking - tallow or butter.  Enhanced with stearic acid.   Eggs - cos they are a great whole food.  Usually cooked in tallow or butter (enhanced with stearic acid if I remember). Butter Cream for tea Coffee - usually black Low carb "carbs" -- Atkins crispbread and Woolworths Macro bread. These have vegetable oils so not great but I try and overwhelm it with lots of butter.  But ge...

Sauna at home and Vivid Dreaming

Due to the current situation where we are all at home and most public places are now closed I've invested and bought myself a sauna.  I got a Valo 2 person sauna and it's been great so far.  I purchased it for ~A$1600 (before a price rise due to the exchange rate).  If you are reading this in early April 2020 they may still have stock here of the same model:  https://www.luxoliving.com.au/Valo-2-Person-Canadian-Hemlock-Carbon-Fibre-Sauna-Cabin I had looked at a number of sites for a sauna that would fit into my 1 bedroom apartment and more specifically on my balcony.  I briefly thought of a 1 person sauna but I'm so glad I got a bigger sauna as it's already a bit like a confinement space and to have a smaller space again I think would be a bit too claustrophobic.  Originally I had thought to buy the sauna from Appliances Online due to my previous great experiences but the delivery timeframe was too far away so I cancelled my order and ended up buying it f...

Fitness Passport membership locations on a map

My Fitness Passport membership is now live!  Woohoo!  So I get access to a heap of gyms and pools and classes.  For someone who isn't interested in a gym membership I'm not quite sure why I have joined!!  Peer pressure. I'm very fortunate that I have the opportunity to join this type of membership as then I can go just about anywhere in NSW.  The membership site gives you a list of them but I had no idea how close they would be to either work or home so I copied and pasted the details into a Google Sheet and then put them in a Google Map.  I thought it may be useful for others too. You can access the map by this link too:  ​ https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10hH5PtKlBzeEzV6AoLev4vxqNoDxzR6y&hl=en&usp=sharing