Hello hello,
It’s mid March and there’s a lot going on, more than I’d have thought, and in some cases, more than I’d like.
But that’s the thing about life, I constantly have this urge to live it, to ‘do’ it, to fill it with things that hold some sort of meaning. And then I find myself without a free minute to properly reflect.
How do you engage with all the things that speak to you? Does your FOMO scream at you, or gently weep in the corner? (Ha! what an image!) Or maybe FOMO isn’t a thing for you and you’ve got the knack for knowing if you need to be somewhere, and if not then where you are is best for you…
I’ve been told often enough — by friends and therapists and articles and books — that overworking is a trauma response and my mind tends to internally answer, ‘…and? How else am I supposed to respond?’
If I’m not keeping busy then what else is there? Sometimes I hate my hectic schedule, and other times I feel like I’d fall apart without it. And when I try and keep it clear, more often than not it’s me trying to leave room for spontaneous friend-catch-ups or last minute invites. I’m not very good at being on my own, and that’s something I’m trying to work on.
The funny thing about the above photo is that I wasn’t alone in that moment, Teague was just out of frame. But to see it now — all blurry and lo-fi — captures a feeling that persists despite reality. It’s something I forget sometimes; that people can be there/a part of my life, even when they’re not *with* me.
But all of this introspection isn’t what I sat down to write about today, but it came out and I like being honest here. So while things a more than a little full-on for me right now, here’s a list of things I’m doing soon:
Tuesday 18th March
[Ignite] Spark creative thinking day at Hyphen Wodonga. Open to teens aged 12-18, this is a day-long event held by the Library that blends panel discussions, elective writing workshops and community in order to get your creative writing flowing. I’ll be there with Will Kostakis, Reimena Yee. Natasha Hertanto, Alison Evans and Fleassy Malay! I’m really looking forward to it! More deets HERESunday 23rd March
Clunes Booktown - I’m going to be hanging out at Clunes for the whole weekend, seeing a few panels myself, but I’m also going to be interviewed by some teens about queering fairy tales and writing at 3pm on Sunday 23rd in the Kids Village. Come say hi if you’re around!Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th March - Melbourne
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th April - Gold Coast
Supanova! I had such a blast last year in Sydney at Supanova, I’m back to do it again. This time I’ll be at Melbourne AND the Gold Coast! Over each weekend I’ll be on a couple of panels with the other great line up of authors, and also hanging around the QBD Literary Legends booths chatting with people and signing books. If pop culture is your jam, come pop with me! (Not sure that saying works… but let’s roll with it.) More info and tickets HERE
Anywhichway you cut it, I’m doing the work to work out how I work, even if I’m distracting myself with ‘things’ all along the way. I love when people invite me to their ‘things’ too, and then I take all the ‘things’ and roll them into how I experience life and how I reflect on it in my writing.
I hope you’ve all got lovely ‘things’ going on in your lives.
x
Michael