I promised I'd blog, but my focus has been elsewhere and the words have not flown freely. I've been working on a creative project I'm hoping to get underway quite soon and have been happily consumed by that glorious phase of lofty idealising and brainstorming. I'll spare you the details because this project is (obviously) still in it's infancy and also because I like the idea of putting people in suspense.

Also consuming much of my time is my complete overhaul of the design of this blog. Even if you've only followed me for a matter of weeks, you'll probably have noticed that i have a weakness for tweaking the design little by little. Sometimes it's the header, sometimes the font, but over time the whole design has become completely unrecognisable to what it was before. Or before that. If you were an occasional reader you couldn't be blamed for assuming it was an entirely different blog. As the author, I'm constantly frustrated by the incomplete feeling of the space. How can it ever be finished if it never felt cohesive in the first place? So I've started from scratch, and I'm hoping that I'll end up with something that I'll like enough to stop pursuing that intangible perfect layout by making those irritatingly minute changes every. other. week.

In other news, that early morning ritual of ours that I have raved about (too) many times in the past is back and I'm very happy about it. It eroded into late, headachy rising when I stopped working in a coffee shop and Tom started finding himself working on his thesis more productively in the middle of the night. But! Tom's thesis is finished and he has completed Honours and I am back making coffee for early morning commuters. Early morning rising is back and I remember why I loved it so. I'm actually back at the same place I was earlier in the year, the two staff of our tiny shop had to be let off for five months due to nearby infrastructure works sending our customers elsewhere. I love being back and seeing all of my old favourite customers again. I am surprised to see that my memory has retained everyone's regular coffee orders and wondering if that might perhaps explain why I can never remember useful information.

Just some thoughts and updates. I have so much I want to say and so little patience to sit here and write it all down. Yet. I'll let you know when I unveil the new layout; I'm excited to say goodbye to this one.

ps. Royal Baby Boy Presented To Public In Traditional Manner (I laughed)

finally.

The assignment we thought would never end finally has. Even his thesis cannot compare to this ridiculously involved and time-consuming waste of twelve thousand words. (Most of which I had to type as he dictated. I honestly have no idea how he has made it through two degrees as a two-finger typer.)



Last night we drank wine, watched Game of Thrones and basked in the relief of some stress-free time together. Tom bailed on a game of Scrabble claiming that his brain was fried from the assignment, but we all know it's because I was wiping the floor with him. I finished the game against myself and he watched and teased me for being such a dork for enjoying having such an equally matched opponent for once.

We both agreed that we should instigate a new rule wherein all computers are off by nine and we spend time actually together and free from silly distractions every night before we head to bed. I'm not entirely sure that we're better off being so constantly connected and contactable. It's far too easy now to be in two places at once. We need to switch off more in order to be present. I do think that part of the reason life gets overwhelming at times is that it is non-stop - you can take work and study and every other stupid distraction with you. It's worth making the effort to step back from all of that and be mindful. An evening ritual that does not include checking emails and RSS feeds and googling the ridiculous questions I don't immediately need to know the answer to is a good place to start, I think.