Hopes, Dreams & Goals – How To Stay Motivated

After a long week at work, today I finally had a day off.  I am the sort of person that has a thousand ideas a day and looks forward to “Me Time” where I can make the most of them.  But the busy week has taken it’s toll on me and I have barley ventured from the couch, doing little more than flicking through random websites, avoiding actually doing anything to benefit myself.  I have fallen into a lazy slump where my mind tells me, “It’s ok, you’ll have time tomorrow” – but who really does have time tomorrow?

Laziness would have to be on the the most common human traits, whether it be by choice or circumstance.  Laziness is a curse which can be hard to break, but not impossible.  So how can one break it?  We all have hopes, dreams and goals which we spend endless hours fantasising over, thinking, “If only.”  But when we play out these scenarios in our heads, it is almost always the end result and not the path that leads to it.  This is a big problem I constantly find I have as I seem to dream so grand that when I try, I fail because I tend to miss out the details, those important steps I must take to reach my goals.  Disappointment sets in, then the laziness becomes the excuse.  If only I could motivate myself just enough to start planning, to figure out those first baby steps to reach my destination.

When we motivate ourselves, we achieve much more.  Even on days like today where I feel pysically and mentally drained, even the smallest amount of motivation can go a long way – but it is that first push that is often the hardest.  How can we give ourselves that little shove?  We need to change our state of mind.

There are hundred of ways that this can be done from motivational eBooks, meditation and even alcohol & drugs.  But the simplest way is through music.  Music has the ability to calm and sooth, lift the spirits, release the anger and transport us to magical places within out hearts and minds.  We have all experiences that long and dreary day that seems to go on forever until that one song comes on the radio, that one song that lifts us up and takes us away from it all.  Music can transform us and our minds.

After sitting here in silence for about two hours, trying unsuccessfully to write a blog post on anything, I decided to put on the iPod and let the shuffle function do it’s magic.  Within no time (and having the house to myself) I was dancing badly around the living room doing thrash air guitar and singing like a lunatic.  I was having fun, I was getting motivated to actually DO something.  And while none of my goals and dream are likely to come true today, I can do something to work towards them.  I am going to start with a list of everything I would like to achieve by the end of the year, both big and small, realistic and fantastical.  Because once I have my list, I will have the backbones to start planning out all the little steps to get there.  Every journey needs to start somewhere and today, I am starting one of my own.

FREE Meditation MP3 Download When You Subscribe!

I thought it was about time I rewarded my wonderful subscribers with a freebie.  Deep Sleep Meditation is a one hour MP3 track I created a few years back using a software program called SHARM.  I suffer from insomnia from time to time and I found creating my own relaxation music helped me considerably.

To claim your free MP3, subscribe to my blog by either clicking my RSS Feed or by entering your email address.  Then look for the link in my RSS Feed at the bottom of my post to download.  The link will take you to a file hosting site where all you need to do is click “Download”.

I hope you enjoy and please be sure to let me know if you have problems with the download – and be sure to stay subscribed for new freebies soon!

Camping At Coles Bay

I love camping.  There is nothing like running away from the ruckus of everyday life and just relaxing with the real world around you.  And my favourite place to do this?  Friendly Beaches on the Freycinet Peninsula.  Freycinet is on the East Coast of Tasmania, about a 2 and a half hour drive from our states capital of Hobart.  With spectacular granite mountains surrounded by native flora and fauna, beautiful white sand and crystal blue waters, the postcards and photos don’t give this piece of heaven a true enough justice.

It was my Dad who took me and my family camping at Coles Bay when I was a kid – just like he had done when he was a little tacker.  Coles Bay is the heart of Freycinet, a small friendly community which proudly holds the title of Australia’s first plastic-bag-free town.  Thousands of tourist visit every year, particularly the National Park, to take in the pristine environment and to gaze upon some of the most picturesque landscapes Tasmania has to offer, including Wineglass Bay.

Friendly Beaches is about 20 minutes before Coles Bay and while it is a popular camping ground, it is much quieter than the town center.  The white sand stretch on for miles and the sweet sound of the waves lull you to sleep each night.  My Chicken and I spent three night here in January, but we could have easily stayed much longer.  I already can not wait to return there to spend a few more nights in this tranquil paradise.

Final Fantasy XIII – First Impressions

March.  A month I had been counting down to for sometime.  The daylight hours fade and autumn paints the leaves as I gain an extra years experience in this life.  I had an incredibly lazy, yet wonderful week off work.  I saw my first film in 3D, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.  Based on the work of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll), it is more of a sequel where Alice, who is now 19, falls back down the rabbit hole only to find that she must save Underland from the Jabberwocky.  March also saw the release of Final Fantasy XIII much to the delight of eager fans.

I have been a fan of video games for as long as I can remember, playing everything from Alex the Kid on the SEGA master system, to games available online from sites such as Poptropica Games.  Once I start playing, the hours seem to melt away as the stories take me over and none have had this effect on me more so than the Final Fantasy franchise.  With Final Fantasy X easily making my top 5 games of all time, the count down to XIII seemed like an eternity.  But the 9th of March finally rolled around and I was able to take home my collectors edition for XBox.

Within the first few minutes you are visually blown away with the opening scenes and even when the game play kicks in, the graphics are outstanding – but then you get into your first battle.  Many people are fans of FFX’s turn based battle sequence, something that other games have tried to replicate, but in FFXIII, the battles are in real time and you only have the ability to control one characters actions while the others act more as backup.  It is also a bit frustrating for the first hour or so as you are introduced to the characters and the game play cuts between them almost too frequently.  But this improves as you learn of the links between them and their stories start to intertwine.  The battle sequences also improve as you unlock new roles for your characters.  Each of the different roles – Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Synergist, Saboteur and Medic, have their own abilities which are only available to the character if they are assigned that role.  You can only assign one role to each character at time, with the combination of three for your party in use being called a Paradigm.  You can create your own custom paradigm combinations and shift between them during battle.  Selecting the right roles and getting your timing spot on gives the battles a new and exciting direction that is more fast paced.  You are also able to upgrade weapons and accessories using “Spoils” won in battles or found while exploring and you can develop your characters using the Crystarium – a system slightly similar to the sphere grid of FFX.

So overall my first impressions of Final Fantasy XIII are good, although I am only 8 hours into the game – yet it did take me at least two to actually start enjoying the actual game play.  But like all Final Fantasy games, the real beauty is in the story.  I think that they could make a FF game that has the worst game play in history, but if the story was still stellar, I would still enjoy it.  If I were to give it a premature rating, I’d say at the moment 4 out of 5 stars.

Blog Problems & Time Off

Sorry for the lack of posting the last week. Unfortunately I have been having some problems with my blog which I am trying to sort out at the moment, but it doesn’t help when my email is also down. I had posted the other day about reaching 1500 Youtube subscribers, but the post was lost, along with several drafts in this stuff around. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to VIRTUALLY SCREAM!!!

I have had the last week off from work and while it has been great doing absolutely nothing, I have also achieved that as well – nothing. We were supposed to be going camping, but Chicken had to work and today we were supposed to be going up to Launceston, but the brakes on the car have decided to pack it in. I guess you can never really “Plan” for anything.

Funny Car Sticker, Link Exchange & Advertising

We were driving home last night when we saw this on the back of a car – “Proudly Sponsored By Centrelink.”  For those Non-Australians who aren’t in fits of laughter thinking, WTF?  Centrelink is Australia’s welfare agency which financially supports many of our citizens using tax payers money, from pensioners to parents, from students to the disabled and from those genuinely unable to work to the lazy bogans who just can’t be bothered.  Don’t get me wrong, Centrelink provides much needed assistance to millions of Australian’s, but us Aussie always like to have the odd joke about the Centrelink bludger – hence the hilarity of this car sticker.

The last few days I have added a couple of new pages to my blog.  The first page is offering affordable advertising oppertunities.  A 125 x 125 image link ad will only cost you $1.00 for one week or $3.00 for a month.  For more information on Advertising, CLICK HERE.

The second is a Link Exchange where you can have a link to your blog / website displayed on my blog, for free.  For more information on the Link Exchange, CLICK HERE.

Infinity Tribal Tattoo Design – Draft

I have been playing around with a few more tribal tattoo designs, trying to come up with something for my Chicken. I thought that because my Infinity Rose tattoo on my hand is for him that it maybe interesting to come up with a tribal design based around the same symbol. I was far from happy with my first few attempts as anything that I came up with that had the two loops closed, ended up looking too much like the thorns of my tattoo. So focusing just on just the general shape, I came up with this one. The drawing here isn’t too sharp as it is just a draft, but I was pretty happy with the idea.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Competition – Hobart, November 2009

Back in November of last year, My Chicken (Adam) competed in his first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competition.  He had only been training for about 4 months at the time and won his first fight – I was so proud of him!  I has so much fun watching him that I have recently decided to take it up myself.  Because this was Chicken’s first competition, his division started on the ground so they could focus on the grappling & submissions rather than take downs.

For more information on BJJ in Australia, visit – Will / Machado BJJ Australasia

The video player below contains 8 videos from the comp, including the first BJJ fight in Tasmania between two black belts. Just use the arrows to scroll through to the next video.

New Blog Layout

It has been about a week since my last post because I have been playing around trying to find a new layout.  I have finally decided on this one.  I still have a few things I’d like to tweek and fix up before it’s complete but I think I’m rather happy with it so far.  Please be sure to let me know what you think.

As to the last week, Saturday night was rather scary for me as I had an anaphylactic allergic reaction to fish.  It had been years since I had eaten it, but in between I had been stung a few times by bees, each sting making me more ill and ravenging my immune system.  Within two minutes I was vomiting violently, my face started to swell along with my throat.  As much as I did not want to go, Chicken took me into hospital where I spent two hours on an adrenalin drip.  I am fine now, but kinda peeved that I will never be able to eat fish again.

A trial brigade fumes above the load.

Script Tattoo – “We Are Eternal”

My newest tattoo, just done fresh yesterday.  I thought I would try out a new studio that opened up just before Christmas, Tassie Ink and I was very happy with the result.  The Artist was a girl by the name of Candice.  I have been wanting this test for a while.  The words are lyrics from one of Tools songs, Parabola.  I thought it fitting to have the placement on my inner left arm, over my scars.

No cool video of my own for this tat, but do check out Tool’s film clip for Parabol / Parabola.  It is visually spectacular and leaves you thinking.

R.I.P Elliot, May 16th 2005 – February 5th, 2006

In memory on my son, Elliot…

Man Kissing & Cuddling Live Chicken on Subway

I first read about this in our local Newspapers “Odd Spot” and thought I just had to find the video. The New York City’s transit agency is now investigating the clip after one of the other passengers posted it on their blog. Animals are not permitted on the trains unless they are an animal of aid or in contained in a pet carrier.

Waking Life…

I’m feeling rather tired at the moment. The last few weeks have been draining, dotted with the odd day off here and there. Not really enough time at all to completely recharge especially when on most of those days I’m running around trying to cram in everything I can’t do when I am at work. At least next weekend I have 3 days off in a row. Things over all have been pretty good of late, but feeling so drained most of the time tends to play havoc with my emotions, bringing me down for no reason at all – which is not how I wish to feel. I want to be full of rainbows and bubbles and silky daydreams that are so real that your senses are thrown into overload. I want to craft and nurture these dreams and bring them into my waking life with a spark and a tear of joy. I want… I just want it all now. Not this lethargic weight that rains down on my essence, drenching me dark, leaving me struggling, tying me down with my own gloom. I can smell the sunshine on the horizon, yet the shutters seem too heavy to shift, to let just a glimmer of it in. The tiredness is overwhelming, altering my illusion of space and time. I feel suspended…

Mice Babies

This morning we awoke to some new additions to our family.  Our mice – Misa and Moo, had 11 tiny little pink pups.  Unfortunately, 1 did not make it, but the surviving 10 seem to be doing well.

Female mice come into heat every 3 – 5 days, with their pregnancy lasting around 21 days.  Litter sizes will vary from 4 to 32, depending on their genetics.  After one week, the “Pups” will have a fine layer of fur and they will open theirs eyes at two weeks.  By three weeks they will be bouncing around, causing all sorts of mischief and starting to eat solid foods.  At four weeks they will be ready to go to the pet shop and will have reached sexual maturity, making it important to keep the “Bucks” (males) and “Does” (females) separated.  Even though they are able to reproduce at such a young age, it is best to wait until they are at least 12 weeks old before breeding as it can take it’s toll on such a young mouse.  Mice can fall pregnant again within days of having their litter.

It is actually mathematically posible for one pair of mice to become 26,121,388,032 within 12 months if each pair had a litter of 10 pups with equal amounts of males to females, and they were all able to reproduce every four weeks.

Australia Day & Tribal Tattoo Design

Australia day.  And nothing says Un-Australian on Australia day than having to work.  Not saying that we are a nation of slackers, but it is the Australian way to have the odd day of bludging here and there, where all you do is sit back, fire up the barbie and have a few beers with your mates.  And I had to work.  Slow… dull… boring… work…  There was practically no one around, a ghost town, and I was stuck inside without even a whiff of charcoaled steak on the air…  So to kill time, I got some paper and started scribbling away, trying to come up with something that resembled a tribal tattoo design.  Tribals are not my strong point.  I love the randomness of them, but I can’t seem to let the randomness flow when I attempt to draw them.  Instead, I ended up with a badly drawn tribal / celtic design, in felt tip pen – not a medium of choice as it seems messy and not as sharp.

The Perfect Rosemary & Garlic Roast Chicken

Here is a recipe for the perfect Rosemary & Garlic Roast Chicken.  You will need:

Stuffing
Powdered Chicken Stock – 2-3 T-Sp
Garlic 2-3 Cloves
Rosemary Sprigs – 2-3
Bread Slices – 2-3
Hot Water – Approx 1/3 Cup

Chicken
Whole Chicken
Garlic Cloves – 2-4
Rosemary Springs – 2-4
Butter – Approx 100 – 150 grams

When cooking I myself hardly ever use exact quantities.  I’m used to judging it on taste, quantity or consistency, so the amounts above are approximate.  You may wish to change them depending on taste.

Stuffing

In a bowel, place chicken stock, crushed garlic cloves and rosemary leaves.  Rip up 2 pieces of bread and pour over just enough hot water to saturate the bread.  Mash up with a fork until combined.  If mixture seems too soggy, rip up third piece of bread and mash through.

Chicken

Pre-heat oven to 180 degree Celsius.  Cooking time for your chicken will depend on it’s weight.  The general rule is to cook your chicken for 30 minutes per 500g.  So if you are cooking a 2kg chicken (as I was), you would cook it for 2 hours.

To prepare your chicken, unwrap and place in a deep baking dish.  Stuff the cavity with the stuffing mixture.  Using a spoon, carefully insert it underneath the skin of the breast and using the spoon and use it to separate the skin from the meat without tearing it.  By doing this you are creating a “pocket” to flavour the chicken further.  Stuff this pocket with chunks of butter, crushed garlic cloves and rosemary leaves.  As the chicken cooks, the flavours will soak further into the meat and the butter will crisp up the skin.

Cover with foil, and place into the oven.  Keep the chicken covered for all but the last half hour of cooking, checking every 20-30 minutes to baste the meat with the juices from the pan.  Serve with vegetables of your choice.

Triple J Hottest 100 Winner Leaked

It seems that all bets will now be off as far as the annual Triple J’s Hottest 100 is concerned with this years winner being unintentionally leaked on ABC’s own website. While advertising for the up-coming February edition of JMag, the site makes mention of the UK nu-folk quartet that topped the 2009 countdown.

The Tripple J Hottest 100 has become an annual tradition in Australia, with the nation voting for their favourite songs of the year.  The top 100 songs are then broadcast Nationwide on January 26th – Australia Day.

Clarity & Next Tattoo design

What really is a moment of clarity? Is it when all the pieces fall into place that we experience this as we can see the wrong doings of our past, or is it when things become so shattered that we bleed ourselves on the fragments to see the ultimate truth that nothing that we could ever dream will taste as sweet because of bitter disappointment?  It seems at times that my spiral of suffering is endless and that there is nothing I can do to break the cycle.  Yesterday was one of those days, and even though today I feel slightly better, my inner voices still taunt me, making my head ache and spiking my senses, shifting them slightly into that other mode where the shadows and whispers of those not of this realm become more noticeable to me.  Sometimes I think that I can see clearer while in my dark mind, that I can see the world and it’s inhabitants in their true state of ugliness – which makes rare, true beauty even more fantastical, if one can of course find it…

In just over two weeks, I’m going in for my next tattoo – some text on the inside of my left forearm.  I want to cover my scars with something that means a lot to me – some lyrics from Tool’s song, ParabolaWe Are Eternal, All This Pain Is An Illusion.  Every time I see it, I want to be reminded of the strength in the message, the strength I have already called upon to not give up.  The font being used is called Edwardian.

New Year, New Blog Domain

Once again it seems like it has been forever since I last posted, thanks to a lack of Internet access, being in between dwellings and that chaotic phase of the year we call Christmas. Life has been so flat out of late, I am surprised that everything I see and experience doesn’t just whirl around and flash past me at such speed, that colours are barely recognisable. Even when I do have time to relax, my mind keeps racing, urging me on to the pursuit of random “what-if” that may become the collage of days to come. I feel so exhausted that I think a years sleep would be rather welcomed right about now…

We have moved house to a two bedroom unit in a surprisingly quite pocket in one of the suburbs. It is nothing fancy, but it is clean with plenty of light. You can catch glimpses of the Derwent River from the lounge room window. It’s not too expensive either. It is just what we needed and at the perfect time. And of course, with getting a new place now means a regular Internet connection again, so more posts – more often. I also thought it was the perfect time to move my blog to it’s own domain which brings me to where I am right now, tip-tapping away at my keys, letting the dark silk of my mind flow through my fingertips. There are a few sorta back-dated events I hope to share within the next few weeks, such as my Chicken’s BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) competition from November 2009, to our recent camping trip up the beautiful East Coast of Tasmania. So please be sure to subscribe to keep up with all my latest ramblings and be sure to watch this space as I continue to evolve my little web nest.

Jeff Martin & The Armada

I have long been a fan of Jeff Martins Musicianship, from The Tea Party to his new project, The Armada.  Rich in story influenced from the far corners of the Earth, his music takes me aways to other lands, where mysticism and magic overcome me and leave me longing for more.  Such is the power his music has over me, that you can even begin to guess at how excited I was to find out that he was performing live in little ol’ Hobart.  I was unfortunate in missing out on seeing him earlier in the year due to work, but nothing was going to stop me this time round as I seemed to count down the days and hours in my mind, like a child does for Christmas, with each day seeming to drag with anticipation.  It was well worth the wait.

Starting the night with Morocco, the crowd was instantly under his spell, enchanted by his voice and the array of foreign instruments that graced the stage.  Many songs from both The Armada & Tea Party were played, including Sister Awake, one of my personal favourites.  In the middle of one track, Jeff preformed a rendition of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt, while in another, Joy Divisions’ Love Will Tear Us Apart wept from his heart-felt voice.

As part of an upcoming live DVD / Documentary, the night’s performance was recorded and filmed with much attention payed to the sound quality, because, as Jeff Martin put it, he “Cared”.  The over all experience was just breath-taking.  After a moving tribute to the Melbourne Bushfire victims of Black Saturday, the Armada returned to the stage to play an encore of Black Snake Blues that seemed to echo on in the ears and minds of all present.

Not wanting it to end, it did with the announcement that the Armada would return for a meet a great, so I loitered around, heart fluttering with excitement in wanting to thank Jeff personally for one of the most important pieces of music in my life – Heaven Coming DownAfter what seemed like another eternity, they came out and with charm and appreciation, greeted their fans, posing for photos and signing autographs.  When it came to my turn, I could feel my body tremble with emotion, not like that of being starstruck, but with what it ment to thank this Poet, this amazing Musician for what he had given me with his song.  He hugged me, and kissed me on the check as I struggled to hold back the tears.  He understood, even as I, a stranger to him, poured out my heart to him in 17 seconds.  17 Seconds is all it Takes, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpking wrote, and that is true because that is all the time in the World to truly see inside someone heart if you are willing to.

You can find out more about The Armada and hear samples of their music on their website, The Armada

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