Love Thy Neighbour?

So. My second blog post ever. It’s the last day of January 2011 and only 12 sleeps until I turn 40 – so how is life shaping up? Its a Monday night and Im watching Home and Away as I type and wondering ‘did Alf do it?’ Riveting stuff hey.  Oh oh and not to forget that Brothers and Sisters season starts tonight so I have just set Tivo up with a season pass. All very mundane things. Yet there are a lot of people who are probably craving for the mundane things of life given what they have recently been through. In the wake of the recent floods in Queensland I had the experience to work with volunteers who came to my city to help people in the days following the flood peak.  The old and the young, the able and not so able – everyone wanted to help out in some small or big way. People wanted to clean up, wash up, and cook up (i swear i have never seen so many baked goods!). There has been a lot of sadness and tears thinking about people I know personally and others that I have come to know through the media who have lost everything including loved ones.  For us that didn’t lose everything life has gone on. For others an exhausting task of rebuilding their life has begun. The community spirit has been bubbling away since the floods and I really hope we can harness that and keep it going for as long as possible. Ive heard people say they never knew their neighbours before the floods – now they know them so well and will probably be lifelong friends having shared this almighty experience. So heres to you Mr, Mrs, Ms Neighbour all over the city....here’s to a lot of cracking good street parties happening this year that go on to be a yearly tradition!! Speaking of parties..... I'll be back soon to talk about a certain 40th celebration coming up.

Does life really begin at 40?

So its 2011 and this year I turn 40. Is age just as they say - a number? Is it a state of mind? Do our frames of reference, assumptions, desires and morals change simply because we turn 40??? According to a recent article being 40 can be downright dangerous and life threatening. EEK! Theres quite a few websites dedicated to turning and being 40 - who knew that???!!!

So who else is turning 40 with me this year? Heres a few....

• Winona Ryder - “I’m at that age I’ve been warned my whole life about,” says Ryder. So no one warned you about shoplifting then?
• Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg - would still like to see him in some Calvin Kleins
• Mariah Carey - perhaps her breasts are only turning 18 though?
• Snoop Dog - who DOESN'T love the snoop?
• Ricky Martin - livin' la vida loca. loca. loca. loca.

Here is how this little project will work. I'll be updating my blog as 2011 rolls on by. What changes will I experience, if any, because Im 40? Will my life suddenly go into superdrive or will it be status quo? Lets wait and see and in the meantime you can check out these great "40th birthday" quotes...

See you soon :) 

B