Why Domestic Chores Shouldn't Be a 'Her' Job
I write this in the days post International Women’s Day
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Embrace the Ocean's Lessons for a Calmer Life
Come summer or winter, you know where to find me—at the beach.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Embrace the naked, my experience at the Onsen.
Sitting naked in front of strangers was not on my bucket list or my yearly activity-to-do for 2024 leading into 2025. Still, the power of shedding layers, enveloped by water has a certain thrill when we jump out of our comfort zone. The ancient Egyptians did it, and so did the Greeks, Romans and Mesopotamians. Scandinavians do ‘Sauna.’ Folks from Türkiye have perfected it and the Japanese are still doing it. Nothing screams ‘Vulnerable’ like baring your breasts or making sure your Punani is perfectly coiffed for people who don’t care. Yes, that’s right, don’t care. When you bare all at a Japanese Onsen or an Ottoman Hamman experience no one cares what you look like, so why should you?
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
The Cicada’s are louder this morning
I welcome the first day of 2025 not by the sound of the alarm, or the coffee machine that has an auto cleaning mechanism that scares the bejeezus out of us in the middle of the night, but by the sound of the Cicadas, which according to the encyclopedia, varies between a: the weather (well it’s pretty effin hot in Sydney today) and b: their mating season ritual, so in fact, these delicate little creatures of the male kind have woken me due to their persistence to procreate. Did I mention they were extremely loud this morning? And no, I’m not nursing a post new year celebration hangover and my ears are not ringing, I feel completely awake and if I had to take a breathalyser, It would probably come up as having .000001% of alcohol in my system, but nothing to get worried about. And it’s too early to move out from under the freshly laundered sheets in my oh-so-comfy bed. So husband has delivered the prescribed second latte, the cat has been fed and the dog has curled up for yet another mid-morning snooze and I am awake, like really awake listening to the Cicadas.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Unexpected Joys: Human Connection in Japan
The trip to Japan was memorable not for its famous sights but for the warmth of human connections. A simple interaction with a kind store assistant named Koji highlighted the profound nature of kindness in daily life. Small gestures, like his assistance with laundry supplies, left a lasting impression, showcasing Japan's culture of respect.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Everyday observations: The joys of teaching a teenager to drive
The humid, hot day felt even more stifling in the back seat of the car. Jamiroquai played, doing little to ease my nerves. I watched as my teenage son took the wheel, his father in the passenger seat directing him on which lane to stay in. As I observed the other drivers on the road, overtaking, braking without warning and giving the finger, I had to ask, “How have people gotten their driving licenses?” The standards have seriously dropped, either that, or society is on the downward spiral of inconsiderateness, or that driver was just an [insert derogative adjective here].
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Friends come and go and come and go
I hear the ping of the messages’ arrival on my phone. It’s 5:45 am, fifteen minutes before my set alarm, but I already know who the message’s sender is. Madam Z is an insomniac and most days is found watching the sunrise at the nearby beach amongst the hard-core joggers and dog walkers. She listened intently the day I revealed my love of the ocean because ever since then, she has sent me a beach photo (almost daily) that lights up my bleary eyes even on the coldest winter days.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
ChatGPT told me 'why I love the beach.'
As an experiment to curb my curiosity, I asked ChatGPT to tell me ‘why I love the beach’ and here is what it presented.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
2023 rules according to me
The ball dropped, the gong went off, the clock struck midnight. 2023 was born under a sky of crackers, hugs, kisses, smooches and well-wishers (those who were awake at least) who welcomed the new year with (I hope) the anticipation of better things to come. My very own FB post read a summerised version of the below.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
How having a Beta Reader has made me a Better Reader
To all those writers, journo’s, bloggers, vloggers, poets, laureates, composers and so forth, you would understand that the joy of writing, while creative and intuitive is somewhat an isolated process. We draft and redraft. Edit, sub edit, antagonise, get caught up on, rewrite and finally, when we are ready for our writing to emerge from our subconscious and the conscious world (where all great ideas form), having not only Alpha readers but a Beta Reader is better for the creative process.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
A lucky moment - how hard is it?
I’ve been dappling with the whole idea of luck. Just what is it? Scientifically speaking, luck is a chance encounter, but what about those who appear to have a chance encounter that leads to good fortune? That’s not luck; that’s called persistence and hard work and recognising the core of what luck represents. If luck is a chance encounter, you’re not going to encounter anyone sitting at home doing nothing right? And if I read about how ‘lucky’ someone is, I think I’m going to scream. If you’ve had a fortunate outcome, that’s not luck, honey; that’s payback for the countless hours dedicated to the task.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Mentors – make the connection.
This blog post isn’t about the importance of acquiring a mentor; there are several excellent articles written about the importance of a good mentor; I am concentrating on my experience and connection with two people who have and still mentor me to this day.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Praise for the list.
I love writing lists. Seems like so many others do as well. There are Pinterest boards dedicated to correct list writing. Youtube videos demonstrating the ‘write’ way to write a list. Some would say that it’s too rigid, while others claim that life without a list would be chaos.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Moments. In. Time.
Three words to be exact. I’ve read that a great title for a book should be summed up in three words. Your life can also be summed up in three words. Search for Meaning. Life with Purpose. Actions that Matter. Friends for Life. Clean my House. And it was this morning when another three words sprang into mind. Moments in Time. This occurred as I turned the page of a great book I’m reading right now, and when the dog looked at me with those big brown eyes, or when my online shopping was delivered to my veranda at precisely 7:18am, right in the middle of the 6 and 8am intended delivery time. Right. On. Time. It’s these moments where you read a paragraph that makes you laugh out loud, which reminds you of a memory long forgotten. Did I really wear that purple ill-fitting off-the-shoulder ensemble because I had nothing else to wear to the school disco? Or when you know you need to take the dog for a walk, he’s saying ‘Hey lady, it’s time for me to do you-know-what, so get up off your arse and open the front door.’ You laugh at the imaginary speech bubble above his scruffy face and remember the day you bought him home and how he curled up on your lap in a state of complete bliss. Or when the last shopping bag is placed by the door. You now know that you’ve spared two hours of your day not pushing the shopping trolley up and down the supermarket aisles, avoiding that impulse buy, the parking lot, the florescent lighting, wiping down the trolley for any Covid infection, remembering to take your mask. Instead, you’ve gained an insight for reading and looking at the dog, patting the cat or like the sign says, you’ve been able to Take. It. Easy.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
What's the reality of a reality show?
I admit it, there’s nothing more I like than to tune into a reality show to make me laugh out loud. And by that, I mean, I can convince myself I’m the normal one in the comfort of my inner voice (ah, but what constitutes ‘normal’ one would say, ok, I confess I would say that). What I find funny is whose reality are we talking about here? Is it those whose socio-economic wealth-o-metre is more than the debt of a third world nation or those who consider orange spray tan and a ‘bedazzled jewelled gown’ haute couture? Or that you’ll find ‘true love’ on an island, or that botched plastic surgery can be magically repaired by another surgeons knife? And while I cannot subscribe to every reality show, the few that I watch religiously never fail to entertain me at all.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
To have a 'beautiful mind' is not what you see reflected in the mirror.
“Most people can be reasonable and competent, well at what they do but at the same time be rather dull. New ideas are rare because we have been taught analysis and judgement but never creativity.” Edward De Bono.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
What’s the lure of good design?
How does a good cover design influence you to buy?
It started with an 80s mix tape...
…and a Covid project that propelled me to pull out every single photo album and take out each photograph on a lockdown infused Sunday afternoon. The idea is to scan each and every pic so that it’s forever captured digitally. This will probably take years I know, but pausing at images, some I didn’t even remember, tested my long term memory to categorise scenarios into chronological order. Thank goodness for one of my besties. She just looks at an image and knows exactly when it occurred. She is now my official curator of memories!
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
An open letter to my offspring
To the millennials and the something i-generation, I’m (we are all) learning from you.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Let's talk about attitude...not age.
The other day I was driving my youngest to school and we happened to change the radio station, one which I don’t usually listen to, not because I’m not the ‘demographic’, rather, the announcers and their banter just don’t resonate with me. However the selection of tunes is great, my son enjoys it, so I left it on.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez