The Rise of Rooftop Bars – Why I Can’t Get Enough of Sky-High Sips
In the last week I visited two new rooftop bars. One because its birthday month and doing something different on your special day is definitely Joie de vivre and the second,well, we don’t need an excuse for a midweek beverage other than for a girlfriend catchup and connect. With the many bars on offer around this beautiful city, why does the prospect of sitting outside in the fresh air, above the commuters on the ground watching the sunset make me want to push everyone aside as I run for the elevator?
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
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
Beachside morning and a shared moment
Today the beachside wasn’t just a shared destination, it was a reminder to appreciate the moment, the sound of the waves, the warmth of the 9am sun and a testament to how easily strangers sit close, upholding social decorum to not invade personal space and like a Mills and Boon novel, everyone was dreamy, and the atmosphere was euphoric.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Lost and Found: a mini self discovery in the back streets of Budapest
I wish I could say that hitting up Budapest solo was a calculated move, but honestly, I just followed my feet – they have a habit of taking me to the coolest spots! Budapest, this architectural diva draped in history, was my playground. While everyone’s queuing up at the tourist hotspots, I dove headfirst into the city’s secret nooks and crannies.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
5 ways to get happy
5 ways to get happy
Published : Sylvia Jimenez
How much do we really notice all that is around us?
We often take for granted how much we really notice in our environments. Our brains are able to recognize and process a tremendous amount of information. We may not always be consciously aware of the details, but our subconscious constantly takes in and processes information from our surroundings. We may not be able to recall specifics, but when we become more mindful of our environment, we can begin to notice more of the details that may have gone unnoticed before. It’s amazing how much we can observe when we take the time to really pay attention to what’s around us.
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
Niceness is (thankfully) still alive
This post is more of a happy affirmation rather than an observation, but if taken in the context of human behaviour, then I’m pleased to say that people are still inherently nice. My youngest, Master V, is employed as a Trolley boy at a local garden nursery. It is his first officially paid casual job means he is privy to the perfect balance of fresh air, movement and a clientele of grey nomads with a common interest of the gardening kind. And for me, it’s a great source of character observations for my upcoming stories, but that is for another time.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Live like a local and get off the tourist path
If I could, I would split my time between countries, my home with my family and my ancestral home with my culture. Earlier this year, I spent five fantastic weeks living like a local. I had the tremendous opportunity to be a digital nomad and simultaneously combined work and family matters. A great plan, excellent collaboration and complete trust from my employer meant that I could log in a work from the opposite side of the globe without having to dip into my precious annual leave.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Love Letters and other hotel slippers
There are two kinds of people. Hoarders and non-hoarders. And if you happen to be the offspring of a baby boomer, chances are you would have likely shared a home with a hoarder. This was evident in the days I dedicated to clearing a dead man’s history. I had an inkling that dear old dad used to hang onto just about everything, not because I found shoeboxes filled with mini soaps, tiny shampoo and conditioner containers, toothpaste packets, tea and coffee pouches swiped from the hotel rooms he frequented since retiring, nor did the drawers full of medicine receipts, travel booking confirmations and retro postcards sent decades before, but in the cupboard, yes, a cupboard full of pristine, still-in-the plastic-wrap hotel slippers. The type that robust bodies saunter about when the sauna session is complete.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Mind-wandering in solitude in a city swarmed by high rises.
Who would have thought that in the middle of inner-city Sydney, a parcel of land, large enough to develop a small suburb lays dormant to real estate aficionados’ grasp, provides solitude to early morning walkers, as well as being a true representative of Australian colonial history? On Easter Saturday I met with my good friend Liz for overdue catchup. We often meet in between our homes for a brisk walk and interesting conversation. She is one who listens intently and offers insightful observations. It was on this crisp morning walk that she showed me Yaralla from a local’s perspective and I’m ashamed to say that living in the area for nearly a decade I had never ventured past the gates. The estate, now heritage-listed was initially the home of a convict turned landowner who later mortgaged the land and was then converted as a convalescent home for returning soldiers.
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
Why holidays make you lose your mind…metaphorically speaking
‘Have you lost your mind?’ was one of the poignant comments my mother would say to me as a child when I did something wrong and many decades later, I say the same. Prominently this is referring to getting sunburnt to a crisp on the first day of the Summer Vacay. And Vacays are for blue skies, bikinis and bathing; it’s a BBB in Byron Bay.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Reminisce in your long-term memory; it could define who you are.
At last, I can identify that I have experienced a reminiscence bump! What is it about certain events or periods in one’s life that stands out in the memory bank brighter and more vivid than what was done last week, last month or last year? One theory of the ‘Reminiscence Bump’; the ‘life script account’ describes that during early adolescence, one starts to make essential decisions that have influencing experiences on their identity.
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