It’s been a whirlwind over here with lots of planning, travelling, systemising and recruiting for new team members at the Australian Writers’ Centre. So here is my life in a minute!
Grateful for: The wonderful support from listeners of my podcast “So you want to be a writer” which I co-host with the wonderfully talented Allison Tait. I’m absolutely loving producing this podcast with Allison. I’m so grateful for all the positive feedback. You’ve helped us get to #1 in the Literature category. And we’ve reached #50 out of ALL podcasts in Australia so far!
Thrilled to: Host our recent meetup in Sydney with the wonderfully talented Tristan Bancks. Tristan shared his wisdom about writing to our community. I’m still in a bit of shock that he can write 2000 words just using his thumbs on his iPhone while walking on the beach in the morning! Tristan’s latest books are Two Wolves and My Life and Other Stuff That Went Wrong.
Speaking at: Business Blueprint conference at Australian Technology Park, organised by the talented Dale Beaumont and his team. I delivered the keynote on “The 8 Power Stories You Must Have to Build an Epic Business”. Great crowd – loved every minute of it!
Loving: My new favourite gadget. As I write this, I’m in the Yarra Valley. And one of the things I love about being here (well, apart from the wineries, rolling hills and the best Devonshire teas in Australia), is our shed. It’s where I retreat to channel my inner Rocky. Complete with heavy bag (essential prop for any Rocky training montage), rustic environs (think Rocky 4) and scruffy dog Groucho (the dog was called Punchy in Rocky 6).
I have a thing about boxing. It’s great exercise, an incredible release and an all round brilliant workout. I only wish I had a fulltime boxing trainer at my disposal. But, in absence of that, I have the next best thing. A Rocky-style shed.
The shed is situated well away from the house, it’s massive, has weights scattered around the floor and oozes just the right amount of grunge, without being dirty. I almost delude myself into thinking that Mickey (Rocky’s first coach) is about to appear from the shadows (like he did when Rocky was in his final fight in Rocky 6).
When I walk into that shed, the scene is set.
*Cue Rocky music.*
And that’s where my fantasy comes crashing down. Completely.
Why? Well, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that a Rocky wannabe in search of a pounding training session (“Let’s build some hurting bombs”) must be in want of some Really Loud Music.
And the trouble with working out in a shed in the middle of nowhere means that, unlike my place in Sydney, there is no fancy Sonos system streaming perfectly paced music to accompany the deadlifts and the right hooks.
All I had were the tinny speakers on my iPhone. Not exactly conducive to a pumping Rocky soundtrack.
But then I read somewhere that if you put your iPhone in deep bowl, this would amplify the sound.
So this has been my makeshift speaker for the past few months. Not quite cutting it right? It does amplify the sound a bit – but certainly doesn’t reach the decibels required for a true Rocky training session.
But then this little gadget walked into my life …
Welcome to my fave new toy. The Swan Bluetooth Speaker by F&D (and no this is not a sponsored post). It’s tiny but when I’m blasting my workout music, it’s so loud I’m certain the cows in the paddock down the road are channelling their inner Stallone as well.
I’m now so addicted to this little gadget that it goes with me everywhere – the bathroom, the backyard, the office …
I can finally stop carrying around that stupid bowl (ok just kidding).
Adoring: Well a post about my life wouldn’t be complete without some gratuitous pics of my furry babies.
Here is a video of Rex getting into the liquor cabinet. Clever kitty.
Here is gorgeous little Rocky. Yes, that’s really his name.
Here is adorable Dougal.
Til next time, that’s my life in a minute.
The post My life in a minute: My number 1 podcast! Clever kitty Rex; and my new fave gadget appeared first on Valerie Khoo.