I Watched That Earthlings Video

I thought that would be the hard part.

The trailer had me in tears and I just knew I had to go through with the whole movie.

No holdbacks.

There's nothing as mind altering as watching blunt truth with no holdbacks.

Animals should never be treated that way. 


So I decided to become a vegan. 


It has taken a year of thinking and searching to come to this conclusion but I feel it is a good one.

Watching the video was life altering, anguishing, and overwhelming, but it wasn't hard.

The hard part is actually changing years of habits and going through what feels like a detox. My body doesn't physically crave meat or dairy or any other food that I'm no longer eating but I'm experiencing headaches, shaking, and sweats. 

Makes me wonder what exactly my body was 'addicted' to. 

But I have no desire to eat meat, or any other animal products, as every time I see it, I'm reminded of the journey and process it went through to get there. And I physically can't stomach supporting that anymore.

I'm finding a few things very helpful at this point of my journey:

1.  Research
I'm all over google like a rash! Seriously so much information out there that just needs to be sought out. I found a couple of epic websites with vegan recipes to help kickstart me off. Links below.

2. Vegan/vegetarian friends
This is when all the people I thought were a little eccentric come through to save my life. They were the ones who didn't shove their opinions down my throat. They quietly went about doing what they do and now they're my first port of call. They usually have relevant information about research, local spots to dine out, and general support for this new journey. 

3. Not bombing everyone with newfound enlightenment
This is one of the most common mistakes that people make when they start a new journey. They blast their surrounding friends and family with information that is sometimes unwanted and over passionate. I like to remember that it took searching it out and wanting it for this to be my journey. So I would rather wait for someone to search me out, than verbally vomiting over everyone in this fiery and passionate stage of my discovery.

And the most important point:

4. Enjoying the journey
I'm reminded every morning that my personal reasons for doing this are founded on truth and what I believe to be uncompromised honesty. But the benefits are going to be personal as well as ethical. Health and wellbeing will improve and the discipline of not letting particular foods enter my body is going to do wonders for my mental wellbeing.


Links:
Good websites for recipes and food options:
http://www.veggieful.com
http://veganyumyum.com/

There is usually a local webpage for vegans in your city/country so search it out and look up information that's relevant to you

Big changes

The funny thing is I knew this was going to happen before I left on the trip.

I just had this feeling that I would make some big changes here. And it seems to be starting.

When Seattle was just tickets booked and plans beginning, I thought I would be heading over here to learn mostly about photography processes and practices. And boy, I certainly am!

But the biggest changes seem to be around the area of food. 

I have been talking 'veganism' with a friend over here and I was very skeptical about it. But things are changing and the biggest impact so far has been the trailer for Earthlings. Tears were shed. It's just too big to handle. And that''s only the trailer!

I'm going to attempt to watch the movie tonight. Maybe this is the start of a new chapter; or maybe I'll chicken out and hide the remote!

#GIRLBOSS Part 2

After having a chance to relax and take a couple of days off doing something completely different, it's nice to come back and reflect over the next few points form #GIRLBOSS. I am starting to realize that being successful is one part good economy, one part good idea, 8 parts hard work. Not that that should put you off! Instead, let it spur you on to doing bigger and better things in life. Remember that hard work is rewarded!

So without any further ado, here are the next few points to ponder:

1.   Luck implies that you can do nothing and then step into success as easily as stepping into a pile of dog poop on the sidewalk
2.   We control our thoughts and our thoughts control our lives 3.   Take care of the little things, even the little things we hate, and treat them as promises to your own future4.   Fortune favors the bold who get stuff done5.   You can't convince someone else that you're amazing and terrific if you don't actually think you are 6.   One of the best things about life, a reason not to go blindly after one goal and one goal only, is that sometimes it will take you to something that is way cooler than anything you would have consciously set out to do in the first place7.   If you approach everything in your life with a certain degree of intention, you can affect the outcome8.   You can end up ignoring and even losing the positive things in life by focusing too much on the negative
9.   Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself10.   Dive head first into things without being too attached to the results11.   When your goal is to gain experience, perspective and knowledge, failure is no longer a possibility. Failure is your invention12.   It is she who listens to the rest of the world who fails, and it is she who has enough confidence to define success and failure for herself who succeeds13.   You belong wherever you want to belong14.   No matter where you are in life, you'll save a lot of time by not worrying too much about what other people think about you15.   When you accept yourself it's surprising how much other people will accept you too16.   You have to be excited and passionate about your ideas to make them work17.   The most important thing to do is take risks

#GIRLBOSS Part 1

Have you read #GIRLBOSS yet? 

No? 

Then you should.

Author Sophia Amoruso has made it a real easy read and in terms of advice, it's loaded. I took the magic part with a grain of salt as I wouldn't touch magic with a 10 foot pole but the positive thinking and the just getting it done kinda attitude is refreshing. 

So below is Part 1 of tips I got from the book. To start with a bang, Sophia talks business advice, professional standards, and how to treat money. There are a couple of cool quotes from the book thrown in there as well.

1.   The only thing I smoke is my competition

2.   Know when to throw punches and when to roll with them

3.   Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back

4.   Learn to create your own opportunities

5.   You don't get taken seriously by asking to be taken seriously

6.   When you hold yourself to the same standard in your work that you do as a friend, girlfriend, student or otherwise, it pays off

7.   All actions are creative

8.   Figure out what you love doing and don't suck at and then figure out how to make a living doing that!

9.   Money looks better in the bank than in your feet

10.   There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means - Calvin Coolidge

11.   Money is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it insures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises. -Aristotle 

12.   You don't get what you don't ask for

13.   Spend money because it's an investment in your own well being not because you're bored and have nothing else to do

14.   The things around you should represent the life that you've made for yourself, as long as you are taking the time to appreciate those items

15.   Treat your mind like your money - store up good things

See what I mean? It's seriously the bees knees! If we all took just 5 pieces from this list and put it into play, in a few weeks we'd all be in a much better place for it.

Part 2 coming soon!

Do Not Rest

One of the best and most inspirational talks at Semi Permanent is now available online.

The smartly dressed Nat Cheshire managed to move the entire crowd to rally behind his cause for art and Auckland City. And for those of us that travelled from other cities, we wanted to pack him up in a little bundle and set him loose on our own cities!

Take the next half an hour and be reinvigorated, refreshed and rebooted. Your brain will explode with the possibilities of your art and your talent.


Do Not Rest - Nat Cheshire

Image Nation Prequel

I seem to be enjoying a lot of creative input these last few days! Today I had the pleasure of listening to photographer Phillip Simpson who will also be speaking at AIPA's Image Nation this year. He has had experience in photography in both the UK and here in NZ and his main points were based around the differences and how to make the NZ creative industry work for you.

Here are some pointers:

 In London, they tend to pick the right guy for a specific job,

In New Zealand they pick their mates. 

Become good at networking

Be strategic about who you want to work for and

come up with ways to capture their attention

Balance the need to make a living with

passion that keeps you motivated

Be aware of when coincidences are happening

so that you can grab them and run with them

I think I need to become a conference junkie and attend this Image Nation if all the sessions are going to be this interesting!

Semi Permanent Part 2

The second day at Semi Permanent was nothing short of magical. The poets and the artists took Day 2 to a whole new level never before reached in the history of Semi Permanent in Auckland.

Completing this little mini series, here are the top 12 tips I took away from Day 2:

1. Go into that scary challenge and try your hardest to just learn
2. It is your collective responsibility to exploit the opportunities that modernism has laid out for you
3. Imagination is hope, hope is all you need
4. Remember, you live in a small place in a time when smallness is no longer a constraint
5. The work you make here must not just be good here, it must be good everywhere
6. In the absence of knowledge there is hope
7. In this fast paced world, if it is real time it isn't relevant
8. Try and bring people to your part of the world instead of always thinking of getting away
9. Always produce or perform with one foot in the audience
10. Say yes and figure the rest out later
11. Go the extra mile
12. You are here for such a short time so you need to make the most of every opportunity

I am so so very impressed with Semi Permanent and the caliber of speakers. I would recommend it to any creative and I hope to see you there next year in August!!

Semi Permanent Part 1

I finally made it to Semi Permanent this year!

Semi Permanent is a design and arts conference that has been inspiring artists in New Zealand for the last 10 years and certainly did not disappoint.

If you couldn't make it, do not despair!! I have taken some handy notes and would love to share them with you!

Here are the top 20 pieces of inspiration I took away from Day 1:

1. Avoid the beaten path

2. Make things that are worthy for the investment of people's time

3. Embrace the ridiculous

4. Creativity favours intuition over experience

5. Creativity is transferable. Hang out with creative people

6. Inject inspired focus into any work that you want to get better at

7. The idea 'Do one thing and do it well' is detrimental to creativity

8. Learn forever and play

9. Your ability to learn does not decline with age

10. Always keep a lifelong aspiration to become better

11. Dare to fail

12. Intrude on your fantasy. Step out and actually live your dream.

13. Failure is not the opposite of success

14. Creativity is being able to stick with a problem long enough without settling for mediocrity

15. Don't incorrectly gauge your success by the awards you may or may not get

16. Stupid ideas that you talk about could become content

17. Remember the hands that have made your things

18. What looks like talent is usually just hard work

19. Invest your personal experiences into your work. It will make it stronger.

20. Invest time into the details

I'M SO INSPIRED!!! The word 'creative' was mentioned so often that I'm starting to think I am one! And I'm definitely going back for seconds tomorrow...

Mine

It's not that I don't want to be like some people. I do. It's just that I don't want their essence to be my essence.

Today I decided to be fearless

There's this twilight zone, this snippet in time. It only happens once a year or at max twice, and usually at a funeral. It's this headspace that seems to clear the fog of everyday living. It wipes back the smudges of culture and allows us to see the time wasters and all their trappings.

It's in this narrow alleyway of time where our thoughts become straightened. I would bet that if people made some of their major decisions in this hallway, the world would be so much better for it. Yet once it has passed us by, we think nothing of it and get back on the carnival ride.

Forgetting what illuminated our mind but a moment ago.

It was in one of these brief moments that I decided to write down what was going on in my mind. A turning point in my history, so to speak. It was my Granddad's funeral and I had my first glimpse into the space that I like to call "The Bubble." This was the dawning of realization. The maturing of me.

In that moment, what became clear is that today, whatever the day, is a day of the utmost importance. The wasting of time is a wrong that cannot easily be undone. What became the norm in those precious seconds in The Bubble, was the understanding of what is truly valuable in a world where time is the only mark of value. Money became obsolete, only serving to create the blur that surrounded me in that moment. Possessions were given no value and were forgotten. For another came into focus.

People.

Family. Friends. Neighbors. Strangers.

In this tiny corridor, people were the only things that mattered. Where these people were walking, where their lives were leading them. That was what mattered. That is what truly matters. When time is over, what is there?

Then the moment is gone. Someone walks up to console me in my grief. Or offers me a club sandwich and asks about my career, my clothing, my life. Life moves on. I stop at a petrol station to fill the tank. Credit. Sign here.

Moment forgotten.

But, in retrospect, I am becoming increasingly aware that The Bubble is the real world and we are all being fooled.

Pick your friends AND your food!

Food and friends.

The single best combo on the face of the planet.

If you want to raise the bar on life, I insist you leave behind takeaways and the sodas for a month. It is seriously changing my life! I have to think about more than convenience and I end up making fairly healthy decisions! I've switched to a better combo!

I went on a date with a lovely friend, Jess Molina. We hung out at the amazing place that she calls 'Work' and we made plans for our new magazine and picked fresh fruit and veges out of the garden. It was seriously the most relaxing work date of my life! 

It has convinced me to instantly buy a house and invest in a decent vegetable garden! But until I've saved up enough for a fairly hefty mortgage, I'll invest in a load of garden pots and try to start herbs. Let's hope these herbs don't all die and kill my dreams along with them!

Holiday Adventures

Glyn at the bus stop in Napier

Art Deco buildings everywhere!

Cutest secondhand bookshop in Hastings.
Only secondhand bookshop in Hastings.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Visiting family over the holiday period is nostalgic, chaotic, and forces me to take a mental holiday. The internet down here is at half the speed of dial up and the idea of getting any work done is downright laughable.

But this allows me the chance for guilt free trekking, discovering, and adventuring with various family members and reminds me of what is really important in life.

Today was Napier with my man, finding cafes and shops that will stock my magazine, and then an epic discovery of the backstreets of Hastings with my sister. This was promptly followed by dinner at the local hotspot, Breakers, and an awe inspiring movie at the local cinema, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

SUCH a great start to my year! Relaxed and adventurous.