Hitting Reset

After what has been a dreary winter, it’s finally spring here. Winter this year felt long and stressful in many ways. It was colder than what I remember winters being and then, a mostly rainy August didn’t help. Weather aside, on the last day of June I was also informed about the space where I rent a room for work getting sold and the new owners wanting it for their business. Me and the other two therapists who rent rooms in that space were given till October to find another place. While it would’ve made sense to look for something together, we ended up going our separate ways for various reasons. July was consequently spent stressed and looking for a new office space; one that wouldn’t be too expensive and not put out my existing clients too much. In the end, I did find something with the view to start in September.

August was all about planning that move. Admin needed to be done. Some extra furniture needed to be purchased for a waiting area. I scoured Marketplace like a maniac. I picked up the keys to the new office. Waited for the property manager to organise for their person to set up a wall to create an office and a waiting room. Once that was done, I moved the little things I could on my own and that I didn’t need to continue seeing clients. And finally, on the 31st, along with my partner, we moved my armchairs, desk and side table to the new office and set it all up. The Sydney Marathon put a spanner in the works as it delayed our start due to road closures in the area. But by about 3 pm, we were done and set off to enjoy a a couple of beers and a very late lunch/early dinner. As I write this today, I have had my first week in the new space and I am adjusting to the change and liking it so far.

With this significant change, with September starting on a Monday, with the advent of spring, it makes sense to hit the reset button.

All year long, on and off, I have been thinking about this blog. I want to use it. I still want a space I call my own. I do have a Substack with the same username but I am just not sure if that’s the space to be. Hosting a site and having all your posts there is one thing. Substack, like other social media, belongs to someone else. If anything, a part of me wonders whether to use Substack as the place to drive readers to the website. Have a post at the start or end of every month, compiling the longer posts here. In the meantime, I am also tidying up the blog. I’m still saving all my cringe posts from my 20s for me to read but figure, the world does not need them.

It’s hard to believe that we have only four more months to go in 2025. Time keeps ticking by. The state of the world in the past year and a bit has got me down. Innocent people being killed, climate change, AI taking over, racism, misogyny all in broad daylight – it’s hard to not question the future of humanity. And there are times I’m glad I’m getting older. That I’m middle-aged and will hopefully not live to see the full extent of this. I am also glad to have remained childfree. To have not brought another human being into this dumpster fire.

I am however, also reminded of small kindnesses. Of family who loves me and looks out for me from afar. Of a partner who makes me laugh and loves me. Of friends who light up my world. Of strangers who smile at me on the streets. Of the barista who remembers me and my order when I return after years. Of my gym trainers who brighten up my days with their dark humour. Of cats, dogs, and other animals who love so openly. Of the hundreds and thousands of people who take to the streets to march against genocide.

Sometimes, it can seem like humanity sucks. That the world is doomed. But maybe in little pockets, it is possible to see the light. And maybe, sometimes, you have to be the light yourself.

I feel like I am rambling. And maybe that’s what the first post back after a long hiatus is. A ramble. A way to hit reset. I hope to keep writing here, sporadically even. I focus more on writing my short stories and novels outside of this space. But that doesn’t mean this needs to remain entirely dormant.

So hello again. Hope to see you around.