The Art of Mindfulness...Music To My Ears

During the week, I was flicking through Wednesday's free-issue Stylist magazine when I came across a piece on The Art Of Mindfulness which postulates that, with technology at our fingertips and able to deliver (almost) every whim and passing fancy, we have lost the ability to live in the now. 

"The internet felt like an amazing opportunity but it's made us slaves.  And unable to live in the now."

Both Susan Maushart (In The Winter Of Our Discontent) and David E Mayer (director of University of Michigan's Brain Cognition and Action Laboratory) suggest that multi-tasking is a myth and that what we are actually experiencing is the brain focusing and re-focusing so quickly on consecutive tasks that we are left feeling forgetful and unfulfilled. 

I was quite inspired by this notion of being in the 'now' so I spent the back half of last week resisting the temptation to flit between facebook, emails, sms-ing and reading during my commute - 'trying the idea on' so to speak.  I heard the classical strains of Vivaldi as I passed through Vauxhall Station in the morning, saw the gorgeous pink sunset from the train window on Thursday night (no photo to share because I was just looking at and enjoying it) and laughed until my eyes watered at my Turkish friend's rendition of an 80s-song-to-remain-unnamed (because I can't remember it!) on Friday night's commute.

So this morning I was catching up on some of my fellow bloggers musings from the week and in the spirit of mindfulness, read with single-minded determination (that means all the way through - that's right, from beginning to end - in one sitting) the latest post from Seen The Elephant about expat Russian accordionist Alexander Sheykin.  Click here, be still, and be moved by some of the most beautiful and haunting music I've ever experienced.

And all through the wonders of the internet.

London...On The Cheap(side)...

I had lunch with some great friends of mine today who moved to the UK permanently two and half years ago. We were chatting about how long it takes to feel 'settled' and they reminded me that, in their early expat days, I had said to them that it took me somewhere between 18 months to two years before I'd started to feel like I had actually 'built' a life for myself versus the feeling of being a long staying tourist.

Did I really say that?  I can't really remember...

But what I do remember is my initial shock at how expensive things were and a big part of feeling 'settled' for me was finding ways to do things cheaply - most expats in the UK can reel off a whole variety of discount 'opportunities' - and I soon learned that if you look hard enough, there are lots of ways to do this.

For example, today's lunch included a 50% discount off the food bill and was booked through toptable...and my travel to our fab foodie feast was courtesy of Oystercard (which almost halves the bus fare).  I have also booked a 70min massage for a few weeks time through Groupon at a whopping 66% off and I have had countless 2-for-1 meals with friends using vouchers from newspapers like the Metro, email newsletters (Giraffe, gbk and Pizza Express are particular faves) and voucher websites like vouchercloud and vouchers.co.uk.

So the key to London 'on the cheap' is this - Sign up for as many things as you can.  You may fill your inbox to overflowing but when it comes to getting the deals, it really is a numbers game.

And you can also rest assured in the knowledge that you'll never go hungry - if all else fails, supermarket-brand baked beans are only 19p a can!

Ker-ching!

ps...for you Londoners that might be interested in some terrific Turkish fare, get yourself down to Cirrik in Richmond...via toptable of course!

The Language Barrier...Mind The Gap!

I've lived here in the UK for just over 7 years now.  I came from another English-speaking country - a colony of the British Empire no less, built on the entrepreneurial and criminal exploits of those shipped in from the Mother Country.

And I have spent a not insignificant proportion of my time explaining passing comments, pithy retorts and ironic witticisms that lose their essential meaning when transported to the other side of the world.

The comment that sparked it all off 7 years ago was this:

I went for a fossick on your desk.

I had presumed that fossick was a word in use in everyday English language but clearly not.  And I found myself, flush-faced, explaining to the wide-eyed recipient of said comment that it meant to rummage about for something, using all of the relevant Aussie 'looking for gold'-isms I could think of! 

I am secretly quite proud that I haven't yet fallen for the whole 'I was walking to work today and my pants got wet' gaffe (for those non-English people out there, pants are underpants here) but there have been a few faux pas including thongs and vests (both also undergarments) and a few smiles/sniggers/raised eyebrows at comments like this week's pearler, 'suck it up Princess' (directed at one who needs to get over oneself!)

And it reminded me of some of those truly 'choice' (the English would no doubt say 'cracking') sayings that I had under my belt when I arrived 'off the boat' that captured the essence of a sentiment in the way only an Aussie can:

(Best I warn you here: if you would rather avoid references to swearing and general, unlady-like behaviour, you should stop reading now)

Feeling like a shag on a rock - the shag being a bird of the feathered variety - does not mean I would like to have sex in an uncomfortable place but rather that I've been (to use another metaphor) 'left out in the cold'.

As useless as t*ts on a bull - which has now been replaced by the more genteel 'as useless as a chocolate teapot' - you get my drift, right?

...and one of my all time favourites...

Don't p*ss down my back and tell me it's raining - which is really not for use in anything other than highly-social, alcoholically-lubricated situations but really sums up what the little voice inside my head is screaming saying sometimes.
 
So now you've had a peek behind the sunburnt brow of this ridgy didge Aussie Expat.  Shocked?  Well, I may not have painted a very erudite picture, but I'll bet you wouldn't have learnt any of that watching Neighbours!

But you can do your bit for British-Aussie relations yourself by clicking here and swotting up courtesy of the The Australian Slang Dictionary.

Then we might actually be speaking the language!

And that'd be bonzer mate...

My Very First....Guest Post!

For the last two and and half years here at Gidday from the UK HQ, I have constrained my ramblings and wittering-on to the pages of my own blog.  But today we celebrate another Gidday First - my very First Guest Post!

Inspired by my 50 Book Challenge, I submitted my Gift of Fiction idea on Seeded Buzz and well, one thing led to another until, thanks to Gidday-from-the-UK-er, Spriteyone, and the good folk over at Aurelia...

TAH DAAAAAAAH!!

I was published!

And you can just click here to bask vicariously in my success/narcissism/nostalgic meandering through the books of my childhood...

...or for a more 'now' helicopter view, check out the latest 50 Book Challenge update here...

Published! Can you believe it?