"It's Rex Manning Day"

Rex Manning Day doesn't start off well. $9000 is lost to a bad dice throw (double that really, because he had actually won the first throw), Debra tries to slit her wrists, Gina and Corey have a huge flight and Corey is outed as a 'closet speed freak', Gina is called a slut and sent home from work. Poor A.J gets his heartbroken. Joe is about to lose his store... oh and Warren gets arrested and then causes a hostage situation.

"What's with today, today?" We ask ourselves... We might not have the opportunity to tell the arrogant man with bad hair to get out, his hair is stupid and that we think he's a has been. We don't get to throw a 'Damn the Man' party and sing from the roof tops. (Although if I had thought of this earlier and was more of a party person, today would be the ideal day for a 'Damn the Man' party!) We don't get to buy the thing we love back from the evil corporate minions with a vase full money... but the doesn't mean we can't do anything.

Ahhhh Mark...

I'm going to shift gears now, keep up. I haven't been sleeping well this week, and last night I had the added annoyance of a mozzie - the bane of the insomniac (I am not an insomniac it just finished the sentence better than "people who don't sleep well"). The mozzie was buzzing around my head at an indecent time of morning and I moved, as you do, to get it to shut up. And I thought, in my dreamy fuzzy way, that my huge body moving (relative to mozzie) must be really scary for the mozzie, and how brave the tiny mozzie is, to take on creatures so much bigger than themselves and how amazing that something so small can be so annoying. (Sleepy and fuzzy, remember)

So I call on all of you to be mozzies and 'damn the man' with bad hair... or no hair/shower head. Buzz... and keep them awake and uncomfortable. Because we can't kick the man with bad hair out of our store, but we can buzz.

The man isn't always the man with bad hair, he's the Clicks store that wraps each item you buy from the pharmacy in individual plastic bags and uses a cable tie that will get cut 3 minutes later when you pay; he's the restaurant that presume you want a straw or clothing shops that presume you want a bag. He's the people that discriminate against "others" whether because they are a different colour, nationality, or have a different sexual preference to them. He's the people watering their lawns in a drought. He's the climate change deniers and the senators that want to restrict the use of renewable energy. We need to be relentless and consistent in our buzzing because one guy with bad hair should not have the power to make the world a worse place. We need to be brave and persistent - like the really annoying mosquito.

Things aren't all bad. here are many more good people than bad presidents (and he might not be that bad), it's just easy for people to get overwhelmed or caught up in the busyness of surviving. I'm begging you to be active citizens in any small way you can. (Slacktivists: sign here, or here, or support what the Centre for Biological Diversity are doing or support the firefighters and other heroes making a difference). 

Finally, I apologise (but don't understand) if you haven't seen Empire Records (and therefore aren't sure what I am going on about). It's a 90 s cult classic with an amazing sound track and I guarantee that it will make you smile. Watch it. Be inspired by it. It holds up to the test of time. (Although adult me is less keen to marry Mark than teenage me was).

Damn the man... save the empire! 

P.S. Rex Manning day is supposedly on the 8th of April - according to the all knowing internet. 

Mozzie bites and memories

Do the holidays seem like they happened ages ago? Does it feel like all you have left of the holiday are mozzie bites and memories? Or are you still feeling upbeat and energised? For me, this has been a very long seeming week... and I miss having my family around. BUT, it is a whole new year!

It is 2017 and (that's ridiculous and insane and where does the time go?) the New Year gives you the opportunity to reflect on life and decide what you like and what you would like to change. It puts a full stop on the previous year, whether good or bad (even if it is a totally artificial full stop given that the 2016 day isn't extraordinarily different to the 2017 day). It gives people, organisations and countries a chance to reset their stats and try better for the year and stops the list of famous people that have died in 2016 (thank goodness). 

If you are looking for New Year's Resolutions (it really is never too late) think about becoming a revolutionist by cutting out/down on meat.  If you haven't already (and I can't imagine why not) commit to eating only sustainable seafood (check out SASSI green list or look for the MSC logo). And of course, you have already stopped using personal care products with microplastics but maybe you now want to make sure you diligently use reusable shopping bags or stop using straws (which I am all for, but it is tricky with milkshakes, so if anyone wants to buy me a reusable steel - one that's actually washable - my birthday is coming up... and so are most people's because there have only been 13 days of birthdays this year.)

Don't forget to use water as if you were paying for it - which you ARE but people don't seem to think like that (seriously, who leaves the tap running when brushing teeth - why does that even come up as a water saving tip?) You really learn to value water when it is no longer available... and that will be the reality if we don't meet the water saving targets. (El Nino might be over, but climate change isn't, and less rain is a reality of our future and "water-shedding" might be too.)

And, if you are already a Planeteer...  resolve to not let the horrible people get you down and focus on being a good example of inclusivity, tolerance and kindness. There would be less Trump in the world if people took a step out of that rat race and opened their arms to life. Do new things, open your mind to possibilities that are different and engage in conversation with people who think differently to you, or just chat with your uber driver - their lives might give yours perspective.  It's a brand shiny new year and there are loads of reasons to be hopeful and happy (just ask Bill Gates - Also, what is bubble tea?)

Find happiness in the small things like a walk on the beach!