Busy Days

Hopefully soon I’ll get a chance to publish some recipe posts and finish off the Japan trip ones. For now, though, here are a few pics and notes from the last week or so, of things that have been making me happy.

Add to this: the ducks I saw walking through uni to choir; the 20+ rainbow lorikeets taking a bath and feeding in the front yard of a place I walked past the other day; the simple peace of drawing and colouring a picture.

Atm I often leave placement at the end of the day feeling like my brain has been used, and used well. I’m learning lots, about occupational therapy in mental health, transferable skills, and about myself. There are rewarding and challenging aspects, and reminders of why I chose to do OT.

I’ve also had some fun times with my uni housemates and friends. Some of us went on a specially-organised cruise on a “showboat” this week!

And LaTUCS (my uni choir) is back for the year. Check out http://www.latucs.org.au and http://www.facebook.com/LaTUCS for more info.

Three Years Ago: WGS

Three years ago today, I shaved off my shoulder blade-length hair to a number 3 cut, in order to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, while challenging myself a bit. I’d never had hair shorter than my shoulders since primary school. You know what, though? Since the shave, it hasn’t grown very far past my chin before getting chopped back!

The “World’s Greatest Shave” is an annual event. Why not pop over to the website and see if you can sponsor a few people?

That is, if you’re not doing it yourself… 😉

Apparently, this year is the event’s 20th birthday.

Reblog: IWD

After I published yesterday’s post, I realised that I could have posted something a bit more directly relevant to March 8th, International Women’s Day.

My day consisted of doing placement duties driving around and sitting in offices, as well as a gym session followed by dinner with friends. In the car when we were driving around, I made sure the radio was tuned to Triple J. Every year they celebrate International Women’s Day by having “Girls to the Front”, highlighting female artists and presenters all day. 😊

I also read this piece by Carly Findlay, appearance diversity activist and friend, highlighting eight disabled women (and one non-binary person) to follow on social media.

http://carlyfindlay.com.au/2018/03/08/eight-disabled-women-and-one-non-binary-person-you-should-know-this-international-womens-day/

Quote from Carly, introducing the piece: “Happy International Women’s Day!

May your mental load be reduced, manteruptions be kept to a minimum and your voices be heard.

This year’s themes are “No Woman Left Behind” and “Press For Progress“. Disabled women are often forgotten in discussions about diversity and violence and media and women in general. So I’m going to let you know of a few who you need to follow.”

Shared from The Age: Nightmare Commute

See the article here: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-west-has-melbourne-s-worst-commutes-four-hours-a-day-across-town-20180301-p4z28i.html

Before I moved to Melbourne, I was travelling at least four hours a day (round trip) to get from home to uni and back, from central north-west to north-east.

Where I live now in Melbourne, I have a lot of privilege in terms of easy access to PT. I also have privilege in that, even when I was commuting, I can walk a decent distance in a relatively short space of time because I’m not limited by physical health overmuch.

It makes one think, though: the people who are most severely affected are those who, like me, can’t drive for whatever reason. (My reason is that I’m still learning how to.) We can’t just jump in the car and go if the PT system isn’t present.

A group in the article suggest that the electrification of the rail line to Melton needs to happen at the same time as the current Metro Tunnel works, instead of after it, because of the current capacity problems. I’d like that to happen – but I thought one of the reasons for waiting was that the current bottleneck in the City Loop needs to be resolved by the tunnel or else it’ll still be more of the same?

What’s needed are more connecting services, like buses, to bridge the gap in the meantime. It’s a question I ask when I see a new estate going up: where’s the connecting PT services?

I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more about this issue and others like it in the coming months. It is, after all, a state election year.

Microwave Tuna Curry

Pressed for time or can’t be stuffed turning the stove on? Feel like you’ve been through all the usual dishes already this week? Read on.

Makes enough for 1 serve.

Ingredients:

• 1 can tuna (in water)
• 1 serve veggies – could be frozen or fresh veg!
• Curry powder, Moroccan spice, (extra) paprika, mixed herbs, pepper, chilli, lemon
• (Extra) water
• Spaghetti pasta or noodles or potato

Utensils:

• Microwave-safe container
• Teaspoon
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Pot
• Cutlery
• Plate

Method:

1. Chop veggies
2. Tip a tsp or so of all seasonings into a microwave-safe container.
3. Peel lid off tuna can and use it to pour the tuna water into the container, leaving the tuna in the tin.
4. Mix water and seasonings; add a touch more water if necessary, as you want it to have a paste-like consistency.
5. Start water boiling for pasta/ noodles/ potato – cook them alongside the microwaved ingredients according to packet instructions/ until soft.
6. Tip chopped veg into the container, then pop into the microwave for 10 mins.
7. When 5-6 minutes of the 10 have passed, pause microwave and add tuna, breaking it up so it’s not one big clump.
8. Restart microwave to cook for remaining minutes.
9. Optional: I was going to add a dash of peanut butter here but got distracted; you could add a touch of flour/ other thickener. Depends how much liquid you want.
10. . Combine with pasta/ noodles/ potato. Serve and eat.