Obligatory New Year's Eve Blog - Highlights and Resolutions

2012, AKA the year the world didn't end...

I can't not acknowledge that 2012 had its lowlights, most significant - the death of my grandmother,  but also my first overnight stay in an emergency ward and some recurring illness; moving from a job I honestly believed I was great at, to one I've totally lost all confidence in; to my family going through a lot of career and emotional trauma. However, I've decided I'd rather focus this blog on the good moments that happened, and the little surprises etc.

Obviously the biggest moments of joy from me come from my travels. This year saw another great trip to the US and finally booking a trip to Paris, a place I've dreamed of seeing since I was a child. London is also on the agenda which is very exciting.

My US trip , I won't mention as it has been well documented in this blog, except for the last day which I forgot to blog about. The highlight/lowlight of that day was me running into Joan Rivers in LAX and making such a fangirl fool of myself that I've not been able to watch Fashion Police, as I find myself wincing with embarrassment every time I see her.

The London and Paris trip will get its own update blog later so moving on.

So here's a highlight reel for 2012

- Going to see the Avengers on its record breaking opening weekend while in the US. It was really cool to be part of something that huge. Enjoying the movie so much was a good bonus.

- The Hoot Cake! I was so stupidly proud of this. It's the first attempt I've ever made at a character cake. Truthfully the first non-Betty Crocker iced cake I've ever made. It was so important to me that I pulled this off, yet after the 16th tantrum I thought it wasn't going to happen, and then it just suddenly came together (well as much as it could.) I was also super proud of the "churro" flavoured cake I made for Aaron's birthday. 

- Oh yes, Luke Perry called me gorgeous. Yes, he'd say that to all the girls, but frankly I don't care, he said it it me. Meeting him and Gareth David-Lloyd at Supanova was a real highlight. 

- The announcement that Weezer were finally touring Australia again! It's in three weeks and I'm so excited! 

- My birthday present from Aaron, when he took me on the Cheetah Experience at Monarto Zoo, which allowed us to go into their exhibit and walk with them, and amazingly pat them. Sure I spent a lot of it really terrified, but it was amazing. Especially when they started purring.

- A new Bond film (yay!). Although my favourite film of 2012 was Argo. It was amazing - it balanced humour and tension so well... and Ben Affleck was really good looking in it... *ahem*

- I got Aaron to like a musical! We saw my favourite musical - Rock of Ages - on Broadway and he loved it too. (It greatly helped that he was rather smitten with one of the girls in it!)

- Christmas went super well. I made punch! I'm, like so totally domesticated.

- It sounds sad/silly/funny but I've found an Iphone game this year called Cause of Death and I'm so in love with it. The best bit was probably getting my sister addicted too, so we both eagerly await Tuesday mornings when the new episode arrives and we both babble about it. It's fantastic. (It's a crime, choose your own adventure style thing.)

- Manchester United won, New Zealand won a test in Sri Lanka and North Melbourne made the finals (then apparently there was a giant alien invasion and they couldn't play the finals game... I'm sure that's what happened, I seem to have gone hazy...). As for all other sporting teams etc... it's best we just talk about the weather.

-  Storage Wars and Man Vs Food came into my life. Yes I like reality tv.

I know there's so much more but I can't think of them. I may come back and edit. 

And how about those resolutions I made for 2012 - how did they go?

1. Getting healthier and into a better routine eating wise and exercise wise and cook some different things  (so far eating is better, exercise isn't)

2. Clean my two back rooms out

3. Solve a Rubik's Cube

4. Watch more movies

5. Cuddle a Koala

6. Not cut my hair (except for trims to make it healthy and for my fringe - that stays)

 

Um... yeah. I failed all of them. But my hair does have a nice side fringe now... and I'm planning on buying a treadmill. (Note planning, can't guarantee will!)

 

This leads me to resolutions for this year. I did come up with one which was to make sure I laugh every day, because laughing feels good, and I will try and do that, but I don't want to call it a resolution, just something I plan to naturally incorporate. And obviously, I suck at keeping resolutions.

I could always say the standard "lose weight, get fitter and healthier" etc, but I've worked out that's not something I can just flick a switch on, I still need to work through some emotional issues regarding that, so it's not a resolution.

 

I've been pondering whether I wanted to make anything else a resolution this year but it struck me, that there wasn't anything I wanted to wish for, or wanted to change. This belief isn't a lack of ambition or passion but I have an awful lot to be content about in my life and I simply can't think of something that's really missing. Also, I've realised that this year, a lot of my misery regarding my job etc was because I was trying too hard to control things or worrying too much about how well I was doing etc, instead of just having some faith in myself, and realising that life goes on, and things always turn around or upside down and it's so often that things that look bleak or difficult aren't, or even if they are, there's something else that will come along as comic relief. So, I'm not going to stress a need to want things outside of what I normally have (or the holidays I plan) or put pressure on myself.

 

I really believe that 2013 is going to bring some changes, I'm not sure what they are but I feel good about them and the year.

 

Hope that everyone reading this can reflect on a bunch of highlights from their own 2012, and have a 2013 full of new ups and all dreams come true.

 

So much to write about, so little of it interesting...

I've worked out what gives me blogging block. The thought that I need to say something really interesting/profound/witty etc, that makes it worth publishing. So I end up saving a bunch of thoughts till I have enough to blog about it, and then by the time I get there it's a jumble of thoughts and too hard, and I give up halfway through a draft. I've decided to make myself a challenge of posting at least twice a week from now on, and they can be simple paragraphs about a tv show I'm watching, or essays on life and chocolate.

So it's been ages since I wrote. I'll write up a review of 2012, and the hopes/dreams/plans for 2013 after we know if the world ends Friday. It'd be a total pain to sit there and work out 2013 is the year I'm finally going to complete my life size cross stitch of The Big Pineapple if life is wiped out before I can start the project. For now here's just a quick run down of what's been happening in Courtney world.

- I was having a very difficult time with work a few works ago, there was a lot of uncertainty, I felt I was failing as a manager and as a worker and I was very unhappy. Things have improved, as I've got a better understanding of where things are going and I feel way more settled.

*Ooh an "I've spotted a shiny thing" interlude - Everybody Get Up by 5ive is an awesome pop song. I really like 5ive.

- Man Vs Food is my new favourite show. Of course it's not on anymore and I'm just catching up on old episodes but man I love it. American tourism and culture and ridiculously delicious looking food. It's a winner.

- It's a week to Christmas. For those who know me, Christmas is when meek, mild-mannered Courtney, turns into a crazed tinsel flinging control freak.  I feel like I've not been able to spread my usual Christmas cheer to people around me this year which has saddened me. I've also been really conscious/guilty regarding how easy it is for me at Christmas, I can change decorative colour schemes at the drop of a bauble, don't blink when buying presents for people etc, and having the reality hit me that some people can't even eat at this time of the year, have no toys for their kids etc, and so many animals are abandoned, hit me hard. So I've been trying really hard to donate to charities, in the vague hope that I can spread some cheer to someone who could really use it or at least take the pressure off them worrying if they can eat that day.

*Interlude, I love the way Cerys from Catatonia rolls her Rs when she sings Road Rage...

*Oh Stephen Gately... RIP :(

- In news I think is really exciting, after spending ages umming and ahhing about what I want to study next. I've decided that I really want to study interior design, despite not being sure I have much talent for it at all. I know I can't draw! (Art was one of the classes in school I quit as soon as it become non-compulsory.) I do definitely have an interest and I do think I'd be somewhat good at it but we'll see how it goes. More on that in a future blog.

- Saw the latest Bond film, Skyfall - I love James Bond so much, and was basically in tears halfway through the film as it felt like I was watching a Jason Bourne film rather than a Bond one, but then it got really good, and had lots of nods to the Bond geeks like me. I was very pleased to have the character of Q back.

*A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton is a really special song to me, that, Complicated by Avril Lavigne, Hella Good by No Doubt and the entire Spirit Room album by Michelle Branch, send me straight back to my first trip to the US. Instamemories. Oh! The Greatest View by silverchair too. I don't like them at all, but that song reminds me of heading to Universal Studios on a beautiful summer Californian day, on my sister's birthday.

- The trip planning has moved on since I last blogged, airfares are officially paid for, hotels are booked, all the scheduled Paris sightseeing is booked, and we're slowly booking London sightseeing. Again this is worthy of it's own blog post so will update more about it shortly.

Um is that it? I feel like the last month has just disappeared, I've been permanently sidetracked but feel like I'm getting into a more cleared head. I have a week off from Christmas Day (hurrah for office shutdown) and I'm so looking forward to it.

Hope things are well for anyone reading this.

London (And Paris) Calling

Starting with an utterly random thought - Sometimes I want a child just so I can give it one of the names I adore. And by a child, I mean daughter, because my girl names are way cooler than my boy names. I can almost imagine my two totally hipster twin girls - Harper and Marlowe in their matching berets now.

(This isn't me being amusing by the way - these are my favourite girl names, and I would totally dress my kids in French Nautical Fashion. Again, it's best I just have a cat.)

Anyhoo, I'm back blogging. Work and family stuff (unfortunately stemming from the loss of a member) have really dominated my thoughts of late, and as I can't blog about work, and didn't want to blog about the family stuff, there's not been much to blog about. As I'm one of those bloggers, that can't pop in and write a paragraph, I'm one that has to write a thesis, it's been quiet times. (The fact that I'm utterly obsessed with playing a game on my Iphone to the point I even dream about it, is obviously irrelevant... *cough*) However the blogging inspiration is back, because surprise, surprise I'm holiday planning.

I know. You're shocked. Feel free to pause to process your emotions before moving on.

I've wanted to go to Paris since I discovered berets and striped t-shirts at three years old, yet for a reason  I've also grown up fascinated by Kings and Queens of England, including a rather odd, strong sense of connection to Catherine Howard, and so London has always had an appeal. London also has a very strong adoration and fascination for England, which is borne by one sixth his family heritage, one sixth the history, one sixth the music and one half cricket. Actually cricket (in particular Lords Cricket Ground) is probably deserving of a greater percentage than that.

I'm not really sure why I or we haven't got there, the US has perhaps been so easy and relaxing that we just keep going back. I think perhaps London (for Aaron) and Paris (for me) has so much at stake that we're panicked about not being absolute OHMIGOD GREATEST THING EVER!!!! about it.

Well, encouraged by a New Zealand cricket tour of the UK, we've finally decided that it's time, and in May next year, we will be London and Paris bound. I'm half super excited half terrified. For some reason it's become huge in our heads, we're worried about not liking it as much as we did, I've got irrationally scared and we're just so used to the easiness and comfort that you get in the US, the prices of things and concerns about size of hotels etc.

Something else we're also struggling with that we've decided the best way to ensure we get a good hotel in a good location or feel comfortable about the trip is to splurge, meaning we're flying business class on Singapore Airlines, and we're looking at hotels in neighbourhoods like Mayfair and Covent Garden which are costing a lot. On one hand I'm looking forward to "luxury", on the other I'm scared of paying a lot of money for no actual advantage. Unfortunately we're haunted by the spectre of our San Francisco disaster where we chose a very well rated and expensive hotel, and we had the lousiest stay, which has actually made us hate San Francisco. (Except for the Golden Gate Bridge, which is amazing.)

The hotel is the biggest stress, as we're there for 11 nights so we really want to find somewhere where we can have some sense of space from each other (not because we're not okay with each other, but 24/7 for that length of time can send you a little cuckoo.) We've looked at apartments, but have moved to hotels, as Aaron's parents will be joining us for some of the trip so we're trying to find a location more in line with where they want to stay. My poor, but incredibly resilient, travel agent has been given several different requests depending on our mood. At the moment a hotel in Leicester Square has my heart, but I reserve the right to change my mind 1343435235812 times between now and when we leave!

(BTW - I do accept the problem of "oh damn I have to stay in London" is the epitome of a "white whine"/"first world problem".)

I've barely touched Paris accommodation yet, I'm thinking that's a 2013 problem. Especially as I love my travel agent, and I think after she sorts out London for us, she'll deserve a break from our neuroses.

There's still so much to plan in terms of sightseeing, so if any readers have a must see in London or Paris they'd like to suggest, we'd love to hear them. 

I'm sure I'll be back with an update soon.

The Week Off

Aaron and I have done something unusual this week - we've taken it off work. Apart from when I've been forced to take Christmas off for Christmas closedown, we only take leave when we're going away somewhere, usually on a longish overseas holiday. In fact, the last time we can remember taking a week off just because was in 2004!

We do always take birthdays off and Aaron's birthday was this week so this was the impetus. Plus I think it's well known, that I've found my new job very stressful (I'm accepting it's just not me so I'll have to think about what to do about that over the next while - that's a blog in itself) so it was easy to decide to take a week off rather than just the day.

So Monday was A's birthday and we drove into the Barossa Valley to his favourite bakery for lunch, and then to a mini-golf course in Tanunda. It's fair to say that reminiscent of the differences in our personalities, Aaron and I have different mini-golf styles. Aaron's very considered and steady with his shots, while I'm of the just pummel the heck out of the ball without any sense of actual direction or finesse. That's so similar to how I stumble through life! However, in this case, it turns out that random smacking of the ball was the most effective play and I won. HA HA HA HA HA HA. (I mean, how unfortunate that he lost on his birthday.)

We then came home where I iced the "churro" cake I made for the birthday cake. I am still reveling in how proud I am of the birthday cake. I've never made a cake from scratch before, I had to convert a cupcake to cake recipe which meant guessing a lot of measurements and I was making a new kind of icing (Cream Cheese) and yet it worked. It worked well. It was definitely dense, and the kind of cake that causes sugar coma even just looking at it, but it worked. It was tasty, and cooked right. I'm so happy, I was terrified I'd ruin his cake.

Then we went out for dinner with A's family to an Argentinian restaurant.Mmmmmm steak...

So all in all a good day and thankfully the weather wasn't too bad on the day.

The rest of the week though has kind of reminded me of yet another one of my hypocrisies - I'm terribly lazy so have been sleeping in way too much and not doing much but I hate being lazy. I'm the sort of person who gets terribly stir crazy if I'm just at home not doing anything (cleaning doesn't count as doing something) so I always try to be doing something on weekends, even if it's just walking around a shopping centre, and I don't actually like weekends if I don't have something to do every day. (I don't like weekdays either, but I like feeling useful.) I'm grateful for this week, because I really did need a break, but it's made me realise that for me holidays are for actual holidays, whether it's going on a local trip, or overseas. I just like always doing something or exploring something new or something I love. Man, I sound really ungrateful, I'm not at all, just realising that I'm no good at just relaxing. Like my mini-golf persona, I need to be charging at something.

We have one more official day of holidays, I may not totally relax through it, but I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it.

Cats and Cake. A Birthday, Courtney Style...

So 35... We Finally Meet...*Strokes cat* (Blofeld and Baron Silas Greenback* style)

*If you know who Baron Silas Greenback is without having to google, you're awesome.

Anyhoo, I'm 35. It happened, which considering the only alternative was actually a good thing. So far the world has not ended (although the Mayans may have something to say about that) and I've not had a situation where I've had to actually grow up, in fact I had a funny face biscuit at a bakery yesterday, so immaturity and a love for buttery biscuits continues to reign.

My birthday present was a surprise, I knew it was an experience present but didn't know exactly what it was until the morning of my birthday. I'm extremely impressed that Aaron managed to hold out on this, as I don't do surprises well, and have been questioning him in my whiniest, pleading voice for weeks.

So the surprise was that my husband had decided to throw me into a cheetah enclosure and see what happened. Most other people just ask for a divorce, but no, he has to be dramatic...

Seriously, he was coming with me, and he didn't suggest I wear clothes he'd just washed in bacon fat, so I'm pretty sure I was supposed to survive and enjoy it. And I did. We drove to our wild range zoo, at Monarto and us and another couple followed two trainers into a cheetah enclosure, featuring three almost 8 year old cheetahs roaming around "free" inside. (The space is very large, and it's very concerned with the welfare of the animals, I only use "free" in inverted commas because we weren't in the Serengeti).

The lead trainer had been with the cheetahs since they were born, and hand reared them, so they were as tame as cheetahs can be. (Fun Fact about Cheetahs, males hang around in social groups, while females are more solitary - so their sisters had been separated from them and were off in other enclosures or in other zoos.) You could tell they adored her and were happy to just hang around her. It's because of this hand rearing and her (and other trainers) relationships with them, that they could offer this experience. Plus I'd figured Monarto Zoo weren't really looking for headlines of "Another three tourists were mauled by wild cheetahs today" so it wouldn't be offered if there was a strong chance that something could go wrong.

I was never terrified in the enclosure, but I was genuinely "alert" while I was in there, and when the trainer first called the cheetahs over, and these three big cats, slowly, deliberately walked towards us and there was nothing between me and them, I definitely felt my a lump in my throat. Then I realised they bounced over to the trainer, were loudly purring and started nuzzling at her and that they weren't seeing us as edible.

So what unveiled was an amazing experience of patting and posing with the cheetahs, and just wandering around the enclosure, while they bounced or wandered around past us etc. You couldn't just stroke them as they walked past, but the trainer would call us over into more controlled patches where we could pat them, they loved being patted with two hands on the back of their neck, it was amazing to hear how loud they'd purr and to realise you were really patting a cheetah, one that hadn't been declawed or anything horrible, just one that had come to like humans and appreciate they were good for feeding them and giving them some attention.I admit I was constantly a little wary that they might just suddenly turn, but that was actually thanks to my own cat, who has certainly been known to turn all the innocent charm on and then just swipe, so I look slightly hesitant in all the photos, but I was certainly loving it. Aaron was very calm and just interacted with them like they were housecats.

There was one particular point which I especially loved, when this regal cat was strutting on a log next to us, in full wildlife photography shot pose, and we heard this tiny little "meow". We thought it was a bird, but nope, turned around and this fierce creature opened his mouth and let out another tiny meow. It was adorable.

We even stayed in the enclosure while they were fed, we were safe because once there was food for them, nothing else existed in their world! Our hour was up as they stopped eating, and we left, amazed at the time we'd had. I HAVE PATTED A CHEETAH! AND A FEW TIMES!

We drove to the nearest town for the bakery, grabbed lunch and then drove back home so I could go over the top in icing my birthday cake. This is when Pinterest can be a bad influence. Thanks to Pinterest and some suggestions from friends, I made a chocolate cake and icing (well okay Betty Crocker made both - but I used my new mixer to blend them) and decided to smother the sides in kit kats and the top in M&Ms. Let's just say I didn't quite master proportions nor how to make the kit kats actually stick properly so there was constant repositioning but it looked not so bad. When it came to eating it though, I didn't like it! It was actually too much chocolate and I think I just couldn't take it. I couldn't even bring myself to eat some of the leftovers tonight, or make a cake for work tomorrow because I just can't think about cake. (It's horrible!!!) I assume I'll get over this pain though.

Before cake, we had dinner at my favourite Mexican place. Yum!

It was a good day, I was spoiled and I had a lot of people show how much they cared for me, every card someone got me had a cat on it, or Snoopy or something Muppets, three of my very favourite things, as an example. 35 is okay. :)

The Big 3-5.

I almost skipped with joy over turning 30, it was awesome and I so looked forward to it. Fast forward just five years, and I'm in the foetal position, whimpering over the upcoming 35th birthday.

30 felt exciting and a new start, 35 feels like the end of an era, one I'm not ready to let go.

It's going to surprise people to learn I'm immature, childish, childlike and enjoy being silly and amused by silly things. (Okay, it's not exactly a surprise.) 35 is the realisation that I'm not actually young anymore, I really am an adult and I feel stupid for not feeling like I am one, and guilty because I don't want to be one. I see people my age, who just seem so in control and mature and then there's me, on Twitter discussing the merits of Fraggle Rock. I just feel like I can't identify with serious adult life.

I think being a furparent rather than a "real" one, helps fuel my attitude to life. I don't have to be responsible for another person (which frankly is only a good thing for everyone involved) and so I'm afforded the opportunity to care more about shopping and travelling and spending all day in front of the tv watching Cupcake Wars marathons. Plus I don't have to let anyone else play with my stuffed animals and toys, so I get to enjoy them, from my view. I'm a walking Peter Pan complex.

There are many reasons I've decided not to have children, and it's not a decision I have any regret over. My biological clock has never ticked. A few years ago I sort of set a date to have kids, purely because I felt like I should, and that maybe I'd grow into the idea. I never did and that date's been and well gone. One thing about my attitude to life is that I simply have never felt emotionally strong or ready enough to be a parent. I've always reserved the right to change my mind when I eventually "grew up". I'm struggling with the fact that my time to grow up in regards to this has run out - I know people can have kids later than 35, but I was advised for health reasons that 35 was my cutoff, which I think is actually right, I recognise my body has limitations. It feels very sad to me, not because I do want a child, but because the chance to change my mind has gone. I've aged physically much faster than I've grown emotionally. That's hard to get my head around. I've passed a major adult milestone without ever feeling like an adult!

I'm also dwelling on regrets on how I "wasted" my youth. Again, the dwelling is silly because really I don't regret my younger years. Maybe I wish I was a bit more adventurous and did some more "crazy" things, but I'm a goody two shoes, and anything else wouldn't have been true to me. I do very much regret not looking after myself physically and taking my health for granted, it's lead to me being very fat, and unhappy now. I also regret some of the friendships I didn't cement and how that meant my plans for a 35th birthday party fell apart when I realised I had too small a guest list. I'm good at making acquaintances, but rarely good at making more of that. (That said while I do certainly take responsibility for mistakes I've made, sometimes the other people are just jerks.:) )

Of course the ridiculous thing here is that I actually am a grown up, responsible adult. I, with husband, run a household - not well but it runs, I have a pretty high level job in my organisation, and have the responsibility of managing others - again not well, but I'm getting there - and do general adult things and chores. Just because I also like cute things and giggling over silly things, and still occasionally rock pigtails doesn't stop me actually being a grow up. Nor does things like not wanting kids, it means I'm different to most adults, but it doesn't make me worse or immature, just different. Different can be cool.

I've got some fabulous advice from people over the last three days, that really gave me some perspective. The best came from my youngest sister (I hate when she's wiser than I am!) who reminded me that age is really just a number, a coincidence in the sense that it just happens to reflect when I was born, not who I am or what I've achieved and will achieve in the future. A future, which all fingers crossed is long and healthy, and I'll have so much time to achieve my dreams. Whether those dreams could be considered frivolous by others, it doesn't matter, they're true to me, and I shouldn't feel bad about them or that I'm lacking as an adult. Emotionally I quite like me, sure I can be a bit too shaky and self conscious at times (not that you'd have noticed *cough*) but I think on the whole, I'm quite fun and warm, and I have to really remind myself that I'm full of good qualities and dreams and that I don't have to change them or me to match my age or a belief on how an adult should be. I also should probably accept that 35 isn't actually old!

Gee I promised some light entertainment blogs, didn't I? I'm failing that bad. The next one will have to be about fluffy bunnies and sunshine or the like. Promise!

Whatever Happened To Courtney Jane?

In Kindergarten, I was the odd kid (surprising, I know) who detested finger painting and preferred to play noughts and crosses by myself or reading.  Growing up I used to read the atlas at night, learning where all the countries were.

As a primary schooler, I was the girl always in the library going through Nancy Drew books at light speed, the girl who never felt life was better than when she finally cracked 70 out of 70 on the yearly spelling tests. Seriously I almost cartwheeled around the library when I found out how to spell "seismograph" in an encyclopedia by accident one day, and knew I could rock it out at the next test. (BTW I say almost cartwheeled, because in true nerd sense, I've never been able to do one, I used to gaze at every other girl who'd spend recess doing handstands with jealousy.) When I could choose a book to buy on a family trip to Adelaide, I asked for one on Greek Mythology, which was followed by several more, and I spent so much time reading them.

As I got older, I was one of those teenagers/uni students who was going to save the world. The kind of girl who was going to name her future daughter Christabel (after Christabel Pankhurst, the suffragette), and wrote countless essays on social movements etc. I prided myself on being an intellectual (whether I actually was or not, I'm clever for sure, but certainly have always held an self inflated belief about my genius) and being someone that really cared. Things like my pro-stance on gay marriage and my intensely strong opposition to capital punishment were created and/or strengthened during those years or my very early twenties. I was going to get a PhD and I'd read history books for fun. I even had a favourite French language poem!!! (Demain Des L'Aube by Victor Hugo - still like it.)

I'm sitting here at the moment, flicking between reality tv shows on Foxtel, wondering what happened to all versions of that girl. The girl sitting on the couch, blogging, seems to have had all her intelligence and drive, and has been replaced by a girl that checks TMZ every morning to see what celebrities have broken up overnight, only reads light hearted chick lit about Shopaholics or PIs, and gets withdrawal symptoms if she doesn't watch Judge Judy every day. Why has my brain decided it's more important to store obscure song lyrics from 1986 or who won the last ten Eurovisions, rather than what year the Russian Revolution was? (I can remember the players (for some reason I was always fascinated by Kerensky) and the months of the Revolution, but the year had been forgotten.

My dad, who's is the number one influence on the beliefs and behaviour of the younger Courtney, stared at me with a mixture of bemusement and horror when I was able to identify all the characters on an ad for Dog The Bounty Hunter.

I'm not sure if it's just that as an adult, my brain is a lot more spent during the day at work, so when I get home, I just want to relax and switch off by watching/reading feather light entertainment. Is it natural to lose your passion for broadening your mind as you get older and your brain is tiring easier? Am I just genuinely kind of simple and amused by really basic things, and not clever enough for intelligent discussions? I don't know. It's probably a combination of them all.

This is all said, apart from moment where I do lament my lost brain power, I'm actually not too unhappy with being easily amused nowadays. I do enjoy just relaxing and giggling my way through bad tv, voicing my rather fervent opinion on twitter on which Masterchef contestant I either love or loathe, or just letting my brain unwind. It's just interesting to think about how much I've changed.

I do think I might go find my Greek Mythology Encyclopedia though, it's been a while since I followed Theseus through the Minotaur's Maze. (Oh and again it's lucky I don't have kids, my poor imaginary daughter if she wasn't named after a suffragette, she may have ended up named after my favourite Greek Mythology characters - do you think Andromache is too much?)