Like many of my friends here have said recently, I love LJ and I miss what it used to be. I hope to use this thing again and stop being part of the reason for a quiet Flist.

A lot can happen in a year... or not even a year.  In the past 6 months my life has taken a completely different direction.

In recent years my dream job morphed into my worst nightmare as it became less and less scientific support and more and more sales. For the first time in my life I experienced depression and anxiety... things I never would have thought would impact me.  In August I called it quits and was lucky enough to land a job with a wonderful organisation whose approach to healthcare align well with my own (it's about the patient and quality, not just money). I've returned to my work as a medical scientist and could not be happier with that outcome.

This comes at a bad time for my industry however, where we are due to see rapid decline for people in my specific field. While I expect that I'll be one of the lucky ones to continue holding a job when the dust settles, I am not putting all my eggs in the one basket.  To future-proof my career, I'm also returning to study and was accepted into a great university. They offer degrees which can be personally tailored to my interests, and which give a lot of diversity. iIt's going to mean hard work and a long hours, but I think it will be worth it.

My kids are now 18 (not a kid at all really) and 15. Both are still finding their feet in this world and are slowly learning (or is that slow to learn) that you get out of life what you put in. Like, if you do not study, you fail to get a university placement. Good thing our system has back up plans available. I hope that Miss 18 will show some focus and effort toward her studies this year now she has direction (she wants to be an art teacher). I also hope the youngest learns from the mistakes of her older sister.

Financially the changes have been difficult. I guess that's my goal this year, to reel things in and have us all learn to live a more modest lifestyle again. We're starting with holidays, planning a very local holiday this year. Travelling abroad will be a rare treat now, as work is no longer footing the bill, and being in school again means I can only travel at expensive peak times :(

So in a few short weeks, life is going to really change for all of us, and I'm looking forward to the challenges. I hope to share my journey with you again, probably at those moments when I'm avoiding uni obligations. LJ always was a great procrastination tool!

Today we got the news that hansardgal passed away suddenly at home over the weekend of natural causes. There are many here on LJ that she has met in her travels around the world, and we have all lost a dear friend today.

To me, she was a treasured LJ friend who became a RL friend, and was instrumental in bringing together my little hometown possee of QAF fangirls... the girls I consider my closest friends. We got together whenever we could and my last visit with her was over cocktails and a few good laughs in Sydney. It was a pleasure to have known her and to have shared a little of her life.

Fittingly, as I got in the car to drive home today, "Forever Young" played on the radio. As a true disciple of Brian Kinney, she would have appreciated that sentiment. Rest peacefully my friend ♥

A few years ago, shammymacc and I walked out of the movie theatre after seeing Magic Mike. Our assessment was identical... most appauling piece of movie making we had seen in a very long while. They tried to make one of those hero-overcomes-great-adversity type stories, but it fell flat in every single way. And despite seeing the delectable Matt Bomer shirtless and strutting his stuff, there was far too little of that to redeem the film in any way.  I actually felt like I had wasted my money, which is unusual for me, an avid movie fan.

Fast forward to yesterday...

With extremely low expectations we set off again to watch Magic Mike XXL (the only draw was the hope of seeing a little more Matt Bomer). This time they threw all notion of story out the window, and clearly they set out to create a movie that was fun and nothing else. Well they achieved that and then some.There was eye candy everywhere and so many laughs, I had tears in my eyes. Most of the men were not my type (hyper muscley), but that didn't matter because it wasn't really about the sexuality, it was about the joy and entertainment value of the performance. Judging from everyone in our theatre, I think they achieved their goal.

So Magic Mike really redeemed itself, and this time I think I got more than my money's worth. I'm calling us even, Magic Mike, and thanks so much for an awesome night out!

Glee has ended, and at least I can say the ending was satisfying (for me). Glee has been hit and miss for several years, and season 6 was more miss than hit, but they at least wrapped the season with a great look at where they have been, where they are, and where they will end up. The final episode was a celebration of Glee, and as a fan, I was happy. That's really saying something, because I half expected to be left screaming in the gutter with yet another kick in the gut from this show that has pulled too many punches over the years.

So Glee now joins the ranks of "shows I have loved and lost" right along side Queer as Folk and The Office. The sad thing is, this time I don't have anything to take its place. I need a good ensemble show with a huge heart to send all the energy I reserve for fangirling.

It's been an interesting year so far in my household. Miss 17 is in her final year of highschool and boy are there stresses associated with that. Fights abound over homework and attitude. I have no idea how to motivate her to learn, and to put in more than the minimum effort. Socially though, she's in a good place with lots of friends, and she seems to be well over the heartbreak of her first great love.

My husband has been sick since mid January - it's wearing him down. He did apply for a job though (his current one which has been temporary for the past 6 years) and was successful! It's great to finally have the security of permanency. We're both looking forward to our NYC holiday in 18 days. We haven't had a holiday alone together since our honeymoon 16 years ago.

Miss 14 is happy in her own little world (you tube, gaming, books). She recently made the drastic decision to cut all of her long blonde tresses. True to the cliches of women making big hair changes to coincide with big life decisions, she chose that day to also come out to us. The news was greeted with an rather non-reactionary "Oh! Okay" from hubby and I, and the wider family are taking it in their stride. I've spoken about it with her in more depth since and though it was a fairly recent revelation, she has probably been aware that she was a little different for about 3 years. With sexual fluidity far more accepted amongst kids her age, it took a while to find where she fit. She's a fairly well adjusted gay teen, and I hope that continues.

Whilst I'm away in NYC, my Mum is coming to stay with the kids. That means I need a clean organised house! Guess what I'll be doing with this Easter long weekend!

So much happening this week, I don't know where to start!

Right now I'm avoiding Glee fandom because I am having a group come to my house to watch tonight's episode and celebrate together (our fave people are getting married!). I can't be spoiled with all the details, I need to watch it without knowing what to expect - delight in all the surprises as they unfold. Good thing I'll be cooking all afternoon!

Also this week it was announced that Darren Criss will be taking over the role of Hedwig in April. This show has had amazing reviews from the start, and headliners that have nearly had me on a plane four times already. I very sadly missed the boat with Neil Patrick Harris. How dare he announce a Broadway show mere months after I return home?!! Andrew Rannells and Michael C Hall would have been great to see, but I was OK about losing those opportunities. I was almost beside myself when I learned that John Cameron Mitchell, the play's writer and the originator of the role was returning for a run! I was hoping I'd get to see him, but at the time, flight prices seemed prohibitive.

Well, give it a few months and MY how the scenery has changed. Within 24 hours I had leave booked, arranged Mum to babysit, found GREAT flights and a beautiful, reasonably priced hotel near Midtown. My husband and I are both flying for practically the price of one ticket, and on really good airlines (QANTAS/Emirates). I can't wait to wake up in the morning and step out straight onto the Manhattan streets! And I get to see both JCM and Darren Criss as Hedwig! New York here we come!

My last trip I achieved my main goal and made my husband fall in love with NYC. He's itching to get back, especially since we can do this without the kids!!! This will be like a second honeymoon :)

After narrowing it down to two this week, we drove past the Honda dealership today and I realised that I had meant to look at the CRV. Well, they had a great deal on with lots of extras thrown in and all for less than the Subaru or Toyota. I signed the deal for a silver one, the last in stock with the specs I wanted. Colour was never an issue, so I didn't really mind that there was no choice.

My mother visited, Miss 17 has exams, and my Gran is having health problems which had her in hospital. The result was a LOT of driving around and not a lot of time to myself, hence the absence of posts this week.

I've also been spending considerable time, thought and energy trying to find a new car. My current vehicle has to be replaced with something more secure for cargo - not that I actually carry too much, mind you. It upsets me to part with my Mazda so early, but this has to be done. The Subaru Forester and the Toyota Rav 4 are front runners at the moment, and I might be making a decision this weekend :)

Lastly, a big work project that has consumed my life for 20 months fell through this week :( It's very disappointing, but out of my control. In the big scheme of things, we might have the last laugh, but it is a setback nonetheless.

I just bought Glee Season 5 on DVD, and there is an interesting little documentary on the NYC side of the story. It features a lot of insight from Ian Brennan, explaining the thought processes behind some of the onscreen drama.

Now there were a lot of developments that didn't make sense, or that were glossed over so quickly that you just couldn't see how or why they came about. I'm not sure if it was the writing process or the editing where things fell over, but it put a lot of "strange choices" into perspective.

I think this is one of the downfalls of Glee over the years, they have great ideas, interesting thoughts on character development, but the execution seems to fall short. I guess this explains its declining fan base, but still I stay true to this show. I love the characters and I'm looking forward to seeing it through to the end. Fingers crossed that the thoughtful insight put forward by Ian is translated better in season 6.

Also.... Superficial complaint here... But the Aussie DVD cover has half of Blaine's pretty face covered by the PG rating logo. Bitterly disappointed! More effort could have been put to modifying the layout so the images were preserved. Santana lovers would be equally disappointed to see her largely hidden beneath the same logo.

A busy day with several important things completed. I wish people would answer their emails though, it's such a waste of time to have to follow up again and again. Definitely productive and I feel good about what I accomplished.

I've even managed to get a few loads of washing done! Shamefully, it takes two full loads just to wash my blacks. I need to work on getting more colour in my wardrobe.