Category: Memories

Fee Writes

Opportunity Missed

The One That Got Away

The other day, I was chatting with a friend whose granddaughter and yes, my granddaughters are getting older too—was in a full-blown career crisis. Fresh out of school, she had no clue what to do next. Gap year? Uni? Become a TikTok sensation? Who knows! It got me reminiscing about my own post-school turmoil and the roads I could have taken.

Looking back, there were moments when the universe cracked open a door, but I was too oblivious to step through it. I had grand plans—art school, acting, something creative. My parents, forward-thinking yet oddly old-fashioned, had other ideas. Instead of embracing my theatrical dreams, they steered me towards Business College—a misleading name for what was essentially a 12-month intense course in typing and shorthand. Riveting!

Unsurprisingly, office work didn’t light my fire. So, in a bold move, I applied for a job as a radio DJ. Yes, really. Me, spinning records and chatting to the masses. Did I have experience? Nope. But enthusiasm? Buckets of it.

I had answered an ad in the local paper. Now they actually didn’t even respond to my letter (in those days, you wrote a letter in response to an advert in the paper). So, armed with youthful audacity, I rang the station and asked why they hadn’t responded. They had wanted a guy, so I called them out for discrimination. If they wanted a bloke, they should’ve said so! Back then, a business advertising for staff could say they wanted male, female, old, young, etc. However, to their credit, they invited me in for a trial.

It was a disaster.

I stumbled through the DJ test with all the finesse of a cat on roller skates. However, instead of a total rejection, they said, “You’d be brilliant at reading the news!” And what did I do? I scoffed. Newsreading? How dull! I wanted to be part of the action, not reciting headlines like a robotic parrot.

So, I walked away. Now, with the benefit of hindsight (and a few more decades under my belt), I realise that was a mistake. That tiny opportunity could have led to a creative career—journalism, television, writing, the lot. But I was so fixated on what I thought I wanted that I ignored what could have been.

Life throws us open doors. Sometimes we step through, sometimes we don’t even notice. And sometimes, years later, we think… What if?

Take the chance. Walk through the door. Or at the very least, give it a decent nudge before it swings shut forever.

Fee Writes

Paper Maps vs GPS

A Nostalgic Journey with a Modern Twist

I’ve just returned from a bit of an adventure in a new neighbourhood I don’t know very well. You know the kind of outing—stop for petrol, a quick dash to the supermarket, and a lot of driving down unfamiliar streets. By the time I was on my way back, it struck me how lucky we are to have GPS. My mind wandered back to the late ’60s and ’70s when I was single and constantly on the go. Back then, there were no helpful voices telling you to “Turn left in 200 metres.” We had paper maps. Big, fold-out, impossible-to-manage paper maps!

I was pretty proud of my map-folding skills—most of the time. But when you’re in a rush, it’s a whole different story. Folding one of those maps felt like wrestling a fitted sheet that had just come out of the dryer. You try your best, but it always ends up in a messy bundle. My glove box quickly became a graveyard for paper maps, each one crumpled and slightly worse for wear. The car started looking like a mini archive of my travels, with maps poking out from under seats and crammed into every available space.

Fast forward to today, and I’m completely in awe of GPS. It’s nothing short of magic! This morning, it took me down tiny streets, round unexpected corners, and safely back home without a single wrong turn. Without it, I would’ve been hopelessly lost. What a game-changer!

But just when I thought my little adventure was over, I hit an unexpected twist—a breathalyser checkpoint at 11 a.m.! Surprised, I said to the officer, “Bit early, isn’t it?” She smiled and said, “Not really. You’d be amazed how many people we catch still over the limit from the night before.” Whoa. It’s a bit of a wake-up call, isn’t it? Apparently, there are plenty of people who party hard and then try to drive home in the morning, still feeling the effects.

That aside, I just can’t get over how much easier life is with GPS. No more pulling over to squint at a map under a streetlight, no more trying to fold it back neatly, and no more stuffing it into the glove box with a resigned sigh. GPS, you’re a lifesaver.

Paper maps, you had your time. But GPS? You’re the future—and I’m never looking back.

Fee Writes

Food | Memories

Hot Chocolate – Be Still My Beating Heart!

Strange as it may seem to all chocolate lovers out there…..not everyone loves chocolate! Let me reassure you, I’m definitely a chocolate lover.

This post was originally published on 20/3/2011 and updated on 14.08.2023

Here are five fun facts about this beautiful confection.

Chocolate and Mood: Chocolate contains compounds such as phenylethylamine and anandamide, which are associated with feelings of pleasure and happiness. This could partly explain why many people consider chocolate a comfort food.

Health Benefits: Dark chocolate, in moderation, has been associated with potential health benefits due to its antioxidant content. It may have positive effects on heart health and even cognitive function. I’ll take that!

Chocolate Sculptures: Skilled chocolatiers create intricate sculptures entirely from chocolate. These sculptures can range from detailed replicas of famous landmarks to life-sized statues.

Chocolate Spa Treatments: Some luxury spas offer chocolate-themed treatments, such as chocolate body wraps, facials, and even chocolate-infused baths, claiming to rejuvenate the skin and provide relaxation.

But the one I like the most …

is that chocolate syrup was used in that famous shower scene in the epic Alfred Hitchcock movie “Psycho” and what was it used for? The blood.

Somehow, that scene is never going to be quite the same – I get the picture of Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins saying to Hitchcock, “Can we just try that scene again ….. the prop has been eaten!”

I’ll leave you with this quote from the beautiful Katherine Hepburn “What you see before you, my friend is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.” – I’m with her!!!

Fee Writes

Memories | Random

Never Give Up

How often have you heard the saying “never give up”? But isn’t there a time when one should rather say “change direction”?

There’s a dream I’ve had for many, many years, and that is to have an online business. The reason? So I’m not stuck in one place. It would mean I could travel around. So this is my story and why, rather than “never give up” I’ve chosen to “change direction.”

Sure, travel is a bit stunted right now, but I do see a day when I’ll be able to head back overseas to hang out with my girls and grandies. And wouldn’t it be just fab to be able to take my work with me? That’s always been the plan.

I’m not sure when I started my first online business, I think it was around the mid 2000’s, but I remember that website building was extremely clunky, nothing like the beautiful sleek sites we have today.

To let you in on a little secret, here’s one of my very first websites. www.paintingwithpastels. It’s a rather large site and, of course, doesn’t have the ability to be mobile responsive. (We didn’t have smartphones back then). The program I built this one is now completely obsolete, although I still do have it on an old computer.

It’s on the ‘to do’ list to bring it up into the modern age, BUT it’s a marathon job, and I’m not sure if I have the patience. Mmmm, maybe I should as it still does work and I still sell the occasional item. Oh, and if you did go through and take a peek, you’ll see it’s under a different name – that’s what we were taught back in the day. But you will see some of my paintings there which can be corroborated by friends who know they still hang in my home.

Over Coffee (this blog) isn’t designed as a money-making site (although if you want, you can always click through any ad that’s showing at the bottom, don’t have to buy – just clicking gives me a couple of cents).

Getting back to the heading – never give up, which the cartoon below has sat on my desktop for YEARS!!

Confession Time

I have given up.

Not on the dream, but more on the product that I’ve offered. I’m not sure why perhaps not passionate enough about the subject, or could see that it wasn’t working. And that’s where the “change direction” comes from.

Hence I made a new cartoon.

My online business has morphed from website building in the early days which flopped completely – hey, we didn’t have social media, and I was competing with the ‘big boys’ who had money to advertise. I built my sites of which some are still active and bring in a few pennies each month without me doing anything. I wrote books and still sell them on Amazon, again, not a huge moneymaker. Ghostwriting was good – I’ve had a few clients with that, but – it still ties me to here, so it’s not conducive to the dream, and I don’t do it anymore.

I tried my hand at virtual coaching (for people going vegan/plant-based). Even paid big bucks for a business mentor, to no avail. Spent about 18 months and many dollars with absolutely zero takers on that idea. The money ran out and so did the will to do it. But there are always ups to any downs and I created the resource website Gold Card Vegan which, although doesn’t earn me anything, I’m proud of as it offers great information.

At the beginning of the latest round of lockdowns, a friend suggested that I build websites for small businesses. In her business, she is constantly coming across people who don’t have a website. Here’s an unashamed plug for her: www.pipipromo.co.nz

Voila, a gap she could see me filling.

Geez, I’m 70 next year – BUT it’s never too late to try again 🤪 and reboot that dream

You see, building websites, doing graphic designs, writing content for social media, blogs, and newsletters are all fun things for me….. can’t you tell? Look at the graphics so far on here – SUCH FUN!

So at the start of lockdown (round 2), I morphed my White Rockit website into a simple, modern, snazzy wee business website telling you what I can offer.

Now comes the marketing of the said business. This time I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve.

I know where the best place is to be seen (for free).
I have my Pipi friend in my corner cheering me on.
I love doing this shit!

Not about to give up on my dream just yet. It’s been there for such a long time, moving and morphing, poking at me to keep going, and it’s so close I can almost touch it. I’m not going to give up my day job, but we’ll give this one a crack and see.

Damn it!!! I can make this happen.

ps: That ad is coming up …

STAY IN THE LOOP

Fee Writes

Memories | Random

The Wellington Experience

The last time I was in the windy city (Wellington) was seven years ago. Not a lot has changed, only this time the weather was balmy and calm.

Flying in on a Friday and flying out the following Monday, I certainly jammed a load of stuff into the three days in the city.

Don’t worry; I’m not about to give you a travel log description of what I did, that would be as boring for you as the neighbour’s slide show from their campervan trip through the Australia outback.

But what I will say is that you can make it fun anywhere you go if you just keep your eyes open for the odd, the curious, the beautiful and the downright emotional.

However, I will give a plug to the WW1 exhibition.

“Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” at Te Papa.

I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so moved by a museum display as I was with this one. In my mind, Peter Jackson nailed it. Informative and brutal, sad and a little humorous, it told the story of Gallipoli from the soldiers and nurses who were there. The models were massive at around 2.5 times human size, and each one depicted a frozen moment in time. The walk through a trench briefly captured the horror of war. If you are ever in Wellington, I highly recommend this.

My son took me to the ballet, Giselle, which we both enjoyed and to the art gallery for the weirdest exhibit called “Creature” by Berlin-based artist Marianna Simnett. Four short films, quite an unusual visual effect from four different screens. I must admit, though, that I couldn’t watch all of it; bit weirdly gruesome for me. To give you a clue – one was about mastitis… I really didn’t need to see the pus oozing from the teat! Made me grateful to be vegan!

From the games of chess, listening to Sam and James (from Black Spider Trio), playing gypsy jazz in the cutest Italian restaurant, exploring the city, walking the beaches and eating great food, all up, it was an excellent adventure.

Enjoy the Wellington Gallery! Click on an image to enlarge the gallery.