Author: Amanda Viviers

Place: Milkd

Poison: Water

Favourite things: new pen from Erin, writes really well!

We took these young girls out on a day trip back to their villiage in the hills of northern Thailand. The hilltribe is called the Akha tribe and rather than being the ones who were voyered all day, we gave them a disposable camera each and created a project together.

How often do the western world, as tourists, walk right into people’s everyday, snapping away, with no thought to how the subject really feels.

In the slums of Thailand, we were very specific with our team, that as we walked through, to not take any photos…

This is because we are walking through their lounge rooms. We would not walk into a strangers house and take photo’s here in Australia, America, Europe wherever…

This project produced the most random, but gorgeous, blurry, but inspired photographs.

Whenever you travel, my encouragement is that you really look beyond the camera and create common ground.

A

 

Place: milkd

Poison: Long Mac

Favourite things: new hang out ‘il lido’ from owners of duende, replacing la tropicana in cottesloe. (accross from indiana!)

Well summer days are longer, which creates space to really think. I have been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of walking, a lot of writing and a lot of simple summer salad designing!

The space and atmosphere that summer provides is a great place to bring change into your everyday. Every habit takes 30 days to take…

I know you have heard that so many times, but summer is such a good time to graze through your everyday habits and work out which ones are productive and which ones are not.

Long walks on the beach, long cafe stints skyping with my nearest and dearest overseas, vietnamese spring rolls, wandering through cookbooks to inspire healthy food designs…

Ahhhh summer.

Am down south at the beach in dunsborough next week.

big deep breath.

love it

A

 

Place: Milkd

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: summer days

This photo totally inspires me…

Sometimes in life we need to take in whats around us, breath deep and enjoy every minute.

This photo was taken of a young girl ‘numbtip’ who lives up near the golden triangle in Thailand, she has been rescued out of being sold into prostitution and lives in a house called the akha safehouse.

She has every reason to be jaded, withdrawn and pissed off with our crazy world, yet this photo shows her desire to live life to the fullest and breath in every tangible sense of it!

Numbtip you inspire me. How often I walk straight past flowers that I don’t even see…

Continue to teach me please.

A

 

 

Place: Milkd

Poison: Long Mac

Favourite Things: floral summer dresses

As I do every new year, I answered some questions that help me refocus on what I really want the tenure of my life to be.

Questions such as…

What is the character of my life?

What is the contribution of my life?

What has failure taught me this year?

What has disapointment taught me this year?

What has waiting taught me this year?

What part of my schedule am I willing to change to make growth a non-negotiable this year?

After answering these questions, I then reflect on the last year with…

What is a quote that sums up my last year…

A one word overview of the year…

A lesson learned…

A high point…

A low point…

A one sentance reflection…

After digging out 5 journals I realised that this was the 5th time that I was to do this tradition, which I thought poignant to bring out all my journals and compare the last five.

In one way this was really satisfying, as I am passionate about tradition, but it was also frustrating, because a couple of my top goals each year, are still at the top of my list five years later.

Reflections like this, days like this are imperative to the bigger picture of a life not wanting to be wasted.

I repremanded myself, then moved on, determined to slash those two off my list this year. I went to one of my mentors, had a very frank discussion and told her all about this revelation, and determined together that this was the year of change.

A quote I love from Martin Luther King jnr ‘I am not the man I used to be, but I am not the man I want to be’

The tension of balance when it comes to resolutions, changing of the calander and goal setting, is to remind yourself of where you have made slight changes, but to encourage yourself in that which still remains unchanged.

Asking great questions of yourself provides this balance…

A

 

Place: Milkd

Poison: Long Mac

Favourite Things: my copy of tuk to the road

I have just finished reading a great book called ‘Tuk to the road’. It was a christmas present from a friend and it is a book from a blog, that followed two strong and capable women who drove from Bangkok, Thailand to Brighton, UK in a bright pink tuk tuk.

Here is the blog.

http://www.tuktotheroad.co.uk/

A tuk tuk is a motorised rickshaw and these two adventurists, did it to raise 50,000 pound for an organistaion called ‘Mind’.

Mind is an organisation that supports people who battle with mental illness and depression and something that is close to my heart the current epedemic of self harm.

Fresh from thailand, coupled with my love of random travel stories, blogs, women, my heart for those who battle with sickness of the mind…this book was just made for this travel junkie.

For those wanting some inspiration from a very random, organic source, grab a copy of this book and a coffee, find a quiet space and you wont want to put it down.

It has made me start thinking of some very random fund raising options myself.

Any suggestions I’m up for it. My 12 weeks long service leave is available as of 2009, and am now starting to plan for some options.

Happy New Year!

Amps