Tag Archives: self-initiated lifelong learning

What trip?

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As our recent trip to the far side of the Earth fades into memory, I take stock of the few months since we’ve been back at home. The trip of a lifetime seems like a dream now. Did we go at all?

So, what have I been doing with myself for the few months since then?

Exercise

I’ve been tracking my walking using Strava just so that I know how far I go and how many steps I have taken. While I walk, I listen to podcasts: Rich Roll of course, and Bronwyn, the true crime mystery, among others.

I continue with my yoga routine at home, and I play Mahjong and learn French with Duo on my iPad to exercise my brain.

Visits

Baden Croft is an artist whose work I admire, and he had a recent exhibition at the Studio and Co. in Moorooduc. I love his big bold paintings thick with colours and it was great to see these up close.

Original artwork by Baden Croft

Lunch with friends is a treat and I’ve caught up with a few recently at Kirk’s in Mornington and the Wildflower Café in McCrae.

Watching our granddaughters and the local primary school children perform Christmas songs was lovely and we felt very proud to witness Lily confidently present the “Welcome to Country”.

We went along to a gorgeous family wedding at Noojee beside the Latrobe River on a hot sunny day, and then to the fun and happy reception at a family home in Drouin. It is always precious to catch up with extended family, especially our 80-year-old aunt.

Sue and Mick beside the Latrobe River, Noojee

Watching

Too much screen time applies to Grandmas too and I am guilty as usual. I’ve been watching Homeland on catchup TV, Survivor 47, Yellowstone, and vlogs and podcasts on YouTube: Isabel Paige, Valerie Lin, Nick and Mathilde, and Alex Ferrari to name a few.

Reading

I haven’t read many books this year and won’t reach my Goodreads target of 50, having only finished 27 so far.

I recently read The Color of Everything by Cory Richards after listening to a conversation between him and Rich Roll. I gave it five stars on Goodreads and found it exceptionally insightful and well written.

I am rereading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig for about the fourth time. It is one of my all-time favourites.

I am also reading Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, which is about Artificial Intelligence, something we all need to learn about. In fact, in preparing this blog post I tested the Microsoft Copilot function which was a real eye-opener but totally generic and boring to say the least.

I have a lot of books reserved at the local library, but the queues are long and inevitably they will arrive together, which is of little use to me.

Thinking

My mind is always searching for new things, and I’ve been thinking about art, creativity, inspiration, learning, and house design. I enjoyed making a vlog this year but can’t see that expanding into anything. I will continue to watch, like, appreciate, and enjoy the efforts of others who are making this into a positive lifestyle.

Planning ahead

We have been actively looking at potential prospects for a new house design project which is exciting.

I will set my reading target for 2025 at 50 again on Goodreads.

I plan to join a local meditation group and a local art group.

My own reading, study, writing, and art will continue and if anything of interest emerges, I will mention it here. I did enjoy the Armchair Travel exercises that I plotted out prior to our actual travel this year.

As a committed SiLLé learner I love expanding my knowledge and enjoy delving into things that interest me and are available online.

We have no big trips planned for 2025 at this stage, but you never know.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful 2025.

Grandma Can Vlog

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Riza has a perfect face for vlogging. Through her YouTube videos, Life of Riza, she documents her life in her twenties. She aims for cinematic quality in her stories. These biographical vignettes look simple but when you analyse the sequences you realise how clever she is with her camera work, lighting, video-editing, and finished vlog. Kudos to her and thank you Riza for your efforts.

Is Casey Neistat the Master of the Art of Vlogging? Or have I missed an earlier influencer in this field? He published a vlog every day, and after 800 days got that out of his system. But he still offers informative, action-packed, and authentic vlogs about his life in New York city. I love the way he carelessly throws down his boosted skateboard when he comes into his workspace.

I discovered these vloggers this way:

Previously I have been intrigued with the Aussie caravan travelers, although there are so many that I favour just a couple. My current favourite is the delightful couple of Brad and Hayley of Our Australia Trip. Having travelled Australia in recent years it is nice to revisit (through their experiences) the many places we went and know. I appreciate the movie making work that goes into making the videos for YouTube.

I then discovered belatedly Nick and Mathilde of Next Meridien Expedition. Now these two young French travelers are REAL adventurers, having embarked on a worldwide trip with their Land Rover Albo. They were already two years into their adventure when I stumbled across their YouTube channel. Now in Australia I really admire their positive attitude despite repeated major setbacks, such as needing to install a new engine in Geraldton Western Australia. And they did much of this hard work themselves!

Some others I favour for their quiet simple peaceful videos are The Cottage Fairy and Valerie Lin. The Cottage Fairy lives a quiet rural life but has recently had a baby and is understandably taking a break from her vlogging. Valerie Lin is a young artist, and her paintings are exceptionally beautiful. Her careful videos show her lovely creative process and techniques. She sells her prints online and this helps to sustain this lifestyle.

So as someone with a creative urge that persists into my senior years, I decided to have a go at creating a vlog. And I learnt a lot from going through the process:

  • Firstly, there is the idea in the minds eye. So, do you story-board it like Riza, or just dive in like Casey?
  • Then the action to record the moment. This might take one or many shots. What gets in the way; unexpected movements; sounds of traffic, or birds, TVs, or people; weather, something else?
  • Then there is the expected quality of the image. Do you need formal photography lessons to understand this better? Or will you just wing it? I did take photography lessons before we travelled Australia, but I’m not sure much sank in.
  • Cameras! Which camera to use? Smart phone? Proper DSLR? Special video camera with extra lenses? GoPro? Underwater camera? Drone? This all gets daunting and expensive. Then there are the sticks, props, tripods, clamps, etc.
  • Once you have taken the shots you need, then you must save, store, transfer, consider, delete, name, organise, and manage these files. Well as someone with a Masters Degree in Information Management and a solid knowledge of digital preservation, this little exercise is the easy part for me. You’ll need some kind of hard drive and connection for storage and transfer of the files.
  • Then you load the video clips into the editing software. But which software? There are so many available. The editing process is complex and takes a lot of time. But I suppose the more you do it the faster you become.
  • You’ll need some music to give atmosphere to the vlogs. Will you need to pay for downloads, royalties, permission, subscriptions? Probably, but there are still some free databases out there. Remember to always cite the creator and source.

So, I plunged in. As it was an experiment, I was not going to spend money on anything. I used my iphone, handheld, didn’t use music tracks, and used iMovie on my iPad to edit it. I uploaded the video to YouTube and shared it with some friends and family.

Grandma’s Winter Vlog 2024

Then I wondered why I had done this. ‘Why?’ is probably the first thing you should consider. Afterall who wants to see some old bird going about her boring daily life? It’s not something I feel I can expand on, so the one vlog might be it.

It was good to go through the process and learn about how this is done. These young vloggers and digital natives make it look so easy.

Being retired from paid employment means I have a lot of time to spend doing these things. I am a strong believer in the Self-initiated Lifelong Learning experience, and being SiLLé, a concept I labelled back in 2015, and it is a remedy for aging well. I am in constant need of a new project to get my mind into. When I was working, I had no time to spare and making vlogs was far from my busy mind.

Anyway, I will continue to enjoy the vlogs of others, liking, sharing, and subscribing to help sustain them in their chosen lifestyles.

Visiting Le Louvre

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I visited the Musée Du Louvre today. It didn’t cost me $35.72 Australian Dollars entry fee because I did a virtual tour from my home in Australia. (Although perhaps the same amount in Internet access?)

Back in 2008 I did visit in person and loved the fleeting visit that was provided by the Trafalgar Tour.

Me standing beside the inverted pyramid at Le Louvre July 2008

We bunched to see the famous Mona Lisa painting of 1503 to 1506 by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Crowd admiring the Mona Lisa painting at Le Louvre July 2008 (photo by me 2008)

But I was enthralled by the large painting on the opposite wall, The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari 1562 – 1563. The detail on this epic painting stopped me in my tracks.

I think my favourite piece though is The Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Greek Goddess Nike. She commands her place and guards the Art.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (photo by me 2008)

As a lifelong student of art, design, and architecture, I admire The Pyramid of Ieoh Ming Pei that was completed in 1989. Not only does it sit perfectly in the courtyard amidst the old buildings, the underground structure is genius. Standing beside the inverted pyramid below street level I paid homage to the architecture while also being excited to recall the fictional movie of The Da Vinci Code.

Pyramid structure at Le Louvre by Ieoh Ming Pei completed in 1989 (my photo 2008)

Via Google Earth I descend to the courtyard and view the 360-degree images of others.

Musee Du Louvre image screenshot from Google Earth 2024

I follow one of the Visitor Trails provided on the Musée Du Louvre website. I’m happy to choose Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Louvre Highlights from their music video of 2018. This music video has always captivated me. I love the music, the soundscape, and the juxtaposition of new performance art beside old masterpieces. So, I watched their music video again from my favourites list on YouTube. And of course I followed the Art Trail reading about each artwork.

I delve deeper into artworks via the official website, absorbing more. On the Musée du Louvre YouTube channel, I find more information about the restoration of artworks and the Arc Du Carrousel in the courtyard. I look at the images on their Instagram site.

Musee Du Louvre on InstaGram

Then I stumble upon a magical piece of work featuring Le Louvre in 2020 through the eyes of Flo. I join him as he walks alone through the Louvre. He whispers impressions in French that float on a quiet backdrop of imagined sounds. It is poetic, and art appreciation at its finest.

It’s been a great way to spend a cold winters day at home. I wonder where I will go next on my Armchair Travel adventures.

Learner’s Mind

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Some time ago I wrote about a concept I described and labelled SiLLé. It is an acronym that stands for Self-initiated Lifelong Learning experience. It is a behaviour that is grounded in my love of and experience with libraries. It is a habit that fulfills my love of learning, discovery, curiosity, research, and writing.

Yes, I am retired now from paid employment and easily and happily fill my days with listening to podcasts, knitting, walking, cooking, sudoku, crosswords, piano playing, French language lessons, yoga, reading, writing, and art.

But there is space in my ever-curious mind for further expansion. Having “finished” researching and writing the family history, a small work of fiction, and my autobiography, I have floundered for awhile between projects, wondering what would be my next path of enquiry.

I love Future Learn which is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). Many courses are offered for a fee, but others are free. Previously I have completed through this MOOC:

  • Mindfulness and Wellbeing for Peak Performance – Monash University
  • Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree – University of Strathclyde
  • Start Writing Fiction – Open University
  • Management and Leadership – Open University
  • And now I have just completed studying The Book of Kells – Trinity College Dublin

These explorations feed my brain, lead to further enquiry, and expand my knowledge about this world. I note that if/when I ever visit Ireland I will be sure to go to the exhibition about The Book of Kells at the Trinity College in Dublin. In the meantime I can see this unique and exquisite historical artefact here.

I feel no need to embark on further formal study. I have my Master’s in Information and Library Studies. I am not inspired by the U3A courses available locally. I am content to form my own curriculum; my own SiLLé. What rabbit hole will I disappear down next?

Zen and the Art of Creative Writing

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The things I have written this year are ‘Not For Publication’ (NFP). Am I wasting precious time? I think not. I am practising the art of creative writing and trying to adjust to this lifestyle. I like it. It suits my psyche. I feel like I am in the apprenticeship phase of my writing life, despite the fact of my Earth years.

I have written a short story from a particular incident from my family history. It could be for publication, but is it finished? I am not sure.

I have also written my life story, to get that out of the way and out of my head. Not for publication, but I feel relieved of the burden and the obstacle to a freer creative mind.

My own personal writing process has been revealed to me. I now understand how this energetic force unfurls within me, and then abates with The End, post editing of the Zero Draft.

Writing desk

    I feel well behind when it comes to my skills with crafting the English language. I place blame in part on the negligent curriculum set by Victoria’s Education department during the 1970’s. Grammar was not taught at all, and yet this is an essential tool for being able to express oneself properly, and this leads to effective and genuine communication. This society now converses in memes and acronyms, and we can see how that’s going.

    I favoured math, design, art, science, became an Industrial Designer and left English behind me in secondary school. And yet I have always needed an outlet to express my thoughts and ideas. My main blog is Sues Bent that I began in 2008. While continuing with this blog, I have also written for my side projects such as our big trip around Australia, and my love of French culture.

    Of course, I have written work-related items during my years employed as an Information Professional: reports, media briefs, copy for websites and advertisements, instructional manuals, strategic plans, and created presentations.

    All of this writing over many years has strengthened that muscle. I have put in the ten thousand hours towards mastery (as prescribed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers).

    I feel match ready.

    My Self-Initiated Lifelong Learning Experience continues and I draw further learning about the English language and writing from Benjamin McEvoy and his Hardcore Literature teachings. The Writers HQ continues to be a great source for motivation.

    I have my Writing Plan and some ideas for 2023.

    Next month I will write a review of 2022; things accomplished, books read, writing completed, etc. I have done this before, inspired by Chris Guillebeau. It is great way to plan for the year ahead.

    PS The title of this blog post highlights my love of the 1974 book by Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I wonder if Benjamin McEvoy has a tutorial on this classic novel.

    Writer’s Work

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    After attending the Writer’s Workshop this month provided by the Peninsula Writers Club and facilitated by author Kate Mildenhall, I have been quietly contemplating… and not much actual writing.

    Group picture – Peninsula Writer’s Club – 7 August 2022

    The workshop on Pitching and Publishing was useful, but more so were the exercises and discussions with all of the writers in the room. It was interesting to hear about the progress of other writer’s projects, successes, and not so successful experiences.

    I felt energised after the event and came home to prepare my own Annual Writing Work Plan. I am great at writing plans: work plans, project plans, communication plans, staff development plans, implementation plans. And I am happy with the personal creative writing plan that I prepared for myself.

    I now have a year’s worth of relevant resources to work through in order to expand and deepen this skill of creative writing. I will list some of them below for reference.

    Kate Mildenhall was an excellent facilitator for this workshop and her former career in the teaching profession was evident. I had already read and enjoyed her historical fiction Skylarking and after this workshop read The Mother Fault. I confessed to her that I could see many similarities between her novel Skylarking and my work-in-progress. We both had identified Anne of Green Gables as a story that was of a similar strain to our own works. So, yes, similarities, but totally different tales.

    My own story sits idle. But I now have an idea about how to develop my story further. The ideas sit inside my head, as the main story did for years before I downloaded it from my brain through my fingers onto paper and computer and wove it into a comprehensible narrative. I am at the point where I need to sit and get these new ideas onto ‘paper’. I will need to prepare a storyboard like I did for the main part of the story, and then plot the scenes and weave the new scenes into the other part of the story that I have already completed. So, while the creative ideas continue to percolate in my head, I write lists of things to do, and read books about writing.

    Here are some resources (in no particular order) that I have incorporated into my Annual Writing Work Plan (some I have read and listened to already*):

    BOOKS ABOUT WRITING

    • Save the Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody*                                                  
    • The Artists Way by Julia Cameron*
    • The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron*                                                        
    • Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark *                            
    • Use Your Words: A Myth-Busting, No-Fear Approach to Writing by Catherine Deveny       
    • Everything I Know About Writing by Annie Dillard                                                                              
    • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert*                                
    • Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg*                               
    • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg*                                                   
    • Searching for The Secret River by Kate Grenville                                 
    • Ten Things About Writing: Build Your Story One Word at A Time by Joanne Harris *
    • Night Fishing by Vicki Hastrich                                   
    • On Writing by Stephen King                                                        
    • Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, Keep Going by Austin Kleon                                              
    • The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Koffman                                                     
    • Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott                                                          
    • The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy                                                          
    • Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum                                          
    • Writing Your Life by Patti Miller*                                                              
    • How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz                                                              
    • A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders                                                         
    • The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr                                                 
    • The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp                                                           
    • The Little Red Writing Book by Mark Tredinnick
    • The Luminous Solution by Charlotte Wood                                          
    • The Writer’s Room by Charlotte Wood                                                   
    • How Fiction Works by James Wood         

    PODCASTS

    • Magic Lessons by Elizabeth Gilbert*
    • The First Time by Katherine Collette and Kate Mildenhall
    • The Garret: Writers on Writing by Astrid Edwards             
    • The Writers Room by Charlotte Wood
    • Ruts and Routines by Madeline Dore
    • How to Fail by Elizabeth Day
    • Keeping a Notebook by Nina LaCour
    • Writer’s Routine by Dan Simpson
    • Between the Covers: Conversations with Writers by David Naimon
    • So, You Want to Be a Writer by Valerie Khoo and Vic Writers Centre
    • First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing by Mitzi Rapkin
    • James and Ashley Stay at Home by James Watson and Ashley Blunt          
    • The Screenwriting Life by Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna       
    • Dead & Buried by Carly Godden and Lee Hooper*

    SOME OTHER RESOURCES

    Those Adverbs!

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    I hesitate at the edge, procrastinating, fearful about plunging into the deep, the real work of writing a book. I am surrounded by experts, published authors, stories already told.

    But here I am at the precipice, ready to go deep into the story.

    “Everyone has a book in them.” ~ Stan Smith (my father)

    The preparation is done, and no more time to dally.

    Writers desk at the ready

    I have not been writing in this blog for a while.

    • First there was the travel adventure around Australia where I concentrated my efforts on a bit of travel writing through Mick & Sue’s Aussie Adventure.
    • Then last year I completed the family story and printed that tome for family.
    • During February I have been trying to get my head to the task. I’m not sure that taking part in #FebFlourish on Instagram helped at all, except to add to my procrastination.

    So, my plan now is to:

    • Assign blocks of time for this writing adventure.
    • Go over my notes.
    • Do a bit more planning so I have a structure to write into.
    • Aim for a number of words per session goal.
    • Just start writing and try to get this first draft down.
    • And maybe I should do the online courses offered by WritersHQ.UK
      • Balance Your Writing Life that starts in March
      • Editing 101 that starts in April

    Writing Practice

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    Since leaving my full-time job, I have been concentrating on improving my writing skills.

    IMG_0836

    Here is the list of resources that I have worked through so far:

    My aim from this self-initiated writing course is to improve my writing skill in order to write the first draft of a novel by the end of 2020. I have my idea, characters, location, era, and plot. I have done some research and now I just need to get it out of my head and onto the page.