Went to the Frocktails event, had heaps of fun. Better because this year I recognised a few more faces, and had a slightly less rushed weekend up there. Also, this time I wasn't on my period and bleeding out like a crazy person, so I was getting more sleep, was less anxious, the whole deal.
The dress was a Simplicity pattern, suitable for a stretch knit, and I did it in a magenta bamboo knit. With a lot of unpicking, because I read the pattern wrong, and the instructions were not the clearest:
I think the bodice may need to be one size larger, and I should prefer something that fakes hips on me (my hip-to-waist ratio is non-existent), but it worked and was pretty comfy wearing.
I did learn that weight weirdness is a function of perimenopause and I might need to grow accustomed to not fitting into anything for a few years. Not the news that one particularly wants to hear!
And in despite of my dissatisfaction with my current weight and body shape, I think I looked quite good in it.
(I might need to do a session with the physio at some point, just to ease out the last stiffness? IDK. Just resting it helps, tbh.)
Again, I was staying at the hotel hosting the Frocktails, which made it really nice to just go up to my room at the end of the night, and watch the reports from the Matildas v. Uzbekistan game, which we won 3-0. I'd semi-kept-up with the game throughout the night - the social media accounts were great for that.
There were shots on shots on shots from the Aussie team. Some went wide, others were blocked by the keeper. But nine minutes into her substitution onto the field, Michelle Heyman was back on the scoreboard and infusing the game with a new sense of possibility!
Player shuffling happened in the wake of Sam Kerr's injury - well, it had to, didn't it? Our wings are solid, great in front of the goal, but apart from Sam we haven't really had a confident, aggressive '9' striker to take it straight through the centre and push that attack. It's not that Foord or Raso or Vine or Fowlere or any of the other icons from the WWC23 aren't great forwards, but you need someone with the confidence and aggression to press hard for the goal.
Also, in spite of the calls for "more new players", I suspect a '9 Forward' is something that you either have to be supremely confident to start off in (also: Kerr worked up to it - the woman has been playing in the national team since she was sixteen), or else have experience of doing. So an experienced forward was a good idea; someone who's played the game, knows her own worth, doesn't need to be eased into the team. That was Heyman last night. And good for her!
Any new players are going to have a rough time of it - we had one entirely new Matilda on the field, and while she was good, she didn't stand out. Didn't take on the players herself, but passed a lot. Good player, but needs polish. That's not me blaming her, btw. It must be really difficult to join the Matilda as a new cap right now, particularly given the Tillies have become such an icon in the last year. Heck, I think it's difficult to play on the team as a 'not one of the iconic players' - one of the fifteen or so "familiar names" on the team. Previously? Nobody really minded/cared/worried. Now? Now it's huge. There's national expectation and hopes riding on it. And always the possibility that if you flub it as a newbie, there'll be arseholes calling for your head on social media. *grimace*
--
Taylor Swift is in town - both metaphorically "in town" and actually in Sydney. There was some consternation among Americans watching the drone footage of the concert at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground): where does everyone park? Out of all the questions anyone would have asked about the MCG, I do not think any of us were expecting THAT.
Does it take a little longer than hopping in your car and driving home? Yes. But also, you're not creating extra congestion around the event, and there's usually a good feeling after an event that makes the trip enjoyable.
Incidentally, public transport in Australia is not a hub for "antisocial behaviour" the way it is perceived to be in America, particularly not event-centric public transport. Try groping someone in a crowded carriage of post-event people and you're likely to end up targeted by any number of people who would have been polite to you so long as you were polite to everyone else. In Australia, once your courtesy is off the table, so is ours. And we're a bit of a fighty sort of people.
--
I have also endured entirely too many people sneering at Taylor Swift in Australia.
Including the arsehat who tried to set up Taylor Swift vs the Matildas in one of the FB community groups surrounding the Matildas. He got rightly put in his place. Seriously, you don't like her? Fine. You don't like the attention she's receiving? Fine. You have an inferiority complex about what she's done and is doing? Great. KEEP IT TO YOUR FUCKING SELF. NOBODY NEEDS TO SEE YOUR INSECURITY HANGING OUT LIKE VARSITY PENISES FLAILING IN THE WIND OUT THEIR BUDDY'S CAR WINDOW.
Can we not be "pick me" girls? Can we not do the "well, we're not like all the other girls" schtick that is really just about making ourselves feel better about our choices as though other people's choices somehow invalidate our own?
We are not better because we prefer Halestorm and P!nk and Alanis Morisette, or climb mountains, kick balls, and hit pucks into goals, or shoot traitors down with six minutes before detonation.
Be better because being a decent person is better, and liking your things without putting down other people's things is better, and recognising that other people make different choices can be a thing, too. And yeah, we might make judgements on what they would be if only they were more enlightened ("like us") but also, they might be just as enlightened and still like Tay-Tay. My God, the fucking ANGST of it all.
tl;dr: I had a great weekend, even if some people (mostly on the internet but a few in meatspace) are being idiots.
The dress was a Simplicity pattern, suitable for a stretch knit, and I did it in a magenta bamboo knit. With a lot of unpicking, because I read the pattern wrong, and the instructions were not the clearest:
I think the bodice may need to be one size larger, and I should prefer something that fakes hips on me (my hip-to-waist ratio is non-existent), but it worked and was pretty comfy wearing.
I did learn that weight weirdness is a function of perimenopause and I might need to grow accustomed to not fitting into anything for a few years. Not the news that one particularly wants to hear!
And in despite of my dissatisfaction with my current weight and body shape, I think I looked quite good in it.
extra things I did while up in the BM
While up in the Blue Mountains, I also went to a High Tea at the Hydro Majestic hotel (very fancy, always nice but not exceptional, yes, I know, I'm a snob), and did a fantastic spa experience in the hotel that hosts the event. I did a remedial massage last year and the therapist was So Good and I really appreciated it. This year, I was still sore from the personal training session last week, so having a fuller spa experience (scrub, spa bath, remedial massage with attention to my problem spots) was awesome.(I might need to do a session with the physio at some point, just to ease out the last stiffness? IDK. Just resting it helps, tbh.)
Again, I was staying at the hotel hosting the Frocktails, which made it really nice to just go up to my room at the end of the night, and watch the reports from the Matildas v. Uzbekistan game, which we won 3-0. I'd semi-kept-up with the game throughout the night - the social media accounts were great for that.
Matildas stuff
There wasn't much happening until late in the 2nd half - I think about 70s minutes in, and then they brought on an 'old Matilda' who'd last played for the national team in 2016, back before most Aussie footballers were anywhere on the international scene.There were shots on shots on shots from the Aussie team. Some went wide, others were blocked by the keeper. But nine minutes into her substitution onto the field, Michelle Heyman was back on the scoreboard and infusing the game with a new sense of possibility!
Player shuffling happened in the wake of Sam Kerr's injury - well, it had to, didn't it? Our wings are solid, great in front of the goal, but apart from Sam we haven't really had a confident, aggressive '9' striker to take it straight through the centre and push that attack. It's not that Foord or Raso or Vine or Fowlere or any of the other icons from the WWC23 aren't great forwards, but you need someone with the confidence and aggression to press hard for the goal.
Also, in spite of the calls for "more new players", I suspect a '9 Forward' is something that you either have to be supremely confident to start off in (also: Kerr worked up to it - the woman has been playing in the national team since she was sixteen), or else have experience of doing. So an experienced forward was a good idea; someone who's played the game, knows her own worth, doesn't need to be eased into the team. That was Heyman last night. And good for her!
Any new players are going to have a rough time of it - we had one entirely new Matilda on the field, and while she was good, she didn't stand out. Didn't take on the players herself, but passed a lot. Good player, but needs polish. That's not me blaming her, btw. It must be really difficult to join the Matilda as a new cap right now, particularly given the Tillies have become such an icon in the last year. Heck, I think it's difficult to play on the team as a 'not one of the iconic players' - one of the fifteen or so "familiar names" on the team. Previously? Nobody really minded/cared/worried. Now? Now it's huge. There's national expectation and hopes riding on it. And always the possibility that if you flub it as a newbie, there'll be arseholes calling for your head on social media. *grimace*
--
Taylor Swift is in town - both metaphorically "in town" and actually in Sydney. There was some consternation among Americans watching the drone footage of the concert at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground): where does everyone park? Out of all the questions anyone would have asked about the MCG, I do not think any of us were expecting THAT.
public transport and public events
Most of our big sporting stadiums have a lot of public transport options around them. As in, LOTS. Train lines, tram lines, light rail, bus services. Parking is marginal (maybe a hundred spaces, most of them requiring disability passes) at best, if you are able-bodied, then get thee to a public transport system! They were designed like this, and if they weren't, then the cities have redesigned them to be part of the PT system. Plus events often have "event buses" that run along major road thoroughfares through the city and stop at various places to take on event-goers, bussing them straight in to the stadium for the event, and bussing them back out along the thoroughfares at the end.Does it take a little longer than hopping in your car and driving home? Yes. But also, you're not creating extra congestion around the event, and there's usually a good feeling after an event that makes the trip enjoyable.
Incidentally, public transport in Australia is not a hub for "antisocial behaviour" the way it is perceived to be in America, particularly not event-centric public transport. Try groping someone in a crowded carriage of post-event people and you're likely to end up targeted by any number of people who would have been polite to you so long as you were polite to everyone else. In Australia, once your courtesy is off the table, so is ours. And we're a bit of a fighty sort of people.
--
I have also endured entirely too many people sneering at Taylor Swift in Australia.
in which I rant mightily
Like I am not even a Swiftie, but I have respect for what she's achieved and is achieving, even if it is not my bag, baby. And no, she's not my hero, but she's an icon to a lot of other women - not all (or even most) of whom are stupid and thoughtless and brainless and dumb sluts. And no, nobody has actually SAID they're those things, but do you really think I can't hear what you're thinking when you're telegraphing it that fucking noisily?Including the arsehat who tried to set up Taylor Swift vs the Matildas in one of the FB community groups surrounding the Matildas. He got rightly put in his place. Seriously, you don't like her? Fine. You don't like the attention she's receiving? Fine. You have an inferiority complex about what she's done and is doing? Great. KEEP IT TO YOUR FUCKING SELF. NOBODY NEEDS TO SEE YOUR INSECURITY HANGING OUT LIKE VARSITY PENISES FLAILING IN THE WIND OUT THEIR BUDDY'S CAR WINDOW.
Can we not be "pick me" girls? Can we not do the "well, we're not like all the other girls" schtick that is really just about making ourselves feel better about our choices as though other people's choices somehow invalidate our own?
We are not better because we prefer Halestorm and P!nk and Alanis Morisette, or climb mountains, kick balls, and hit pucks into goals, or shoot traitors down with six minutes before detonation.
Be better because being a decent person is better, and liking your things without putting down other people's things is better, and recognising that other people make different choices can be a thing, too. And yeah, we might make judgements on what they would be if only they were more enlightened ("like us") but also, they might be just as enlightened and still like Tay-Tay. My God, the fucking ANGST of it all.
tl;dr: I had a great weekend, even if some people (mostly on the internet but a few in meatspace) are being idiots.
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