Category: Personal
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Short Run
Again. I drew my hand close, splayed my fingers wide and pressed down hard. On my shoulder. I pivoted and turned left, facing the scorers. “Short run, ” I intoned, making sure my voice carried off field.
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Help the helpers
“Daddy? What is it you do again?” My daughter looked up from her drawing and fixed me with her questioning stare.
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Version Control
It began as an easy and fairly innocuous job. The only downside was that it had to be finished by Monday. But I was just the technical writer and my role was secondary. Or so I thought. The content was being emailed to me by another person. A communications document for a new software implementation.…
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Letters to an artist : John Keats
John Keats! They made me read you and after Chaucer and Donne (who I ended up liking eventually), I wanted to refuse. I loved poetry having fallen in love with Milton’s, “On His Blindness” and John Masefield’s, “Sea Fever,” but even after having written poetry of my own, the reluctance was strong towards this one.…
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The Last Line (Beth McMullen : Obstinate Little Tart)
“Excuse me.”I look up. I’m zero words into a five hundred word short story, which means…any interruption is perfectly welcome. “Do you know you look like David Marr?” I’m laughing now. At the woman waving her debit card. She was about to buy a coffee and has mistaken me. For David. Not David my twin…
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The Last Line (Beth McMullen : Obstinate Little Tart)
“Excuse me.” I look up. I’m zero words into a five hundred word short story, so any interruption is perfectly welcome. “Do you know you look like David Marr?” I’m laughing now. At the woman waving her debit card. She was about to buy a coffee and has mistaken me. For David. Not David my…
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Scissors Paper Nuke
“Scissors Paper Rock.” “Scissors Paper Rock.” “Scissors Paper Rock.” Three boys playing the game of ancient ages rouse me from my rail induced reverie. Obviously brothers. The youngest is short, brown hair and eyes that observe more than he sees. The middle is blonde, curly-haired. His blue eyes dance with laughter at any excuse. The…
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Why Adults Should Read to Their Children (Upside Down)
Steps for reading to children: Place book on your lap facing child. Read book while tracing out each word. Which of course means the child learns to read for him or herself. Which leads them on the first steps towards an education. The disadvantage is that the adult has to learn to read upside down.
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Writing Lessons
Last week I learnt a few things about writing. Novel I’m probably tired of talking about the novel. It’s set in the present but with a backstory from the past. My major problem is that the backstory is quite intrusive, so intrusive in fact that it cannot be told in flashbacks without spoiling the present…
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The Last Melbourne Cup
Apparently Melbourne Cup 2018 is being soaked by heavy rains. Melbourne Cup 2017 for me was tear-soaked. That day, I was working at Westmead Childrens’ Hospital. I had bought my cup of coffee and walking back to my office when I noticed something odd. Police vehicles were pulling up at the entrance. Ambulance sirens and…
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Three Coincidences Too Many
Buying my own stationery was the first of three Ill-fated training coincidences…
Andrew James Whalan 