“The balance we approve of in architecture, and which we anoint with the word ‘beautiful’, alludes to a state that, on a psychological level, we can describe as mental health or happiness.” Alain de Botton, ‘The Architecture of Happiness’ We first met you when we were in the first heady days of our beautiful partnership. We were giddy with the excitement of being together, seeking together and setting up a life together. You were just around the corner, waiting for us. It w...

Okay, so I don’t often comment on current affairs or political issues but there has been a story come up here in Australia in the last few days and I have to put in my 2 cents worth. Basically, this started when a couple of young guys, in a moment of sheer youthful exuberance and with a skin full of alcohol, decided to do some ‘turkey slapping’. This delightful expression, for those of you not familiar with it, is another name for a fairly gross act of indecency. ‘Turkey slapping’ refers...

Inspiration… It is a lovely word. It means a lot of different things to a lot of people too. The dictionary meaning is fine to understand the word, but it just doesn’t impart the full impact of inspiration, of being inspired and of inspiring others. I was reading something recently, where one JUser mentioned he’d been inspired by a couple of other JUsers. One of those mentioned responded that she was surprised to inspire anyone. This got me thinking and inspired me to write this. But...

I know my lovely wife Link has already written about the recent visit of my nephew and his best friend, but I thought I would share the experience from my point of view. My nephew Mitch and his best friend, Steve, are what I imagined to be fairly typical 14 year old boys. They are smart, funny, bright kids who have the world at their feet and don’t even know it. Both play representational hockey for the ACT (the Australian Capital Territory) and are keen musicians, among other things. M...

I've got a thing for tattoos. I was told years ago, before I got my first, that I would either hate the process and never have another or love the process and want more. I am of the latter group. The problem is, like a lot of things, tattoos aren't cheap and I don't have as many as I'd like. But slowly, I am getting more. For my birthday this year, my lovely wife bought me some time in the chair. I wrote a bit of a blog about the tattoist and how I'd be going back to him for my next...

The streets are duller and dirtier. The faces passing by less friendly and for some reason the weight of the world seems to be heavier on my shoulders. I can’t focus like I usually can. My mind wanders, wondering what you’re doing right now. I reign in these thoughts, trying to concentrate and get the day-to-day things done but I soon find I’m back to thinking of you. I’m distracted in a way only having you near can repair. I don’t take the same comfort I usually do from my routines. ...

She wore the saddest smile I’ve ever seen. I could feel the weight she was carrying just from glancing in her eyes. If ever there was a figure defined by tragedy, she was it. I wanted to simply hold her and let whatever sadness she was holding be shared with me. But she was a stranger on a train and I was a silly man for thinking I could be any comfort to her. I could have been totally wrong about her but I didn’t think so. I saw her the next day, and the next, sitting in much the sam...

I’ve been dreaming a lot lately, more so than I have in a long time. I’ve been dreaming all sorts of things too. Everything from success dreams, where I’m living a rich man’s life to disturbing, not exactly nightmares, which become luggage for my day and have me feeling somewhat out of sorts. I think I know why I am dreaming more than normal, although it is much too private to discuss here. But I do feel like I’m opening up something I’ve had closed for quite some time. One of the posi...

My Top Five Embarrassing Moments Okay, this is a challenge, mainly because I’ve successfully suppressed most of these moments to enable myself to move forward. But as others have been able to dredge up some of their less-savoury moments, I will attempt to do the same. 1. This is only number one on my list because it is the first one I can recall. When I was in 4th grade and living in Malaysia, a friend and I were playing in some trees on top of a grading next to our school sports oval...

I've been deliberating over this article, only because it is my 100th. I thought I might try writing a Maso's top 100 list, but it proved to be a lot of work (however, I have made a start and will be posting this article in the near future). The more I thought about what I might write, the more I found I couldn't decide. Instead, I thought I might put up a few photos, as I haven't really posted any before. I will apologise in advance for the poor quality of most of these. Please sit back...

I’ve noticed a new, rather disturbing modern day syndrome. I’m concerned as there seems to be an increasingly large amount of the population suffering from this condition. “What is it?” I hear you ask in a desperate, paranoid tone. It is a syndrome I call MPB or Mobile Phone Blindness. The poor sufferers of this syndrome are so unfortunate as to not even be aware they’re suffering from it. They look and act like regular members of the populace until they get a mobile phone in their han...

I’ve noticed a new, rather disturbing modern day syndrome. I’m concerned as there seems to be an increasingly large amount of the population suffering from this condition. “What is it?” I hear you ask in a desperate, paranoid tone. It is a syndrome I call MPB or Mobile Phone Blindness. The poor sufferers of this syndrome are so unfortunate as to not even be aware they’re suffering from it. They look and act like regular members of the populace until they get a mobile phone in their han...