Self Dating for the Creatively Exhausted

So yesterday I had a full day off from work, and I decided that I needed to take a break from writing as well, to replenish the creative well that of late has been a little overdrawn. So I let myself wake up naturally ie no setting the dreaded alarm, made myself some eggs and a cup of tea, and then headed off into the city to take myself on a much needed date.

First stop was Cinema Nova. I like going to movies on my own, sometimes, and for certain movies that I just want immerse myself in.
I originally wanted to see the Artist, but turns out I missed the last showing by a day (curses), so I picked the movie Trishna, based on what I had learn from At The Movies by Margaret and David (they both liked it very much, which can only be a good sign), and the fact that it's based one of my all time favourite, Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
If you're a regular reader, you will know my love hate relationship with Thomas Hardy, in that I love everything he writes desperately, but hate the fact that it always makes me feel so desperately sad. Actually, that’s not true, otherwise I wouldn't keep going back, book after book, tragedy after tragedy. Sometimes it feels good to just wallow in the sadness for a paragraph or two.
Anyway, having read Tess numerous times, and sat through the entire BBC telemovie (Gemma Areton and Eddie Raymond!! Swoooon!), I knew what I was in for. But Michael Winterbottom's adaption was a fresh take on the story which I thoroughly enjoyed; for one, it's set in India, and two, the characters of Alec and Angel have been combined into one main antagonist. At first I was a little wary of this, because my feelings towards Angel and Alec are so polarised, but by the end I was completely converted to the idea of the dual archetype, as it seems a more realistic portrayal of humanity. Sadly, there was more Alec than Angel in Jay, but this was key in playing out the progression of Hardy's original story.
But Trishna (Frieda Pinto) was gorgeous, of course, and so was the sweeping Indian landscapes and cityscapes, it really made me want to travel there. One day...

After the movie, I needed a little pick me up, so my next stop was Readings bookstore. This place is everything Boarders should have been if it wanted to survive; the selection of books there is unsurpassed, and the atmosphere is so cheerful and comfortable. There were so many things that I wanted to buy, but I exercised enough self control to only come away with one book: Woolgathering by Patti Smith. I am two pages in, and already it has surpassed my most whimsical expectations.

After making my purchase and hopped on the tram out to East Brunswick, to see the She Raw photography exhibition by Lilli Waters. A believer in finding magic in the day to day, Lilli has put together a stunning collection of 41 woman-centric photographs that I could just stare out for hours; each one has its own special quality, and a luminescence that draws you in to all aspects of the picture. I didn't take any photos, because my iPhone camera would not do them any justice, but she's released a few teasers on her she raw tumblr, and will be releasing a book, with half the profits going to White Ribbon, an organisation that fights violence against women. How incredible is this woman? You'll know if you take a look at her photos! The exhibition is at the Blak Dot gallery in East Brunswick until tomorrow, but you can visit lilliwaters.com to order one of her amazing She Raw photography books.

So it ended up being a day filled with my exposure to some incredibly powerful women who each left their own unique imprint on me. Leaving the exhibition, I was struck by how many wonderful creatures exist in this world, and how many of them are women, and the plethora of creativity that abounds from us. With my almost empty well now filled to the brim with inspiration, I met up with Lovely for some Friday night drinks and ended up having dinner with him, the lovely Holly, and her friend who was also named Hollie, at the Post Deng cafe, before heading off to see Josh Pyke! I'll be writing a gig blog to follow up on this later.

But in the meantime, I highly recommend taking yourself on a date, to do some things that are just for YOU! You will only come away feeling good, I whole heartedly believe it!