I began a journal recently, of which this blog is an evolution. I began with this:
“How do I explain myself to myself; let alone anyone else? What informs my opinions about who I am? and the decisions that I make? How do I choose what to focus on out of the multitude of conflicting ideas competing for recognition and action? Who is the I am that, I am?”
Let’s have some facts…
Given Name: Sandy, will do. (You may remember me… I have blown through many people’s lives. If it is with affection, please contact me. If not, forgive me, and, please, contact me).
Date of Birth: 22 November 1959 That means, in some schools of thought:
Astrologically, I am born on the Scorpio/Sagittarius cusp, with Aquarius ascendant. (That’s guaranteed to make life interesting, they say).
Born in 1959 -Chinese Year of the Earth Pig. (Yeah, I know, what an image. Although, the pigs down this way are very happy…)
Numerology says that through my birth date -22/11/1959 -I am a 30/3 -quite an upbeat number, really. Unfortunately, 22 & 11 are “master numbers” which carry great challenges for the personality. Oh, and my name, my whole name, adds up to 9; which when added to the “Arrow of Determination” through the 1-5-9 diagonal on my natal chart, means I want to change the world. (Well, who doesn’t?)
(That’s all very interesting, and ego-stroking, but what use is it in the everyday, in every moment of my life? Do I create a persona around concepts I choose from the various schools of thought and hope that will make me happy? How else do I decide who I am)?
Born at: Ashburton Hospital, Ashburton, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Schools attended: High Street School, Dunedin; Sommerfield School, Christchurch, Arahoe Primary, New Lynn, Auck; Waterview Primary, Waterview, Auck; Avondale Intermediate & Avondale College, Auckland.
Formal Education:
School Certificate 1975 -6 subjects
U.E. Accredited 1976 -5 subjects (thank goodness, I didn’t have to sit the exams, I had started developing a “slacker” attitude after deciding that the education system “wasn’t teaching me anything that would be any use in later life”. I did have a fun year and I did learn some things).
Work History: (anecdotes, even if rather sketchy, are more interesting than a list -don’t you think?)
Saturday mornings working at “the knitwear factory” in Onehunga to earn money for roller-skating in the afternoon.
One year, selling records at Haywrights in the St. Lukes Shopping Centre, which was really “cool”, until Management decided I was meant for “bigger things” in retail and moved me into selling brass knick-knacks. Or, perhaps they were encouraging me to find another job, because that’s what I did.
I went to work at “the knitwear factory” for a few weeks until I decided what else to do; I stayed for a few years. It allowed me to live my punk rock phase in relative ease and hygiene, without cramping my “wild style”. (Through many parts of my turbulent extended youth I have reached out to the industry that has always been an intrinsic part of my life for stability and sustenance).
I gambled on my design ability and lost a lot of money on a boutique in His Majesty’s Arcade; I should have had a good accountant keeping tabs on me. Then languished for a while making clothes for bohemian Cook Street Market.
Looking for a new challenge, I made a random decision to drive buses for the ARA based on: a memory of a Form 1 school trip to Coromandel, and a story about the random kindness of a bus-driver who had picked up a hitch-hiking friend. Bus-driving is one under-rated occupation -you have no idea how much you can learn about yourself and life in general while driving buses, and hanging out with bus drivers -the job attracts all sorts of interesting people.
I was working in, and lived behind, a dairy/general store in beautiful Army Bay, Whangaparoa, when the stockmarket crashed in ’87. It was an exhilarating place to experience Cyclone Bola the following March and a wonderful place to wake up to in the morning.
Since then, for about twenty years, actually, I have mostly been a Mother with some work in the knitwear industry thrown in. I am currently working with a small team, in a small town, making knitwear for the NZ market. Life is good.
Location: Back on The Mainland, in South Canterbury -because it hardly ever rains.
Dependents: One son (20), one daughter (17), five cats (4 old girls and 1 young male).
That’s my life, so far; just a broad outline, I admit. But, if it interests you enough to want to keep reading then I will keep writing and filling in the blanks. Let me know…