Tag: life

Freelance Reflections #196

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Now I’m working full time, I’m enjoying having bank holidays off. I went to Field Day on Saturday, which was really fun despite it not being a festival I’d normally go to, and on Sunday I went to Farleys House. It was so interesting to be in the home of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, with incredible artwork including a Picasso wall tile, plus learning about the work of photographer Dorothy Bohm, and eating lunch in the gardens, filled with sculptures.

Monday was a personal healing journey, marking the anniversary of the “break” that turned into a break-up. I went to a rage room for the first time having wanted to go for years, followed it with a picnic in the sun with a couple of dedicated art therapy pals, and ended with a floatation tank.

Today I had my Spanish passport appointment. Thankfully, it went smoothly despite them somehow making an error on my Spanish birth certificate that I didn’t clock – who is MATEO?! After a couple of dishes at Brindisa, I went with my parents to the James McNeill Whistler exhibition, where I enjoyed the references to butterflies and was particularly drawn to the nocturnes.

This Sunday all being well, there is the usual Forest Hill Stanza open mic at Forest Hill library 2-4pm. Otherwise, I’m making the most of the good weather by swimming outdoors as much as possible and reading in the sun.

Watching: I Love Dick, Younger, Something Bad is Going to Happen

Reading: Time Regained by Marcel Proust, The Problem with Men by Richard Herring

Podcasts: Jillian on Love, What Now? with Trevor Noah, Teal Swan

Music: Patrice Roberts, Interplanetary Criminal, Kilimanjaro, Flowdan, PJ Harvey, Olivia Rodrigo, The Plot in You

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Follow me on instagram: @carminamasoliver 

Freelance Reflections #190

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Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Frantic Assembly’s Lost Atoms at The Lyric in Hammersmith, and Punchdrunk’s Lander 23 in Woolwich. At the start of ‘Lost Atoms’, I was engrossed yet also felt the pace was slow at points, in terms of my investment in the couple, but by the second half I was even more captivated and ended up crying as it was so moving. I remember wanting to see it as it related to my own personal life, and it was really uplifting and moving to think about multiple futures.

Lander 23 was fun, though I also understand the criticism of reusing sets from The Drowned Man; perhaps there could be an argument here in terms of sustainability, but we had imagined something more space-like than dystopian. The narrative was simple, or, you could say, non-existent, even. I thought the concept perhaps was that the narrative was created between us, as our two-teams communicated through radios, with the other team telling us afterwards that it was funny to hear us. We went for some Somalian food at Basbaas afterwards, and it was delicious and generous.

Aside from the dayjob, I’ve been training for this 10km run, so I did 9km on Monday and 10km this morning. I celebrated Mother’s Day early at La Parra Tapas, also celebrating the fact I’m officially Spanish now! I just need to sort out my passport, with another trip to the Spanish Consulate. I was gifted some Spanish sweet treats from my parents’ recent trip to Barcelona too!

Watching: Girlfriends, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Sunny

Reading: A Poem for Every Winter Day, Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed, Sodom & Gomorrah by Marcel Proust (audiobook)

Podcasts: What Now? with Trevor Noah, The Telepathy Tapes, On Attachment

Music: Bad Bunny, Kneecap

If you’d like to buy some books, please do!

Follow me on instagram: @carminamasoliver 

Freelance Reflections #188

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There isn’t too much to say as last weekend was quite quiet. After finishing a coincidental Valentine’s episode of “Too Much”, I watched the filme ‘Lee’ about Lee Miller, and paid £4 for a month of the Now TV film package because I was determined to do so (and also signed up to free trials for BFI else due to fake news on my Google search). I also edited some of my poetry collections a little, though there’s still a way to go!

I welcomed in the new lunar year with red for luck, and a little brown for grounding, coincidentally, a friend from Hong Kong informing me of this due to entering the year of the fire horse. I wore snake earrings to symbolically shed the year of the snake by the evening, where I cooked a nice stir-fry with lots of sides.

This week was the return to the pub quiz with a couple of close friends, and thanks to Concerts for Carers I got some complimentary tickets to ASHNIKKO! I’ve already seen her twice, and she’s absolutely one of my favourite live acts. I had so much fun!

Now for a lowkey weekend, starting with a couple of exhibitions… including an old college friend, who I last saw at the 2022 She Grrrowls festival at The Albany in Deptford! Tomorrow is also the Forest Hill Stanza open mic, so there’s not too much time to fit in much else!

Watching: Lee (film), Too Much, Girlfriends, Love is Blind

Reading:  A Poem for Every Winter Day, Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed, Fearless 3 by Francine Pascal, Sodom & Gomorrah by Marcel Proust (audiobook)

Podcasts: What Now? with Trevor Noah,

Music: Ashnikko, System of a Down, Ameila Moore

If you’d like to buy some books, please do!

Follow me on instagram: @carminamasoliver