If you missed part 1 of what my life in Canberra could have been like in the 1970s then go and see it. It saw me moving to Canberra to work in a great job with the Australian government in a secretarial capacity.

Canberra in the 1970s wasn’t a very big place because I could live pretty close to where I work and go home for lunch. And the buses were seldom crowded so if I didn’t want to walk at least I know I’d get a seat on the bus.

If I didn’t want to stay at home then naturally there’s plenty of opportunity to go out and eat, visit a social club or go and see a movie. Or if I did want to stay home there were two television channels to choose from so I could get my weekly fix of ‘Number 96‘, ‘The Box‘, or ‘Homicide‘.

And of course I could go shopping in the -wait for it – air conditioned shops. Air conditioning was big in the 1970s.

Now let’s talk about 1970s fashions. Canberra in the 1970s had all the latest fashions available in its shops like Melbourne and Sydney did. The latest platforms, the latest flares and lots and lots of polyester and rayon. Creases in the front of your trousers that never needed ironing.

Because I worked for the public service the government paid for me to go home after a year’s service. It was also possible for me to work overseas. There were so many opportunities.

The beauty of living in Canberra in the 1970s meant I could go to ski resorts on the weekends because they were so close. Pity I didn’t know how to ski and my efforts to learn ended up with a broken leg, but at least I tried.

I had better luck at the beaches on my surfboard.

In the next and final part you’ll get to see how I spent my time in Canberra outside of work. It was an exciting place.

I love this photo. My son always nags me for playdates and this is him when he had a friend over. I took them to a local oval and just after this they joined a cricket game with three other local boys.

This is my contribution to the – always nearly – Wordless Wednesday.

I participated last week and forgot to add the link to the appropriate place.

What was your first main job after you finished school? Did you go to university and then get a full-time job or did you, like me, go straight into the workforce?

Had I known, I could have gone to Canberra to work as a typist, a stenographer or a secretary. Instead, I chose to come to Adelaide from country South Australia and work here and have stayed (mostly) ever since.

Here’s what my life might have been like had I gone to Canberra to work in the 1970s.  Mind you, I had just started school in the 70s so was a tad too young.

I got work with the Australian government and the work was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. And the work was really important but only important enough, mind you, to be in a support role. No executive position for me because I was a woman. But hey, every job was different so it was exciting and it was my first time away from home and away from the family.

Hey, and guess what? Because I could type at 50wpm or more I got a bonus. And I got even more money because my shorthand was excellent. Also because I had to move to Canberra to work, the government helped me out with accommodation costs. Otherwise I would have had to stay in Adelaide I guess.

Of course, there was a chance of a cute bloke to work with. But if not, the offices were air conditioned so that was a bonus and the superannuation scheme was good.

Canberra is a bit cold in winter so luckily my accommodation had central heating.

Having my mates live in the same accommodation was great because we were always popping into each other’s rooms to borrow clothes and have a gossip about our excellent work conditions and the great air conditioning.

I know you want more and there is more. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday. I have posts in my head – just gotta get em on here.

I took this while at Carrickalinga last week. Was good to get away even though we had a bit of a holiday house nightmare.

I’ve gradually been doing a bit of a cleanout of bits and pieces around the place and there was a box under my bed that if it was a file in a filing cabinet it would have been labelled ‘miscellaneous’. It was full of that stuff that you don’t quite know where else to put.

I went through the box outside because it was so full of dust and I’d just vacuumed. Aside from the photos I found the items shown above. This is how long that stuff’s been lying around.

The little tape was for my analogue answering machine which I haven’t had for ages – BIN.

The Sony Walkman I can’t quite get rid of even though I haven’t got many cassette tapes left. I carted a Walkman around when backpacking in the early 1990s but this was one that a workplace bought me as I was leaving London to do some more travelling in India before I came back to Australia after two years away.

I think up how much room in my backpack my music and books took up and how much room I could save now with existing technology. Perhaps room for more clothes or perhaps a smaller bag. I still hang my head in shame when on a train in Switzerland and an elderly lady had to help me lift my backpack up to the rack because it was too heavy for me to lift by myself.

The camera film is goodness knows how many years old and I’d like to use it but need to find out whether it’s even worth it. Anyone know? I do have an SLR film camera I can put it in and I even remember how to do that.

The TechED 2000 conference pouch was from one of the first conferences I ever went to. It was in Cairns and lots of my colleagues came along. Some of us had won some award money I think which helped pay our way. I don’t know how useful a very technical conference was to me at the time but I had a good time. Microsoft used to put on (and maybe they still do) great conference parties. This one was a Mad Max themed party which nearly didn’t go ahead because of excessive rain. But go ahead it did and we had a ball.

The box also had some photos of me in hospital while giving birth to my son which happened just over ten years ago. I burned some of them they were that graphic. I don’t even remember my friend taking them but no future generations needed to see them! I just wish I could remember if I’ve burned the negatives too. Oh well, if someone wants to go through them one day I either won’t be around or I won’t care. I also had some photos of my son’s father which I’ve given to him. There were even some reusable breastfeeding pads in there. What was I thinking when I kept those?

The next things on my list to clean out are the bathroom drawers and cabinets. I’m guessing I’ll find some makeup that I haven’t used for five years that can be binned.

Most of us go through it at some time or another – the relationship breakup. It’s bloody awful even if it’s something you initiated. I didn’t initiate this one but upon reflection it has to be for the best. After all, who want’s to pine after someone who obviously doesn’t want to be with you, or who doesn’t want to work together to solve relationship issues? Not me!

Even though it’s been on my mind a lot I’ve generally been pretty good and here’s how I’m getting through it.

1. Look after yourself, eg have a massage. The day after the breakup I spent most of it in bed feeling a bit sorry for myself but I also dragged myself out of bed to go and have a massage. It just happened that it was a good friend who does shiatsu and we had a bit of a chat as well and she gave me some mechanisms for refocusing.
2. When trying to go to sleep – if you find your mind racing – and you have trouble getting off to sleep – count. On the in breath count up to ten and concentrate on this. If you’re counting you can’t think about anything else. I’ve since used this when I am thinking about other things. It’s a good meditation technique regardless.
3. Focus on the moment. Even if it’s just when you’re getting dinner. Concentrate on the smell and the feel of of the food you’re preparing for instance. Again, this gets your mind off other things.
4. Talking to some close friends. I couldn’t imagine not having them to unload to and as usual they’ve been fantastic.
5. Planning things to do socially. I’ve tried to keep myself busy since this happened and I’ve been succeeding.
6. Using this as a learning experience. Questions I’ve been asking myself: What is it about the type of men I pick? Without going into detail I think I’ve cracked it and Baggage Reclaim is an excellent website that provides some great advice about relationships. It talks about things to look out for, values in a relationship, red flags, and even what a healthy relationship looks like.
7. Exercise. For me I’ve started running. There’ll be more about this. I can’t quite believe it myself.
8. Look after yourself by eating healthily and gettting enough sleep. This was a bit hard initially as I didn’t feel like eating but my appetite has returned. At least I’m keeping my teeth healthy.

It’s a work in progress and I’ve found the hardest thing has been telling people especially as we have a lot of mutual friends. One friend was quite shocked. ‘But you seemed so good togther’, they said. That’s hard because we definitely were for the most part.

So I’d like you to add to this if you can. What’s helped you get through a breakup?

If you’re in a healthy relationship I’d like to hear about that too. What makes this one a healthy one compared to say the toxic ones you may have experienced in the past?