James O'Brien

4 responses to “The Cronut”

1. 

   Tiffany

   19/03/2014

   Uh oh, what happened?

   Reply
   1. 

      James O’Brien

      20/03/2014

      Just not very good. How’s things Tif?

      Reply
      1. 

         Tiffany

         21/03/2014

         It sounds like you’ve recovered – thank you for sparing us all the details. :o)

         Things have been interesting for me I guess. I’m still at Museum Victoria, it’s a fabulous place to work and I get to be creative occasionally. I’m doing some photography on the side these days and have been invited by an art gallery curator to exhibit some of my pieces at her next exhibition.

         I’m off to Canberra over Easter to watch my friend Gina Williams perform – you may remember her from the NAIDOC ball in Perth one year. She now sings in Noongar language and has just finished her album – Daniel Browning will be interviewing her for Awaye! very soon. I’ll also be hitting the stage in Canberra to perform some of my poetry, it’ll be my first time presenting poetry at a national event (I’ve only ever read at small local events).

         I guess the biggest thing to happen is that last year I nearly died from an illness. It’s a long story, but the crux of it is that I now have SLE Lupus and an associated condition called antiphospholipid syndrome. On Australia Day last year I was rushed to hospital for an emergency blood transfusion because I only had a Hb level of 28 – it pretty much meant I had no blood left in my body. A bunch of other weird crap happened with my body between then and late February, and it all came to a head when I was rushed in to hospital again with a massive pericardial effusion – 1.5 litres of fluid around my heart (we’re only supposed to have about 28ml). I ended up in acute care cardiac plugged in to all sorts of beeping machines with tachycardia on the verge of a heart attack. They finally figured it all out and two weeks later I was well and back at work.

         So I’m back to being my energetic and creative self. We’re off to Tasmania next February to ride our motorbikes around the state for two weeks with a bunch of friends. I have a new bike, the Yamaha Bolt R-Spec (probably means nothing to you, but it’s a bobber style cruiser).

         We have two dogs – two mini foxies, a unique Australian breed that’s small and bred specifically to hunt and catch rats. Energetic? Yes! And truck loads of character.

         There are more things to tell but I won’t monopolise your blog for that. Here’s a link to a few photos, I have more but these are ones where I was learning how to use my camera properly and understanding how different lenses operate: http://www.flickr.com/photos/103623364@N07/

         Have a great weekend. :o)

         Reply
         1. 

            James O’Brien

            21/03/2014

            Hi Tiff,
            Glad to hear you’re recovering after what sounds like a pretty full-on year.
            Yes, I absolutely remember Gina. The NAIDOC Ball was one my strong memories of my year in Perth – TEN YEARS AGO – along with going out for dinner that night at the restaurant in South Perth which I think I recall you had won (?). Anyway, I blogged about the ball. http://jamesobrien.id.au/2004/07/25/late-july-catchup/
            Your photographs are really great. Really nice, clear, and a nice fresh perspective on lots of things.
            You’ll love Tassie by bike. It’s an amazing place. I could POSSIBLY live there.
            James
            xx

            Reply

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