Fifty Two to 30

This week, I found out my Dad has cancer. Not the bad might kill you tomorrow kind, the kind you can cut out and then forget about forever once the stitches heal. That doesn’t stop me from worrying about it though. My grandfather had three aggressive brain tumours caused by melanoma, each time he was given six months to live. Although being a tough-nut McMaster, he survived all three against the odds and then years later went to on to simultaneously break his hip and get pneumonia to finish himself off in style. The issue isn’t that Dad has skin cancer, it’s par for the course for someone who worked in the sun for years with pale, freckled skin. My issue is, Mum texted us to let us know... ‘ Hey kids, Dad has cancer, nothing to worry about though! x’ . Has technology made us lose sight of the importance of some news? Doesn’t a significant illness warrant a phone call, at least? Perhaps it seems more significant to me than them. As their child I’m cognisant that the day will co...

I received a Valentine's Day present today. It was a small box with two chocolates in it that said "love your work - thank you". It's quite fitting that I would be the Valentine of my longest standing relationship - my employer. Eight years of commitment, love, personal growth and financial security. The perfect relationship. We should almost have our own day to celebrate, rather than be lumped in with all those other mushy teenagers, obligatory cards and stressed single girls. Valentine's Day has long been hated on by yours truly. Perhaps being a feminist has taught me that I don't need no man to give me a cheap card and some limp dying plants to make me feel loved. Perhaps I have the internet to thank for reminding me every year that it is a day invented by Hallmark for the $$$. Perhaps the bitter, jaded, people I work with who bemoan their obligations to commit acts of love have made me never want to partake in it. Or, it's just that I've never ...

Justifiably, the news of Barnaby Joyce’s affair has finally started gaining traction after Australia at first said, “gross, but OK”. Now, it’s suddenly NOT OK. And it’s wonderful. The media have really embraced this one as more than just the usual “oh no, his poor wife” rhetoric. Which led to this gem in a Sydney Morning Herald article, in response to calls to legislate against extra-marital affairs for politicians because will someone think of the poor women having affairs with these men! “Women do not need protection. What we really need is an equal opportunity to philander.” Well, this got me thinking about my own experiences in this area. I’ll caveat this diatribe by saying as a middle class, white, wealthy, Australian, I am well aware of my privilege and make no assumptions that I am more disadvantaged than others. I’m not. I have a wonderful life full of opportunity. And yet, I’ve still felt the harsh sting of inequality. Mostly, in my career. I am a young woman in corp...