KEEP IT IN THE PHAMLY

Most mornings on the way to work, I drive by an old, retro matte black Volkswagen buggy. It makes me grin to myself because I can't help but think someone driving that buggy with its retro esky and surfboard on the roof rack must be living their best life. You don't pack that much personality into your car if you're into conforming and keeping up with the latest trends. This person is clearly, unashamedly themselves. I love it.

I've been meaning to leave a 'yay you!' letter on their dashboard for the longest time to express my appreciation and admiration. But being me and living on the other side of town from work, I am always stuck in traffic and running late (but refuse to get up earlier than 5am to get in my morning walk/jog before work) so haven't gotten around to it. That is, until Xmas came around and traffic started to die down and I was in the spirit of giving (even more so than usual) since it's the season to think of Other People's Happiness.

I finally wrote, sealed and delivered a little note on Dec 27th, 2017 when the roads to work were nearly empty because non-retail industry types get to holidaze. I had that extra 5 minutes to pull over, tuck the note under their windscreen wiper and head off to work.

I hope whoever owns the Buggy doesn't think their car has been hit or they've gotten a fine when they see a note on the front. I wrote Happy Holidays in black on the outside so hopefully they realise it's a positive note before they open it. Wishing you a happy life, whoever you are!

I went from no cats for nearly 3 years to suddenly two beautifully adorable and different kitties. Nolan Pham, I live with and he’s an absolute bundle of joy. Sprite is Big Brother Pham’s cat and lives with Dad Pham because the granddaughters love - but are allergic to - cats. She's also called Splat just because.

Sprite’s origin story is not as tragic as Nolan’s was, but it’s still a little sad. As a kitty she belonged to an elderly lady who passed away. The lady’s family inherited Sprite but they weren’t cat people so she ran away. Sprite ventured into Big Brother Pham’s yard one day where she met my Sister-In-Law and never left. At the time they just called her Cat.

Cat kept returning every day, and at first, they thought she belonged to the new neighbours but eventually figured out she was no one’s cat and living in Big Brother Pham’s garage. Slowly, they began to feed her and soon she felt like part of The PhamLe.

Cat injured herself one day, and Sister-In-Law arranged a vet appointment where she learned Cat’s given name is ridiculously girly and didn’t suit this solemn, gentle, docile cat so she remained Cat. She was adopted out by the RSPCA 4 years ago, and had no record of vet appointments since then. Sister-In-Law wanted to adopt Cat but didn’t want to get her children’s hopes up in case her old family came for her, so Cat remained a visitor that they loved, fed and cared for.


Sure enough, a month later a family with young kids rocked up to the house to claim Cat. We thought it was goodbye forever until the next day when Cat came right back to The PhamLe and stayed for another couple of months. Just as Sister-In-Law was starting to think maybe Cat’s unwanted family weren’t coming back, they rocked up for the second time and took her. And again, Cat ditched them and came right back to The PhamLe. This time though, we knew her old family were moving away to regional QLD soon, and held our breath for days hoping they wouldn’t come and take her for the move. They did not. And so, Cat was given her Phamly name: Sprite. The young nieces think she’s named for fairies but, really, eldest niece really likes the fizzy drink. But Sprite is hard for kids to say so now she's also called Splat.

When Big Brother Pham moved next door to Dad Pham, we weren’t sure if she was attached to their old house or to The PhamLe so still there was hesitation about making her officially one of us. The first day she was, understandably, stressed going from an outdoor roaming cat to being confined in Dad’s house while we moved Bro’s life into his house. But next day, Sprite was already exploring the house, and a couple of days later she was adventuring around her new yard. Dad’s house has a cat door because of Tigger Pham back in the day, so she can come and go as she pleases. And she strangely chooses to stay indoors for most of the day, unless the girls or Sister-In-Law are outside and she goes to say hi.

She’s got a good, comfortable little life now - indoors, outdoors, constant companionship because Dad Pham is almost always home and if not, her PhamLe is just next door and they visit her throughout the day. When I sleepover, she kindly lets me sleep in my old room while she curls up at my feet. Adorable.

I love cats!

I went to Germany to visit my birth town and see where my parents lived for a decade before they moved to Australia. Little did I know I'd be meeting the origin of my chilli trees there too. Maybe don’t tell border patrol that. My German Uncle’s chillies are all over Brisbane and who knows where else it has migrated. German Uncle is the coolest as you can see from the photo. He rules.

When I was little, I avoided chilli like the plague. I was the wuss at the dinner table who needed to have my own spice and fun free dipping sauce, while the siblings had a medium hot sauce and Dad Pham had eyebrow singing chilli sauce. My, how the tables have turned.

Dad can no longer stomach hot chilli - he can have it mild. Siblings are still in the middle ground but these days I chomp through hot chilli like I don't need my stomach lining in tact. I'll each chilli with nearly every savoury meal in different forms - fresh, minced, paste, pickled, and sometimes combined with sriracha or other hot sauces 'cause I like to feel the burn. It's a combination of the flavour and the spiciness that I love. The trouble is, the more I eat the less I feel the burn so I up the quantity. When it starts upsetting my belly, I take a little break so my body can reset then I start out with a little spice and build back up again. It's a happy cycle.

When we first moved into the house Dad Pham said I'd be rubbish at keeping chilli trees and make a mess of the yard. But I think he got tired of me stripping his chilli trees bare every time I visited on the weekend, so when his old plant started to die, he split its seedlings into 5 smaller trees - one went to B at work, two stayed with Dad and two came home with me. After nearly a year they're finally growing a handful of chillies and boy-o am I excited for when they're in full bloom. Right now, I have to pace myself and have been scavenging chillies from Dad, B, and Uncle T. Crazy to think, these babies originated in Germany like me!

Finally, I am a cat lady again by way of aunty and roommate to an adorable kitten. Still too irresponsible to be a cat mum. Nolan Pham. This little nugget of joy came into our lives in November last year. His origin story isn't a great one.

A piece of human garbage went and put him in a plastic bag, and threw him in a bin. It makes me livid to think of how many animals die abandoned in horrible ways like being thrown in the bin, rivers, left on the side of a road - it's not much more effort and way less cruel to surrender them to an animal shelter.


Little Sissy Pham drove to Toowoomba to meet another kitten named Ava, who was adorable in pictures but didn't like Little Sis when they met. So Little Sis had a play with the other kittens the foster mum was caring for. Ava was there with a few others from her litter, and none of them clicked with Little Sis. Instead, it was the lone wolf of the pack - Nolan, who chose her as his human. He was separated from his litter.

Poor Nolan was found alone sadly, but in a way he was lucky to be alone because his independent streak is what Little Sis wanted. A kitty who can handle being home alone during work days. Nolan is definitely an independent cat, but also affectionate and likes to be around his humans when they’re home - or wander off to play his own games if we’re being too boring. He pretty much owns every room and surface in the apartment and courtyard now, so while he may not have had the brightest of beginnings, he's in for a great life being adored by his Phamly.

I’ve missed having a kitty in The Phamly. And now we have two! I’ll tell you about Sprite, Big Brother Pham’s cat, another time. Her origin story is a little sad too.

Mondays used to be a struggle because there is the weekend comedown, and getting back into the work routine with general tiredness and not enough sleep. Mondays were the pits until Groove Therapy came along, and with it the spirited, positive vibes of Wanida Serce.

I've been going to Groove Therapy every week since it launched in Brisbane earlier this year (except for my Europe holiday). Each week Wanida, without fail, brings bright and bubbly energy to class even when she's nursing an injury or cold. Her teaching style lifts my mood, and gives me something to look forward to on Mondays (I know, unheard of). Not only that, my dance floor moves have improved - I even had a somewhat drunk colleague tell me "I want to dance like Jade!" repeatedly at this year's Office Xmas party. If you want to dance like Jade, come to Groove Therapy. GT makes dancing fun!

I wanted to give Wanida an end-of-year thank you, Xmas gift that would show her how much I appreciate her - something that she could use. She's always wearing rad sneakers to class so I got her a pair of pink New Balance 247 kicks because dancers always need good shoes, and pink because she runs the empowering Pink Matter girl gang. See? So many positive vibes. I insta-stalked her pics to make sure she didn't have sneakers similar to this already, and then got her shoe size from a stylist at work but it seemed wrong 'cause we're meant to be the same shoes size but I swear her feet look smaller. Cue me standing awkwardly next to her after class to compare our feet, and they were definitely a bit smaller. So then I insta-stalked her boyfriend, found his email, and asked him to confirm her size. She's a half size smaller than me, but can wear 7s when there aren't 6.5s. Huzzah!

Alas, Wanida had rehearsals the night of our the last Groove Therapy class so I had to pass on her gift to her fill-in teacher and friend. Wanida messaged me soon as she opened her gift, and she was super stoked so YAY to Other People's Happiness! Couldn't think of anyone more deserving. She has honestly perked me up this year, helped me feel empowered and gotten my mind off some personal issues because I'm not moping about at home at the start of each week.

The aptly named Groove Therapy classes start up this Monday 8th January, 2018 in Brisbane & the Gold Coast (her boy Benny Garcia teaches GC), Tuesdays in Sydney, and Wednesdays in Melbourne. See y'all in class!