#11 Penpals and Cicadas

Ever found yourself yearning for the good old days of handwritten letters and the cozy warmth of a chat with an old friend? Jacquie talks about her experience in 'nature's orchestra’ with the symphony of crickets, cicadas, and the calls of rosellas, capturing a moment of tranquil bliss that starkly contrasts our bustling lives. This episode takes listeners on a nostalgic journey, highlighting the charm of long-distance friendships and the enduring magic of pen pals.  She also chats more about skin creams and has a fun discussion about unique fragrances like Eau de Space.  Amidst the whirlwind of everyday chaos, this episode is a gentle reminder to cherish the connections we have and to pause and appreciate the simple pleasures that bring joy and meaning to our lives.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to the Day-to-Day

Welcome to Episode 11

Speaker 1 0:03

Podcast , calm Conversations with a Friend , spoken by Jackie Joy , and you are listening to Episode 11 . You decide to check your messages . One new voicemail it's from one of your friends . You decide it's time to sit down , make yourself comfortable and have a listen .

Busy at Work and Tech Issues

Speaker 1 1:12

Hey Wow , isn't this a crazy time of year . It sounds like we've both got some very tight work deadlines , and you in particular have been working super hard , but at least we're still managing to do some other fun things as well , and we're actually lucky that we both love our jobs too , which makes it so much easier when these tight deadlines come along and you have to live in front of a screen for seemingly days on end and also also deal with crazy tech problems that come our way . I hope you sorted out yours .

Speaker 1 1:51

I had certainly my share of some audio problems the other evening , but sometimes it doesn't just seem to be that one thing goes wrong , but you have a number of things to deal with . At one stage , I was hearing my sound through one headphone and then I was not hearing any sound . Then I was hearing buzzy sound . Anyway , I got there in the end and it seemed to be a few things I had to fix to get there , but I did it . I'm really happy to hear that you have a holiday break coming up . I mean , this is something that you so deserve and you definitely have earned it . I hope the weather is great for you and please send photos , as usual . I'm really looking forward to hearing everything about your upcoming journey , so keep me in the loop when you have a chance , which does remind me that I was going to tell you a little bit more about our beach trip with my friend from Scotland . Actually , she has been my friend for a very , very long time . She is officially my

A Lifelong Friend Visits

Speaker 1 3:37

longest friend , since kindergarten , which is preschool here , so it's been a while . I'm just trying to remember how we stayed in touch because she actually moved back to Scotland at the end of the first grade , so we didn't grow up with internet or emails or text messages , so it was a way more challenging time to keep in touch . I think we wrote letters initially , but then that dropped off and we did lose contact for years . Then we met up randomly again through a mutual friend here in Australia and after that we made way more of an effort to stay in touch , mainly by letters , and by that I mean written letters .

Speaker 1 4:57

It's a bit like pen pals . I suppose I'm speaking of pen pals

Penpals

Speaker 1 5:04

. I'm speaking of pen pals . One of my school friends has two pen pals and she's actually had them since primary school . So she's kept in touch with them regularly via letter writing for many , many , many years and it's crazy , but she's never actually ever met either of her pen pals in person , I suppose because one is in LA and the other is in Japan , so they're two places she has never travelled to yet . So this friend has very pretty handwriting . She even puts little love hearts instead of the dot above the letter I . It's super cute and she's one of a kind , and I think I mentioned a card that she sent me in one of my earlier messages . So yes , she sends us these handwritten cards for every birthday and every Christmas and I always open them with care , because sometimes they are filled or booby-trapped with lots of confetti or shiny little stars .

Speaker 1 6:47

Actually , she was in the paper fairly recently too . They were talking about the fact that she'd had these two pen pals for so many years and the article was called People of Letters and I dug it up and I have it here right in front of me . I'll read out the first paragraph to you , which goes Does anyone write letters anymore ? Does anyone write letters anymore ? You know , actual handwritten words on a page , sealed in a paper envelope , stamped and sent on its way through a big red postal box . We talk to those who want to revive what is fast becoming a lost art . Anyway , it was a great article and I think I was actually talking about the holiday .

Speaker 1 8:05

The other thing I wanted to tell you about was the amazing sounds of the crickets and cicadas . I started telling you about the sounds of the rosellas , which were extreme every morning and every evening , but alongside the rosellas were both

Crickets and Cicadas

Speaker 1 8:36

crickets and cicadas , were both crickets and cicadas , and at times I really felt like I was in the middle of nature's orchestra . Apparently , the crickets have higher pitched musical chirping sounds , whereas the cicadas have more of a buzzy , raspy sound . So the crickets sound a bit prettier . I mean , you probably already know this , but I found it interesting . There just seem to be so many layers of sound . There just seem to be so many layers of sound . Actually , the crickets and cicadas often feature in film soundscapes and they really do add a great texture to the whole sound field and make a great bed for dialogue and are often used in more evening scenes , for example , when people are chatting out in the garden in the Hollywood Hills . And I think I've already mentioned that the crickets , or the cricketscape , was a very large part of the recent film I worked on , which was set in the Mojave Desert .

Speaker 1 10:07

No message of mine would be complete without an audio clip or two . So here is a little audio clip I took of the cicadas in Yamba , and you can also hear a noisy minor bird chirping in this as well , and this is the sound of cicadas in our local neighborhood . Courtesy of Tilly , she has been sending me audio clips of places she's been visiting , like the coffee shop and other interesting sounds like this as well , so I've been loving that . So now , yes , my update on the snail cream . I've

Skincare Update

Speaker 1 11:18

been using it at least once daily and now under my eyes feel so incredibly hydrated , to the point where I feel like I have soft pillows under my eyes , but in a good way . Also , my neck is feeling so soft and even a bit velvety . So I would say so far , so good , and I'll definitely keep using it , and I think Tilly wants to try it now as well .

Speaker 1 12:23

But now also , this serum of plenty that I was talking to you about last time has arrived after being out of stock for six months . Apparently , it took so long to come back into stock because because it is now a new formula , so I'm not really even sure that I need to use it now . I have the snail cream , but I might as well try it now that I have it in my hot little hands . It in my hot little hands . The tagline of this serum is aging brilliantly , so that's encouraging . It is really not what I expected . It arrived firstly in a very nice , quite large box , and it seems as though you have to actually activate it . So there are two bottles , and one of the bottles is called you never guess the activator , and apparently by mixing it fresh it will maximize the potency of the formula . But it does have a use-by date of six months after you mix it . So that's interesting . I won't mix it right now , but I will do that next time .

Speaker 1 14:10

I leave you a message and I'm hoping to order something else which you will find interesting , that is , if you haven't already heard of it . It's something called Eau de Space ,

Eau de Space

Speaker 1 14:32

which is a perfume , and it literally is supposed to smell like space , and it's for men and women . Now , I don't know if smelling like space is necessarily a good thing . It was designed originally to train astronauts on how outer space smells and has been on the market since 2020 , so people must still be using and liking it . However , I don't think it will be one of my go-to perfumes and I'm going to buy it just because it sounds fascinating and I'd like to try it myself and see what space is supposed to smell like , and it will also be funny to see what the boys , and maybe even the dog , think of the fragrance too .

Speaker 1 15:56

I've checked out a few reviews and it doesn't sound too great , to be honest . People say it smells like truck fumes , burning metal and overheating brake pads . People also describe that they can smell burnt cookies that are topped with rubber . Some people , surprisingly , mention overtones of raspberry and walnut , which is sounding a bit more promising , but I'm really not quite sure what to expect , and I'll let you know when I can find some . It seems as though I might have to order from their US site , and it also looks like they sell something called Odaluna , which is supposed to smell like the moon , so I will also read some reviews on that one as well , just to see which one is going to be the best one to order , and I'll keep you posted .

Speaker 1 17:33

And again , I'm wondering is this something that you've heard of ? Thanks ? Thanks again for your message and all of your updates . Answer to your computer question no , I still haven't even opened the laptop . It's going to be the first black laptop I ever have , so I can't wait to see it . But I'm just working out how to transfer files and where to transfer them from , so I need a bit of time to be able to do that . But mostly , I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like , and I might even put a couple of special stickers on it too and decorate it . Anyway , have a wonderful time away . I hope you come back feeling refreshed . Have a wonderful time away . I hope you come back feeling refreshed and relaxed and , most of all , stay nice and healthy and I'll leave another message soon . And also , we do need to actually have a phone call again soon as well , so we can speak in real time . I'm looking forward to that . Take care and bye for

Bye For Now

Speaker 1 19:29

now you .