- The Feast of Aphrodisiac for Aphrodite the Greek goddess of Love Beauty and Sex (Aphrodisiacs) is not well known because Greeks celebrate saints’ days more than birthdays and she was no saint!
- Nevertheless for us who have been named after her (with many named after her) we can miss out. So until I found out about my name day being 6th February I used to celebrate on the day of love (St Valentines). So I thought I might publicise this day for the Aphrodites who may not know we have a special day.
Author: Affie Adagio
The girl cats are bonding
I’ve written about how my Tabby Mae has been grieving for her cuddling mate Midnight who died 10months ago and recently she sat hugging the scratching post he loved. Also how his young ginger girlfriend Ruby who is a bully likes tough love and Mae will have none of that! Well tonight it happened on the lounge both girls lay sleeping and Mae put her leg over Ruby which is a great sign of bonding!
Why pets make great companions
I love physical contact when I’m not doing chores and so do many. So when my pets come and nestle down with me I feel warm and fuzzy, and contentment.
New Australian Anthem?
This version is a beauty and has words to sing along to. This should be our Australian Anthem -Â I’m An Aussie, Yes I Am
How to ‘Become Free from Addiction’ Shortcut
MOTIVATION is the fuel for healthy living which becomes weak when addiction takes over and the HIGH or BUZZ reinforces and worsens it. Strengthen motivation to resist the compulsion to do it. Remember THE POWER OF THE MIND is yours to use for an OUTSTANDING WAY OF LIFE and SELF TALK is your KEY Â to reprogram unwanted behaviour and reach your goals.
This REPROGRAMING SHORTCUT Â is for those who aren’t ready to have help or those who have recovery but need a shortcut strategy when ADDICTION/COMPULSION visits you!
- Make total commitment to this REPROGRAMING SHORTCUT
- REMOVE positive and negative STRESS (this is vital)
- Be RESTED and have a NUTRITIOUS FOOD PLAN
- When DRIVEN to do what you promised yourself you wouldn’t  THEN USE THIS SELF TALK formula without fail!
- SELF TALK over and over “I HATE THIS” as you’re doing it
- Repeat even if ANOTHER PART of you says “BULLSHIT!”
- Remember this WORKS if you keep repeating the SELF TALK to reprogram your attachment to the HIGH/BUZZ from “love” to HATE” (using the HATE word is vital)
- Whenever the thought comes regarding how much you love it then REPEAT “I HATE THIS!” While your working, walking, driving, having fun, when the thought comes KNOCK IT AWAY with SELF CHAT which will negate the HIGH,/BUZZ.
- it becomes EASIER and EASIER until it’s second nature to you!
- YOU CAN DO IT! because you already do it when you are tempted to make choices and you tell yourself “NO, NOT NOW, NEXT TIME!” and it gives you the strength to walk away. It’s that PROTECTIVE SELF TALK that you need to PRACTISE with unwanted behaviours. YOU CAN DO IT!
I DO IT with my addiction to BREAD, DIM SIMS, DIET COLA DRINKS and anything else that can be damaging if it becomes a compulsion and I need to stop it in its tracks like gambling, spending and so on.
WHENEVER I think how I LOVE that taste or feeling  I SELF TALK “I HATE THAT IT” and repeat it OVER and OVER when in a few seconds the compulsion leaves me. Each time I now need to only repeat it twice and the compulsion leaves me.
IF YOU NEED HELP WITH THIS REPROGRAMMING SELF TALK book a private appointment with me 0421 101 163👥
Family Portrait Memories for Generations
Family members are not that keen to get together in a Studio because some think it’s corny. Nevertheless at least they dress up enough and the result can be appreciated for generations to come. This is my family with my daughter Tina and her husband Bill Nicolitsis (with the halo), son Nick and daughter Talia on the left. Then my son Paul Zagoridis and his wife Nella, daughters Sabrina and Gaby on the end. Pepi and I have centre stage.
Pets bring joy and then huge sorrow on death
In April 2015 Midnight my Bombay cat (15) died and my heart was broken which is minor in comparison to the loss felt by his cuddling mate Tabby Mae and his feral  younger mate ginger cat Ruby! My Chihuahua Pepi was more relieved than sorry because these two males only tolerated each other for my sake. So the competition was now gone. I cried buckets and nearly a year afterwards I’m more settled. However, I underestimated the grieving which Mae is still undergoing. Even though Pepi cuddles up to Mae and Ruby likes tough love cuddling which Mae fears, it’s not the same as with Midnight.
This was sadly confirmed when I gave the cats some prawns which they turned their noses up at and I murmured that Midnight liked prawns! I will never mention his name again in front of her because Mae spent hours searching for Midnight under the lounge, table and bed. Finally she sat with me and I consoled her. Midnight was an affectionate, responsive cat with a purr that sounded like a lawnmower. He’s so missed 💔
End of an era with NSW Humanist and UNAANSW Executive Committees
After 15 years with the HumSoc NSW committee, at different times as Editor, President, Hon Secretary, Convenor of several events such as Australis 2000 
, CAHS Conventions, End of Year Party 2014 with entertainer Sam Pellegrino, 
and as HSNSW delegate to UNAANSW initiating the partnership event of 
UN International Women’s Day which began with Waratah Gillespie’s (right) experience in Bougainville and ended 5 years later with The Hon Jillian 
Skinner MP and which was my final event in March this year (2015) therefore ending my involvement with both committees. 
The tulips, a lovely farewell gesture from Hum Soc NSW and the roses were presented to me at UNIWDAY by UNAANSW past President Valerie Weekes whose support for the 5 years has been invaluable. It was also memorable having Robyn Carroll (right) Indigenous Community Worker from Walla Mulla Family and Community Support Woolloomooloo carry out the Acknowledgement to Country and to speak about Indigenous Women’s issues. Every year this event has taken place in Sydney State Parliament House gratis for which we are extremely grateful and proud. The Afternoon tea was delicious croissants with coffee or tea.
UN International Women’s Day 2015
UN International Women’s Day Seminar – CEDAW 2015 March 8 was celebrated for the 5th year in State Parliament House Sydney on Monday 9th March this year with our Parliamentary sponsor – Minister for Health The Hon Jillian Skinner MP opening the Seminar immediately after Acknowledgement to Country by Indigenous speaker Robyn Carroll from Mulla Walla Family & Community Support at Woolloomooloo.
Pamela Lemoine UNAANSW member read out the message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to UNIWDay. Valerie Weeks, Co-Convenor of UNIWD and past President of co-sponsor of the event UNAANSW spoke on the History of Women in Australia.
Sue Conde past President of UN Women Australia was to speak on the topic CEDAW Convention for Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Committee for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women which was set up to monitor the progress of the Convention; but unfortunately had to attend a funeral so sent her paper which I spoke to as I was speaking about my experience with attending as one of 22 community representative the UN Conference/Forum for Women Peace and Development in Copenhagen in 1980 when CEDAW was launched to the world and Australia had signed the Convention during the Frasier government.
The same number of women government representatives had also been chosen by the Minister for Home and Women Affairs The Hon Bob Ellicott. Decades later we still have a lot to achieve. At that time in the Scandinavian Parliaments there were many women members. We still have women in countries such as USA and Australia not being paid the same as men for the same work! And murder, rape and verbal and physical abuse is still rampant throughout the world however, the Minister advised that the Baird government would ensure a Minister for Domestic Violence as the priority if they are re-instated, that is how serious the situation is.
Robyn Carroll spoke of the history of Walla Mulla Family and Community Support which was created by a nun and is now a vital service to the Indigenous community. Robyn also shared about her struggle in life and we were all so happy for her because she has been awarded the NSW Woman Award for Sydney 2015 in the NSW WOMEN AWARDS 2015 and we presented her with a box of congratulatory chocolates along with her bunch of flowers for being a speaker.
The next speaker was Margaret Conway from GLAPD – Great Lakes Agency for Peace and Development. Margaret spoke about the Great Lakes of Africa especially women from Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Congo.
Buddhist Venerable Dr. Tich Minh Tam UNAANSW Committee member brought Professor Chris Hamer UNSW who spoke on the work of Women, Peace and Sustainability. It was rewarding to have full attendance in the Waratah Room and especially that we had for the first time a large contingent of men in the audience.
The Humanist Society of NSW has also been a co-Sponsor of the UNIWDAY for 5 years especially generous with covering costs and Ian Bryce the current President was invited to say a few words.
Mina Batra AM member of the UNAANSW Committee and responsible for the Interfaith Portfolio dressed in a beautiful sari thanked the speakers while Valerie Weeks handed out the final bouquet of pink roses to me not only as a speaker and Convenor/MC but also because the UNIWDAY coincides with my birthday on March 8th. So it was indeed a great day for me.
We thank State Parliament House for letting us have the Waratah Room for the venue gratis. We had beautiful croissants and tea and coffee with a platter of fruit and gluten free cupcakes for those who have sensitive stomachs but that was not gratis and that is why we needed to charge for the event.
Many thanks to Fred Flatow HSNSW member who sat at the door collecting entry monies which covered the expenses of the afternoon tea. We are pleased to announce that serendipitously Fred won the lucky door prize which was a huge heart shaped pink frame for family photos which could be mounted on a wall which he loved and truly deserved!
I would like to finish with mentioning 3 important points: There are two reasons I chose to convene the UNIWD for five years:
- To disseminate information about women’s issues
- I chose the venue to be State Parliament House Sydney to show that the community especially women have access to Parliament House and gratis.
- We have available printed copies of Valerie Weekes’ History of Women in Australia, and Sue Conde’s CEDAW History and the event has been taped and will be on YouTube soon – contact Dr. Affie Adagio <affie@affie.com.au> or 0421 101 163 or (02) 9690 1431 (h)
Intelligence or Common Sense?
Before I attained my PhD I wrongfully believed that most intelligent, hence highly educated, people I had met who lacked common sense to the enth degree did so because they had so much information to cope with that other matters slipped by them to the point of even causing them to be  insensitive! Insensitivity to the extent that they hurt people’s feelings without knowing it and lacking in simple protocol. Also lacking in common sense such as what to do if the catered food doesn’t show up for an event when everyone has turned up and leaving everyone hungry.
Well intelligence has nothing to do with it because it takes i. life skills, ii. learning to care about the impact you have on others, iii. being alert to what solutions you can activate even if others are negative, iii. becoming proactive using your intelligence instead of sitting on it!