What were you doing in 2004?

Twenty years ago? Wow wee.

I am grateful for 75 Hard (I am on day 56 today) cause its teaching me some other shit. Because I have HAD to read 10 pages a day of non-fiction, I have re-found, re-remembered that I am a creative artist. And that just like eating and exercising daily for my wellbeing, I too need to be practising my creative art in some manner on a daily basis. Wtf? I know. It was ‘The Big Magic’ that really bought this home to me. And if it hadn’t been for 75 Hard, I wouldn’t have been re-reading this book. But even the books before, The Foundations of Screenwriting and Atomic Habits, all of which I feel like have bought me back to my purpose. Not that it went, but just that I wasn’t engaging in any regular rituals around my purpose.

This morning, as I was writing ‘what next’ for Moe and Hine and just jumping where I wanted to go and not worrying how actually the two of them got there (the last scene was the cat running down the street), I then had to answer questions like – ok so do they use google maps? What is their era? I had been thinking of changing the era back to today. 2024. But I’ve decided to go back to my original era – 2004.

So then I had to look up – what cell phones did we have in 2004?  Was there even texting? (yes there was…lols). In 2004 – there was Don Brash’s Orewa speech – not too different from the verbal tirade we are currently hearing but with an added layer its also coming from our own. There was the foreshore and seabed hikoi and all the korero around about that.

Personally for me a break-up, followed by the birth of my son. And I published my first book, ‘The People Faces.’

But in terms of the day to day stuff, I can’t really remember. I looked it up, Scribe won all the New Zealand music awards. I’ve pulled out my diaries from around then, and already reading them – I’m not sure if I want too. Its me on those pages, but at the same time it feels like a different person, ableit with some of the same struggles. and es me sad – because I know the stuff that is coming up. Like a year later, my Mum is dead.

But I am hoping I can re-remember some of the small things that made up 2004. Like even the names of mobile phones – Nokia, Motorella. So if you have any of your own memories of 2004 – korero mai. I know! Twenty years ago is a long time ago? What music were you listening too? What foods were you eating? Was Gorgie pie still around then? What was the speed limits on the roads?

And for my Moe and Hine subscribers, here is the next part (remembering the cat lives on):