Category: Parkinson’s disease

Friday Musing

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in Parkinson's disease

It’s the first Friday back in NZ. I never thought I would be so delighted to see our (not so) little yellow house and my own bed. The realities of being apart from half of our whanau for so long were brutally painful. Mr 12, a real homebody, missed his siblings and father far more than he thought, Miss 14 said she always felt something was missing, and I struggled to hold them all together and positive. However, the biggest thing I realised I missed has been my exercise. Trapped in tiny houses, not the fashionable ones, the ones they have in the UK (and for some reason stuff to the gills with pointless unused furniture), I found it nigh on impossible to find the room to even take two steps, never mind my physio routine for my Parkinson’s. Coming back I realise my arm feels more like a dead weight than ever and I’m dragging my leg more easily. Back to the gym with me later today, hoping a return to my usual 4 times a week routine of basically almost anything strenuous will help me return to a better, fitter me. A Teaspoon of Sugar? Mr 14 remarked […]

Not the Funniest Jokes

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in comedy, Parkinson's disease

Goodness it’s been a funny week. As in, strange, as in, not comedic. I had a spot at the Cavern Club’s open mic night, at which I planned to perform some new material I’d been working on. I was a little reticent. This material was going to be different. I had finally written about living with Parkinson’s Disease. How do you turn a disabling disease into a set of six-minute funny jokes? Not always the easiest thing to do. Still, with a sprinkling of Kitty magic and a lot of perseverance I like to think I pulled it off. Just enough of the serious mixed in with the hilarity that has come to be my life. A Dark Turn But there were some others talking about something that I found very uncomfortable. Should there be limits to what we deem acceptable? I mean, I understand that this was an open mic night and you can expect anything, but where do you the draw the line? I wasn’t going to a Frankie Boyle gig – in fact, as a comedian you’re warned not to be offensive by the venue. However: some people were talking about suicide. Topical? Yes. Appropriate? I don’t […]

Onward and Upward

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker

Success isn’t something that’s handed to you on a plate. And becoming a keynote speaker, booked throughout New Zealand, Australia and who know where isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. However, hard work and persistance is what’s required, and if there was ever a woman for the job, it’s me. I went back to work this week and it’s been tough. My husband was still on holiday, but alas, there is no such things for us stay at home parents. And for people like me, who are also trying to break into the motivational speaking market, it can be tough going. Add to that the New Year cliche of a new gym subscription and you have the recipie for lots of hard work. However, hard work is something I’ve never shied away from. And my Yorkshire roots mean I’m anything but a walkover. I’m a typical strong-minded Northern woman. (Can I still call myself a girl at forty-something?) And true to form, I made a list, picked through the most important bits and sent some emails. And got myself a booking. I shall be speaking in Lower Hutt on the 25th February, which gives me about five weeks to […]

Professional Speaking Resolutions 101

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker

Kia ora and welcome to a new year. A time to make resolutions and fail at them. So let’s try to make them realistic. Personally, I’ve been promising to write more on my blog here at kittyfitton.com so let’s see how long I can keep this up. This year is going to be about me. And realising my goal to become a professional public speaker. I’ve spoken at a number of events and places, and very much enjoyed sharing my story and helping to motivate and encourage other people. And because I enjoyed the process of presenting so much, I realised I should turn the negative of my Parkinson’s Disease into something that would instead be a positive. A change for good. Something to help others by. And so begins my quest to become great at professional public speaking. I called a National Speaking group in Auckland and received some excellent advice there. “If you want to be a concert pianist, you have to learn to play” I was told. Go forth and speak. Talk to groups in and around your area and hone your skills. So that is exactly what I’ll do. I’m quite lucky I suppose, I’ve always […]