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a light in the window…

3 Apr

After a facebook comment last night from a near and dear office buddy ….I feel it’s timely to reinforce the whole window thing.

Many people who have joined the journey along the way may not have travelled back in time to the early days where I explained the window deal…. so if you DO know the story feel free to go and make a cup of tea.

For the rest of you here it is in a nutshell.nutshell

8 years ago I lost my voice… BUT… I  am such a ‘compulsive talker’ that I needed  a way to get the words out of my head before it exploded. So I started to write …anything really … just so people could see what was going on inside my mind.. writing was a window to my world (corny I know …but it works)

Then one day …looking through a bunch of my travel photos, I noticed that I had a real attraction to windows… soooo many photos of windows. There it was the sign I needed to keep on writing…everyday for a year and everyday another window from somewhere in my world.

So that’s the simple story … The special request from my ‘Roomie’, was for  that if I MUST keep the window theme going …could she at least see some modern ones …LOL… answer ??? …well… we’ll see but probably not.

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dedicated to KD

 

 

 

 

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flying high ….

2 Apr

Tonight’s observation relates to how we live almost every aspect of our lives online … not saying that’s a good or a bad thing… No doubt there are many many advantages to steam-lining systems and going paperless and person-less, BUT I must admit to having a chuckle this afternoon as I did my online check-in for flights tomorrow, and pondered where we have ‘progressed’ to these days.security

I got through the first few steps …click, next page click… ready to print and up pops the  security check. Are you planning to carry any explosives on-board?      I laughed out loud… thinking…

 “mmm well actually I thought I might, but perhaps I should consider whether I really need them this trip” – then checked “NO”

Then I remembered my of my recent experience doing our ESTA application to go to USA … and the questions:

Are you a ‘drug abuser’ or addict?… Do you have a mental health disorder? Do you have a communicable disease such as Chancroid, Gonorrhea, Leprosy, Syphilis, or Tuberculosis? …’mmm now let me think about this” !

These questions seem completely bizarre to be  written in black n white with no human context…no sensitive enquiry about health conditions and no sense of needing to tell the truth.

I can’t seriously imagine ANYONE ticking “yes I am mentally ill, have syphilis and currently smoke crack” … I mean REALLY?… can you?

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feeling my age …

1 Apr

tuesday nap

 

now I’ve seen it all…

31 Mar

Having survived my law exam first thing this morning ( despite very little preparation) …it was time to get on with the day, which unfolded in a somewhat unorthodox way.

After a late arrival in the office it was soon obvious that I was not going to get very far when I was called on by my workmate in distress.

Using my ‘best-rusty-nursing-eyes’, I did a  quick assessment of the situation (the chest pain, sweating vomiting and grey colour… mmm that’s gotta mean something bad)… then  I whipped him off to the emergency department with all his symptoms of a heart ‘issue’.

Anyway after about 3 hours… several blood tests and an ECG,…he was given a diagnosis of ‘STRESS’ and told to go home and take it easy. At that point I offered to do the 2 hour round trip to return him to his place safe and sound.nailclippers

THAT’s when it happened … I spied a woman driving along the highway beside me, fanging down the mountain at  80kph giving herself a MANICURE !! yes a manicure.

She had both hands off the wheel while she trimmed with nailclippers … not one but TEN nails, then she proceeded to apply a coat of nailpolish. What the  ???  … and I thought talking on a mobile or texting while driving, was crazy !!!

’50 something’…. and still learning about stupidity!

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time to prioritise …

30 Mar

exam

…so, no blogging tonight…

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reliving the ’70’s…

29 Mar

 

Remember the 70’s when going to the Chinese restaurant was a 5 star dining experience?  We would get dressed up and head out full of anticipation… order  ‘the buffet’  and end up with more food than you could jump over. We all had our favourites, but they went something like … sweet n sour pork and anything swimming in honey…all washed down with a glass of Ben Ean Moselle or sickly sweet Sauterne.

Those were the days I hear you say. …BUT WAIT the 70’s Chinese Restaurant is alive and well in Richmond.chinese rest

From the minute we walked through the door we were transported back. The immaculate open space restaurant, where there was actually enough room between tables that you didn’t hear  every work being said beside you…waitstaff in black and white perfectly pressed uniforms,  silk flowers on the table, the mirror tiled open bar in the corner….and wait, the ‘faux brick’ feature wall.

The menu had all the old faves but with a few modern incarnations added, and the house wine was merely described as red or white.

The food was great. In fact we commented that it was a huge improvement on our last Chinese dining experience in a far more authentic, but somewhat dodgy restaurant in New York’s Chinatown. So if you are ever feeling the urge for a trip back in time I recommend you give Richmond’s East Court a whirl (but don’t forget your paisley shirts, flares  and blue eyeshadow for a real 70’s experience).

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more cozy cubicles…

28 Mar

Another cubicle complaint today …. I’m sorry to repeat myself BUT seriously what is going on ???

I know that I am not in the ‘petite’ category …. but nor am I ‘obese’and yet today I struggled to get into a toilet cubicle and manoeuvre my way around to ‘take a seat ‘.

Loo

Unlike the detailed explanation of my toilet experience @ Central Station  a few months back , THIS time I was in a  Public Hospital loo. …Surely it’s not TOO much to expect them to cater for the ‘average dimensioned’ woman’s needs.

It seems clear that the ruthless Health Cuts, of late have made their way  to the humble toilet cubicle…. we now have the  ‘bean -counters’ asking “how small can we sub-dived the bathroom…to get he most seats in place and away with it” ???

There I was sandwiched between the industrial sized toilet-roll holder on one side and the sani-bin on the other, with no elbow room at all…. I can only imagine the difficulty if ‘one of the sisterhood’ turned up with a baby in tow …. OR was eldery or disabled’ … It just doesn’t bear thinking about really…

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drawing blanks…

27 Mar

train of thought

tonight my brain cells need a rest

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wedding fever …

26 Mar

I’m not sure if it’s just my perception, but the institution of marriage seems to have had a resurgence amongst 20 Somethings…… Gone are the days of trendy singledom; playing the field and delaying the commitment until somewhere later in one’s 30’s.   These days it seems that the wedding bells are ringing and the aisles are being walked with regularity.

In fact I know of 5 weddings over this 2 week period . Now, regardless  of the  dramatically different  degrees of ‘traditional’…. they are each taking the plunge with a ceremony of sorts… and having a reception, the cost of which could feed a small country.

I guess that’s not new really; the cost of weddings has always been a topic of great debate, from the simple …”who pays for what?”  and “how much is reasonable to spend”?, to more recently….”who can  have the most elaborate pre wedding event”? (think hens weekend away cruising the high seas) …and “how much is it fair to expect bridesmaids to chip in for ‘said’ weekend”?

BUT forgetting cost, what happens when…with only days to go… good times suddenly turn bad?bridesmaid 1

Imagine this. The day is approaching and the stress is mounting… Final dress fittings reveal bridesmaids who no longer fit their dress …(OR dresses that don’t fit the bridesmaid …whichever you prefer). Either way with only days to go, it’s a huge .. “ooops” !!

This scene has played out in my office twice this week, and let’s just say…there is NO easy solution. HOWEVER….starvation and Brigit Jones undies are a good starting point.

Good Luck to you all & may ill fitting dresses be the extent of your life’s problems.

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say what ???

25 Mar

I was sitting in a staff meeting today, discussing ‘way-finding’…, ‘dashboards’…, ‘pit-stops’…, ‘on-boarding’ and‘satellite services’ …all (more or less) in the one sentence.

Those of you who know me, also know that I work in the public sector … So ten points to anyone who can guess what the hell it was all about… but first let me tell you that it was NOT related to:

  •          Holiday planningsatellite
  •          Race car driving
  •          Anything aeronautical
  •          Anything about navigation

The fact is that we are all so busy recreating our language and creating the illusion of slick-efficiency, while we struggle to keep up with what it is we are really employed to do ….

BUT I have said many times over that this blog is not the place for whining,or political grandstanding … so let’s just laugh and move on….(I’m sure I can find my way without a way-finding strategy).

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