Tag Archives: opinion

wayfinding gone feral…

22 Apr

Today I met a friend for coffee in an unfamiliar… yet ‘oh so familiar’ shopping mall in Sydney. I say unfamiliar because it is not one I frequent normally… yet familiar because once inside, that are all so ‘same same’.

That is … except for the carpark.carpark

Oh my goodness I felt like I was driving in a foreign country as I tried to negotiate the unfamiliar space, complete with construction work…barriers…one way signs and temporary redirection signs. The markings on the ground were confusing to say the least with arrows having been re-routed… and at one stage I found myself going up the down ramp !!!

wrong wayNow I don’t know a great deal about traffic flow …BUT I was part of a “way-finding strategy working party” (yes I work for a Gov’t Dept)  for a new Health facility …and I know that the signage in this particular car park would have failed miserably on any way-finding measurement scale.

Shame on you Macquarie Centre …lets hope the new look centre is worth all the bingles, road rage, lost cars and frayed nerves.

Here endeth the rant 😉

P1130516

Advertisement

Tags: , , , , , ,

mad hatters…hats matter…

6 Mar

The extreme change of temp from Sydney to NYC has called for an extreme change of wardrobe too. Now, for the most part that’s been fun, and I must say I’ve done OK in keeping warm … BUT there is one fashion item that I am really struggling with, and will be glad to leave behind when we return to south of the equator….that’s the poor humble hat !!

hat6 hat7

Call it want you want, a hat…beanie…tuque…toque…bonnet..or balaclava, I can’t seem to get it right, and let’s face it, they are deadly when it comes to the hair-do!

I have had a keen eye on the head-wear of the passing parade but seriously……….?  it seems like ANYTHING goes.

I can honestly say, that apart from sitting around the Christmas table, or at the Royal Easter Show …I have never seen so many adults sporting comical head attire.  I’ve seen animal hats complete with faces and ears, Russian Cossack hats, woolly handknits and beaver and rabbit creations… all making interesting fashion statements (especially when teamed with a business suit on the subway in morning peak hour).

So despite my difficulty in getting in right….I’m reassured that really, no-one gives a damn, and the point is really just to stop your brain from freezing !!!

P1130035

Tags: , , ,

what are the chances? ….encore edition

24 Feb

WATCSome of you regulars will recall me pondering the world of coincidence and synchronicity in  ‘what ARE the chances?”  (9th May 2013)…..well I again I find myself reflecting on the world of ‘chance Vs  master plan’.

Never fear … I’m not about to get all religious on you and say that it’s God’s  will… because that’s not the way I roll…. (BUT if religion is you thing then sure ….feel free to run with it).

My point is that there are just so many things going on lately,  that feel so much bigger than ‘chance’… The planets appear to be aligned and I can’t help but wonder what’s going on.

Just over a month ago on the 20th January, I wrote about the fear of becoming a bag lady. In that post I happened to comment on the fact that I had just discovered I was still carry around a map of New York City from our visit in 2012 (still unsure why I had not chucked it or at least removed it from my bag).

One month later I receive a phone call telling me that I have WON a trip to New York City!!

The following weekend ‘Mr 50 Something’ attended a school reunion. Over that weekend I mention to him that I should get my act together and organise a reunion of MY school buddies.

The very next day  I received a facebook message inviting me TO A SCHOOL REUNION!!

As well as these examples of curious coincidence …there have been a whole bunch of quirky work related flukes over the past 6 weeks (way too boring to list)…. enough to make me think that someone much smarter than me, is driving my bus. …and I’m just enjoying the ride.

P1120707

Tags: , , ,