You're in Clare Country!

Trailing the 'Wild Hogs' in the Nanna Car

                                                                                  Last weekend, Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I joined Tung, Sylvia, Joss & Simon for a weekend away in The Blue Mountains.  David joined us for the trip there but headed back to Sydney at noon.  The big boys rode their motorbikes while Sylvia, the little boys & I followed them in my car dubbed the 'nanna' car.  It was a great weekend away but we all vowed next time we'd take more days off (2 just ain't enough!).  Highlights of the trip (in no particular order) were:

• Seeing the big boys zoom past us on their motorbikes (not speeding, my arse!) but then encountering them further along the highway parked by the road chatting to each other!
• David cutting me off on the road!
• Ravi making the whole trip there & back without incident (& looking hot!) despite not having much practice time on the bike before the trip
• Still getting lost despite knowing the name & address of the cabin we were staying in
• Toasting marshmallows with Captain Booger Features
• Electric blankets!
• Giving my 'loser' mojo to Simon, thereby winning my first ever series of Pizza (card game I usually come last in)
• Simon taking us on a dirt road to Pilcher Point - Tung losing his license plate & Ravi losing a piece from his handlebar along the way (Simon trying to help by offering a car license plate to Tung which he found on the side of the road)
• Breathtaking views of the Blue Mountains & the 3 Sisters
• Taking the Skyway cable car & seeing the bushland & waterfalls through the glass bottom
• Ravi spotting an original Grimms' fairytale book (complete with gruesome fairytales before they were Disneyfied)
• Joss sensing danger & urging us to head back after encountering a herd of people walking towards us from the direction we were heading (Joss demonstrating his survival skills if he were to ever go on safari!)
• Captain Booger Features touching an object in the Skyway gift shop & having it spontaneously combust in his hands (blue goo splashing on his hands, sweater & jeans! - What on earth was it??)
• Sylvia & I cooking the mother of all breakfasts (after the big boys cooked us the mother of all dinners)

Pictures can be viewed in the "Blue Mountains July 2007" album

Has Tina been here?

Here are some of the dishes we sampled in Canberra.  Smells like Tina Spirit (Nirvana fans, anyone?).  Enjoy!

L: Steak & kidney pie, potato & garlic mash, & tomato salsa.  R: Ploughman's lunch (ham, caramelised onions, pickles, cheese, salad & damper).

L: Chicken strips & chips.  R: Chicken biryani.                                             

L: Sindhi (lamb) biryani.  R: Butter chicken.                                                                   

L: Indian entrees.  R: Lamb vindaloo.                                                         

L: Bacon 'n eggs breakfast at Pancakes.  R: Farmer's breakfast (2-stack of buttermilk pancakes in maple syrup, scrambled eggs & hash brown).                                                             

L: Bacon & cheese quiche with salad.  R: Bacon & egg roll with salad.

L: Big breakfast (bacons, eggs, tomato & toast).  R: Slummin' it with Red Rooster burgers, chips, potato & gravy, & coleslaw.

L: Tian of crab, tomato, potato, onion, drizzled with spicy aoili.  R: Steak sandwich with caramelised onions, chips & salad.

Salt & pepper squid on a bed of salad with a sweet lemon dressing.

ANZAC Day in Canberra

                                                                            Last Sunday Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I set off for our nation's capital.  Since Ravi had some client meetings there on Tuesday I took time off of work so we could all spend a few days break before ANZAC Day.  Highlights were:

• Everything shuts at 3pm in Canberra!  It was hard finding any place open in the late arvo - shops, cafes, restaurants....
• Watching the ANZAC parade at the ANZAC war Memorial & explaining to Captain Booger Features why ANZAC Day is so important, what the medals mean, etc.
• Watching the exhibits (pictured) at the National Gallery of Australia (I loved "Motherless," "2 Lovers in the Waves" & "Skegness is so bracing."  Captain Booger Features liked the moving 4-foot "Ice Bag.")
• Driving past the embassies.  Some of the embassies we saw were those of Sri Lanka, the Phillipines, the US, Belgium, Mexico, France and Spain.  They were all so grand & majestic!  Then we saw a makeshift embassy for the Aboriginal community which was more of a statement underlying their lack of representation in government.  They had basically painted over a public toilet block with Aboriginal print and graffiti (pictured).
• Visiting Old Parliament House (pictured) and seeing the old Prime Minister rooms - even though the politicians moved to the current Parliament House permanently in 1988, the computers & phones in Old Parliament House looked so dated!
• Going to the National Portrait Gallery (Why is there a life-sized portrait of Princess Mary in royal garb amongst portraits of outstanding men and women who achieved great things for our country?  Didn't she just marry well?)
• Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I playing with a rubiks cube (it's still not solved!)

More photos can be viewed in the "Canberra April 2007" album.

Sussex Inlet 2006/07

                                                                                On Christmas day, Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I were joined by Tung, Sylvia & Joss in spending a relaxing week at Sussex Inlet.  We stayed at the B&B place Cockatoo Cottage (it was nice to see Vicki & John again).  It was just as beautiful as we last remembered it.  This time we stayed in the self-contained cabin while Tung, Sylvia & Joss stayed in the main house.  We had the best time!  Despite the sun hiding out for most of the week, highlights (in no particular order) of the trip were:

• Going out on a boat to the sand dunes at low tide & walking on the sand dunes at Sussex beach
• Watching the kids ride the waves at the surf beach while Sylvia & I built a sand city & Ravi built a levee around the sand city to protect it from the encroaching surf
• Observing Captain Booger Features' golden brown tan while mourning the loss of what little tan I had managed to develop when I started to peel!
• Watching horror dvds late at night with Ravi in the cabin (although I freaked out after "Hostel" - why do I do it to myself??)
• Shopping at the gift shops in Mogo Town & Berry (lots of unique, kitschy objects you can't get anywhere else - Ravi bought me a beautiful antique ring & we now have enough novelty fridge magnets to bring down the international space station!)
• Making inroads in the play I'm writing
• Playing card games and boardgames on the veranda in the afternoon and late at night every night in the cabin, while downing cups of coffee, hot chocolate or sherry
• Sylvia & I reading our books on the peaceful veranda of Cockatoo Cottage while the boys played Xbox in the cabin
• Enjoying a delicious BBQ Tung, Sylvia & Ravi prepared at Cockatoo Cottage in the pergola
• Sampling local cuisine from the only fish shop in town, the only chicken shop in town & the only pizza place in town (surprisingly very yummy!)
• Fuelled by a little too much alcohol, having a very insightful D&M conversation at a french restaurant in Bomaderry where we all found out a little bit more about each other & what makes us tick
• Going to Mogo Zoo & seeing the only white lions (1 male, 2 female & 2 cubs) in captivity in Asia Pacific (no white lions in the wild)
• Wondering what the big deal is about Jervis Bay (didn't rock our world - nothing was open on a Thursday arvo!)
• Afternoon naps (not just for kids)
• Shopping spree at Ocean Earth (I lurve the Honey label!)
• Vicki's mare gave birth to her foal the day before we left (he was so skinny but was walking & cantering hours after he was born)

We were all a bit sad at leaving Sussex Inlet but I feel fully refreshed & ready for whatever 2007 will bring!  More photos of the holiday are in the album "Sussex Inlet 2006-07."

I go for a wedding but I stay for the shopping....

       Last weekend Ravi & I flew to Melbourne for Marissa & Kevin's wedding (see previous post for details on the wedding).  While we were there we caught up with Jason & May who have been living in Melbourne for 4 months for work (click here to read up on their adventures in Melbourne).  It was so much fun catching up them them!  On Saturday we ate an out-of-the-way cafe for lunch and an equally out-of-the-way chocolaterie for dessert.  On Sunday we went to St. Kilda beach (Ravi kept saying it was THE thing to see in Melbourne) & did some shopping at the shirt & skirt market in St. Kilda & on Bridge St.

Now, I knew the shopping can be great in Melbourne.  On Saturday morning before we met up with Jason & May, I bought a gorgeous Alex Perry black & white dress, with black slingback hells, immediately opting to wear this number instead of the red dress I had brought from Sydney (photo of dress is in the previous post).  Ravi bought a black shirt (to go with his white pin-striped pimp suit).  But by the end of the weekend I had also bought a necklace, earrings, and 3 t-shirts (with funky slogans/messages on the front).  Ravi bought another shirt, cufflinks & 3 t-shirts.  Thanks so much to Jason & May for spending their weekend with us, hanging out & shopping!  Love your work  :)  Can't wait to see you both on Christmas eve!

Hunter Valley Getaway

                                                                                    Ravi & I have just come back from a weekend at the Hunter Valley.  Making good on our resolution to go on mini-breaks once a month, Ravi organised a relaxing weekend at the Hunter.  We stayed at Segenhoe B&B, an old house built in 1837 by a convict.  Cheree, the B&B manager, remained true to the house's history by furnishing the place in old-style antiques, portraits, etc. right down to the faded sepia photo albums in the bookshelf.  She had only recently married (3 weeks ago).  Her husband, Richard, is a singer & pianist hired by cruise ships.  So for 4 weeks he'll be away on a cruise working.  Then he'll be back for 4 weeks, before he has to go away again.  He was actually on one of his cruises this weekend. 

Ravi & I visited the wineries & bought up big on reds, whites, stickies, cheeses, olive tapenades, jams & chilli sauces.  But we also relished the slow pace of country life, reading our books, newspapers & chilling out when we could.  On the drive back, I accidentally ran over the tail of a long green lizard trying to cross the street.  I was going the speed limit of 100 & it would have been too dangerous to swerve out of its way.  The good news is that the lizard was still standing but I think my tyre had crushed its tail.  I had to force my eyes to remain open despite the overpowering urge to shut them & cringe.  Pictures of the mini-break can be viewed in the album called "Hunter Valley Getaway - Oct06."  There's even photos of our meals (just for Tina).

Years of practice to look effortless

Ravi & I got back from Brisbane late last night.  I was there to attend our annual 3-day sales conference & give a presentation on my area of responsibility - product, research & analytics.  It was a strange sensation for me recognising most of the BDMs through their name tags & voices.  Since they are scattered around Australia I don't get to see them face-face-face.  Contact is usually in the form of emails, phone calls & through intermediaries like their state managers.  So I walked in with preconceived notions of what they looked like, only to have the opposite likeness wearing the name badges.  Unfortunately no scandal or hanky-panky to report (with the exception of one of the new BDMs getting slapped in the face by a woman at Michael's bar). 

I gave my presentation on Tuesday & it went really well.  My allotted time was half an hour but I was allowed to speak for an hour since I had teh audience engaged (despite the show of numbers, charts, normally boring stuff).  They applauded my energy & commented on how I looked natural up there (even asking if I ever thought about becoming a BDM) but I have to admit, it has taken me a long time (& a lot of presentations in my professional career) to hone my presentation skills.  I am naturally chatty so I've never really been shy to get up & speak in front of an audience (I love attention).  My downfall has usually been organising the content of my speech/presentation in a manner that can be easily understood by people not in my profession.  But I can safely say that I'm at a stage now where it is second nature to me to organise my thoughts for my mouth to follow (rather than the other way around).  It also helps that I'm a whiz at Powerpoint, so my presentations are only limited by the limitations of the software rather than my own.

Most of my preparation involved the Powerpoint slides with hyperlinked files & lots of photo imagery (not the crappy clipart stuff which should be banned) to combat the dryness of numbers.  The words that spilled out of my mouth were on the fly.  My introduction ended up being the following:
"Hi.  I've had an opportunity to sit & listen to your growth review plans, so now it's my turn.  (Audience laughter)  I'm going to take you through my product & analytics plan for financial year 2007.  What I want you to take away from my presentation are 2 things: one, a greater understanding of what I do in my role, & two, I want you to go away afterwards & think about how I can help you perform your role optimally in relation to securing new business, in growing current business, & servicing customers.  I also want you to have fun - I'm going to rock your world (pause) with charts (pause due to audience laughter), with tables (pause due to audience laughter), with process maps (audience laughter).  And if I don't, then use this as an exercise in what not to do - over-promise, undeliver.  (Audience laughter)"

I also pepper my presentations with personal anecdotes which include the audience - in this case elaborating on instances where BDMs or customers have given me grief.  It normally keeps the audience engaged when I'm ploughing through numerically-heavy material.  When I finished, I was sorry to leave the spotlight but felt a high that can only be born from recognition of doing something well in front of your superiors, peers & subordinates.  Terry Hawkins believes there are 3 types of public speakers: (1) the content-speaker; (2) the entertaining speaker; (3) the inspiring speaker.  The content speaker is driven by getting his message across.  The entertaining speaker is driven by engaging the audience.  The inspiring speaker is driven by motivating the audience to answer a call to action after the presentation.  That's not to say that an entertaining speaker only talks about dribble or a content speaker cannot engage the audience.  It's more about the personalities that hold the microphone.  I'm probably more of an entertaining speaker.  Which one are you?

Next thing on the agenda: eradicate funny-but-hardly-respect-&-awe-inspiring heckling from my audience.  I don't know why this is, but I always seem to provoke my audience to join the spotlight with me with their funny comments & banter.  Don't they know it's all about me?  It's the same when I meet someone for the first time - pretty soon, they seem awfully comfortable in bagging me out.  And I certainly don't start it.  What's the deal?!

Picture originally uploaded by hfb.

Weekend at Western Plains Zoo

                                                                                                                                                          Last weekend we drove to Dubbo with the Nguyens to visit Western Plains Zoo on a 2-day pass.  Starting at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning, we drove the 4-5 hours to Dubbo (with stopovers & toilet breaks inbetween), finally getting there at 3pm.  It was a great weekend away - fun company, cute lodgings, engaging animals!  Highlights of the weekend were:

• Captain Booger Features opting not to eat all his McDs (never happened before) due to sleepiness
• While we filled up on petrol on the way to Dubbo, Ravi was told off by the petrol station attendant for trying to leave without paying for petrol (Ravi thought I had already paid for it when I bought the paper - but I forgot)
• Captain Booger Features & Joss playing wildly at the Hungry Jacks activity gym after sitting tight in the car for a couple of hours on the way to Dubbo
• Arriving at the B&B & finding out the place we were stayng at is called Clare's Cottage!
• During our 1st trip to the zoo, watching a siamang (my favourite animal at the zoo) walk with arms up in the air to maintain balance (but its walk was still somewhat lopsided)
• Relaxing at Clare's cottage before dinner (I was still able to do a sudoku puzzle!)
• Finding out that Tung is just as bad as Ravi at explaining what's happened in an episode of Desperate Housewives ("The woman with the red hair . . . she was talking to a guy . . . then they were fighting . . . then the woman with the kids was talking to her husband . . . you shouldn't have left the room when it came back on again!")
• Taking bikes on our 2nd visit to the zoo the following day (I had a single but Ravi rode in tandem with Captain Booger Features)
• Getting up close with Andrea the Giraffe's long, ladylike eyelashes
• Hearing about how rhinos live every single day of their lives in fear of loud unexpected noises or movement around them (very nervous animals)
• When the rains came, seeing 2 massive elephants calmly bunched together under a tall but small shelter
• Stopping off at an Ugg Boots shop on the way home & buying up big on all things Uggy (Tung, in particular, was grateful for the extra expense at stopping there - no-one forced you to get a vest, beanie, & boots, man)

Picture album called "Western Plains Zoo - July 2006" can be accessed on the right side of this blog.

Bris Vegas - here we come!

                         Last Thursday morning, I flew up to Brisbane for 2 days for work.  Thursday night, Ravi & Captain Booger Features joined me.  It was the captain's first plane trip so he was plenty excited!  We stayed at the Carlton Crest Hotel that first night - 5 star but quite austere.  Then while I attended meetings on Friday, Ravi & the captain explored the city & had their siestas.  Friday night we had dinner with Ravi's friend Doug & his son (who wants to be a rock star) at Decks, before retiring at the Diana Hotel (I could have stayed up all night watching its cable channels!).  Then Saturday we went to Surfers, hired a boat for the afternoon before making our way to Tambourine Mountain.  Accommodation was an absolute hole but the surrounding areas are beautiful.  I especially liked the touristy street we stopped at, with its German cuckoo clock store & other novelty gift stores.  We even had time to squeeze in a bit of wine-tasting (buying up 3 bottles of sweet red).  We drove back to Brisbane, visited Ravi's uncle, aunt & cousins (some of the most accommodating people you'll ever meet!), & then headed to Brisbane airport for our flight home.  Highlights of the trip were:

• While waiting for the plane to Brisbane to go up the runway, Captain Booger Features hears the engine revving up loudly.  The captain turns to Ravi & asks in a loud, clear voice, "Are we going to crash now?"  Not surprisingly, the lady sitting next to the captain's other side looked at him in alarm.
• Me opening the hotel door to Ravi & Captain Booger Features when they arrived at the Carlton Crest Hotel straight from the airport.
• Having lunch at one of Ravi's favourite chinese restaurants - the best shan dong chicken!
• Dinner with Doug (& his son Scott) - extolling the virtues of a life (finally) out of the rat race
• Breakfast buffet at the Diana Hotel (all my favourite brekkie foods - they even did the bacon the way I like it - crisp)
• Captain Booger Features accidentally leaving his backpack behind at a cafe.  When he remembered, he raced back to find 2 big burly security guards standing over it.  You could see the relief on their faces when the captain scooped up his bag.  It didn't occur to us that they had thought it might be a terrorist package!
• Hiring the boat for the afternoon.  It was such a gorgeous day!  We passed so many luxurious houses along the banks of the river.  One even had its own helipad & helicopter!
• Shopping at the German cuckoo clock store in Tambourine Mountain.
• Meeting Ravi's relatives (finally - had been looking forward to meeting them!  Now I have people to visit on my next trip to Bris Vegas)
• The plane trip home with Ravi & Captain Booger Features - future plane trips without them will always be dull

There are more photos in the album titled "Bris Vegas - June 2006."