Why you shouldn’t criticise Fashion Week

A couple of days ago I was in Sydney for a work shin-dig while Australian Fashion Week was on and I posted a slightly sarcastic post about what a fashionista I was… not.

I waved a trendy vermilion scarf at the fashion gods my friend, and the gods turned to look at me in my LBD and sighed.

That one is tempting fate, they said. And poof! They flicked a finger in my general direction.

The fashion gods give

Oblivious I sashayed downstairs to meet my fellow part-tay goers, enjoy a little pre-dinner drinkie, and hop on the bus.

I love your dress, some cooed and I felt pretty good about my outfit. The ultra-cute Lisa Ho number (okay from last season but I just love it), my S&M boots. I felt hot.

We had the canapes, the entree and a few beverages and I wandered upstairs to the ladies.

The fashion gods take away

Now I should point out that the dress is a little - tight - and despite my best efforts - control tops - it had been a bit of a struggle to zip up.

So I sit down and breathe out and as I do, I feel something give.

A certain tightness across the torso had lessened.

I bring my hand behind my back and realise the horrible truth:

The zip had split. Completely.

A wardrobe malfunction of mammoth proportions and most of the evening to go.

How I survived

Luckily that vermilion scarf I’d waved earlier in the evening was draped, shawl-like, around my shoulders. I pulled it down to cover the zip and walked carefully back to my table. Luckily our table was against the wall and I was able to slip my leather jacket over my dress without exposing my back to an audience. But dancing later? No. I don’t think so.

The Lesson

And that is why I say, my friends, you must never diss the fashion gods or any festival they might choose to support. They have the power to use fashion against you!

Fashion week? A brilliant event for all. That’s what I say… now.

The confident smile of someone who doesn’t realise her zip is about to leave the party without her.

I’m too old for 2am bedtime

I’m old. Period.

Just sat in a Mike Walsh presentation on the future of media. Mike Walsh entitle’s himself - Managing Director of Tomorrow. And the tomorrow he sees is a world where The Naturals are under 20 and the rest of us are not older… we’re old.

[of course the old among us will be wondering if how a tv has-been ended up as a futurist but then again, we're old]

It’s an interesting future where movies are free and content is king - although not owned. Makes me feel a little better about seeing my posts appear on aggregation blogs.

It’s the way of the future my friend.

You should see the groovy mobile devices they have in Korea - oh yes - devices not phones - they might have the ability to make a call but that is a secondary function to say the least.

What I liked about his presentation - apart from his message - was the presentation itself. A mash up of video, photographs, groovy slides and sound bytes while he maintained an energetic verbal presentation clicking his remote mouse thingy without looking at the screen behind him. Impressive. The full surround sound.

We were sitting in the Marigold restaurant eating Yum Cha. You know I think the last time I had Yum Cha was in Sydney too. Twenty years ago. I’d forgotton how delicious it was. We scoffed our little gooey balls of yumminess and drank cup after cup of green tea and thoroughly embraced the future. Well. As much as one can when one is as old as I am. :)

At least I write a blog and I have a little share button below for you to share what you like. I might not update my myspace page or participate anymore on facebook or twitter but at least I have a passing acquaintance with the technology which I hope will allow me to “interface” with my “natural*” children.

*those born in or after 1994

Working from home can be distracting

Today I finally got access to the work VPN which means that now, I can access my work email and documents from home.

Now that could be a good thing - I’ve got a couple of reports to write and I wanted to do that in the relative peace of home - but instead I’ve been distracted by my email. In fact I’m just as busy doing the busy-work of the hour to hour crap running a network at home as I am at work.

Plus now that I can access my emails all the time… I am!

So now work impinges on home and home is impinging on work.

This is nuts. I can see that I’m going to have to work out some limits.

Do you work from home? How do you manage it.

Do you have to set up a separate home office? Set aside “work” time?

Coz now that I have it, I don’t want to give up my VPN access. :)

Broome Sunrise

The sun rises this morning over Roebuck Bay. I look out from in front of the apartments I’m staying in, over the mangroves. The grass is wet and my crocs (oh I know - just as bad as uggys) let the water in to my feet.

The air is warm and wet, heavy and still. It is about 26 degrees and only just 7am.

I walk across the grass, get into my little hire car and go to work.

Another day in the Kimberley.

Back home baby!

Yes I’m home. Reluctantly boarding the plane after walking through the airport which looks like a pub… a tropical resort pub.

Hey guess what? I was randomly selected to…

… no, not move into Business Class. I wish…

… get tested for explosives! Because you know, I look highly suspect. Yes, yes the man was quite pleasant, said he was checking to see if anyone had tampered with my luggage - but you still feel a bit well, special, not in a good way.

They stick this little rod thing with a piece of sticky tape on the end on your hands, near your pockets, in the pockets of your cases and finally in a little machine which can read traces of TNT and Nitroglycerine and presumably stuff like plastic explosives. Glad I don’t work in road building where they have to blow up rock to clear the way…

As expected I was clear to go. An interesting experience but not as nice as the explosive puffy machine in the Statue of Liberty which made my hair go floolf. Nothing like a little floolf I’ve always said…

Anyway I’m waiting for my Flip to download some videos… yawn… back soon when they are cooked. :)

Sandflies and Geckos

I’m in Broome.  At the station.  Sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop.  There’s a quiet moment.  My meetings still an hour away so I thought I’d check in with you my lovelies and get you up to date with my travels.

Arrived yesterday around 6pm.  It was HOT.  Sure it’s hot in Perth but add 67-70% or more humidity and it really is offensively hot.  I was wearing jeans and high heels and my feet started slipping in them within seconds.

Broome airport by the way, isn’t airconditioned.  It looks like a resort hotel, Kimberley style.  All corrugated iron and pergola like timber decoration.  Palm trees and yeah, that relaxed, slip into Broome time feel.

Found my little hire car on the grass lawn at the side of the car park and then drove around reaquainting myself with the town - I haven’t been here since 1994.

Sun Pictures - the outdoor cinema - isn’t where I remember it.  My mind must have been playing tricks on me.  The shopping areas of Old Broome are lovely - although all closed by 6 last night.  Covered verandahs, corrugated iron, a real colonial feel.  Okay I’ll take some photos and add them in later.

I’m staying at Moonlight Bay Residential Apartments.  And they are pretty nice.  Apparently some have spas.  Mine doesn’t.  It has a pool and a big grassed area that looks over the mangrove to the sea.

We went to Zanders for tea last night.  Zanders is next door to the Cable Beach Resort and overlooks Cable Beach.  It’s one of those modern cafe style restaurants, licensed.  I had a chicken laksa which was good.  Overly sized and I couldn’t finish it though.

One of my favourite things so far is Goolari TV.  A community station run by the local Aboriginal broadcaster Goolari Media.  Really engaging, local stories.  Made you feel you were in Broome.

Have I mentioned I’m in Broome?

Shared my shower with a little gecko - that’s supposed to be good luck.

Got to work and saw the sandfly bites on one of the techs - he’s allergic to their wee or something.  Nasty!

Irony and Ornery

I was so angry today at work… not grumpy angry just… grrrr… “why are you bothering me!” angry.

Honestly if one more person had rung me with another inane, stupid question that if they’d thought about for hmmm maybe ONE minute they might have worked it out themselves.

My job is not doing your jobs for you people!

I shouted at the phone after hanging up quite a lot today.

But that’s not where the irony lay…

Today I spent the day encouraging, cajolling, organising about 30 people to get their heads around blogging.

That’s right. We get to blog at work.

Well… they do.

The irony is that I - possibly the person most keen on blogging in my division, in my state - don’t get a blog.

Typical.

I might start one anyway just to be ornery. What d’ya reckon?

…………

In good news - I have found my favourite jeans which have been lost for a week. And tomorrow I get to go to Broome. W00t.

photo credit: blatch

Knowledge and Wisdom

Groover surprised me with this gem today as we flew back from Karratha - he’d heard it on a podcast:

Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad.

Nice.

So Karratha? I hear you ask. Of course! Where else would your lover take you for Valentine’s Day but a fairly ordinary motel in one of the fastest growing towns in the north west. It was hot. You forgot for a while as you listened to the hum and rattle of the massive air conditioning unit while drifting off to sleep…

But the moment you stepped out the door - bam - it hits you like a furnace.

We were both there for work and given Groover’s previous descriptions I anticipated the worst, but you know, I kinda liked it. I love the outback dirt, the spinifex, the red hot rocks of the Burrup.

We were cyclone watching and tonight it is still heading straight for Port Hedland. Maybe Sunday.

All we can do - like a pregnant woman - is wait.

And hope for the best.

Typical!

I’m due to fly to Karratha on Wednesday and guess what? It looks likely that a cyclone is also due to “fly in”.

Meh.

Leaving behind the bookmarks

Okay it’s the end of the year and Marketing are having a clear out - but I really didn’t want to see the leftover bookmarks featuring me in my old (and beloved) role being thrown away.

On the other hand do I really need a thousand reminders of “the good old days”?

I’ve moved on, and all that is left is a small tree worth of coloured cardboard… that went straight in the recyling!

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