Christmas cards for clients

15 11 2007

On one of my technical writing lists today, there was discussion about Christmas gifts for clients and links to websites that deal with such things. Someone mentioned donating to charity, which is what I did for the first time last year. Here’s my contribution to the discussion:

Along the same lines, last Christmas I decided not to send out cards to my clients as I figured they’d be on display (maybe) for 2 weeks, no-one would do more than glance at them (at best) and then they would go in the trash or recycle bin. The amount I would’ve spent on Christmas cards and postage (not including the time to write them!) I gave as a donation to Perth Zoo. I emailed my clients wishing them all the best for the season and told them of the donation in lieu of cards. Some responded saying what a good idea it was. No-one complained about not getting a card!!

I’ve always thought corporate Christmas cards were a strange custom – and now I don’t do it. I’ll find a suitable organisation to donate to again this year – preferably one where I can donate direct (like the zoo) as versus one that goes through fund raising agencies etc. to get donations.

That spurred me on to actually do something—so this year I’ve decided to donate to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, a VITAL service for rural and remote Australians.


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Categories : Business/Work

Wombats in the underbrush

15 11 2007

So, there I was, removing programs and files from my laptop, when I had an issue with uninstalling some software. Off I went to the internet to see if I could find out how to get rid of it permanently, and in one of the forums I came across a possible solution. What threw me and made me laugh out loud was the contributor’s signature line:

“May the Wombat of Happiness snuffle through your underbrush.”  -Ancient Aborigine blessing

I doubt that this is *really* an Aboriginal blessing, but it *is* funny!


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Categories : Life stuff

Gratitude dance

15 11 2007

Pamela Slim over at Escape From Cubicle Nation alerted me to this YouTube clip of the “Gratitude Dance”. What a happy thing to see in the middle of the work day!


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Categories : Business/Work, Life stuff

Feeling faint

13 11 2007

The Blues at Bridgetown was last weekend. It’s a BIG event for the town—the local population of about 5,000 expands by some 10-15,000 music lovers. We had every intention of going on Saturday to see some of the free live acts in the town’s main street. But the best-laid plans of mice and men can go awry!

We went to Bunbury on Friday where I donated blood to the Red Cross Blood Bank (as I try to do every 3 months). We walked around town for a bit, then went to lunch at the Rose Hotel… Where I promptly fell in a heap with fainting symptoms and excessive perspiration. I had to lie on the floor for ages before I was OK enough to raise my head. Not a good look for the pub, having a female lying on the floor with her legs on a chair! Needless to say, we didn’t finish our shopping and obviously I didn’t drive back home. When we got home I slept for 2 hours followed by a good night’s sleep. So that was Friday.

On Saturday I was still feeling a bit weak, plus I had a reasonable headache. And it got very hot over the weekend. Because the main street and side streets were closed (or packed) for the Blues Festival, we would’ve had to walk there and back. ‘There’ is downhill all the way; ‘back’ is up a massive hill. Under normal circumstances, it’s a tough walk.

So with my low blood pressure and having given blood and had a bad turn the day before, we decided it wasn’t worth it. There’s always next year…


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Categories : Life stuff

Ooo! I know someone like this too

13 11 2007

Craig over at Another Boy from Oz pointed me to this excellent (but long) blog post: The Nerd Handbook.

I know quite a few people like this—and on occasions, I am one! Scary.


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Categories : Business/Work

I worked with someone like this

9 11 2007

My Google Alert for ‘Technical Writing” threw up this blog post this morning.

My first reaction was that he (?) hated women in positions of authority, but then I kept reading. He could have been in my head writing about a documentation manager I had a few years back when I worked for a Large Company.  I haven’t had enough experience working for doc managers to know whether his diatribe applies across the board, but it definitely applied to the person I worked for.


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Categories : Technical writing

South of the Border quilt

8 11 2007

Back in June, I attended a foundation piecing workshop run by my friend Bobbie, the QuiltMouse. Not being one for flowers and pastels, I decided on some bright fabrics, including some blacks and chilli patterns. After making the sample blocks, I decided to go for broke and make a lap quilt for the chilly (chilli!) nights we get here in Bridgetown. You know, the sort of quilt you wrap around your legs when you’re on the sofa watching TV or reading a book.

So some months later it’s finished! Bobbie created the block pattern; I chose the fabrics, did the design/layout, and pieced the top; Judy quilted it all together using her big long arm commercial quilting machine; then I finished it off with the binding. I deliberately used a wool batting for warmth come next winter.

I’ve called it “South of the Border” as it has all the elements of the New Mexico/Arizona region we love (yes, I *know* that’s not south of the US border, but some I’m using some artistic license here!).There are lots of fabrics with chillis, capsicum (peppers for the US-ians), horses, cacti, etc., as well as the bright reds, yellows, and purples reminiscent of Santa Fe and other places in that region.

The red backing and sashing fabric actually has a slightly Japanese feel to it, with some stylised calligraphy and very faint reeds in the pattern. But I thought it worked well with the other colours.

While it may look like a jumble of blocks, there *is* a pattern in there—the purple cross in the centre, surrounded by the yellow, orange, and red toned blocks, followed by the black.

 South of the Border quilt

It’s already been hung at the local “Hanging by a Thread” quilt exhibition last Saturday and I’m putting it in the local show (along with the other quilts I’ve made this year) at the end of this month.

More photos of this quilt (including close-ups)…


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Categories : Quilts and fabric stuff

Funny girl

7 11 2007

My friend Suzanne has been learning to do stand-up comedy for a few months now, though I have NO IDEA what possessed her to do such a brave and scary thing!

Well, a couple of weeks ago she had her first ever, debut, inaugural, whatever-you-want-to-call-it performance in front of a real live paying crowd. She had five minutes and, in my opinion, she did really well. Suzanne lives in Tasmania these days so I wasn’t able to attend the live performance (she may not have wanted people she knew there anyway—I know if it was me, I wouldn’t have wanted the embarrassment of friends and family seeing me freeze up with stage fright).

Anyhoo… to cut a long story short, someone video-ed her performance and it’s now available on YouTube. I thought she was fantastic, and she made me laugh out loud more than a lot of paid comedians do. Tell me what *you* think of Suzy’s first-ever public performance—I’ll pass your comments on to her. She’d be too embarrassed to ask herself! Go Suzy! (BTW, the video is 5 mins.)

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZfxO5Zx820]

Oh, and she’s really tall (around 6′) and she really DOES have a small car. She also really does Tai Kwan Do, so in the modern comedic tradition, she’s drawing a LOT on personal experiences in this routine. I can’t wait for a routine talking about her massage therapy experiences.


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Categories : Life stuff

At least they’re honest

4 11 2007

How many of those “World’s best <whatever>!!” have you seen? Hundreds? Thousands? And who decides anyway—who says that the <whatever> is the BEST in the ENTIRE world?

Well, a burger bar in nearby Manjimup won’t proclaim that they’re the world’s best – they think they ‘possibly’ are! Maybe, maybe not… who’s to say. No, I haven’t tried a burger from there yet – though I’m tempted!

Chicken Burger sign


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Categories : Life stuff

Checking out a beach

4 11 2007
Summer is coming and we know we’re about 75 mins from the Busselton beaches and a similar distance from the Bunbury beaches. Busselton would be my preference—the beaches are calmer being in the corner of Geographe Bay, and there are cafes etc. pretty much on the beach. I grew up on Bunbury beaches and the back beaches are notorious for rips, dumping etc. Not pretty. Location of Windy Harbour

But there’s another beach within two hours of Bridgetown—on the south coast of Western Australia. So we took a drive to Windy Harbour today to check it out. The drive was a little longer than I’d expected based on the distance (90 mins), but that’s because the road is fairly narrow and winding. Beautiful drive though, through some fantastic forested areas especially between Pemberton and Northcliffe. Of course, a glorious spring day helped!

We checked out the Windy Harbour beach, but that’s not for us. The fishing boats come in and out of there, there’s seasonal seaweed piled up and stinking on the beach, and it’s bloody windy!!! Guess it’s not called Windy Harbour for nothing…

Oh well. We figured we may never be back, so we took a drive to the Point d’Entrecasteaux lighthouse and checked out the stunning views of the Southern Ocean (next stop, Antarctica!) from the cliffs. And then we spotted it! Salmon Beach. Sheltered from the wind, in a bay, clean white sand for miles and miles, no rocks, no seaweed and no fishermen. We didn’t go on to the beach itself though a couple of people were fishing from it, but it’s a definite possibility. The only detraction—that water will be icy cold ALL year round, including at the height of summer.

Salmon Beach, d’Emtrecasteaux National Park

Here’s my pathetic attempt at a panorama of Salmon Beach. For the full size (and better quality) photos click here and continue on the next couple of pages.


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Categories : Australia, Life stuff

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