Workin Hard

It has been far too long since my last post! (Do i start every blog post like that?)

The past few months have been really busy, predominantly with work. There have been a lot of late nights, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for this project. Maybe a few more weeks, fingers crossed. I'm working on helping a local technology company create an online tool to sign-up for their service, but the business rules and internal politics are exasperating, so I won't go into it. Let's talk about more interesting things.  

I renewed my passports last month. I would highly recommend everyone come to Australia to renew their passports. I did get a bit of Nostalgia visiting the US Consulate in Sydney. It's in this posh tower downtown, you have to go to the back tower, up through the lobby to an intermediary floor, through a processing/security station, into a ear-popping elevator to the 50-something floor, smile at the big portrait of Hillary (not Sir Edmund) as you pass by a massive bomb-proof security enclosure and through a door which ways weighs as much as a refrigerator, into an area that, i swear, feels just like the DMV. Unhappy people with bundles of papers and crumpled up ticker numbers and all. But, aside form that, I got my new passport in 6 days. 6 DAYS! Mailed. In my mailbox. No mistakes. I was fairly pleased. I now have 52 pages just begging to be stamped. <hehehehe> I love a challenge.   

Speaking of the fruits of the greatest of north american nations, a life changing event occurred in July in Sydney, Australia. Costco opened. Now I've been to Costco's in the US, in Japan, and places like it in South America and Africa, but I have never waited 30 minutes in a line, just to get in the door. Not in the checkout line, but literally to get in the door! It was crazy! I bought massive quantities of just the necessities.

Not only kosher style but made in New Jersey! I couldn't say no.

I'm slowly going through my haul of cheese, pasta, juice, and the rest.
Speaking of juice, i found the pulpiest orange juice in the world. You could pour it into the Macondo well to stop the leak. It's no Tropicana, but I've gone through a gallon already. I would make a Costco membership worthwhile just from buying OJ! Costco also had the King David wine. The kosher for passover wine that's always the last resort. not sure what their strategy was with that.


In further news, I was at a really fascinating conference a few weeks ago. UX Australia. It's the first conference I've been to in ages. It's a lot smaller than the professional conferences I attended in the US, but the speakers were very interesting and the ideas were reinvigorating. We have a thing at work called Friday Talks, which is a few 15 minute talks every other Friday by anyone in the office about whatever topic they find interesting or want to share about. I've spent last Friday presenting about what I learned and will probably have a few more presentations to go. Topics included designing for Mobile, user testing with mobile devices, design for cultural differences, thought leadership, and client engagement in design.


And lastly, last weekend I was out and saw the Sydney Roller Derby League grand finals; a competition between two teams who's names I don't remember.

In the end, just as I had hoped, one of the teams won. (-: It was a fun time, even if I still don't really get what happened, but something different to do.

More to come about sports and travel. Soon, i promise(-: