I don’t usually go to the office on a Wednesday, but we had new members of the comms team starting yesterday. One of them is a former Olympian, so cool! She ran the 400m race in Rio and the relay. Aside from meeting them, I also needed to collect the first copies of our annual... Continue Reading →

I represented my team at an awards ceremony yesterday. While it was a proud moment when we accepted our trophy, it was the win by a woman at another agency that brought tears to my eyes. A staff member at the Office of Sport was lauded for introducing the Duke of Edinburgh award program to... Continue Reading →

I an a proud member of Gen X, the segment the population born between 1964 and 1981. We grew up without mobile phones, there was no internet, we didn’t even have colour TV until 1975 and helicopter parenting was so not a thing. We were called the "latch-key generation" because our mothers were among the... Continue Reading →

This is how the diet is going ... literally minutes after I published my blog post on Friday about showing restraint I got a very tempting email from DD. It was offering two tickets to a very special event called "Taste of the House" at Sydney Opera House. Taste of the House is held on... Continue Reading →

I’ve been gradually gaining weight over the past few years, which has accelerated lately due to having tendonitis. The orthopedic surgeon told me to give up the gym, stop climbing stairs and avoid doing anything that might put a strain on my frayed tendons. He also suggested I attend physio-cise classes, which I have so... Continue Reading →

Did we learn nothing from Contagion? Did we learn nothing from the pandemic? It’s been driving me absolutely bonkers to see people sneeze and cough into their hands then touch buttons, handles, railings, escalators … I keep wanting to yell “elbow!” at them. Elbow! Elbow! I thought things would be better in Japan, but there... Continue Reading →

DD is still recovering from me making him fly home from Taipei in the cheap seats. Actually, they weren't cheap at all, even in Economy Class. And Economy Class on Cathay Pacific turns out to be pretty squeezy in both seat width and leg depth. DD is very much average height and even his knees... Continue Reading →

My first impression of Taipei - as our cab edged through the heavy morning traffic - was that it looked like Blade Runner by daylight. But my too-brief visit revealed it’s a destination filled with friendly people, fun, 24-hour energy and culture. I was sad to leave because it’s not the easiest place to visit... Continue Reading →

One of my favourite things about expedition cruising is the opportunity to explore remote locations that are off the beaten tourist track. Cities don't do it for me. They don't make my heart swell with joy. I love the open seas, the first sightings of land, the soaring cliffs, the wildlife, the wonder of it... Continue Reading →