Ask Steph

Who would have known. I've been in Australia 6 years, long enough to acclimate and take up citizenship, and I only just saw my first real live possum in my garden this month. I have lived in fairly new residential estates up to now, and I've moved into an older more established suburb recently. Where the trees and wildlife have recovered somewhat from the trauma of installing a new suburb over an old paddock of grass or farmland.  And there they were, 2 furry strange looking buggers running up and down my fence like a double act marsupial Spider-Men. They kinda look like a cross between a kangaroo and a meerkat. But stranger looking. Two observations - first, they are a lot bigger than I thought. I've always had this impression of them as being somewhere between a small rabbit and a large rat. They were much bigger than that. Turns out, the ones I saw were bush-tail possums . Locally called Bushy's apparently .  Second - That tail is something quite impr...

This is another gratitude entry , but it comes by way of a funny story. So I walked into the shop the other day, pulled out my purse to pay, I had a wallet full of cash, but  I could not pay and I had to use a card. Why ? Because all I had on me was : $5 US Note $3 and some change from New Zealand $10 and some coins from Singapore Approximately ZAR 5 and some coins And not a single Aussie note or coin in the lot . It seems I am travelling so much these days ( for work ) that I don't have time to draw Aussie cash from an Aussie ATM. And the thing is, I see that as something amazing. That I have a life that enables me to travel and see the world, and suffer through such a tragic first world problem as no local currency to pay for my groceries. What a fantasic life that is. :-) 

These last 2 days have made me so very grateful for the incredible men and women who volunteer in the CFA and CFS here in Victoria and South Australia We've had over 300 fires, and South Australia has been ht hard with homes being destroyed as the temperatures soaored into 40 and 41 degrees C and searing winds poured over the states from the hot north. So I am grateful that my home and my life are protected by such selfless individuals. #StaySafe Firies ...

So I'm going to try something new this year . I'm moving my gratitude journal online into my blog . I keep a small book next to my bed, and most evenings, I write down something that I am grateful for. It's usually one word, maybe a sentence or 2 , and sometimes a whole page. Whenever I am feeling a bit down, flattened by life, or super stressed, I read it, and remember all the things in my life that are good, and worth holding onto. So this year, I'm going to go online.

Much news and info has been floating around about Rhinos lately, and anyone who has access to even a gossip news site is aware that the last 5 years have quickly decimated the wild Rhino population. If you want more detail , and all the facts and statistics you can read all about it at Breaking the Brand , where they have clearly laid out the problem , and their ingenious solution  . If you're like most people, it's pretty boring reading. That does not mean it's not important though. So for those who want the highlights , and what you can do about it , here are the big takeaway facts . FACT - Rhinos will be extinct in our lifetime  --> unless we act now. FACT -  Current conservation thinking is not working. --> we need a different angle FACT -  The current demand is driven from a growing wealthy middle class in Viet Nam. Yes - read that again. It's got nothing to do with Chinese Medicine. Here's how you can help  Step 1  Download and ...

Aussie-fication. That process whereby one becomes a naturalised citizen of the Aussie Aussie Aussie , Oi Oi Oi Universe. Not to be confused with a simple citizenship ceremony. Those are so 1990 darl. I am an Aussie (with some sad but ingrained Saffer DNA , it's a tough life mate). And I almost have the certificate to prove it. Aussie-fication begins in earnest the first time you use the word mate. Sincerely and without satire, sarcasm or feeling self-conscious.

So I noticed somewhere around March or April that I've been endorsed for some of my skills- and I'm very grateful to the new contacts and ex-colleagues and friends who have taken the time to endorse me. I've also noticed - and I shall keep names out of it - that some of my skills ( which I do have) have been endorsed by people that could not possibly have experienced or witnessed those skills. Because  I know them in a completely different sphere than the skills they have now endorsed. For example. I know some SQL . I know it because I learnt it by working on an Oracle database while being a Business Analyst at Discovery Health . Unless you have worked with me at Discovery ( and even then , I did a lot of different things at Discovery Health) you wouldn't really be able to endorse my SQL skills. I also know a fair bit about databases and database management. Not all of it by direct experience mind you, but because in working with DBA's over the years I have pi...