Why Twitter is breaking down the barriers...

Please note : this entry may seem a little disjointed as i melded an older post from my other blog with a post from this blog!! lazy i know.. :)

Inclusive Practices 
 
That was the title of today's workshop. It's very hard to define inclusion without using the word include, or as some smart person did today, exclude! After asking the group to describe it without using include, one 'smart' chap came up with this gem...
" Inclusion is the process by which noone is excluded"

Pretty good, but not enough information i thought! So we added to this by saying,

".... due to race, religion, beliefs, gender, sexuality, age, SES(socio-economic status), disability or ability, etc"


The interesting thing about taking this workshop is that people are always wary of speaking up in case they say the wrong thing. We spend large amounts of time discussing perceptions and judgements made on appearance, race etc, and everyone is willing to share an occasion where they "judged a book by it's cover!" But, one point that ALWAYS shuts people up is "using Inclusive Language". Today we are soooooo politically correct that people are scared to speak up in fear they may offend someone. So today i began this session with a discussion on discriminatory or non inclusive language. "Labels" as they are sometimes known. Finally, after many examples from myself the group began to offer some suggestions -

"towel head", "blacks", "coons", "wog", "spastic", "retard","four eyes", ....... etc.  

All those words that were once used to describe a particular group of people.  Words that were degrading, derogatory and demoralising. It was very confronting for some group members, and some chose not to participate.  I asked if they didn't feel comfortable saying these things because we are all fairly new working together as a group , fully expecting this to be the case.  Which it was. One participant however, blew me away when she said the following ....

" I am so used to not using these words that I don't even think them any more."

Oh, if only that was the case more often. How often do we make judgements based on appearance ..... a classic example the soccer ad on tv in which 2 teams are picked and the really little guy is left over. Typical scenario.  At the end he runs off and kicks an amazing goal. Result - both teams fight over him. We have all been guilty of making judgements. We do it every day. We have all labelled someone.... "Ben Cousins is a drug addict", when really "Ben Cousins has a drug problem." (For non Aussies Ben Cousins is an Aussie Rules footballer who was suspended for a season for drug problems and sacked by his club)

We do this all the time.      Is it wrong???          Depends upon the situation i guess.
In the workplace - definitely wrong; in schools- wrong; at home with family????
Have you passed judgement today?
Did you sit next to someone on the bus and "decide" certain things about them?
Did you bypass a homeless person today and decide they were lazy and dirty and poor and an alcoholic??? All labels......
If only we could all be like my course participant today and not label people and perhaps (just perhaps) the world would not be in conflict....



And you know what i like best about twitter?  I can chat with people from all over the globe and get to know more about other cultures and lifestyles just by sending and receiving these very brief 140 character messages!!  When it gets right down to the bare bones of communication ie. 140 characters only allowed lol, then there is no room for labeling or discriminatory language.  We want to get our messages across in the most simplistic way possible.  Often there is a language barrier.  Most times we use humour. But most importantly, the common message that comes across on Twitter is, that no matter where you are from,  we are all the same. Here for the same reason: to chat, have a laugh, meet similar minded people, share experiences.  And that is how it should be.  Perhaps our governments should jump on here ?? :)

My Proudest Achievement....

How can something this scruffy and cute.....

Evolve into something this graceful and elegant.....                                                                                       

                                                                                      

And Beautiful.....

                       

Deli will kill me if she sees this but yes I am allowed to brag.  Just a little...

 Love you 'pea! xx

The World Cup

The World Cup is highly topical on twitter atm. Sort of. Most ppl have nominated a country they are at least slighlty aligned with. Brazil seems to love everyone! lool  New Zealand ez surpraseng iviryone! South Africans are being  poopols with their vuvuzelas! And Australia is being hard done by, by the refs....  But it is all a lot of fun and has led to a lot of funny comments and conversations and the occasional pearler of a pic!  Hey Sarah!!!! I'm also taking the opportunity to learn some of the South African lingo!! Not quite sure if i have a handle on it yet but i have had some fun hosing myself and others, being a poopol, with my skattie Ella, and i think theres been some lekker lekker and something to do with oaks happening too??.... haven't quite got the drift of that yet!!!    So i'll blow my =========<() one last time, suck up my spit, and leave you with this thought for the day....

      Girls....Don't let just anyone blow in your vuvuzela. Keep it nice.....

Sailing...

Sailing is something i really enjoy doing.  I'm definitely no Jessica Watson (the 16 yo  aussie who just sailed solo round the world) but i am old enough to be her mother!! I have many friends who love to sail, both competitively and for pleasure.  This is fantastic as i get to experience both types of sailing, and they are very, very different. And my friends have yachts!! Lots of yachts!! A Forty footer built for ocean racing.  A 34  footer  for the harbour racing/cruising most often done here.  A couple of Tiger and Hobie cats - super fast local off the beach sailing.  Super fun!! A mirror or two..... And lots of other toys. I have fun friends :)

Cruising (on the yacht) is great. Relaxing with a beer or champers or what ever is your guilty pleasure, cruising down the Derwent (the river/harbour Hobart sits on), pulling in to a bay for a spot of lunch or a swim  or beach cricket.... And then picking up the sea breeze on the way back, putting up the spinnaker (in the pic) and flying home - sometimes!! Extended overnight trips rock! Anchor off an island or bay somewhere. Row into shore.  Build a fire.  Dive for some lobster and abalone.  Fantastic!  

Racing, on the other hand can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Races can be anything from 2hours to epics like the Sydney to Hobart. I'd never do the Sydney to Hobart. It's hard enough timing visits to the head (bathroom) on the harbour  when tacking and jibing, with a boat full of men! I'm usually the only female in my group of friends who goes sailing. Doing that in massive seas would be awful!!! Longest race i've done is about a 10hr event. My role in the race was purely as moveable ballast!! I literally slid under the boom and hung out over the side of the boat each time we tacked/jibed.... for 10 hours.  That wasn't fun.

The best races would have to be the corporate races held in the evenings after work in summer. About 2hours in total. Fast and furious, fighting other boats around a marked course. And always finishes with a drink and a few tall stories!

Here's a funny story about my first sailing experience - a group of us had decided to take an overnight trip down the River Derwent. Fantastic! It was many years ago. Adele was only young and neither of us had sailed before. The first day and night were great. Althoguh i was a little disappointed as i expected it to be slighlty more exciting than it was.... i had pictured Sydney to Hobart like scenes!! Hooked in trapezes, hanging over side, speeds of 30-40 knots.  The 6-7 knots we did was a little tame for me!! However, the next day, we had to turn back and head home. The weather took a turn for the worse and we had to sail into a terrible northerly which meant a cold, wet trip into a head wind - lots of tacking.  I had no idea what any of this meant at the time. So i ignored the seasoned sailors warnings and Adele and i decided to stay in bed, warm and cosy. 

BAD CHOICE!!! Sea sickness quickly overcame us.... Adele spent the next 7 hours on deck in her pjs, wet weather gear and with her head in a bucket. I managed to swallow a travel sickness pill, only to vomit it "overboard" minutes later. I spent the next 7 hours on deck, assisting the helmsman with a very important job. Apparently, you dont feel as sick if you are concentrating on something else. I had to hold a rope and each time the rope went slack i had to jerk it hard, whilst keeping my eyes on the bow. i wasn't sick any more.  When we were almost back to the marina i needed to pee so i handed the rope to someone else, gave him the instructions and went below. Uopn my return i was aghast to see the rope lying on the deck unattended.  I quickly grabbed it and everyone started laughing...... I'd fallen for the oldest trick in the book. The rope was cleated off the whole time.  I had bloody fingernail marks on my palms from holding on so hard... but i wasn't sick... When we berthed, Adele gave one final heave into the bucket, alighted from the yacht and swore she would never sail again. She hasn't. I swore i would learn from my stupidity. I know NEVER to hold a rope without checking what it does! Oh and if someone says" hold this rope" then thats automatically a clue as ropes on yachts are called "sheets" :)) I also learnt which side of boat to vomit over - the lowside - downwind, not the side i chose. Everyone else standing near me also learned the hard way for not telling me that important piece of information!! Haha!! And i also learned not to attempt to use the head at the same time as "going about". You get wet. I have since mastered the art of not needing the head. But that story is not one to be repeated here :D

RoboCat

Before we start i admit i  stole this idea from someone else.  More accurately the other blog reminded me of this.....and if you havent read the other blog then you won't really find this all that amusing or even interesting. Again i say go here http://www.neilandrea.com/ read, be impressed, or not, BUT LEAVE A COMMENT AS NEIL NEEDS TO FEEL THE LOVE, and say i sent you if you wish. I dont care if u comment. i already feel loved.

Anyway... RoboCat, or as she was called in our house for many years Tekno Kitty, as that is what it said on the box, has lived with us now for about 10 years.  She is very low maintenance.  She does not require 7 people to care for her. In fact she has lived very well with no care for the past 8 years alone, uncared for, unloved, in her box, in a plastic crate, in a garage or shed.  I dug her out today. Her batteries still worked!!!(it is true what they say about the Energiser Bunny!) She greeted me with a purr and a meow, and immediately resumed were she had left off 8 long years ago. Her tail waved, her head waggled and her eyes flashed.  Very uncatlike.  Our real cat at the time was terrified of her.  Our bird Katie, who is still with us, is not. 

I was thinking of going into business with Tekno Kitty. There is obviously a market for robotic animals and mammals (and even real life mermaids).  But i think i will have to move to the US.  The  job market in Tasmania is too limited.  and even though i have the skills to assist anyone to gain a job, if real live people can't get jobs,  then my RoboCat is stuffed.  Although i did see an opening at the local pet store for a sales assistant. Must like rodents!!!!?? 

There is a vid but i have yet to work out how to link  it....  i have been very very busy. Really.

My office

I'm extremely lucky as  i get to work in so many different places.  My work allows me to travel around the local area quite extensively, and if i wish i can pick up work around the state or even interstate.  Now that Deli is "all growed up" i can do this more often. That is my long term plan.  So here are some photos of some of the places i have recently been working either at or near.
This first pic is of the Fraser  coast-Hervey Bay - home of the whale watching capital of Australia.  Not strictly working here. But i was canvassing the area for work opportunites for when i return shortly. :) Really...

The second and third pics are the view from my front deck, just outside my study/home office.  As you can see, its a great view and changes minute by minute, with some magnificent cloud formations over Mt Wellington. In winter the mountain is often covered in snow, as it was a few days ago. Its a great place to go for bushwalking, rock climbimg, abseiling and has some fantastic MTB tracks. All within 15 mins of home! I have ridden from home to the top - once. And back.  It was epic. Don't feel the need to do that again!!  I'll post more pics of other places around Tassie later. Its such a beautiful place to live.  You should all come and visit some day!!

My Mailbox

My mailbox is green. It has the number 11 on it and the letter A. It sits on a pole next to it's mate, number 11(no letters), at the bottom of a long, steep, windy drive, which has a very big ditch beside it. It's a treacherous journey down to the mailbox. It's winter here and the temperature barely reaches double figures most days. (we measure in celcius) So sometimes its icy, sometimes its covered in loose gravel, sometimes its very windy as we sit on top of a big hill. My house sits at the top of a large block which is being subdivided and hence some construction is occuring in front. Luckily we are situated so nothing will obstruct my view and i can not be built out behind as we back on to a public reserve. Beautiful. Peaceful. Private. BUT...... it means i have a long steep and often hazardous walk to check my mailbox each day. Normally this isn't an issue. However, since i won the competition on Neil Andrea's blog (http://www.neilandrea.com/ go and have a look, you won't regret it) it will shortly become necessary for me to check my mailbox a little more regularly - like every half an hour - lol..... no seriously..... i might just get a little fitter this month.

Hello Tweeps

Hey guys! Welcome to my tweet blog. Not sure what this will be about, if anything, but i shall just see where it takes me. I have a real blog which i'll probably link to from here every now and then, but that tends to be rather boring. Twitter, for me, is all about having fun! :) It's a way of taking time out from the real world i guess. More entertaining than sitting in front of the tv; but no substitute for socialising with friends face to face either. Mind you, in the short time i have been chatting with some of you, you feel like friends already :)

Most of the peeps i chat with have one thing in common - The Walsh!! I admire Kate for her tenacity at sticking to something she loves and pursuing her dream. I've followed her career on and off for a while now. She's funny, beautiful and on top of that can act!!! Oh and her bf's not too bad either. Agreed??? lol

I guess i'm not the typical Kate fan. I'm not a teenager. I'm not overly obsessed. I don't make fanvids. I do watch them. I do read the press releases and look at pics. And since finding twitter, i tweet to Kate!! And Neil :) Neil tweets back. Often. And don't the Kate fans love that??? Yep we do!! haha Neil has his own following now, and even his own fan!!

Most of u already know i'm older than the majority i tweet to. Yep i'm an old hag!! I'm a mum and best friend to the most beautiful girl in the world - Adele!! She's nearly all grown up but will always be my baby girl!! She doesn't tweet much. And she's horrified that i do!!! lol Thinks i'm having a mid life crisis or something! She's probably right!! :)

I've been asked why i'm online so much and the short answer is that i'm not working overly much at the moment. I work on a contract basis (self employed) so i pick and choose my jobs and hours etc. And yes i DO SLEEP!!! Just not the regular 8 hours at night like most people. Why? Short Answer is i'm on twitter!!! haha

Work for me consists of lots of different stuff. I was teacher (primary school, then Maths/Phys Ed/Sports Science etc)but now i work with adults and college age students, doing all sorts of stuff. I train Teacher Assistants to work with Special Needs students. I work with adults with aquired brain injuries, giving them skills necessary to return to the workforce. I work with young adults with Autism, assisting them with communication and social skills in order for them to enter the workforce. I work with groups of long term unemployed ppl giving them computer and basic business skills so they have the confidence to apply for jobs. I work with community groups setting up programs for disadvantaged ppl who do not have access to technology. I assist adults with literacy and numeracy. I work with migrants, giving them functional literacy skills and the ability to access further education or training. I also work at the opposite end of the spectrum. I consult to companies, offering training in time management, project management and diplomas and certificates in Frontline Management and Business Administration. Boring stuff. And completely unrelated but by far my most favourite thing - i teach swimming to children. In particular to children who have an extreme fear of the water, have had no prior experience (usually migrants) or have a disability. I LOVE it. Been doing it for over 20 years. Did it fulltime for a while. Was fantastic. Would love to do more of it again. Could talk about that forever!!! :)))

Thats enough for now.... Later :>]