Life in General

OK let’s not mention how long it has been since I’ve blogged. Just sit back and enjoy my website refresh and let’s move on ….

Amongst the craziness of my life now I’m full-time at Microsoft, I tweet the occasional #CloudAdvocateLife moment to give you some insight into the highs and lows of my day. Here I can expand a little more on the work I’ve been doing and how I maintain my work/life balance and my mental health. Today, let me catch you up on how the Cloud Advocate role has unfolded so far.

We�re heading into that time of year again in Queensland, where the conditions become perfect for severe weather events. Being sub-tropical, the heat of spring brings moist air currents, electrical storms, cyclones & flooding. While 2013-2014 is not expected to bring the heavy deluges of rain seen previously (eg Nov 2011), we�re still bracing for impressive electrical storms & their damaging winds plus the possibility of cyclones in the north of the state. I won�t go into the weather patterns that produce these, other than to say we are in a �neutral� phase (neither La Nina or El Nino).

Social media lit up with the news � Angelina Jolie had written her story about having a double mastectomy.
Journalists clambered to find a local source with the same story, to air a piece on the evening news that was a little more relevant than just retelling Hollywood news. They were quick to label �the Jolie Effect� � where thousands of women will now consider this procedure if they find that they too carry a defective gene because they are now aware that it�s a viable option.

Yup, that�s a big heart on my sleeve title right there. It may even come as a surprise to my loving husband who was standing right next to me. Gotta love sunglasses.

My daughter is 7. Cross country running (or any running or even walking for that matter) is not her favourite thing. She takes after her mother like that. But she loves to dance. I have no idea where that came from. So we went along to support her, cheer her on as she faced a 750m running race with all of the other Yr 2 girls.

1. Delete Candy Crush. It�s a time-wasting distraction.
2. Social media is very anti-social. It�s ok to embrace a community of like-minded people in cyberspace, but not at the expense of the people who are actually in the same room with you.
3. Use Facebook & Twitter for sharing life moments with and engaging people, not for living every moment alongside.
4. Your phone has the ability to turn the data connection off. Use it.
5. Fresh air is underrated. Go outside more.
6. Campfires are hypnotic, calming & warming.
7. BE WHERE YOU ARE.
8. Live your life with purpose & a plan, but roll with the punches too.
9. Stop just wishing.
10. Play with your kids.
11. Food is fuel.

-SCuffy

I can�t say that today was the best & the worst of days. I�ve had better (read: wedding day, birth of two healthy girls etc), so it wasn�t really a red letter day in that respect. And I�ve had worse (money, rental stress, money, dog dying, money), so it wasn�t really a day to cry either. But it certainly did ride a roller coaster. I�m hoping this is a sign that it ended happily & I got off the ride safely, because I�m here writing a blog post & listening to Florence + The Machine (MTV Unplugged 2012) in glorious Logitech quality.

Wow, another chance to write a non-ranty blog post! I love it!

With Miss 7 at home on school holidays, I�ve been running some errands with her in tow. Today I had two great examples of customer service from the most unlikely of places � the Family Assistance Office and Westpac bank!

1 � Insider tips from the Family Assistance Office

After submitting a Medicare refund claim in person, I popped across the room to talk to someone about a Family Assistance claim I�d submitted a month ago. The actual submit process was great � it was all done online and, �as I�m already a client, they�ve got all of my details on file already. No need to visit a service centre. But while I was in the neighbourhood, I just thought I�d check up on it. Robyn at Strathpine confirmed that it was in the system waiting for someone at their end to action it, and I didn�t need to do anything else. She said if I hadn�t heard within 2 weeks, to phone them. And then she leaned forward and gave me an inside tip �Phone the call centre & leave your mobile number for a callback, don�t sit on hold in the queue. Don�t let your phone leave your side for the next 24-48hrs. When you see a Blocked number calling, answer it. Our number is always blocked & we don�t call back a second time if you miss us. That will save you having to come back in here on the school holidays with your daughter.�

The Easter long weekend makes Tuesday feel like Monday. Except this Tuesday was the last day with Tony�s parents visiting AND both of our girls at home. So now Wednesday feels like Monday. The good news is that Friday is now only 2 sleeps away! Why can�t weeks�work�like this more often?

The alarm went off before 6am this morning, because I chose to set it for that time. Circa 1998 me would be horrified at that concept. But my morning walk was rewarded with the most beautiful pink sky sunrise and a feeling that everything was fresh, new, unblemished. The day started, full of possibilities and choices and events and actions and reactions and emotions and �. nothing. For 40mins, just nothing. Nothing but me and the pink sky.

OK, this one is a �mini-post� to �get the subject off my chest� � yes, pardon the pun.

On the news yesterday we heard of a mother who was approached by a staff member at a council-run public swimming pool, because another swimmer was uncomfortable with this lady breastfeeding her baby at the poolside. The mother was embarrassed & humiliated and chose to leave the pool. To her defence, she stated that she was supervising her other children who were still in the pool. It�a also against the law to discriminate against breastfeeding mothers in public places.

Well, I did promise timely blogging of my opinion on current events,�so with this topic rattling around in my brain, it seemed like a good start.

The recent bushfires�across�Australia have been horrific. While fire is a natural part of the bush�s life, it�s a fearsome beast when it comes close to our homes, our friends and our families. And when it does�literally come breathing down our necks, our heroic firefighters don their gear and stare it in the face. The Queensland Rural Fire Service are true heroes in every sense of the word, especially the volunteers who don�t even get paid for such�dangerous work.