Two small boys travelling with their mother on the number 8 tram were occupying their time by spelling words. The boys were aged 7 and 5. I know because I asked, having listened to the older one spell words like "precinct" and "exterminational device".
His younger brother was on three letter words and having good success with "bus", "boy", "cat" and "dog".
Both boys were dressed in striped zip up knitted cardigans and newsboy caps.
The older boy asked for a "really hard one, Mum". As we neared Southbank Boulevard, I heard her say "boulevard".
"Boulevard?"
"Yes. Boulevard."
"B-U ?..."
"Not quite. Try again. Boulevard."
"B - A ?"
"No."
"B - I ?"
"You were nearly right with "B- U, but you need to put another letter before the U."
"B - U - L - E - V- A - R - D. Boulevard!"
"Very good. You were nearly right. You just need to start off B - O - U - L - E - V - A - R - D. Well done!"
"What is a "boulevard" anyway?"
"It's a fancy word for road."
"You mean I could have just said 'R - O - A - D'?"
Clearly a very efficient young man. It was refreshing to see children engaging in the world and learning rather than travelling around with their eyes glued to an electronic device. And for boys aged 7 and 5, i thought their spelling was fantastic.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Friday, 17 May 2013
My favourite things - this week
I'm loving my new vocal group. I went to my second rehearsal this week and enjoyed singing Sarah Maclachlan, Zap Mama, an African song and Rachmaninov - sung in Russian! And they have a very funky name - Tongue and Groove. Lovely group of people with a solid group of excellent male voices. Heavenly. I'm switching between my usual soprano spot to sing first alto on occasions and am enjoying exploring my lower register.
Today's job was pretty good. It involved wearing pyjamas and a hospital gown and lying in bed. There was a bit more to it than that, but it's really easy to get ready for work when that's the brief!
I accidentally bought some new boots today. Or I could tell you they followed me home...but I don't think you'd believe me. Another pair of Fluevogs joins the collection. The style is called Map and the colour is called Ontario Blackberry. Yum. I think I like this new "no black shoes" policy (apart from the one pair for corporate work).
Another favourite moment was when one of the women in the office told me she liked my red boots. Well she didn't say that exactly. She said they were "jazzy". I found this very confusing, but said thank you because she meant well.
Even though it's cold, I love being able to parade around in the lovely scarves and hats I've knit. The one I wore today is one of my all time favourites. The colours make me very happy.
The other favourite moment was being at home when the water started running out of the ceiling and being in the right place at the right time. None of my stuff was damaged! Thank you universe.
How's your week been?
Today's job was pretty good. It involved wearing pyjamas and a hospital gown and lying in bed. There was a bit more to it than that, but it's really easy to get ready for work when that's the brief!
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| Walking tall ©divacultura 2013 |
I accidentally bought some new boots today. Or I could tell you they followed me home...but I don't think you'd believe me. Another pair of Fluevogs joins the collection. The style is called Map and the colour is called Ontario Blackberry. Yum. I think I like this new "no black shoes" policy (apart from the one pair for corporate work).
 |
| Red boots on Fluevog day. ©divacultura 2013 |
Another favourite moment was when one of the women in the office told me she liked my red boots. Well she didn't say that exactly. She said they were "jazzy". I found this very confusing, but said thank you because she meant well.
Even though it's cold, I love being able to parade around in the lovely scarves and hats I've knit. The one I wore today is one of my all time favourites. The colours make me very happy.
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| © divacultura 2013 |
How's your week been?
Thursday, 16 May 2013
I told you I could hear dripping!
Back after a brief hiatus. Various things piled up and toppled over and I was on the bottom of the pile. And here I am today with some actual (rather than metaphorical) piling and toppling. It all started with the dripping.
A couple of nights ago I heard a sound in my ceiling when I was in bed. I'm on the top floor so it wasn't neighbours walking around. It sounded like water dripping. I duly reported to the real estate agent that I could hear water dripping in the ceiling. I heard it again last night.
This morning I happened to be at home when there was a very heavy downpour of rain. I went into the bedroom to see if I could hear the dripping sound and was confronted by water trickling down the wall behind my bed! Well, that confirmed it - I wasn't crazy, I had been hearing dripping.
I immediately called the real estate agent. Mine is pretty good most of the time. She is still afflicted by the property manager's malaise - tenants are the bottom of the pile and nothing is really urgent until it's really urgent. As I was on the phone to her, I heard sizzling and crackling and water started to run from the light fitting in the ceiling. The property manager's first words were something like "well it's raining...no one is going to come out while it's raining."
This is the kind of statement that infuriates me in this kind of situation. Firstly, I was very aware that it was raining. Secondly, the longer it took to get someone to stop more water getting into the ceiling, the more serious the situation would be. Thirdly, it's still urgent and the cumbersome processes when you have to deal with layers of different organisations take a long time to navigate. You have to start right away.
I felt my mind leaping to the worst case scenario, so took a breath and thought about all the ways that this situation wasn't as bad as it might have been. How fortunate that I was at home this morning! How pleasing that I wasn't away somewhere leaving the problem unnoticed for days or maybe weeks. The ceiling hadn't collapsed, so that was something.
I called the electricity supplier about the sizzling electricity and had a conversation that was frightening but later revealed to be hilarious.
At this stage I had a plastic bucket sitting on towels on my bed catching the water from the light fitting and towels on my bed head catching the water trickling down the walls. The man at the electricity company said that I should not touch the bucket or the water in the bucket because it was likely to be electrified. It seemed intense, but I wasn't going to argue and I didn't want to be electrocuted. I asked him what I should do when the bucket needed to be emptied. He said that was my decision. I thought he had misunderstood the question so I clarified that I meant I wanted to know if it was safe just to tip the water out. He said it was my decision. I didn't understand the answer so asked him what he meant. He then said he couldn't say anything because of the legal risk. If I followed his advice and was still electrocuted then I might sue them. Well probably not if I was dead, but I didn't point that out. He then said I should vacate the property until further notice and stay away from the taps if I was going to stay. Since I had to be there to meet plumbers and electricians I decided to stay well back from the killer taps.
Within half an hour two blokes from the electricity company arrived to see what they needed to do about supply to the property. They looked and promptly flicked the mains switch in the switch board. I asked them what I should do with the water in the bucket. They looked at me as though I was a crazy cat lady and said, deadpan, "Empty it." I laughed and explained the conversation with the guy at the electricity company. They guffawed and shook their heads. "Yeah, right. So you've got a bucket of electricity...ooooh!" The left muttering to themselves about idiots.
With that done I went into the village to buy lunch and a plastic drop sheet to cover my bed. The $2 shop had a huge one for $2 so I bought two. When I arrived home to cover my bed with it, a big yellow-brown patch had appeared on my fresh white sheets. I'll bleach it later. Buying the sheet was a good idea.
I then received a succession of phone calls from tradies called Steve and Mike and Josh. The plumbers went on the roof and discovered two broken roof tiles. I scouted around the property and found a couple of others lying around so they were able to stop more water filling the ceiling. They talked nonchalantly about the prospect of ceiling collapse and replacement of the entire ceiling. I started to think about the logistics.
Then the (very handsome) electrician arrived - all tall and broad shoulders and twinkly eyes and nice hands. He was friendly and told stories of strange people he encounters on a regular basis. I hope I'm not one of his stories he'll tell to the next customer. We talked power points and my lack of them. He told me about the power points he has installed in his place - it sounded like heaven, compared to my one power point per room. I had power point envy! I was sorry to see him leave and wished I had the courage to say out loud what was on my mind - it was all about inspecting my fuse box but I'll leave that thought there.
The dripping has finished and I'll be able to sleep in my bed tonight. Hopefully the ceiling won't collapse on me. And even if it does, I'm still pretty well off. Even though I've just seen an enormous spider lazily walking along the water wall.
After everyone had left and the electricity was back on I boiled the kettle. It was one of the best cups of tea I'd had for a while.
A couple of nights ago I heard a sound in my ceiling when I was in bed. I'm on the top floor so it wasn't neighbours walking around. It sounded like water dripping. I duly reported to the real estate agent that I could hear water dripping in the ceiling. I heard it again last night.
This morning I happened to be at home when there was a very heavy downpour of rain. I went into the bedroom to see if I could hear the dripping sound and was confronted by water trickling down the wall behind my bed! Well, that confirmed it - I wasn't crazy, I had been hearing dripping.
I immediately called the real estate agent. Mine is pretty good most of the time. She is still afflicted by the property manager's malaise - tenants are the bottom of the pile and nothing is really urgent until it's really urgent. As I was on the phone to her, I heard sizzling and crackling and water started to run from the light fitting in the ceiling. The property manager's first words were something like "well it's raining...no one is going to come out while it's raining."
This is the kind of statement that infuriates me in this kind of situation. Firstly, I was very aware that it was raining. Secondly, the longer it took to get someone to stop more water getting into the ceiling, the more serious the situation would be. Thirdly, it's still urgent and the cumbersome processes when you have to deal with layers of different organisations take a long time to navigate. You have to start right away.
I felt my mind leaping to the worst case scenario, so took a breath and thought about all the ways that this situation wasn't as bad as it might have been. How fortunate that I was at home this morning! How pleasing that I wasn't away somewhere leaving the problem unnoticed for days or maybe weeks. The ceiling hadn't collapsed, so that was something.
I called the electricity supplier about the sizzling electricity and had a conversation that was frightening but later revealed to be hilarious.
At this stage I had a plastic bucket sitting on towels on my bed catching the water from the light fitting and towels on my bed head catching the water trickling down the walls. The man at the electricity company said that I should not touch the bucket or the water in the bucket because it was likely to be electrified. It seemed intense, but I wasn't going to argue and I didn't want to be electrocuted. I asked him what I should do when the bucket needed to be emptied. He said that was my decision. I thought he had misunderstood the question so I clarified that I meant I wanted to know if it was safe just to tip the water out. He said it was my decision. I didn't understand the answer so asked him what he meant. He then said he couldn't say anything because of the legal risk. If I followed his advice and was still electrocuted then I might sue them. Well probably not if I was dead, but I didn't point that out. He then said I should vacate the property until further notice and stay away from the taps if I was going to stay. Since I had to be there to meet plumbers and electricians I decided to stay well back from the killer taps.
Within half an hour two blokes from the electricity company arrived to see what they needed to do about supply to the property. They looked and promptly flicked the mains switch in the switch board. I asked them what I should do with the water in the bucket. They looked at me as though I was a crazy cat lady and said, deadpan, "Empty it." I laughed and explained the conversation with the guy at the electricity company. They guffawed and shook their heads. "Yeah, right. So you've got a bucket of electricity...ooooh!" The left muttering to themselves about idiots.
With that done I went into the village to buy lunch and a plastic drop sheet to cover my bed. The $2 shop had a huge one for $2 so I bought two. When I arrived home to cover my bed with it, a big yellow-brown patch had appeared on my fresh white sheets. I'll bleach it later. Buying the sheet was a good idea.
I then received a succession of phone calls from tradies called Steve and Mike and Josh. The plumbers went on the roof and discovered two broken roof tiles. I scouted around the property and found a couple of others lying around so they were able to stop more water filling the ceiling. They talked nonchalantly about the prospect of ceiling collapse and replacement of the entire ceiling. I started to think about the logistics.
Then the (very handsome) electrician arrived - all tall and broad shoulders and twinkly eyes and nice hands. He was friendly and told stories of strange people he encounters on a regular basis. I hope I'm not one of his stories he'll tell to the next customer. We talked power points and my lack of them. He told me about the power points he has installed in his place - it sounded like heaven, compared to my one power point per room. I had power point envy! I was sorry to see him leave and wished I had the courage to say out loud what was on my mind - it was all about inspecting my fuse box but I'll leave that thought there.
The dripping has finished and I'll be able to sleep in my bed tonight. Hopefully the ceiling won't collapse on me. And even if it does, I'm still pretty well off. Even though I've just seen an enormous spider lazily walking along the water wall.
After everyone had left and the electricity was back on I boiled the kettle. It was one of the best cups of tea I'd had for a while.
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| Interior decoration brought to you by the weather. © divacultura 2013 |
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
I changed someone's life today - how was your day?
After a long day and an early start tomorrow, I just want to share that I made a difference to someone's life this week. Having made that difference, other lives will also change. For the better.
In leadership conversation I often find myself reminding leaders what lens they use when they look at their people - do they view people with suspicion, expecting them to do a bad job, or do they expect they're all doing their best?
For people with a negative lens this can be very confronting. It can turn the heat up for many people, which usually means some focussed argument back in my direction. I know this and I choose to do it anyway. Moments like today make it worthwhile.
One of the leaders with whom I'd been in conversation for two days told me that idea of expecting people to be doing their best was revolutionary and was going to change everything. This leader had most things worked out but they described to me a sense that there was still something missing. This new lens was the missing piece - their mindset was now aligned to their purpose of wanting to support and develop people. With the wrong mindset, everyone was disappointed.
The leader was energised and excited as they described this revelation and life changing realisation. They touched me on the arm while we were taking and then apologised for touching me, acknowledging they were a "touchy-feely" person. I said it was okay and asked if they'd like a hug. It was lovely.
Who have you influenced today? Who has influenced you? How will you be different tomorrow?
In leadership conversation I often find myself reminding leaders what lens they use when they look at their people - do they view people with suspicion, expecting them to do a bad job, or do they expect they're all doing their best?
For people with a negative lens this can be very confronting. It can turn the heat up for many people, which usually means some focussed argument back in my direction. I know this and I choose to do it anyway. Moments like today make it worthwhile.
One of the leaders with whom I'd been in conversation for two days told me that idea of expecting people to be doing their best was revolutionary and was going to change everything. This leader had most things worked out but they described to me a sense that there was still something missing. This new lens was the missing piece - their mindset was now aligned to their purpose of wanting to support and develop people. With the wrong mindset, everyone was disappointed.
The leader was energised and excited as they described this revelation and life changing realisation. They touched me on the arm while we were taking and then apologised for touching me, acknowledging they were a "touchy-feely" person. I said it was okay and asked if they'd like a hug. It was lovely.
Who have you influenced today? Who has influenced you? How will you be different tomorrow?
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
A case of the "yeah-buts"
I'm in the midst of another leadership conversation. These conversations are one of my favourite things to do in a working day. It's very satisfying to see people change their mindset and tackle some of the problems they have been ignoring or avoiding.
There's a syndrome that I've noticed. It's pretty serious and will make a leader's job much harder if it takes hold. It's even more dangerous when the leader is a carrier.
It's called "Yeah-buts". Have you encountered it? This syndrome can creep in where ever there is a lapse of vigilance. It is easily recognised. Consider this: you are the leader needing to lead a change. You have carefully considered and developed your case for change and paid close attention to how you communicate this. You've even thought about the kinds of questions that people may pose. You finish your presentation. Heads nod. There is a beat of silence. Then you hear this: "Yeah, that's all true, what we need to do, but...".
And there it is.
What follows "but" can usually be described as defensive as people make the case to protect themselves from the change they know needs to happen.
In the current conversation leaders were talking about people they lead as "trying to do the wrong thing". When I asked them how they knew the people in their teams are trying to do the wrong thing I was told it's obvious. I pointed out the difference between intention and behaviour and the fact that behaviour is visible and intention is not. Intention can not be assumed; to discover it you need to ask questions.
As people complained about the people they lead, I suggested that these people are their responsibility..."yeah-but". I suggested that if people flout basic requirements of the job repeatedly and even after conversation, then the leaders must be clear about consequences..."yeah-but".
See how dangerous this syndrome is! When it takes hold, nothing can happen.
What happens if treatment is taken? What could the treatment be? My suggestion is to replace the word "but" with the word "and" whenever it is spoken after the word "yeah". The phrase becomes "yes-and".
Start there. Repeat as necessary.
I hope you're not suffering from the "yeah-buts". If you are, start treatment now.
There's a syndrome that I've noticed. It's pretty serious and will make a leader's job much harder if it takes hold. It's even more dangerous when the leader is a carrier.
It's called "Yeah-buts". Have you encountered it? This syndrome can creep in where ever there is a lapse of vigilance. It is easily recognised. Consider this: you are the leader needing to lead a change. You have carefully considered and developed your case for change and paid close attention to how you communicate this. You've even thought about the kinds of questions that people may pose. You finish your presentation. Heads nod. There is a beat of silence. Then you hear this: "Yeah, that's all true, what we need to do, but...".
And there it is.
What follows "but" can usually be described as defensive as people make the case to protect themselves from the change they know needs to happen.
In the current conversation leaders were talking about people they lead as "trying to do the wrong thing". When I asked them how they knew the people in their teams are trying to do the wrong thing I was told it's obvious. I pointed out the difference between intention and behaviour and the fact that behaviour is visible and intention is not. Intention can not be assumed; to discover it you need to ask questions.
As people complained about the people they lead, I suggested that these people are their responsibility..."yeah-but". I suggested that if people flout basic requirements of the job repeatedly and even after conversation, then the leaders must be clear about consequences..."yeah-but".
See how dangerous this syndrome is! When it takes hold, nothing can happen.
What happens if treatment is taken? What could the treatment be? My suggestion is to replace the word "but" with the word "and" whenever it is spoken after the word "yeah". The phrase becomes "yes-and".
Start there. Repeat as necessary.
I hope you're not suffering from the "yeah-buts". If you are, start treatment now.
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