Monthly Archives: August 2010

When Size Matters…

A few weeks ago I was watching a morning show and they mentioned there was a study done recently about women’s handbags – not about women’s obsession with them (that will be the topic for another post!) but about their contents and their resultant weight.  Picking up my own handbag, I realised this was a serious issue we have. I mean, between the high heels and the 5kg bags we lug around each day, no wonder I’m feeling pain everywhere!

Although I am not a mother, sometimes I feel like Mother Hen. When someone needs a Band-Aid, they come to me.  When they need a tissue, they come to me.  Got something stuck in your teeth and you need some floss? Go ask Valerie!  I used to think this was one of those sometimes-annoying traits I inherited from my parents where you need to be prepared for anything all the time. But then when I heard about this “study” (which, to me, still sounds like some PhD student’s idea of a good con, a little like the recent Auckland University study about everyone singing in the shower with an American accent), I decided to conduct my own poll.

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Rules and Follow-throughs

A couple of months ago, I won some tickets to see singer Kelly Clarkson in concert in Sydney.  I was really excited as I had wanted to see her but I had also promised my sister I would babysit my nephew while she has a “date night” with her hubby that weekend. When I mentioned this to my mother, she generously offered to come over and babysit him that night so that I could go out.

Knowing the dynamics between my mother, the doting grandmother-of-one, and my 7 yr-old nephew – the smartest kid EVER (no, do not accuse me of being biased because you would be wrong! *wink*), I was determined that my nephew would still follow my rules while I was out.  As much of a doting aunt as I am, I have never failed to discipline him when necessary whereas he always knew that he has his grandma wrapped around his little fingers.

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When Teamwork Works, The Team Works

Ever been at a job interview where you get asked if you were a team player?  It’s a pretty typical question.  Now, how are you supposed to answer that?  Unless you are trying out for a solo round-the-world yachting record, you’re most likely expected to respond to the affirmative (although I would say even “soloists” of any kind would say it takes a team of people to get them to where they are).

In my experience I have seen many people claim they are team players but really they are the “free-riders” who hide behind others to do the hard work whilst they all claim the glory at the end of the day.  As usual, I sought out the Oxford Dictionary for a definition of Teamwork:

“the combined action of a group, especially when effective and efficient”.*

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