I’m still a bit lagged so will be in with some vacation posts sooner or later, but I did want to make a note today on the passing of Steve Jobs. Yes, we are a fanboi household with at least ten Apple products. This is one man who has changed the world.

An innovator. A motivator.

The inspiration he provided my generation will live on in the ones that come after.

RIP Steve Jobs.

Here is a tribute from fellow Apple devotee John Birmingham.

Before we take off to Europe for 5 weeks, I wanted to leave you with something potentially useful. I’ve always measured success by the positive feedback I receive from peers in my industry—whether that was going to be through my freelance copywriting or involvement in IT.

In the last couple of years, since leaving indentured servitude behind, business has been encouraging. Friends and family have been supportive, clients have been positive. It’s been a slow burn, but that suits me fine. It might seem like all the the great stuff that has happened lately—landing new clients, accepting an award, and the resultant interest in the topic—has been a case of good luck and good timing.

I beg to differ.

Here are some airy-fairy tips for positive thinking and how I’ve had a lot to do with creating this outcome.

• I did Susannah Conway’s Unravelling eCourse a couple of years ago. This made me realise I had more to offer than what I was doing at the time. I learnt to acknowledge my dreams and motivate myself with them. I stopped defaulting to saying (or thinking) “No” when a contact approached me for some writing. I started saying “Yes”. And I still do it.
• I still suffer the anxiety after I hand over anything I’ve done and wait for feedback. I acknowledge it, know that I can review and refine anything, and then do my best to get on with the next thing I need to do.
• In life, I refuse to dwell on the negative. If someone says or does something unfriendly, I don’t over-analyse. If I feel it requires confronting, I’ll do it gently so that I can move on. I’m a firm believer that we can bring our own bad luck if that’s all we focus on.
• I recently started writing out the things that I wanted out of life on paper. Every night. It helps to solidify the swirling thoughts in my mind and maybe even puts it “out there in the Universe”.
• People often say “be authentic”. I’ve often thought they were wankers. But they’re right. I am the same person on Twitter as I am in the workplace, with friends, and with family. You’ll get good humour and my loyalty. I do what I can but I don’t promise the world. The only acting I do is pushing that little rockstar self out of my introvert exterior when the need arises. And that’s where I go back to what I learnt from Unravelling.

Take care. Watch Flickr or Facebook for European vacation pics.

Just when I had been pining for a work-related junket (to Melbs, to be specific), I got a phone call from the IT Service Management Forum that a white paper I submitted for their white paper competition a few months ago had been nominated for White Paper of the Year. Well, it didn’t happen quite like that. They first called a few weeks ago to ask if I could forward high-res photos of myself and would I be attending the gala dinner and awards night, in Perth. Of course, in the intervening weeks between submission and phone call I’d forgotten about it. We’d been busy moving house, settling in, and planning for a big European holiday, which starts this Saturday!

After a bit of “what are you talking about?” and “Gala dinner? In Perth?”, I called the itSMF directly to make sure someone hadn’t slipped me a hallucinogenic, or worse, made a mistake. (Australia’s Next Top Model, anyone?) I ummed and ahhed about the expense of flying to Perth and finding accommodation (not to mention the associated conference ticket), before finally deciding to do it. Even if I was about to collect an award, I didn’t want someone accepting on my behalf. It would have seemed Oscar-esque. As though I was too high or drunk to make it to my own presentation.

Trans-continental junket, here I come.

I can’t tell you how glad I am that I went. Apart from the conference, where there was a great lot of useful info, I met some stellar individuals who were kind enough to give me career-related tips and advice; and who made me feel like one of the bunch, even though it was my first itSMF conference.

And then I really did win the award.

I performed a relevant standup comedy routine for my acceptance speech, which got some laughs. I’ve always wanted to write someone’s speech—Jed Bartlett’s State of the Union, to be exact—but I never expected to be making my own. What a ride. Since then, I’ve had offers of work coming left, right and centre. Be still, my burgeoning hat size.

Finally, I am famous. As long as I’m in a room full of IT Service Management nerds.

One of my faves, Lady Smaggle, retweeted a link yesterday to the Yes and Yes blog. Sarah made a terrific post about steps you can take to boost your blog profile when you don’t follow a particular theme. Yes, that’s me. Alive since 2003, this blog started as chronicle of pregnancy and parenting milestones for the purpose of informing family and friends. Then it became more self-indulgent; posts didn’t really have a purpose, they were becoming infrequent. Sure, I piped up every now and then with a plan to share something useful on a scheduled basis but it quickly fell over. I think it’s because I don’t have any one particular activity or thing that I’m passionate about.

When it’s all boiled down, this blog is simply my legacy (and a chance to show off). Not a legacy of heartfelt honesty and unicorns, but mostly just the entertaining—occasionally exasperated, often mundane—parts of a memoir. By reading this blog, especially way back when my writing was a lot less polished, you will come to know much about me, but you won’t know everything. I haven’t treated this place as a journal. My innermost thoughts are still my innermost thoughts. I always strive to entertain, so the hard stuff and the sad is usually saved for in-person encounters. Want some deep and meaningful conversation from me? Have a coffee or a champagne with me and ask the big questions. I love to stay out late talking about all kinds of stuff. I just don’t like the next morning.

Do you blog your passion? Do you blog about nothing in particular? Do you have a question for me?

p.s. I asked Fraser the same questions that I asked Lincoln. I’ll put his interview up soon.

After years of wondering, I finally went out and got myself that tattoo. I’d been putting it off all these years because I was worried about the pain and the permanence. Well, I have children, so what was I so worried about? At least with the children I can send them to boarding school, a tattoo would need to be lasered off. (Though, when the kids are young and clingy you might think about lasering them off you, too.)

When I arrived we talked about the design and placement of the tattoo. Angus, the tattoo artist had drawn the birds on paper. He cut each one out then applied some sort of cream to my skin and pushed down on the paper in the required spot, leaving behind a stencil of where each bird would go. The stencil can be rubbed off and moved if you’re unsure about placement, but I went with his suggestion.

Then I sat down, undid my shirt, took out my left arm and braced myself. At this point I would suggest wearing a singlet so your lacies aren’t all out in front of everyone else, but fortunately this was Newtown, so I felt entirely comfortable. Angus prepared my skin, gloved up and tried to explain what sort of pain to expect, then got to work. It’s not dissimilar from acupuncture, though it’s not a sharp needle-like sensation. It’s more like a scratching, which intensified the closer he was to my shoulder bone. It was  a completely bearable level of pain with only a small amount of wincing. The outlines were done first and then the equipment was changed to do the shading. The tattooing process took a touch over an hour.

I was sent off with my shoulder and top of my arm covered in Bepanthen and Glad Wrap with instruction on taking care of it and how it would progress through healing. That afternoon and the next day it felt like a mild sunburn when touched, and since then it’s been a little itchy. I can’t scratch though, so I’ve been rubbing through my shirt.

I’m really happy with it and would totally recommend LDF tattoo in Newtown, Sydney to anyone who might be toying with the idea of getting one.