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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Awards Night

Well as Terri said in her opening speech it was going to be bigger than the oscars or the gramamies and getting it organised sometimes felt like it. But it was well worth it - it was a huge success.

Our team provide a service to two sites primarily and so our customers at those sites are the management teams. So when they tell you how impressed and happy they are then it's a wonderful feeling - keeping your customer satisfied! In fact so happy were they at one site that they have nominated Terri, myself and Paul - the three of us who made it all happen -for a Bravo award. This is a very new innovation within Rio Tinto to recognise excellence within the business. So as you can imagine we're feeling very proud. We also heard last week that our other two submissions for training awards have made it to the finals. One of them Chris - my immediate boss prepared and Terri as team leader is being interviewed about that this week. The other one I did the bulk of the submission with a bit of input from the others here and there and it's being announced on the 24th July at the regional finals which this year are being held here in our local area and so the whole team are going - except me who will actually be cruising the Greek Islands on that particular evening! But my fingers will be tightly crossed. We're feeling very proud of ourselves - our first year of entering any of these awards and already we have won one and in the finals for the other two.

So now a few photos

Me just about to leave for the evening.  This is the LBD I talked about a couple of posts ago
These are the new black shoes I bought - they are killers - I knew they were going to be before I left and said to Bloss with one of another black pair on one foot and one of these on the other - which ones these or the killers and he smiled ruefully and said 'the killers' and they bloody were - I was nearly crippled by the time it was over - on my feet constantly from 4.30 to 9pm.  Things you do for elegance.
A bit of the old soft focus with the B&W here

And this is the team of people I work with - from the left W who looks after Licensing and Legislation - machinery tickets etc, then S and D the two ladies who look after all the document management, data entry, new starter programmes, enrolements for certificate programmes.  The two men behind them are S who is joining our team for the next 6 months to replace Paul who looks after all our apprentices and then M who looks after all our confined space and working at heights training as well as our site in Gove in the Northern Territory.  Then we have Terri, our team leader, myself who looks after creation of skills matrices for all the roles and the subsequent reporting, manages the Frontline Management programme and the Asset Management Programmes, manages the course and qualification catalogues for our Learning system and generally administers it for across both business units and on the side copes with little gems like Awards Nights! and Paul who looks after apprentices but who leaves tomorrow to spend his 6 months long service leave travelling round Australia with his wife and three children.  Finally we have Chris who is the systems and technical specialist who D and S report to and I do some of the time but a lot of my work is done directly through Terri.  And now you know all about us.

So that's a bit of an update on the event which had been ruling my life for the past four weeks and now I'm feeling this wonderful sense of lightheadedness that it's all over.   Terri called round the day after with a beautiful gift for me - a travel journal, a beautiful embroidered luggage label "I was never meant to travel economy" and a CD called Chocolate Lounge - funky groove music and also told me to take an extra 2 days leave to make up for all the early starts and late afternoons I'd had pulling it all together.  It's so lovely to feel appreciated!

I'll be back later in the week to update you on the final preparations for our trip - only a week and a day till we leave - but first another crazy week at work - month end reports and cost report, 2 day Frontline course on, new team member starting - so a handover ..... but then I'll really appreciate my holiday won't I?

See you all soon - and weight holding steady - mean to try and get a little bit more moved but just can't seem to find the time to focus properly on it. 

Love Zxx

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Two weeks to go

Sorry again - I'm just so short of time at the moment and I think to myself -oh I must get a quick post done - and then there's another day gone and I still haven't done it.  Mind you I've been managing to read and splatter the odd comment around.

The Awards Evening - it definitely deserves capital letters!! - is still consuming me for want of a better expression, but so far it's still running on track but the next three days are going to be challenging - it's this Wednesday night and I've still got trophies to get engraved - that's if I get the final winners names to engrave on them - and prizes to purchase and the run sheet is still being finalised so then have to talk to people about speeches etc.  Then there's the course I'm coordinating for the following week which has it's own set of dramas and it's month end - so need to get all my reports done plus the cost reconciliation done before I go on leave.  Then the new team member - who used to be my old team member a couple of years back before we moved from being site based to being RT Services and who was subsequently made redundant - starts two days before I go so I'll be trying to do some sort of hand over with her.  So all this frenzy means that it'll be time to get on that plane before I know it.

Terri, my boss always says "Anne can always pull a rabbit out of the hat and just make things happen" but we were in a meeting together the other day and I said "Geez Terri - this isn't a rabbit - it's a flamin' zoo!!" But you know what - I love it and thrive on it.

What else - well we went to the Jimmy Barnes/Shannon Noll concert the other week - that was really good.  We've been out to tea a few times with our friends - the local Surf Club one night, the local pub last night and last weekend had a 'hot pot' night at Shelly and Pat's place and we had our monthly ladies lunch yesterday.  So both work and play have been pretty busy.
Shelly and I at the Surf Club the other week

Sitting in the grandstand at the Barnesy/Noll concert
Ready to head off to the Ladies Lunch yesterday
Heather, me and Geraldene at the Ladies Lunch

The cardi I'm wearing is one I've had for years - got it end of season about 6 or 7 years ago and I think paid $10 for it.  Anyway it's not often cold enough with us for me to get to wear it - but yesterday was quite chilly so dug it out.  And the compliments I got - you wouldn't believe.  I went shopping in the morning and bumped into a few people I knew and they all raved about how good this cardi looked and then twice total strangers stopped me and said how much they loved it.

Been buying a few more bargains - there are some amazing deals in the shops at the moment.  Picked up a gorgeous pair of evening trousers - black satin look with straight legs tapered in at the ankle - $59.99 reduced to $19.99.  Had to laugh though - I'm no seamstress and of course I'm quite short - so have to pay to get them taken up - and it's costing me me $22 to get them shortened - more than the trousers cost!  It's dearer because there's a little slit in the side of them at the ankle.  But still a beautiful pair of pants for just over $40.

Shaz and I have to go pick up our tickets on Tuesday night so that will crank up the excitement level even further!  And finally - still creeping downwards - but not very fast - but another 100g off so a total loss since October of 8.5kg.  Would still like a little bit more before we go so really must make a concentrated effort these next 2 weeks.

Right possums - now you've heard it all - have a brilliant week.
Love Z xx

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Celebrations and Stresses

Sorry I've been MIA again - life is just chaotic at the moment - doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.  OK so what's been happening.  Last time I posted I said that I'd just had confirmation to go to Brisbane with my manager for the MSQ Training Awards dinner and as those of you who know me on Facebook already know - WE WON!!!!  Terri (to the right of  me in the picture) and I were soooo excited - I think you can tell by our faces in the picture below.


Work is still crazy busy - can't remember if I've mentioned that amongst all my usual workload I'm currently organising an awards and graduation evening for about 350 people.  There will be the presentations followed by drinks and finger food - so of course lots and lots of organising - invites to go out, RSVPs to manage, trophies to source, gifts to source, decorations to organise, venue details to organise - sound, lighting, bar arrangements, then there's the catering and liaising with Community Relations to make sure all our protocols meet company standard and are right for all the 'invited guests'.  None of this would normally faze me - provided I have adequate time to prepare and do it properly - but when you have to go from whoa to go in a just under four weeks everything takes on a whole new aspect of urgency.  I'd a couple of sleepless nights at the beginning of the week - trying to get the invites out then trying to source a new gift when the one we thought we'd do turned out to be a bit ordinary looking when we saw it in the flesh.  So there I am ringing round suppliers - asking for ideas - need 100 of whatever it is and in less then 3 weeks and of course I'm trying to meet a budget - which initially I hadn't been given details of - bit hard to know what you're looking for when you don't know how much you can spend!!! Anyway about mid morning Thursday it started to fall into place.  Still lots of potential for dramas yet but at least I start this week with things organised thus far.


We went out for dinner last Saturday night with some friends to the local Thai restaurant - wonderful meal.  Here's Bloss and I above.

Yesterday Shaz and I went to Rockhampton for the day - one of the chemists up there has a huge perfume and make up sale every year and it started yesterday.  So we got a few bargains there - I wanted some small bottles of perfume for going on our trip - don't like having to take the normal sized bottles as they weigh so much.    Then we went to the shopping centre and I got some real bargains - some gorgeous really high black shoes - I do love high heels! and these were reduced by 30%.  Then I wanted a LBD - I have a little black dress which is good for summer but I wanted one with sleeves which would be more suitable for winter.  I knew what I wanted - something simple - no tizzy bits - that I could change the look of with a few accessories.  And I walked into Katies and there it was - exactly what I was looking for - tried it on and it looks amazing - and the best bit - they had  50% off everything in the store so I got it for $30!!!! I'm not posting a picture yet - I'll be wearing it to the Awards function in a couple of weeks so will get a picture then and post it.  I also managed to get a lovely white top reduced from $80 to $40, and a neat little silk jacket in a sort of oyster shade and it was half price too.  And then there was the 2 pairs of earrings - already reduced and with a buy one get on free deal thrown in.   So a brilliant day.

Had been having a few drinks last weekend and could see the scales starting to jump around so I pulled my head in at the beginning of last week and I'm down another 300g so feeling good about that.  I scrapped all the challenge lists on my side bar - I'd kind of lost count of what I'd done where and so I'll just keep a tally of my total loss since last October.

Decided to have a bit of a play in Picasa this morning and have come up with a new header picture for our upcoming trip - think it looks quite flash really.

So that's you all up to date.  Have a great week - I have only 20 more days at work till I go on leave - scary when I think of all I've got to do in that time frame - but then I'll be really ready for my holiday won't I?

Take care possums
Love Z xx