Mediamum » Australia to USA

The serenity and beauty of snow

mediamum — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:24:41 +0000

Even if you’re not Australian, you should see The Castle. A fantastic Aussie film that captures all that is true and good about being an Australian family.

Walking to class at CU, Boulder

Now I’m in the US, I still say catchphrases from this film, even in different settings. Here, the Trading Post is turned into Craigslist. The muttering under my breath when someone’s listed something with a few zeroes on it is still “Tell him he’s dreamin’”

And the phrase “How’s the serenity?” Well, I’ve worked it out. It’s a snow storm.

I remember the first blizzard we had after living here a few months. It was coming in, and people were buying up bread and milk at the supermarket. To us, that’s kind of like a tropical storm warning. So I stocked up, too. I think I expected it to be like a thunderstorm – a noisy and ferocious reminder of the power of nature. I didn’t know. I hadn’t even seen snow for years and years, and even then it was only on a couple of days as a young child in England on holiday with my parents.

How's the serenity?

Well, it came down. And down and down. The white stuff was stunning. Big fat flakes of stunning. Like icing sugar on the trees, falling everywhere.

And silent. It made no sound at all. In fact, it seemed to take sound out of the air. Suddenly you’re in a vacuum. You can’t hear anything.

And if you just stand there in the middle of it, and you let yourself, you can hear peace. You can slow down. And you can just feel the beauty of it all. Even in the freezing cold, you just can’t stop looking at it. You don’t want to go back inside.

“How’s the serenity?” It’s a sigh. It tells me, as an Aussie who is reminded of the force of nature and power of God, the universe and all of creation through tragedy and horror of bushfire and flood, that there is a force of nature that is simple, good and silent in an incredibly positive and empowering way.

A way that touches you, and reminds you that we will never truly understand nature, but its beauty is always there.

While I pray for all those at home affected by our current tragedy, I hope that we can remember the beauty and calm of nature at her best. I fear that in our focus on her amazing power and the destruction she can afford, we sometimes can forget her power of beauty and serenity.

Mums and moms all hate laundry, even though we tweet about it

mediamum — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:17:04 +0000

I’ve been asked why mom bloggers seem to have a fascination with laundry?

(What is the most polite way I can say this?)

Because it’s a pain in the arse. (There ya go. Actually, that was easier than I thought it would be.)

Just because we tweet/blog or otherwise about different detergents doesn’t mean we love laundry. (Exceptions are the psycho pretenders who say they love laundry because they’re getting a kick back, a la #gno. It’s not independent evaluation – and WE ALL KNOW IT. No woman is dancing in the laundry unless they’ve got a screw loose. Ha. I said screw.)

40kg of laundry at my place in Australia (5 loads). Yes, it gets sorted into smaller baskets for family members as it comes off the line.

We all have lives. Busy lives. And laundry gets in the way. It’s yet another ball we have to juggle because there’s nothing more annoying than a kid/husband complaining about the state of their clothes (no undies, ‘swamp rat smell’, odd socks missing, etc) while you’re racing around trying to make everything just work at the same time as dressing so your butt looks a bit smaller and that brown stuff on the wall is totally Nutella and not anything else.

I don’t have time to wash things twice. In fact, I don’t have time to check whether the detergent worked. I just expect it to. And damn it, when a detergent seems to not do a job and in fact just sets a stain instead of getting rid of it, it pisses me off. A lot. It drives me crazy, because I find out about it when I’m putting the clothing on again, after folding it and putting it away.

I don’t have time for this crap. (See? Three references to time in a row. This is a big deal.) Finding out there’s dirt marks still on clothing when I thought it was washed, drives me nuts. So I tell people. And so do all of us. It so happens my main method of communication with all my mom/mum pals is social media. And in social media, I’m loud.

We’re not fascinated with laundry, dear advertisers. We hate it. And we just want your stuff to work. That’s all.

Your Free Focus Group

The impetus for this post?

Bloody hell, Sun. I thought I was going up a notch in buying your ‘All’ 3x concentrated laundry liquid. I think the damn stuff put MORE marks on the clothing than they had going in. They don’t even smell that good either. I hate you. I got a better wash out of the $2.50 cheapo Sun bleach powder stuff I got at Dollar Tree. I keep getting coupons for Tide (which is pricey even with a $1.50 off coupon), so maybe I’ll try that. I think I got a one-try sachet of Tide once and used it, but here’s a note – one time is not enough to really evaluate a laundry soap. I need at least three or four goes at it. So while I used it for one load, it wasn’t memorable enough for me to actually buy it, especially when the price point is so high. Do some freaking research. When we find a good laundry soap we stick with it. But it needs to freaking work. You might want to think about that. Or bite me. Your choice. I hate laundry. I just don’t have the TIME.

How to make a quick family video with Windows Movie Maker

mediamum — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:32:35 +0000

When Max leaped across from Sydney to join us for three weeks in January, we took lots of pictures. As mums do.

I promised myself I’d get them organised, and create a nice montage. As mums do.

Now we’re halfway through February, and the planned montage didn’t happen because other things got in the way. As they do.

Max enjoying the view.

I decided I was being too much of a perfectionist. I just needed to do it. So this morning I opened the new Windows Movie Maker, and plugged in a series of pictures we took as we hiked the Flatirons.

The pictures included views, close ups of snow, crappy ones of trees, some that were out of focus and even one of Max’s jacket that he’d thrown aside as he climbed the final part of the Flatiron, knowing I was coming up behind. (Even teenagers on hikes think mum will pick up after them.) All of them combined were a memory for us.

For the first time ever I clicked on the Auto Movie feature.

Auto Movie allows you to choose some music to go in the background, from the selection already on your computer.

It then crunches it all, does the transitions for you and so on. You can then watch the result, go in and make a few changes if you would like to, and publish directly to YouTube or DVD, or just save it on your computer.

From the moment I opened Movie Maker to the time I was watching the finished product was within about 40 minutes – much faster than if I’d painstakingly put the whole thing together myself. As I had always done before.

As mums, success is about recognising when you can give a little in order to get things done, rather than be a perfectionist at everything (and let’s face it, rarely are we completely happy with what we produce even after days of working on it). That said, I think Movie Maker did a darned fine job. I like to think I could do better than a automated system, but you know what, just quietly? I think this is probably proof I’m no James Cameron.

Windows Movie Maker has always been a favourite of mine. It’s intuitive, easy (ie obvious) to use for non-techy people, and produces very respectable results that you can easily adjust if you’re unhappy or just want to tweak things.

Windows Movie Maker opens the realm of possibility for my 9 and 12 year olds to make movies without paying for lots of equipment or training. In a world where we want to encourage people to have a voice and create content, ease of use and access for people of all ages and technical abilities is the most important factor. Movie Maker gives that to you. Others don’t.

I hope you enjoy watching the little montage. And I’d love to see your own efforts!

What does it mean to be Australian?

mediamum — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:30:06 +0000

Today, January 26, is the day we celebrate our Aussie-ness. Our family will be celebrating, even though we’re miles away. (Insert song like I Still Call Australia Home or my favourite, Great Southern Land – oh what the heck, I will). I think a game of backyard cricket is in order along with reminiscing about football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holdens.

So what does it mean to be Australian?

Most of us feel pretty special about our home. But the age of dad doing the lawn with the Victa on Saturday afternoon and of the painted cement Aborigine bought at the markets, chained to the gum tree in the front yard are essentially (thankfully) gone.

At Ignite Boulder (thanks for the pic, Andrea!)

The days where my mother would shove her skirt up the sides of her undies and sit with my father in the sticky loungeroom with a shandy, watching Dennis Lillee bowl another over… are over.

And long, glaring 35-degree sun-kissed days by Roselands pool covered in Reef Oil as we tried to fry a deeper brown have been left behind in favour of broad-brimmed hats and air-conditioning.

Australia has changed.

Have I just got older, or is it really that we have become a people so full of rich, different heritages that the mythical heroes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson are illuminated as something we really never had… and never will?

Why, on its own soil, has the Australian flag become a symbol of hatred and exclusion? When did that happen?

It seems I can wave the Aussie flag and invite Americans to “channel their inner Aussie” at a presentation and still, a year later, be greeted by “Oi Oi Oi!” in the streets of Boulder by some who saw me do it.

Americans sometimes seem to love my country even more than those who are lucky enough to live there.

Australia is a place where social security looks after those unlucky enough to need it, for as long as they need it. Where everyone can afford to get sick, because nobody is denied essential medical treatment. Where good quality education at all levels in the public system, in every location, is comparatively free.

Yes, I still believe Australia is the lucky country. I believe we’re a lucky people. I am proud of our flag the way it is, and even prouder of those who embrace it and each other, no matter their heritage.

So what does it mean to be Australian?

It means feeling that pull to your country, no matter who or where you are.

Happy Australia Day.

We’re in training for the 2010 World Speed Stacking Championships

mediamum — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:45:20 +0000

Moving to Denver meant we moved to the heart of Speed Stacking. We’d tried it out back in Australia, because you know, it’s freaky to watch so as soon as we saw the ad on tv we just had to give it a go.

The sport hasn’t taken off in Australia like it has in other some places. But Denver is where it originated, and so here we are, equipped with cups, timers and mats.

This sport is great for kids to build their fine motor skills, concentration and team work. I love the flexibility of it all, and the way kids can move at their own pace, and challenge themselves to beat their own times. It’s competitive without needing to beat other people (although you can of course do that). The equipment (some cups) is easily transportable, and fairly inexpensive to buy if you just want the basic set (around $15). I treated myself to a set of little thimble-like cups at the World event last year ($8).

I’m not telling you my times. It’s embarrassing. Instead, here are the current world records, including different countries. I’ll end with a video of the kids at the World Sport Stacking Championships last year. We have the cups out of the toybox now, and are in training for this year, which will be held at the Denver coliseum from April 10-11. There’s an event for adults too, especially as doubles! Anyone want to join me? I promise you can use the standard size cups…

Three tips for the TSA from a mum at Christmas

mediamum — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:29:34 +0000

I have four kids. I believe in Santa. This Christmas, we saw yet another moron decide it was a good idea to try and blow up a plane. At Christmas. Christmas is my favourite time of the year and I’ll be blasted (no pun intended) if anyone’s going to take that away from me. So I’ve decided that I’ll let the TSA in on some key things they could be doing to really make a difference at Christmas.

This is important to me. My 15 year old flies to America from Sydney today, with smoke and mirrors security that I have been unable to prepare him for. The fear level is at orange. I think they’re going to pat him down. He might just enjoy that.

But I digress.

Instead of ramping up their already failing theatre of security, the TSA should just ask mums what the best things to do to keepare, given our Santa expertise and knowledge. So here are three little suggestions from the mum who still helps Santa and has never denied his existence, even to her 18-year-old adult daughter.

1. Warning people that they are being watched. My kids know Santa’s watching them. (Sidenote: Saying the Easter bunny watching you isn’t as effective. He doesn’t have as much power. Santa’s the big guy.) Maybe if the TSA ensured all their security staff were trained in really watching people and their behaviour we’d see some real changes.

2. Keep a list – and freaking well check it. There’s nothing worse than having a list of gifts and sorting them when wrapped to find that one kid has more gifts than the Brangelina clan, and another has 3 tiny boxes – and they all came from the Dollar Store. That happens when you make a list and ignore it. The massive failures of the TSA have been associated with administration stuff-ups. The terrorist watch lists are not shared adequately, efficiently or effectively. You can do cavity searches, but getting the terrorist watch list information shared properly might be a little easier. Just sayin’.

3. Hide stuff that you don’t want them to see. For years, I’ve hidden gifts from my kids in nothing more than a few striped raffia big bags with some sheets thrown over them in the formal dining room. (We don’t live there any more, so if my kids are reading this, sucked in.) It kept the gifts a secret because I knew the kids didn’t look in obvious places. While you TSA people are obviously inspecting our belts and shoes and don’t care who knows it, you’re missing the powdered explosive taped all over the body, and the stressed out guy walking around with it taped to his genitals. If I were a TSA officer I’d rather find out about that explosive from the observation of the sweaty guy than a standard genital frisk of every passenger. Unless they’re all Mark Harmon.

So there you go, TSA. Please ensure the safety of my kid and don’t harrass the 99% of people who really don’t need it. Merry Christmas.

Thank you bus girl, happy holidays

mediamum — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:53:23 +0000

Sometimes something in your daily routine can remind you of how connected we can be.

This semester I’ve caught the bus to campus on monday afternoons, on my way to my Human Computer Interaction class. When you catch the bus on a regular basis at a regular time, you’re quite often joined by a few others who have the same schedule.

And so I was joined on Mondays by a beautiful young girl – I’m guessing she was about 10 or 11. She was always on the bus already when I got on, and rode past my stop. But every time she was there, she made me smile.

This wonderful young lady was equipped with a CD player. And big headphones. She had a penchant for the Spice Girls.

How do I know?

She sang at the top of her lungs, along with the CD that nobody else could hear. Some people pretended not to hear her. Others grinned and went on with their newspapers. But most people really enjoyed listening to this singing that had absolutely no tune, and no back beat to drum out the bum notes. Everyone was grinning. With her, not at her.

On my last Monday of class, our nightingale was there. And this time the bus driver (who wasn’t the same person every time), kept turning his head to look at the young girl. I wasn’t sure if he was going to ask her to stop – she was really making quite a bit of noise. I couldn’t read his expression when he turned his head.

But after a couple of miles, he turned, looked at her, and began to click his fingers along with the beat.

We couldn’t hear the same music as the girl. But we all left the bus with her song, and were reminded to feel free in finding our own.

Happy Holidays.

Glade's sweet smell of good social media PR with Edelman

mediamum — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:57:07 +0000

This week I was happily invited to join some other Colorado-based bloggers for a few adult snacks, refreshments and the opportunity to build a basket of goodies to take home. It was a great evening, put on by Glade’s parent company, S. C. Johnson’s wonderful PR team from Edelman in Chicago, to promote their Sense & Spray product.

This event demonstrated Edelman actively identifies good people for brands to work with, and can put together an event that suits all parties. Edelman has fantastic staff, for a start. The company also teamed with social media expert, Ann-Marie Nichols, to ensure they are hitting the right targets.

If you ask me, Ann-Marie and Edelman are smart operators. After meeting/catching up with them on the evening, my belief is that the bloggers were hand-picked to represent ethical, good quality content providers who actively engage with their readers. Women who are authentic. At a time when companies are seeking out mommybloggers more than ever, there are now bloggers who do nothing more than run around the USA for the opening of every envelope. Smart companies, like Glade and Edelman, see beyond what I’ll call “the usual suspects.” (Yes, I’m biased. I was invited.)

Edelman’s staff were well equipped with plenty of information for us to take home in the best format – a USB drive. The activity of putting together our basket of goodies allowed us to chat about the product informally, and we also had fun coming up with possible names for a new Glade scent. (Yes, someone said Bacon. I said Aussie Bush. Ambiguity FTW.) I was so lucky to have Jen Goode so kindly say yes to drawing by freehand (magic marker) one of her lovely penguins on my mug.

It has pride of place on my desk and reminds me how special women entrepreneurs like her are. I have always loved Jen’s designs and you can check the penguin ones out on her blog, and buy a whole range of stuff featuring them. She also does other designs too. She’s an amazingly talented woman in so many areas. I feel so lucky to have actually met her too now.

The event was a great success for Glade. The bloggers discussed myriad issues beyond and including the product, and we all came away feeling positive – and that associated value rubs off. Edelman gets it.

But the goal kick for me was the extra mile Edelman went for me. Here’s the thing:

We were all offered a basket to give away on our blog. Awesome. However, I asked if it would be okay for me to give it away to anyone, anywhere – given some of my readership is in Australia. Glade is a global brand, but I completely said I understand if that’s not okay. I just needed to be clear on my blog. On the spot, the Edelman ladies said “Absolutely, we will make it work. We will send the basket to anyone who wins.” So I’m stoked. I love that foresight and appreciation of my needs.

And I’m excited to give away this lovely basket of goodies to you, even if you’re an AUSSIE!

What you'll win! (The mug will be a fresh one that you can draw on. Great if you're like Jen Goode!)

The basket contains a snuggly IKEA blanket/picnic rug, Swiss Miss mix with mini marshmallows, eye cover, ceramic mug and some permanent markers to decorate it with, and the wonderful new Glade Sense & Spray plus a refill that we have had now in our bathroom for a few days. It smells great and with the refills costing under $4 each (USD), and them lasting about a month each, even graduate students and startups can afford it (ahem).

HOW TO WIN!

To enter is easy – Leave a comment below with your recommendation for a new scent for Glade, focused on Australia. It can be funny or serious. The winner will be picked by Harry and Charlie on Wednesday and I’ll contact you via Twitter/email (make sure you leave contact details). I’ll also announce the winner on the blog. Go for it!

Airlines don't understand mums and marketing

mediamum — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:26:22 +0000

There’s something magical about arriving at the airport with all your luggage and just two of your kids for the upcoming 28 hours of travel between countries, and reaching the check-in counter to find out every bag comes in just under the 23kg weight limit. Score.

And there’s something even more special about being handed your boarding passes and passports, turning around and seeing the 11yr old has just decked the 9yr old, and he is laying on the floor groaning loudly, holding one leg to an audience of passengers who are surely thinking ‘Oh My God, I hope they’re not sitting next to us.’

5 minutes in, 27 hours, 55 minutes to go.

How to make a flight a dreaded experience

We flew back to the US yesterday on United Airlines. Apart from the following treasured moments, we arrived safely:

a. Wholly inedible ‘food’ which really was probably the worst I’ve ever had on the long haul part, and food that’s more expensive than eating at Spago for the domestic route. (And far less tasty. Yes, I’ve eaten at Spago. Once. It was wonderful. I’m classy. I am. Stop laughing.)

b. Lack of in-seat entertainment which is very entertaining for my spoilt kids who were expecting personal movies and tv, yet had to watch tv shows like Desperate Housewives on the screens in the aisles instead. (I do remember my own childhood flights to the UK when there was just one movie for the whole flight, and the headphones never worked. I tried telling them that but they didn’t care and then they got more annoyed. They did manage very well in the end. But I digress).

c. Being checked into three seats on the US domestic part of the journey which were single seats in equidistant, very distant seats which I find very difficult to believe was accidental because we checked into the domestic flight, getting boarding passes an entire day before (see earlier part about children punching each other). There is no way there weren’t three seats together when I checked in. Mind you, I was easily trumped by a poor woman with five kids under five, who had all been seated all over the plane. That’s just completely stupid. I was momentarily tempted to tell the attendant not to bother reseating the kids, but just to reseat this other mother and myself somewhere and bring us a bottle of bubbly.

d. The lack of real assistance for a woman with four children travelling alone, whose 3yr old would NOT stop screaming for about 3 hours in the last quarter of the long haul flight. She was forced to stay in her seat with that kid because she couldn’t leave the others. I knew that. I’ve got lots of kids and have usually travelled alone with them. One kid will cry, or take a particular liking to the novelty of the plane’s bathroom and insist they have to go constantly, or need something from the one bag in the overhead bin. It’s a drama. Something simple could have made her journey easier. Such as a flight attendant saying, “what can I do to help?” instead of ignoring her.

Sidebar: I’ll never forget the Qantas flight Jed and I took while I was still nursing Charlie, about 6 years ago. The dinner came, and there was no way I could cut it up – my arm was indisposed with nursing child. I said to leave it with Jed and I’d get to it later. The Qantas attendant decided that was okay and she’d do it if I preferred, but how about if she cut the dinner up, and just left the dinner and a fork (rather than the whole tray), and then I could manage it while it was still hot? She was awesome. I remember that still. Six years later. I even remember what the flight attendant looked like. That’s good branding.

Market your flights to mums

This is a trip that costs about $US1000 a seat return – minimum. There are a couple of hundred people on the plane, who’ve all paid at least that amount. This is not a bus. People are tired, stressed and emotional. Being an attendant on these flights is hard work. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a flight attendant go beyond the most basic of service effort and everyone’s flight would have been better if that kid had stopped screaming.

On our trip over another woman was left standing in the queue with her three kids. The flight had been delayed. It was 2am. The smallest kid was asleep. She had carry-on luggage. She was really struggling. And the attendants all ignored her.

Yes, I helped her as I could, and Charlie even offered too. If an 9yr old gets it, why don’t the airlines?

When we finally boarded that flight, the ground staff said the standard “how are you?” I said “good, and you?” His reply was “tired.”

Well stuff you.

My reply? “At least you’re getting paid.” I should have added ‘and don’t have to sit on the plane for the next 16 hours with kids, and haven’t just had a 3 hours flight to get here, and then waited 9 hours for this delayed one.’

Sheesh. I wonder who’s more precious? My kids completely expecting video on demand in their seats, or these airline staff who seem to think we owe them something more than the price of a ticket.

Instead of focusing on leg room, loyalty programs and discount prices, it would be great to see an airline focus on really going beyond the call of duty to make your flight the best you’ve ever had. If an airline marketed to mothers, they’d see these women are the decision makers, who travel with their families (more ticket sales), and to be honest, it’s the simple things like offering a pair of hands when needed that will make a mother like you more.

Or maybe that’s just too hard. Too much to ask.

The chick flick of startup founders

mediamum — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:49:33 +0000

Sometimes I get reminded why I’m doing this.

There’s so much going on right now. I’m exhausted a lot of the time. I have no idea how Jed keeps this relentless pace up. No wonder I’ve called him robot boy for so long.

Today I managed to squeeze in coffee with my good friend, Mark (@soctechnologist) after my first meeting for the day, and before I came home to hit more screen time. During our chat, we talked about something that happened in my TheFunded class last night. One of the mentors asked who planned on building the next billion dollar company. Many hands went in the air.

But I hesitated.

Why? As a startup founder, I run across lots of other startups whose focus is on the dollar. That’s what they’re interested in. That’s what lots of people create their lives around. For many people, being involved in a startup is kinda like taking an entry in the lottery – it’s that kind of gamble. For some it’s that gambling addiction that keeps them in there. It’s all about the payout. Money is the focus. Startups for them are like a drug.

But not me.

As I said to Mark today, heck, if money was my focus I’d still be living in Sydney, in my house with my secure job (that I loved), our two cars. My family. My friends. My dogs. I wouldn’t have packed it all up and moved here. I didn’t do it for a gamble. While I enjoy the odd flutter, I don’t buy lottery tickets.

I explained, looking around the enormous room we were in at all the people sitting with their coffee and lunch, that if we asked everyone in that room who had used a search engine on their computer the last time they were on it, I’ll bet every hand in the room would go into the air (and in fact, I bet all of them would have said Google was the search they had chosen). People are automatically going to look for stuff online. They do it automatically. That’s what the internet is for, right?

I then said if we asked all those same people who created content at any point in the last week, a minimal number of hands would go up. And I’m talking about any kind of content. Video, audio, text. A reply or comment on someone else’s creation, even.

Everyone looks for stuff, but a tiny percentage actually create it. And that’s bad.

The democratization of media – the real power of the internet – happens when people create content, not just when they search and read other peoples’ stuff. Democracy is not just about the infrastructure being there, it’s about people using it to interact and get involved.

I am jumping into this startup because my focus is on making creating content easier – for everyone. The internet won’t be fully democratized until everyone has a real voice, and the barriers to using it are minimized. Scribetribe.us will provide the whole world with that opportunity. From a small perspective, right here in America, I want to empower that homeless guy brandishing a cardboard sign outside the supermarket who has access to the internet at the local library for free, to have his presence felt. I want him to be able to more easily build his own blog, interact with others, get onto Twitter. Have a voice.

Imagine what an impact that would have.

And then take it across the world. That’s what I’m a part of. That’s the vision.

As I said to both my team last night and to Mark this morning, I’m probably best described as the chick flick of startup founders. I’d really like to be able to stop scrounging for quarters, but that’s not why I’m doing this. While others in startup land might be chasing the big money payout, my focus is elsewhere. And you know what? I’m more than happy with that.

The Startup Kid

mediamum — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:41:56 +0000

Running a startup isn’t easy on anyone.

The glorious trails of successful entrepreneurs are littered with the scars of broken relationships and bitter resentment of cold dinners and missed birthday parties.

It takes a special kind of relationship to weather the storms of startup life.

At Darling Harbour, Sydney.

It takes a special kind of kid too. A kid who will understand that daddy or mummy can’t make it to every school function. That we can’t afford summer camp.

It takes a special kid who will say okay through his tears as he’s torn from his Australian home, his dogs, his school friends, because he knows that what we’re working on isn’t a normal sort of job like his friends’ parents have.

This week we have begun graduation celebrations for Harry as he completes year 5. I got to make a dedication to him the other day at school, as did all the other parents in his class to their kids.In typical startup style, I did this one alone because Jed’s in Silicon Valley at the moment. The Kleenex was really getting passed around that circle.

Why so much Kleenex? It was his teacher’s fault really. She got us to close our eyes and think of when we were having our child, their infancy, and years in elementary school. And then open our eyes and take our turns to speak from the heart to our child in front of everyone (you could pass if you wanted to, but nobody did – this is Boulder, after all ).

Now, I cry at the drop of a hat. I can’t walk into that darned school without automatically tearing up it seems (sigh). But for this dedication, while others were a bit of a mess, I hardly cried at all.

And while it surprised me at the time, I know why.

Harry is an incredible kid. He was made for the startup life. I won’t be a bit surprised if he ends up living it himself. (Good grief, I hope he scores a partner as well as his dad did ). Harry’s adaptability is remarkable. Many kids would have resented the move to the US, and that would have been understandable. Not Harry, even though he misses Australia very much.

Harry's idea of cleaning up his room

He’s no angel though. He has a cheeky side and he’s a daredevil. I was told of his decision to ride a waterfall while hiking, stopping just short of a massive drop – nearly giving everyone watching a heart attack. And we will never forget him barrelling down Eldora mountain on a snowboard without a single turn and nearly hitting a bus in the car park – grinning afterwards.

Everyone who knows us as a family will agree that Harry is the one who most wears his heart on his sleeve. He hugs everyone. Repeatedly.

He is honest and open. But he can’t sleep if he’s feeling bad about something – he has to get up and talk it through. And he has a strength of character and self-belief which overcomes every obstacle. He’s never said “I’ve had enough.” He just keeps going. It’s that tenacity that is so inspiring and awesome.

And I can’t cry about that. I can’t cry about changes at all – for Harry the world is his oyster, and he’s loving the adventure. He doesn’t care that much about stuff he hasn’t accomplished yet – he’s just going to keep trying. And he’s not concerned about being the best at everything. He just wants to give it a go.

Last week his performance on drums at the big 5th grade concert that combined musicians from 3 schools was incredible. He was on time with every beat. He enjoyed it. And he’s such an individual, he wore his lucky hat too

I can’t wait to see what he tries his hand at, and surprises us with, in Middle School. They’re gonna be lucky to have him. As are we.

Congratulations, Harry. We’re so proud of you, and grateful for all you give back to us every single day.

Why my family loves Boulder

mediamum — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:58:40 +0000

I never dreamed I’d live anywhere other than Sydney, Australia.

When you’ve got a good job, a house you’re constantly doing ‘something’ to, kids, dogs, routine… the last thing you think of is moving. Anywhere. Least of all to a country you’ve never been to before. But then I came home from work one day and Jed told me his start-up dreams weren’t done with itechne. He had a bigger one. To go to the US and launch what was to become scribetribe.us.

And I said okay, we’ll Skype and email.

But he had a different plan. He convinced me to take (another) chance.

We packed up and moved to Boulder, Colorado in August 2008.

Now, lots of people have written about the great things Boulder has to offer in terms of nightlife, culture, the outdoors and the tech scene. And it’s all true and fantastic. I am loving being a part of all of those things. But above everything else, I’m a *proud* mum. And Boulder is an amazing place to raise kids.

Harry and Charlie are aged 8 and 11 and have come to Boulder with us. They have swapped their Sydney private school blazers and ties, frenetic life-by-the-clock, mum out teaching three nights a week, no friends within walking distance, and a home where they weren’t allowed to play out the front due to the traffic – for this:

A lifestyle that is similar to that I remember as a kid. One I thought you couldn’t give your kids any more, because “times have changed.”

They’d never seen snow before we moved to Boulder. Here they love it.

On top of all that, the (public) school they go to has the best educators I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. They have been wonderful in helping my kids move to not only a new home, but a place where feet and inches, and American history are completely different for them. They’ve made the transtition incredibly smoothly – and it’s largely due to the school. (I’ve already celebrated Bear Creek Elementary in an earlier post.)

For me? The start-up widow? I’ve swapped a lifestyle where the drive to work each day took an hour of fume-laden highways, teaching in this college at Granville:

For being a part of the University of Colorado, which is slightly more attractive.

And on top of everything else, my husband is throwing himself into his life’s dream. He’s happily working on seemingly endless adrenaline, at all hours. But he tries to take a run each day and instead of it being beside a road where it’s simply not safe after a certain hour, it’s up around NCAR where deer graze.

So I guess the thing is, when you think you’re settled and couldn’t think of moving, think again. A bit of unsettling could be the best thing you do for your family. Especially if Boulder is where you end up. If you’re in tech and thinking about moving to Boulder, get in touch with the guys at Boulder.me.

The importance of teaching

mediamum — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:54:05 +0000

In Australia I spent a heck of a lot of money on educating my four fantastic children. It won’t surprise many that as an educator, and someone who got her post-secondary education ‘the freaking toughest way you’d ever decide to’, education is my priority. It’s what I do. It’s really my life.

As a full-time teacher at Granville TAFE, my favourite times have been at TAFE graduations, watching refugee immigrants to Australia graduating with a TAFE qualification, and the pride they have with even the youngest of their families in suits, to see dad or mum graduate with their diploma. It’s about so much more than the qualification – for the parents as well as the kids. And I sincerely miss it more than I can say.

In Australia we live in a lovely semi-rural environment. To get access to the education I wanted for our children I made sacrifices. I’m not just talking about not taking holidays. I mean taking my own cut lunches to work, not buying coffees at cafes, working outside of the home even though caring for four children is more than a full-time job in itself - real middle class stuff that means giving my kids an education I wanted them to have. Even then, however, I had issues. Teachers cutting corners. Not doing the job I wanted. A few times I was forced into a dialogue with the principal about issues that never should have arisen.

So we moved to Boulder. I have been asked a few times how I started with making such a big move. Well, the first thing I did was check out the schools.

Before anything else, I checked out how the school system worked and found the best school for our children. THEN when that was decided, I looked for the house. (Which is basically next door to the school – WIN).

And after nearly a school year at Bear Creek Elementary, I have to say I have never, ever seen educators like this – even through paying an exorbitant amount in Australia. Literally.

Our children are thriving in an environment which is supportive, works with families and absolutely and unequivocally wants kids to succeed. When I meet with my kids’ teachers, I am regularly brought to an emotional state (insert *embarrassing try-to-hold-back-tears-moments here). Their care and concern for my children is so touching it makes me want to be a better parent every single time – to keep track with their own concern. (And hey, I’m already a pretty awesome mum.)

And it makes me want to be a better educator at college level too. I want to help other people reach beyond their comfort zone. To find their feet. To get confident. To look at their futures with anticipation – not trepidation.

I want to be the teacher that my kids have here in the US. Bear Creek Elementary in South Boulder is an incredible foundation of learning for children that I am so grateful for. My kids are thriving in the US – not thinking of academically, (although that’s fine too) but in confidence and strength of personality. Bear Creek’s teachers and principal and support staff are incredible. My family has benefitted directly from everything you do. And I learn from you. And even I gain confidence from you. Thank you so much.

Our visit to Vail

mediamum — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:52:39 +0000

Yesterday we took a road trip to Vail. It’s just two hours away. I found a great sledding area in Vail courtesy of a website which lets you locate good sledding runs (free) in your neighbourhood. We entered the address in the GPS, and off we went!

The day cost us nothing apart from the car’s petrol and wonderful pizza we ate for dinner. We’ve discovered the following:

a. I need snow pants. Now. Because when I have a frozen wet bum I get grumpy.

b. Charlie is a daredevil on the flexi-sled. He’s worked out that he needs to keep his whole body off the ground and entirely on the sled for the best run and for speed. He flies and cares little about danger… or direction.

c. Harry seems to be a natural snowboarder. He doesn’t even own a skateboard, but managed to stay upright for a long way on his new snowboard. His balance is amazing and he just loves it.

d. Vail is spectacular. We are definitely going back, and will probably make it at least an overnight trip. The whole place is like a gingerbread storybook land. You can see a little in my video![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbvpgLfHMuY]

Flapdoodle's pumpkin diet

mediamum — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:19:37 +0000

Halloween is officially over. The only candy left is the real crud that nobody will eat so I’m about to chuck it out. That’s not bad for an entire month!

The other great thing was the jack-o-lanterns. We had heaps of fun carving them with our US friends and they decorated the outside of the house with their scariness for a while. And the kids even had a jack-o-lantern competition at school which was amusing. (Though why so many parents feel they have to do the jack-o-lantern for their kid like some work of art, and then put the kid’s name on it when it was obviously done by the parent is beyond me. Some people need to get a life.)

Anyway, back to the real story here. The jack-o-lanterns, if carved, go ‘off’ in about a week, so the kids painted and googly eyed etc two pumpkins for school. When they brought them back home we put them on the front verandah… and Flapdoodle decided it was his buffet time.

We have been highly amused by Flapdoodle’s obsession with our pumpkins. (Yes, we are that desperate for entertainment.) Finally he has eaten both of them. And they were quite large! Luckily for him, he left the googly eyes and pipe cleaners, and he’s still running about so they didn’t kill him.

Flapdoodle, king of pumpkin one

Attacking pumpkin two

It's the little things

mediamum — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:30:44 +0000

Living in the USA is really similar to living in Australia. You know, there are schools, public transport, etc. But some things, little things, can make it seem really freaky. And that’s really fun.

For example, the mail. In Australia you have a home letterbox where mail is delivered to monday to friday. If you want to send snail mail, you go to the post office. Rarely do you get stamps anywhere else. There are postboxes in the streets, etc, and when you’ve stamped your letter (it’s 50 cents to anywhere in Australia for standard mail) then it’s good to go. It takes about a day or two to get wherever you send it to. Unless you’ve put money in it, then it might never arrive.

In Boulder you can buy stamps at the supermarket, and heaps of other places. There are nowhere near the plethora of post offices, but there are quite a number of shipping places that specialise in packages.

The really great part is that when you have a standard letter to post, you simply put it in your own letterbox and the mail carrier (the US version of the mail man) picks it up when they drop off your mail. All you need to do is raise the little red flag next to your letterbox.

Super cool. I’m pretty convinced this is why NetFlix, the movie rental service that works by sending the movies out to you via mail, has taken off in a big way here. It’s all so simple.

Moving to Colorado in 5 Easy Steps

mediamum — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:29:42 +0000

We jumped. We are now in Colorado. The suitcases are in the cupboard under the stairs. The kids are at school and I am at the SJMC (School of Journalism and Mass Communication) at the Uni of Colorado at Boulder. I thought I’d take you through what was an extremely tiring and exciting 8 weeks to share the joy, and thank those who helped us get here.

Step One – Getting Ready to Jump

Packing up our life. Four simple words that took an incredible amount of time. It’s pretty straightforward to book the shipping and storage people, and organise the garage sale.

Kid1 helps out at the garage sale

We have a whole heap of stuff kept in storage in Sydney, and we’ve brought with us the essentials. We’re also shipping 1 cubic metre of crap I’ve decided I can’t live without. Tips for garage sales? Only have it on a Saturday because Sunday is pointless, and make sure you tag everything. We had the sale about three weeks before leaving, and had my friends come over to help at various points to distract me from potential emotional overload (yay Kathy and Jacqui). We gave leftover stuff to charity or freecycle. However, what we found most successful and amusing – put all of it on the front lawn with a big free sign on it. It went in a flash! We had quite a few laughs.

Ship or store?

My pal Kathy also helped a lot when I had a crisis of “what do I do?” She turned up and spent literally days putting her own life on hold while she helped the kids pack their stuff, aided my crisis over helping my two eldest kids move out of the house into their dad’s, and told me lots of funny stories about her own moves. There is a special sort of woman in the world. She’s the mum of more than three kids. I’m lucky to count some of my best pals in the world in that category. Kathy will forever have a special place in my heart for her help with this stage. And her skim mocha is the best I’ve ever had. Ever.

Tip: Get the kids involved and video bits of the process. Between Jacqui, Kathy and I we have 13 kids, who were all very keen to whack the dead furniture into pieces to put in the mini skip. We got some great, funny videos of kids with hammers. And miraculously avoided injuries!

All our tech ready to go

Also, great tip was to have the lawnmower, whipper snipper and lounge suite we are keeping all professionally cleaned out, ready for storage. Of course, these were each done differently, but the cost was worth it knowing we’d be opening the storage crates in a few years to things that were pristine when they went in. We stored the fridge, washing machine and dryer quite easily, with small preparation. We have an incredible amount of Ikea furniture too, and we got a great guy out who dismantled everything back to IKEA flat pack with his helper dude, and saved us heaps of space in storage. They were nice guys too.

Step 2 – Organise and separate.

I really could have done this better. I separated the stuff I really needed in Colorado, but didn’t put it in a suitcase to be sure it didn’t get shipped – or worse still, stored. Things like the latest bills that you can’t afford to pay yet, your PIN number stuff, personal documentation, etc. To cut this long story a bit shorter, I am pretty sure they’re in shipping. Maybe I’ll see them sometime before Christmas. If not, the electricity gets cut off in the old house and I’m not there so I really don’t care that much. So ner.

Step 3 – Book good quality people, and use your friends.

Thank goodness we booked Allied Pickfords to handle all our storage. They were great (well so far, they still have all our stuff of course). When you’re talking about all your worldly posessions, going with the quote based solely on price is dumb. Instead I went on gut. We’re happy I did. These guys were efficient, hard-working and best of all, happy blokes to be around. They really deserved the crates of beer we got them at the end.

The bloody big truck

And my friends were key to success. I love my friends. I’m so lucky to have them. They made me feel like I’m a pathetic loser of a friend, given all they were willing, ready and able to do to ensure we got this move done. We are so grateful to all our friends for the ongoing help, love, assistance, moral support, advice that they continue to provide. Whether we’ve known you for a long time or short time, you are so important to us. We can’t wait to have you all stay with us here in Boulder. (Please stagger your visits. The condo is small.)

The old school friend, Cherie, who I hadn’t seen in ages, my fabulous work friends (yes, TAFE sucks), our Twitter pals who braved the horrid weather to say bye, and all the kids school friends. Visit us soon!

Step 4 – Triple check how much you can take on your flight.

We had three different estimates of how much we could take on board our flight to the USA. Syd-LA with Qantas said 32kg each bag was fine. What most of the Qantas people didn’t tell us was that for our connecting domestic flight from LA to Denver, the limit is just 23kg. It sucked to find that out two days before leaving. We ended up taking 13 bags, all weighing at least 20kg, with Jed’s three bags (super duper flyer allowance) topping the 32kg. It was a heap of luggage, but well worth taking it rather than shipping or paying air freight for it, which would have been far more. (On our stopover in LA we saw Ringo Starr in the Admiral’s lounge. That was cool.)

This is just for the weekend? Um ... no.

Step 5 – Take mum.

Big bonus. Taking my mum meant that we had three adults trying to maneuvre all that luggage. She has also been here in Colorado helping me settle in. She goes back to Sydney next week. I am ready to hire her to others. She’s great. She’s my mum. We’ve had a lot of fun working out what the US equivalence is to many products in the supermarket, driving around Boulder, hitting the stores, looking at ninja squirrels etc.

So here we are. That’s the basics of getting here. I’ll be getting the video camera up and running soon. I’m getting used to classes here and the amount of reading I’m having to do as a grad student is staggering. I’m sure the squirrels are out to kill when I’m not looking. That’s scary. More posts soon, including video, asap.

Love and hugs to all.

A visa you can't buy stuff with

mediamum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:56:29 +0000

Yesterday was a big day. I was approved for the F-1 student visa, which will give me 3 years in the USA. Please note a visa in your passport doesn’t guarantee entry to the USA, that decision is made by immigration when you enter the country. But without the visa there’s no way you can get in for business or tourism beyond the 90 days which the current Waiver Programme appreciates. (In January 09 this changes again.)

The process for getting a visa has been covered by @bck in the past on his Pantsland blog, and I read that a couple of times as part of my own preparation. As we both note, none of what we say is necessarily going to be relevant to everyone – you need to do your own research to ensure you have the right documentation etc for your own visa and situation. That all said, here’s what I went through.

Step 1: Get your documentation right

There are numerous forms and fees to go through to get a student visa. Everyone needs a DS-156 which is the general entry form, and you have to attach to that form a passport pic taken within the last 6 months, as well as pay (in cash or money order only) the $AUD150-odd fee for the non-immigrant visa at Australia Post. When you go to Aust. Post, ensure you know exactly how much you have to pay for the non-immigrant visa because they will not have any idea, but will happily take your money as long as it’s cash. Then you need to staple the receipt for that to the front of the D-156. Men will also need to fill out a DS-157 (I don’t know what is in that form because last time I checked, I am not a man). I also had to complete a DS-158 (which is like a resume).

Because I was after the F-1 visa, I needed to pay the SEVIS fee ($100) which is standard for all students entering the USA. As for all these fees, it’s non-refundable, so if you don’t get approved for a visa you can wave bye-bye to the cash. The SEVIS fee is payable online with a credit card.

Finally, I also had to be able to prove I had access to plentiful funds to support myself in the US (in my case, $US40, 200) as well as hold an Form I-20 which had been sent to me by the University, saying I’d been offered a place. Luckily for me (and key for me obtaining this visa), the University of Colorado saw fit to give me a full teacher assistantship appointment, which basically waived my need to demonstrate the $40,200.

I also took along to the appointment the actual letter of offer from the University and my academic credentials just in case.

You must also take your current passport, any prior passports of yours if you have them, a self-addressed platinum Australia Post courier satchel for the return of your documents, and other supporting documents in case they ask you for them. Ensure you’ve booked your appointment through the online VisaPoint system. To book an appointment you need a PIN Number, which costs another $14 (ka-ching) payable with a credit card. Even though the appointments are booked in half-hour increments, you’re advised to block out 4 hours (I took 2.45hrs from beginning to end).

Step 2: Turn up on time

The Sydney consulate is in the MLC Building. While the consulate is on the 59th floor, you first report to the 10th floor and go through a security checkpoint. Prepare to take off your shoes! You have to leave all electronics at this point. The security guard will then allow you to go in the lift up to the actual consulate, where you go through another checkpoint (shoes off again), and take a ticket like you’re in the motor registry. That’s when the real waiting begins.

Step 3: Talk to people

When you’re called for the first window, you hand over all the basic forms and receipts from what you prepared prior to the interview. You’re then told to take a seat and wait to be called again. When you’re called the 2nd time, you need to do the fingerprint thing on the scanner – both hands. Then you take another seat and wait to be called the 3rd time.

Step 4: The interview

This stage is the final part of what was a lengthy process. Rather than take you to a cubicle or something, you simply get called to a teller window and all the people behind you can hear what you discuss with the interviewer (the guy who had a record for posession of marijuana who went before me was most interesting ). The interview itself only went for a couple of minutes and seemed more of a checking process of what was in the documentation I’d already supplied. I had more supporting evidence, but the man didn’t ask for it, and he was a very polite nice person to talk with.

Step five: Paying the final fee

When I was approved for a visa I was informed I needed to pay the final fee of about $120 at the cashier. Once again this had to be in cash (no EFTPOS and even though the consulate website actually says they take credit cards). They hold on to your documentation and send it back to you in the platinum bag you supply.

And that’s it! I was surprised they didn’t ask me why my husband and children weren’t on the same visa, or indeed what their plans were. (They plan to travel under the E-3 visa. I needed my own student visa because of the TA appointment and needing to work as soon as I arrive. As a spouse under the E-3 it takes about 2-3mths for an Employment Authorisation Document to be processed, which would have prevented me taking up my TA in the Fall semester.) While the interview itself only took a couple of minutes, I’m sure that if anything ‘hinkey’ in my application cropped up in the earlier stages then it would have been flagged before I approached for my actual interview. So I don’t believe I was completely judged from beginning to end in that two minutes – I spoke with about 8 consular staff in the day, and any one of them would have been able to ’flag’ my documents if necessary.

Essentials:

Go to the loo before going in. There is no bathroom beyond the 10th floor reception.

Take a magazine or book. It’s B.o.r.i.n.g.

Wear shoes that are easy to get on and off.

Wear your best smile, and dress as if going for a job interview. Many people don’t dress in business attire, but I’m old school and believe you might as well do all the easy things to make a good impression.

Finally, don’t take your kids. You don’t need to have them with you. Beg borrow or steal a babysitter for the day. It was not fun watching a couple of parents with little tykes struggling to keep them under control, and even less fun for the parents themselves.

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