Big Girlie Brunch 

July 25th, 2010 

The irony of life smacks you right in the face every day if you let yourself see it!  On our way to the Big Girlie Brunch in Albert Park, my carpooling comrade shared her story about a recent event she had organized that left her very upset.

“We arranged a dinner for my brother’s birthday, grandma cooking, all the family there, big family event” my carpooling associate exclaimed with utmost exuberance.  “My brother was late so we called to see where he was only to find out he was at the pub and had decided he wasn’t coming”.

My carpooling co-mate became outraged and went on to ramble at length about the injustice he had done upon the family, the upset he had caused, the frustration the annoyance, the disrespect.  My carpooling co-worker was beside herself with outrage and was working herself to a state where tears were just around the corner.

I listened intently, I do believe in serendipity* I knew her words, albeit full of upset, emotion and pain, somehow were relevant to the bigger picture of my day. I resisted the urge to join her mantra of the injustice of people letting you down. I listened for the hidden opportunity in this and just as my carpooling chum worked herself to the final crescendo, I saw the mirror of the days blessing. 

There we were, on our way to our Big Girlie Brunch that started out as a birthday celebration for one of our students turning 50.  Two days before the brunch our birthday girl let us know that she couldn’t make it to the brunch.  My thoughts instantly turned to the dozen women we had invited and the communication issues related with letting them know we would cancel. 

I then looked for the hidden opportunity in this, I thought “what reason do we have to celebrate, there must be something” right about then, the phone rang and Telstra politely informed me out of 4000 very successful business women, I had made the short list for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year awards!  I thought, that’s it! That’s what we will celebrate, women in business, women who have inspired me, women I have inspired, just amazing women!

I set about inviting ladies to the brunch, the net widened as I thought of all the wonderful women I knew.  I had limited time so I am sure I missed many but the invites went out and the ladies turned up 2 days later.  Actually, lots of them, more than we had originally planned for the Birthday Brunch. 

We shared a few hours in the glorious sunshine, perving on the middle-aged-lyrca-clad-cyclists as they whizzed past. We cackled like chickens and gaggled like geese at every comical story.  Our hearts filled with joy as we shared our stories, only positive energy was at this table, not a single complaint. No problems were issued, only stories of triumph, how we have dealt with life’s consequences and how being at the Big Girlie Brunch was a triumph in itself.

The group was left with a sense of love, admiration, inspiration, joy and overwhelming happiness, we all walked away with a zing in our step, a song in our hearts and a sense of connection to other amazing people.

My carpooling comrade saw the link, she twigged at the connection, she felt the shift and saw the similarity in our Big Girlie Brunch to her Brothers Birthday Debacle.  Life deals you circumstances; they will always be there, its’ how you choose to handle them that makes the difference.

We could have cancelled the brunch, we could have complained, been upset, we could have not scheduled another brunch because “people are unreliable” as my carpooling crony would have had me believe. But what we did instead was find another reason to be happy, to connect with humans, to bring joy into this world and the result was absolutely incredible.

Next time you are confronted with circumstance that appears on the surface to be negative, see if you can find the hidden opportunity, I believe it’s always there. Happiness is a choice.

*Dictionary.com Serendipity - “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident”

Cheryl Smith

July 3rd, 2010

Israel is an amazing place and it's definitely not what the world media reports. They are very much like Aussies, they love to drink, love to party, are surprisingly friendly. The Israeli Army is interesting to observe. Men and Women must serve their country. Women serve for 2 years and Men for 3. The only way to avoid service is if you are married (women only), pregnant or disabled in some way.  You can refuse to serve, however, when you do the government cuts off all access to other services like getting a loan, having the power put on in your apartment, getting a mobile phone, getting a drivers licence, you know, just standard things. 

The funny thing about the Israeli Army is that you see all these "normal" looking people walking about in their uniforms and then you look down and see sandals! You know, thongs as we call them in Australia.  They are so hot over there and so relaxed about the army that they wear their long flowing brunette hair out and they wear thongs! (the girls that is). Its kinda sexy when you see them with a big M16 gun too!  The best thing is they are really open out their Army experience, they chat to you openly, talk about what its like and being the curious Aussie that I am it felt ok to ask them all sorts of questions.  There were these mean looking Army dudes though, they were the ones in combat boots, they kinda smelled funny and had this mean look in their eye, I didnt feel comfortable asking them anything!

I wont bore you with the details of the entire trip, just this quick summary of the highlights and lowlights and of course the funny things Paul got up to.  Actually this time, Kelly outdid him with funny things, she made me giggle like  never before and it was a delight to spend 2 whole weeks with two of my favorite people!

July 2010 Why men are terrified of dance Our day on board the Crystal Symphony My man with a muffin top Why men always break things Highlights of DANCECAMP Fashion Faux Pas in Hong Kong My sister spent the night in a bomb shelter	Rock & Roll is way good for the soul! What a way to celebrate a birthday! Living your dream I danced with BRYAN WATSON! Photos Mediterranean Only in Siciliy! Santorini Greece Doing the Med properly this time Internationa Shoppers Nightmare Life, Death and Sunshine Family	Roughest oceans world! Cruising the Amazon Rio De Janiero, Brazil Buenos Aires, Argentina Bon Voyage Again! The Caribbean Greetings from St Lucia Antigua, West Indies Moped in St Martin Panama Canal	Our First Blog Nine sleeps till departure Three sleeps till departure Hello! From the QE2! Meet Sharlene and Gino Carting old folks round It's official, we rock!
No.1 Question.... So how was the trip? A dancers life Enroute to Costa Rica Cartagena Columbia Somewhere between Equador and ... Favorite Guest Comments 40 Hours in transit 3 Frisks a day keeps the ...... away! Here we come again Everyone needs a holiday Benefits of dance Dance Hosts - Interview with ABC (Australia) The thing I love about dancing...	My Famous cousin, the photographer Six Days off! HOTPANTS Brigade, My first steps (student story) Give Blood The HUMMER is here! What it's like being a dance teacher? Outstanding results! The power of dreams Almost home Crazy Melbourne Weather Dancesport Championships Funny times in Melbourne Happy Silly Season	Our first day - Crystal Our first time in Alaska British Columbia Juneau Alaska Sitka Alaska Strike Again! Funny Paul Mexican Riviera Mazatlan Mexican Hurricane President Bush - Crystal Happy halloween Devils Island, Brazil	We love you asbestos we can Crepes - south of France Naples the mafia city Welcome to Copenhagen Passenger feedback Virus attack Sicily and Norway Virus continues Sunshine after the storm Voted No.1 on the QE2 Fabulous Fjords The Vitality of Cruisers Greetings from Iceland