So the day after I wrote about the post on solo travelling, greater Melbourne is once again in lockdown…for the fourth time and this time for 7 days. Lockdown Number 1: had us all panicked, anxious and stressed with the unknown. Lockdown Number 2: we were a little bit comfortable and in good spirits….until the […]
Goethe Quotes to Live By
I was first introduced to Goethe, the German writer, when I was in Germany last year. Every German I met seemed to mention him (and poet Schiller) in daily conversations so I thought it was high time I got with the program and learned more about him. I set off to see Goethe House as […]
On Travelling By Yourself
One of the things I love to do is to travel internationally and explore different places. My husband and I are keen travellers but as he has a senior position at work, it means he’s unable to take long periods of time away. Once he retires, (5 years and counting), my plan is to do […]
What’s Your Guide to Happiness?
I’m a great fan of Bill Bailey, the English comedian, musician, documentary maker and observer of the absurd. We have not missed any of his shows when he performs in Melbourne and true to form, we have bought tickets for his upcoming show, En Route to Normal here in November which we’re looking forward to. […]
Transcendental Meditation and David Lynch
So recently, I was surfing YouTube as is my usual routine and past-time and in my feed, I see this: The first few minutes of the video is particularly mesmerising. I don’t know if it’s his stance, his wrinkled pants, the gorgeous wild hair, the ciggie packet in his shirt pocket, or him holding out […]
My Top Ten Learning Tools for 2021
It’s that time of the year again when Jane Hart’s (@C4LPT) Top 10 Learning Tools survey is out. You can put your vote in on her Learning Tools website and voting doesn’t close until August this year. I’ve been submitting my learning tools every year and I love to see how they’ve evolved over the […]
Exploring Your Local Area
It’s Sunday and I am taking it easy today recovering from a late night out last night. At my age, I can’t spring back the next day if I don’t have my full 8 hours of sleep every night and every time we stay out past our bed time, it just takes that little bit […]
A New Skill to Add To My Repetoire
Following on from my recent obsession with Escape to the Chateau series which has revived my craft obsession to try out all sorts of different crafts in an effort to get off the screen, off the socials and actually DOING stuff with my hands, I asked my mother to teach me how to sew. My […]
Bring the Outside In with Creative Flair
Ah, Angel and Dick Strawbridge, what HAVE you done to me? via GIPHY You see the thing is that, I’ve been recently OBSESSED by this show called Chateau in The Country where British couple Dick and Angel Strawbridge buy a dilapidated chateau and then over the years, renovate it. I wrote it in my recent […]
Remember the Days When People Commented on Blog Posts?
I’ve been a blogger since way back. This is my second blog that I started after deciding to ‘rebrand’ myself to have a more “professional” persona online and came up with Activate Learning Solutions or @activatelearn back in 2014. (Standby, this will soon change again as I start change it from a business to a […]
Rethinking Activate Learning Solutions
For the last few years, I’ve been working as a Community Manager for a small company, a Microsoft Partner called Adopt & Embrace and I’ve been LOVING the work. I work three days a week and although my work is not only community management of a small adoption and change community; much of my work […]
Loving the Crafty Side to My Network
I’ve been watching a show on Foxtel called Chateau in the Country, where two English people, Angel and Dick buy a dilapidated chateau in France and over the years, renovate it. Dick is an engineer, a big bear of a man who has the knack and know-how to repair, fix and create things from junk […]
Time to Get Serious about the Next Phase
It’s a bit weird writing about this topic on this blog but I can’t deny it that this is something that is part of my life now – and for many women – and I may as well accept it even though it doesn’t sit well with me. Yes, the dreaded menopause. via GIPHY Every […]
Alone in My Car
I’ve been reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism: On Living Better with Less Technology and there was one chapter that really hit home for me on solitude. He used the term “solitude deprivation” which is a state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other […]
What Did You Miss in April?
Here are my collected posts and YouTube videos for April 2020. Blog Posts What did you miss in March 2021? (Collected blog posts and videos from March) Completing the 30 Day Speak Your Target Language (French) Challenge Enjoying the Moment [on self-reflection] Enjoying My Birthday Future Fit [on importance of having a digital profile] Creating […]
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
This year, I’ve been slowly doing a slow declutter of our home and contents [no books, artworks, music or yarn has been thrown out so you can all breathe a sigh of relief] but also of all the digital detritus that was making me go slightly crazy. You see, I noticed my attention waning and […]
Dealing with the Naysayers and Nitpickers
One of the things I say to people when showing and sharing their work and learning publicly, openly and transparently is to get ready for the naysayers and nitpickers. Unfortunately, they’re just part of life if you end up sharing your work in online public spaces. They pop up every now and then but don’t […]
Creating an Archive of Blog Posts
Today I finally got around to creating an archive page for this blog that pulls together all the blog posts I have written over the years. I followed the article How to Display All Your WordPress Posts on the One Page and downloaded the Simple Yearly Archive plugin from the WordPress store. I’ve been meaning […]
Future Fit
Recently I finished reading a book by Andrea Clarke called Future Fit: How to Stay Relevant and Competitive in the Future of Work. Although the book was not relevant for me (in the sense that I have for many years now, been building an online profile and networks to help navigate through my different projects, […]
Enjoying My Birthday
So it’s a bit eye opening to realise that I turned 52 yesterday. The body says I’m 52 but in my mind, I’m 25. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I look in the mirror and notice the skin that’s going papery, the wrinkles around my eyes and the random hairs that seem […]