Where have you been?

Where have you all been this week?

I got invited to a blogging shindig last week, it included an invite for a plus one. For a change, because I had my Mum staying for the week which means I have a live in baby sitter, I asked Mr H if he wanted to come along. He decided he would so we took off into the city, landed in the penthouse of a swanky apartment and quickly realised that he was the only male at the event.

Mr H is a good egg and didn't let it bother him too much, but he whispered to me, 'so what happens now?' Because at these kind of gigs it isn't always obvious. You don't know if you are expected to do something, eat something, watch something, sit somewhere. At first, you kind of feel like an impostor, expecting someone to say, 'hey, you shouldn't be here'. 

Reality is, the organisers just want you to relax, to hang out, to chat, to check out some products, to socialise. There are no real expectations unless you want there to be. 

It was put on by Dairy Australia, so, we ate cheese, LOTS of it. and if you have been reading for awhile you would know that me and cheese, well, we really are the best of friends. I don't think I have ever met a cheese I couldn't be friends with. I was happily reminded that cheese is a pretty good thing to be friends with, it loves me back too.

The next few nights of the week I worked, kind of. I went to work and listened in to some intense focus group research meetings. They are kind of torture for marketing people.

You have to sit and listen to people spin stories (made up stuff, inaccurate stuff, stupid stuff) about your product and service and you don't get a chance to yell through the glass to say you're wrong, YOU ARE WRONG. Instead you have to accept that these are the thoughts of real people. People who are choosing not to buy your widget because of all the things that they don't know. Do you know what people do when they don't know something? Well, some, about 2%, will seek an answer by doing a bit of ground work, but 98% of people, well, they just make it up and tell themselves they are right. 

It made me think of all the things I think I know about things that maybe I don't know about things so do I know any of the things?

Which is why it was really great to head off on Friday to a factory in Footscray, that's a suburb in Melbourne that most of you won't actually ever go to.

I went there to help out with The Highlands Foundation. I went because I really like to do some work sometimes that is real helping. Not massive fundraisers or giant projects, just little ones, run by passionate people who just do stuff, they don't let logistics and rules and regulations get in the way.

The Highlands Foundation just want to get a pack of stuff to ladies having babies in Papua New Guinea. They make up these great packs filled with donations from all over the place, warm blankets, knitted rugs, a clean towel, a piece of soap, a pair of undies - these are the 'medical' needs that many mums and bubs need. They just need to be clean and warm, that simple basic requirement keeps them alive. They do MUCH more too, but I could actually help with the packing bit and chat with the midwives who travel over there to help train local women to help. It was good exercise for my heart and my brain and my wobbly bits.


But enough about me, where have you been this week?