Recent articles in personal (page 5 of 12)

1. Sep 30, 2006 Did Not Depart

   "DID NOT DEPART", read the stamp on my arrival card as I handed it to the customs officer and stepped out into the cool Sydney night. This was not Spain. It was not even London. I had spent ten hours in transit with nothing to show for it but a free meal. British Airways failed to get our flight off the ground today due to "maintenance requirements", which I can only assume means that someone broke the plane. After hours of waiting in the departure lounge to learn our fate, we patiently accepted the proferred meal vouchers, and then listened to the announcement: British Airways staff had been desperately attempting to find us accomodation for the night, but all the hotels were full up due to the NRL Grand Final. A crowd gathered, the shouting began.

2. Sep 29, 2006 Many Directions

   Web Directions South has just wrapped in Sydney, but while I wait for the shower in our hotel room to be free I figured I should record a few rapidly fading memories. Having attended last year's Web Essentials 05 as a vicarious observer, getting to contribute to the conversation this year as a speaker alongside the inimitable Cameron Adams was a huge treat. Despite a flaky Internet connection, our talk, JavaScript APIs & Mashups: Work You Don't Have To Do, brought the house down thanks to a few generous helpings of serendipity and the nimble photography of one Lucas Chan that led to a photo taken early in our talk making a cameo appearance onscreen moments later. Thankfully, I managed to distance myself from the topless rivalry between Cameron and Jeremy Keith this year, but I may have to revise some of the privacy settings on my Flickr account if I'm invited back next year (not that lack of evidence was a deterrent for the resourceful Cam). My deep and sincere apologies to the family and friends of the moth that I killed during the presentation. If it's any consolation, I suspect I will be living down the phrase "Ooh, a moth!" for several years to come. Thanks, Priscilla, for being such a good sport when I dragged you up on stage to test your humanity with HotCaptcha. Take pride in having failed! Amazing people aplenty at the conference, and it was a privilege to get to exchange thoughts and banter with so many of them: Molly, Andy, Derek, Jeremy, James, Gian, Laurel, Thomas, and the many readers of SitePoint (new and old) at the closing night party (yes, even those that were just after free drink cards)... I am truly overwhelmed. It's 3.15am. I catch a flight to Spain with Molly and Andy in exactly twelve hours, and I still have a newsletter to write. Perhaps I'll skip the shower and get straight to bed. Technorati tag: WD06

3. Sep 23, 2006 Joining the Impro Melbourne Ensemble

   At long last my campaign of bribery, veiled threats, and out-and-out blackmail has paid off. I have been asked to join the core performance ensemble of Impro Melbourne. Seriously though, this is the culmination of three years of training and practice on my part, and of mentorship and support on the company's. I've come a long way since the days where I'd sit in the audience and think, "I could never do that." Along the way, I've had the privilege to play with those I had idolised, to learn by their influence and example, and to stand on their shoulders while developing my own approach and style. Today, I was asked to join their number, an overwhelming honour. For those of you who have come to see me in Impro Melbourne shows in the past, I'll now be performing in later segments of those same shows, along with the other permanent members of the company. As I settle in and find my footing, I'm likely to appear in more shows and in more prominent roles than I have in the past. In some ways, this transition is bittersweet. I've trained, created and laughed with members of Impro Melbourne's "junior" level (internally called the Technique/Craft group, for want of a better name) for two years now, most recently creating the original format, Tangents, of which I am immensely proud. Although I look forward to continuing to share the stage with them, I won't be training with them on a regular basis anymore. I'll miss those Tuesday night classes, and do hope to be involved with the rumoured revival and restaging of Tangents next year. But most of all I look forward to their joining me in the ensemble one day soon—something will be missing until they do. As with most endings, this is in many ways just the beginning of a new and more challenging path. I still have many things to learn, bad habits and preconceptions to shed, and private discoveries to make. The difference is that from today, I'll be doing it alongside the other members of Impro Melbourne, and I couldn't hope for better company.

4. Sep 18, 2006 Theatresports™ 2006 Starts Sunday

   This year's 10-week season of Theatresports™ starts this Sunday. Come along and watch me compete if you're in town! Full details at the Impro Melbourne web site.

5. Sep 7, 2006 Presentation Disasters

   I'm madly preparing presentations for two separate conferences at the end of the month (Web Directions and Fundamentos Web). These presentation disasters relieved the stress nicely.