November 2013

I was in the States last week and as I was chewing on one of the softest chocolate bars available – a Mars Bar – I felt that all too familiar crunch of a tooth mixed in amongst the creamy goodness. Awesome. There aren’t many things – for me – to beat “that” feeling, but it impacts me more when one is not at home and about to spend a day flying at over 30,000+ feet. In case you didn’t know, high altitude/pressure increases the risks of an internal tooth combustion significantly, and as I already had two high risk teeth for flying, I was rather anxious to add a third. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with that eventuality. Making it home without pain, my lovely husband arranged a dental appointment at my request. The “at my request” addition is important, because in the past I’ve always taken an approach of – if it don’t hurt, sort it out later – well I’ve learnt that later is always too late, and I have three titanium implants to prove it. Like most people, I don’t like going to the dentist – even though my actual dentist is a top bloke – and the only thing I like about going is I get to watch old episodes of Friends – still makes me giggle. Anyhoo, today we agreed that no numbing was needed (brave huh?), and that is always the preferable approach when returning to the office. As such, it was all smooth sailing, except for one crikey-hit-the-roof-shit-you-got-the-root moment. Otherwise it was all pretty OK as far as dental appointments go, except for all of the cold shit being blasted into my mouth. You know, I think that’s actually my least favorite bit about the dentist – the cold shit. As you get a wee bit older, your gums start to recede fractionally (or is that just me?), which means the cold blasts actually start to hurt a little bit more. It’s not nice. So having a filling today – no problem. Giving my teeth a quick polish – no problem. Blasts of icy air and water – problem. At the end I ask my dentist, Brendan – is it absolutely necessary to have cold water and cold air to do the job? I mean could warm water and warm air do the same trick or is there some reason for it being cold dentistically speaking? He looks at me and says why yes, we do need to dry the surface to do the job, but no, there is no reason for it to be cold. It was a Eureka moment, and perhaps if there’s anyone out there in the dental equipment manufacturing sector reading this, you might be up for making a lot of money if you start designing your equipment with a slightly warmer blast? I’d sure appreciate that. My appointment finished with a lovely surprise. Because I’ve been such a good and loyal customer (and trust me, I’ve spent a LOT of money with these guys) my appointment was free. How’s that? Never happened before and I’m still in shock. So anyone else struggle with cold shit at the dentist? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

I’ve got to get my ideas around relaxation sorted out a bit, or perhaps reconsider the whole work-life balance malarkey?  Here’s a dash through two weeks. Two Monday’s ago I ran the event of my life. It officially started at 6pm on Monday, which meant a lot of running around from early morning until that point. Then Tuesday I was up at 5am running ‘til midnight, Wednesday 5am running til 11pm, Thursday I was running to get Lex some birthday presents because I didn’t have any time to shop before that, and then Friday I stopped running. However, while no more running, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to take the boys to Universal Studios in Singapore to celebrate the Lexster’s overdue birthday and have some family time together after months of intensity. But I was not the only weary one. Steve got home at 7am on the Friday morning after flying back from Saudi Arabia, so he was completely shagged – the most tired I’ve ever seen him. As such, Friday saw us lumbering around after two excited lads, followed by the whole of Saturday doing much of the same, and then we did all of it again Sunday, which meant a very weary family by the time we were done. I’m still not quite sure how we made it through. While we obviously had no idea how we could even get through day one, we did, and actually had a great time together. I also loved seeing the experience of Universal through the boy’s eyes – kids are special. Lex was up for anything and able to correctly asses his environment with a very mature “it’s not real” shrug of his seven year old shoulders. Jax, however, got VERY caught up in every moment, from forcing Lex to steer away from the poisonous snakes as the car meandered along permanent tracks, to having a chat with Bumblebee after we all saved the world in the Transformers 4D ride. Easily my favorite! We enjoyed three jam packed days of action, and then we got home 5pm Sunday night, only to see me unpacking the suitcase, repacking the suitcase, having a slight frenzy over what to actually pack for Wintery weather in Northern climes, and then stumble into bed too late, only for the alarm to go off at 5.30am Monday morning, I groaned my way out of bed, only to jump aboard three planes to get myself to Seattle, and then this week I was required to be intelligent. Not easy. Thankfully I gave a pretty big presentation – which saw me working until 3am one morning to get it sorted (ugh) but I think my intelligence was rated as OK? It went down well by all accounts, then I rushed around for meeting after meeting to ensure I was maximizing my time away, and here I sit, at last, in Seattle, ready to go home and see my three loves. I reckon I’m going to take some time off over Christmas and have a proper break… although challenging with my mini-lads. But seriously, my life always seems to exist at two extremes, and I’m thinking perhaps a little more in the middle living could be useful for a while? Then again, maybe not. Anyone else live in the extremes? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

It’s Lex’s 7thbirthday today. He doesn’t know it’s his birthday – we’ve told him it’s on Friday – but no matter how you cut it, I am the guiltiest Mumma in the world right now. The challenge is I’ve got no choice – especially if I don’t want to break his heart. You may have noticed I’ve gone a little quiet on my blog and pretty-much everywhere else in my life in recent months. It’s because I’ve been absorbed in organizing a very high profile event, and it’s taking place in Singapore today. Fortunately it’s going brilliantly. Such a relief. A lot of people have sweated blood to ensure it does. I saw Lex for about 20 minutes this morning, and I won’t see him tonight. I didn’t see him yesterday and I won’t see him tomorrow. In addition to me being here and away from him all day, Steve managed to get a trip booked to Saudi Arabia for a major industry event this week as well. Our first big work clash. Suffice to say, he is an equally guilty Dadda too. Both of us are working hard on the tear-controlling front – bloody kids! It’s super important to me to honor my boy’s birthdays. I want them to feel over-the-top special, and I know it comes from having a New Year’s Day birthday, which was always tough growing up in Australia – summer holidays, friends away, etc.. So Happy Birthday Lex my love. You are the biggest pain in my arse, but god how I love you. I know you will do remarkable things with your life. Until Friday little man, and then we’re really going to celebrate, because we’re going to Universal Studios at long last. He’s definitely going to get very spoilt! Yours, without the bollocks Andrea