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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Succulent Collection crochet patterns - These are actually really pretty and neat! I kind of want to make them.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

I totally called it! Bunting is definitely a thing.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Dinner Tonight: Asian Pork Balls with Napa Cabbage
This is a recipe I found a few months back when I was looking for a way to use up some Napa cabbage from the veggie box. It's pretty simple to make, but the flavours are great! I definitely recommend putting the sherry into the broth; it adds some nice complexity. I don't bother with the step of thickening the sauce; we just eat it like soup. It's got heaps of protein and very little carbs. It's also fairly cheap, and it makes plenty for leftovers for lunch the next day!

This is fun: One of the project managers here got selected to participate in Google's new Apps marketing campaign. If you watch that video, you can see our office! They're also featuring her heavily all over the SMH website today. Go Karen!

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New job!
Not a lot of blogging so far this week, just because my new job at Sitback is taking up all my focus! So far it's going really well. I expected to spend a couple days finding my feet, but instead on day one I got handed a document and asked if I could make it better. And I realised I could! I'm not a green BA anymore; I actually know what I'm doing. I'm addin' value, baby! Then yesterday I had a big client meeting to kick off a new project. I think I acquitted myself pretty well. The things that I'm doing and the work in the pipeline are confirming that this move was the right choice for my career. It's an exciting time...

Oh! And since I'm using my laptop as my work machine right now (since I'm contracting), I realised that I can update my DeskCam more frequently. Here's today. Of course, the Snook then immediately sent me this. "I don't look like that!!!" Do I? :)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Ilsa Handlebar Basket Pattern by HemmaDesignPatterns on Etsy - Ooh, neat! Pattern to sew my own bicycle basket. Thanks for the tip, Tia!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

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Weekend in Photos
It's been a busy couple of days. It all started on Thursday when I went to get my hair cut and coloured. My normal stylist Katherine at Broadway Hair Lounge was on vacation, so instead I got the lovely Ruth. Ruth was fantastic! We did a whole head of foils, most blonde but with some darker brown throw in as well (to help even it out closer to my natural colour). Then she gave me a great cut. I love it, and judging by the comments on Facebook, everybody else did too!

Friday was momentous. It was my last day at work at Mobile Embrace. Can you believe it's been three years? Three years since I got laid off and then got a new job two days later. I don't even look like my security pass anymore! My friend Kunaal organised a lovely lunch for me at Bibim to mix, a nice Korean restaurant on William Street. Fifteen of my co-workers came along, which was very touching. I managed to get all my work done and handed over, and then it was time to shut down for the last time! Sean even made me an artwork to commemorate the occasion. My new job starts Monday morning, and I'm looking forward to it...

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for the first ever official St. Peters Parkrun. This is a free weekly timed 5K run that takes place all over the world. The Snook and I rode over on our bicycles, which marked the first time we'd ridden to/through Newtown. There were 60+ runners all gathered for the run. I saw my friends Paul and Adina from Dailymile, and Miss Fee joined us as well. We took it very easy, doing 2:1 run/walk intervals around the course and finishing in 38:45. (My knee is still a bit dodgy.) It was great fun! We're hoping to take part each week. Paul took some fantastic photos of us during and after the event. We then had a nice ride back to Chippendale to recover.

And today brought even more bike riding! We rode our bikes to St. Peters again for the free City of Sydney Cycling Confidence course. There were seven of us plus two instructors. We had a quick chat inside about "theory" (such as where to ride on the roads, how to communicate effectively with drivers, how to be a gracious cyclist) and then a basic skills check out in the parking lot (braking, signaling, changing gears, etc.). And then we were off on a tour of Sydney! We took back streets and bike lanes through Alexandria, Waterloo, Redfern, and Surry Hills. At various places we stopped to talk about traffic situations and to practice drills on the street. We also had a rest stop in a park, complete with snacks. I finished the course feeling a LOT more confident about riding in the city, and I definitely recommend the course to anybody in Sydney! We're already booked into the Bike Maintenance course in three weeks.

Bike course tour

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Hahahaha... Some Bravo TV talk show host got Ralph Fiennes to read Harry/Voldemort slashfic. Too funny.

STAR TREK CATAN?! - That's brilliant! Definitely putting this one on the Christmas Wish List.

When Talent Can Easily Find New Opportunity, How Do You Retain Talent? - EXACTLY. This issue has been pretty relevant to me in the past few weeks...

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welcome

I'm Kris Howard, a thirtyish Hoosier living in Sydney, Australia. I work as a business analyst at an IT company specialising in mobile solutions. I knit and run and have crazy adventures. This is my weblog and personal site.