I don't listen to the radio much. Mostly it will be when I'm in the car and occasionally on the weekend. And as a sign of I know not what, these days it's permanently tuned to ABC Radio National, not to JJJ or a commercial radio station as in days of old. Is this a sign of my age? Probably.

But I've heard some wonderfully interesting things in the last week and I'm determined to turn on the radio a lot more.  I've learned (or been reminded) that:

• lifts are the most unsociable places you can find yourself in (there's a short story that's slowly, slowly taking shape in my mind about this)
• people live in very small homes quite happily, and apparently the 'not so big' house movement is the antidote to the McMansions epidemic. But, Australian houses lead the world in size - double the size of a house in Denmark but also bigger than American houses - that really surprised me. And, get this...the amount of space we take up as individuals is equivalent to 2.5 tennis courts (that includes roads, housing, hospitals, employment). Hell, why aren't we all Roger Federer then? As a comparison, Parisians take up just over one court and Londoners a mere three quarters. Interesting.

• there's much pleasure to be gained in listening to someone read you a short story...back to our infancy perhaps?
• if you're planning to build a skyscraper don't bother with more than 50 floors - above this and you drastically reduce your return on investment (so glad I found that out!)
• I'd really love to see the Aboriginal opera Pecan Summer, inspired by the first mass strike of Aboriginal people in this country - something I knew nothing about - shame on our education system.

• losing weight is not as straightforward as we think - less calories, more exercise is only a small part of the solution; if you engage others in helping you lose weight you're more likely to be successful; and if you're an all or nothing, black and white thinker you're much more likely to regain the weight you've lost. Be flexible about the amount of weight you can reasonably lose seems to be the message. If only it were that easy :)

And there were a few wonderful hours yesterday morning listening to the live broadcast from the Brisbane Writers Festival. Are you a radio listener or is it the TV that turns you on? Or perhaps you're happiest with the wonderful sounds of silence?

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My latest favourite song...trust me on this one :)

Have the happiest of weekends.

Those of you who pay attention to the detail will know that I'm part owner of a HR company here in Canberra. I don't write about work much because I like to keep things separate. Plus a lot of my work colleagues read this blog and I therefore always have to keep it nice...which as we know with work...is not always possible :)

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But, sometimes I get so proud of who we are and the way we roll that I have to share.

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On Friday we took the company on a bit of a magical mystery tour. We started off on a bus at 6.15 (at least it wasn't a Monday) to go to Bowral to do a bit of planning. And we did...I have the good old butcher's paper to prove it!

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Then, back on the bus and we were on our way to the big smoke for a bit of a surprise (mind you, it was the worst kept secret in company history, but we managed to keep it from a few). 

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And the surprise was going to see Jersey Boys...the musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. 

It was an absolute blast...especially of the 'from the past' kind. Although not quite old enough to remember the early songs, I definitely remember the 70s stuff. In fact, some of it takes me back to particular places in time really easily...

...that boat trip party on the Brisbane River in 1977 especially! A boy called Justin. But that's a whole other story ;)
So, it was really nice for the owners of the company (there are four of us) to do something for our very hard working staff. They enjoyed it. We enjoyed being able to make it happen. And it just goes to show that work can be a bit of ok when all the stars are aligned :)
And I also got to make a brief trip to Newtown on Saturday morning to see the first born's new digs (v. nice) and a saunter up King's Road. Where most of the shops I wanted to go into weren't open until 11 a.m., which alas was the time the bus was heading home. Still, I did manage to buy a new cushion...where there's a will and all that :)
And here's one of my favourite old time songs to finish off with...Frankie Valli's first solo hit...it's just beautiful. And if everyone's not happy at work on this Monday, I give up!!

Take a few minutes out...just for you...even if you're not a Don McLean tragic like me, who happens to know all the words to American Pie! Turn the sound down if you must and just feast on the beauty that comes from the hand, mind and heart of Vincent Van Gogh. This version put together for patients at the Mississippi State Hospital.

You can read more about the amazing masterpieces exhibition that I saw at the National Gallery of Australia here (where Starry Night and other extraordinary works of art were exhibited). 
Thank you to my friend Sally in Canada...I saw this lovely tribute to Vincent on her Facebook page.  Sally and I first met in England in 1990 and we've recently reconnected through another friend Mary (who follows my blog, bless you!...don't you love the interweb!!) Sally is a very talented artist...you can visit her blog My Painting Life here for some more soothing.  And here are a few of her paintings...aren't they wonderful. Canadians are so clever! And nice!

Weekend is nearly here...hope you have a wonderful one...here, there or anywhere!

all images courtesy of Sally Chupick