Opportunities to learn and develop yourself can arise in many different forms

Some months ago a good friend asked if I would like to help her out at a Trade Fair in Melbourne, I was keen to familiarise myself with her new product range and an opportunity to spend a couple of nights in Melbourne with good friends, I said "Sure, that sounds like fun.".

When it came time to go, I struggled in more ways than one, I had to drop everything at work, and we are so busy, I had to leave the family (who were very understanding) and it took half a day to get there and half a day to get back, but sometimes the things that are the most challenging are the most worthwhile.

My trip down to Melbourne was exciting, with my backpack filled, I caught a bus to the train which took me to the airport to catch a plane, then I caught a cab to arrive at my destination. It took nearly every mode of transport to get me to the Exhibition Centre in Carlton, Melbourne. I felt like I was 25 years old again trekking around the country, however on the trip home it was clear that I am not 25 years old any more.

So, what did I learn and how did I develop?

I learned that people are the same no matter what industry you are in. People want to be engaged and interact.
I wanted to challenge myself with something new to remember that feeling of uncertainty in my skills, as you are when you are introduced to a new industry. I spend so much of my time as a trainer, reassuring learners and telling new job-starters that it will take a while to learn everything and feel confident. You see the uncertainty in their eyes and your words of reassurance seem to wash over them with no effect, well that uncertainty was in my eyes on Thursday morning as I prepared to throw myself in the deep end and answer questions and take orders on a product range that I was not fully familiar with. But, as I suspected, the challenge of something new was invigorating and  there is nothing better than 2 days at a trade show to familiarise yourself with a product range. I am very grateful to my friend who trusted me in her new business and I will go back to work and be able to confidently say, "I know how you feel and it will get easier".


Life Instyle is an amazing trade show and it was fabulous to be around beautiful products of such high quality and brilliant design, from bags and jewellery and clothes to toys and ceramics. It was just a shame I couldn't spend a small fortune.
See the fabulous products that I got to know over the last few days at Ornamenta and Heaven in Earth. 

My history - in brief the extended version

I am currently working on my MANIFESTO and am trying to work out who I am and what I am about to put it down in writing to put forward to the world. A work in progress, once I work it out I will let you know

I thought it best to start with some history of who I am and how I got where I am today.
1971 I was born, it was a good year for me.
Primary and secondary education in Catholic schools however my family were non religious, completely non-denominational. I lived with my grandmother and mum in a terrace house in Paddington Sydney (the kind that could have done with some renovation). Many family members lived in the same street (uncle next door and aunt 2 doors from him) and I grew up an only child however often had many cousins around me, to entertain and tease me. Very few of my family were university educated, I had one older cousin who was School captain and went to Uni to study Arts/Law, I thought she was amazing and I knew that one day I would go to Uni. I don't know how I knew but as a kid I wanted to expand my vocabulary to be able to express more clearly what I thought of the world. Dinner conversations at my house were not centred around the Arts or worldwide current events, but that was okay. I learned bucket loads about people and their strengths and weaknesses by coming from a working class family.

My Education
My primary school education was sheltered, as it should be, and I was always top of the class. High school revealed that it aint so easy to be top of the class when there are plenty of other girls (yes high school was an all girls school) who have always been top of the class too. My HSC results were average - possibly based on my subject selection and scaling but I was not going to play the game, I selected subjects based on my interests and skill level rather than dumming myself down to maintain a higher average (it was all about 'scaling' in 1988). When I left school I went to TAFE to complete a Visual Merchandising course (Ticketwriting - the ancient art of scribing price tickets and Window Dressing). I always had at least one job to support myself in my studies and when I was 19 I headed off overseas to travel and work, I returned home after 6 months with many wonderful memories and no money. Of course it was time to move out of home. I decided to apply for a Uni course Bachelor of Art Theory (I liked 3 unit art history at school and I could also do some 'fluffy' stuff like painting and photography), I never expected to get into Uni but it was meant to be and I was a poor student living out of my family home, which was under 1km away from the Uni campus, needless to say I was back home within a few months.

University...continuing to be 'educated'

My time at Uni is remembered fondly, the campus was small and comfortable, with some quirky characters  (performance artists), different to the main campus which had massive lecture theatres and was like a mini city. I enjoyed many hours on the library balcony reading and sunning myself (mainly the latter). The little on campus coffee shop had a personal touch, there were always exhibitions on campus or in nearby art galleries, so I was immersed in art and culture. There were no exams in my course, just assessments ie. essays and reports, which kind of felt like I was cheating but that was also part of the 'beauty' of a fine art college. I considered for a time transferring to Art Education as I was fascinated with Art Therapy, but I was not ready to commit to another year of study. After 3 years it was time to 'get a real job', and that is exactly what I did.

Working life
In the following year I moved out of Sydney and got a job in a call centre for a Bank, I never could see myself working in that sort of environment but I have been working in the finance sector now for 15 years - go figure. I now live on the Central Coast and have been working for an insurance company in their local office as a Training Coordinator. I am one of those very annoying people who 'loves' their job. I enjoy imparting knowledge and teaching skills to help people do their jobs.

Where I am now
Over the past 18 months I have been on maternity leave from my job and I have enjoyed every moment, not only for the obvious reason of spending time with my baby, but I have embarked on an online learning journey. I completed an OER (free) online course through Otago Polytechnic (NZ learning institution) called 'Facilitating Online'. I have learned how to learn independently, I now have a clear understanding of the distinction between 'education' and 'learning'. I have been tempted to re-enrol in Uni to complete a Dip Ed but I have come to realise that I do not want to be an educator even though the line between teacher and trainer are blurred and I suppose I am an educator. I have decided to take on independent learning and am keen to use those resources at my disposal via the internet to guide me in learning about 'instiructional design' and 'learning theory'. This is an exciting journey but as I am only answerable to myself it will be a task of self-discipline and regular (daily) access. My current addiction to learning online should assist me in this learning journey however I must remember to stay focussed on the chosen topics.
The tools that I will use to monitor and record my work/learning are ...

• Kim's thinking blog - to record my thoughts and experiences and chew on the info
• Delicious - for bookmarking links to my research
• A trusty 84c notebook for scribble and scrawling thoughts, references etc ( I am not yet ready to let go of the old ways)

I am sure I will pick up various other tools along the way. Wish me luck ....who knows maybe one day this info will all go into a Wiki and I will be able to present this in the form of an online course. Wish me luck!