smart strokes....

3 days alone across the ditch if anything gave me some time. Time for letting my brain rest (and boy did it need it), time away from work, time to escape from around 200 work e-mails (to reply to tomorrow) and time to re-evaluate what I do on a day to day basis. I was at the smart strokes conference in Sydney - a 2 day event which promises to be 3 days next year. I've been to a couple of conference days in the past where I have been totally underwhelmed at what is on offer. Not this time. I was enlightented, enthused and enebriated (conference dinner with free wine - ending up with me being nominated by my dining table partners to do a rendition of Lionel ritchie's Hello to score extra points.) What a fantastic couple of days. about 50 presentations in total - couldn't get to all of them as they run concurrently - however gave me some really good ideas how we can push stroke education and minimise risk here in the windy city.

Sydney itself was a big change from Wellywood. Apparantly Nicole (Kidman - not Richie) was in town for a charity dinner but missed seeing her - Darren Hayes was doing a free gig in the record store on Oxford street, and more celebrity stuff was reported in the papers. The celebrity thing is not such a big thing over here though. We have a whole gamut descending on wellington at the moment - although you wouldn't know it from the papers (and how refreshing that is). Instead you just happen to bump into Sir Ian McKellan - on the street as he starts his RSC King Lear at the local theatre. And if you dig deep enough, you find that Rachel Weisz is coming to film the lovely bones with a load of other A listers (Susan Sarandon, Ryan Gosling), and Sigourney Weaver, Michael Beihn et al are coming over shortly to film James Cameron's new epic Avatar.

Anyway back to Sydney - big place, warmer weather (on Thursday - although Friday and Saturday, whilst I thought was not too bad, the Sydneysiders had their gloves and Parkers on.) Too much going on for my liking - old fart that I am now. Too much noise, too much traffic, too many shops where I couldn't afford to shop and at times rather than being in Australia I thought I was in Korea. - Great korean food though..

Went to see the simpsons movie whilst there - How a team can still be creative and consistently funny after 18 years is surely an achievement to be celebrated. I'll be amazed if I still have any creativity left after another 5 years..

So Sunday night TV beckons - a bit of Top Gear and then back to reality tomorrow.