Welcome to this fortnights instalment of my weekly rant Its coming from sunny Manly beach (don�t worry I�m in the shade � geeks and sun don�t mix) as I have been shopping for diving stuff (yet not going diving � go figure!) I�m trying to waste enough time to go to the restaurant from this series of My Restaurant Rules, Pink Salt (it opens at 6, its 3 now and I have 33% of power left on the laptop � this will be fun )

I have now been to two weeks of Strategic People Management, my Uni course. The first week was scary as I had no idea what I�m doing (please don�t point out that this my normal mode of operation ), so I just sat and listened to get the gist of how things are done. The second week was more fun, and more importantly, really interesting and I started speaking up more (its worth 10% so I had better ). This week�s class has me thinking about a lot of stuff that is happening at work. For example I realised there is no fire plans or employee handbook explaining our culture (which I planned to start but battery time might be against me!)

This brings me to the title of this piece. I always thought there was one way to manage � that there was one manager above every employee and it worked as a hierarchy up the organisation. This is apparently a good way to manage some organisations (ones that don�t have to manage change quickly) but it turns out it isn�t that good for companies that face a lot of change (that being the IT industry to a tee!). This isn�t to say the way we are being managed at the moment is good, but it shows that there was a huge hole in my knowledge on how management worked.

Sorry to break the flow but I just saw a guy rollerblading while pushing a pram! That is cool!

We also talked about the culture � which caused me great trouble as I couldn�t really identify a culture, it was only after talking to the class facilitator that it became clearer. Again what I thought our culture was and what it really seems to be is two completely different beasts. My image of the culture was that we were very open (in that we will stand up for our opinions with repercussions � as long as it is put forward in a reasonable and polite way), that we were welcoming, that we promoted employee empowerment and we are multi-cultural. All except the multi-cultural part seem to be wrong! It turns out that only a few of us actually question things (me being one so no wonder I though this ) most just do what they are told. Apparently new employees are welcomed with open arms. It isn�t as though they are pushed away, it is more that the new person has to make a effort as most people are just concentrating on their computers. The employee empowerment existing in a limited capacity � for example there isn�t set hours, while you are expected to work at least 8 hours a day it can happen from 7-3 or 9:30 to 5:30, it is up the individual, it is more important they complete what is expected of them. It is more managed that I realised. I plan to talk to more employees next week as this really interests me, it is interesting to see how they view the organisation.

PIGFUCKERS!!! Sorry, the parking patrol just walked past.

A really important point came out of last Thursdays class � when we are 16, we aren�t allowed to drink, vote or drive yet we are expected to make a decision about what we want to do for the rest of our lives! Now I think I�m very lucky that I knew what I wanted to do and have enjoyed it ever since, but apparently 75% of people hate their job. How much of it can be traced back to the choice they had to make as a 16 year old?

Anyway, enough Uni talk (I can�t help it, I just found it really interesting!)

Last Friday I went as saw the Goodie stage show � it was really good and so very funny. It was a mix of showing clips and answering questions. It was made better by the fact that they answered the questions in character. I need to now get the second Goodies DVD, it reminded me about episodes I had since forgotten about.

After the show I decided to go to the cinema and see Constantine. I thought this move was good (not great, just good), I had been hearing good and bad reviews about it but it seemed to look good from the trailers (well good to the sci-fi geek that is me!). The story was really tight, the only let down being the �twist� at the end (OK directors, it isn�t a twist if you don�t fricken give us any idea about it before it happens � I�m looking at you Ocean�s Twelve!) The imagery and special effects were great, and having not read the comic it is based on, I thought Keanu was great as the lead (yes, it hurts me to say that! ) I would give it 6/10.

Oh down to only 14%!

I have also been feeling really flat the last few weeks so I decided to change some aspects of my life to see how they go. I had been getting about 9 hours sleep a night, so I decided to change it to different hours to see how that felt. Scarily the best I felt was only having 5 hours, although it meant having 9 the next day was required to feel normal the next day. I have also started taking a multi vitamin, but apparently it will take about 6 months before I get any benefit from that. Hopefully these will make me feel better

I have been ranking all the MP3 files I have (all 4500 of them!), I�m down to only 650 that aren�t ranked and only about 3% of songs on my iPod unranked (I also need to upgrade my iPod, I have 700Mb left!!)

Oh there is one really good thing about being as busy as I have been � I haven�t had time to go out spend money so I actually got to save money this month! Yay \o/

Anyway, I think that is all I can think of to talk about.

10% left and an hour gone!

Later,
Steve

********** Later that day ********

I went to Pink Salt for dinner and had a great time The meal was delicious and the service was great too. I had Wagyu beef rump for my main and the Valhrona chocolat fondant with milk ice cream for dessert. The beef was so tender and juicy and the sauce was perfect for the meat. The dessert was very rich but oh so yummy. I would recommend that everyone who can go down there as soon as possible in case they get kicked off (you never can tell with that show!).

The other great thing was that there were group tables so those sad lonely bastards that have no friends (like myself ) can have someone to talk to. This was great as I ended up with some girls who were a lot of fun. It�s great when people say �Oh, you are leaving� in a dejected way when you leave Oh watch My Restaurant Rules on Sunday and/or Thursday to see if you can see me � I�m the one that sticks out like a sore thumb in the Invader Zim t-shirt!

I completely forgot about Mardi Gras happening last weekend � that was blast as Marika and myself got dressed up and went out to watch the march (better than last year where we just got dressed up). The photos will come eventually but as there is over 400 photos to go through! (plus I�m still haven�t done the Christmas ones � whoops) To get you through until then, here is a photo of Marika and me, and a photo of the back of me

And in the last 8 days I have been interviewed twice � once for Mardi gras and once at Pink Salt. My 15 minutes must be starting soon (hopefully at the expense of Paris Hilton!)

Enjoy,
Steve