James O'Brien

In case you were wondering, my office was blue and yellow (almost the colours of the Swedish flag) BEFORE I moved in. The only additions have been the little Swedish flag, the postcards, and the tickets for a range of concerts I plan to attend in March.

That said, I did some re-decoration when I moved into the office several weeks ago. First, I re-oriented the desk. It’s the third time I’ve done this on taking over a new office. Even though a desk is perceived by some to be a “barrier”, I think it’s really important to face people as they come into your office. To greet them with a smile etc. Second, I re-oriented the couch so you didn’t find yourself squinting into the daylight as you sat down. It’s also in a much more convenient position for an afternoon nap, too. (That’s a joke, by the way). And third, I removed an older piece of furniture which was, in my view, just taking up space.

The only re-decoration I haven’t done yet is with the prints on the wall. I’ve got an OLD transmission map of Australia which belongs in the archives, and a bunch of ideas about images I’d like to surround myself with. But otherwise I’m pretty happy with the space which easily transforms itself from workstation to meeting place, and is bright, open and cheery. I was telling/boring a colleague about this on the phone today, and promised to send her some photographs, especially since she had previously worked in this office.

After the madness of the last couple of weeks, work was a little quieter today. I even had time to go out for lunch. And when I did I discovered a new Mexican take-away near work. “How long have you been here? And do you still have the place at Centrepoint?”, I asked the woman behind the counter. She seemed a little surprised that I recognised her, but pleased nonetheless. I love Mexican food. And for the last few years whenever I’ve been in the vicinity of Centrepoint, I’ve made it a habit to pop into her “hole in the wall” Mexican take-away. She explained to me the cost of rent, and the disruptions caused by the Centrepoint renovation forced her out. And that she had been in the area for about seven months, and was doing quite well with the nearby combination of the university, the ABC, and a few government departments. She’s such a lovely lady, and it was great chatting to her for a while. She explained she had been running this business for twenty five years. Great eh?