I’m on the Bec Bucci stand, diagonally across from the tee-pee. Call by for a chat or to buy one of my books, or both if you feel so inclined.

Should be an interesting weekend.

Should I take it as a good thing that the amount of spam I am getting posted on this blog has just doubled? After all, it does mean that people (or machines) are now able to find the site, doesn’t it?

Second question: Does anybody know of a good WordPress friendly, plug-in that will cut down the amount of spam?

Not that I’m not flattered by the attention, of course, but …

What? you may ask.

Well, I have finally managed to get my photo to appear next to my name when I make comments on this (or any other) blog.

For those of you who were here when I started this blog, you may remember that there were the occasional hiccups in regard to the photos appearing next to names in the comments (Men who weren’t ecstatic to be represented by a flower, everybody having my face, and so on.)  Well, as you might have guessed from the subtle statement starting this post, I have finally sorted it out.

If you would also like something other than a flower to appear next to your name visit www.gravatar.com and follow the prompts. It’s all quite easy I promise you.

La dada dada, I did it. I did it.

First let me say that Westnet are wonderful internet providers and they have been very tolerant of my recent and ongoing phone calls. Sadly though the intermittent results of their suggestions have left me swinging from absolutely delight to the overwhelming urge to pop down to Maccas for a coffee just to use the free WIFI.

Our house therefore has been an discussion forum on ADSL2, phone exchanges, n modems, g modems, dual modems, service coverage, unsecured lines and goodness knows what else. All topics, of course, liberally laced with emotion, frustration and the occasional unladylike word.

However, I am delighted to say (fingers crossed) that with the help of Westnet (yet again) I think we have woven our way through technology and electronics and found the solution. It was a double phone adapter. That’s right, nothing computer or modem related (thankfully. Have you seen how much a dual modem costs?) In our home we have two phone sockets attached to the wall into which we plug three phone lines, and the double adapter we use to make one hold two was faulty – even better we had a spare one in the shed.

This means, of course, I can once again answer my emails and add posts to my blog. Better still the family is once again smiling.

Better still, I have noticed that one of them got so engrossed in a book during our day without internet that the need for internet has been forgotten. But SHUSH, I won’t tell them if you don’t.

First there were the increased hours at the book cafe, then there was the need to make a stunning, one of a kind, ‘School Formal’ dress, then there was the organising of hair, shoes and accessories to go with said Formal dress, then the taking of child to Formal. Weaving in nicely was the need for birthday gifts for ‘School Formal’s child’s birthday’, then the birthday party. On a more practical level there was also the need to reclaim the lawn from the foot and a half clover (not an overstatement, maybe even an understatement …). There was also … Funnily enough it doesn’t seem so much now I’ve written it all down.

Anyway, the energetic week resulted in a definitely ‘one of a kind’ Formal Dress, a stunning daughter, a house full of excited girls singing ‘happy birthday’, a once again usable back lawn, a delighted birthday girl feeling suitably spoilt with her presents, and a lack of blog posts.

However, this morning after having dropped everybody off at relevant schools and while doing some housework I realised I had forgotten something. Yes, amongst all those things and other standard mother/wife/writer/employee things, I had forgotten something.  So what had I forgotten?  To wish my own daughter a ‘Happy Birthday.’

Although the birthday was celebrated at the weekend (we never celebrate birthdays on week days because – well – simply put, you don’t have time to play with your new toys) it is actually today. And, in the rush to get everybody out the house in time, I totally forgot what today was.

I’ll leave you each to decide just how bad I felt. But here is a clue – I even contemplated going up to the school to offer her my belated birthday wishes and beg for forgiveness.

Anyway, as always, it all got me thinking.

Throughout every life things are going to be overlooked, forgotten and not go as planned, but is it really that bad? In the big scheme of things, does it truly matter? So often we can find ourselves stressed about things which in the long run have no bearing on anything.

Life is full of enough pressures and responsibilities without us putting extra ones on ourselves, don’t you think so?

(And on the rare chance that the birthday girl is reading this on her new IPod Touch – Sorry, Kiddo. Happy Birthday)

Free Rice is a website that provides free rice (bet you hadn’t figured that one out) to poorer nations. They make money from advertisers who display ads while you’re playing their online word games – the longer you play, the more the advertisers have to pay.

It costs you nothing, helps the less fortunate and could add another dimension to your writing – how could you knock that?

Definitely worth a go this weekend.

Another drawback I have found is the fingerprints. Believe me I am not a clean freak, I do have the odd chocolatey finger print on my fridge (which is not stainless steel). However, with this netbook, I am definitely going to have to learn to overlook a few more smudges closer to hand. Something I’m willing to do for the convenience of such portability, but if you are not and you are looking at buying a netbook this is certainly an aspect to take into consideration.

But other than that I have nothing but good things to say about this wonderful piece of technology.

Postscript: While writing this post the netbook’s battery life has gone up by 2 hours despite not being plugged into the power. I’m sure I could figure out why if I felt so inclined, but I don’t. I’m too busy enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the book cafe, sorry.

I ask these questions because of things that have happened to me over recent days. Over the last month or so, I have (for many people) been ‘just’ a sales assistant. Nothing wrong with that, I thoroughly enjoy this part of my career. But what has been interesting is seeing people’s reactions since they heard me give last week’s talks on writing or found out I am not ‘just’ a sales assistant but also a writer and writing coach.

To be honest I get quite a kick out of surprising people like this, but it did make me think. How many times have I made assumptions about people and been wrong? What are the character and behavioral traits that I base my conclusions on?

• Was the raggedy man slouched quietly in the corner once a successful and wealthy man?
• Is the loud, obnoxious woman really shy and intimidated?
• Does the generous and well-dressed gentleman only have the few coins that are left in his pocket?

People are not always as they appear, something worth bearing in mind next time you are creating a character.

Me, mid talk ( I promise I wasn't just making faces)

It was delight to see such a diverse range of people from all across Perth come together and share their love of words, no matter what form they took on the page. I truly hope it will again be held next year and that I will be lucky enough to be involved in it.

I’m sure that everyone who attended this year walked away with some new insight or memorable moment. For me I loved hearing the stories of how people became writers and what it has added to their lives. I also found the information on specific physical exercises for writers insightful.

However, the moment that will probably stay with me longest is when, while talking on Saturday about dementia and autobiographies, I looked up and saw every face in the book cafe watching me. It so shocked me to have such rapt attention that I had to look away, but when I looked back again the eyes were still on me and this included those in the kitchen and those customers who had just come in for a quiet coffee.

Not only was I stunned by the attention, but it also made me realise that, no matter who we are or where we come from, we are all the same when it comes to wanting a lasting, tangible reminder of the people who are important to us.

Memories are important, both for the person who has left them behind and for those who are able to pass them on down the family. This, in many ways, is the beauty of autobiographies and memoirs, they become a legacy and a tangible memory of the people who have gone before.

Never underestimate the importance of recording your story.

If you were at the Celebration of Writing, why not share you insights from the event.

I hadn’t been booked in to appear, but when one of those that had didn’t turn up I was given five minutes to think about my answers to these three questions.

• What is the power of writing for you?
• How has writing transformed you?
• What is the potential of your transformation for bringing about change for others?

I’m still not sure if the answers I gave in the interview answered the questions (guess I’ll find that out when I see the end result), but it was definitely fun, and I’m all for that.

If you have a moment or two, why not ask yourself the above questions and see what you come up with? I promise it will be an interesting, if not insightful, exercise.

Tomorrow, brings a planned morning of poetry and in the afternoon I am once again donning my writing coach hat and talking about the writing process. That’s at 2pm for those who are interested.

Then on Saturday at 11am I’ll be talking about autobiographical writing while caring for somebody diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. But don’t think you have to be a carer to get benefit from the talk, I’m bound to covering aspects of writing that will help anybody interested in writing their (or somebody else’s) life story.

Remember these events are free, so just turn up. CLICK HERE for more information.