Loving: This week I was in Tasmania. I’ve had a soft spot for Tassie ever since I went there for my version of Schoolies at the end of Year 12 … decades ago! This trip, I visited Freycinet and it was stunning. Apart from sampling some amazing Tasmanian produce, here’s what else happened:

Meeting: Wonderful writers in the Australian Writers’ Centre community in Brisbane and Perth. My travels have enabled me to connect with our students and they never cease to inspire me with what they achieve!

Marvelling at: 3D printing
I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Startup blogger Steve Sammartino invited a bunch of us over to see his new 3D printer in action. This one prints plastic but you can also print glass, titanium, a range of metals and even wood (using wood chips).

Recording: SMaC Talk
I’m having a ball recording our weekly episodes of SMaC Talk, my new podcast with fellow authors and bloggers Kerri Sackville and Allison Tait about what’s been going on around the social web. You can download it on iTunes or listen to it here.… Read more …

This week, a Very Famous Hollywood Actor is filming for 10 days around the Australian Writers’ Centre in Melbourne. I’m pretty excited because I used to have a huge crush on this man. I’ve seen the production schedule – complete with details of all the buildings, steps and facades where he’ll be acting – and I’ll admit that I’ve been tempted to bring a foldable chair and set up camp next to the film crew just to watch.

I’ll call it research. Who knows? I might even blend in. Perhaps I can offer some suggestions on how they can improve the script!

Fortunately, I’ve managed to quell this kind of stalker fan-girl behaviour when I’ve interviewed celebrities as a journalist. Many people ask me who has been my most enjoyable person to interview.

To be honest, I actually find many entrepreneurs far more interesting to chat to than celebs. This is largely because when you interview a celebrity, they are usually on a gruelling schedule, have just finished a major project and have done nothing else but live and breathe that film, album or world tour for the past six months.… Read more …

“Valerie Khoo” and “V8 Supercars” are rarely found in the same sentence. So it would probably surprise most people that I attended the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365 V8 Supercars event last weekend near Launceston.

Let me put this in context. My partner is a V8 Supercar NUT. He owns two V8s, is constantly admiring the sounds of their engines and, when he’s not watching AFL or golf, the television is regularly emanating the dulcet tones of those blessed cars.

So when I received that invitation to attend the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365 V8 Supercars last weekend as a guest of Microsoft … put it this way … I did it for love.

Having said that, I’ll admit … it was a fascinating experience. I now know more about V8 Supercars than I ever thought possible. I even discovered a business angle and wrote about that in my Enterprise column here.

The experience also enabled me to test out my new favourite app, Vine. These are six-second videos which I’ve embedded here, which hopefully give you a sneak peek into the event.… Read more …

I’ve turned into someone with dual citizenship. And I have to say that navigating life with one foot placed in the sparkling city of Sydney and the other foot in the culture-and-cafe scene of Melbourne has its challenges. But I love the fact that I’m getting the best of both worlds.

Regular readers will now that I’ve been based in Sydney for most of my life. And when we decided to expand the Australian Writers’ Centre to Melbourne, I firmly believed that I could commute. You know, like all those people you see catching those early morning interstate flights, only to be home later in the evening after a full day of work in another city.

I was seriously DELUDED to think I could do this. Expanding to a new city is like starting a business from scratch. Despite the wonders of the internet and social media, you have to be there in person to: inspect new premises, deepen relationships and become a true member of the community. If you want to fast track your business growth, there’s certainly a lot that you can do online – but a lot MORE you can do in person.… Read more …

This week I got invited to an event for women over 50. Specifically, the website for this event states:

2013 is going to be your year for change!!
Discover how women over 50 escape the rat race and turn dreams into new careers and business!

At first, I wasn’t sure whether to feel:
(a) offended that the person sending me the invitation (a woman) thought I looked over 50. I’m about a decade off.
(b) bemused that the event organiser thought it would be a good idea to use this language
(c) totally guilty that I felt (a). After all, what’s wrong with being over 50 right?

It’s kind of like going up to a woman who is not pregnant, glancing at her stomach and then asking her: “How exciting! When are you due?”
[...]

Some of you know that around 1 January last year, I decided to write a book. That became Power Stories: The 8 stories you MUST tell to build an epic business.

This year, for something completely different (and in a fit of new year delusion), I decided to wanted to train in kickboxing with a national champion. Yes, you read that correctly.

It’s safe to say that when you meet me for the first time, chances are that you won’t immediately think “cage fighting machine” or even “kickboxing demon”. Even I can’t quite explain the attraction to this activity. But possibly the names of my pets provide some hints to my penchant … Kitty Rocky secured his name because he came into my life the year Rocky Balboa (the sixth in the series) was released, and little doggie Rambo was named the year Rambo (fourth in the series) hit the big screens.

But kickboxing?
Perhaps the heatwave that was passing through the Yarra Valley around the new year touched my brain (in all the wrong ways) as I’m still not entirely sure what possessed me … But somehow I found myself placing a call with the aforementioned champ and, before I knew it, I was booked into a session with her (yes, her).

I’ve had several one-on-one sessions with the trainer now – set against a visually appropriate backdrop of a well-used fighting ring in a tin shed that sometimes feels like its 30 degrees – and the conversations have gone something like this: [...]

I have Monika’s Doggie Rescue to thank for bringing sweet adorable Rambo into my life … wouldn’t you like to fall in love too? [...]

Getting angry may feel like the right thing to do but it is rarely as effective as staying calm and talking the issue through. [...]

Always remember to celebrate your milestones. You earned them so shout it from the rooftops. [...]

Loving life! Interviews, a night at the opera, “Power Stories” charges ahead, a catch up with our wonderful graduates … and I found sponges with the power to save relationships. Yes really … [...]