Paying tax - why?

I received my tax assessment today. Before you stop reading - tax is hardly the most thrilling subject - I want to talk about what else was in the envelope.

There's a tax receipt which explains where my tax dollars were spent. It shows how much and what it was spent on. I think this is an excellent way to educate about the value of paying tax, but for some reason it feels like a cynical exercise.

The first thing I noted was that the level of Australian Government gross debt has increased from $257 billion to $320 billion. That increase has happened under PM Abbott and Treasurer Hockey who used to talk about a "debt and deficit emergency" but now they say there isn't one.

Unsurprisingly, welfare is the biggest proportion and payments to unemployed people is the smallest share (apart from "other").

Health is second highest, then the list gets interesting. Defence received more of my tax dollars than education ($5 more to be precise). I'd like to know more about health spending - for example how much of it goes on subsidising private health insurance for people with money compared to mental health services.

Recreation and culture gets the smallest amount. Luckily I prop them up by paying to go to art galleries, concerts, plays and other cultural activities.

Any mention of the environment is screamingly absent and I can only hope that some of the money going to "fuel and energy" is for development of renewable energy.

There's more information on the website. I love their commitment to plainspeaking:

Understanding tax

Australians pay tax so the government can provide services to the community.

Good to know.

Immigration is the category that upsets me because I know that I have no choice but to financially contribute to the immigration detention centres where innocent people are kept in concentration camps.

I wonder what would happen if tax payers could direct where our share of taxes was spent? I know that it wouldn't necessarily be practical, but it would be interesting to ask people. My decisions would be very different from those of the current government, but I don't resent paying tax.

Thanks to the Australian Government for the information!

Where's the transition industry policy for agriculture in Australia?

It's a sign of the times when newspaper headlines refer to something that went viral on social media. I think back to my journalism studies and it was never envisaged within the definition of news. We were still dealing with the dog bites man/man bites dog paradigm.

Because of personal circumstances, I've been taking a particular interest in the commercial realities and challenges of agriculture in Australia and I came across this article in the Toowoomba Chronicle: Darling Downs Vet's "corporate terrorism" blast goes viral.

It's well written, coherently argued and raises some striking points.

There's also last week's announcement from one of the big four banks of a 12 month moratorium on penalty interest and foreclosure action against drought affected farmers. None of the others have followed.

This prompted me to think about these problems from a public policy point of view.

Living in Melbourne (or any city) it's easy to forget about what it's like to be on a farm during drought. It's one of the most depressing and soul destroying things you can experience. The endless blue skies, unblemished by clouds, become oppressive, rather than welcome. A few years ago when Melbourne was in drought, people complained about water restrictions that meant they couldn't water their gardens every day. On a farm, vegetation disappears and the ground is just bare dirt. Animals are skin and bone. Everything is covered in dust. Hope is burned away under the relentless sun.

Not only is there no water or vegetation, there's no money. Income dries up too. We might feel the impact with an increase in food prices, but they'll creep up without being noticeable.

This image is from the Bureau of Meteorology and shows areas that have had below average rainfall in the last two years. Those red areas are Australia's prime farming areas. From their website: www.bom.gov.au

As I've watched my family's (mis)fortune on the land, I've come to the conclusion that farming, grazing, and any agricultural business is a mug's game. The investment required is enormous and the conditions required for a return - even to break even - are completely uncontrollable. The weather is central, yet is so uncertain. What other business has this challenge as central to its standard operating procedure? Add to this the impact of climate change and "free market" agreements which make market conditions even more difficult the need to borrow money is the only thing that's certain. Banks will lend it too, but have no tolerance for the natural vagaries of the industry. Call it corporate terrorism or at the very least, it's the modern equivalent of the unctuous snake oil salesman or travelling tent evangelist. The hands go out to take the money, but there's no one there when you need help.

One of the things we take for granted in the city is the ability to go to the supermarket and buy whatever food we want. Some of us are conscious about origin and try to buy local, but anyone who has ever tried to buy Australian garlic will know how hard this can be. We have a secure food supply. I don't think its continuity is assured. As more farmers are forced off the land and fewer people take it up, the real question is "who will grow our food"?

My Dad talked to me the other day about how his father was able to raise a family of four on a reasonably small farm. That's not possible anymore. What surprises me is that this is an industry going through the kind of transition that the automotive manufacturing went through in Australia, yet the support for the people who have no choice but to leave is just not there.

One bank promising not to foreclose on drought affected farmers for 12 months is not going to cut it. Where's the comprehensive public policy response? There isn't one. Farmers aren't sexy in the way cars are. They're also not concentrated in particular towns. Most regional towns and villages in Australia feel the flow on effects when the farms surrounding have no money to spend. While 12 months might bring welcome relief for farming families who are affected, it does nothing to solve the problem. What happens at the end of the 12 months? Farm debt will have grown even more and the capacity to pay still won't be there. Perhaps the banks hope that the issue will have faded from public view and they can quietly go about the business of evicting families.

The other aspect is the actions of the supermarket duopoly which distorts the market and puts further pressure on farmers.

Food is pretty important. A safe and reliable food supply is critical. It might be hard to imagine these are under threat, but without a comprehensive public policy response, we're in trouble. Some may argue that the market is operating as it should and weeding out inefficient businesses. That's probably true, but there are plenty of examples where a pure market response has been abandoned and the government has intervened.  Surely feeding the nation in a secure, sustainable way is a priority.

ETA: Today's Daily Telegraph newspaper has a comprehensive story and photographs about the situation in Walgett in NSW's west.

The Commonwealth Bank is running an appeal. Donations can be made here.

Not if you're poor

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says that poor people don't have cars and if they do, they don't drive them much as justification for increases in the fuel excise.

I hope his press secretary is furious, but we've been lucky to gain insight into how our Treasurer thinks.

We've just learned that if you're "poor" in Australia, the Treasurer is working to keep you down, not lift you up. It seems that if Hockey is right and you're poor and don't have a car, his policies are not going to help you get a car or afford fuel if you do have a car. You are dismissed.

How about the poor people who live in outer suburbs or regional areas away from good public transport infrastructure? Life will get harder. Put this together with proposed job search requirements for people receiving unemployment benefits and the burden just got heavier.

$510.50 is the maximum fortnightly Newstart Allowance payment for a single person with no dependents. I guess that qualifies you as "poor" if you have no other resources. And don't forget if you're under 30 years old, the Abbott Government proposes no financial support for you for six months if you're not "earning or learning". I suppose if you have no income at all, you'd be considered poor.

People driving cars aren't the only people paying fuel excise. How about the trucks that deliver our food and other goods and services? These increased costs will surely flow on to the community where poor people live and need to eat and clothe themselves and send their kids to school.

Regardless of the underpinning policy merits of taxing petrol, it's awful to hear such contempt being displayed to people who are struggling. I don't expect to agree with much that the Abbott Goverment says or does, but I do expect the people who have been elected to govern, do so for ALL people, not just the rich.

What I'm wondering

I'm wondering why I keep receiving notification that peak hour train services have been cancelled due to "driver training". Surely there's a better time to train.

I'm wondering why big organisations pass the buck and fail to take responsibility and help customers (ie citizens, the public).

I'm wondering how to extricate myself from a whirlpool of buck passing.

I'm wondering why hotel bathrooms are lit to make me look at least thirty years older than I am.

I'm wondering why caterers think that luke warm water is any way to make a decent cup of tea.

I'm wondering why rice paper rolls marked as "nut free" contained walnuts - the nut to which I'm most allergic. (I can answer this one, partially...because the chicken mix from the sandwiches was used to make the rolls and the chicken mix from the sandwiches contained walnuts. Still doesn't explain the sign.)

I'm wondering why there are still people in the catering business who think that food allergies are not serious, that is potentially life threatening.

I'm wondering why a person who has requested "fructose free" food is served a plate of fruit at morning tea. Sigh. It is marginally better than cake.

I'm wondering why I have to fight so hard to be paid for my services on a regular basis.

I'm wondering why I didn't decide sooner to call it quits with a couple of clients who are bad payers.

I'm wondering why people (ie politicians) don't take responsibility for their decisions to do something different from what they "promised" in the election campaign.

I'm wondering whether there's a definition of "promise" of which I'm unaware.

I'm wondering why people don't listen.

I was wondering why a nurse working in a health care organisation was doing theatre reviews until I realised that I'm the only embedded creative and that her theatre always involves blood, while mine involves blood only sometimes.

What are you wondering about?

* Posts will be erratic this week due to other commitments. *

Superannuation - what's your name again?

I've made some progress on my superannuation campaign! I've also been stuck in another bureaucratic loop.

The good news is that I've received a refund of insurance premiums and fees. It's a small amount of money but an important acknowledgement that other people were spending my money in a way I had not authorised and that is of no benefit to me.

In the meantime, the Australian Tax Office is investigating whether I've been denied choice of superannuation fund under the requirements of the superannuation choice legislation. I suspect I know what the answer will be, but it's all part of amassing evidence to then mount an argument and perhaps broaden the campaign.

My local members of parliament will soon be hearing from me.

Today I received a letter from the UniSuper Fund thanking me for my request to change my membership details. They then went on to note my new name and new address.  I've had the same name since birth and the same mailing address for fourteen years, so I was a little concerned. I rang the fund and was advised that the university HR department had changed my details.

"Change them back please," I said.

"We can't do that over the phone," came the reply from Alice.

"Why not?"

"Only the university HR department can change those details. You need to speak to them."

"Am I the owner of the account?" I asked.

"Yes."

"If there was money in the account, would that money belong to me?"

"Yes."

"Why can someone who is not me change my name and address?"

...silence...

"You'll need to speak to HR. I can't do anything."

Maybe I'm feeling a bit sensitive after having to convince another employer on the weekend about what my name is. There was no folder with my name on it. Several people pointed me to the folder with the right first name, but the wrong surname.

"Oh, you're not Tanya Frew?"

"No I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

I have no patience for conversations like that.

I refuse to be sent back into the bureaucratic haze of buck passing between the employer and the superannuation fund. I insisted that the details be fixed. Alice just called back and told me the problem had been rectified. It's amazing what becomes possible when you persist, sound like you know what you're talking about and sound like you mean it.

I'll be calling the university HR department tomorrow to remove any authority for them to make changes to my account. I'll also be asking for details of the authority that they had to make the changes in the first place. That should be interesting.

In the course of the call, I've discovered that my account has been reopened, but no money has been paid in. It is set up without insurance attached, so that tells me that someone, somewhere is listening.

I'm a supporter of compulsory superannuation, but won't accept this distortion of the system.  Stay tuned.

Things I noticed this week

A city craft and fabric shop is in the midst of a closing down sale with all merchandise selling at half price. I went to stock up on knitting yarn.

While there, I spied a man who looked about fifty with a long roll of bright blue satin fabric under his arm and a steely look in his eye.

A young girl screamed with delight as she saw some horrendous, brightly coloured acrylic yarn, "OMG! OMG! OMG! Look mama!" Mama looked, but was having trouble meeting her daughter's level of enthusiasm.

While shopping, I asked another woman if she knew what was happening to the store - were they closing all together, or moving to another city location? The woman told me they were closing all together.

"Well that's a shame," I said, "but it's better for my bank balance!"

"You're such an optimist!" another woman told me. "I was feeling sad that the store is closing, but you've managed to find the up side."

"You're right - I am an optimist."

As I stood in the queue waiting to pay for my haul, a woman discussed her financial woes, loudly, on her mobile phone. She was going to talk to Centrelink about getting a loan as an advance on her welfare payment. That would come to about $1500 but by the time she paid everyone back the money she already owed them, there would only be $80 left. After she paid for the fabric she was buying in the sale, she'd only have, like, $20 left! She could not discuss further because she was about to be called up to pay for her purchase. I held my tongue.

*****

I've started to take my car to be cleaned at a nearby place that has a dozen young men working on the cars and a cafe for the car owners to sip on a latte and watch the work like members of the privileged class. I am always greeted promptly and enthusiastically and the coffee is excellent.

Today, when I arrived, one of the staff stormed past me, closely followed by the man in charge. The man in charge was intercepted by the man who had greeted me, and asked to make a recommendation on what the best service for my car would be today. He stopped, smiled, gave me and my car his full attention, recommended a wash and polish and then continued in pursuit of the other man.

As I walked up the stairs into the cafe, I heard a raised voice and saw the man who had stormed off, waving his arms and yelling at the man in charge. Something about just wanting to go off and have a smoke. The man in charge very calmly asked him not to raise his voice. The other man continued to wave his arms and yell. He was asked again, firmly and politely not to raise his voice. I turned and looked. The man in charge apologised and suggested I continue into the cafe to wait for my car. I did.

Sitting behind the glass window, I soon noticed the loud man arrive back on the scene and start work again. He looked willing. I wondered what was going on, but soon forgot that as I settled in to read the Sunday paper and my novel over a delicious cafe latte. Forty minutes flew by and soon the man in charge came and told me my car was ready - with a huge smile and a sense of pride.

I really like these guys. They seem to take real pleasure in their work and service and even if I pay quite a bit for it, I'm willing because the whole experience is so smooth and pleasant.

*****

Signs in workplace kitchens and rest rooms always fascinate me with their earnest futility.

This week in the women's toilets of one of the places where I was working I saw this sign:
"If you are brushing your teeth, please don't leave food particles in the sink. Thank you."

My mind boggled as I wondered what had led to that note. Perhaps someone had vomited. Imagine being unwell at work and followed closely by the workplace prefect, ever ready with a printed sign to tape to the mirror.

In the same rest room, behind the closed door of one of the stalls was this sign: "The state of these toilets has been leaving a lot to be desired. Please leave them neat and tidy and make sure you flush."

Everything looked perfectly okay when I was there. Maybe the sign was working, or there was some neat freak with too much time on their hands writing anonymous signs and posting them in the bathroom. I bet that if I visited the kitchen, there would be signs there too. Alas, I didn't get to see.

How are things with you?

What is your superannuation paying for - a Kafkaesque tale of bureaucratic madness.

Superannuation is not at the top of my sexy topics list, but lately I've been educating myself. Maybe the advertising is sinking in and I have been researching different funds so I can streamline and consolidate. One of the things at the top of my list has been to sort out the superannuation I receive when I work as a casual employee at various universities.

What I've discovered is a bureaucratic, wasteful process - a discovery made only after I uncovered the fact that I even had an account with Uni Super.

Every time I earn more than $450 in a month, the university is obliged to pay 9.5% contribution to "my" superannuation fund. The rest of the country can choose their fund (a great initiative to allow people to consolidate their retirement savings), but the university's enterprise agreement has made the choice for everyone and sets UniSuper as the default account for all employees. That might be a fair and reasonable response, even an efficient one, for the bulk of people working in universities and serve the union agenda of supporting industry superannuation funds, but for me, a very casual casual who reaches the superannuation threshold once or twice a year, it's unfair.

My only option to address this is to fill in a paper form, that has to go in the post, requesting closure of the account and a rollover of all money in the account to another fund of my choice. Next time the employer makes a contribution, a new account will be opened for me. I will then have to fill in the same paper form, put it in the post, and request the closure of the account and rollover to my other fund.

The other thing that happens is the premium for the "optional" insurance for "death and total permanent disablement" is automatically deducted from my account. To have the premium stopped, I have to fill in a different three page paper form and put it in the post. I failed my first attempt and the form has been returned to me with the parts I handled incorrectly highlighted for me to complete and put in the post. I had to phone to find out what I should say on the form. It's full of jargon and requires knowledge about one's arrangements that I do not have, because I didn't make the arrangements.

I recently got around to filling in the form to close the account and rollover to my preferred fund but today I discovered that I have an account again - and the insurance premium is being deducted. Here is the ludicrous sequence of events:

• my account was closed on 26 February
• an employer contribution of $61.92 was made on 27 February
• contribution processed and account opened today, 4 March 2014.
• "optional" insurance is being paid for from my money.

Since 2010 when an account was first established for me a total of $727.34 has been contributed. From that, $274.20 has been paid out of my account for "optional" insurance that I don't want, didn't ask for and don't use. I pay for this insurance in another superannuation fund. Almost 40% of my meagre earnings have been given away without my permission. I'm happy to give money away, but I'd rather give it to a homeless person or a charity or an artist, not an insurance company. 

On 26 February the balance available to rollover was $284.20; a mere 39% of my money is left for me. 

I've been advised that it is not possible to have a default on any future accounts I have opened without my permission to not take out this "optional" insurance - the paper form is required every time; OR, I should be able to make the selection on the application form.

Application form? What application form? I don't believe I've ever completed an application form and will make a request to the privacy officer (by writing a letter and putting it in the post) requesting to see my records. That should be interesting.

So I went and looked at the application form. It gives me the opportunity to decide if I want to provide my tax file number, to select my beneficiaries, to NOT take up insurance and to choose my investment mix. Someone somewhere has made all these choices for me without any communication about what has happened or what it means. On reading the university's FAQ page about superannuation, I've discovered that I can also elect to reduce my employer contribution from 9.5% to 0% (and other amounts in between). Well this is good news! Surely I can just make this election and take the 9.5% out myself and pay it to my preferred fund? Well probably, but I'm sure there's some hideous tax implication that will erode my meagre earnings even further. Funny that no one has mentioned this as an option.

As it stands, whenever I am paid enough for the employer to make a superannuation contribution, an account will be opened and the insurance premiums will be calculated daily and deducted monthly from the moment the account is opened. I will only discover that superannuation has been paid when I receive a pay slip. Oh, wait, I haven't received a payslip for a few years. To get a payslip, I have to log into a system. The password expires every three months. I work there once every six months. This is not front of my mind. Anyway, by the time I discover I have a new superannuation account, money is already being deducted to pay for "optional" insurance. I will fill in TWO forms and put them in the post - one to cease the insurance and one to close the account and rollover the balance. Rinse and repeat. Indefinitely.

Is this sounding repetitive? Well it is. I wonder how happy members of the funds would be to know about this wasteful administration? I wonder how happy the insurance company (whose name I don't even know) is to receive lots of tiny amounts from unsuspecting and poorly informed superannuation members? 

On top of all of that, casual employees receive only 9.5% employer contribution, while others receive 17%! I just discovered that when I stumbled across this campaign. Despite being on the payroll (albeit as a casual) I have not had the opportunity to vote on the enterprise agreement which came into effect last year and expires in June 2017. It would seem this campaign is a little late. 

As discussed on a previous post, joining the union is not an option because I'd have to join four different ones to cover me in all my employment settings. Who can afford that? 

This is an example of casual employees not being considered in arrangements at all.  Yet we are essential to many programs in the universities. By all means, maintain the default fund arrangements for people other than casuals and provide the option for casual employees to nominate either UniSuper, or a different fund of our choosing. I'm flabbergasted that an enterprise agreement can override federal legislation about superannuation choice, given the impact it has, undermining the legislation.

I'm lodging a formal complaint, through the internal mechanism first, and will be contacting the university's superannuation officer tomorrow. I can write an email or do it over the phone, as well as write a letter and put it in the post.

Customer service doesn't seem to exist as a concept. I wonder if it will kick in as I move through the complaint process?

How informed are you about your superannuation? Do you have insurance you don't need or want? 

Food samples and brand promotions

Sometimes food and drink is given away at train stations in Melbourne. Mostly, it's a way for companies to promote new products. Usually the products they are throwing at the public are sugar laden and therefore not anything I eat.

Yesterday, frozen pizzas were being handed out. It was fascinating to watch.

Very good looking people dressed in either very revealing clothing or something suggestive of scientific - or a combination of these (think very short lab coats) - smile at people and call out the brand name repeatedly. Before long, commuters are making their way to these very good looking people and clamouring for whatever is on offer.

If standing and watching this procedure was my first glimpse of Melbourne I would have thought that people who live here are reliant on UN food parcels for survival. It was like a flock of seagulls descending on a lonely dropped chip. No orderly queues to be seen here, just people on automatic pilot, lured by the promise of free fat and sugar, forgetting that it's actually advertising and a ploy to secure their money and loyalty down the track.

I wondered whether any homeless people would benefit from this commercial magnanimity but then realised the cruel twist of fate attached: frozen pizza is only edible if you can heat it in an oven first.

As I walked away, I saw a man wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "i Rock" emblazoned on his chest. Looking at him, I was unconvinced that he did in fact rock, but then looks can be deceiving. I wondered whether it was his looks he was railing against; that he'd had so many accusations that he did not rock, that he had hired a PR consultant and gone on the front foot with a declaration of his rockiness. Or perhaps he was trying to convince himself. Or, he was being completely ironic. Or he was making up for a lack of positive reinforcement from his parents during his adolescence. Or it might have been a statement of competency in his day job as a babysitter. Or he's a narcissist.

It struck me that the whole world is busy with image management.

I travelled home, without a frozen pizza melting in my handbag, and thought about the pleasure of making good food.

Giving up alcohol

The first day of February has dawned and my commitment to give up alcohol for the month has commenced. I'm participating in Feb Fast as part of a workplace team.

If you're not familiar with this challenge, it is an example of yet another creative way of raising both awareness and funds. This time the funds go to helping young people who have addictions.

There are four things available to give up: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and digital screens. I've given up sugar already. Caffeine would be harder to avoid than alcohol. I was ready to give the digital fast a go, but then read that e-readers were included in the fast. Given I am an avid reader and now my books are most often on the e-reader I just couldn't give that up. So alcohol it is.

I've set a personal fundraising goal of $400 and would love you to consider donating by sponsoring me. You might also like to join in!

I've kicked things off with a $30 donation, the price of a good bottle of wine.

You might consider:

• sponsoring $1 (or another amount) for each day of February
• instead of buying a round at Friday night drinks, you could pass the hat around and donate the price of that round
• how about that morning latte? If you can't imagine going without for a whole month, could you go without for a day or a week and donate the price of your cup of coffee to the cause?

Each small amount contributes to the larger amount.

I hope you can help. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had an addiction. I often joke that I'm addicted to knitting (I can't watch TV without working on something; I finish one project and immediately start another; I think about knitting when I'm not doing it; I look forward to my next "hit"; sometimes I knit in secret (especially if I'm making a gift for someone). Addiction is a serious illness and the costs to individuals, families and our community are large. I've chosen to participate in Feb Fast as a way to take a small piece of responsibility for supporting my community.

I also expect to feel some personal benefits. I'm not a big drinker, but do enjoy wine. I consider I have a healthy relationship with alcohol, but I know that I'll still benefit from having none for the next month. 

Please consider helping in any way you can. If you decide to join the Fast, please let me know so I can support you too!

Congratulations Rose Wintergreen - Artist of the Year!

I'm so excited for my friend Rose Wintergreen who featured on divacultura a little over a year ago. She has been awarded Australian Independent Music Awards Dance/Electronic Artist of the Year for 2013 for her song Feet in the Sand.

Congratulations Rose!

A little over a year ago Rose mentioned in her interview with divacultura that she was "also working on songs for a new recording". Well Rose has certainly achieved that. I've watched Rose plan the project and then work really hard, riding the highs and the lows, and it's so great to see her vision and hard work pay off. 

Rose crowd funded her album and I remember talking to her just before the deadline about how it was all going. There were some nervous moments, but we got her over the line. Thanks to everyone who joined me in contributing to bringing this artist's work into a  wider world.

Visit Rose's blog to see photos from the Awards night and find out more. Maybe even say hello!

Behind the scenes - my Million Dollar Minute

My latest outing on television game shows aired this week. I can now reveal, for those who didn't see Million Dollar Minute, that I am not a millionaire. Repeat, NOT a millionaire. I'm not even a few bucks richer. They gave me a box of chocolates - a nice gesture, but of course I don't eat sugar. It's moments like these that I realise how sugar driven the world is. Small rewards usually come in the form of sugar. Even an order of sock yarn arrived with a lollipop in the package the other day.

But I digress.

Watching the show was strangely nerve wracking, even though I knew the outcome. I think I was worried that my slow start would leave me looking like some dumb person who answered one question and it was about Versace. You know?

While there's lots I'm contractually bound not to talk about, I can say that game shows are a fascinating opportunity to examine a cross section of the community. A bunch of twelve or so strangers are flung together in the green room for hours on end. It's easy to spot the ones who are deadly serious about their purpose: they don't say a lot and when asked anything they are reticent. Being the extrovert that I am, I talk to everyone and find out as much as I can, meanwhile, there's a guy asleep on the couch (how did they remove the sleep lines before he went to air?)

With the daily newspapers at hand, I decided to lead the quizzes. This is a great way to test the mettle of the deadly serious ones. They can't help but reveal their knowledge. At this point I ask if anyone needs me to shut up. They laugh and the crew who is minding us says "no" in a "thank god you're here" kind of way. It's their job to sit in a room babysitting adults all day. They were terrific.

A television, tuned to the home network, plays in the corner. It's infomercial hour, so after ten minutes of that we're all ready to shoot the television. DVDs have been provided for our entertainment, as well as several jigsaw puzzles. No Scrabble set though. I choose a retrospective of the comedy show "Fast Forward" which proves to be a hit. We all marvel at the cleverness and the fact that much of the humour would not be allowed on television today (think Magda Subanski in black face!). Ages of fellow competitors were revealed as people in my age group could quote along with the skits and characters.

There were some formalities - rules, contracts etc - and the opportunity to practise on the buzzers and the touch screen. I was first in and happily got all five questions in the practise round correct. Julius, one of the other contestants, said my name was written down by everyone else when I got the question about the fennec fox correct . It's renowned for its large ears. Apparently. I fluked that one, but they didn't need to know that.

I was glad to have my knitting with me. It's always handy for passing the time when you have to just wait. Nothing else, just waiting. We were in a time vortex with nothing much happening, but immense anticipation in the air. Contestants would come back from their filming either jubilant at winning some money or devastated after losing their chance.

I will confess that I sledged the champ in between sessions. Nicely. But I did want to get under his skin and rattle him a bit. He was an air traffic controller and cool as a cucumber. Meanwhile, I was in some weird tunnel for the first round. It took ages for me to hear and process the question before I could even get around to pressing the buzzer. I gave myself a good talking to and things picked up from there.

In the end, I got the second last question wrong which locked me out for the next one (which I knew) and I was beaten by 15 points. The champ had bought 15 points earlier in the game. It was an exciting battle at the end. It would have been more exciting if it was me playing for $20,000, but that's life.

My next sit-com idea will be set in a the green room of a game show.

Have you won anything lately?

On my mind this week...ramblings.

I've been thinking.  Here's what's been on my mind this week.

Some people are really bad at hiding when they're about to tell you something they are uncomfortable with.  They think they're hiding it by not "saying" it.  But they are saying it - with their ticks, gestures and shifting eye contact.

The power of saying sorry, sincerely, and taking responsibility is immense.

What's the gracious response to such power?

Everything depends on all people being clear about their role and equipped with the skills to fulfill their role.  (My favourite question I ask when I'm leading people is "is there anything I'm asking you to do that you don't know how to do?")

Accounts departments in big organisations (eg universities) should pick up the phone more often.  Why do they dwell in the world of letters and post when a conversation over the phone would address many things?

People seem very confronted by shows of intense emotion, even when the emotion is a valid and reasonable response to circumstances.  Human beings are emotional creatures.  There is never a time when we are without emotion.

Music is a powerful expression of emotion. It unites. It divides. It can provide an outlet. It can empathise. It can mean different things in different situations.  It can be universal.

Plastic bags and old towels do not go in the recycling.  Neither do carpets.  Or bodies.

When a friend says he's "putting the chooks in",  "the oven" is not the only way that sentence can be finished.

I had the best end to an intense day at the end of an intense week. I walked out into the sunshine with three friends and colleagues. We were silly and playful together.  Intense feelings dropped away as laughter took over.

What's on your mind this week?

My Million Dollar Minute - airdate

I was recently a contestant on the new quiz show called Million Dollar Minute.  (It's the thing I did that I couldn't talk about.)  I still can't really talk about it, but I can tell you that if you tune in on 23 October you will see me competing.

The thing I really like about this show is that it's the old-fashioned - but enduring - quiz with buzzer format.  You can play along at home.

Going on game shows is something that I decided to do one day and I've been lucky enough to be selected as a contestant on a few.  It's a bit of a love/hate relationship actually.

Have you ever been on a television game show?  Did you win?

ETA on public transport? Five and a half hours early.

Public transport gets me where I need to go, when I need to go, most of the time.  On Sunday I bumped right up against its limitations and instead of paying $3.50 for all day travel on Saturday and Sunday I had to drive my car.

I worked all weekend and had to be ready to start at 8am on Sunday morning, just near the MCG.  As usual, I used the Public Transport Victoria Journey Planner to search for my best transport options and said that I needed to arrive by 8am.

It gave me four options and the best option had me arriving in plenty of time...at 2:34am after a journey involving a train, two buses and two periods of walking and a total travel time of 1 hour and 12 minutes!  I wasn't sure what I would do with the spare five and a half hours before start time, I looked at the next arrival time.  That had me arriving late at 8:07am (assuming it was running without delay) and took 1 hour and 22 minutes after travelling on a bus, two trains and three intervals on foot.

I decided to drive instead.  The journey took me less than twenty minutes and I parked on the street for free.  I had always wondered why people chose to drive to attend church when they are right next door to tram lines and railway stations.  Now I now.

If I didn't have a car or wasn't in a position to drive I suppose I would have to take a taxi or plead forgiveness for being a little late and prepare for the epic journey.  I suppose cycling is another potential option.  I can't comment on this as I'm not familiar with travel times or methods for cycling, but I would require facilities at my workplace to enable me to change, store the bike on so on.

I don't expect that public transport options on a Sunday morning are going to be as available as they are during a weekday peak, but with changes to work patterns and lifestyles, this serious lack of public transport must be problematic for many people.  Even if I wanted to arrive at the same destination by 9am, my best travel option requires me to be on a train at 7:58am and I arrive 33 minutes early.  The option before that is the one that delivers me at 8:07am and the later option would see me arrive at 9:11am and take 33 minutes, station to station.

Melbourne is a great city.  Indeed we're the world's most livable city.  What must the public transport be like in other cities?  And now we are further condemned to languish with a new federal government which stated prior to the election that they would not be funding urban rail.  They're all about roads.

Chasing money costs time.

Today I had to call a client who had not paid me for work I did on the 21st of March.  I'd made an enquiry two weeks ago as I don't like to let these things drag on too long.

It goes like this: I always speak to the person with whom I already have contact.  They are embarrassed, complain about "the finance department" and then promise to follow up with them and let me know the outcome.  They then send me an email saying "it's underway".  No specific timeframe is ever mentioned.

I wait for two weeks and when no payment is received I email my contact asking for details of the contact person in the finance department.

That's what I did today.  I called the finance department while I had a spare twelve minutes between trams.

Barbara was pleasant but didn't let me complete a single sentence.  I had to repeat my name three times as she located me on the system.  Then she made this pronouncement: "Yes, you'll be paid on Friday.  The payment isn't overdue.  Every organisation has a 30 day payment policy and we moved you up to 14 day payment terms."

I thanked her from confirming that I would soon be paid, but she was working off some whacky calendar.  Apart from the face that the dates didn't add up, I asked her why her organisation thinks it's okay to just ignore MY payment terms of 7 days without a word.

"Well it's such a little amount of money and this is what every organisation does.  We pay tens of thousands of dollars in invoices each month."

I sat at the tram stop wondering what that had to do with me.  And I wondered about how the finance department of an organisation with a strong set of values thinks it's okay to be so arrogant.

Obviously I need to change my practises and have an explicit conversation about payment terms.  As a freelancer, I can't afford to provide my services and then wait for weeks, sometimes months, to receive my payment.  When you're running your own business, it's not possible to be coy about money.  You've got to be clear, specific and say what you need.

Here's to the money being in the bank, rather than the cheque being in the mail!

What would you say...money on the streets

What's the correct answer when a serial beggar approaches the people you're talking to and asks for money?  When the answer is "no", what's the next thing to say when the person says they can give you change for big notes?

The particular man I've thinking of is someone I come across at least twice a week in Melbourne's CBD.  I never know where he's going to cross my path.  If refused, he becomes aggressive.

If I wasn't paying attention I could easily give my money to anyone who asks.  I suppose there's nothing wrong with that until I discover that I can't pay my rent or I've given away all the GST I've collected for the government.

So what is the right answer when a beggar offers to give you change?

PINs, passwords & access codes -- gone walkabout.

My PIN for my ATM card went out of my head yesterday when I was buying some groceries and getting some cash out.  It just left.  I felt it go actually.  I could remember the first 2 digits and after than it all went wobbly.  I nervously tried four numbers and stared at the terminal, expectant.  I was wrong.  I tried another combination - same number but in a different order.  No luck.  I decided not to try again.  Perhaps I'd remember in the middle of the night.

So today, I tried again, with completely different numbers, feeling so certain they were correct.  This time I did exceed my allowed number of attempts.

I rang the bank.  Because it's linked to my business trust account, resetting the PIN over the phone is not possible.  I have to have a new one sent out in the mail.  I am pretty sure I know what it is now and apparently I can try again after midnight because the card resets.  I hope I've remembered it and am not just falling victim to a dose of wishful thinking.

I wonder what makes something like a PIN just walk out of your brain?  It's not like this is a new number.  It's been sitting in there since 2008.  Embedded is what I thought it was.  Just goes to show you can't relax about things like this.  I think I'll need to devise a drill where I run through all of my PIN numbers and passwords on a regular basis.  How regular though?  I can't afford the time to do it daily!  There are so many access codes these days.  I added a new password during the week and it obviously pushed the PIN out.

Do the gates of heaven - or hell, for that matter - have a PIN or passcode? I imagine it turns up in the mail 7 to 10 business days before it will be required in one of those anonymous business envelopes.  They send them like that for security purposes, but everyone knows that envelopes like that have the access code for some kind of money or information in them.

I imagine that one might arrive at the gates of the afterlife in a somewhat flustered state, with a lot riding on your ability to punch the code in correctly.  How many attempts do you get? What happens if you're still wrong on the third attempt?  Or is this the modern definition of purgatory - spending eternity trying to remember the perfect combination of numbers to allow the door to be unlocked?  Imagine never being able to remember but being condemned to trying for ever! Two days of trying has been more than enough for me.

One day we'll just be embedded with a barcode or something.  I think I might get one.

We made it to 2013 - the Mayans were wrong.

Imagine that.  The world didn't end.  Who knows what the Mayans were up to?  The world could have been spared numerous B movies, apart from any angst which may have arisen from the looming end of the world.

I like milestones.  I like to take the time to think about what's next and get my mindset right for whatever is next.  I'm not really a goal setter, but I do like to be purposeful about actions that I take.  My experience over the last few years since I finished full time employment for other people in October 2008 is that things work really well for me if I think positively, don't get tense and worried and continue to act on opportunities.  I also look for opportunities.  They can be sneaky things and can easily be missed if you're not actually looking.

I just checked my New Year post for last year and am very pleased with the alignment I achieved between intention and achievement.  I am pleased with what I achieved.  I haven't tackled my lace knitting yet, but I have signed up to an online class and have the yarn wound and ready to go.  Development as a performer didn't really happen last year, but I'm okay with that.  I've been spending a lot of time developing my skills as an improviser and actor in a teaching and assessment setting.  It's not performance as such, but I'm still exercising my acting muscles.

The spare room is still a disaster - perhaps smaller and a tiny bit more organised than it was this time last year.

I'm very pleased with how my business is developing.  Bookings and interest is very strong right through the first quarter and prospects are already looking very good beyond that. I'm feeling good about 2013.

On a personal level, one of my major achievements in 2012 was quitting sugar!  I made it through the eight weeks of having no sugar at all, just in time for Christmas.  Over Christmas, I have allowed myself to share a small portion of Christmas pudding and last night at dinner I had a dessert that was far too big and far too rich, given that I'm off sugar.  It's interesting that previously I would have been fighting the urge to have seconds, but that doesn't happen anymore.  The quit program has worked and my habits and palate have both changed.  Congratulations to anyone out there who has achieved the same thing!  And if you haven't quite made it yet, keep trying - it's worth it.

My main focus for 2013 is to continue to build my business, using networking and good work as my main advertising tools.  On a concrete, practical note, I do want to get my website up and running.

Incorporating volunteering into my life while I'm working freelance is quite challenging.  Because I am only paid when I work, I need to prioritise paid work over volunteering.  Contributing to my community  is very important to me and I'm feeling a little frustrated that I haven't found a way of volunteering regularly in the way my life is currently running.  I solved that problem in 2011 by knitting for charity.  This worked because it was easy to incorporate into my usual leisure activities and didn't compete for priority with my paid work.  In 2012 I started to crochet a granny square a day and these will be turned into a blanket for someone.  I will explore further charity avenues for my knitting this year.

Floating around in my mind is the idea of going unplugged for a day a month.  I need to think about this idea more and gain clarity about what I mean.  At this stage I'm thinking about it in the context of being offline - that is, not dealing with email, social media and using the internet generally.  I feel like this would be a good thing to do to clear my mind and make sure days aren't sucked into the web vortex.

On the practical side, the spare room has made it onto the list.  I know that I need to be more specific in thinking about this as making a broad statement like "tackle the spare room" really hasn't worked.  At this moment I'm thinking "turn the spare room into a useful, welcoming space, so that it is more than a storage room".  And of course, I need a timeframe.  By 31 August 2013!

I've done fairly well with saving money during 2012, but with no real plan other than to have money to tide me over during the dead period of December and January.  I'm going to put a firm aim in place and put aside 10% of all invoices (after I've taken out tax and GST).

And I want to dance more!

My plans for divacultura are to continue to write daily as much as possible.  This is no longer a chore and I find that most days the inspiration is readily available and the writing happens fairly easily.  If I'm travelling it's often difficult to post each day, but I've decided just to acknowledge that and communicate with my readers.  Given my work schedule I may need to cut back to five posts a week, but I'll let you know if that happens.  With the development of my website for this year, I need to think about the relationship between my business and my blog and make sure I seize opportunities for cross-pollination.

Here are the top 10 most read posts on divacultura:

1. MYKI: it's your key to bureaucratic frustration
2. Quitting sugar - two weeks down
3. That's how you handle a complaint!
4. Emergency services call - communication failure
5. Missing in action
6. Photo a day June - from a low angle
7. If myki is the solution, what the hell was the problem?
8. I've got the public transport ticketing blues
9. Photo a day - June round up & July list
10. 2 Days in New York - giveaway

Post numbers 2 through to 10 were all written this year.  The top post was written in 2011.  There's a strong theme of public transport and community service being subjects of these most popular posts.  And my photos have also received lots of comments and compliments, both here on the blog and on Instagram and facebook.  The one I'm puzzled about is "Missing in action" at number 5...

Phew!  That's a great list and I'm excited about what's to come.

What are you thinking about for 2013?  What's your intention?

Vibe or Vile?

Hotels are interesting places.  I started and finished my stay at the Vibe in Sydney with an argument.  I find the attitudes towards guests vary wildly - some are delighted to have guests, others are contemptuous and seem to do everything possible to ensure you don't come back.  Ever.  The attitudes don't seem to bear any relationship to the number of stars or the price of a room.

On arrival at the hotel, I discovered they wished to "hold" or "pre-authorise" $200 on my credit card and take a copy of my driver's licence.  The $200 would not be available again on my credit card until "at least" 24 hours after checking out.  This last part is blamed on the banks.

I stay in a lot of hotels and understand the need for personal details and some kind of security.  As a matter of principle, I will not allow money to be held on my credit card if it is more than $1.  I'd prefer to leave a cash security deposit which can be refunded instantly.

After some wrangling I managed to negotiate $25 to held on my credit card and $175 to be paid via EFTPOS.  When it was done, the man who was serving me (the duty manager) "accidentally" put the transaction through as a purchase on the credit card.  He then refunded it and put it through again as a pre-authorisation.  The interesting thing about this is that they all come up as a debit on the credit card and therefore $50 had been debited to the credit card.   I had negotiated for $25 out of the credit card because that was the amount of available credit on the card.  The manager's mistake put me over the credit limit.  Thanks very much. It has taken three days for the reversal to come through on the actual card.

On enquiring about breakfast later in the evening I was asked if I'd like to book for the buffet.  I asked if that was necessary and was informed that breakfast without a booking costs $29, but with a booking it costs $20.  Lucky I checked.

I was upgraded to a junior suite and it is great to have extra  other than the bed.  That's an appreciated gesture, but doesn't remove my concerns about the hotel's credit card policy.

The most interesting and bizarre aspect of the conversation I had with the duty manager was his statement that the credit card policy is designed to keep me safe!  When I asked him to explain this he muttered something about being a "CBD hotel" with people coming an doing.  He was very displeased when I used the term "better class of guest".

Checking out was a very complex and fraught experience.  Firstly there were extra breakfasts and dinners and items from the mini bar which I had not incurred.  Then they tried to subtract the $25 credit card charge from the cash deposit I had left!  (They reduced the cash deposit from $175 to $150 on the bill before deducting all the phantom charges.)

It pays to check the bill in detail before you pay.  I've noticed that hotels often ask for payment and then you get a receipt.  After a few bad experiences I now ask to see a printed bill which I check before I pay.  It means they have to print two pieces of paper, but I don't think it's reasonable to ask for payment without providing details.

I think it's quite revealing that the staff at the hotel were put in a position where they were apologising for the hotel's credit card policy and agreeing that it is onerous and unfair.  The cutest part of all is that the bill will automatically be paid with the credit card provided on check in.  That attracts a 1.5% surcharge regardless of the card used.

Once settled I asked for the copy of my driver's licence to be returned to me and left as quickly as I could.

LAST CHANCE TO WIN!

To win one of three in-season double passes to "Bachelorette": leave a comment at the end of this blog telling us where you met your oldest friend.  Entries close Saturday 10 November 2012.  Winners will be drawn randomly, announced on the blog and contacted individually.

Good luck!

* Passes are valid even with a "no free tickets" listing at participating Australian cinemas.

How did I ever have time to work full time?

The question I've been asking myself lately is "how did I ever have time to work full time?"  Seriously.  I don't know how I ever managed to get anything done! How did I ever make anything; read anything; write anything; see anyone; play anything; pay anyone; clean anything; calculate anything? Oh that's right, those last two items I still struggle with.

This afternoon I've been doing my BAS* for the Tax Office so that I can work out how much goods and services tax I've collected for them and pay it back.  It bores me stupid.  For a little while I convinced myself that I loved being systematic and working the fabulous spreadsheet that my more fabulous accountant set up for me.  This afternoon I discovered that I have been lying to myself and to everyone else about this.  I still hate it.  Putting numbers in columns and cross checking the little pieces of paper, with their faded printing, that pass as receipts these days, updating my car usage in my special diary is just so DULL.  Even the thrill of seeing how much money I've earned during the quarter was not enough to make it all shiny and satisfying again.

When I first started out on this business venture, I knew that I would need to have a really easy, uncomplicated and appealing system to use to keep all my records in order.  If I didn't start this way, there was a chance that the tax office would be looking for me a few years in the future and I'd probably be hiding in a cave somewhere because the disarray and volume of paper would just be too much.

That theory was right and I was very diligent early on.  Then I became extremely busy: flying all over the countryside, stopping at home long enough only to wash my clothes and repack my suitcase.  Travel for work generates paper like no other activity I've ever been involved in.  I started this busy period by clipping them all together and putting them aside to be entered into the spreadsheet next time I was home.  I did this a few times until there was a teetering pile.  The pile teetered right off the edge of the table and with another round of travel looming, along with the deadline for lodgement of my BAS coinciding with this time, I knew I had to tackle it today.

For almost three hours, I've sat chained to my desk.  It's done now and the payment is set up and everything, but I don't feel a sense of achievement.  I feel like I've been cheated of quality time I could have spent doing something else more interesting and invigorating.  And now I've started the recriminating conversation with myself. "You can't let it get out of control again".  "Just do it whenever you have a receipt - it's easier to do one or two at the time." Blah, blah, blah.  I know, I know, I know.

The only thing that makes sure I do it is the fear of further tedious conversations with the tax office.  If I could be assured I'd never have to do that again, I'd sit down with my spreadsheet all the time.  Well maybe that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

So today, I've done nothing else. Well I've done a few things.  I managed to do a couple of loads of washing and dry them.  They're now piled on the couch until further notice.  I ate breakfast and lunch.  I've picked up equipment for tomorrow's workshop.  The washing up from yesterday is still sitting in the drainer on the sink.  I have no idea what I'm going to eat for dinner.

Remind me: how did I ever have time to work full time?  I don't know how I ever got anything done!

*BAS = Business Activity Statement