Post Conference

I have spent the last two days at a conference at Te Papa. Thats probably about as good as my training will get I anticipate. It was an odd conference, which is not to say there were not good speakers.



1. On day one it was opened by the PM and about 4 Ministers of the Crown. each of them had previously been Health Ministers, including the PM - the transition for them to non health seemed to be easier.

2. When I walked into the Soundings theartre I kept looking for familiar faces, but there were none. Well, there were a few, including one man who now works for TEC who once worked for where I last worked, but I didn't really want to talk to him.

3. I spent day one dsicovering that the lady who works on the other side geographically of my team shares exactly my thoughts and frsutrations on certain ways my team and operates- the difference is she generally manages not to disclose her disdain. But it was a small hallelujah moment for me becasue she expressed basically withouth promptiing all my frustrations

4. Day two was spent with cowo 2 who does not share my frsutration, so I have not expressed it to her. At one point I wanted to say to her "f""" do you have to be so f""""n intense about everything". Like lighten up lady. Btw, she has seen the Rita Angus exhinition 3 x. I don't get that. whats it supposed to demonstrate?

5. Day two and I felt like I had confirmed I was defintely at the wrong fellowship meeting and in fact like I or the taxpayer was paying for a certain group to organise a cofnerence for people to play grown ups.

6. This is not to say there not some good speakers. The best was Janice Shiner from the TEC in her farewell speech. There were pics of the double decker bus her father drove in the uk - no 43. Buildings she once worked in the UK. Her at the airport. It was brillant and at the end everone sung Now is the Hour - but hello, did my cowos from my team who were there get it? Nope.





Tomorrow I return to work. The only good thing is my cowo who sits nexct door to me is equally as frsutrated as me. Its not particulary healthy but we have mock intense discussions about comparative analysis of tea houses down the terrace and coffee establishments - about how if we commissioning this research from our team it would never happen. It somehow makes it bearable to have this to refer to.



I've reached the 6 month mark now. Now I need to get serious about getting out. Thats what I kept thinking at the conference. Ther's lots of reason. My team dynamics, and dysfunctional work programme of my team but also the wider issue of actually, the subject matter doesn't rock my world. I need work I can be passionate about - even if its as John Key would say "aspirational".

Now I am going to make bread and butter pudding - its late (for me). I don't usally make puddings - but i need pudding therapy.

It is reputed I once made the best ever bread and butter pudding - and i think this is true actaully