In my job, the office isn’t always the office. Sometimes its a cinema, a cafe, a sound studio, a winery, a news printer, a gallery, a museum, a bowling alley… I have to admit, teaching English rocks! Check this out for just a few reasons to like work:

• with my previous class, we went out for coffee and yacked about soccer and watched Bend it like Beckham
• in my class at Victoria University we are studying films, so we get to watch movies as part of the course! (Last Friday we saw Gorillas in the mist)
• sometimes we listen to music, like Cat Stevens (unfortunately not his best song)
• at Melbourne University our class excursion ended up with wine tasting at the Rochford winery
• students brought a rich chocolate cake to class for my birthday last Monday

  

To top it all off, next month I will be taking up an invitation to work in China! Nothing has been confirmed yet but the details so far sound pretty good to me: a free return flight, free travel insurance, free accommodation, 1 week of holidays between the two blocks of 6 weeks. So stay tuned and catch me hanging out in Shandong province . I wonder if I can wear Chacos on hot days…

And whatever you do, don’t work too hard!

Giant Piñata Seen in Mexico City! To celebrate the record-breaking success of Viva Piñata™, the Xbox 360™ team in Mexico City decided to break a record of their own: by building the world’s largest piñata! Forty five dedicated team members and 800 volunteers built a giant Horstachio that stands 48 feet high and weighs a whopping 4,400 pounds!

If you are concerned about your safety (or your children’s) then perhaps you should try the parents’ and the children’s safety videos! Now who says we can’t sue Microsoft because our children bashed us up using their new Christmas present?

Pete’s piñata on Vimeo

The real piñata got his arse whipped until his leg broke and his guts spilled out. So much for the viva! All in the name of great fun at my cousin’s 21st birthday party.

The good and the bad of being born on New Year’s Eve:

• Everyone’s already in party mode (this can save you heaps on your catering budget).
• You get the best fireworks show of the year.
• Proximity to Christmas means you often won’t get the full value of 2 separate presents, rather a single crappier pressie.

Happy Birthday Pete. I hope you enjoy sleeping with the girls.