Posts Tagged ‘Melbourne’

My Melbourne in 30 kilos

Posted in Life's musings, Random, tagged , on April 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

For someone like me who doesn’t accumulate many “things”, moving countries with a mere 30 kilos of luggage should not be difficult. But, it is! I have so many beautiful things at home that remind me of the beautiful people I have met during my 2 year stay here.

So, as I began to pack I realized that I will have to leave behind all my clothes, footwear or accessories or cosmetics if I really want to be able to carry my other favorite stuff. For most gals this might be the first horror but I guess it’s not going to be much of a hassle for me.

What will fit into my 30 kilos:

Some memorable magazines- All the editions of Peppermint and few newspapers that are worth treasuring. (5 kilos)

Stationery- With a fetish for stationery- I have a good 10 kilos of pens, pencils, notebooks, bookmarks.

Documents- Love it or hate it, there are heaps of documents that will need to go with me everywhere I travel in the world. I hope with the advent of technology, we should be able to get rid of this and digital copies must start being as acceptable as these sheets of paper! (A good 5 kilos here)

The coffee mug I use every morning, a bottle of my favorite wine, gifts from dear friends who have been the most kind to me, souvenirs from this beautiful country, my diary and some valuables (things that were a part of my wedding trousseau- a couple of Sarees and some jewelery)

What am I really left with?  Just my hand luggage where I can carry another 6-7 kilos. Here, I will have to fit in all my gadgets- 2 phones, 2 laptops, 1 Flip camera and an iPod.

What will I miss about Melbourne?

The people.
More than anything else, it’s the people that make Melbourne the wonderful place that it is. Always happy to help, friendly and hospitable, you people are simply ACE! The community spirit in this country has made me realize that we Indians have a long way to go and a lot to learn before we can catch up. People like Lou, Roger and J have changed my life forever. Although I have not been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with them, just knowing them is loving them.

The space.
Being home away from home is quite a feeling. Having to do everything yourself and getting to live your life just the way you want it without any pressure from the “society” has been wonderful. I have lived away from home for many years before but being in a foreign land where NO ONE knows you is just “wow!”

The learning.
I have been able to understand myself better and the past 2 years have changed me in many ways. For one, I have realized my true calling in life- to be able to give without expecting a thing in return. Then again, I have realized that there are all sorts of people in the world and each one reacts to a situation differently. To respect each one as they are is a learning I will be ever-so-thankful for. Most importantly, Melbourne has changed the very core characteristic in me- I am not the judgmental person I once used to be. Live and let live is the new mantra for me.

What I’m glad I’m getting rid of…

The feeling of being a foreigner.
No matter what, there is no place like home. Although, I have had a pleasant stay in the past 2 years, there was always the feeling of being a foreigner. The sense of belonging here never occurred to me and I’m glad I will be getting rid of that blank space forever. After this, I will never consider making a home anywhere outside the motherland. India has its share of pros and cons (with the cons weighing over the pros) but I belong there I shall live to die there.

Before I bid farewell, Thank you and Sorry

I take this opportunity to thank each one of you I met while in Melbourne. You have been very kind and may God bless you with all the happiness you deserve. I also take this chance to sincerely apologize to the people that I may have hurt. There have been unpleasant memories and I hope you will be able to forgive and forget, like I have.

I fly out of Melbourne at 6 am tomorrow morning and shall not get HOME until a month later. Meanwhile, I will keep you posted about my 4 weeks in other parts of Australia. I will come back to Melbourne for a few days before I leave the country, to take a final look at our favorite places and carry pictures of them so that I can smile whenever I think of memorable Melbourne. My first Melbourne home and the one I am now parting from; Rebecca Walk (where So Ethic once existed) Fed square, NGV, Docklands, Melbourne central, Albert Park, South Yarra and Chapel street would be the places that my Melbourne was made of.

Until we meet again, Stay blessed. YOU are special.

Love and peace xo

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Twestival Melbourne 2011, Video by @1000_lux

Posted in Events, Social Media, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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Hey there! I heard Twitter helped your business grow. Did you return the favour?

Posted in Events, Social Media, tagged , , , on March 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

You have seen many posts telling you “Why Your Business Needs Social Media” but let me take this opportunity to tell you why Social Media needs your business and how you can help.

  • How many of you have created leads for your business using Twitter/Facebook and other social pages?
  • How many clients have you created a personal relationship with because of your interaction with them on various social media sites?
  • How many times have you thanked social media for giving you the most up-to-date information about your competitors and helped you step up your own act?
  • How many compliments have you got from your clients for always being online and available for them, because of social media?

If you have answered yes to at least one of the questions above- Have you thought of how you can pay-back?

Social media is free and available to all but it’s all a give and take. You cannot expect to keep receiving from it if you don’t initiate a “giving” from your end too.

Twestival (or Twitter festival) Melbourne 2011 is your chance to give back to the community. The Twestival is a great night to network with like-minded social media advocates over some drinks and bid for some cool goodies in a public and silent auction. This is your chance to let the community know that your business is social-media savvy and ready to go an extra length for the community.

This year Melbourne Twestival is raising money for STREAT, an Australian social enterprise providing homeless youth with a supported pathway to long-term careers in the hospitality industry. STREAT runs street cafes in Melbourne where youth get their hospitality training. The food is inspired by street hawker food from around the world. More information about them here

By being part of the Melbourne Twestival you can make a real difference to the lives and livelihood of someone currently living on the street.

The Twestival organized for Melbourne will be held at the STREAT offices on Thursday evening 6-9pm on March 24. We encourage you and/your business to be a part of the Melbourne twitter community and raise awareness and worthy funds for this project. Get your tickets here

Think of all the support and connections you have in the Twitter community, now is the time to reach out to your local community and give them some support

To find out how your business can be a part of this great initiative and to keep updated with the latest news before the 24th March, tweet us on Twitter @TwestivalMel or join us on facebook here

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Twestival Melbourne 2011

Posted in Social Media, tagged , , , , , , , on March 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Most of you might already know that I am organising the Twestival Local in Melbourne, this year. I am honored and happy to be a part of such a great initiative and working with an awesome team!

Twestival® (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good by connecting communities offline on a single day to highlight a great cause and have a fun event. Twestival is the largest global grassroots social media fundraising initiative to date. Since 2009, volunteers have raised close to $1.2 million for 137 nonprofits. All local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but work from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact. Please see www.twestival.com for more information.

On the same day and at the same time, over Over 200 international cities from Buenos Aires to Bangalore, Seattle to Seoul and Hong Kong to Honolulu come together to raise funds for a local charity that they choose. These events are all live streamed and available on the internet for the world to watch. Considering the time zone, Australia will be one of the first countries to start the event at 6 pm on 24th March 2011. You can see all details about the event, charity and team behind it on the official blog www.melbourne.twestival.com

The chosen charity beneficiary for this year’s Twestival Melbourne is STREAT MELBOURNE. STREAT does a great job of providing social support with industry training and employment opportunities to young homeless people in their street cafes. They offer customers delicious and cost‐effective meals celebrating the unique tastes and styles of street cultures world-wide. You can see more information about them on their awesome website- www.streat.com.au

Tickets are being sold from $25 upwards. With just a 100 tickets available, you can expect them to get sold out pretty quickly. So, get your ticket now!

All proceeds from the sales of these tickets will go to STREAT directly. There will also be a fund raising auction of awesome items that Melbourne based businesses have kindly offered to the cause.

This is your chance to meet the top twitter people in Melbourne, while supporting a great local charity. Be there!  Tweet, meet, give :)

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