Autobiography please

In 2011 I first listened to ‘Weekends with Terrie Q Sayre’ and my first phone, my second call was 2012 and I started to regularly call in 2013.  My plan with the blog is to start blogging as much as possible about the calls I have made and the “things I should have said…” catching up to real-time as quickly as possible.

There are lots of reasons delaying my plans: priority is my son (where do I start?), all the little things I need to do in life but too boring to discuss.

I don’t actually listen to the live broadcast of ‘Weekends with Terrie Q. Sayre’ due to the 16 hour time difference March – October then 18 hours the rest of the year.  Listening to the podcasts I want to tell Maxine and Terrie – please record your life for posterity.  Although you are both from different eras you have both led interesting lives. You are both have vibrant personalities that are positive. I don’t mean an eternal optimist but each has faced adversity at sometime, you appear to have dealt with it and moved on after brushing yourself off.

There is a big push in Australia to create positive female role models for girls but as a mother of a son we all need to hear about strong people to learn that life is not always perfect but how we react when faced with any sort of challenge.

Auburn is in the geographic middle of Sydney. The residents are from many cultural backgrounds. The Gallipoli Mosque represents to me all that is good about Australia.  Auburn is worth visiting for the variety of food available.

Auburn Library had a Living Library programme where people would offer to tell their story one-on-one with a borrower.  Imagine if Terrie and Maxine were the living book?  If only Albuquerque was a Sydney suburb, I’d be listening.

http://www.auburn.nsw.gov.au/Welcome/News/News Releases 2010/19th October 2009 – Auburn Living Library.pdf

Regular callers to ‘Weekends with Terrie Q.’

Terrie has many regular callers to her show.   Phil from Florida, Sarah who promotes local issues needing support, Sarge, Rosaleen, Peter, Maxine, Phil from Florida.  We all miss the late Ken Moore ringing in to read his latest poem.

Scott Galeti was the dedicated Lobos reporter. Each week Scott phoned in to discuss the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball or football (gridiron) team depending on the season.

Terrie is an animal advocate.  Saturdays she allocates time to hear from Albuquerque Animal Welfare for Pet of the Week. Two dogs are discussed who listeners may wish to adopt.  The success rate is high.  I am always impressed with the many promotions undertaken to entice people to adopt a “forever friend.”  Unfortunately I live in a unit with a rarely at home lifestyle hence no pets.

My First Call

My first call to ‘Weekends with Terrie Q Sayre’ was Christmas Eve 2011.  During the Australian Summer/American Winter the time difference is 18 hours.  Despite my son suffering Sensory Processing DIsorder which hypes him with too much energy “Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house Not a creature was stirring.”  Well, actually it’s Australian Summer Time so the Christmas Beetles were flying into the light, being NSW there was the odd cockroach and with a palm tree in the front yard the bats were resting.

With trepidation I very nervously called with Bob answering.  When I get nervous my breathing goes out of whack and I talk super fast.  Poor Bob had difficulty with my accent as I tried to explain I was an Australian in Sydney, Australia calling.

Terrie took my call.  I was so nervous it appeared (to me) as if I was rudely snubbing Dan.  Reality was I was trying to breathe properly, talk slowly so I could be understood and communicate without causing cultural glitches (will explain in a later blog ‘Same Language, Different Meaning’).  On top of this I was trying to not talk too loud to wake my son or husband as Santa was due to deliver presents!

It is over 18 months since that call and all I can remember is: Wishing a Merry Christmas as the time difference meant it was Christmas Day in Australia but Christmas Eve morning in Albuquerque (will I sound like a bogan if I say ABQ? – promise to explain bogan later), having taken my son to see the movie ‘Arthur Christmas.’

I don’t easily recall much more of the call.  Unfortunately my saved copy of the podcast is on my dead laptop.  I know it took me a while for my nervousness to disappear after the call.  It was nice to listen to the callers while they are still in the last minute rush of Christmas while we were in the last moments of the magic which is lost once the presents from Santa are opened.

Have you listened to a live broadcast – TV, radio, internet in a different time zone?  New Zealand and Pacific countries are ahead of Australia.  I’m not a morning person so it is weird to hear people chirpier than me.

When I listen to broadcasts from other countries it is generally at night and I’m in a calm, relaxed state for the end of the day while I compare what was I doing at the time these people are experiencing.

Political and/or Election Editorial Responsibility

Responsibility for all political comments and opinions:

S. Aldous

PO Box 538

Kogarah NSW 1485

sallyfromsydney@gmail.com

Why am I blogging?

Not sure if I’m a frustrated journalist or writer but there is always more I think I should have spoken about after I have phoned Terrie Q Sayre. I have realised I can either keep kicking myself or hope next time I call we can discuss these topics but the reality is the world keeps changing and a newer topic becomes the discussion.

I really appreciate Terrie taking my calls and it is great that she includes me as part of her radio family. This next comment really epitomises me – I still consider myself a guest, if an American rang an Aussie radio station I listen to I would hate for them to be rude, patronising, controversial. If I think I will be controversial I hope the subject can be changed so I won’t upset people listening.

Australia and USA has so much in common but so many cultural, linguistic, workplace differences. This blog will be aiming explain the differences and unusual aspects of being an Australian, suburban Mum.

WARNING: Different places, different laws

In Australia it is a requirement to state who takes responsibility for political comment in publications.

As I am writing this blog in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia we have some of the toughest defamation laws in the world. If you are sued for defamation, you have to prove that you did not defame. When the world was a smaller place ie no internet, expensive overseas telephone calls, costly airfares, lawyers were paid regardless of result only, maybe there was a chance if you said something goofy then it wasn’t worth the time or effort to sue. Now in New South Wales the legal fraternity can offer no win, no pay. Some organisations are paid a fee to represent people based overseas and protect their image. Others, troll looking for potential work.

If it seems like I am avoiding discussing some people it could be a case of if I can’t say something nice then I may choose to not say anything.

 

Why do I listen to 770KKOB??????????

Returning to work after maternity leave has been disappointing regarding the job security front.  My original job prior to mat leave was located at Parramatta which was a minimum 1½ hr, 2 trains trip each way.  Too much for the new, young family.  Then the temp treadmill began.  Permanent jobs were found but the promise would fall through.

I gained a temporary role at a place that proves Public Service Job Cuts aren’t always cost effective.  The person who was responsible for filing had been made redundant several years prior.  My role was to fix up the disorganised system and file the accumulated piles since the redundancy.   Thankfully my supervisor allowed me to listen to music, radio, podcasts.

Not sure if it was the me starting to use Twitter or not knowing how to use itunes for podcasts but I started downloading the Piers Morgan on CNN audiocast.  Sadly this is no longer available on itunes.   Our house does not have pay TV (cable) to watch CNN.  I miss listening to the show – it has interesting people discussing contemporary topics.

Piers interviewed Charlie Sheen.   When I searched for the page to download Piers’ show I would lazily type ‘Piers Morgan’ in the itunes search instead of ‘Piers Morgan on CNN.’  At the time I didn’t know this showed all the shows with the tagline Piers Morgan.   For the uninitiated (as I was at the time) it meant I downloaded a few shows that discussed or had interviewed Piers Morgan.

‘Weekends with Terrie Q Sayre’ is aired on 770KKOB in Albuquerque, New Mexico each weekend from 7am to 10am.  Terrie is the host with Dan Goss and Bob Walpole.  Terrie and Dan discussed Piers’ interview with Charlie Sheen.  Thankfully I listened to the show and it become one of the podcast shows I downloaded for listening at work.