Getting Your Timing Right

TIMING

September was definitely a month that needed getting my timing right. Before my six monthly cancer follow-up with the oncologist, I had a series of special blood tests and then an MRI, with dye pumping  into my arm while the scanning was happening. These rather intrusive procedures were done in the right sequence, so the reports were ready for my meeting with Dr. Ng. With a sore “mousing” finger, I grabbed a referral from my GP and had an X-Ray done at the same time, so my oncologist could check that out, too. Having had cancer and chemo, you do get a little paranoid from time to time.

On the day, I dressed to the nines in a cream suit and a fabulous pink hat and looked lovely. The scan was clear; the world was bright and when I left the clinic in Subiaco, I set off for the city to explore several of the newly renovated laneways around Murray and King Street s – where little bars are enticing and new experiences await you.

I was excited because I was going to a Social Media event at Wolf Lane and had arranged to meet several online friends there. Taking directions from a PCC Parking Inspector, I found the laneway off King Street quite quickly and being rather early, I took a seat in a bar opposite and ordered coffee and a couple of Pinchos, which are small serves of food
often on a tiny slice of bread. I chose my own from a serving display and each one had a cocktail stick in the center. The cocktail stick helps keep the food in place on the bread (if you have chosen one with a bread base) and the bartender uses them to tally up your bill at the end of your meal or snack. They were delicious.

I had fun with the iPhone, whiling away an hour or so and when it seemed to be the right time, I checked out the loo upstairs (very funky wallpaper) and then walked across the lane to the Wolf Lane bar – anticipating the Social Media Event.

My timing could not have been more off! The young woman inside was quite freaked out – because it turned out the event was actually the following Tuesday. I was a week early.

We had a good laugh; I confessed all on Facebook and returned to the bar for a glass of their best champagne.. I was really in a mood to celebrate my good news.

Next morning, I made a dash to Hillary’s Boat Harbour for a meeting that had somehow slipped being in my diary – only to find that the friend who had messaged me was, herself, a day early. I found some fabulous bargains in a high-end fashion boutique; got home to find I had accidentally been overcharged and when I called them, they were very embarrassed. They knew about the mistake, but because I had paid with cash, they had no idea how to contact me.  When I went back the next day, my refund was ready for me and we agreed how lucky I had been with the timing of their sale. With $400 worth of lovely new clothes, for only $130, I was very happy.

My Facebook friends and I met up (on the right day) and it was well worth the trip, as we discussed how we can support one another in business;  got seriously worried about how close Christmas is and talked about timing our business promotions over the next couple of months. This year seems to be disappearing at a great rate of knots.

Earlier in the year, it had been my plan to be in Melbourne around the weekend of the AFL Semi-Finals to attend a conference and I was plotting to stay overnight at the Werribee Open Range Zoo with a couple of girlfriends in one of the “safari” tents. As it happened, the conference was cancelled, so the Zoo trip for research about Gorillas is deferred until March next year and that has proved to be very good timing.

A change in the schedule for surgery to remove a cataract from my right eye and replace it with an artificial lens was brought it forward by a couple of weeks and happened in the third week of September. I was definitely  a one-eyed supporter of the Fremantle Dockers when they played the Sydney Swans at Subiaco, as part of the final rounds for the AFL for 2013 and then in the Grand Final against Hawthorn.

I missed a few events in the past few weeks, when my timing was a bit off – my iPhone 4 got wet when I was sailing on the Bark Europa in August and I had to get a new one. In the changeover to the new iPhone 5, the calendar cleared and I lost a lot of historical information. A couple of other times, I just slept in – after working very late the night before.

My timing for a haircut after my head shave last January was a bit off, too. I have about nineteen hats and scarves to hide my lack of hair, but it was starting to grow back quite well. Being in a hurry on the day, I decided to go to a $10 Express hairdresser – where the staff are Chinese and generally speak very little English indeed. Running my fingers through my new head of hair, so she could see how it was growing in a rather uneven fashion, I told the hairdresser I wanted it trimmed, and for it to be even all over. Somehow, that was translated as meaning I wanted it all cut back to be the depth of my fingers and she wasted no time at all, with a pair of razor sharp scissors, snipping it all away.

Well, I am flying to Sydney for a bit of a break in late October. I have a couple of Qantas tickets I bought ages ago when flights prices were tempting and I love Sydney. They say there is not a lot between a bad haircut and the next good one, except a couple of weeks. It’s all about timing!

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(c) Lesley Dewar 2013