DEAR Jasminda, I am aware that during meetings, staff members appearing via Zoom are more insightful and intellectually engaged. I don’t understand the disparity. When they appear in person, they seem very different. Should I move all meetings to Zoom? Kevin P. Hi Kevin, I remember the good old days of staff meetings. The whole […]
DEAR Jasminda, I find there are times during my working day when I lack energy or wonder at the futility of an office job. How do I keep my momentum going for the next 45 years? Melissa W. Dear Melissa, I had some general ideas for you and was about to start composing my response […]
DEAR Jasminda, Last night I made a birthday dinner for my mum. I decided to make the veggie burgers that I used to love as a teenager because I thought it would be nostalgic. The dinner was panned by every family member as being ‘bland’, ‘missing something’ and ‘disappointing’. I feel as though my energy […]
DEAR Jasminda, MY 70-year-old mother has expressed an interest in learning the electric guitar. How can I encourage her to try something more age-appropriate? Gerard H. Dear Gerard, Well, don’t you sound like a wet sock. And when I say wet sock, I mean one of those sports socks that ends up stuck behind the […]
DEAR Jasminda, I HAVE been going really well with my eating and exercise plan, but over Easter it went out the window. I’m feeling very guilty and disillusioned. Fiona W. Dear Fiona, This is completely relatable, and I’m sure many of our readers will be feeling post-Easter remorse. In a 24-hour period, I somehow managed […]
DEAR Jasminda, THE cost of fuel is ridiculous. How do I make travel arrangements to my work and my gym and my social engagements when it is so expensive? Leanne M. Dear Leanne, It is hard not to feel particularly vulnerable at the moment, when there are many external factors impacting domestically. A trip around […]
DEAR Jasminda, How do we cope when there is so much chaos in the world? It feels as though every new day brings a worse news story than the day before. Georgia D. Dear Georgia, There is no point denying that the world feels as though it is in a massive state of flux at […]
DEAR Jasminda, I PUT a collectible item on Facebook Marketplace. A man offered to buy it. He also paid a deposit, so I marked it as sold. He said he couldn’t attend the first pick up date, then said he was sick, and now he wants to meet me at a halfway point with cash. […]
DEAR Jasminda, MY daughter’s class is holding a fundraiser to raise funds to paint the play equipment. I’ve let the relatives know and now they are getting competitive with their offers. Kylie G. Dear Kylie, Fundraisers used to be done in a clandestine way, much like nanna slipping little Jimmy a cool fifty bucks in […]
DEAR Jasminda, I am doing a complete clean out of my home, but I can’t decide what to keep and what to cull. How do I make these decisions? Claudia D. Dear Claudia, I am the wrong person to ask about this. When I decide to clean my bedroom, I enter the zone of nostalgia. […]
