How can I change the world?

Often I wonder if I'll ever get around to doing anything that will make a difference to the world, no matter how small. For a while there I dreamed of becoming a climate change educator and even used this blog to reach the few people I felt I could. I don't know if I made any sort of impact - I didn't get many comments indicating as such - but anyway, matters seem to have been taken out of my hands on that one, which is a good thing as the world couldn't wait for me to become an expert. A few years back I considered voluntary work, and eventually settled on reef research, but I didn't get myself organised in time and wasn't willing enough to change my plans to fit it in.

More recently I have taken it upon myself to write irate emails to the local bus company, complaining of a deterioration in the service I catch to work. I am very happy to report that a positive, albeit small, change has occurred as a result of those emails and I can only hope that the long-term outcome is a general improvement in public transport services on the Sunshine Coast, leading to greater use and thus fewer cars on the roads, ironic when you remember that I'm considering the purchase of the car in the next 6-12 months. And I was so proud to be belong to a one car "family". Unfortunately, experience tells me that people only start using public transport when the traffic or parking gets so bad it is no longer viable to use the car, and by then the Sunshine Coast will be just like any other noisy, dirty city. So maybe I should go back to the climate change education and encourage people to stop using their cars for reasons of environmental pollution, rather than personal pain. At least in the short term, a few more students will arrive in time for their 9am lectures, although they're probably so used to the buses being late that they have by now arranged alternative transport and settled themselves into a routine.

I've wondered whether I could use my enjoyment of writing to change the world. To be honest, I don't think I do enough with it, I don't practice it or make efforts to improve in any way. This blog gets an update every now and then but I'm always a bit too concerned with boring or offending people to completely let go. I wonder whether in years to come people will read it and get an idea of what it was like to live in the new millennium, the information age, the dawn of social networking and web 2.0. (Have you noticed how everything seems to be 2.0 these days? What is that all about?) Yes, I quite fancy myself as a bit of a latter day Pepys. But there are so many people "blogging" these days, what's to make Random Thoughts stand out beyond any other? Perhaps I should be harnessing my unique perspective on life as a Geordie down-under. That would surely narrow the competition down a bit although it does leave me with Ross Noble who has the edge on me with both wit and randomness.

Will chocolate cake change the world? I like to think so.

Perhaps for now I should just settle on making a small difference every day. Today I am going to make a difference for 10 people I work with. Every Friday we have a meeting and "morning tea" together. I never really heard or used that expression in England and I was trying to think of a translation. All I could think of was "coffee" or "tea-break" or maybe "cake" but that doesn't quite convey it. Morning tea is a drink plus snacks. It can be used in a range of contexts. For example, our team has it with a meeting. The university is really big on morning teas and every fortnight one building hosts a social morning tea for the rest of the uni. It's a chance to meet and greet folk from other areas who one may not normally work with, an opportunity to put names to faces. We also have celebratory morning teas for birthdays and events, such as International Women's Day a couple of months ago. When people leave we'll throw a morning tea or afternoon tea to see them off and every Christmas HR throws a morning tea on the last day. This is my favourite morning tea because we're usually allowed to go home straight afterwards so effectively we don't have to do any work.

So anyway, today is my turn for the weekly Corporate Information Systems morning tea. Some folk go to the supermarket and buy a load of stuff, usually really naughty stuff full of preservatives, with some grapes thrown in for those who want to be healthy. Others go all out and make their own dips and cakes, and some guys even have wives who bake for us every 10 weeks. It's always an exciting moment, approaching the table and discovering what delights have been brought unto you. Well, I was baking all night last night so I think the boys (and girls - there are three of us again, yay!) are in for a treat this morning. Whilst simultaneously making the tea, I managed to bake Delia's very naughty Chocolate Beer Cake. This is such a yummy cake and lots of fun to make but I grew increasingly horrified at how naughty it was - so much sugar - that I decided I would also bake some healthy, low fat fruity muffins. I then made tzatziki dip. Hopefully these delights, and the effort I put in will make a difference to the kind of day the rest of the team are having.

Tomorrow I will make another small difference by passing on a life-changing book to a friend. But I'll tell you about that another time... maybe.