#AWCTurns10: 10 years ago, we were…

2015 marks the Australian Writers' Centre's 10th birthday, and it got us thinking… what were we all doing 10 years go?

We turned back the clock to share these stories with you.

Finish this sentence: 10 years ago, I was…

…helping Valerie prep for the first class at the, back then, Sydney Writers’ Centre. Yes, I was there at day one!

I had to source biscuits, an urn, styrofoam cups, napkins and organise printing out handouts for the first time.

It was pretty exciting seeing our students walk in for the first class.

– Tracy Tan, New Media Manager

…leaving my advertising job in New Zealand to live in Perth, sight unseen, with my wife and very small children.

We found an entire city that closed down on Sundays so that everyone could go to the footy or for a ‘Sunday sesh' at the pub.

The locals were very proud of the fact that they were closer to Singapore than Sydney. This intrigued me, so I became a travel agent for a year. In other news, I had more hair back then.

– Dean Koorey, Copywriter

…was getting the keys to my newly purchased 14-acre property in the Yarra Valley.

I had never owned a property before and it was quite a change.  The fun bits were all the wildlife, the country serenity and I now had an excuse to own a tractor.  I also now had my own golf driving range.

The downsides were keeping the weeds and grass under control and ridding the paddocks of rocks, logs and sticks.  I didn’t become much of a farmer but my golf game improved.

– Peter van der Kraan, Finance Director

…27 and fretting that turning 30 was going to be The Worst Thing Ever.

I can't really remember what else happened that year because my blog archives don't go back that far and if it's not on a blog … did it ever really happen?

I also need to talk to someone about how long ago 2005 was, because it only feels like the 1990s were about eight years ago…

– Rah Gardiner, Operations Manager

…eight years old, in year three and struggling to learn my multiplication tables. In the life of a typical eight year old, my favourite things were going outside and playing on the playground, cooking (especially cakes!) and waiting for mum to order something in a big box so I could turn it into a cubby house.

I spent my time bouncing back and forth between the monkey bars and the library (strangely, these things haven't seemed to have changed much).

– Bec Lee, Administration Assistant

…the editor-in-chief of national health and fitness magazine Oxygen.

I had the chance to interview a lot of amazing everyday women who had undergone massive fitness transformations, and also interviewed high profile women and men in fitness from Cathy Freeman and other Olympic gold medalists to Sylvester Stallone!

– Alecia Hancock, Perth State Director

…the mother of a toddler, juggling freelance writing, my first tentative steps into serious fiction writing, and the utter boredom that comes with being a work-at-home mum after many years in magazines.

I thought it was really tough. Little did I know that I’d soon be adding another baby into the mix and that’s when things would get really crazy!

– Allison Tait, Social Media Coordinator

…considered ‘cutting edge' (by myself) after scoring an invite to Gmail Beta. It immediately turned me from ‘chick on the internet' to ‘chick on the internet with a gmail address'.

My job working ‘airside' at Brisbane airport kept me entertained with enjoyed front-row seats for special visits and huge freight deliveries (did you know that super big planes pivot at the nose to open?!)

It seems I also used to snap photos on my mobile phone and send them to my email address for future reference. Those 0.3 megapixel photos do not stand the test of time.

– Liz Pulo, Relationships Manager

…at the University of Tasmania studying Classics and Philosophy, working casually at a bookstore, and performing in theatre.

I had no idea of exactly where my life was going and I loved every minute of it.

– Stevie Schafer, Melbourne Coordinator

…rearranging furniture in what was then the first classroom of the Australian Writers’ Centre.

We shared it with a children’s modelling agency and a digital brochures company. I had to make sure that all the children’s toys were cleared, the toilet paper was stocked and that the tables weren’t going to fall down (they were trestles, some on dodgy legs).

I was trying to figure out how the hell to let the world know that we had opened. I read the book How to grow your business with Google FOR DUMMIES from cover to cover and didn’t let myself turn the page until I had implemented every step. And I was working out how to implement ecommerce!

– Valerie Khoo, Director

 
So tell us… what were you doing 10 years ago?