Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things.
By Kurt Yonnegut
Every Thursday the Architecture & Access team used to break from work and gather in the office kitchen. The excitement began when you received the email…. “Drizzle lemon cake is now served”, “home-made scones with fresh cream and jam are plated up and ready”, “or I baked last night and there are plates of baklava ready to go”.
Everyone enjoyed this mini break together, chatting and eating, and spending some time talking about things outside of work.
And then Covid happened. Another downside to Covid (and there were many) is that this simple tradition of breaking for morning tea each Thursday disappeared.
During lockdown we tried several online get together solutions to keep us united, but nothing really stuck. Let’s face it, the last thing we all needed back then was more time on Zoom or Teams and sharing morning tea together and pretending we were eating something delicious, when in fact all we had in the cupboard was stale cruskits!
But… sometimes it’s the little things! We started (and continue to do so) to celebrate staff work anniversaries, virtually. For each work anniversary celebrated, a virtual cake is baked. This task is crafted with much thought, to embody the employee’s personality. The cake is always complemented by a thoughtful written piece on the employee’s contribution to Architecture & Access.
Claire’s 9th anniversary – currently on maternity leave
Wow! Those nine years have passed quickly! I remember interviewing Claire in the Fishbowl (glassed meeting room) in the December. She attended our Christmas party and started in the New Year. Congratulations to Claire on her work anniversary! Greatly missed for her amazing work ethic, recognised for her development of our SDA portfolio, and appreciated for sharing her food obsession and we look forward to her return sometime this year (soon I hope!).
Vibhika’s 1st anniversary
Big congratulations to Vibhika in clocking up 1 year at Architecture & Access earlier this month.
Vibhika completed her Architecture studies at Deakin University with a keen interest in access. She started with Architecture & Access during Covid work-from-home restrictions and so a challenging start. However, Vibhika has hit-the-ground-running picking up our systems and access knowledge at an impressive pace. Vibhika is always putting her hand up to work on in-house projects to develop our access knowledge/IP and is working on some complex housing and schools’ projects.
Congratulations Vibhika and we look forward to hearing all about your trip back to India to get engaged!
Trish’s 19th anniversary
Another work anniversary to celebrate! Trish has worked with Andy for the past 19 years and was one of the original employees when Architecture & Access formed in its current state 10 years ago. She has worked in both the Melbourne and Brisbane office and has worked as an Access Consultant and Safety in Design Consultant. Most recently, Trish has established our Brisbane office and has led the team from strength to strength. Trish has also developed expertise in Transport and provides support across many projects to ensure transport in Brisbane and Queensland is more accessible for everyone. Congratulations Trish on 19 years and you had better start planning for the big 20-year celebration next year!
Chris Porter’s 23rd anniversary
As we all know, Chris is very passionate about tennis (note the tennis cake). Chris is also passionate about access and this passion has been the basis for his dedication and support for Architecture & Access, in various ways, over the past 23 years. All of us have benefitted at some point from Chris’s wisdom, knowledge and generosity when requesting support and guidance. He is always willing to listen and provide advice and support and I know am not the only one who really appreciates this. Thanks Chris from all of us and congratulations on 23 years of making the world more accessible.
I’m pleased to say there is a hint of Thursday morning teas remerging, because there is nothing like the real thing with real people.
