The following post is in response to gurdonark's wonderful post - I admire how he takes the time to come up with insightful questions for each and every player!

At times, Canberra and Perth feels worlds apart. Canberra may be the capital city of Australia, but at times it feels more like a large country town. Rather than the usual six degrees of separation, Canberra tends to be more like two to three degrees whilst Perth follows the six degrees model.

Canberra is the political hub - it's buzzing with gossip about different Ministers, departments and projects. Our lives here feel like it revolves around the machinery of Government. Yet Canberra sadly, and undeservedly, has a reputation of being "a hole". On the other hand, Perth has a totally different feel. It's such a large sprawling city that keeps growing. It feels way too suburbia but the Perth city itself is starting to feel more vibrant. It feels like an adolescent who's on the cusp of adulthood whilst Canberra tends to emulate an older mature academic.

The climate is vastly different. I thought it got cold in Perth but it's nothing compared to the frosty Canberra mornings where you know you're alive by the cold wind that cuts through you. Perth is "stinking hot" in summer but it has gorgeous beaches!

It's hard to compare the restaurant scenes in Perth and Canberra. When I'm in Perth, I go for the 'comfort' food of childhood. When we eat out, I'm always requesting for Singaporean and Malaysian food (which Perth has an abundant of good quality Singaporean and Malaysian food). Whilst Canberra is sadly lacking in authentic Malaysian and Singaporean food, the range of quality eating here is fantastic! I despair that I would never had enough money to try all the fine eating places here.

I was hardly an outdoorsy person in Perth - but nice things to do is to check out the amazing Kings Park in the city, rollerblade around the Swan River or check out the famous Freo Markets. In Canberra, there's heaps of bush walking to do, a drive to the coast (the nearest beach is about 1.5 hours away), take a drive out of Canberra, or there's always skiing ;)

We definitely wish to have children down the track, although the world issue with overpopulation is at the forefront of our minds. In light of this, we'll probably aim for two, including the option of adoption.

As for a "boy mom" or "girl mom"...I'm not sure! I'm just keen to give the kids a safe and healthy upbringing, whilst minimising any stereotypes.

Hubby is a system administrator and programmer. He's very passionate about skiing and green issues.

I'm an alto (in a mostly acapella group called Raw Honey). I love the African songs that we do as I love the combination of the djembe with voices. While I don't have a particular song that I wish we sang, I love for us to sing jazz standards (which is being addressed in a different group...). I've never taken singing lessons but I'm keen on taking some next year to learn some proper technique!

It's funny that this question came up as I've just recently answered a similar question in a survey. The answer is mostly 'neutral', leaning on the side of 'helpful'. Gender isn't particularly an issue - it's more the age thing. It can get challenging dealing with the minority of certain (not all) mature-aged clients who cannot seem to believe that I'm capable of doing the work that I'm doing, as I look "too young". It just makes me more determined to do an even better job!

I'm really enjoying the consulting life. Much of my earlier challenges in previous incarnations of my jobs involved having to sell the idea of usability and designing with and for people. As a consultant, the client is already convinced about the idea. They just need help in carrying out the work or need help in how to approach the work.

I love being able to go in for a few weeks or months at a time, get my head into the project, research and solve problems, build up relationships with clients and design great user experiences! I'm lucky - I've been working with clients that I absolutely love! I absolutely love the industry I work in. I wish that there was more people in the world who could be passionate and excited about the work they do.