HI, MY NAME IS ALAN

What makes a successful negotiation? A little while ago I got to improve my negotiation skills with CMA Consulting in one of their...

What do you answer when someone asks you? It’s a social night. Beer in one hand, shrimp in the other, meeting new people and someone...

Yes I see the irony of posting on LinkedIn to decry LinkedIn superficiality, but hear me out. I’ve caught myself scrolling through...

It’s no secret I’m a sports-lover. I think it brings out the best in people. Two weeks ago, a soccer game between Finland and Denmark...

Today, a year ago, I was admitted to practice Law in Victoria. So I feel reflective. This blog has already taken on PLT and life as a...

I just wanted a small Nando’s chips. Instead I got a night I’ll never forget. I walked into Nando’s in Melbourne CBD for a takeaway small...

House-hunting is a lot like Tinder. You swipe through pictures until you find a few you like. On the weekend you meet, but they look...

I wanted to be a sporting legend. I wrote a story as a kid about coming off the bench for Melbourne in the Grand Final in the afternoon...

It’s my new obsession that’s spinning out of control. In the age of Shazam, Spotify and YouTube, it’s never been easier to find that song...

My girlfriend and I come from big, loud, wonderful Russian families. There’s just one problem – I don’t speak Russian. I go to Russian...

The bookworm in me is delighted. Let’s go (spoiler-free)! 1) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller No book has made me laugh out loud and terrified...

Have you ever said something that you wish you hadn’t? For me it’s something I didn’t say which I wish I had. Twinkle. Well it’s not so...

Scotch. Cigars. A pat on the back. And then back to work. Warning first-year lawyers not to burn out is a bit like telling firemen to...

1 – Take opportunities and seize moments It’s 38 degrees on a Sunday afternoon. No beach, no ice cream, no shops. Just hours under the...

This is something I get to think about a lot. I’m privileged enough to get to run programs for 16 year-olds at MacRobertson Girls High...

Give me this city over Paris, New York, Tokyo, anywhere. Being back at work in our CBD for a week (a very rainy week I might add) has...

Thank you. Thank you all so much. When I started this project – something between a blog and the ramblings of a madman – I thought it...

My niece is from a half-Melbourne, half-Hawthorn family, so it’s about time to make that fateful decision which will determine the rest...

Sitting at a dingy bar 3am on a Wednesday, staring down another empty glass. My phone is in my hand, open to Messages. I haven’t texted...

Naming is the hardest part. That and opening sentences. Deciding on these was a nightmare. After a hundred rejected names scrunched into...