The first Tuesday in November is the Melbourne Cup. Australia’s premiere sporting event. It was in doubt this year following an epidemic of equine flu, but all was right on the day. Sydney weather was sludgy, but sun shone inside the office when the traditional sweepstake opened for business. I placed my $5 and drew Scenic Shot, a camera toting racehorse I knew nothing of. The rest of my day was swallowed by videoconferencing problems, but from 2:55, no one in the country was interested in meetings or classes. I followed the cheers to a meeting room now furbished with prawns and champagne to find everyone from my floor crammed into the small space and loving it. Well, all except an American immigrant who’d placed 2 bets only to have them both scratched before the race began.
The race was over in 2 minutes, with a breakaway from the middle of the pack coming second by a nostril, but the party was still going strong when I closed all my issues and left for the day.