Karma
I'm thinking that's the only way to think of it. Otherwise I would have some serious self-esteem issues.
You know how I said I didn't want to jinx anything in my last entry? Well, I failed.
Yes, that's right - I am once again without employment.
Buggerit!
The official reason was that my work wasn't up to scratch. Now, that might have worked with some fresh-faced young thing with no experience in the public service but I knew it for the crap it was. I mean, the things they complained about were tiny, nitpicking things - a matter of form rather than substance. And this was after my manager flat out acknowledged that my contribution to the work stats was outstanding for a probationer. I still went through the motions (I mean, it couldn't hurt) but I was terminated in my last week of probation. I'm sure the fact that the budget had just come down had nothing to do with it - nothing at all.
And if you believe that...
Anyway, after my last run-in with the authorities in the ATO I wasn't the slightest bit interested in fighting it. Although I could have put up a hell of a fuss and probably won it really, really wouldn't have been worth the emotional strain and I would have been branded ever after. Besides, the place had changed since the last time I was there and not for the better. I'm probably better off. Although I really, really, really did like having a decent regular income. I had started to make plans. Bad move. Jinxed myself. Or, it was...
Karma. It has to be karma.
So, it was bourne in upon me that getting back into the public service based on 20+ years of experience is maybe not in the cards for me. Either way, what I needed to do was pick a career - any career - a direction to forge toward. I came to this conclusion after a couple months on Newstart wherein I received absolutely no help from my provider and I was still in the position of not having any decent references and I think you know how I feel about looking for work. I was aimlessly wandering in circles and not getting anywhere fast which is what prompted me to look for a direction. And then there was that Saturday afternoon where I was idly leafing through the CIT Handbook...
And I noticed that there were a couple of new courses including one called Website Development. And that I already had all the first stage units under my belt (including the ones I had been doing part time). I enquired with the course advisor and found out that I would be eligible to do 2 semesters full time so I could hopefully get Austudy again (it was cheaper than Newstart, a plus for the government :) ). So I marshalled my arguments (pros and cons) and sent them off to my parents because I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it without their help. I expected them to be somewhat wary of the idea but to my surprise they were quite supportive of the idea of me getting a Diploma in Website Development. So I went off to the CIT, filled in all the paperwork, managed to get into all the classes I needed (despite being late) and voila, I am once again a full-time student.
Sometimes life confuses me. Greatly.
This all happened at the beginning of July so I had a few weeks before semester started. I decided to take advantage of the time and re-organised my house in those little ways that had been bugging me - like re-arranging the furniture in the living room (not by much but enough) - but which I didn't really have the time (or the energy) for when I was working. So there I was at the end of July, all ready for school, I went to my best-friends daughter's birthday party on the weekend ... and came down with bronchitis two days later.
It took me 3 weeks to recover almost fully. I am still behind in schoolwork although I am currently just keeping up in the assignments race (although there's one due in a couple of weeks that is sure to give me ulcers). What I want to know is why couldn't I have come down with it 3 weeks *before* school started - when I had the time to be sick?
I. Wasn't. Happy.
Anyway...
The job fiasco wasn't a total loss. I got to buy some things I couldn't afford as a student and some things I really didn't need and I met a nice bunch of folks at work. They were really very nice to me when I was terminated and I've had lunch with some of them since then. They are really the only thing I miss about work.
There's not much else to report. On the face of it my life is very boring but I'm actually quite happy with it. If I had a decent, steady source of income I would come close to very happy.
Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. See you in :counts: another 8 months. :)
jem
You know how I said I didn't want to jinx anything in my last entry? Well, I failed.
Yes, that's right - I am once again without employment.
Buggerit!
The official reason was that my work wasn't up to scratch. Now, that might have worked with some fresh-faced young thing with no experience in the public service but I knew it for the crap it was. I mean, the things they complained about were tiny, nitpicking things - a matter of form rather than substance. And this was after my manager flat out acknowledged that my contribution to the work stats was outstanding for a probationer. I still went through the motions (I mean, it couldn't hurt) but I was terminated in my last week of probation. I'm sure the fact that the budget had just come down had nothing to do with it - nothing at all.
And if you believe that...
Anyway, after my last run-in with the authorities in the ATO I wasn't the slightest bit interested in fighting it. Although I could have put up a hell of a fuss and probably won it really, really wouldn't have been worth the emotional strain and I would have been branded ever after. Besides, the place had changed since the last time I was there and not for the better. I'm probably better off. Although I really, really, really did like having a decent regular income. I had started to make plans. Bad move. Jinxed myself. Or, it was...
Karma. It has to be karma.
So, it was bourne in upon me that getting back into the public service based on 20+ years of experience is maybe not in the cards for me. Either way, what I needed to do was pick a career - any career - a direction to forge toward. I came to this conclusion after a couple months on Newstart wherein I received absolutely no help from my provider and I was still in the position of not having any decent references and I think you know how I feel about looking for work. I was aimlessly wandering in circles and not getting anywhere fast which is what prompted me to look for a direction. And then there was that Saturday afternoon where I was idly leafing through the CIT Handbook...
And I noticed that there were a couple of new courses including one called Website Development. And that I already had all the first stage units under my belt (including the ones I had been doing part time). I enquired with the course advisor and found out that I would be eligible to do 2 semesters full time so I could hopefully get Austudy again (it was cheaper than Newstart, a plus for the government :) ). So I marshalled my arguments (pros and cons) and sent them off to my parents because I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it without their help. I expected them to be somewhat wary of the idea but to my surprise they were quite supportive of the idea of me getting a Diploma in Website Development. So I went off to the CIT, filled in all the paperwork, managed to get into all the classes I needed (despite being late) and voila, I am once again a full-time student.
Sometimes life confuses me. Greatly.
This all happened at the beginning of July so I had a few weeks before semester started. I decided to take advantage of the time and re-organised my house in those little ways that had been bugging me - like re-arranging the furniture in the living room (not by much but enough) - but which I didn't really have the time (or the energy) for when I was working. So there I was at the end of July, all ready for school, I went to my best-friends daughter's birthday party on the weekend ... and came down with bronchitis two days later.
It took me 3 weeks to recover almost fully. I am still behind in schoolwork although I am currently just keeping up in the assignments race (although there's one due in a couple of weeks that is sure to give me ulcers). What I want to know is why couldn't I have come down with it 3 weeks *before* school started - when I had the time to be sick?
I. Wasn't. Happy.
Anyway...
The job fiasco wasn't a total loss. I got to buy some things I couldn't afford as a student and some things I really didn't need and I met a nice bunch of folks at work. They were really very nice to me when I was terminated and I've had lunch with some of them since then. They are really the only thing I miss about work.
There's not much else to report. On the face of it my life is very boring but I'm actually quite happy with it. If I had a decent, steady source of income I would come close to very happy.
Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. See you in :counts: another 8 months. :)
jem