life update

[tielan]

I can't remember if I said this here.

Although nothing has been officially heard on the Canberra front, My next-up-advisor thinks the work deal in Canberra is off.

There's recently been two articles in business/IT areas about how the Australian government is changing their IT direction (less in-house hardware/software applications, more cloud and off-site applications) and also that two people are being prosecuted for that...thingy where you're not supposed to give the contracts to your mates (ahahahahah: see the entire frigging coal industry of Australia, and Murdoch media's relationship with conservative parties of Australian politics)...and the reason they're being prosecuted is because of a couple of big IT contracts from the two departments that were billed as 'major projects going forward'.

So. It's back to the dole queue - with requirements to be filled, although I can't seem to find anything about those - and applications for jobs that I'm either severely overqualified for, or else severely underqualified for (in which case, they'll hire someone qualified).

Look, I 100% know I'm fortunate that our mortgage is marginal and I have a sister who is working and paying it off. We're lucky that she's not likely to be out of work (it's 'essential work' as in both 'assisted health care' and 'construction' which is going to get a boost b/c the conservative Australian government is aiming to boost industries that are traditionally heavily populated by working class white men, but that's another rant entirely). And yes, I'm privileged because I've survived nine months of unemployment with a holiday in there, and only gotten to 'yeah, I'm going to need to panic' after the seventh month.

Yes, I have a house and a garden that I can develop; I have people resources and community resources and friends who I could ask favours of...

These are buffers that many people don't have, and I am so fortunate to have these buffers.

But the financial shorthandedness is preying on my mind and it's gently stressing me out.

--

Hockey is going back in late July. The problem is that I didn't sign up earlier because I thought I'd be working in Canberra. And although I probably could sign up now...I don't think I have the money spare to play hockey. Plus, I feel unfit and meh.

--

The last week, I've been doing a lot of cooking, some cleaning and housework, some gardening, some making. I finally finished fixing the clawing posts on the cat trees so they're wound with new sisal rope. I washed and ironed the dining room curtains

Since some of the restrictions have eased up over meetings, my permaculture group will be doing more 'minibees': 2 or 3 people going along to do a few too-large-for-one-person-but-too-small-to-have-a-major-working-bee tasks. Things that would take 2-3 people a couple of hours, but would take 1 person all day and lay them flat out at the end of it.

Hopefully that will be something to do going forward. I have a couple of things that I could do with some help to knock over in a few hours.

--

I've hit 37K on the manuscript I'm writing and if anyone is willing to labour through a first draft around September-ish, please let me know. It's Urban Fantasy with Fae, a female protag, first book in a planned series of at least five.

I don't know if I can actually finish the manscripts, let alone persuade anyone to buy them, but...I just want to finish some stuff and have it out there.

Comments

[senmut]

Best luck.

[tielan]

Thank you!

[jenab]

Good luck with both your manuscript and job hunting.

[tielan]

Thank you. Trying to get a move on in this scene, getting so sidetracked, dammit.

[aome]

a) Congrats on the progress you've made with your manuscript!
b) You play ice hockey? That's so cool. Although I'm sorry you won't be able to play this winter.
c) And speaking of - sorry to hear Canberra won't work out. I'm not sure which state you live in currently. What sort of work are you looking for?

[tielan]

Thank you!

And, uh, it's what you call 'field hockey' - running across grass/astroturf with a stick and a ball. In Australia, 'ice hockey' is the term for what you just call 'hockey'. Nomenclature. :)

I'm in IT - business systems applications. It's like...big corporate company systems, and I know the programming language and computer system that underpins this one specific business product that's been used all around the place.

[eggsbenedict]

Good luck, I know you'll find something else! For what it's worth, a lot of companies I think we'd both consider dinosaurs are suddenly taking on a looot of retail tech people and offering great conditions... hopefully something in there will be the right fit eventually.

And it doesn't amount to much, but don't worry about paying me back for the ribs. Let's just go out for something delicious when you get another job ^___^

[tielan]

I suspect the retail tech push is in the point of sales area, which means cloud databases and UI interfaces, neither of which I'm experienced in - even in the SAP framework.

And thank you! Yes, we will go out for delicious things when the job turns up. It's just stressy and tiring along with everything else going on...

[eggsbenedict]

I think you'd be surprised - that shiny frontend has to connect to the 40yo backend somehow. 😄 Aldi in particular is definitely working on something big.

[rmc28]

Let me know what kind of feedback you're after on the draft manuscript and I'll do my best!

Good luck with the job hunting.

[tielan]

Thank you! (On both fronts.)

[wpadmirer]

I send good vibes on the manuscript and a BAH to the job thing.

[tielan]

Thanks. :)

[beatrice_otter]

Ooof. Unsurprising, but still really sucks. I'm so sorry and I hope things will get better soon.

Still, 37k, that's a lot! Go you!