Drew: "Oh for heaven's sake .. put some clothes on!! What do you think this is? A strip club?"
That's it! No more 'Two-and-a-Half Men' viewing for you!!
Monday 30 March 2009
Sunday 29 March 2009
What to do? Oh what to do?
I went into my old work on Friday to do some early Easter shopping and say hi to a few people, and was immediately accosted by many requests of "Please come back. We need you!" So many in fact that I started seriously considering it and am now in two minds about it. I was also offered a two-days-a-week position in the book section, working for a manager who appreciates his staff and stands up for them.
On the one hand,
On the one hand,
- I enjoyed the sales office job (just enough brain power required without overloading the circuits).
- I liked most of the people there and could tolerate the rest without too much angst (most of the time anyway).
- I really liked feeling useful and capable.
- I don't like being at home all the time because I start to go stir crazy and get depressed (I can feel myself sliding already!)
- Working in a different area of the store would mean getting away from the micromanaging cow.
- Doing something completely new that makes use of my OCD 'skills'.
- They still haven't found anyone to replace me on a permanent basis so technically the sales office job is still open.
On the other hand,
- I don't know if they're just asking me to come back because they think it's what I want to hear or if they really want me back.
- The main person I don't like dealing with is still there, still putting her nose into everyone else's business and isn't likely to leave.
- Whether they would take me back into the sales office seeing as they didn't seem all that put out when I resigned.
- Whether they would take me back with the expectation that I would just pick up the slack in the sales office at the expense of my own (new) job in books.
- Whether they would take me back at all or if I have well and truly burned my bridges.
I keep thinking that if they had offered me holidays when I handed in my resignation, I would have taken them and then gone back to work five days a week. I would have preferred four or even three days a week but I would have gone back and kept pushing for a job share position.
I can't figure out if I want to go back now because 'it's the better the devil you know' or because I am scared I'm not going to find anything else, especially the way the economy and job market are right now. To be perfectly honest, I haven't looked all that hard for a new job yet and the idea of starting all over again does scare the bejesus out of me. (On another note, does anyone know what 'the bejesus' is?) Even though I apparently radiate an air of confidence in work situations, it's all fake! I'm really trembling on the inside, absolutely terrified I'm going to get something wrong or found out to be a fake and that I shouldn't really be there.
I've spoken to Peter and he's OK either way but is leaning towards finding something completely new. Debbie thinks I should go for something new and not get sucked back into the black hole of Canning Vale. The boys don't really care as long they can keep going to the school they're currently in. Any other thoughts and opinions gratefully considered!
Thursday 26 March 2009
"Like sand through the hourglass ...
.. so are the days of our lives." (cue annoying music here)
I can remember thinking, back in the dim, dark recesses of time when I was a know-it-all teenager, that soapies were so unrealistic in the way they portrayed the same problem going on for weeks, then finally being solved, only to have the same problem re-appear in a slightly different guise a bit further down the track.
'Surely once a problem was solved' thought my very unworldly self, 'it stayed solved. People don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again, do they?'
I have now realised that, barring demonic possession, kidnapping, marrying a sibling or having oodles of money with no discernible job, my life is a little like a soap opera. There are problems that last for weeks, or even months, seem to be resolved, then rear their ugly little mutant heads in a slightly different form.
If there's anything I should be used to around here, it's weird little mutants, yet I amaze myself with my lack of ability to see them coming, lack of knowledge of how to deal with them yet again and total faith that once resolved, they're gone forever. Did I learn nothing from ditching the occasional day of school just to watch the countless never-ending angst-filled dramas? Obviously not!
I now give you .. (drum roll please) .. the Alex saga!
(otherwise known as "As the world turns .. around me. And not just the world .. oh no .. the entire Universe revolves around me thank.you.very.much!)
As you are probably aware by now, we have been having a few problems with Alex and school, namely suspensions last year for violence and numerous detentions for not doing homework.
After much discussion between Peter and I, we took him for an enrolment interview at our local public high school with the view to enrolling him there, seeing as he obviously wasn't prepared to put in the effort required to stay where he is. Peter had been threatening to take Alex out of his private school for quite some time so he finally put his foot down and arranged the interview.
(I just want to clarify that I don't think private schools are necessarily any better than public schools. I just think that in our particular circumstances, this particular private school is better for Alex than the public alternative.)
Alex's overall attitude was one of resignation to the fact that he would be changing schools and leaving his only friend behind as well as some curiosity about the school itself. The enrolment interview went well, as did the tour of the school but once Alex had it explained to him that this school was not geared toward the student who wanted to attend university, his whole attitude changed. He wants to become a science teacher or some sort of scientist/technician/engineer, all of which require university degrees and therefore university entrance subjects in high school. All of a sudden he was promising Peter the moon and stars for the opportunity to stay at his current school.
After a meeting with the current school's principal and deputy-principal (pastoral care), Peter seemed a lot happier with the current status quo. He appreciates that Alex has improved greatly from last year and while there is still some concern about his lack of completed homework, he is getting better. The two of them have made some, for want of a better word, 'deals' regarding his homework and attitude towards school so hopefully, they will start to have some effect from here on.
It just amazes me how much has changed in schooling since we went to school. As I explained to Peter, Alex was suspended for the kind of 'push-me, shove-you violence' that would have gone completely unpunished and probably completely unnoticed in our day. (Just hold on while I go grab my zimmer frame will you?) If you weren't bleeding, unconscious or had bones sticking out of your skin nothing much was done. Oh, and homework was never chased up. If you didn't do it, there were no repercussions from the school; just from your parents at report card time. (I can still remember that feeling of dread walking home to give Mum and Dad the report card that had my first ever D on it .. quaking in my boots I was!)
So all in all, the soap opera status quo continues but stay tuned for further developments. You never know, there might be a murder next.
Or the discovery of a secret bunker under the house where we could keep him locked up for years, only letting him out when he finishes all his homework (in about 30 years!)
Or even that he's a little alien mutant beamed in from another planet sent here to test human patience levels. Yeah, that one sounds good .. and scarily enough, the most believable!
I can remember thinking, back in the dim, dark recesses of time when I was a know-it-all teenager, that soapies were so unrealistic in the way they portrayed the same problem going on for weeks, then finally being solved, only to have the same problem re-appear in a slightly different guise a bit further down the track.
'Surely once a problem was solved' thought my very unworldly self, 'it stayed solved. People don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again, do they?'
I have now realised that, barring demonic possession, kidnapping, marrying a sibling or having oodles of money with no discernible job, my life is a little like a soap opera. There are problems that last for weeks, or even months, seem to be resolved, then rear their ugly little mutant heads in a slightly different form.
If there's anything I should be used to around here, it's weird little mutants, yet I amaze myself with my lack of ability to see them coming, lack of knowledge of how to deal with them yet again and total faith that once resolved, they're gone forever. Did I learn nothing from ditching the occasional day of school just to watch the countless never-ending angst-filled dramas? Obviously not!
I now give you .. (drum roll please) .. the Alex saga!
(otherwise known as "As the world turns .. around me. And not just the world .. oh no .. the entire Universe revolves around me thank.you.very.much!)
As you are probably aware by now, we have been having a few problems with Alex and school, namely suspensions last year for violence and numerous detentions for not doing homework.
After much discussion between Peter and I, we took him for an enrolment interview at our local public high school with the view to enrolling him there, seeing as he obviously wasn't prepared to put in the effort required to stay where he is. Peter had been threatening to take Alex out of his private school for quite some time so he finally put his foot down and arranged the interview.
(I just want to clarify that I don't think private schools are necessarily any better than public schools. I just think that in our particular circumstances, this particular private school is better for Alex than the public alternative.)
Alex's overall attitude was one of resignation to the fact that he would be changing schools and leaving his only friend behind as well as some curiosity about the school itself. The enrolment interview went well, as did the tour of the school but once Alex had it explained to him that this school was not geared toward the student who wanted to attend university, his whole attitude changed. He wants to become a science teacher or some sort of scientist/technician/engineer, all of which require university degrees and therefore university entrance subjects in high school. All of a sudden he was promising Peter the moon and stars for the opportunity to stay at his current school.
After a meeting with the current school's principal and deputy-principal (pastoral care), Peter seemed a lot happier with the current status quo. He appreciates that Alex has improved greatly from last year and while there is still some concern about his lack of completed homework, he is getting better. The two of them have made some, for want of a better word, 'deals' regarding his homework and attitude towards school so hopefully, they will start to have some effect from here on.
It just amazes me how much has changed in schooling since we went to school. As I explained to Peter, Alex was suspended for the kind of 'push-me, shove-you violence' that would have gone completely unpunished and probably completely unnoticed in our day. (Just hold on while I go grab my zimmer frame will you?) If you weren't bleeding, unconscious or had bones sticking out of your skin nothing much was done. Oh, and homework was never chased up. If you didn't do it, there were no repercussions from the school; just from your parents at report card time. (I can still remember that feeling of dread walking home to give Mum and Dad the report card that had my first ever D on it .. quaking in my boots I was!)
So all in all, the soap opera status quo continues but stay tuned for further developments. You never know, there might be a murder next.
Or the discovery of a secret bunker under the house where we could keep him locked up for years, only letting him out when he finishes all his homework (in about 30 years!)
Or even that he's a little alien mutant beamed in from another planet sent here to test human patience levels. Yeah, that one sounds good .. and scarily enough, the most believable!
Saturday 21 March 2009
Some people have waaay too much ..
.. time on their hands! Check it out though .. it made me laugh!
(and then shake my head wondering what on earth the world has come to)
(and then to wonder when I turned into my grandmother)
(and then to realise it's after 10pm so it's OK to be a bit loopy)
(and then to think 'get on with it and post the video already!' so here goes ...)
(and then shake my head wondering what on earth the world has come to)
(and then to wonder when I turned into my grandmother)
(and then to realise it's after 10pm so it's OK to be a bit loopy)
(and then to think 'get on with it and post the video already!' so here goes ...)
Monday 16 March 2009
Overheard recently ..
After telling Andrew to do something he didn't particularly want to do:
Bradley: "Come on Drew. You heard the lady .. get going."
Andrew: "That's no lady. That's my mother!!"
Hmmm .. think it's time for a little chat about r.e.s.p.e.c.t?
Bradley: "Come on Drew. You heard the lady .. get going."
Andrew: "That's no lady. That's my mother!!"
Hmmm .. think it's time for a little chat about r.e.s.p.e.c.t?
You'd think that I'd post more ...
now that I have all this time on my hands, yet I haven't had the urge to sit and type something for ages. Last week's post was one of those "Christmas letter" type posts .. you know, the ones where you condense everything that's happened down to a couple of paragraphs and call it done.
This is the beginning of the third week since I finished work and I'm only just starting to get my head around the fact that I'm able to plan my own days and do what I want to do. Still trying to work out what I want to do versus what I feel I have to do.
Some more of the things I thought I'd do more of but haven't yet:
This is the beginning of the third week since I finished work and I'm only just starting to get my head around the fact that I'm able to plan my own days and do what I want to do. Still trying to work out what I want to do versus what I feel I have to do.
Some more of the things I thought I'd do more of but haven't yet:
- scrapping
- cleaning
- gardening
- sewing
- walking
- having coffee with friends during the week
- organising
I haven't been sitting around doing absolutely nothing but if you saw the state of my house, you certainly think that! Mind you, so far I've managed to:
- finish the curtains for the master bedroom (finally .. only taken 4 months!)
- do a bazillion loads of washing (I made the boys clean up the floors in their rooms .. sigh!)
- make about 50 phone calls following up things that should have been dealt with ages ago
- do three years worth of tax returns for a friend's mother and brother
- clean the patio area (except for all the tools, leftover trampoline parts and all the spare bits & pieces)
- read about 19 books
- um ... not much else due to the previous point!
I'm finally starting to feel a bit more relaxed but that may change tomorrow. Peter is coming home early to help me try to work out what to with Alex and his uncanny ability to get himself into trouble at school. Wonder which side of the family he gets that from?? Not my side!! (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek .. where's that angel smiley when you need it?)
Sunday 8 March 2009
The end of my first week as an unemployed bum ..
and it feels really weird. It's kind of like being on holidays so far, but I'm sure that will wear off eventually. Anyway, it's been a very up and down week.
Up: No work on Tuesday (or any other day!)
Down: Sorting through more of Neil's paperwork, realising he's really gone and having a cry.
Up: Spending some time with Peter, without kids, before he went back.
Down: Regretting that I didn't resign earlier to spend more time with him.
Up: Managing to catch up with Jackie for a decent chat .. not a half hour one while watching the clock to make sure I'm not late for work.
Down: That I can't fix her health problems and make her feel better.
Up: Spending the day with Andrew on Thursday (he stayed at home so he didn't get heatstroke from watching the swimming carnival .. again!)
Down: Seeing the look of disappointment on his face when we couldn't bake banana bread because we ran out of time after running all the errands I needed to do.
Up: Catching up with an old scrapping buddy, Sue, for the first time in ages.
Down: Realising how long it's been since I actually did some scrapping, let alone with friends.
Up: Seeing Debbie for lunch on Friday and helping (just a teensy bit) with a scrapping dilemma.
Down: Coming home to find I left my teensy bit of mojo at Debbie's house.
Up: Being invited out to a friend's 40th birthday party on Saturday night.
Down: Going out to my car to go and pick her up, only to find one of the children left the car door open, which left the interior light on, which made the battery run flat.
Up: Remembering there's a spare car battery in the carport that I can jump start the car with.
Down: Finding out that battery is flatter than the one in the car.
Up: Remembering that I'm an RAC Roadside Assistance member and ringing them to jump start the car.
Down: Finding out my membership lapsed last year and that it will cost me $215 to re-join over the phone.
Up: Realising it's still early enough to call a taxi and then getting there only an hour late.
Down: Remembering I left the present at home .. D'oh!!
Up: Going to the bridal fair with my 'baby' sister.
Down: Finding out there's absolutely no parking left at the venue and doing about 9 laps of the city trying to find any parking whatsoever, all while dodging insane taxi drivers who don't believe the lane markings on the roads apply to them as well as the rest of us.
Up: Finding a free street parking spot.
Down: Having to reverse parallel park into said spot which was on a steep hill.
Up: Managing to do it without hitting anything .. not even the curb .. on the first try!! Woohoo!!
Down: Realising we were going to have to climb back up that steep hill after walking around the bridal fair.
Up: Having a great time at the bridal fair and enjoying Clare's company.
Down: Realising how many creepy celebrants and photographers there are out there.
Up: Finding a couple of really good, affordable photographers, caterers, celebrants, DJ's and bonbonierrie (how do you spell that anyway?) suppliers.
Down: Putting up with the creepy, pushy spruikers with crappy looking products and huge price tags.
The major up for the whole weekend though ...
Clare found the perfect wedding dress!
We had looked through all the gowns on display and hadn't found one that satisfied all her criteria. Most of them were too floral or lacy for her (FYI: scalloped lace is apparently big this year .. bleecch!) and the ones she found that came close to what she wanted style-wise were way out of range price-wise.
We'd almost given up and were browsing through the last wedding dress place that had discounted gowns for sale, when we found one that she liked the style of but thought the colour was all wrong. I convinced her to try it on anyway and she fell in love with it. She also tried on two others in different shades but similar styles and it just re-affirmed her initial reaction to the first one. The colour is perfect for her; the design is very,very flattering and the beading is just gorgeous. The saleswoman lent her a veil and some jewellery to complete the look while she was trying it on and she just looked so radiant and happy that I nearly burst into tears.
To top it all off, I got them to knock a little bit more off the already discounted price, so she ended up with $350 off and a dress she loves that fits her almost perfectly (but would still be really easy to alter if she loses the weight all brides swear they're going to lose!) I can't wait to see Richard's face when he sees her in it but I guess I'll have to. The wedding's not 'til December after all!
Up: No work on Tuesday (or any other day!)
Down: Sorting through more of Neil's paperwork, realising he's really gone and having a cry.
Up: Spending some time with Peter, without kids, before he went back.
Down: Regretting that I didn't resign earlier to spend more time with him.
Up: Managing to catch up with Jackie for a decent chat .. not a half hour one while watching the clock to make sure I'm not late for work.
Down: That I can't fix her health problems and make her feel better.
Up: Spending the day with Andrew on Thursday (he stayed at home so he didn't get heatstroke from watching the swimming carnival .. again!)
Down: Seeing the look of disappointment on his face when we couldn't bake banana bread because we ran out of time after running all the errands I needed to do.
Up: Catching up with an old scrapping buddy, Sue, for the first time in ages.
Down: Realising how long it's been since I actually did some scrapping, let alone with friends.
Up: Seeing Debbie for lunch on Friday and helping (just a teensy bit) with a scrapping dilemma.
Down: Coming home to find I left my teensy bit of mojo at Debbie's house.
Up: Being invited out to a friend's 40th birthday party on Saturday night.
Down: Going out to my car to go and pick her up, only to find one of the children left the car door open, which left the interior light on, which made the battery run flat.
Up: Remembering there's a spare car battery in the carport that I can jump start the car with.
Down: Finding out that battery is flatter than the one in the car.
Up: Remembering that I'm an RAC Roadside Assistance member and ringing them to jump start the car.
Down: Finding out my membership lapsed last year and that it will cost me $215 to re-join over the phone.
Up: Realising it's still early enough to call a taxi and then getting there only an hour late.
Down: Remembering I left the present at home .. D'oh!!
Up: Going to the bridal fair with my 'baby' sister.
Down: Finding out there's absolutely no parking left at the venue and doing about 9 laps of the city trying to find any parking whatsoever, all while dodging insane taxi drivers who don't believe the lane markings on the roads apply to them as well as the rest of us.
Up: Finding a free street parking spot.
Down: Having to reverse parallel park into said spot which was on a steep hill.
Up: Managing to do it without hitting anything .. not even the curb .. on the first try!! Woohoo!!
Down: Realising we were going to have to climb back up that steep hill after walking around the bridal fair.
Up: Having a great time at the bridal fair and enjoying Clare's company.
Down: Realising how many creepy celebrants and photographers there are out there.
Up: Finding a couple of really good, affordable photographers, caterers, celebrants, DJ's and bonbonierrie (how do you spell that anyway?) suppliers.
Down: Putting up with the creepy, pushy spruikers with crappy looking products and huge price tags.
The major up for the whole weekend though ...
Clare found the perfect wedding dress!
We had looked through all the gowns on display and hadn't found one that satisfied all her criteria. Most of them were too floral or lacy for her (FYI: scalloped lace is apparently big this year .. bleecch!) and the ones she found that came close to what she wanted style-wise were way out of range price-wise.
We'd almost given up and were browsing through the last wedding dress place that had discounted gowns for sale, when we found one that she liked the style of but thought the colour was all wrong. I convinced her to try it on anyway and she fell in love with it. She also tried on two others in different shades but similar styles and it just re-affirmed her initial reaction to the first one. The colour is perfect for her; the design is very,very flattering and the beading is just gorgeous. The saleswoman lent her a veil and some jewellery to complete the look while she was trying it on and she just looked so radiant and happy that I nearly burst into tears.
To top it all off, I got them to knock a little bit more off the already discounted price, so she ended up with $350 off and a dress she loves that fits her almost perfectly (but would still be really easy to alter if she loses the weight all brides swear they're going to lose!) I can't wait to see Richard's face when he sees her in it but I guess I'll have to. The wedding's not 'til December after all!
Overheard recently ..
"Mum, can we have pig's butt and bumnuts for breakfast?" Alex asking for bacon and eggs.
"No thanks. I'm lac-toast intolerant." Alex again when asked if he'd like toast with his bacon and eggs.
"I don't want to play this game anymore. It makes you think about maths!" Andrew when trying to work out how many extra points he'd get if he used different collection methods.
"Alex! Leave that alien alone! It's my turn to kill it!" Bradley playing a PS2 game with Alex 'helping' on the sidelines.
"No killing Brad. You should hug him and love him and call him George." Alex's response to the previous statement.
"No thanks. I'm lac-toast intolerant." Alex again when asked if he'd like toast with his bacon and eggs.
"I don't want to play this game anymore. It makes you think about maths!" Andrew when trying to work out how many extra points he'd get if he used different collection methods.
"Alex! Leave that alien alone! It's my turn to kill it!" Bradley playing a PS2 game with Alex 'helping' on the sidelines.
"No killing Brad. You should hug him and love him and call him George." Alex's response to the previous statement.
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