mja blog

Author: Melissa

  • Busy week

    Although I’ve only gone into work three days this week, I feel like I’ve worked double that, it has been that busy. I guess I could have been even more flat out if Ron had been feeling well enough to do some more handover with me, but he has had the flu. So I had Wednesday off, and it looks like I’m having tomorrow off too.

    Monday, Tuesday and today I worked with Gayle. She’s had a hell of a week, with the worry about her mum. It looks like Enid is going to be OK, but the hospital want to discharge her, and social workers are saying she needs to go into a nursing home. So Gayle and her family have been filling out a mountain of paperwork and trying to find a place somewhere. It all seems very stressful and the hospital isn’t any support, they told Gayle that her mum was “taking up resources”. I don’t think Gayle has even had time to process the fact that her mum can’t look after herself anymore.

    Most of my time this week has been taken up with setting up the record keeping for the big art union raffle we’re running. I’m having to use my own initiative with this and hope to goodness I am doing it right. It is quite complicated because we have to know what tickets have been sold each week for the weekly draw, and we have ticket books out to about 40 or 50 sellers. It would be so much easier if there was only one draw.

    Anyway, tomorrow I am running around with the pound puppies again in the morning, then I plan to knuckle down and read a whole lot of reference material I printed out to help prepare me for Ron’s job. Monday will be my first stab at processing the payroll, hopefully Ron will be recovered enough to come in and show me how it’s done. I hope he’ll be able to show me a lot more of the job next week, I am starting to get paranoid about it. I have a meeting scheduled with the Treasurer and Auditor the following week and it would be nice to know a little bit more about what I am supposed to be doing.

  • Hitchhikers extended

    The sad loss of author Douglas Adams a few years ago meant that we never learnt the fate of Arthur Dent and his amiable alien companion Ford Prefect, who uncovered the amazing truth behind learning the mysteries of life, the universe and everything in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Did Arthur and Ford remain on pre-historic Earth with the useless Golgafrinchams or were they taken on to further adventures by a passing spaceship?

    Some very exciting news is Hitchhiker’s publisher Penguin has commissioned Irish author Eoin Colfer to pen the next installment of the story. Eoin is a great fan of Douglas Adams so there is some expectation he will write in the style and spirit of the original author.

    Hitchhiker’s Guide to grow bigger – Sept 18, 2008

  • Financial Support Coordinator in training

    Commenced training for the new job on Wednesday, with a very grumpy teacher! I’m not sure there had been a proper discussion about Ron’s leaving date, he seemed to feel he was being bundled off as quickly as possible. Originally he’d offered to stay on until end of November, somehow it has become the 3rd of October which apparently doesn’t suit him. He learned about my appointment a couple of hours before I turned up for training, so things didn’t get off to a good start.

    Had a much better day on Friday, Ron seemed in a happier frame of mind and we had some useful discussion about the job. We also discussed his leaving date and I told him that from my perspective I would cope however it turned out, but would be happier with more training if he were able to stay longer, particularly since there are a number of annual returns and end of quarter reports coming up. I’ll recommend to Ros that it would be beneficial to extend his finish date if he is willing, but it is her call.

    Things are hotting up in my other job with Gayle, we have a major fundraising event happening – a big art union raffle with a car as major prize. It’s had all sorts of hold ups which makes it difficult to organise volunteers for selling tickets. The tickets finally arrived late yesterday afternoon so volunteers will be selling tickets at the local shopping centre this weekend. Monday morning will be frantic as we register all the sold tickets for the first weekly draw. Somehow through this we are also organising a sponsored Golf Day event for next month, and now I am also training in my other role.

    On top of all this Gayle’s 84 y/o mum had a really bad fall last Monday, rupturing a kidney. Gayle has been going straight up to the hospital each day from work, and worried sick about her mum – there are still serious concerns about whether she’ll pull through from this. Worried about Gayle’s health, she’s not getting much rest. Trying to help her as much as she’ll let me!

  • Things looking up

    Things are looking a little more optimistic this week with another job interview coming up on Monday. It is one of the school admin positions I applied for weeks and weeks ago. The prayers have helped, thanks Dad!

    As well as that, at work this week I was asked by the director to put in an application for the financial support coordinator position I’m interested in. This is the position that Gayle and Ron (who is leaving) said would need a qualified accountant to fill, so I was surprised when Ros (the director) approached me about it.

    Ros said they might need to change the role slightly, as employing a staff accountant would be too expensive. The position description she printed out doesn’t even mention any requirement for tertiary qualifications, just a desirable Year 12 secondary plus relevant experience.

    I mentioned to Ros that I’ve been interviewing for a second job – she asked me to hold off on accepting any offers until about the middle of next week, when she should have an answer from the management committee. I think it would solve a few problems if they decide I am suitable. It would certainly suit me since the hours are flexible, I wouldn’t have to give up my community work.

    Speaking of which, another good piece of news is that another of my favourite pound dogs got a home this week. Roxy had actually been moved out of the pound to a nearby foster carer’s place to recuperate from being desexed. This was her second time in the program, the first place she went to hadn’t worked out. Better luck the second time we hope – she is going to a young family with kids she will adore.

    Roxy
    Roxy

    Sent off the group’s way overdue Annual Return last week too. Hopefully the Office of Fair Trading wont have any problems with it. I am waiting for them to get back to me about a copy of our constitution. Having phoned them early last week I was annoyed to have to chase them up again, I ended up faxing a letter to them. It is holding up so many things we want to do – open new bank account, apply for various endorsements from the ATO. Here’s hoping I hear back from them next week.

  • Recipe for a happy marriage

    Take two happy people and separate them from their parents.

    Add the following ingredients in generous proportions:

    Love
    Respect
    Commitment
    Acceptance
    Communication
    Patience
    Kindness
    Gentleness
    Self-control
    Hope
    Truth

    Mix together, then thoroughly sift in daily life.

    Strain out jealousy, arrogance, selfishness, provocation and accounting of wrongs.

    Bake in the trials and tribulations of life for 50 years.

    Celebrate when golden.

    ~Unknown

  • Zena goes home

    Zena/J-Lo rescue dog
    Zena/J-Lo

    I have a soft spot for this very strong and boisterous bully x ridgeback girl we’ve been caring for at the pound. We’ve been calling her Zena, and she really does remind me of the warrior princess she is so macho! I’ve wanted to take her home with me, particularly for post-op when we were planning to get her desexed today but fortune smiled instead.

    It’s difficult to tell whether a bitch has been desexed sometimes. The customary ear tattoo is sometimes impossible to spot. When Zena was under examination not only did the vet spot her tattoo, but also found a microchip between her shoulder blades. This was great news because it meant we could track down her former owner and learn a bit of her history.

    Ludelle found the former owners on the Gold Coast, who were very pleased to hear from us. They are in the process of selling up and moving to New Zealand, and three months ago had given J-Lo (as Zena is now known) to people on an acreage out our way. They had thought it would be good for her there and were devastated to learn that J-Lo had been put into the re-housing program only a month after they had let her go.

    The good news is the owners have decided to take J-Lo with them when they emigrate and are coming to pick her up next week. I’ll miss Zena/J-Lo but I am so glad she is going back to a loving home where she belongs.