Category: Daily Life

Even though I have all the extra work at the moment since Gayle left I don’t think I have ever been happier at work. I am enjoying the extra challenge and responsibility and can’t wait for the year’s events to be over so I can really get stuck into it.

Very long, busy week. Gayle gone, and Janelle the volunteer coordinator away on a week’s holiday. At times the nerves were very frayed, there was so much to do, deadlines to meet and too many interruptions.

We had our team christmas party last night. Janelle had started to organise it a few weeks ago before she left for holidays but the final preparations were up to Ros and myself. It was painful! The tables had been set out wrong and had to be moved around, we didn’t have enough decorations, the dinners from Brodies were in individual packs and were a bit tacky, the PA system was inadequate and there was no music or entertainment.

After dessert had been served and speeches were over there was an exodus as everyone left en masse. This is pretty much what happened last year when the event was better organised, and I thought it was a pretty painful night then too, so I guess we shouldn’t feel so bad!

Everyone’s been talking about the US presidential election, and how the president-elect Barack Obama, first black president is likely to be assassinated. I hope to God it doesn’t happen, it would be a huge blow to the US as well as to humanity in general. My thought is that if those parties against a black president had any real power they would have succeeded before the election. From now on, the man’s colour will be secondary to his policies and what he stands for politically.

As much as everyone loves to hate the idea of the US as a global leader, this election has probably had an unprecedented level of interest across the world. Firstly, because of the US role in the current “global financial crisis” (that phrase is becoming very tired), secondly I think because of the humanity issues of a black US president. How different perhaps, if Hilary Clinton had beaten Obama in the preliminaries and we were seeing the first female US president. It would have been a step forward for feminism I guess, but perhaps it is right that we confront issues of race before gender.

It is an interesting time indeed, and you can only admire the qualities of leadership that have so far been demonstrated by both candidates for the US presidency. Not that I personally followed their campaigns very closely, I remember the stoush between Clinton and Obama, and some rubbish about opponent McCain’s running mate Palin. What has impressed me I guess are the post-election speeches of both candidates, the graciousness extended towards each other’s opponent.

Something else I noticed as each made his speech and mentioned the other, Obama’s supporters actually cheered, while McCain’s supporters booed and catcalled. What does this say about the different political parties? Would each group’s behaviour have been the same if the outcome had been different? Perhaps there is generosity in victory, and meanness in defeat.

On Wednesday around 9am I was returning home from walking the pound puppies and noticed smoke in the yard of our neighbour Kim across the street. The house seemed deserted, no cars, but I went over and knocked on the door, walked around to the other side, called out. No one home. I think Kim and her adult son must be away, I’ve noticed no cars there for days.

I could see actual flames as the fire was burning up the long grass down the yard and I was worried about the surrounding bushland and houses nearby, so I dialled 000 and reported the fire. Then I got out of my stinky dog clothes and started to get ready for work. A short time after I finished in the shower I noticed the firetruck had arrived and a couple of men were putting out the fire. They were there for a long time, very thorough.

Last year the rural fire brigade had done a door knock in our street, warning us about the woman who lives a couple of houses away from us (next door to Kim actually). This woman has been known to set fires, at least two others that I know of including one in Kim’s front yard (it killed a lovely old gum tree). The scorch marks rather suspiciously originate from the shared fence line between this woman’s and Kim’s properties, so it seems she is at it again.

We’ve noticed a couple of For Sale signs on this woman’s fence in recent weeks, one of them recently acquired a “Sold” sticker. Maybe this means we will soon be losing our firebug.

It was Gayle’s last day on Thursday. A very emotional time, not just of sadness at her leaving; I have felt a lot of anger and resentment about it too. Irrational thoughts along the lines of “how dare she have expectations about how I do my job here when she’s leaving”. I’m not proud of my attitude and behaviour towards Gayle in her final weeks. I’d been a real cow at times, culminating in an argument on Wednesday about the collection of money for various funds.

I still think my concern about security of the money was valid, unfortunately I delivered the point in such a blunt and bitchy way it is no wonder Gayle misunderstood me. Her fear was that I was planning to take facilities away from the staff and she furiously told me I would “make more enemies”. I picked up on the “more enemies” part, it was all quite upsetting. I ended up backing down, I didn’t think it was worth arguing the point with her as she is accustomed to lording it over me, the rest of the day we were very cold towards each other.

I did some soul searching that night and realised that if I hadn’t been feeling angry towards her to begin with, the argument would never have taken place. So the next day I apologised and told her how I’d been feeling and we hugged and cried a little bit. I reassured her that I viewed my role as one that supports the staff in performing our organisation’s mission, and that I would work hard not to lose sight of that. She told me tearfully that I’d been a good assistant, and we were friends again once more.

The rest of the day was just numb for me, I’d already been working long hours and all I could see was the mountain of work ahead. But I think Gayle had a good last day, there was a steady stream of well-wishers to her door, we had a morning tea in her honour. Wheelie Wayne was there too so there was a lot of good natured stirring. There is another dinner and another morning tea coming up at the end of the month before she starts her new job.

Yesterday the mechanic had a mishap with my car, and somehow managed to smash the coollant temperature guage. So this weekend I am temporarily in custody of a brand new little Suzuki until the replacement part arrives on Monday. Nice little car.