Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Exposed

Well it's been a while since the last update. I don't quite know where to begin. A lot has happened. Not for the better, well some of it anyway.

I've given up on being an academic...again. Though this time it's a hell of a mess. For someone who is supposed to be intelligent, it's amazing how many stupid situations I find myself in.

Let's start with the work. Currently I am on stress leave for a week, complete with medical certificate. I even lost my voice due to the stress of it all. I only got it back today. Why all the stress? My supervisor within the first 17 days of the year 2008 has threatened to cut my hours twice. And on the 17th day told me to go find another job when I asked him as to when he was going to make his decision about my hours.

The thing is, he can't do this. I checked with HR and under my contract he can't actually do any of this. He can't change my hours without my agreement. And he can't force me into it either. In addition to this if he wants to terminate my contract, he needs to do so in writing. And besides this he's been acting unprofessionally up to this point. There's been a series of delays due to a combination of his mismanagement and events beyond my control. Though it's all my fault apparently.

However, I have initiated the grievance process at work. Next step is mediation. HR have insisted on it and it's the only reason why I'm doing it. I have no faith in it and I am in the process of writing my resignation letter which will quite openly detail the reasons as to why I am quitting. It may mean that I won't ever get employed again by the university but I simply do not care. My supervisor cannot continue on with his bullying behaviour. He seems to think that I should be thankful for my job there. I'm not anymore. I mean, crying about once a week has gotten old now.

So that's work.

Study, well I'm not sure where it stands at the moment. I have to re-sit an exam due to my supervisor being unwilling to give me time off to study. (Yeah, I've been having a crap of a time at work since November!) Well after several mix-ups and what not, it seems that my exam has been delayed until further notice. It's annoying to say the least given that Semester One is mere weeks away. So I'll be preparing for an exam AND taking a unit as well and working in a new job somewhere.

Hmm...

So that's study in a nutshell.

Next?

Well I've met someone. Ok, maybe I met him a few months ago and went into denial for a bit there. Not sure how he put up with that or coped with comments of, "Never ever will that happen" and "We're just friends."

Anyway...ok...small admission to make. Just sometimes I do get a little mopey because I don't get to see him much. He's a smart boy madly writing away finishing his PhD thesis. I know it's too much for me to expect him to fit me in somewhere in his normal schedule. In one circle of friends there's an inside joke that he's a mythical boyfriend since they hear tales of a wonderful person but no one has ever seen him. But then I think of my schedule and it's crazy in itself. Gym on certain nights, meeting up with friends on others, study on another and what not. But some stuff I've gotten into just to keep my mind off things so I can just stay sane.

So that's the love life if that's what it's called.

And with that, it's the end of this update.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

New Year's Resolutions

It seems to be the thing to do at the moment, making resolutions and new starts with a brand spanking new year that hasn't been coloured in with mistakes and embarrassments. We even get an extra day this year. Yay!

Let's see, in no particular order of importance...
  • Finish off studying at uni and qualify for graduation.
  • Apply and score a job in industry and feel confident about heading back into the real world once more.
  • Lose the kilos that I gained while recovering from a lower back mishap.
  • Travel overseas before starting new job, where is the question and it depends on the budget and how much time but I am doing this one!!
  • Sky dive, tempted to do this on my birthday but I'm at work so perhaps the day after or maybe the week considering that I'll probably be wanting to recover on the ground after celebrating.
  • Get a SCUBA diving certificate, (advanced open water), and have an expensive sport as a hobby. Yay!
  • Dive on Ningaloo Reef and hopefully swim with whale sharks.
So we'll see how well I go on this. ^_^