Melbourne, 5 October 2016
Hi Marlis,
It’s about time I wrote to you again!
Hope you are doing well now that the temperature is starting to climb into the
20’s again and summer time is here. I can’t believe it’s been eight week since
I last wrote, time seems to have flown by since we came back from our trip
around the globe. Well, I’ve been quite busy myself, so here’s the update on
what we’ve been up to. It’s not so extensive as the previous letter, most of it
would be just work, which I think is just too boring to read (and write J)
Salvation Army Volunteering
The whole month of August and a bit
of September I’ve been working for the Salvation Army here in Melbourne. They
call it Project 614, which focuses on the homeless and other people in need
from the humanitarian more than the religious point of view. I was so impressed
with the dedication and acceptance that every single one of them brings to the
job, I felt very humbled every day I was there. I had to adjust quite a bit to
all the things (mostly miserable) that you hear all day and then there’s the
many homeless hanging around the building. Some of them are very friendly and
calm, some of them are a bit more troubled and some of them are just really,
really in need of some professional help. My job was just computer work,
helping them sort their thousands of volunteer files into something they can
use faster and for more purposes. It was easy work, just a really big pile of
data and sometime so very boring that I was happy that the day was done. Still
felt pretty good to get back into things workwise, while I was applying for
jobs.
My new Job
I did the whole application routine
when we got back from the trip. Not all my applications were equally good, but
I got a couple of rejections, 2 interviews and 1 offer from Department of
Health and Human Services Victoria (State Government) to come and work with
them. I did not really have much else to do so I decided to take it on. I am
now the Executive Officer to the Chief Transformation Officer.. Sounds pretty
fancy eh?! Haha, I am basically a glorified secretary, but the people are nice
and the job is not too hard although the politics are a bit tiresome sometimes.
We’re working to realise the 227
recommendations made by the Royal Commission into family Violence and Child
Abuse. Very worthwhile work, but not exactly light reading. I’ll spare you the details;
let’s just say that it’s challenging enough to keep me entertained. I’ve been
there for 4 weeks now and most people love me (because I get their things
done), but we’re all very new in this new part of the organisation. It’s only
been in existence for about 2 months, so all the teething issues are out there
for us to deal with first.
My boss is another woman with a plan,
I seem to attract them J and we get along well enough, she’s also from the ACT, as is
another new colleague so we’ve got plenty to talk about whenever I miss the ACT
(which I still do). I work long days (8am-6pm) and get things done, not much
more I need. I am also pretty sure this is not a career for me, but for now
it’s a nice way of starting my work life in Melbourne, I’ll see where it all
lands eventually, perhaps I will stay, perhaps I will continue on as a
self-employed person, time will tell. As a funny coincidence, both my best
friends, Just and Alex, also started their new jobs in September, so we’re all
good for excitement a little while longer
My old job
I heard just last week that the
Shared Service Centre that I used to work for in the ACT has gone belly up in a
rather exciting display of political fireworks and hostile take-overs. As I
always feared, the CEO that I worked for was doomed to fail without the support
from her managers (the Secretaries for Education and Employment) and it all ended
quite badly. I was still very sorry to hear it as I spend some of my best days
working with the people up there. I doubt the new mob will do any better as
long as government cannot seem to make up their minds about what they want to
do with this part of their business.
Garden and Melbourne living
The garden, well, the grass really,
is doing very well. I’ve used the electric mower a couple of times now and it’s
still a very silly process. It takes me about 15 minutes to prepare and clean
up and all of 2 minutes to actually cut the grass! And then the next week it
all starts again. I swear to you, I can actually see it grow about 3cm every
day which is just ridiculous. Today was nice, when I got to sit on my own lawn
in the sun for the first time. Yumi and I go out quite a bit, eat out, to the
movies or just for a walk and Melbourne starts to grow on us very slowly. We’re
thinking about moving to an apartment now that we only have 1 cat left and she
hardly want to go outside anyway, but that’s only 6 months from now, so there’s
no rush just yet.
Cycling
My new job allows me to cycle about
15km a day and every day is still a bit of an adventure. I do really like the
ride in and out, because it clears my head a lot before I get home, but it’s
not without some danger. Some people really should not be in cars, they are a
danger to themselves and everyone else around them. I’ve had a couple of near
misses so far and amazingly enough, those people still get angry at me. I think
they react that way because they just got a massive scare, but it’s not a lot
of fun to get yelled at all the same J.
I have a backup option to take the
metro, when it rains really bad, but whenever I can I just put on my suit and
helmet and cycle in, which is a great start to the day.
Kendo
I decided to quit kendo a couple of
weeks back. It’s just not for me, which is a relief and disappointment at the
same time. Yumi is still training and will probably continue, but I will have
to find something else to do. I am thinking about archery or maybe pistol
shooting, for now I am happy to just not do too much and focus on my new job,
but I know that after a while I want to pick up something new so next week
Saturday I’ll go for an introductory course in archery as a birthday present from
Yumi My actual birthday is the day after, 9 October, when I turn 38, which is
also the celebration of Yumi and me being together for 19 years. By that time
she’s been part of my life for more than half of my life, which is pretty cool
right?
Road trip and holiday plans
This weekend was AFL final weekend
(go Bulldogs!!), which means that the Melbournians had the Friday off. We think
that’s really silly but they take AFL VERY seriously here. Yumi and I took the
opportunity to travel the Great Ocean Road again, after not having been there
for nearly 4 years. We drove all the way to Port Fairy and it was still a
beautiful ride, but not as magical as the first time when we were so impressed
with all that majestic nature. It was still very good to see the ocean and
spend some time together just talking and looking at the scenery. The Friday
was very nice with great weather and sun for most of the day. The Saturday was
not so great, but halfway through the sun still made an appearance and the good
thing about everybody watching the final was that we had large stretches of
road to ourselves. We saw koalas in the wild, some beautiful views along the
coast, a couple of black wallabies and free roaming emus to top it all off.
It’s always nice to travel, but equally nice to return home and take it easy a
bit. We’re planning to go diving during the Christmas break, probably in
Cairns. Maybe we’ll do a live-aboard dive trip for 4 days and then spend some
time up north seeing the country side. I think that would be good after being
cooped up on a boat with the same people for 4 days in a row J
I think that’s most of it for now.
Once I’ve settled in at work a bit more I can give you some more detail about
what it is I do, right now I am still figuring that out myself.
Be well and enjoy the summer time
Gilbert
