So, turns out my employment woes were noticed by a few people within the organisation. I'm now at the reference check stages for a job that had a timeline like this: Day 1: I see an IT job posting on our internal network. It pays more and is more complicated than the role I interviewed, but didn't make the cut, for a few weeks back. I ignore it. Day 3: I get a message from the University's recruitment team. "Hey did you see this role? I think you should apply for it". I explained my reticence, in that if I wasn't up to snuff for a lower paid job I can't see myself getting any further for something higher up. She replied "Please apply for it. It suits your skillset." I said I'd think about it. She replied "I've already told the panel." Day 4: I apply Day 5: The recruitment lady thanks me, and asks me to hold tight. Day 14: The advert closes, I get a notification that it's closed. 5 minutes later, the recruitment lady calls me "Right interview time, when suits?" Day 17: I have the interview. I think it goes well? I did some research, found the IT roadmap and talked about their past hurdles, plan for the future and what I would do to try and see that plan become a reality. Talked about soft skills, translating requirements and all that jazz. They seem to like me, but are a group of true-blue IT nerds, and I'm an extroverted hobbyist so I temper myself in the interview. They don't need 100% Foveaux. Nobody needs that. Day 18: I put it out of my mind, certain that the recruitment lady was just doing me a favour because I was this close to getting the other role, but was pipped (out of 44 applicants) by someone who had the right degree. She calls me. "Reference check time! Who you got?" I offer up: The Dean, the head of IT for the Uni and my boss. I note that she specifically mentions I don't need to have my current boss as "we understand it might be detrimental". I offer my boss' details anyway. Don't want to rock that boat. Currently, Day 19: My references are received, all glowing (even my boss). I get a call from the head of operations wanting me to do an exit interview. I said "I'm... I'm not leaving? Am I leaving?". She panics, because the organisation is going through a lengthy and draining voluntary redundancy process, which will be followed by involuntary redundancies. She follows with "No! No you're not. I heard you.. Might.. have an offer coming your way? Actually ignore me. Sorry. Lets revisit next week!" So here I am wondering wtf is going on. I call my colleague, who explains it all. Day -3: My colleague resigns very suddenly. Sudden for others, not for me. I helped her prep for her interviews and write her resignation letter to be juuuust diplomatically scathing enough, without burning bridges. Turns out, after HR received the resignation, they kicked into overdrive trying to keep her. With the redundancies and restructures, morale is at an all time low and good staff are running away. They need people like her. She's really, really good. She explains her reasoning for leaving (our narcissistic boss, the structure, no direction). They ask her to give them time to find a new role for her, elsewhere. She offers "Foveaux has one foot out the door too, by the way. He's the last of us, and the only one who was here before the restructure of 2018." and HR said "Leave it to us." So it looks like our employers are pulling out all stops to keep us under their wings. My colleague just got offered a project management role after a coffee with the project lead, and I appear to have been politely strong-armed into applying for an IT role I thought I had no chance in, and they seem to be taking me very seriously. Surreal. I guess I'll know by next Pubski?
New Zealand article of the week: Waiheke's Surfdale Sausager Personally, I'd have called him the Waiheke Snag-Slinger. Anyway some bored person has been leaving sausages in people's mailboxes for a while now. This is kinda funny because Waiheke Island is a notoriously rich-person place and picturing wealthy indivuduals fucking perplexed at finding sausages everywhere just tickles me. At the end of the article though... The Mad Butcher, a dude who has made his living of sausages, is on the island and yet to be targeted. Surely he's the prime suspect. Surely he'd stuff a snag in his mailbox just to throw off the scent. Anyway. I got a suspiciously hefty pay this week, about $600 more than I normally get. I queried with Payroll, because some of it has already gone to my student loan and if it's an error I don't want to be left holding the bag of responsibility. Turns out with the pay increase I was meant to be backdated from last year. I thought it had happened. They said it hadn't so.. Thanks! I put some of the money towards Dramfest - a whiskey festival happening in March this year. Gonna drive up with some friends, sample whisky for two days. Might eat some food too, who knows? Oh. I think I've finished one of my writing projects. Start to finish, it's completed as of last night. About 90,000 words, started around October when I was absolutely stuck in the middle of another project. I wanted a distraction and never stopped. Funny, the previous project was stuck at 90k words as well, but it had taken me almost a year to get there. I knocked out the same amount, and a complete story no less, in half the time. Will it be shit? Fuckin' probably, but I've had so much fun doing it and now I just want to write other stories. Onwards.The Mad Butcher - Sir Peter Leitch, who is a Waiheke resident - says he has never heard of the incidents and has yet to be targeted himself.
Mmkay recently.. The long way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I was in the mood for something optimistic, and that book delivered. On Writing by Stephen King. Next up to read, sitting on my bedside table. Just itching to get stuck in. But not before I finish.. Jade City by Fonda Lee. I'm honestly not sold on it. But it's a strange feeling. I know this book is objectively well written. The characters are nuanced, there's some solid world building and political intrigue but.. I just don't care about the characters. I don't know why, but I'll finish it. I just likely won't read the rest. A Memory called Empire by Arkady Martine. Sci-fi, aztec "inspired", political intrigue and a subtle romance. I'm a sucker for a romance sub-plot. The sequel just arrived in the mail for me to tuck into! I'm reading whatever I can get my mitts on to be honest. Got some books about ADHD and anxiety for my partner to read over, following her recent diagnosis. Will tuck into those too.
Covid is still present in New Zealand, but the various mandates have pretty much gone and we're just living with it. Somehow I have avoided it. I work in and around the city hospital so I kind of expected to get it in 2020 when things first kicked off but.. Still nothing. I suppose I could have had it and been asymptomatic, and the idea of passing it on unknowingly is also quite scary. That work situation? I met with the head of IT, and within this week I've been asked to attend an interview for a role I didn't know was being advertised, and have heard back from hiring managers in other areas seeing if I'm interested in their spots. The dude was rapid in his follow through, I was hoping to talk and get some information and he spat out genuine job opportunities within 48 hours. One of the offers is in a helpdesk scenario, which I'm in two minds about. One, it's a gateway into IT which I want. The other, it's rostered and I'd feel like I'm going backwards (even though they believe they can keep my current salary). I'd feel strange being probably the most highly paid but inexperienced person there, but it would serve as incentive to be worth what they're throwing me. It's either take these various options seriously, or continue in my current role that I understand very, very well, but don't enjoy at all. I think i'd rather take a punt than continue being grumpy and poorly treated.
Out of lockdown for 4 weeks now. Life is relatively normal so far but there are a number of shops in town that have simply closed/emptied which is sad to see. I certainly don't miss lining up for groceries, even though that was always an impressively civil encounter for all involved. With some new cases being announced this week after 28 days of no new ones, the political posturing has begun again and fuck me I'm sick of it. I designed our undergrad exams to be taken online and they all went smoothly thank goodness, only 3 of a few hundred didn't take the exam, about what we'd expect in normal exam settings with the odd student deciding not to attend at all. Now.. Until this week I had never had Mac and Cheese. I don't particularly enjoy cheesy things, and it's never made it's way into my cooking repertoire. Normally I do the cooking in our household, my partner isn't a huge fan of cooking and I really like it - but this week she wanted to make Mac and Cheese so she set to it. Lawd. It was amazing. I had three servings that first night. Goddamn it was just lovely, and she had leeks, spinach and leftover bacon fried up as a laughably makeshift but delicious salad. I am converted. Oh I also found this delicious spiced rum called Moko, I'm not a rum guy but holy shit this stuff tastes like a vanilla liquer and it's delightful. I feel like a new man.
Work is finally looking at adjusting my contract to match the pay with what I actually do. During their massive 'restructure' (mass firing and culling of roles) I was dropped down a level - I fought to keep my salary the same and they agreed, but the lower level meant my pay increase ceiling got much lower and I've now hit that ceiling after only 2 years in the job. So my boss and her boss and his boss have agreed to figure out a way to keep me on board, because if I can't keep making money I bounce. If I bounce, an entire Department goes tits up as well as any others I was supporting in my spare time. When your restructure planned to cull about 100 jobs and you lost nearly double that, things get a little hairy and you suddenly ask even more of your remaining staff than ever before - thankfully, I like being needed. But I also like being paid. Current plan is to reinstate me at the higher level, which should allow for about 3-4 years of pay rises and by then I'll have ideally moved to a higher up job. However, nothing will compensate me enough for being the in-house "tech support" for a bunch of Academics. Some earn around 180k a year for a cushy post-medical role. One used to be a neurosurgeon. Operating on brains with precision and an absurd amount of knowledge crammed into his head; but I got a call from him asking if I knew how to attach a document to an email. Another stormed into my office saying her computer had died - so I went in and pressed the power button. They're good people - just amazes me what they appear to have traded in for the pursuit of academia. Got a collar for our cat - he ventured outside for the first time since we got him! There's a lovely three part photo series of his wander - first he is sitting by the open door, next he's outside looking back through the glass and realizing his safe space is actually in there, the third photo is a blur as he streaks back in to safety. Still, he went outside again soon after and seems to be happy to try his paw as he feels comfortable.
Alright! So, garden. Please ignore the messy soil etc, we've had winds so strong someone is in hospital after a branch fell on them walking down the street - all kinds of crap has made it's way in but it shall be tidy again! I would like to pour one out for both my spinach and my capsicum. The spinach grew well. Too well. It went to seed rapidly and we had to remove it before ever trying some.. Next time we'll be better prepared! The capsicum, well I planted four and one by one they literally disappeared. I don't know what happened to them. Maybe a large enough bird took a liking and just ripped them out? Firstly, my peas. Growing nicely, got them on stakes but they're producing pods and becoming full without getting much taller so it may have been overkill. - - Now, the carrots - and some chives in the bottom left, apparently chives help keep some sort of bug away that will otherwise consume my precious carrots. The carrots are far too bunched together but I planted them in a very hectic time and we weren't able to visit for a while, they have been thinned at least! The tiny ones I unearthed during this process were delicious. - - The spuds! I planted 9 spots, only three have taken. Apparently the soil has been used as a dumping ground for a few years, so it's time to make it happy again. This is a good trial run at least. I worked the soil over initially and I found plastic, beer bottle caps, glass! So in time I'll be able to get it cleaner. - - The cat! Elvis is settling in nicely. Even handling the various visitors we've had over the past couple of weeks. Normally he'd shoot away as soon as you sneezed but now he sticks around to receive pats from strangers. Still can be skittish and does not like to be looked directly in the eye. However, he has this fluffy gray blanket he loves, and my partner's mother got us this floral bit of fabric for him to scratch up, ideally saving our furniture. Gonna come in handy as we're replacing these light brown seats for a larger L-shaped sofa and I have no doubt the wee man will tear it up. But look at him! He's so comfy now. - - To a slightly different project, the road to the 140kg bench has begun. I was meant to have this done last year, but it was a very messy year and training seriously fell by the way side. Below, is 115kg - a weight I've dropped down to focus on some technique tweaks I want to try. Basically revamping my entire setup. My current max is 137.5kg which is frustratingly close to 140 but, gotta earn it I guess. I know this and the cat aren't exactly a craft so I won't be updating on these part, but they're a "project" of sorts so I included them once for my peace of mind.
THE CAT HAS EMERGED. He likes my partner a little more but I think that's because I'm bigger/clumsier/louder. If I'm not moving too much he'll come sit on me, like so: https://imgur.com/a/PtPS5SO We've been systematically introducing him to our new place room by room so he doesn't feel overwhelmed, last night we left our bedroom door open a crack and he barged through at 1am purring like a V8 and slept pretty much on my face. It was rather endearing even if I didn't sleep very well. Knowing he's becoming more adjusted is well worth a bleary-eyed morning. Usually he won't come out during the day, and stays under his chosen couch of solitude. But yesterday he came out as soon as one of us got out of bed, meowing for the first time and generally getting under our feet like a regular cat. I was playing on my newly built PC with some friends, and they were using Discord to chat so I hopped into their server - I normally only play with other New Zealanders because of connectivity but there are a bunch of Americans in their chat so I was talking to them, and man the accent is actually adorable. I think they feel the same about mine but they had to get me to repeat things as a result of the Kiwi tendency to blunt vowels whenever possible. Two more days of work - today and Friday, and I've just sat down at my desk with very little to do. I reeeeeeally need to finish the present shopping..
Less than a month till Japan - woo. Rugby World Cup has entered it's nail-biting stages. I thought NZ v Ireland would be a huge task, but we won convincingly. Onto England in the Semi-final and if we overcome them, it's either the old foe South Africa or Wales in the Final. Before the whole competition began, people were picking NZ v South Africa as the final so there's an almost inevitable feel about what will happen. Still, two matches to decide what really will eventuate. Japan have been, undoubtedly, the coolest hosts this sport has seen. Their fans have been routinely printing off the lyrics to other teams anthems, attending the matches in the outfit and singing along. They don't have to do that, they don't even have to attend but they rock up to every match and add their voices to the occasion. It's just so damn wholesome. Also, the NZ Haka got drowned out by the Irish singing Fields of Athenry which never fails to send chills down my spine: Finally got in to see a physio about this weird lower back pain I've had for a month. It's been affecting my training which affects my mental health so I'm glad I finally went in to see them. She's been great, really understanding and has a very clear plan in place. So far, I've noticed less pain on a day to day basis which is excellent. Turns out, the injury is probably not what I thought it was. I assumed I was being foolish while warming up but she thinks the culprit is my SI joint as the pain seems deeper than ever before, and I can still quite literally bend to touch my toes without any pain. As well as squat with a heavy load. Turns out I may have been exaggerating some kind of pelvic tilt in an effort to save my lower back from aggravating an old injury, then the joint took too much on board as a result of the tilt. She popped me on the table and used an ultrasound to watch my transverse abdominal muscle work which was cool. We were initially confused as she thought I may have neglected glute work and so perhaps they were the weak link, but she got me to do an isolation exercise and was expecting me to find it hard after 20 reps but I wound up getting to 55 before she made me stop, so clearly that wasn't the case. I wouldn't have minded having such an easy answer, but hey at least I'm thiccer than a snicker. TBH, I think training will take a big back seat until the New Year. I'm shifting our Dept across campus once more, then shifting things into my new place, then Japan for two and a bit weeks, as soon as I come back I properly move in and clean up the old place. Then it's Christmas! Hoping I can launch into training with a belly full of beer and Christmas ham, then set a PB by squatting Jupiter. Most of you are in the States right? Always wanted a winter Christmas, but mine have all been beach related. It's really nice but there's something magical about snow on Christmas, everyone tucked up next to the fire. Does Hubski do a Secret Santa at all? Was wondering about that - not sure if the logistics are too difficult for people to take part but I've always enjoyed sending gifts to other parts of the World.
I'm really finding that to be the case. I have a blast learning about it all and applying it, but being able to watch someone, tweak things and watch them go about it is a whole 'nother level.
I've been on holiday for my birthday - here is a photo from up Mt Roy, in Wanaka - New Zealand. A magnificent backyard to have, I assure you.
I still get so.. overwhelmed when I realize how hard obtaining medical treatment it can be for people in USA. Let's say, here in NZ - I damage my knee playing Rugby. It's an accident, no previous history with knee injuries, and I've torn my meniscus. The government funded scheme would cover my Ultrasounds, eventual MRI, surgeon meetings, the surgery itself and all the Physio/rehab required until I am fully fit and back at work. The same scheme will also cover my wages/salary while I'm off work (at 80% of my normal pay). I mean, they'll even cover taxi rides to and from appointments if I live alone or am otherwise unable to get transport for myself. My Dr visits at most cost me $30 (much less for students, children and the elderly), I dunno what the dental care funding is like there but mine was free until I turned 18 - prescriptions are no more than 5$ for 6 months of antidepressants, or things like Omeprazole. Shit if I needed ambulance transport in an emergency the most I would be charged for is bang on $88 dollars. It's scary to think there are people out there who literally have to stay sick or injured so they can afford the rent, and food, and heating.