Very very unfair

Yesterday evening I was literally dancing through life, enjoying a class in Scandinavian folk dancing, when some idiot stole our car. $%&*@%^~@$#!!@# Canberra is not a big place and by car most places are to be reached in 20 minutes. The pivotal words here being BY CAR! All of a sudden we found ourselves more than 10 km from home, in the dark. And, believe it or not, it was cold and it was raining too. Let's say it really was not our night.

It feels very very unfair that we worked our butts off, just to see the possibility of buying a ticket to see our families vanished in the blink of an eye. Just now we thought life would, financially, become a little easier. I'm really really mad. And demotivated. And not up to all the hassle of not having a car, having to find another one, dealing with the consequences of someone elses stupidity and meanness.

Quest almost over

Two very good chances of getting an interesting job were both smashed into pieces last week. For 2 days I sank in this pool of self pity, thinking unhelpful thoughts as 'I'll never find a job' and 'nobody is ever going to hire me' and 'I'm a big failure and should have stayed in the Netherlands'. After that this determination came over me and I decided I was not defeated yet!

So I started searching all over again and send in my resume to various agencies, which got me a number of invitations to come around and introduce myself. Don't know why it worked this time, but never question a good thing, right? And now it seems the quest is almost over: next week I have to discuss the details (minor things like salary and all that), but it sure looks like I've found a job for 3 days a week until July! Hurray!

Holiday is over

It was very nice lazing around for a week, hiking through the Snowy Mountains (38 degrees!), fighting of the varocious flies, listening to the abundance of kookaburra's and eating cold baked beans, because of the total fire ban. Now, however, a new year has started and the goal is to find a job. Preferably one not to boring and paying not to badly, but for now any job will do. Good thing is I got another job interview on Monday. Less good is that I have to do another presentation, 10 minutes for an audience of 6 and 7 year olds, on any subject regarding 'historical site interpretation'. Right. So far, I had 50 ideas, none of them useful. Well, still 3 days to go. Hope they call to offer me the teaching job beforehand though. Big sigh ........

Job interview

I had a job interview this week and it was totally different from all the other interviews I ever had before. They did not ask ANY of the questions everybody else always asks, like 'why should we employ you', 'why did you leave your last job' and 'what are your weak points'. (Tempting but wrong answers to these questions are by the way: 'because I'm the best', 'the boss was an arsehole' and 'I don't have any'). Also no questions about my cover letter, my CV or my three pages addressing of the nine selection criteria.

Anyway, we had a nice talk, crammed with four people in a tiny office, around a round coffee table. Our knees almost touched, so formality was out of the question, which suits me fine. I felt right at home and would love to start. Rather sooner than later. Got the impression though, that they got a part timer lined up for the full time job, because they asked me if I would mind working part time. Well, actually I prefer that. No probs!

So, keep my fingers crossed till January (after I finished typing of course), cause they will take that long to let me know.

Saint Nicolas-day

Yep, today is the day. Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicolas birthday. Surprisingly he managed to find me here in Oz, cause I got a chocolate letter in my uggie this morning. For the unknowing: your are supposed to get it out and eat it, not walk around with it in your shoe. Our half-Dutch cousins are coming tonight to celebrate with us, which means I have to go out and buy some presents and then give my best shot to making the mandatory poems in English. Scary!

Been busy

It's been a while, because I've been busy writing job applications, addressing selection criteria and more boring stuff. Also been having nice lunches with friends and done a lot of reading. Of course. And had an, expensive, haircut. Have to enjoy the free time while it lasts, won't I? That's why I go to the reception at the Dutch Embassy this afternoon, to welcome our female national hockey team. Wonder if they serve raw herring, white bread and Dutch cheese for fingerfood?? I'm hoping for 'bitterballen' though. Mjummie.

Snot

I'm a terrible hayfever sufferer on the best of days and today it is really windy, so really horrible. All the way to the city I was sniffing and sneezing to the extent that I didn't even bother to get out my hanky anymore, cause there was no way of keeping up with it. In stead I tried to sniff it back up, which is gros, but is actually recommended by doctors as being more healthy. Anyway, I was browsing through this shop full of kitschy Oz stuff in order to buy presents for the Dutch Sinterklaas, on the 5th of Decembre. Maybe you heard about it: it is like Christmas, but then just for fun.

while browsing I was still sniffing and sneezing. And not until I finally had chosen 6 presents and reached into my backpack for my wallet, I noticed this big blob of snot on my purple cladded left breast. Yeah, even grosser. How do you solve that and keep your dignity? I honestly cannot tell you. Don't think I can ever go back to that store again.

Enjoying

I have a neighbour that I never met, but I know one thing about him of her: he or she plays the violin. Beautifully. And does so in daytime. So I sit behind my laptop with the windows open and lovely music streams in. The sun is shining too. And the postie brought a nice postcard from my sister in the Netherlands and a package from my mother. Is this the good life or what? (I mean, who cares about stupid headhunters not calling back, people unreachable by phone or other down to earth stuff? Not me, not today!)

No hurry

This weekend I realised that for the first time I left home when I turned 18, I do not have to find a job in any hurry. I'm used to having to take care of myself and to earn my own money. Worked through uni, started fulltime work 2 weeks after graduation. And now I have this wonderful husband. Who tells me not to hurry, but in stead look for something nice, interesting and/or fun. Because he will earn the money for a while. So I can enjoy this feeling of freedom for a while. There is someone that wants to take care of me. And likes to do that. This makes me feel like a totally new person. Weird.

Dance teacher

Considering the name of this blog, I feel obliged to tell that I've been to a job interview for a position as dance teacher. It sounded like fun, dancing in stead of sitting on a chair, but as expected working hours are in the evening and the pay is lousy. I would also have to invest 6 weeks of 4 hours a day into a training, in order to be able to teach people the English walsh or the Lindy Hop. Unpaid, of course. Wait and see. I got the distinct feeling that I was way too old in the eyes of the boss, so he will probably not ask me anyway. Ah well, something else will turn up. At least I really enjoyed the contra dance night yesterday: having fun, getting tired, relaxing the mind. Bliss!

Life is easy

if you're about to finish your manuscipt, had a nice lunch with an ex colleague who is becoming a friend, have a chat lined up with someone useful network wise, are looking forward to having a nice tea session with an interesting lady and the sun is shining too. Sometimes, life is just so easy.

Flamenco: yes!

Consistent with the name of this blog and my username, I have at last been to a flamenco class. Although I already got a terrible cramp in my thighs after 5 minutes, I really loved it. It has been over a year since I've been to a class and I'm happy I did. After 2 hours all my muscles were sore, my shoulders hurt and my feet were killing me. Cann't wait till next week! ;-)

Sobering thoughts

Yesterday when I rode back from my last day at work, I suddenly wondered why I am so stressed out about finding a 'good' job right away. The reason we came here, was because we wanted to experience what it is like to live in another country and that is what we are doing. Why on earth should I make a career move at the same time? Miss Perfectionist strikes again, let's leave it at that.

I sneezed my way home (very hayfeverish) while smelling not only the roses, enjoyed our luxurious freestanding (rental) home when I swung into the garden, feeling very silly. Again. I am going to enjoy this experience more from now on, promiss to me.

Courage under fire

Is sometimes just quitting. Refusing to be there any longer. So, that is what I did today: quit the job. Boy, that feels good! I'll take two weeks to finish our book and then I can finally focus on finding a job in education. Or any other job that does not require being glued to a chair in front of a computer for 8 hours a day while pretending to be brain dead.

Right away decided to check out a flamenco class next Sunday too. See, it is working wonders already. I'm happy. Watch out world, here I come! :-))

Coward

Okay, I'll admit I'm being a coward at the moment. What I should do is just quit the job right now, finish the book and find a proper job. It is not that there is nothing for me to do, it is just that I don't get the chance of doing it. So I spend a lot of hours in the day feeling very very unuseful. And frustrated, cause I see what I could improve or contribute to. On the positive site is that I learn a lot of things that will benefit me personally: about working in Oz, about Ozzies, about the 'no worries mate'-mentality (but how long does it take to become a mate???). Sticking it out for the money, doesn't that sound horrible. Did I turn into a cowardish horrible person all of a sudden? How did that happen?

Most boring lunch ever

Picture this: 6 people sharing lunch in a nice Thai restaurant. 4 people talking about old times, 2 people staring into the blue getting totally ignored. Nobody asks them anything, nobody speaks to them. Did I tell you they all work at the same office?? Must have been the most boring lunch I ever attended. Only positive thing was that I could really concentrate on my food and try to chew each bite 36 times, since that is supposed to work wonders for you digestive system. Give me a Dutch cheese sandwich (broodje kaas) anytime!

It never rains in Canberra

and I'm really glad about that, cause if it rained any more than it has done for the past months, I'm afraid we would drown. :-(

Anniversary

With a clairvoyant view on the future, we got married 4 years ago. Which did help in obtaining a visa for Oz. Today is our anniversary, which we normally celebrate by going to a nice Italian restaurant (mind you: not a pizzajoint!) in Breda. Since that is a bit far from Canberra to go for a dinner, we will settle for good Vietnamese instead. Gosh, what a dissapointment .... ;-)

Girlie talk

I always said I did not want to live in Queensland, since they do have the most horrendous weather over there. Think humid and hot. Think mosquitos and cockcroaches. Definitely not me. But, and this is a biggie, that weather at least leaves you looking good. Canberra means dryer than dry, even when it rains oddly enough. So since I moved here, my hair is getting oily within no time, while at the same time it is horribly dry and frizzy. Where are the curls I still had in Malaysia??? I spend like a fortune on stuff to put on my skin and it is still dry and itchy. Two years further and I'll look like I'm 85. Some good advice anyone??

Tik tok tik tok

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Don't you just love to work?