G'day Poddy Dodgers,

What is it with me waking up at 3 o'clock in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep???

For the faithful readers out there, I have rescinded my "Gone Walkabout" card and took on some contract employment, while looking for a permanent position, in which I would be both mentally and skill challenged. Back in 1988, I went to work for the government, as an apprentice Diesel Fitter with the Northern Territory Power & Water Authority. As with any Government entity, they love an acronym and they settled on P.A.W.A. It didn't take long for us to use that acronym and make it "Piss And Wind Authority" which, to this day, is a true reflection of that government entity.

In 1992, when I finished my apprenticeship, I vowed to never return to the employ of anything even resembling government, after all, where else do you get written up for working too hard???

I started at the Townsville Hospital a week ago Tuesday at 8AM and by 12 noon I was ready to pull the pin. I thought that I'd stick it out and it'd get better, but by 5PM Wednesday I was in the boss's office wanting to hand in my credentials and be done with the mind numbing torment.

Call it a sad indictment of my twisted loyalty, but I agreed to go in for an exit interview/meeting the next day, as the department manager said she was genuinely interested in my views on what I had experienced. I sat there from 7:30AM until noon before frustration got the better of me and I headed to the pub for a 10 buck counter lunch.

The 10 years I spent at Micron, was for the best part, an adventure, which I loved. Having said that, I was pissed off at a whole lot of what was deemed "policy & procedure". But within an hour of starting at the hospital the "light" went off. All the bullshit, nashing of teeth and banging one's head against a wall seemed all worth it when compared to this temporary position.

Don't get me wrong, I met a couple of pretty cluey people while at the hospital, but they had no idea as to how to (a) be cost effective and (b) work smarter - not harder. It also appeared as they were all patients in the oncology department i.e. waiting to die.

LT and EB, whom I greatly respect technically and as people, are probably chuckling at these observations, but I now see why time tracking and asset utilization is such a big deal. Ahh, fuck it, I am so done with that, plus I was fanging into a great t-bone and salad, so who gives 2 knobs of goat shit??? That chapter is done all done.

The dog & bone (phone) rang last Thursday. Yes, my fine friends around the globe, we have telephones here, now in Australia, and are restricted to one call per person - so make it a good one!! ;-) As a nation we are advancing in technology, but I'm not real sure about this new electricity thing though. ;-)

It was the moving company and my gear had arrived in Townsville. You little beauty!!! I then spent the rest of the afternoon picking through the packaged goods (that is the remnants of my life) in order to start settling into the next chapter of my life.

Upon opening the container, I near cacked my dacks (pooped me pants, damages the duds, filled the loaf tin) and was bought to tears of frustration. It was obvious to all present, that whoever unloaded the container from the USA in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), and re-packed it into the container for Townsville, had no pride in their work. The yard boss commented that it looked like the container was turn on one end, the doors opened and everything was thrown in from a great height. He didn't realize that I (the owner) was standing there looking at the carnage.

What can you do? Nothing really! The crew foreman was livid and commented that how would those who packed it have felt if it was their gear coming out like a tossed salad. My sentiments exactly. Good news for all who helped pack the container in Boise, the yellow mop bucket made it and is in perfect nick. I now need to find a ball warmer to use it as I lost the instruction in transit. ;-)

Thursday wasn't a total up-fuck though. I got some news on a job that I was pretty keen on. I started on Monday at a financial institution (Storm Financial) with 14 branches which is a pretty vibrant and dynamic environment. Just the challenge that I was looking for.

After 10 years with a multi-national company like Micron, I was not looking to go back to such a large environment. A big part of leaving there was the fact that it had become so large that I felt that we were just numbers in the system. I feel that as you get older, you want some control on your environment, after first having proved your worth. Unfortunately you cannot hope to survive in the hard cold reality of business if you do not move forward in an enterprise mindset, thus you lose the ability to be a recognized contributing member. So it's round and round we go.

Just to let you "multi-tasking" aficionados know, I've been employed as an Information Technology (I was an I.S. and now an I.T.) Officer and have fixed PC's, printers, assembled desks, put together a postcard flyer for a art exhibition, made cappuccino's for customers, fixed the sprinkler system, repaired the air conditioning drain, emptied the trash, washed the hand towels and have assisted in the designing of the new 4 story building the company is building next door. AND that was only Monday and Tuesday!!!

Me thinks I'm going to be busy ;-)

Keep in touch and stay happy ;-)

Fitzy