Quiet Sundays in the Desert

I adore quiet Sundays, those days when the neighbourhood is quietly resting, just a few cars driving past but barely disturbing the peace.

My daughter and her lovely partner have departed, their company, whilst unobtrusive, is missed by both myself and my partner.

Then I had to return to work. Full on, short staffed, myriad of things that went wrong and needing fixing. And somehow, the new administrative assistant whom I am supposed to be supporting, she seems to believe that I am the fount of all knowledge of administrative matters for this organisation. The remaining few staff also seem to think I know a lot more than I do. I try to explain that the Administrator (capital ‘A’) is the wondrous fount of knowledge, not I. I point out that I’ve only been working for a few months, and only on certain tasks and no, no, no, a thousand times no, I do not have access to the organisation’s online banking facility or its credit card. So I can’t pay those bills, sorry.

Should be most interesting when the Administrator returns to the office on Tuesday morning. Just in time for the payroll to be done again. And to discover that no, they didn’t end up doing those job interviews they were meant to do two weeks ago. I see task upon task piling up on the Administrator’s desk.

Glad I’m off out of town shortly (again) (yes, I know, can’t tie me down).

Working girl!

I have a job! Thanks to an online acquaintance who passed my resumé on to somebody in his office, I am now working as the casual replacement for a sudden vacancy. Nice office, assorted friendly staff and the work itself is fine.

Now I have to decide whether to apply for the permanent position. The position itself needs to be staffed full-time but the boss is prepared to consider job sharing arrangements. Scanning the duty statement and selection criteria I see there are a few tasks that hadn’t been mentioned during my first couple of days. Applications close on 8^th July. I’m quite happy to work the full-time hours with the 20% casual loading for these few weeks.

I doubt I’d want to work full-time on a permanent basis. Job sharing is an attractive option. As is the alternative suggestion that has been put forward – staying on the office books as their “temp”, covering sick & annual leave. Very attractive, but would it provide enough cash flow? Perhaps marketing myself as a permanent “temp” would be a viable option.

Selection criteria. Thought I’d spend part of my weekend composing my answers to those dreaded dot points on a job description. There are only 7 essential criteria and 2 desirables. Reasonably written too, that’s not often seen. Theoretically I should be able to type up my responses within a few hours.

Going through the duty statement again I see the job is potentially overloaded but that’s not unusual these days. Judging from what I have seen over my first days in the job, there is quite an ebb and flow to the work. A lot of ebb if the browser’s history on the desk computer is any guide! J

I’ve only been working a couple of days yet that is enough to ensure my weekend is being spent completing tasks I’d normally fit in during the week. Catching up on laundry (no, I won’t get up an hour earlier to get it done mid-week, not in winter), determining the week’s menu plan (and ensuring that complies with certain dietary requirements) and grocery shopping. All the household/family chores. Then there’s finding “me” time and “us” time. Managing a bit of that in a rushed manner today. Only some of today has been relaxing, some of it has been time pressured.

If I win the permanent position, then I won’t be able to participate in a Big Road Trip in very late July – early August. That’d be a shame, but I can cope. L  The bigger lifestyle impact would be on my upcoming September trip to Tassie to see my daughter. But the boss is hoping to take her leave during September. I could re-arrange my flight dates at little extra cost as long as I’m quick. It’s been more than a year since I have seen my youngest child and thus, I am not prepared to cancel the trip. Not only would I be disappointed, but she would be quite devastated.

Choosing to work as the “temp” would mean I’d have the freedom to do both Tassie and the Road Trip. That is extremely attractive.

Sheesh. The job ad says 3 referees. What is this thing Australia has for references for jobs that are not at executive level? It’s not as though a prospective employee is going to offer up someone who isn’t going to speak highly of them. Three. I can only offer two. And I think one of those has moved out of town. This is what I get for being too much of a hermit and living a quiet existence. I’ll work something out.

It’s not the sort of job where I will come home of an evening and want to share my day with my partner. I can see where this will be good, for it also means once I walk out the door at the end of the day, that’s it. I won’t be dwelling on my day nor taking work home with me. Nice.

The physical setting of the office is one of the nicest I have encountered. Complete with lovely garden. That’s a big plus. I’ve mentioned the friendly, mainly female staff. My boss is passionate, enthusiastic and happy about her work and the organisation. All very big pluses.  Extra big plus for the casual dress code!

I don’t think I can truly determine if I would like this job permanently until I’ve at least taken and typed the minutes from the upcoming staff meeting this Wednesday. I hate minute taking. Especially when you’re new and don’t have the background information that aids understanding.

I’ve noticed there seems to be a reasonable amount of staff/client socializing. Not a lot. But some. And that’s just not my scene at all. If my hours are 8.30 – 4.30 then that’s all you get from me. Feel free to ask, occasionally I’ll accept, but most of the time I shall decline. Depends how I feel on the day.

I’m thinking I’ll offer my services thus:

• Job share @ 0.5 FTE (5 days per fortnight: 3 days + 2 days)
• Job share @ 0.4 FTE (4 days per fortnight)
• Part-time, doing 1 day per week
• Casual temp – covering sick, annual & training leave etc

Now back to those selection criteria.