I started this entry a long time ago. Back in August it tells me. I never got back to it, as you can tell from the different writing style. What can I say, I have changed a lot since then.
I am currently at work, or what passes for work these days. Still do the desktop contract work, meaning I get a call asking if I can go fix something and I go fix it. Not real steady and certainly hit and miss as to when I actually have work but its been enough to keep us alive, if not prosperous. I am just waiting for the day when I can't do it anymore and I can maybe have someone support us besides me. Like that will ever happen. But I can hope.
Let's see, William just graduated 10th grade. As you are aware, 10th grade used to be the last grade anyone ever went to here in Austria. Some students went on to 11 and 12, like Maeghan, but most do not. We will have to see if William does it. He says he will and I am sure he will try but they actually require work in those grades and he has not done any real school work in a long time. He will tell you he does but I seem to recall a lot more studying and working when I was in school and he never does any of that. I find it hard to believe he is that smart that he can get it all done while he is at school but that is what he tells us. Plus, apparently, homework is not something they do anymore. Puts too much stress on the kids apparently. So their work is mostly done in school but I am sure there is still a need to study. He says no, and the teachers don't tell us he is falling behind or anything, in fact, he got the best report card of his life on the last one. An A and two Bs and a few Cs. It was great. Had to read between the lines on what the comments were but I don't want to say anything bad. He did great and we are so proud of him. Just hope he is prepared for the workload in 11 and 12. Maeghan had a lot of work when she went and he is not one to do that type of thing very often. We will see.
I did go with William to setup his new classes for next year. They have a program called VET. No idea what it is or how it works but basically, it is technical school for whatever he wants to do. The school is offering three main courses or groups of courses over the next two years. One is Education, basically becoming a teachers aid type thing. They said it was very hard and required a lot of work on his part. Another is Automotive, which William says he has no interest in. So we settled on the last one, Construction. I know, he is going to be a ditch digger. But I like that role for him and I think he can excel in it. Not that it is all about manual labour but they offer several different programs like wood working, machinery operation, building, and a few other specialities. He does not have to pick one of them until the second year but he likes doing things with his hands so maybe he will find his niche and become good at it. I think he will. I think William will be alright in life. If he can control his temper and not try so hard to prove he is right all the time, probably just a phase he is going through as a teenager, he will do just fine.
These course give them different levels of certificates. I won't go into certificates again but for the construction one, he comes out with a level 2 certificate. The automotive was only a cert 1 and the education was cert 3. You can get a job with a cert 3 but a cert 2 allows you to work in any environment and you specialize in what you want to do for a cert 3. The best thing is, if you take what the school is offering, they pay for it. If you were to do this on your own, like through a TAFE course, you have to pay for it yourself. Maeghan is taking a TAFE course and to get her qualification, she will have to spend about $3000. Not a lot, but to get her final certification, that is what the course costs. The ones she has taken so far have been free.
Which brings us to Maeghan. She missed out on applying for scholarships for next year. She has decided to either take the next year off, probably not, or work part time at the day care, probably not either. What she will probably do is take some other course at TAFE and pay for it herself. The problem is, the one she wants is a photography course and while the course is only a couple of hundred dollars, it requires her to own an SLR camera. Those go for about $1000 and she does not have that, neither do I. I am going to have a look around to see if I can get a used one but it might be a bit too late for her to sign up now.
I told her to go ahead and work for the next year and save the money. Not only will she get the experience but, since she lives at home, she can save all her money and have enough to do whatever she wants next year. Problem is, she has no way to get to the day care where she has been working, No buses stop there for some reason and the nearest one stops a couple of miles away. I don't see that changing anytime soon but maybe they can recommend her to another closer day care centre. I don't know. I don't think she really likes the work. It is hard and she has to do it all day, which she is in no way prepared for, so I think she might be ready to switch to something else. I think she was already ready to switch before she started but her mother kept at her to try it and then decide. It was a free course and might be helpful in other places but I think she has turned her back on doing it full time at this point.
While I am sitting her typing, there is another person in charge here that is named David. They keep asking him questions and I keep having to look up to make sure they are not talking to me. I am working in the office of a lumber yard. A fairly large lumber yard. They have some new software they are implementing today and I am here to support it if there are any problems. The fact that I have never seen the software and do not have access to it for testing doesn't seem to mean anything to anyone here. They had a big project to bring in this software and part of the budget was to have an IT guy be here in case of problems. So here I am. They payed for me to be here, so I have to be here. Haven't done anything except tell them to call the helpdesk but maybe that is what they wanted. I know the office manager hates me as she does not see why I am here and I am just wasting their resources but since I do not disagree with her, I can see why she does not like me. She has had to teach everyone how to use the software as she went to training for it but she is not an IT guy, so they brought me in. Kind of awkward.
I did install all their printers out in the yard and I trouble shot their wifi problems but neither of those have anything to do with why I am supposed to be here. And the wifi problem is not fixed, so they think I don't know what I am doing. I have pointed out that the APs are located 25 metres in the air, mounted from the ceiling, so I cannot check them directly as I have no way to get all the way up there to look at them. They said the problem started when the electrician installed the wiring for the new printers but I cannot verify that or make it work without taking one down and seeing if there is a problem. So they feel I am useless. I am typing into this blog so maybe I am. Nothing to do except say, call the helpdesk so far.
I think I am about done for now. Been a long day and it will just keep getting longer. The afternoon shift comes in at 2, so I will see if they have need of my expert opinion. I'm thinking of making a sign, 'Call the helpdesk', so I don't have to talk to them either. The afternoon shift is more fun though, so maybe I will visit with them if they are not busy. I should mention that we have been in a steady downpour here in Brisbane for the past two days and everything if under water, so going out into the lumber yard is something I try to avoid. Had to go out there to reconfigure one of the printers and while it slowed down when I went out, it was pouring again when I finished, so I got soaked. Did I mention it is about a half a kilometre from one end of this yard to the other. Not a long distance but I am a fat old man with a bad heart and a bad back, so when I have to make that walk six or seven times a day, it gets to be a problem.
I was going to wrap this up and then I went off on a poor me story. I think I will attempt to wrap it up again. Not telling if I will succeed. Lots and lots of things to talk about and to enter in but I make no promises. I just hope to keep making an effort, as little as it is at times.
Until next time,
Later
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