MWNews 227

Someone really needs to proofread these. I went back and read a couple from the last few days. Most are just incoherent. Random words, words out of place and out of order. It makes it very hard to read and I wrote it. I should spend my time going back and fixing them, but who has that kind of time. I am a go go go, get em now kind of guy. I don't correct mistakes because I don't make them. 

And then we all laughed.

I am starting this while Open Day is still going on. I am supposed to be covering the phones right now, but I will pretend the phone is not ringing while I type. Why is it I can't keep away from this thing lately. I don't have a lot to say but I keep coming back to it multiple times a day. I am sure it will get me in trouble soon, but I can't seem to stop. Maybe I am just not getting it. Conundrums aside.

I think I will start going back for real and fixing all the typos and typing mistakes. It might be getting near the end and I want to try to publish this for the kids at some point. It is very expensive, and it is always online, but they might find it interesting after I am gone. I know I do.

I have now forgotten why I started typing again. Maybe it was to tell you I am going back to correct some mistakes, but that would be a very short entry. Not at all like me. Long winded and fairly wandering is how I write. It's gotten me through the bad times and some of the good.

I keep getting parents coming in and interrupting me. They don't know where they are and for some reason, neither do the kids. What does that say about the students. They do not even know where the IT department is. Most of them think we teach IT in here, until I tell them no, this is where the kids go to get their computers fixed. You would be surprised how many of them then say they should try to stay away from this department in the future. I guess its a joke but a lot of them make the same joke.

Going to tear myself away again because I am getting hungry. The sausage sizzle is right below me and all the smells waft up to this room. I can look out the window down at them and see what they are making. Lots and lots of sausages as far as I can tell. I need to walk around and see what else is here, but I am stuck in this room waiting for the phone to ring. Doesn't appear to be anyone else around. I assume they all have something else to do.

I just went for a small wander. Saw a couple of interesting things, but nothing worth reporting.

Well, it is now Monday. I never got back to this. Open Day finished. I am not sure what or why I was needed, but I went and picked up some TVs and stored them away. Then left around 9:00. It finished at 8:00. Come in today to see what needs to be cleaned up or put away. Looks like a lot of things were put in the wrong place, so I am not sure if I need to move them or leave them alone.

This is Paul's last week. No more manager for me. Not sure what that means. It's not as if I had a lot of interaction with him anyway. Mostly just talk about other people and what they should or should not be doing. I will definitely miss the fact that he left me out of a lot of things. On purpose or not, it made the job easy and pleasant. I am afraid the new manager will require more of me. Not that I am adverse to it, I just and not used to it and I am afraid it will bring out the old me, the one who saw the problems and tried to fix them. I don't want to do that anymore. Plus, I do not really know this job. I have always been the one in charge and was able to tell others what it is that was needed or what we needed to do. I could always do it myself, which is what I did most of the time, but here, I do not know the systems as well as the others, so I am at a disadvantage. I took the job precisely because of that. I do not want to be the one in charge or the 'guy' anymore. I am too old to learn new things so I can be the best at them. What is the point. I will not be working that much longer, so I just want to hole my place and not be stressed. We will have to see.

I have just been told that one of the other people who do what I do is leaving also. He has been saying that for the whole time I have been here but now, it appears to be official. He is leaving. Not final date yet, but that brings my department down to two people doing what was formerly done by four, and the only ones left are myself and one other person that has been here less time that I. A lot of built in knowledge is gone. No one has been here a full year so no one knows what it is we are supposed to be doing when events or changes are happening. It will be lots of fun.

I am going to end this entry so I can start another that is not work related, or not a lot of work-related things. I am tired of talking about it and don't really know what else there is to say. Paul has made some recommendations to management about how things should be.

Probably ending in an incomplete sentence but I gotta go.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end. 

 

MWNews 226

I am fairly certain I am re-using photos, but who can find out. It seems a mystery to me. 

Today is Open Day. My assignment, do what I always do. With the added responsibility of answering the phone. I have not heard if parents will be coming through here or not. If so, I have to answer their questions. I am still not sure what my duties are or more importantly, what the others will be doing. Several people have called in sick, including the person that is coordinating the IT group, but from what I can tell, this is not that big of a deal. Maybe they have a problem with things as the day goes on, like things not working, but that is just poor planning. 

There seems to be a lot of documentation and meetings and planning going on, but from what I can see, nothing is complicated. It should work and it is easy to test. I know the users tend to screw things up, but my thoughts would be to make them unscrewable. I mean, you have a lot of presentations and a lot of things being moved around, but if it works one place, then it should work in another. The only difference should be where you plug it in. But I am sure I have no idea what the complexities are and why they seem to worry about it so much. I will just do my job and wander through the day, having no idea what it is I am supposed to be doing and making it up as I go.

In theory, it ends tonight at 8:00, but then I have to do the packing up and putting away. That apparently will take until about 10:00. I have no idea what is involved, I just do what I am told. 

William got a really nice suit yesterday. I was very surprised they had one that fit him. He says the sleeves are too short, but I don't see a problem. The pants fit fine and he got a tie to go with it. Now, if he decides he is going to the formal, he can wear that and we don't have to worry about it. They have not announced when and where it will be, nor how much it will cost, but that should happen soon. Hopefully, it is not while he is away in Tasmania. That is during the last school holidays, so it should not be then, but you never know.

One of my big questions is, is he going to ask a girl to go with him. We never talk about girls or why he is not dating or seeing anyone, maybe he is, but since he is home all the time, I really doubt it. I know he talks to the girls, or I used to see him doing it at school, and he seemed to get along with them just fine. Juanita has said she sees girls checking him out all the time. I never notice but that is not something I am looking for. Not being able to drive or having a car to actually learn to drive in, is a problem. The van is just too big to try to learn to drive in it. His plan was to get a motorcycle, but we know how that went. He still cannot ride a bike. He thinks he can learn how in a day, if we will take him out to show him how, but I have tried doing that and he gives up pretty quickly and says one thing or another is wrong and just quits trying. His mother has stopped riding her bike also, so the plan for them to ride together and to learn how is on hold at best.

It's kind of quiet here at work, although I see lots of requests to do things, but no one is asking me to do any of them. Kind of insulting as they told me to stay here out of the way. Guess I am just old.

I am not sure we will have any plans for this weekend. Spent all my money on something, can't remember what. If we do go somewhere, it will have to be out of the EKKA money, which I have set aside. Hate to do that but I have extra and can replace it before the EKKA gets here, so it is not a real problem. Probably just need to stay home anyway. We went to Costco last night and I had not planned of going there this week. No real need to go, but we went anyway. They had some things they have not had in a while, so I managed to get some of that. Juanita wanted to go out to eat but I said I had already set things out to make for dinner and had not planned on buying dinner. We ended up having hotdogs from Costco and now I have chicken and rice set out to make fried rice sometime. Don't know when as I will be here at work tonight and weekends are special when I make special things. Fried rice is not that special. 

Maeghan wants spaghetti Saturday. I love spaghetti so that is not a problem. The four different sauces I have to make usually are. Pesto or cheese for William, bolognaise for everyone else, but I prefer just tomato sauce, or my special sauce which has no meat in it. As an alternative, I like my fried green olive sauce. It is very good, but I like tomato sauce too, so I never know which one to make. I like to put lots of chilis in mine too, which no one but Maeghan and I can eat. I will have to decide which one I make. If we go tomato, I usually make William pesto, Maeghan and the others bolognaise, and me a separate sauce with mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and lots of chilis. Three different sauces for five people. But now that I type that, I am thinking we have not had the fried olive sauce in a long time. Maeghan eats it but that becomes another sauce again. I leave out my hot sauce with mushrooms, so it still works out to three. I could make everyone else pesto, but pesto is not really a meal, unless you are William. We will just have to see how I feel on the day, which is tomorrow. Sunday, I think we have to have pork roast or lamb chops. I got a lot of both of those because I get points from Woolworths sometimes when I buy them. 

I guess I have never talked about the points, and what I am trying to get. I might or might not go into that, but it is about to get busy again, so it will have to wait. Apparently, they have found something for me to do, move TVs. No explanation as to where we are moving them to and I have not seen the actual TVs to move, but I have help, so maybe they know what we are doing. I can just be the muscle. 

Hey, I saw that snicker. I can be the muscle. I'm not that old. Yet.

The big boss just went and bought everyone coffee. I told him I did not want one, I have had three already today, but he insisted. I think he thinks I only agreed because he was paying, but I actually only agreed because he was offering and said he would pay. I took that as meaning he wanted me to get a coffee. So now I have a giant coffee to drink, and it is not as hot as I normally drink coffee, but I suppose it is the thought that counts. I sit apart from everyone else, so I think people get the impression that it is by choice. That is only partially true. I prefer to work alone but I do not like never knowing what is going on. They have discussions all the time and I can see them through the window but cannot hear what they are saying. I miss out on a lot and then they wonder why I am not doing something or reporting something they asked everyone else to report. I get tired of it. I should go for the director's job, but I am not up for that. I don't think I can get anyone to understand why. I told my boss that I have the disease, I can't never spell it so I have stopped trying to type it, and he said no one has ever noticed but I know if I stay in close proximity to them, they will. I can feel it all the time, not being able to say what I mean, or losing the words I am looking for, but they don't see what is going on in my mind and just assume I mean what I say when most of the time I cannot find the right word and have to make something up that sounds similar to what I wanted to say. Hard to describe but I think most people understand what I am talking about. It happens to everyone, especially with old age. It is just tenfold with me. I can almost never get the words out that I want. I can type, no problems, but speaking is where the problems start to occur. 

Now that I am thinking about it, why is it I am not affected when I am typing. I mean I am, but not to the degree that it is when I try to speak. That is probably a clue to something. Where was I and why am I going into this now. Might as well continue. 

The speaking thing is the biggest worry, but for me, almost as worrisome is the forgetting why I am doing something. Everyone forgets why they walked into a room or why they are doing something. I don't know if I am worse than anyone else or not. I think I am. It is very extreme for me. I can be doing something, turn around to get something and forget why I turned around. I can pick something up and forget why I picked it up. The most worrisome thing is when I am driving or just walking around, I sometimes don't recognise where I am, even if I have been there a thousand times. Or I don't remember how I got somewhere, I am just there and can't remember getting there. That one is scary. I think I mentioned that I sometimes cannot remember which is the wiper switch and which is the flasher. All these things point to something bad, but everyone just thinks it is funny. It's not funny anymore. Nothing to do about it. Keep your mind occupied and try not to think about it.

I am about to have to go now. Someone just asked me about the TVs. I suppose I have to go figure out what it is I am supposed to be doing. I will postpone my ramblings for another day, if I can remember I still do this. 

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end. 

 

MWNews 225

I'm not going to lie to you CJ, I was feeling a bit poorly.

Getting ready for the big to-do here at the school. Open day is tomorrow. They want to have a rehearsal this afternoon, but I have to leave at 3 to go to a parent teacher meeting for William. It is at 4:30. Just barely gives me enough time to get there. I told them no but have not heard back from them yet. Hopefully they get the message. They know I leave at 3, so why schedule a meeting when I am supposed to be gone. He cancelled the other two meetings that were before this rehearsal, but he knew I leave at 3. Guess I will hear from him eventually.

The EKKA is coming up in two weeks, or something like that. I think we go on August 14 and this is July 27, so about two weeks. I am looking forward to five days off in a row. I get off Friday and don't have to be back until the following Thursday. I took Monday and Tuesday off and Wednesday is a holiday, so I get that one for free. 5 whole days. I can really use that. I should have taken the whole week off, but I don't have that much vacation time accrued yet. Plus, they would be mad that I took time off for the EKKA and not for going to Tasmania with them.

That happens soon also, in November. Not really a vacation for me, but it does mean I don't have to cook for everyone for a week, so it is kind of like a vacation for me. I think it is pizza and spaghetti for me every night. Maybe I will throw in a really hot curry. Been a while since I got to cook for only myself. Not that I don't try but as I like to say, every meal I cook, someone has to suffer with me leaving something out. Most of the time, it is me, but since I have to cook at least two different versions of every meal, it gets pretty bad when I have to cook four different versions. 

One version for William, no onions, no vegetables. One for Maeghan, no mushrooms, a few vegetables. One for everyone else, no hot stuff. And then there is me, and I am the one doing the cooking, so things sometimes slip in that I like but the majority doesn't. It's tough to cook for all these different people all the time. I keep telling everyone, this is not a restaurant, and you don't get to order what you like. You eat what I make and pick out the things you don't like. But I try to make it so no has to eat anything they do not want. Always done it that way, but a week where I don't have to think about it before I cook, seems a lot like a vacation.

William goes for his fitting today. I have no idea where they are going but it is not at school. I still don't know what it is they are doing, just know he says he is getting a suit, good luck with finding one that fits him, and they get to keep it. I am guessing it is from donations, but I really don't know. We will see what he comes back with.

Maeghan paid for her graduation yesterday. They have to pay for themselves and pay for any others that are attending. Seems like some kind of money grab. There were all sorts of options she could buy. Flowers, a hat, a bear, I don't really remember them all. It ended up costing her over $100. Probably means I have to pay her back for it. She did pay for it herself but that is a lot a money when you don't have an income. It happens in August, I think. I thought it was this week but it turns out it is August. Only her mother and I are going. William, I don't think he is allowed, or that is what I overheard them saying. I don't know why. Maybe it is because he is under 18 and they do not allow kids at this thing. He is 6 foot 7, so I don't think he qualifies as a kid. He didn't really care, or he says he doesn't. I think he wants to be there, but he has accepted he doesn't get to go. Besides, Maeghan would have had to pay for him too and it was getting too much money for all of us to go. I am going to offer to pay for it and ask if it is too late to add William. If it is, I will still give her the money back. If I had known she was doing it, I would have paid for it in the first place, but she didn't tell me she was doing it right then. I thought she was just looking at her options. But is done, so I will just have to pay her pack.

There doesn't seem to be a lot going on at school today. I took yesterday off so I could be with Juanita. She asked me to since it was the anniversary of her father's death, and she didn't want to stay at home by herself. Maeghan was there but I guess it is not the same. I spent the day playing on the tv and she stayed in the back on the computer. I am sure she spent the day talking to all her friends online about it but she occasionally came out to sit with me and I occasionally went in the sit with her. I had to go pick up William when he got out of school, and then start dinner when I got home, but I think she got through it ok. Hopefully, she is doing ok today. I have only talked to her a couple times this morning and it is afternoon now. Haven't heard anymore from her yet. She did say her new glasses are in, so I assume she has gone down to pick them up. She has to pick me up after work since we are going to William's thing. I think she is picking me up at the wrong station but that is where she said she will be, so that is where she is picking me up. I don't plan on going shopping today, which is where we normally go today, but she is picking me up at the same station that we do when we go shopping. The is a closer one, but I just ok and will meet her there.

Since I have been typing this since this morning, I am not sure what I have said. Today is meet William's teachers at his school. Tomorrow is Open day at my school. I have to work all day, from 6:30 in the morning to about 10:00 at night. They told me to come in late, but the students are still here so who will be here for them in the morning if I am late. Lots of kids come in early, before school starts, so someone has to be here to help them. I suppose I will just work the whole day. Might get a break for dinner but for the most part, it is just a meet and greet and answer people's questions about the school. Since I am relatively new, I don't know if I will have a lot of answers for them, but I am sure I can make something up. I just had the big boss out here with the two littler bosses and they were discussing if this room will be open or not. They also wanted to go over sample questions people might ask and the answers we might give them. I managed to keep my mouth shut but really, what exactly are these people afraid of. Just talk to the people. If you don't know, then say you don't know. Are they afraid of the public. They are in the wrong profession. I have done this for so long, talking to the public is the least of my worries. You go into these things knowing that you are the expert and nothing they can ask will change that or make any difference. What exactly are these people made of. But I didn't speak up. Let them cringe and worry about it. I am a professional. I don't get rattled.

One of the questions they came up with is what if someone asks what we are doing about AI. They said we had to come up with an official policy before tomorrow night. I left the conversation after that. Am I old or to curmudgeonly. I don't get it and I don't care. So they ask about AI. Make something up. No one is going to check up on you and no one is going to come back in five years and tell you how wrong you were. Make it up. If you don't think you can make it up, then say someone is working on it and we will have an answer soon. No need to mess your pants over a question. I guess since I am not going to be in the meeting to discuss this, they will just have to figure it out on their own. Not my problem. Maybe it is, but I don't get it and I don't care.

I have started on one of my rants. I will stop. I have a headache. I have to go to lunch anyway. There are several girls walking rapidly towards me, so I assume they want something, and they want it quick. Teachers tend to send the students down if something stops working in class or one of the girls has a problem and the teacher does not want to deal with it. They send them to IT and tell them to ask us to fix it. I had a girl just a few minutes ago ask me to fix her glasses for her. Her screw had fallen out and luckily, she had found it. I told her I can't even see the screw and there was no way I would be able to fix it for her. I offered to hold the glasses together while she screwed it in. We did that and amazingly, it worked. She got the screw back in. I don't know how long it is going to last, but it was working when she left. Another of those amazing IT solutions I am constantly coming up with.

I am going to go to lunch now. I am tired of typing, and I am constantly making mistakes. I must be tired. It is making it hard to make any sense anymore. That must be my signal to stop doing this and do something else. Plus, I am being sent to the HPE room to do something. I don't know what. We will see.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end. 

MWNews 224

Back again today, or the same day I was writing last time. Not that I will get it published today, but I might. Really slow right now. Although I did just have to solve someone's problem. Nothing major, so I am back at it.

I think there is a big meeting going on concerning Open Day here at the school. That is Friday. It is when all the students, parents, and any prospective students or parents come to see and gather information about the school. Supposedly it is a really big deal. I have been warned about it from the time I started working here. So far, I have done nothing to support it, but I have this sneaking suspicion that I am supposed to be doing something. My predecessor had a lot of information about it and said I would need to gather all the stuff needed to make it happen. I have said over and over again I have no idea what it is I am supposed to be doing. That knowledge went with her. If there is something I am supposed to be doing, someone needs to let me know since this thing happens in three days.

As far as I know, someone else has been put in charge of it, but I just got an invite to a planning session and if it is for that, then the meeting is happening the day before it happens. Not a lot of time to do anything as far as I can tell. But let's just wait and see. Maybe it is just to pass along some information to me and not to ask what my progress is, as I suspect. With the boss leaving, and he has never done one of these either, I cannot gather any information until they tell me. But class just let out, so I have to pretend I am helping someone. And while I was away, I got an email that someone else is doing everything, so I am off the hook.

Today is the day Juanita's mother died, tomorrow is the day her father died. She has been crying all day. I am at work, so I can't be with her. Maybe I will take tomorrow off, but I am not sure if I can. A lot of people call in sick all the time, but I am new, so I don't have sick days yet. And, it is Open Day week, so I am sure there is a lot to do, as I mentioned before. I have no idea what it is, but maybe I have to be here to find out. In any case, Maeghan is home, so maybe she can help. Juanita always gets really sad on these days. 

I think I am about typed out. probably should not have started another of these today. I have done a lot lately but haven't really talked about anything but myself. Maeghan did finish her painting she was doing in her art class. She and Juanita go to this art thing that they do for NDIS people. I think they go twice a week. It is just to get the NDIS people out of the house. Maeghan loves doing art stuff, so it is good for her. Juanita likes doing it as well and this is something they can do together, although Juanita never talks about what she is doing. I think she was doing tiles or something, there are a couple on the kitchen bench, but no one mentioned them, so I am not sure who made them. Juanita hasn't mentioned what she is doing at all. Maeghan tells me everything she is doing and shows me pictures of them on her phone. She does Manja?? drawings and paintings of people. Hopefully, I spelled that right and have the correct term for it. Kind of big-eyed people, with triangular heads or something like that. I don't really know, and I have probably insulted her by saying that. They are good drawings but not something I know anything about.

William is off to get fitted for some free suit. Not sure what that means, but he has a permission slip to go visit some place that gives away free suits or something to the seniors. I have no idea what that means. He is also supposed to go to some play, but the two events are on the same day, so I don't think he is going to the play. Maybe he is, but I heard him saying he is not. He is getting close. A few more months and he will get out of the 12th grade and be finished with school. He is looking forward to it. I don't know why. I think he thinks that it will be easy to get a job then. That all he has to do is finish school and he is ready for a job. Hopefully, he knows it takes a bit more than that. He is willing but I don't think he knows how hard it is to have a job. Much harder than school. I saw a poster or something the other day that said, 'Why did I think work would be easier than school.". I meant to send it to William and Maeghan but forgot.

People keep coming and interrupting me, so it is hard to keep a train of thought. Plus, they keep walking behind my desk, so I have to keep hiding that I am doing this. Now I just got a phone call and normally, I don't answer phone calls but I saw the others looking at me to see if I was going to answer it so I ignored them until the phone call went away. I am probably in trouble now, but who cares, I don't answer the phone unless I have to and they know that. It will be interesting to see what the new boss has to say about it.

I just thought that we could go to the big market in the Gold Coast this weekend. There is one in Robina we have driven by a couple of times but have never been. Problem with that one is it starts at 6 and ends at 11, so would have to leave really early to get there. It takes at least an hour and a half to get there. It advertises as Australia's largest indoor market. I have nothing to compare it to, so I cannot say it isn't. It is just so far away and takes so long to get there, I am not sure it will be worth it. Doesn't look like anything special from the outside, but we have only driven by a couple of times. I am not sure I can find it again, but I am sure Apple maps can find it.

Afterwards, we can go to Surfers Paradise and go to that market. I don't really like that one but it is on the beach and it is in Surfers Paradise, so there are a lot of things there, all of which cost money, but we will see. I have an email telling me that TGIFridays has 50 cent wings this Saturday, so maybe we can go there also, but we have to make reservations for it. Unless we decide quick, we may not get in. It is a conundrum. And yes, they have TGIFridays here. It is not as I remember it, but we went once or twice and it is not bad. The one in Surfers Paradise is right across from the beach. Not that you can ever get those tables but it would be nice to sit out on the balcony and look at the ocean while we eat. So that is a reason to go.

They have the giant Timezone arcade there. The kids and Juanita love that. I don't, it is too loud and too expensive but if they want to go, I can pay for it I guess. Cost me more to go there than it does not eat, but they love it and it is giant. A bowling alley, bumper cars, lots and lot of arcade machines, a little snack bar, lots and lots of stuff. It is giant. But way too loud. I have to go outside and sit and wait for them. I can usually have a beer while I wait, so it is not all bad. 

Next to the Timezone, there is an ax throwing place. Yes, you heard that correctly, an ax throwing place. I have no idea when this trend started, but I have seen a couple of them. You pay your money, they give you some axes, and you throw them at a wall. Not sure why or how that was turned into an entertainment option, but the few times I have seen it, it was busy with a lot of young people there. Mostly young girls, so maybe that is a thing. Just seems kind of strange to me. Also, outside the Timezone is a real bowling alley and a laser tag place and I think something else that I can't think of at the moment. There is a lot of stuff there, all of it expensive. This is a big tourist attraction area, so you can expect that kind of thing. A couple of blocks away, there is even one of those big giant slingshot things, where you sit in a ball and they fire it up into the air bungy jump style. We like to watch it a few times every time we go by there. I am not sure I could ever to that. It is not the initial firing that bothers me it is the bouncing up and down after that first time, hanging way up in the ait. Heights are the problem. I guess if I was strapped in, it might not bother me as much, but I am old and fragile now, so I will probably never do it. 

There is a lot to do in Surfers Paradise. But that kind of leads me to the end. Another entry for the day but it is time for my lunch, although I don't eat lunch, but I have to take care of some business so I should be going anyway. It is the last rush before lunch break now, they go to lunch really late here at the school. I prefer a late lunch but lunchtime is when a lot of the girls come in, so I have to be here when that happens. So I go around 12:30. Would prefer to go at 1:00 but one of the other guys goes then and 1:30 is good for me but that is the lunch rush, so not good for the job. I think I will just close this one for now. Won't come back to it, so might as well publish it. It was a good time.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

 

MWNews 223

The weekend is just way too short. I am already back at work and it seems like I had no days off. But I suppose if I am writing in here instead of doing actual work, it's not all bad.

It's 7 in the morning. No one is here. Except, of course, the students. A couple have already knocked on the door and wanted in to use the printers. They seem to be getting here earlier and earlier each week. But I am tired of talking about work, which means I will come back to it later. Except to mention that I had to help several of them with the printing. Which allows me to rant about MacOS and the general setup here at the office. But now that I think about it, I don't want to get into it so lets just ignore it.

We ended up going to the Caboolture market. A big market but it is just a big field, dirt, rocks, and lots and lots of tents. Nothing special at all about this market. No place to sit except at the food places and they want you to buy something if you are going to sit there. Just lots and lots of the same things. 

We thought it had gotten bigger than the last time, but they had just moved it closer to the entrance we go in. A few things had moved around. They are now using the couple of barns that are there for things. One is a giant vegetable market, the other had junk in it. But instead of what we thought, that they had expanded into this end of the field, it turns out they just moved a lot of the stuff from the other end down closer to the buildings. I don't think it was any bigger, but Juanita and Maeghan insisted that it was. William didn't care.

I did notice that there seemed to be a lot more plant stalls. It seems every third stall was selling plants. Mostly the same plants as the last one but one of them had some specialized chilis. They only had one or two plants but I think I might go back to get a couple. It I ever get around to building my greenhouse they got me for my birthday a few years ago. It gets too cold to have them out in the open right now but they would probably survive if I had the greenhouse up. That would mean I would have to go back to that market and hope that they still had the plants so we can assume that is not going to happen.

I think they want to go to the other market this weekend, or maybe even the West End market. Both of which we require us to be up earlier than we were this week. We got up early, or they got up early, I am always up early, so we could have gone sooner but we ended up not leaving until a little before 10. The market closed at 11:30. They seemed surprised but I had told them it closed at 12 and they did not seem to believe me. I was surprised at 11:30 but it didn't matter as we were just about finished when it did. Only had one more section to go to.

I did go by the big vegetable building on the way out and they were selling everything half price. I am not sure they actually charged me half price as the people yelling half price were not the ones actually ringing up the customers when they left. I got a big bag of mushrooms. It was ordinarily $7.99 but they told me $5.00. I got some green onions also for $2 and the total was $9 so I assume they charged me full price. But $7.99 for a big bag of mushrooms wasn't bad anyway, so I didn't say anything. Problem is, now I have a big bag of mushrooms. I am the only one who eats them. So I have to eat them all the time so they do not go bad before I can get to them. I had a bunch last night, fried with onion and chilies and mixed with rice. The morning I had a mushroom omelette, but there is still a very large bowl of them left. I don't think I will get to the all, so maybe they were not such a bargain, but I will give it a shot. They are brown mushrooms and taste pretty good, so I will be mushroom heavy for the next couple of days. I didn't set anything out to cook for tonight, so I am having mushrooms. Not sure what the others are having.

Maeghan got a water bottle for her bird. She wanted another bird, but they are $65 and she did not have any money. She gets money next week so maybe she will get it then. I told her the bird does not know how to drink from a water bottle. She agreed but she said the bird would figure it out. I have my doubts. 

Maeghan is currently looking for some roller skates. She seems to think she can roller skate somewhere. I tried to tell her there was no place to use roller skates around here and her legs were not strong enough to use them. I have to try to tell her that without making her sad because she would feel bad if I said she can't do it. My only point is, she needs to build up her leg muscles before she tried roller skating. I told her she needs to learn to walk first, which was kind of a joke but does have some truth to it. Roller skating is harder than walking and if she gets too tired walking, then she will not be able to roller skate very far or be able to handle rough terrain and such. I am not sure what her plans are as I was totally exhausted by the time we were at Kmart and looking at skates so I did not hang around to see what she was going to decide. Just one more thing I need to talk to the kids about. Instead of being a source of entertainment, I need to be a father.

Juanita gave William $20 to spend at the market so he would not touch his own money for his trip. He didn't find anything but took out another $20 so he could buy a knife. A fake knife, but one that costs $40. He says is saving all the stuff he buys for a display at his own home when he gets one. 

 I started this entry yesterday and rereading it, I am not sure where I was headed with William. I will make do with what I can make up.

So William says he is going to have one display wall with all the things he has bought over the years. Lots of fake knives, swords, some fake guns and other stuff I assume. I admire him for the plan, not sure if he will feel the same way once he has his own home. Not sure he will ever have his own home. With the way things are going, housing will be well out of anyone's price range, or at least the one's in the middle class. Rich people will still have houses and poor people will have public housing, but for the middle class, not so much. You can't afford the down payment and you cannot find houses in the areas where you would like them to be. But that is political stuff and no way am I going there in this blog.

I think we are going to plan on going to the other market this weekend. Old Petrie. I'll have to get everyone up early but it was a fairly cheap outing and I am trying to save money for retirement. Can't keep dipping into that money if I expect to retire. I have enough to retire, but if I want a new car or anything new while I am retired, I am not sure where that money will come from. I need to get all that taken care of before that happens. Maybe Maeghan or William will get a good job and take care of me. I doubt it, but it would be nice. I don't see that happening unless William gets real lucky and gets a job where he can move up or Maeghan gets a job working in an office and gets to be in charge at some point. It's possible, but probably not before I have to start taking care of myself. Plus, I wouldn't accept it. I don't like other people paying for me. I have always said, if you are out with me, I pay. Doesn't always work out but I hate it when it doesn't.

I suppose I should just go ahead and end this one now. The day is just starting and I haven't opened the doors yet. In fact, I just had to get up and open the doors. Not sure why no one has knocked yet. My boss did just come in and we had a long talk about me applying for his job. I told him I would not be doing that. Alzheimer and all. Not a good look when I can't get a sentence out in the middle of a meeting. But that's the way it is. I get by with what I can do.

Going to be heading out. Maybe come back to it later as there does not seem to be a big crowd of students around. Maybe they are having a meeting or something. I was really busy yesterday, hence I never got back to this entry, but today seems to be starting slow. Hope it lasts.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

MWNews 222

Not a lot going on. I have posted many times lately but since I started, I keep coming back to it. It's Friday and I am at work again. I'd say I look forward to the weekend, but it is way too short. It seems like I just get relaxed, or actually never get relaxed, and they have to go back to work. I don't remember it being this hard back when I went to a regular job. Weekends just seem so short. I never get to do any of the things I want to do. And with my health, I get tired really early so we always have to cut whatever we are doing short so I can get home and rest. And then I don't get to rest when I am at home. Not sure if it is going to get easier but it has to if I am going to do this for the next four years.

Trouble at work still. With my boss leaving, it seems total chaos has begun. It is Friday and I am the only one here so far. We are normally short two people on Fridays anyway as somehow, they got it in their contracts that they do not have to work on Fridays. Wish I had known that was an option. I would certainly have asked for it. But today, the boss is in, but I am not sure who else will be here. I know two of them have called in sick. They usually don't come in until after 8 anyway, I get here at 6:15, so I don't expect anyone until then, but since there are normally three of me, today there will be just me and my backups may not be here. Not that it has been busy and I have done it by myself before, but it could be an interesting day. But that's enough work talk as students have started coming in and I have to help them. I will try to get back to it later today and discuss our weekend plans but if I don't, be sure to miss me a lot.

By the way, formatting has gone back to normal. I have no idea why or when it changes but it happens often enough to annoy me. Then again, what's new, I am annoyed by everything.

Yes, I have returned to this. Students don't seem to have problems today, only teachers and they are the worst anyway. A student usually shows respect, not that I need that, but the teachers just demand things get done. Doesn't matter what else might be going on, they think they are first because they have to go teach so everyone else can wait. Not all, but it is always a background noise when dealing with teachers. Get my problem fixed now. They don't say it, but you can feel it.

So, for the weekend. I think we are skipping the West End. They want to go to the local market. We have not been in a while, but it is a boring market. And it is on Sunday and that is my day to sit in front of the TV and do nothing. The problem with the local market is it is just a big field. Nothing special about it. No trees, no park, no buildings, just temporary stalls with a lot of junk. It is boring. That is why we never go. Other options are the Old Petrie Market. We went there once but we took both the dogs and it was not a pleasant experience. I'd like to go back, and we can probably just take the one dog this time, or no dog at all. But he would love it, so if we do go, I plan on taking him. 

That market has some character. Not a lot there but it winds around a bit and there are some good things and bad, plus there are a lot of trees and a park and some benches and stuff where you can just sit for a while in the shade. No shade at the local market. If we have to go on Sunday, then I would recommend the Old Town Petrie. 

We might even go to the Redcliffe market, but we have been there many times. It is our go to market I guess. It is an ok market, but the big advantage is it is at the beach. And there are shops on one side of the street and stalls in the street, so it has a bit of everything. It can be kind of crowded, so that is a drawback, but overall, it is a good market. I have been kind of wanting to have a picnic lately and this might be a good chance to go to the beach and have one. It is just that is it so crowded there that all the picnic places are also crowded, and it is hard to find a good spot that is not already taken.

Been running the students again. I have often wondered what it is like when I say I will be back in a minute and then you just start reading the next line. For you, I have not been away but I might have been away for hours, days, weeks, or months. So does it read any differently or are there any issues with it. I know if I leave it for too long, all my original thoughts have gone and I am starting anew, so the tone or information might be redundant or different. I have always wondered that. No matter, I will continue to proceed.

In and out all day today. It's 10:30 already. I started this at 6:30 this morning. I have been looking at different markets we can go to, so we don't go to the same ones all the time. I think Old Petrie is where we will end up, or Caboolture, the local market. That is for Sunday. For Saturday, we will probably just go to the shops. Not sure which one. I will let them decide. Ideally, we will just stay home Saturday, but I doubt that will happen. Have to keep them entertained.

I would end this now as I am tired of writing in it. But I know I will be bored again later and want to continue to type. Not that I have anything to say and not that I have said anything yet, but I am tired of writing. I'll think about it for a few minutes, while I wait on this student and see how I go. A teacher was here also, wanted a camera. I said I didn't know anything about a camera but it would appear there was one in the back waiting to be picked up, so I gave her that one. Hopefully, it was waiting for her to pick it up. They never tell me anything about what is going on. I am front of house, why should they tell me.

I am starting to feel week now. Didn't have breakfast and all I have is a handful of nuts and a smaller handful of pretzels. Going to be a long day but I am going to go ahead and end this now. Lot of kids coming in the use the printers. We are centrally located, so they use this one a lot. There are printers all over campus, but they choose to use these. Hopefully, they know how so I don't have to get up. I'll stare at them until they leave. Of course now I hear classes ending, so there will be another rush through here. Have to go be a servant.

Now it is time to say goodbye. They want me to answer the phones as well, since no one else is here. Hopefully, there will be no calls. I see there have only been seven today and it is morning break time so no one should be calling. I hate answering the phones. I hate it because I have people who have taken the time to come in and see me directly and if I am on the phone, I have to tell them to wait. I have said I should not be answering the phones but it always seems to happen when we are short staffed as we are today. The boss just came by and said he was going to lunch and he would not be back, so one less person. No shortage of students, they don't take the day off but apparently neither can I. I am really looking forward to five days off in a few weeks. I can really use it. 

The phone just rang but someone answered it, or they hung up. Not sure, but the call went away. 

Have to go. I ate all my nuts and pretzels. The pretzels don't have enough salt on them. It's been fun. I'll live to tell another tale, just not today. Rush is over, can't hear any kids anymore, so they must be back in class.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

 

MWNews 221

It's not the way you talk or the way you walk, it has everything to do with where you get our ice cream.

My boss just quit. I knew it was a possibility, but I did not think it would happen. He went back to his old job, for more money. Not that it really matters but he was kind of a buffer between me and the only guy I do not like here. I am afraid that in the interim, the other guy will be put in charge. Not a good thought but doesn't matter I suppose. I will just try to do my job.

I think the last time, I was complaining and moaning about how poor life has treated me. So, nothing new. I could continue with my mental issues, but who wants to hear that again. I have Alzheimer's, no getting around it anymore. It affects everything now. I even have issues driving. I can't remember where the turn signal is and the windshield wipers are. Trial and error to see which one I hit. I keep telling people but no one seems to take me seriously. Not that there is anything to do about it. Doctors say wait and see. Tell me to keep my mind active. That is the number one reason I took this job. Stimulation on a daily basis. I think it is helping, but I can't be sure yet. Guess it is wait and see. Guess I wandered off into my issues again. I have excuses, I have a disease.

Formatting has screwed up again. The things I have to put up with.

In future news, we are going to the EKKA again this year. So far, just the four of us but I assume I will be asked to pay for someone else to go with us. Shayla probably. She went last year but she was living with us at the time. She left early to be with her boyfriend. Don't know what the plans are for this year.

I bought the tickets a couple of months ago. They had a special offer of 50% off for the first 10,000 tickets. I am pretty sure it was a lie. I was on ten minutes after they went on sale and they were all gone. I would have been on earlier but could not get to the website. So maybe it was that busy, but I doubt it. The consolation prize was 30% off, so I got those. Now I see the tickets are on sale again but 30% off, so I am guessing that is the normal price and they just say they are on sale. They do that type of thing here, say things are on sale by advertise a ridiculously high price that no would have ever paid for it in the first place. One business around here does it year-round. They have signs up in the store, everything 50% off or 70% off but the prices are still more expensive than everywhere else so it is not really a sale. And who would pay 80% for that stuff anyway, when you can get it at the shop next door for the same sale price they are advertising. It's just a scam. The same business tells you they are having a going out of business sale and you can take a further 20% off. They never go out of business and I have to always ask, if they are 80% off and you add another 20% off, why can't I get them for free. Seems to me they would be 100% off at that point. But I think I have had that tirade in the past.

So we have tickets. Problem is, that is the last day the current boss will be working. He goes on vacation after that and then starts his new job. I don't know how they are going to work that out, but I assume my day off will not be affected. I took three days off, two vacation and one public holiday, so I get five days in a row off. I need five days in a row off. I really need five days in a row off. They better not mess with it. I assume they won't but if they hire a new boss by then, who knows. 

I have a lot of expenses coming up, have had for a long time, so I can't leave this job and go back to contract work. I am considering it, but I cannot really do that. Defeats the purpose of taking this job in the first place. Worth the thought though. I am not cut out for working full time anymore, but what can you do.

Have had a run of people coming today saying they have lost their laptops. Not sure if there is a thief running around, but if I hear about another, I will need to report it. I only mention it because I was just interrupted with another report of a lost laptop. The late afternoon rush should end soon and I should stop talking about work, but since I am here and people keep coming in, I lose my train of thought.

Ok, back to my complaining, or was it interesting stuff this time. Nope, reread it, complaining.

I really need to remember to get a frame for Maeghan's diploma and William's award. William got an award last term for outstanding something. We put it up on the fridge but I need to get a frame. I keep forgetting. Hopefully, I will remember soon.

Haven't found anything for us to do this weekend. I wanted to go to the West End Market, but it is in the city, or sort of, it is in the West End. The problem with the West End is there is no place to park. I have been there for work a few times and there are no parking places or parking lots anywhere. I have always been able to use the places I worked at parking places but there is nothing for the public. And it is not near any train stations. It is about a 2 kilometer walk to maybe even three kilometers to get there. Maybe we could do that but then we would be tired when we got there. But that is not the real problem. The real problem is it starts at 6am and ends at 2pm, so we would have to go early to get there and getting everyone up and ready to leave by about 8 is always a problem. We could drive into Southbank and park and then walk but it is a long ways and I do not relish the walk back. And it is a small market, so not a lot for the kids to do. It is a farmers market mainly, so I will enjoy it, but I am not sure there are enough arts and crafts for them to stay entertained.

There are other things in the West End, but they are mostly at night, and I do not plan on staying that long. So it is an option but probably not a good one.

I guess I am going to have to be going now. Almost time for me to leave and someone just ask me to come over to them and fix something. I have no idea where it is, but I will try to guess and see if I can find them. Some printer problem. Have to get going.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

MWNews 220

Same day, won't finish, but have nothing else to do so I am starting this one.

I think this entry will talk about me mostly. Always reluctant to do that but I suppose the evidence says otherwise. Let's see if we can win a free trip.

I actually have about 15 more minutes before the rush ends for the day but for some reason, today has been very slow. Maybe 30 or 40 students. A normal day is around 60 and busy days can be over 100, so it has been nice today. There is something called Quest on with the senior level groups, so they do not come in except to print and some of them have never done that before, so I have to show them how.

I work full time now. At a private school. Brisbane Girls Grammar School. As the name implies, it is girls only. There is a Brisbane Grammar School next door and it is only for boys. No idea why they do not have Boys in their name.

This school is one of the elite schools in the country, or at least Queensland. It is always rated in the top five and number one is most academic areas. They have had the highest test scores in the country for about five years. They spend a lot of time trying to maintain that standing. I help administer the test, or I did last year, and they are extremely strict in how they setup for it and how the girls are allowed to take the test. No one is allowed to miss and everyone must do excellent work. I don't know how it is in other schools, but this one takes the tests seriously.

Anyway, I work here now. No longer do contract work. The job I do is simple, not a lot of challenge to it. We do BYOD here, that's bring your own device, and it is my job to make sure they are working and setup to run the school versions of the software. That is mostly Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud. A few other things, but that is the majority of what they use. Everything straight out of the box and not a lot of customization to it. Just install it, point it to the right servers, and let it run. Most of the kids do not know what it does or what they could do with it, they are just students and want to get through classes, they don't care to really go beyond that. It is just a means to an end, not something they are studying or anything. But that is life here.

I also support all the teachers and their laptops and software, but I am the front of house person and don't get a lot of involvement in the back of the house, server maintenance, software setup, network, anything like that. I do a lot of that work but that is not my main function. I get the people who walk in the door for help. If I can't fix it immediately, I send them to one of the others.

I debated a long time before taking this job. I was happy doing the contract work but it was very sporadic and I was not really making any money at it. Just enough to get by but retirement is fast approaching and I do not have enough in my retirement account to cover living much past 80, 75 if I spend like I am now, 70 if I just blow it all in one go and hope for the best. I could have lived with that, I don't expect to live much past 70, so it would not have been a problem. But just in case, I needed to start contributing to it again. Contract work was not really allowing me to do that and the Covid downturn hit my retirement fund hard, so I needed to do something. 

I started at this job as a temporary contract for a couple of months. I did not get any of the normal training or introduction to the job as I was temporary. It turns out, the person I was covering for decided to take another job somewhere else when they got back. The stayed on for a couple of weeks but then left. She had been here for about ten years and was really running this department, even though no one asked her to and they mostly ignored all her, but the day to day operation was handled by her. I was to take her place.

They offered me the job and I told them I was not her, I did not know all the things she did on a day to day, month to month, term to term basis. If they expected those things to happen, I was not aware of them and did not know how to get them accomplished. They said it was not a problem. Now, six months later, when things have fallen off the table and things are not getting done, I am taking the blame for it. When they bring it up, I tell them I had no idea it was supposed to be done and I had warned them this would happen after she left. I don't really suppose they blame me but it gets uncomfortable every once in a while, to the point that I really regret taking the job. Yes, they pay me a lot of money to do it, and I am happy with that, but there are times when I do not know what I am supposed to be doing and no one can tell me what I should be doing. They just wait for it not to be done and I play catchup. The job is easy to do, way below what I am used to, but its the little things that cause me anxiety and I have trouble dealing with. But it's a job and it pays well, so I will keep it. That is not the real reason for my concern.

My health is starting to fail. I know I have spoken about it a lot and it is a constant concern of mine, but I am not sure how much longer I can keep it together. A lot of things, but the main one is the heart. I am back to getting angina pains daily. The doctor says I will have to live with it. I don't know why, but he says the parts they fixed last time have blocked and cannot be repaired again. I take 14 tablets a day. I have a bad foot that causes me pain all the time and they cannot find a reason for it. I have diabetes and my eyesight is failing. And those are just the physical symptoms. I can live with those and do what I can to ignore them. I have lost 15 kilos, or I did, put about 4 of them back on in the last month but am working my way back again. I don't do anything special, just have a good breakfast, eat a piece of fruit and some nuts for lunch, and then pig out at night. I am trying not to eat as much at night, don't have the second full serving at dinner but I do eat an ice cream before I go to bed. Love to have my ice cream at night. That's another thing, I get up at 3 in the morning, sometimes 2 or even 1. I seem to think I already said that somewhere in here but this is a day later and I can't seem to recall nor can I see it in this entry. Basically, I go to bed by 8 each night and fall asleep by 8:30. I get up a few times during the night to pee but I guess that means I am getting at most, 6 hours of sleep if I am lucky. That also is taking its toll on me. Working 5 days a week is really taking its toll. I have not done that in about 6 or 7 years and even then, I would only work a few hours a day since I worked from home. But I am getting busy now, so I have to start wrapping this up. The boss just came in and he looked troubled, so I will go through the rest when I get a chance. Might even save it for another day. Depends on whether I can get my morning routine done in time.

Decided to end this entry, will probably start another later today.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

 

MWNews 219

 

Let's see what trouble we can get into today. At work and not a whole lot of time to do this, but it is kind of a slow day and we will see if I can manage to eke out a new entry. Might be tough as I can see classes about to end, but maybe I can pick it up after the next class starts.

I had something to say about Maeghan but I can't remember what it was. I told about her diploma. Not sure if I told you about her future plans. She really hasn't decided but she did say something about getting a job until she does decide. And now that I type that, I remember typing it before, so we will move on. Have to jump off anyway as the crowd is starting to form.

Either I have solved all the problems or something exceptionally weird happened. No one stopped to have me look at or fix anything. That is really, really weird. Maybe it wasn't the actual end of class. Maybe it was just a couple of classes moving rooms. Since I have no idea when classes start and stop, I am always surprised when there is no one here and when it suddenly gets busy.

And as I was typing this, someone snuck in behind me and was watching me type, waiting for me to solve their issue. Not a real big deal, but since the picture is up while I am typing, they can see what I am doing. Hopefully, they do not report me to the principal.

Ok, all quiet now. Maeghan got a tattoo. You read that right, she got a tattoo. Not with my approval. Not that I am against it, I just think it is something that is permanent and you need to think about it for a very long time before you commit to it. Like maybe your whole life before you decide to get one. Tattoo's are permanent. You cannot change your mind. So you better be sure. I don't think she will regret it but she might someday. It is just a flower on her wrist, but still, will she always want a flower on her wrist. Maybe, maybe not. Just not something for me to decide, I guess.

William hates it. Not the tattoo, just the fact that Maeghan got one and he didn't. He has wanted one for a long time and can't wait until he gets to 18 so he does not have to have my permission. I think, if he has the money, and even if he doesn't, he will get one while he is Tasmania for his birthday and I am here, unable to stop him. His mother will be with him and she likes tattoos, so she will take him to where he needs to go and get him setup. Or I hope she does. I don't want him to get one but if he does, I don't want him to go to one of his friends and have them help him. They are not trustworthy people. Juanita will know where to go, so as much as I am against it, if it is going to happen, then let it be in a safe place.

Maeghan is happy, I think. She doesn't talk about it anymore. I keep reminding her to go wash her wrist as it appears there is some dirt or something on it. She doesn't think it is funny. Once again, that is something I need to go talk to her about. Just to see if she is happy and to give my approval. I think she picks up on negative feelings I have about it so I will have to reassure her.

I need to do that with everyone. This job is really taking it out of me, and even though I have not talked about it here yet, I spend a lot of time here and getting to and from here and it leaves me tired and not able to interact with anyone when I get home. I get up at 3:00 am and leave for the train at 4:30, then don't get home until 4:30 in the afternoon. It means I have to go to bed at around 8:00 to have any hope of getting enough sleep, which I don't as I usually wake up around 1:30 or 2:00 and stay up until time to leave. But that is a whole long story for another time. Just to say, I am not a well camper and I am trying to get by day to day and earn enough money to allow all of them to stay at home and not have to worry about life until I can no longer do it for them. Hoping for a good ten years, but we will see. Things are not looking good, but maybe it is just me. I can probably survive anything.

Let's see what else is going on. I think I have already said a few of these things but maybe not. William went to a job fair. He did not find anything but he did bring me home a couple of free pens. I had a lot of trouble finding some pens for work a few weeks ago and they apparently do not sell the ones I wanted. I wanted one of the fat ones with the cushy grip on it, the kind you get for free at fares or demonstrations. Since I had not been to one in a while, or I did not look for them when I was, I needed a new one. I could not find them anywhere. I ended up buying one I did not like. After that, they all would find pens for me to use. I currently have a stack of about 15. I didn't tell them that I found a stash of pens at work, that while they are not the ones I wanted, they are good pens and I have been using them. William got me a couple more at the job fair. I said thank you and put them in the stack. The only reason I needed a pen was because the one I had was two years old. It ran out of ink. I have never had a pen for long enough to have it run out of ink. It was amazing. It might have still been going but it literally fell apart and I couldn't get it to stay together anymore. Otherwise, I would have just put a new ink cartridge in it. I got it from the place I used to work, the old folks home and it lasted that long. I didn't lose it, I didn't break it or anything. It just kept working and not it is gone. It is still on my table at home, with all the other pens I have now, but it cannot be used as it breaks when you try.

Not that any of that matters. Just a filler story. I really need to talk about my new job and my health but that will wait for the next entry I think. I did think of some other things to write, when I went to the toilet just now, but now that I am back at my desk, I can't remember what they were.

I need to think of something we can do this weekend. Last weekend, we didn't do anything except go to the shops. A pleasant thing to do but we only went to the close shopping center, the one we always go to and I try to spend Saturdays doing something special each week. Not every Saturday, but at least every other one. Since our theme park tickets ran out and I did not renew them, we are finding other things to do. I decided not to renew as it still costs a lot of money to go there, with eating and traveling and souvenirs each time, it was just not worth it since none of us really go on the rides anymore. Maeghan and I are too big, Juanita doesn't like the rides, and William likes them but it's not much fun to ride by himself all the time. So I look for other things to do. We went to the Underwater World aquarium a few weeks ago. It was cheaper than most other them park type things but all you really do it look at the fish tanks. It's too expensive for that but it was a good time nonetheless. We went to the shopping mall after that and they went to the arcade. Spent more money there than at the aquarium, so I am not sure if that was worth the time. I can't stay in that place as it is way too loud and way too many people, so I have to pay for everything and then wait outside. I went and had a beer at the meat place. 

There is a restaurant that serves a lot of meat. It is a German place and there are a few of them around. Maeghan does not like it and William only eats a few things but the food is good if not exceptional. Lots of it, though. Anyway, they had two sizes of beers. I only wanted a little one but I saw several people with the big one. It is a two litre mug of beer. Huge. It costs $25. I did not order it but I wondered how they could drink that much beer. Each person orders their own, I did not see much sharing. Juanita and I have ordered it in the past but we shared it. I only had my one little one and some onion rings to go with it. Not very good onion rings but this is the meat place, so you take your chances on the side orders.

This week, I am not sure what we want to do. I will try to find something interesting somewhere. But for now, I have wasted enough time for the next class to let out and it is morning break, so I expect more people to come in. I have seen one teacher walking though and she does not look happy. Fortunately, someone else is working with her to solve her problem. She has been in a few times in the last few days and cannot seem to get her problem resolved. I don't know what the problem is and I do not want to know. I handle the little stuff and if it is a big problem, I move them up the chain. Keeps my life happier.

But I am going to go. Can't wait until I have the time to talk about me, or maybe more about food. Been a while since I did a food entry.

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

MWNews 218

And one more time. I will see how this goes while I am actually trying to work at the same time. Probably will not be able to type as there is a fairly constant flow of people through here, but since I have left this for too long, I need to find a way to start doing it again. It could be fun. I certainly need to do it, so there is that, but does anyone else need it. No. So be it.

Just after the morning rush, so I thought I would get a quick few lines in. I think I have done a lot on William but there are still a few things to cover. Not that I will do them all but there are some interesting things to talk about.

This is the first year he will be doing taxes. I tried to start it last night but could not get him registered with the ATO, Australian Tax Office. It seems you have to prove who you are by providing information on documents you have previously shared with them. Since he has never done taxes before, he has no shared documents. So I spent a couple of hours going round and round trying to get past that. No luck. So now, I have to contact them directly and try to do it over the phone. That always goes well. I don't really have time since I am working and I don't want to leave it up to Juanita and him, so I might have to take a day off just to go to the tax office. And to add to it, I don't think there is a tax office anymore, I will have to sit on the phone, during tax season, and wait for someone to help me. Not looking forward to it.

I think he has a couple of hundred dollars that he should get back. He didn't earn that much so he should get it all back. He has been expecting it for a while and has been trying to get me to do it since the 1st. By the time I get home, there is not a lot of time to do it so I might take a look this weekend and see if I am missing something.

I won't go into the taxation office over here. I don't understand it and it might get too complicated. Basically, you can do your own, which I have always done anyway, but now your earnings are all sent to the ATO, and you do not get anything anymore. Could be a good system but this year is the first year it is fully automated. Since I have always done it myself in the past, it makes it easier if you just have normal income and no deductions. I did it that way last year and I think the year before. I actually had deductions, but this year I will not. Haven't looked at mine yet.

I keep getting interrupted with people wanting things. Hard to keep track of where I am. Maybe trying to do this at work was a bad idea. I'll give it a go for the rest of the day but it's not looking good.

Let's try to get in a few things about Maeghan.

She finished her diploma. All finished with school now, or maybe not. She decided at some point that child care or working in the nurseries was not really her thing. The kids kept making her sick. She was having to miss work a lot and it was affecting her finishing her course. She had to get special permission to allow her to go beyond the allotted time to get her hours and assignments in. She manage to do it but I think they allowed her several shortcuts to get it all done. But now she has it and while I have not managed to get her a frame for it, we will do that as soon as I can remember to do it.

Now a diploma is still not something I understand about the education system over here. It is above the certificate system but not an actual degree. That requires a couple more levels before she gets a degree, and from what I here, it is expensive. Something like $12000 to complete at a university. I probably have that wrong but I know it will cost a lot more money if she wants to go that far. 

At some point, she wanted to switch to a graphics arts degree, but that is also expensive. I am not sure if she is going to pursue that or not. She is taking the rest of the year off and not doing any school work or work for that matter. I think the current plans are, and they change frequently, is she wants to get her teaching certificate. For that, she only needs one more class and she might do that next year. To get a full teaching degree, she would then have to enroll in university and get her bachelors degree, so that would be more expensive and more years of schooling. I am not sure if she will commit to that yet. She probably will, but we will see what she wants to do. I can help her out now that I am fulltime, but there are other priorities for me, like a new car, that take precedence so I am not sure how much I can help. Since it will take me a year to get the money for a new car, we have some time to think about it.

I did hear her say the other day that she might try to get a job. I think she was going to try at Boost juice or Bobba tea place. I am not sure she knows the amount of standing that is involved in one of those jobs but I am all for her getting into the workplace. It shows future employers she can do the job and doesn't have to rely on the wheelchair. It will be tough on her but if she can work it out to only work a shortened number of hours, it might be good for her. It will certainly help her social life.

I am really worried about Maeghan and William in that they do not have any close friends around here. William might have some friends at school, but he never sees them outside of school and never goes anywhere unless it is with us. Maeghan is the same way. Not through lack of trying but with her being in the wheelchair and not being able to drive or have a car to drive, it really limits them on what they can do outside of seeing us every day. I will hate it when the time comes for them to have outside lives but, the way things are now, they need to have some kind of time away from me and their mother. It is just not healthy. And I repeat, I will absolutely hate it when it happens but it has to happen sometime and I am going to try to encourage it whenever I can. Maeghan and I have a good time together but I am tired and grumpy all the time these days and don't have the amount of time needed to stay with them, nor should I as I need to let them go, but we will do what we can.

Too much depressing thoughts, let's move on.

What else with Maeghan. I think I need to make more of a big deal about her getting her diploma. As far as I know, she is the first one on her mother's side of the family to do so. Karen has a number of qualifications and I think she might have something like that or higher, but I know no one else on that side has achieved that. She has done great, and a lot of it on her own. She had her friends in high school but since we moved here, she has had to be her own motivation and her own guidance. I have helped where I could but not understanding what is needed and what she needs to do is a hindrance. But she has done exceptionally well. 

Good job Maeghan, I love you.

Been getting interrupted a lot lately so I am going to call it a day. I am sure there is a lot more to say and I will get to it when I can, but for now, I should be going. Have a couple of computers to build so I am busy for a while and if I don't sneak in a lunch when I can, no one comes out to relieve me, so I generally miss out.

So it is good bye from me and good bye from him. 

Until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

 

MWNews 217

I've started this on the same day but there is no way I can finish it as I am supposed to be in a meeting and then I am going home. But just in case, hello everybody. How you been. Been getting much sleep. Had any outdoor adventures. Seen any monkeys. I'm just full of questions.

I think I have decided to franchise this in the future and see if I can get someone to pay me to do it. Not a lot of hope for that stroke of genius but maybe there is a future in tech I can follow. In any case, same old writing from the same old man but with a new twist of I don't know when I will find the time to be so inspiring. It's a cushy job but someone has to do it.

I think I hear all the students coming back from their outing, so I am not sure if I can continue today. Maybe hold out some hope for tomorrow being a better day. I'll be working more but since I have started this, I will have to go back and finish it sometime. Probably not tomorrow. Not sure why the students are back but no one has come in so far, so we are good for now. Not for long though, it is almost time for me to make a quick exit. I have no idea who will watch the desk as all the people who are normally here are no longer here and I get off at 3:00. Usually, someone is here to cover until 4:00 but today, they all left, or are in some meeting that I am supposed to be at. It's just too complicated for me, but I assume if I can waste enough time making things up as I go, I won't have to actually type anything of use in here and I can just be on my way. Let's see how long I can keep typing and not saying anything. Should be fun.

I just had a teacher come in and request a computer be setup for tomorrow. Nice timing. I gave her one of my spares. Maybe it works for her and maybe it doesn't but I won't know until tomorrow since I am 6 minutes closer to leaving. 

Now a student came in to pick up her laptop I did yesterday. They seem to think I should know who they are but I see about a hundred of them a day and I never remember which one was which, so I always have to ask what they wanted me to do and if they recognise the computer that is theirs. Once I finish them, I just set them on the table and put a completed sticker on them. I assume that it is finished as it has a completed sticker on it, then I must have done what they wanted. And now, another student came in to pick up their computer, so that's another 2 minutes off my waiting time. Only 15 more to go. I was going to leave early since there were no students, but now they are back, so I can't. But when my time comes, I am leaving and the others in the meeting in the other room can just try to figure out what happened to me and why no one is watching the front desk. Not my problem.

By the way, I went back and looked at the last entry I did today. It would seem I make a lot of mistakes. Not spelling mistakes as those get corrected, but leaving out words or putting the wrong one in. It would probably help if I proofread these things like I used to do, but being old, I can no longer work up the courage to do that anymore. Too depressing.

Well, we are close now. I am going to stop typing and get back to this another time. If it is too long, I will put my finishing touches on this one and start a new one. If I get back to it tomorrow, I will probably leave it as is and just continue typing. So if you see more entries after this, you know I got back to it sooner than I didn't. If not, see you in six months.

So until next time,

Later

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.

 

MWNews 216

It's been a long time and I am not sure if I can do this. I am not sure about the photo until I can have a look at it later but I think it is only William. Not sure where Maeghan is but I will leave it for now.

So what have you been up to. I don't really get the chance to do this anymore. I have taken a permanent job and can't really do it during work and too tired when I get home, so entries have stopped. Maybe I will find a way to do it more often, but I doubt it. Today is a student free day and I was not aware it was so I did not plan anything. Now I have nothing to do, so I thought I would give this a shot. Might just delete it in the middle but, for now, I will forge ahead.

Where to start. It was a long time ago, before Christmas, so a lot has changed. One thing I am noticing is the predictive text this thing now has. Means I have to pay attention to what I am typing and see if it already has what I was going to say in place so I don't have to type it. And it is getting more and more predictive as I type, so we will see how that goes. Probably just annoy me but since I have no idea how to turn it off, I will live with it for now.

I will start with me, because that is what this is all about I think. Me and what I am doing. Ok, typing that made me decide that I should talk about the kids first, so this will be a multiple entry as I have a lot to catch up on.

Boss just walked by, so I had to stop typing. I am in the middle of everything, so it is kind of difficult for me to do things that are not seen by everyone that walks by. But more about that later as I decided to go with the kids first and I am going to try to stick to it.

William is still going to school. He has made a promise to finish the year and, so far, he is sticking to it. He hates it, but he continues to go. I think his mother tricked him into it as she said she will lose government money if he quits, which is probably true, but since it ends in six months anyway, it might as well have started long ago. But he goes. He is doing ok. I don't think he really does any work at school. The school does not really care. I assume they get money for the number of students so whether he actually does work or not doesn't matter to them. They give him average to good grades. No negatives that I have seen. His last report was as good as it has ever been, so either he does more than I see or they take what they can get. He goes on day trips a lot, to different places and activities. Things like going to a gym for his athletic class or doing park cleanup for his environmental class. He even got a good grade in Drama, which I have no idea what he does or is supposed to do in there but they gave him an above average grade. He said he rarely went to that class as they always told them there was no class for that day, but he did go see a play and they was a big part of his grade. He had to write a review of it. So he is doing well. Not sure what he is doing well in, but it seems to be working.

William did get his certificate for his engineer class. I don't remember which one it was for, but I think it was electrical engineering or something. He has a class II certificate or maybe even a class III. I will not go into what that means, mainly because I have no idea what it means. But he has one. Plus he has his white card, which allows him to work on any worksite. I think he has some other qualification but can't think of what it is offhand. He is on his last day of break right now, hasn't been to school in three weeks. He goes back next week. I think he might be looking forward to it as he has been bored being at home all day.

William does have a job now. He is doing some of the contract work I was doing before. Mainly, more of the grunt work installing things but that is where you have to begin so hopefully he is learning some of the other skills involved and can branch out into other things if they ask him. They did ask him if he could do some of the things I was doing but he is not qualified to do them and since they are done with no ones help, he had to turn them down. The work is not hard but someone would have to show him what to do and there was no one to do that. I would have but I work fulltime now, so I can't. He also has the problem of not being able to get to a lot of places. The job requires you to drive from one place to another a lot and he is limited by only being able to get there by bus or train. Not every place is near a station. They wanted him to do the Bendigo Bank jobs, which are not hard and he would have learned a lot, but all you have for these jobs is a list of what needs to be done and no instructions on how to do it. I did it for years but without someone to show him, it is not really possible for him to do it on his own.

The jobs he has been doing are installing computers, TVs, monitors, and moving things from one office to another. Not a lot of those jobs, but he has had about one a month and they pay well. He could do it full time if there was enough of that type of work. I am sure he would be able to be shown other things while he was there so he could begin to expand, but so far, that has not happened. Plus, they do not really call him unless they are desperate since he is supposed to be going to school. I have told him to take the jobs he can and don't worry about the school, but so far, he has not had to make the choice. The work has been on holidays and weekends.

This is entry is turning into a long one. I have more to say about William and more to say about Maeghan, plus all my changes, so it would appear to be the beginning of a very long entry. I think I will finish most of what I have to say about William and wait for another time to start the others. It gives me an incentive to come back but also opens up the possibility or not coming back and creating other entries, since it has been so long since the last one. I always run the risk of putting if off again and only creating entries every few months, if that often. It a risk, but I am already tired of writing. I will try to get most of what I want about William. Not that it will be everything, but it will be what I can remember right now and what I can get down before I collapse from all the typing.

Wiliam is going to Tasmania for his birthday in November. I, or he, bought the tickets a while back. Since he bought them so far in advance, I have been worried things will change and he will not be able to go. He is depending on the fact that he can stay with his friend over there and get around with him but his friend is not very stable and doesn't always have a drivers license as he keeps getting it taken away. But that is his plan. He wants to go out drinking for his 18th birthday. A bad plan but what can I do. He wants to do it and is set on making it happen. 

I was so worried about it, I bought a ticket for his mother to go with him. She is going to stay with her sister and is not supposed to be with him the whole time. I think the plan is for him to be with his friend for four days and then with his mother for three. I am not sure how they will all get around and how things will be coordinated, but that is the current plan. I am trying to let them handle it.

I also bought a ticket for Maeghan to go. She can go see her friends while she is there and make plans for them all to live together somewhere. Not sure where, but the latest talk is Melbourne. They have been talking about it for years and since she will be there, maybe they will move forward with the plan. Her best friend is studying to be a nurse and I am not sure how long that will take, but they plan on doing something sometime. But that is all part of the Maeghan story and it will have to wait until another day. 

My fingers are starting to get numb and my wrist hurts, so this is just about the end of the story for now. A quick note is that I now work fulltime at a Girls high school. So my days are pretty packed and I don't get to see the family as often as I used to. But the money is good and the job is very easy, so if I can do this for another four years, maybe I can retire before I turn 70.

I was going to end this now, but everyone just left work and I am here by myself. Not sure where everyone went but a couple of them went home. I am the front desk, so I cannot really leave unless someone else sits out here. There are no students today, so there is almost no chance anyone will actually come in, but I have had a couple of teachers stop by so it is not without anything to do. But I digress. Maybe I will start another entry after I eat lunch, but maybe I will just go home and see if anyone notices.

I don't remember how I end these things. I know I had a new line to end with so I will have to look it up and type it here. 

So until next time,

Later

Found it

Remember

It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.