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The Last Of 2014

I write this while travelling on the train to the work on the last working day of 2014. It’s this time of year that many people, yours truly included, will take the time to reflect on the year that has been & to make plans for the year to come. While I’m reflecting on this year, next year’s goals & dream will be for another post as there is much more reflecting that I would like to do.

There have been many ups & downs this year, 2014 has been quite the roller-coaster ride. Somehow, it feels like 2014 has only just begun, which is such a weird thing to say on the last day of it. I had quit a job, moved interstate, moved back, got a job, got promoted, graduated from uni with a post grad dip, enrolled to do my masters & got recommended to apply for the next intake of the graduate program at my place of work. In a nutshell, 2014 has been a year of change. I’m not a fan of change & it has been quite challenging to accept all these changes that we’re coming my way so quick & fast. It has been a learning experience & I got there in the end.

There are also aspects of my daily life which have also made a change of sorts. I’ve finally learned to listen to what my body is telling me & being better able to accept that I’m not going to be a size 6 model any time soon. I have fat rolls, love handles & thunder thighs. So what? I’m comfortable in it. I must also mention that I am not healthy at all eventhough I might look so on the outside. I might be a size 12 & weigh 65kg, but I’m pretty sure as hell am not even close to being healthy. I eat junk most of the time, barely eat fruit, have no exercise at all & consume a whole lot of sugar. That’s something that I’m going to be working on in the new year. Not so much to look good, more the fact that I want to be able to live long enough to see my grand kids.

I’ve always had the bad habit of leaving things till the very last minute & I’ve made a small change with that. By my calculations, I’ve only left half the things I wanted to do till last minute, but did half of them before they are due. Also something to work on for next year. And waiting for the perfect time to do stuff was always my excuse. Not anymore.

Reflecting on only what is a small part of the year, I’ve come to the conclusion that change isn’t such a bad thing. It stretches your capacity & builds upon the foundations you at underneath it. Not all change is bad, people have to evolve just as technology has to evolve in keeping up with people. If I had to pick it, I’d say 2015 will be another year full of change. Small changes that will lead to big changes & also big pay off’s. I am really looking forward to it being a great year!

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I leave you here with a picture of part of my goal for next year as a sneak peek. Enjoy the celebrations & be safe everyone!

Official Postgrad

As I’m writing this, I’ve officially passed my Graduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies!! Needless to say, I’m absolutely stoked with it all! I’ve now got a bachelor’s degree, a cert 4 and a grad dip under my belt. Also will be starting my Masters in March, so that will be interesting.

It’s been very very quiet at work, to the point where I’m doing work all day which is meant to be for quiet times. It’s a bit disconcerting as the other day in the team meeting, it was brought up that it has been unusually quiet even for this time of year. If this continues in the new year due to a change in process for how some of our work flow is managed, team resources would have to be re-evaluated. It was a bit of a blow as this means that I could well possibly be out of work if things drop off & become too quiet. It was a bit of an awkward moment in the meeting as I had to smile & nod while alarm bells are ringing in my head!

Due to it being super quiet over the last 2 weeks, it’s given me ample time to think about things & which way I’d want to head for my future. Being a goal oriented person, I’ve set some goals to achieve in the short & long term. Short term goal will be to focus on actively applying for positions in both my fields of expertise, given that I’ve now got dual qualifications. I’ve set myself a time frame of between 2 to 3 months to last in my current position as too much free time & lack of meaningful work is making me feel like my brain is decaying again. Something I’ve actively worked to avoid in the past 2 years or so. I do however, feel horrible about this decision as I’ve started in this role part time since September but only started full time since November. In less than 2 months, I’ve given it my all but work isn’t exactly steady & there’s such a lull between busy periods. I’m much more used to being in high pressure situations & being tested. I suppose one thing that made this decision easier is that I’m being paid at a pretty low rate & knowing what my workplace pays my employers for me makes me feel rather used. In talking to other people from the same employer, I’ve found there to be little to no room for negotiations on wages. I don’t think I’m being paid a fair wage & for my skills, I think I’m being ripped off. Also, I am on a casual contract which makes my job very uncertain, not to mention makes me feel like my life is on hold as I can’t do many things with limited money & options. One of the big things for me is not being able to secure a loan as I want to build another place again, our home for when we get married. Which is in fact a long term goal of mine, being able to own another property within 5 to 10 years. I think it’s possible to achieve this & I’m hell bent on doing it.

It’s been a pretty interesting past couple of weeks & it has given me time to really evaluate what I want to do. Am chasing up some leads with things & am really hoping it works out. I’ve also started some baby steps into some things I’ve been working on & it feels pretty good to start chasing my dreams again. I’m looking forward to the next few years to see what it brings, but I’m more so excited about the next few months to see which path I will take next.

Why I Don’t Often Eat Fruits

About a week ago I had quite a strong craving for some fruit, namely bananas or mangoes, preferably in smoothie form. I must admit, I am not someone who automatically reaches to the fruit bowl each day for the recommended daily dosage of them natural sugars, but I don’t despise them at all. I actually like fruit, I just don’t have a natural inclination to eat them unless it is in front of me.

 

I’m not exactly sure why that is, but it might have something to do with not having fruit on a daily basis while growing up. I spent a great proportion of my childhood/teenage years at babysitters’ houses & ate whatever they gave me. More often than not, fruit wasn’t a big thing there. I got the occasional banana, apple and sour oranges. I used to love ice cold turnips dipped in plum powder, that’s the taste of my childhood.

 

Moving to Australia & seeing everyone eat fruit & it being pushed at every direction has slowly altered my mindset to try to consciously include it in my diet. I used to eat a banana or two a week & no other fruit. I’m actually a walking billboard of what not to do with your diet, I might not look like I’m unhealthy, but I can guarantee you that if a doctor ran me through a barrage of tests, I wouldn’t fare well. I’m actually making a conscious effort to try to eat fruit each day (I managed to find a slice of kiwi & green apple at work today!) and am slowly trying to make small changes to the way I do things.

 

As long as I don’t have full control of what I eat each day, I am going to add to my diet a bit at a time in way of fruit. It is a bit of a hard habit to break, 28 years of not having fruit regularly is ingrained in me. Baby steps each day.

December 2014

So it’s been just over 3 months since I’ve blogged. Since I last posted, I have hopefully finished the last of my units for my Grad Dip in Information and Library Studies, passed my probation at work & settled into my new role at work. I’ve been at my new work for about 2 months now & been settling in rather well. The only problem I have with the whole work situation is that I’m still a casual & if I can’t work for whatever reason, I’m screwed. That is in fact a very scary situation to be in, considering that I’ve got a mortgage over my head. I’m taking one day at a time & slowly looking for work as it comes along, building relationships along the way & networking. I’ve also got accepted to do my Masters in Information Management, I’ve decided to do this within 2 years rather than a year and a half.

 

It’s been a pretty eventful year & I’ve had many opportunities to reflect on where my life is headed. I’m hoping to start a few side projects which will help me get through the working day & keep my brain active doing what I love to do. I can’t quite say what it is yet, but all in due time. I’m also wanting to get back into reading more & blogging more about stuff. I’ve always struggled with keeping my private life off the internet & have been fiercely protective about what I put out there on the big internets. Hazard of the job I guess, knowing how much data is put into cyberspace daily is frightening, especially when it can be used against you. But, I’ve decided sharing & documenting bits of my life without giving away identifying information is as much as I want to do. I’ve got a few interesting blog posts lined up, so am really looking forward to getting into it.

 

I guess the reason why I’ve been absent from blogging is that after a long day’s work staring at the computer all day, the last thing I want to do is stare at the computer all night again. Staring at the computer screen for 7.5 hours a day while doing mundane tasks is really not my thing. I’ve been craving human interaction at work & not quite getting that much. Which is why I’ve also decided to turn to blogging again as a way to get my thoughts out in more than 140 characters. There is only so much I can put on Twitter, which I will still be on. I’ve always been one for writing & I’ve missed it. A lot more than I’ve actually realised.

 

At some point later this month, I will be reflecting more on the year gone by & looking to set some goals for next year & review what I’ve accomplished this year. It’ll be exciting and bittersweet to leave behind 2014, but I am looking forward to 2015 & for better beginnings! I’ve always been one to wait for the perfect time to do things but I am slowly beginning to live by the motto carpe diem, seize the day. There is only so much time I’ve got on this earth & waiting for the perfect time to do things is just not something I can afford to do anymore. Here’s to seizing the day!