TheBanyanTree: Today

[JMoney]

What a day!  First there was a brown-out that lasted about an hour and a
half.  The fans worked, sort of, but nothing else did.  The power came back
on for about half an hour and then we had a complete black-out.

A lot of people here only have airconditioning in their bedrooms.  During
the day, if they're not at work in airconditioned offices, they rely on fans
(if they're inside) or shade and breezes (if they're outside) to keep them
coolish.  But when the fans won't work and it's 34C and 80-90% humidity then
life becomes unpleasant indeed if you're indoors where the air is hardly
moving at all.  You can work up a sweat just by standing still.

The youngest boy (who's now on school holidays) said to me, "Isn't it sad
how much we rely on power?  If there's no power we don't know what to do.
Can't watch TV.  Can't play video games.  Can't even read because the
verandahs make the house dark.  What can we do?"

Me, I was just getting anxious because I was waiting for tradesmen to
arrive.  I'd planned to avoid the chaos of having two sets of tradesmen
working at the house at the same time by having the desk delivered and
assembled the day after the men came to replace our bung living room
airconditioner.  But after I'd arranged the desk delivery the aircon guys
rang and put off their work till today also.  So much for plans.

Around midday the power came back on and with it the fans.  The worst of the
sweltering was over.  A half hour later the aircon guys showed up.  About a
half hour after that the furniture delivery guys arrived too.  They were so
nice.  I plan to write a thank-you note for their excellent customer
service.

I hadn't moved the old desk out because I'd been planning on using the
computer this morning and because the monitor is a 21" and far too heavy for
me to move even with the son's help.  I'd hoped that the delivery men could
assemble the new desk in the room and then shift the monitor across this
small distance.  But no.  They said there wasn't enough room.  So these very
nice fellows moved the monitor out to the dining room table, helped me move
all the rest of the system and carried the old desk outside.  Then they put
the new desk together and, before leaving, put the monitor in its new spot.
I got down to brushing the cobwebs from the walls behind where the old desk
had been, cleaning the stains caused by the big leak, mopping the floor
where the legs of the old desk had stood for the last 8 years and then, at
last, putting the computer system all back together again.

The aircon guys finished by 3.30pm.  They'd had to drill new holes in the
wall to put up the bracket on which the new housing would hang so there was
concrete dust everywhere that had to be swept and wiped away, more floor
mopping to do and then a section of the entertainment unit to put back in
its proper place.

My feet are sore and my back is aching but my new desk is not shabby, I
don't have to worry about aircon leaks anymore and the house is cool.  What
could add to my happiness?  I'll tell you.

There's been a job for an internet graphic artist advertised in the paper
for the last couple of weeks and the closing date for applications was
today.  I've met two of the principals of the company in the past and what I
know of them gives me reason to believe that working for them may not turn
out to be a trial by ordeal.  But I didn't apply for the job because it
looked like a full time one and because, like every job I've seen advertised
here in the last six years, they seem to me to be asking for a skill set
that would apply to one person in ten thousand and certainly not to me.  I
mean, they're not just asking for someone who knows HTML, JavaScript and
PhotoShop.  They want someone who can advise on, and evaluate, internet
communications, write tender responses and who has "information and
interface capabilities".  What sort of information and interface
capabilities?  Design?  Production?  What?  Who knows?  Not me.

Then, last night, a friend of mine rang and said she'd met one of these
principals and he'd asked her if she might be interested in the job.
Luckily for me she's not but the question indicated two things to me.
First, it could be that the applicants so far do not excite this man.
Second, I know that I'm more experienced at web development than is my
friend so if she's being asked to apply then maybe I've got a chance too.
But I don't want to work full time.

My friend suggested that I ring and ask so I did, first thing this morning,
while we still had power.  The man wasn't available then and he didn't ring
back till after 4 this afternoon.  When he did I asked whether they would
consider a part time employee and he said they would.  That wasn't in the
ad!  Then I remarked that 4pm on the closing date for applications was a bit
late.  He said that as long as I emailed my application to him by Monday
that would be all right.  Not like government jobs at all!

So I've got the weekend to figure out how to sell myself.  I'll do my best
because having lost a lot of one skill set I don't want to lose another for
lack of opportunity to practise.  But if I fail, that's all right too.  I
already have another job lined up.  I'll be teaching Sunday school to the
big kids next year and planning how to do that effectively will keep me
occupied for a while.

Janice