Transition

July 7, 2018 / Robert / Leave a comment

My epiphany for this week is the realisation that going with the flow of transition provides opportunities to enjoy new or seldom experienced tasks like:

Working as a team
Planning the adventure
Reviewing oneself
Stretching to meet new challenges
Being present
Thinking about short and medium term goals with an eye on the vision

As the stars align and things start falling into place, the panic recedes, leaving space for calm.

On Thursday, we arranged for the real estate agent to give notice to the tenants in Brisbane. This is the second step, after electing to take redundancy.

Morning Moon

June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 / Robert / 6 Comments

Waning Gibbous Moon 99%, perfect for letting go. The decision has been made, we are moving to Brisbane; my last day of work at UNSW is 31st August 2018. Today, I have drafted my first application for a new role. Aiming to shift my career focus, I am looking at school manager positions in universities.

925 km or 575 miles north.

Excitement and trepidation reign in our house, this weekend.

Bassey dreaming

June 22, 2018 / Robert / 6 Comments

In the cool darkness of morning, just before awaking. The intertwined tentacles of dreams slowly slipped away. Leaving behind memories of the words “it’s impossible”

My subconscious had melded the lyrics and melody of two songs. Perhaps it is the distinctive delivery by Dame Shirley Bassey that assisted this mind mix.

I remember a series of lines starting with “It’s impossible to dah dah dah” to the tune of “Never, Never, Never”.

My attempts to recreate the conglomeration yields a most unsatisfactory product. Looking something like the following:

It’s impossible to tell the sun to leave the sky

It’s impossible to ask a baby not to cry

It’s impossible to keep the ocean from rushin’ on the shore

It’s impossible for me to not ask for more

It’s impossible to stop the stars from shining high above

It’s impossible to live without your love

Torture of the disestablished

June 16, 2018 / Robert / Leave a comment

Path overlooking Megalong Valley, Medlow Bath, NSW, Australia

Even though a decision has more or less been made to take voluntary redundancy, conversations with newly appointed bright eyed members of staff and valued colleagues remind me of what I will be missing.

At home, I focus on the future beyond the eight years invested at this place of employment. Options take on a lustre of shiny possibility. Queensland and Western Australia currently jostle as potential destinations to explore and settle. The journey will chart the next chapter of our lives in Australia.

On Monday, a window of opportunity opens for the ‘disestablished’ to express interest in new roles. Two weeks of hand wringing indecision awaits. Assuming my resolve does not waver the decision will truly have been made. The torture of unknowing continues as a fortnight of interviews follow. External recruitment to remaining vacancies will then occur. Only then will there be any idea of an end date for the disestablished.

You cab read about the background to this post at Should I Go or Stay.

Stained glass

June 9, 2018 / Robert / 1 Comment

The Salon du Thé Lounge, Hydro Majestic Hotel has amazing views of the Megalong Valley, Blue Mountains.

Oh, there is also some interesting stained glass.

Bleak Winter

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018 / Robert / 2 Comments

Winter is the only time I can sit in the Australian sun without burning.

On Thursday, I waited for a colleague to arrive, jacket buttoned up, seeking warmth from my coffee cup. I would rather have been sitting in the shade of a tree, on a hot day.

An unusually warm Autumn has made way for a chilly, bleak Winter.

Autumn

May 25, 2018 / Robert / 3 Comments

Autumn in Sydney, 2018

Should I go or stay?

May 19, 2018 / Robert / 16 Comments

Every seven or eight years something major seems to happen in my life. I have reached that point again. The choices are to take voluntary redundancy or stay in the place I have worked in since 2010 and try for a new role.

The first option is nicely summed up by the the number zero tarot card, the Fool. I would somewhat blindly be taking a leap of faith. The latter is reflected by the fifteenth major arcana card, the Fool. In many ways my go to position where I feel trapped by the material world. A bird in a gilded cage of my own making.

One is much more riskier than the other and has the benefit of potential growth. The other offers some new challenges in a familiar environment.

I have been wrestling with this conundrum for the last two years. It has taken until now for the workplace change to be officially announced. I have just over one week to decide. What makes it more challenging is that I enjoy working here.

Argh!

Why the picture of kitchen tools, you ask? This is a black and white decision. It needs to be made for balance and harmony to be restored; peace of mind.