It's the end of day three of my Australian working life and it seems timely to share (tactfully) some first impressions. I'll probably come back tomorrow and add in some pics because they will be worth a thousand words in this case.
Most of my Wellington readers will instantly get a totally false impression when I tell you I am on a three month contract at Queensland State Archives. They will instantly think of National Archives and coffee meetings in the cafe which is the polar opposite of State Archives here.
The two buildings are huge and surrounded by - parkland isn't quite the word - as while it is lovely, probably regenerating, bushland (none of the trees are very big) it isn't cultivated in the way the word parkland implies. You feel like you are miles from anywhere though. There are 96 linear kilometres of storage in the buildings and just under half of that is full. When you come in the staff entrance the first door is to the staff room and that is the ONLY place on site you can have food and drinks other than bottled water. They are obsessive about preventing pests. So you drop off your lunch etc before you go anywhere.
That was probably the first major culture shock - unlike the NZ public service, and most other employers, here tea, coffee, milk and sugar etc are not provided - you have to bring your own. Did I mention that Archives is in the middle of nowhere? The second shock which may be unique to this context are work hours, you aren't allowed to start before 8 a.m and if you are still in the building by 6 p.m. security will escort you out. There are two standard working days 8.30 - 4.15 and 9.15 - 5.00 with two ten minute tea breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. It gets drummed into contractors that you are not to work more than 8 hours in a day as you get time and a half!
Back in NZ I had heard it said that hours aside, the NZ public service works harder than most countries and Education's expectations in terms of projects managed per staff member is higher than most. After three days I'm already going a bit stir crazy because I have one piece of a project to progress. There is the equivalent of two senior policy analysts, and two senior advisors working pretty much full time on implementing a single initiative. They are behind because of staff turn over and related issues, which is where I've come in, but to be honest I'm kind of wondering what I'm going to do next week.
It helps that the Senior Archivist likes the "short story" but I've already whipped out the overdue comms plan to final draft stage, tested and content reviewed a new website subsection (and yes I think the vendor was a little startled to get full test feedback, web standards compliance requests and technical challenges) and drafted a submission to the Director General. And gone through a full induction process and been trained in the electronic document management system. The degree of surprise at what I've already produced wasn't entirely unexpected, but today I realised that the luxury of only having to get my head around ONE initiative had a huge part to play. But lets face it - it could well have a huge part to play in my being bored to tears inside another week!
Last but not least I've realised how much making a hot drink is a ritual when I'm settling into a piece of work. Having to get up and go and have coffee and FINISH it before I go back to my desk is really difficult. The HR person who did the induction commented she drinks far more water than she ever did and I've noticed I'm doing the same. I am a bit concerned though about how I'll do with the email announcements I have to write tomorrow which would normally require a decent latte to mull over as I write. I may end up talking to my manager about taking my laptop down to the staff room when I need to write creatively!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Anticipation is everything
On Friday we finally got confirmation that our sea freight would be delivered on Monday. It had taken a bit of pleading for that to happen as I start work Tuesday and had already informed my new employer I'd be working some four day weeks due to prior commitments. I really didn't want to add another half day for the freight delivery, especially as it was already heading for five weeks late.
Anyway I've noticed that in the last 24 hours I've had a constant low buzz of excitement over all our things arriving. It probably helps that Nick flew out to New Zealand yesterday and wont be back until next Friday. He's very anxious about where we are going to put everything, and while the number of boxes concerns me (40 odd) I know what I packed and am pretty sure it should be OK. For instance I know that my one box of Christmas decorations took four boxes to pack in tissue etc (they are going into storage) I also know as the Sallies, Vinnies and my children's flat can attest that there was a serious cull of our kitchen and linen cupboards as well as the bookcases.
Today I've been sorting through the cupboards moving excess and extras to a couple of high inaccessible shelves and a cupboard that is so difficult to open, Nick didn't even realise it existed! When the movers packed I'd reduced our kitchen to one of the double cupboards under the wooden bench plus a shelf of storage containers in the pantry. I've easily cleared that much space in the kitchen already. The plan is to have it all sorted and put away before he gets back Friday, with the exception of his projector and home theatre system. And in the meantime I'm anticipating the pleasure of not having to make do.
We have already developed a bit of routine on Saturday mornings - housework and changing beds, laundry and then off to the market. This morning as I was about to strip the bed, I realised I could wait until Monday when my high count cotton sheets arrived, I couldn't find a clean tea towel (we only have three and Jon had used two to wipe up a spill) and remembered that the I had packed some (including the cool NZ themed ones from the Blendy boxes). I was making breakfast thinking only two more days and I'll have my coffee machine and grinder - need I say more?
Then as I walked through the market I went to stop at a couple of places to look for a vintage tablecloth and a couple of pieces of cheap jewelry, and remembered "my stuff will be here Monday!" All my jewelry, all my shoes, all my nail polish (well except for the ones my daughters sneaked off with) my full size skin care products, the rest of my work clothes, the flower vases, the decorative things made or gifted by good friends. The fabric of a living space that will move our black and white apartment from a hotel to home.
As for Jon - he keeps asking when his takahe cushion will arrive, and his DS, and his books, and the rest of his DVD's and games. He's also looking forward to having his bike. He wanted to have a friend stay the night and I could suggest next weekend when he will have all his things including sleeping bags etc.
And last but not least - there's the expectation of opening boxes and finding things I'd missed without even being fully aware of it and knowing we are one step closer to "settling in".
Anyway I've noticed that in the last 24 hours I've had a constant low buzz of excitement over all our things arriving. It probably helps that Nick flew out to New Zealand yesterday and wont be back until next Friday. He's very anxious about where we are going to put everything, and while the number of boxes concerns me (40 odd) I know what I packed and am pretty sure it should be OK. For instance I know that my one box of Christmas decorations took four boxes to pack in tissue etc (they are going into storage) I also know as the Sallies, Vinnies and my children's flat can attest that there was a serious cull of our kitchen and linen cupboards as well as the bookcases.
Today I've been sorting through the cupboards moving excess and extras to a couple of high inaccessible shelves and a cupboard that is so difficult to open, Nick didn't even realise it existed! When the movers packed I'd reduced our kitchen to one of the double cupboards under the wooden bench plus a shelf of storage containers in the pantry. I've easily cleared that much space in the kitchen already. The plan is to have it all sorted and put away before he gets back Friday, with the exception of his projector and home theatre system. And in the meantime I'm anticipating the pleasure of not having to make do.
We have already developed a bit of routine on Saturday mornings - housework and changing beds, laundry and then off to the market. This morning as I was about to strip the bed, I realised I could wait until Monday when my high count cotton sheets arrived, I couldn't find a clean tea towel (we only have three and Jon had used two to wipe up a spill) and remembered that the I had packed some (including the cool NZ themed ones from the Blendy boxes). I was making breakfast thinking only two more days and I'll have my coffee machine and grinder - need I say more?
Then as I walked through the market I went to stop at a couple of places to look for a vintage tablecloth and a couple of pieces of cheap jewelry, and remembered "my stuff will be here Monday!" All my jewelry, all my shoes, all my nail polish (well except for the ones my daughters sneaked off with) my full size skin care products, the rest of my work clothes, the flower vases, the decorative things made or gifted by good friends. The fabric of a living space that will move our black and white apartment from a hotel to home.
As for Jon - he keeps asking when his takahe cushion will arrive, and his DS, and his books, and the rest of his DVD's and games. He's also looking forward to having his bike. He wanted to have a friend stay the night and I could suggest next weekend when he will have all his things including sleeping bags etc.
And last but not least - there's the expectation of opening boxes and finding things I'd missed without even being fully aware of it and knowing we are one step closer to "settling in".
Monday, August 9, 2010
And then I turned out the lights
So I'm just coming to the end of a really quick trip to NZ - it was a trip that wasn't absolutely essential, but I'm very glad I made. The back story was that our house was finally rented and there was a list of minor tasks that would be more easily completed on the ground than by remote.
So with the a bit of juggling to make sure I had a full business day in NZ that was unlikely to be used for job interviews (Tuesday and Wednesday are holidays for the Queensland public service - Tuesday is the equivalent of show/anniversary day) and that I was back for the public holidays cos Nick wanted to do some trips - I booked some cheap flights on Tuesday and was here Saturday at midnight.
As a couple of friends I visited with commented - most of the tasks were about closure. It was about seeing the doors were painted, the carpet cleaned, the tiling and plastering finished - but it was also about catching up with good friends who'd been away when I left, taking my mother in law out for the afternoon tea I had to bail on my last day in NZ, and closing off some final bits and pieces that had been preying on my mind.
Probably the funniest detail was the little bit of plastic that slots into the freezer door and connects it to the cupboard door (it's built in). I had broken it away from the screws on the Monday I left Wellington and had been unable to track down a replacement (and not for lack of trying in Christchurch) It was still lying on the floor of the car and when I reached over to pick it up to put in my bag, it suddenly occurred to me that all I needed to do was turn it around and drill new holes on the other end. I actually didn't do the drilling - that was Ana's new BF (a builder) who was putting the door handles back onto the door they'd painted for me - it took all of five minutes to resolve an issue I'd been fretting about for almost seven weeks!
I was pleased when I walked into the house yesterday afternoon that it still "felt" (and smelled) OK. This morning it was freezing and the first thing I did was turn on the heaters for fifteen minutes. It was lovely to walk in from checking something outside to a heater warmed room - the weird things you miss in the land of perpetual summer. This evening it was getting dark and I decided to do the thing Nick hates and turned on EVERY light in the house. Then as I did a final cupboard check, dust and vacuum I turned off each light, and so our house gradually went dark. I'm not convinced we are quite finished with this house yet but even so, as I turned off each light I had a moment to remember the memories for each room and say goodbye. The kitchen took three goes - and one of the very last things I did was polish the bench.
And when the last light was turned out and I shut the outside door - there was a sudden squall of heavy rain which kind of matched my mood.
Over pizzas at their place the girls commented that it must have been sad given how perfect it all was - the new paint, the new curtains, the door etc, and we didn't get to enjoy it. As you can imagine that hadn't even crossed my mind - the sadness was about leaving a space where people had lived and closing the door on over seven years of memories being made.
I had to stop by again on the way to the supermarket with Toby, as I had needed a torch for the final gas reading. And already a couple of hours later - the closure of a task completed had set in and I was focusing on my trip back tomorrow to a place I already can begin to think of as home.
So with the a bit of juggling to make sure I had a full business day in NZ that was unlikely to be used for job interviews (Tuesday and Wednesday are holidays for the Queensland public service - Tuesday is the equivalent of show/anniversary day) and that I was back for the public holidays cos Nick wanted to do some trips - I booked some cheap flights on Tuesday and was here Saturday at midnight.
As a couple of friends I visited with commented - most of the tasks were about closure. It was about seeing the doors were painted, the carpet cleaned, the tiling and plastering finished - but it was also about catching up with good friends who'd been away when I left, taking my mother in law out for the afternoon tea I had to bail on my last day in NZ, and closing off some final bits and pieces that had been preying on my mind.
Probably the funniest detail was the little bit of plastic that slots into the freezer door and connects it to the cupboard door (it's built in). I had broken it away from the screws on the Monday I left Wellington and had been unable to track down a replacement (and not for lack of trying in Christchurch) It was still lying on the floor of the car and when I reached over to pick it up to put in my bag, it suddenly occurred to me that all I needed to do was turn it around and drill new holes on the other end. I actually didn't do the drilling - that was Ana's new BF (a builder) who was putting the door handles back onto the door they'd painted for me - it took all of five minutes to resolve an issue I'd been fretting about for almost seven weeks!
I was pleased when I walked into the house yesterday afternoon that it still "felt" (and smelled) OK. This morning it was freezing and the first thing I did was turn on the heaters for fifteen minutes. It was lovely to walk in from checking something outside to a heater warmed room - the weird things you miss in the land of perpetual summer. This evening it was getting dark and I decided to do the thing Nick hates and turned on EVERY light in the house. Then as I did a final cupboard check, dust and vacuum I turned off each light, and so our house gradually went dark. I'm not convinced we are quite finished with this house yet but even so, as I turned off each light I had a moment to remember the memories for each room and say goodbye. The kitchen took three goes - and one of the very last things I did was polish the bench.
And when the last light was turned out and I shut the outside door - there was a sudden squall of heavy rain which kind of matched my mood.
Over pizzas at their place the girls commented that it must have been sad given how perfect it all was - the new paint, the new curtains, the door etc, and we didn't get to enjoy it. As you can imagine that hadn't even crossed my mind - the sadness was about leaving a space where people had lived and closing the door on over seven years of memories being made.
I had to stop by again on the way to the supermarket with Toby, as I had needed a torch for the final gas reading. And already a couple of hours later - the closure of a task completed had set in and I was focusing on my trip back tomorrow to a place I already can begin to think of as home.
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