Life is short do what you love

Number 1 on my list for 2018 was "get a job I love." The challenge, what did that look like?  All I was really sure of was that it wasn't where I was and wasn't where I saw myself in 1 years time, let alone to retirement.

So how do you go about working out what you love and once you've got that, how do you find your dream job?  Turns out it's not so easy. Sure, coming up with a list of all the things I love was easy, deciding on a job that combined those - not so much.  A writer, crocheting, stand-up comic that loves dogs, exploring, travel and hopes to live in a caravan, is a hard one to explain on the CV.

Breaking my ankle in February was a set-back, but when June came around, I was determined to find that dream job.  Applying for jobs that you are not fully qualified for is hard and there were a few rejections.  However, by September, I had decided that applying for jobs within my industry that were similar to what I was doing was definitely not a good idea, so I started looking into a few courses to expand my skills.

Now number 2 on my list for this year was "get retrenched" and here we are, a very big life-changing tick!  I didn't hate my job, and I worked with some great people, but I certainly didn't love it and my use-by date was definitely up.  A week has passed and I've had time to contemplate unemployment - I like it! The initial euphoria of freedom has settled, although I've still got a great big smile on my face.

I'm looking forward to going to my meeting with the outplacement service - maybe they can help me work out what I want to do and how to go about doing it.  For now, I'm enjoying the extra time to help Emi (Gardener's Touch), have a good clean out,  spending time with Lola, do some writing (although that has been a bit slow), go exploring and work out what next. I'm also very lucky to have the support of Emi.

I've got so many ideas running through my head, that last Tuesday I found myself panicking that I still don't have enough time to do everything I want to do!  Barista, RSA, First-Aid course and towing course all planned.  Learning more about sustainability and several ideas around that.  And hopefully lots of writing.

Birds of a Feather

Pick a subject each month, learn about it.  Seemed simple enough way back on the 1^st July when I decided “Never Stop Learning” needed to be a thing.  Should have taken into account procrastination and time constraints.  So choosing to learn about birds in July (extended through to August, September and October) has been a long, drawn out effort.  Partly because there are a lot of birds (just to be clear here – I’m talking about the flapping, flying, feathered variety) and a lot to learn. But still, I now notice birds everywhere. Luckily whilst peering up into the tree tops I have only stumbled twice, stepped on dog poo once and have yet to have an eye plucked out by a kamikaze magpie. Win win.

Could I name the 20 most common around Melbourne, which was the challenge?  Yes, I probably could – although some of the little blighters are way too fast to check out their “wattles” and distinguish between Red, Yellow and Little Wattlebirds.  Yeah, yeah settle down. I know that Yellows are the big ones found in Tassie and here in Melbourne we get the Red and the Littles. And because I know you’re dying to know, the “wattle” is the coloured bits at the side of their necks.  Yellows have yellow wattles, Reds have red wattles and Little’s don’t have a wattle at all. Which kind of make’s the name Little Wattlebird a bit odd. But prior to July, I thought they were called Wattlebirds because they lived in Wattle Trees.

Anyway, after flicking through a few books and a half-hearted attempt at researching, I realised that this is not the sort of subject that you can just say done and dusted in a month!  Birding is a serious and popular past time.  I also discovered that I quiet enjoy identifying birds so maybe it can become a new found ongoing interest.  Still determined to at least say I’ve learnt something, I went along last Saturday 27 October to a Bird Walk at Cheltenham Park run by the very friendly and dedicated Friends of Native Wildlife. With binoculars hung around my neck, off we went. Now firstly I must say that I didn’t even know that Cheltenham Park Reserve existed.  Apart from sporting facilities and play grounds there are bushlands and several walking tracks – who knew!  Sadly, some of the bushland was decimated by fire last year. Arson was suspected, but certainly not by the residents resting peacefully at the Cheltenham Cemetery which runs alongside the park.

Our lovely guide Anne spoke about the birds we saw and answered questions. With her trusty bird App, we were able to see pictures up close and even listen to their calls. All very interesting and I learnt lots.  One thing I was amazed by is that here in Victoria we don’t have any crows!!  Those big, black, beady eyed birds are Ravens – Australian Ravens to be exact.  Or maybe the Little Raven. Which is similar to the Australian Raven, only, well Little. And because I’m now such a fountain of knowledge, I know that Ravens usually travel in pairs and have a wedge-shaped tail whereas crows are seen in larger groups and their tail is shaped like a fan. Their calls are different too.  If you’re a trivia buff, you’ll probably know that a “flock” of crows is called a “Murder” but did you know that a group of ravens is called an “unkindness” or “conspiracy”? Now you do – note for next trivia challenge.

Enjoyable morning and an interesting “bunch" of people. 

Going forward, my learn something new each month needs to be smaller and more doable.  I also realised that it should probably be in line with my goals.  So time to revisit the list and update.  And my November thing – “learn how to create picture quotes.”  

Australian Raven

Red Wattlebird

Backyard Chickens (nice butt Louise)