So slowly but surely things are looking up. I’ve been doing all the job applications and whatnot and working with my recruitment agencies, I’ve had a few positions fall through which was a bummer but they were roles I wasn’t overly keen on.

Today I got an interview for a job I am actually really keen on. The interview is for Wednesday afternoon, and it’s a web publishing role for another govt. department. It looks really interesting and I’d love to just do a job that is new and different and can teach me new things. It’s working with a content management system I haven’t used before, I’ve been on the website for it and looked through the demos and it’s pretty straight forward. I’m hoping my general interest in web development gives me a bit of an edge over other people.

The best thing is, my current contract with Attorney General’s Department expires next Friday. How good is that!? I’ve been trying to escape AG’s for months now, ever since shit hit the fan and they started treating me like crap, and now it’s the perfect time. Basically these people are looking to fill this position as soon as humanly possible, I can easily say ‘Just let me give my current employers a week notice as my contract is expiring and I’m yours.’ and it eliminates the need for two-weeks notice and it doesn’t give them the opportunity to try and rort me out of my annual leave or anything which is even better.

I’m just so excited at the possibility of finally having a new job and being able to throw in this one. It’s a really shit time to be looking for work so close to Christmas and once it’s December I’ll be up shit creek, really. So fingers crossed, I’m feeling really positive and optimistic about this job. The contract is through to end of June 2009 which is even better and it’s good money, more than I was making as an APS 5 for AG’s which is brilliant.

On other news, I feel like shit. Hah. My head has been killing me all day, I ended up leaving work at lunchtime today, my eyes wouldn’t focus and it was just pulsating. I came home, slept a little, took more advil, slept some more and then cooked dinner. It’s only just subsiding, after a good 8-or-so advil.. I’ve stopped now because I think the limit is 6, so I’ve been bad by taking 8 but it’s a terrible headache and advil is all I have in the house at the moment.

I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow about it, and also some other things. She’s going to put me on some diabetics medication to try and help the weight loss since the other stuff I’ve been on isn’t working at all… it sucks because I’ve got all the motivation in the world to watch what I eat and count calories and carbs and fat and write it all down and I can go to the gym for three hours every day, but it gets SO deflating when your body doesn’t have any reaction whatsoever. So I’m hoping these new meds don’t cost an arm and a leg and that they actually work.

Laney and I are looking into getting a personal trainer together for twice a week. She used to have Kate as her personal trainer and it was $60/hour so for two people it’s only $30/each for the hour. I think I can fork out $60 a week for two personal trainer sessions, I need someone to kick my arse and make sure I push myself, it’s too easy to cost along on cardio sometimes. So I’m hoping if I get these new meds and a personal trainer, as well as my dietitian stuff and my normal gym times, something should happen.. fingers crossed.

Got my mac back too, *squeals*, turns out it was a dead power supply and covered by warranty and everything. Put my mac in the store on the Saturday and had it back by the next Friday, I was absolutely stoked that for once the warranty worked in my favour and I didn’t have to spend a cent and now my beautiful mac is back in my possession and working

Brian and I are looking at buying some property, I’ve been keeping an eye on the market and there are some gorgeous townhouses going for a little under 300k. I would prefer a house but I’m realistic. As much as I would love to spend the next four years saving a good deposit like my friends, it’s too hard when you’re spending $1,400/month on rent. I would rather be spending that money on a mortgage and saving extra on the side to put on the mortgage. I like my landlords but I’d like to start building us a good future, and the townhouse is a good start and in the end it’ll make for excellent investment property because there is never a lack of renters in Canberra.

So Brian and I have been discussing some big plans lately. Between houses, new cars, engagements etc.. he’s decided if we are buying a house, he would like some security and a ring on my finger, I told him that’s his business and if he can save up the money and buy me some bling I’m all for it, but he doesn’t need to do it to make sure I’m still around. In 6-7months we’re like legal defactos anyway so we’ll have the same legal rights as if we were married anyway. I think he just likes to make sure I know we’ve got security with each other. It’s sweet.

So yeah, at the moment we’re planning for big things.

I like thinking of change and the future, it’s a nice concept.

I can’t wait to graduate and have something to show for the last three years of slogging it out.

2008 has been a bit shit, but it hasn’t been a complete waste. I can only hope 2009 will be bigger and better.. and maybe I’ll be skinnier

Until next time..

xoxo

Well finally, the exam is over, technicallly I am now finished with Uni for good, until I graduate.

It depends on whether I get accepted into the Journalism degree next year though. I think it would be good to have my Public Relations degree, and then go onto do the Journalism one. Half of me thinks it will be really beneficial, especially since the Journalism degree will only take 1.5years instead of the normal 3 years because I’ve done all the communication foundation units for the PR degree.. but then the other part of me just wants to be finished with Uni.

The exam yesterday was good. Really easy. If our lecturer hadn’t of told us that the questions were straight forward and not ‘trick questions’ , I would be questioning whether the exam was *too* easy, hopefully I did well though. I think I did.

I got my communication strategy assessment back too, I got a distinction for that. So I’m happy. That’s 30% of my mark for that unit taken care of. The exam is worth 35% so  yeah. I don’t think I’m at risk of failing anything. Graduation should be a go.

My mac is in the shop. I’m so glad I apparently had the common sense to get extended warranty when I bought it, I didn’t think I did, but the guy looked it up for me and yes, apparently I was a smart cookie that day. Turns out the power supply is dead, nothing major, they’ve ordered a replacement part and it should be okay to pick up tomorrow.  Will be so glad to have it back, I miss my mac.

My weekend job with the display kitchens/bathrooms is a bit weird, originally I signed on under the proviso that I only do two weekends a month. I work full time during the week, and the weekend work is just something for shits and giggles because I like getting to do something different. The extra money is useful but not like direly needed. Recently though staff has changed a bit and we have a new manager person and she did the new rosters and has put me on for *every* weekend between now and mid-January 2009. I was just like ‘Uh yeah .. no’. I’m not working 7-days a week for the next 2 months. I don’t even *need* the money, I just like having the extra money aside to save.

So I’ve had to e-mail back and mention my arrangment with previous manager/supervisors and also pointed out that I just told them last week that I will not be available for December 20/21 as it’s the weekend after my graduation and I’ll be having celebrations with family/friends.

Goes in one ear out the other.

I’m hoping it’s no big drama, but another girl has dropped off the roster it seems and so I’m assuming we’re down a person, and I’m just waiting to get told that they would rather focus their resources on someone who can work every weekend. Which is fine, I don’t mind giving up the job,  it would suck but it’s not the end of the world.

On the job hunting area, it’s going, well… nowhere really. I’ve been called about a few roles that I’ve been put forward for, but have yet to hear anything about interviews or anything.

I was a bit peeved yesterday, during my exam I missed a call and didn’t notice until afterwards around 12-noon, so I called back the recruitment chick because she had also texted and e-mailed me to say it was in regards to a potential interview and to call her ASAP. So I called back and get told she’s busy on the phone, so I leave a message. A few hours later I’ve heard nothing. So at 3:30pm I call again and get the same thing, leave another message. By 4pm I’m a  bit more eager so I e-mail her and explain I was in an exam and I’ve tried calling her back a few times etc, would it be easier for her to talk via e-mail or tell me when she’s not busy in her office and I can call back then etc etc.

Then about half an hour later, close to 5pm, I get an email back from her apologising about being busy all day, etc etc.. THEN and this is the part that I’m still a bit ‘WTF?’ about.. she tells me she ACCIDENTALLY called/texted/emailed me and she was infact trying to get a -different- ‘Ashleigh’ and I was like ‘Oh.. wow…’ so I was a fair bit gutted about it.

So no interviews yet. *sighs* I’m tempted to put in my notice now anyway and just see how it goes. I don’t want to be here anymore, it’s draining and boring and I’m really over working somewhere that I greatly dislike and the people aren’t fantastic either. Nothing is keeping here but the requirement for money. A lot of the jobs I’m being put forward for need people ASAP, so if I get offered something soon, I’ll probably have to up and leave fairly immediately.. I feel like it would be easier to pre-empt it and put in my notice for a week or whatever now so in the event of being offered something I can say I’ve already given my notice and leave without hassle.

Oh the drama.

Anyway it’s 4pm. I’m tired so I think it’s hometime.

xoxo

Lately I’ve been more exhausted than usual. Keeping my eyes open is a bit of a struggle and I’m so sick of yawning, what’s worse is I keep yawning and then my eyes water, so I end up with puffy red eyes from wiping them all the time. It’s terrible.

I don’t feel tired when I wake up, this morning I got up without touching the snooze button, I thought I had a good nights sleep but apparently not. It sucks because it used to be much worse, and I’d almost fall asleep during the day, I actually napped at one job because they had no work for me and I was so exhausted and I’ve fallen asleep at uni once or twice. My doctor used to think it was chronic fatigue but they can’t test for that so we just tried a few things and eventually with my gym stuff, it went away.. but now I’m back to feeling exhausted again. It sucks.

Mum got the new car. So she has a shiny new blue Getz. She’s over the moon about it. It’s the newest car she’s ever owned. It was a bit of a shamble getting the cash together, because Mum and Dad had almost 5k saved in one bank, but it isn’t accessible in Canberra, so Dad had to put like 2k in one of mums credit union accounts and 2k in one of my bank accounts, and then I gave her 1k from my savings and we scrounged up another 1k from my rent account and my brothers bank account, so eventually we had the 6k in cash and could get the car. Mum will pay me back over the next few months, so it doesn’t phase me much. Just makes me jealous that she’s got a new purdy car haha but I’m glad she does.

I have my exam tomorrow, three hours, how draining. So I’m trying to cram as much extra studying into my brain, but I’m hoping that the majority of the exam will be the practical things we’ve learnt over the course of the degree and our internships. In which case I should pass with flying colours, although that doesn’t stop me from being nervous. Doesn’t help that if I fail anything now, my graduation invite will be rescinded and that is a scary thought. Even though I’ve yet to fail a unit (except for ones I’ve withdrawn from late..) it still makes me nervous thinking that I could bugger it all up and not graduate.

Fingers crossed though.

Mum is going back home tomorrow. I don’t want her to. I’d love her to stay or for her and Dad to move to Canberra. I like my folks, and I like being closer to them, it really sucks to be a 5hr drive from each other and this is the first time Mum has been able to visit me since I left for University in 2005. So I really hate only having a week with her. I’m glad she’s going home with a new car though. I think Dad will love the car. Even if he was a bit hesitant about suddenly spending 6k, even though it was a neccessary purchase, otherwise she’d be stranded in Canberra. As much as I’d love that, she has job interviews on the Wednesday and needs to go back.

Anyway, it’s hometime from work now, I’m going home early so I can hang out with mum and do some more studying and whatnot. Cram as much extra info into my head as humanly possible aye

Blog later, xoxo.