Posted

Nov 30th 2009

Mood

Cheerful

Music

'Ramona Was a Waitress' by Paul Dempsey

So, so much for making any effort to upload things or keep in touch, gee Mel.

I realised there was news that I should have shared with people through a journal a few weeks ago, so let's amp it up a little first.

I've been a 'teacher' for a year, registered, but with very little work. I've had nothing permanent all year. I've had a couple of contracts, all of which were very difficult. I had quite a few interviews that stopped me from thinking I should just get a non-teaching job, but ultimately they all produced nothing. Constant hope rising and disappointment has left me very shaken.

For the last term I've been working at a school on the south/east side, and it's been going rather well and it's been very regular, but they haven't ever been able to guarantee me a position for next year. On a semi-whim, I applied for a senior english teaching position at a school in Bundaberg (400km/250miles north of where I live now). They liked what I had to say, and I started to take the thing seriously, which involved Rohan driving me there for an hour interview. Thing about Christian circles: small world. One of the teachers there used to be my science/maths teacher in grade 9. The head of secondary was Rohan's music teacher when he went to Bundy High. The principal used to play tennis with my mother before I was born, when my parents were still married and living in Dululu.

Which apparently they were intrigued by, resulting in a call back. I should point out, this is a Christian school, and I'm a Christian, and I realised that if I wanted this job, I needed to have my heart in the right place, and I had to realise everything I was getting with it. I was going to be a new place, with people I don't know, and would have to start my life again with Rohan to help me. I was going to be somewhere where people expected me to be Christian, where I would have constructive pressure to better myself professionally, spiritually and personally. So both Rohan and I went to the call back, and they interviewed us both...for 2 hours.

After a year of disappointment and effort and loss and low money and debt and searching...Bundaberg Christian College offered me a job. A reasonably paid teaching job, where there are good conditions, good resources, good facilities, good prospects for happiness.

I'm moving to Bundaberg to start a new life with Rohan, and we're very excited, I guess that's the short version.