2024 Week 11: Changes Afoot

March 16, 2024

2024 Week 11: Changes Afoot

I'm in the middle of an image revamp. It started with me randomly lopping most of my hair off with a pair of rusty thinning shears. Then there was my impulse purchase of a long batik floral dress in Erlangga 2, which I've been wearing a lot ever since.

After coming back from Indonesia I've been critical of my existing clothes (mostly from Decathlon) - too functional, too dull!! They make me feel more boring than I already am. I also found a few more things I hate to wear: exercise shorts that fit horribly and T-shirts that have gone disgustingly ratty after less than 2 years of use (why!?). So far I've bought 2 more long dresses, 3 T-shirts and 1 pair of exercise shorts to hopefully replace the offenders.

That's not the only change going on I guess. This year feels like one big transitional period.

For one thing, we'll have Haybeon (one of our regular boarding bunnies) staying here until the end of the year. That means a fixed amount of "rental" income every month. I will still need to work, either food delivery or some part-time job, but I won't have to make very much. Plus, Jon is applying for jobs and seems happy and ready to go back to work, so there's even less pressure on me to get a job.

The other pet-related thing is that we're going to welcome a new member into our household: Blueberry! We brought Eeyore to her fosterer's house and they seem to like each other quite a lot. Well, fingers crossed anyway. The adoption is not confirmed yet.

So it seems I'll be dealing with a lot of bunny stuff this year: bonding Eeyore and Blueberry, plus my new responsibilities as Haybeon's fosterer. Hmm, life's weird. Before all this happened, I kinda had my heart set on my career switch and was prepared to ignore the bunny boarding and grooming sideline. But then the universe has other plans I guess. I like the feeling of rolling with the punches.

As for my career switch. About a month ago I was undecided between getting a job in the social services sector vs waiting for enrolment for Career Conversion Programme (end of the year).

The reason for this dilemma is that the CCP (government-funded grad dip. in social work) is only open to those without relevant work experience. So if I do get a job in the sector I might be disqualifed from the programme. On the flip side, the CCP is an 18-month work-study commitment, so I feel like I need some experience in the sector to make sure I'll stick to it. So it's a Catch-22.

I did try applying for some jobs, but I found that not having the qualification makes it impossible to get hired as a social worker. As for those I do qualify for, I've done 2 interviews. One was for a comms role, but I realised I'm not interested in that field anymore. Another was teaching, but my lack of passion for children was also an issue...

Between these 2 outcomes and the changes in bunny circumstances, I think the decision's been made for me: I'll continue being unemployed for the rest of the year. Spend my free time doing volunteer work, which will give me some exposure while preparing me for the CCP.

Okay, some updates from reality...

WE HAVE A NEW DOOR!!!! After 38 years the original wooden door is finally dead. We replaced it with a basic door and gate, and Jon fancied it up with the digital lock he's always dreamed of. Unfortunately we could not find anyone to just install a digital lock that we're providing ourselves, so we bought the cheapest one from a local supplier.