Oh You're Kidding Me!

Which isn't quite the reaction I had when I went to check my email this morning but I don't want to set up a blog that gives potential viewers the misleading impression that this site is raunchier than it actually is. LOL @ "viewers."

As we all know I need a new job and how! Since getting back to my current one after the Christmas New Years break I've just been getting on with it. Getting some overtime which is good - oh wait, didn't I say it was crap in my last post? Well yes it is but the money I make when I do my normal hours is even worse. So, so pitiful. Anyway it's almost been a month back and as I said previously I've been getting on with it.

I was talking to Terry about it and he asked if I had been looking for a new job. (No of course not silly man!) I think that was on Monday. The next day as I was wasting time online I decided I would check out the job ads on Seek. My preferred place to look. I found one for a job I applied to a couple of years ago. It was doing subtitles for TV and Radio. Would have been great. At the time I got a call to come in to be tested and failed miserably. I was told the standard was unusually high for that group of applicants. Unless he was a good actor he did seem sincere.

Even though they were advertising for a part time position I was interested. Fuck anything to get away from cleaning. Then I read the ad more closely and they had something about previous applicants need not apply. I figured even after the time that's past that includes me. Also when I clicked on the link to have another look at it the ad had been removed. I stuck around to see what else there was. And to my surprise I found one and decided I'd apply. Entry level admin. Not a dream come true but still it's got to be better than working at 3 in the morning. And in all honesty I know entry level is where I am at. (So embarrassing).

You know the expression, too good to be true? Well! the email that had be flummoxed this morning was from Seek. They wanted to let me know that the ad had been removed. They told me: We have identified a job ad on seek.com.au which was placed by a fraudulent advertiser who used the company name "Anja's Studio" - the title of the position advertised was "Office Administrator”

As our logfiles show that you applied for this job, we wanted to warn you that this ad was placed in contravention of SEEK's advertiser terms and conditions. We have concerns about the legitimacy of this advertiser -- and any other which asks you to send your bank account details.

We strongly recommend that you NEVER supply bank account details to a prospective employer.

If you have supplied your bank account or credit card details, please contact your financial institution immediately and ask for their advice. If you feel you may have been the victim of fraud contact the Australian Federal Police.

I have to say the ad didn't read as dodgy. Lucky for me it didn't get to a serious stage but I did recieve a reply from Anja that went to my junk mail. Bravo Hotmail! Just reading that email I knew it was bullshit. Good on Seek though.

When I was talking to Terry yesterday I said I don't know if there is anything I want to do and that perhaps cleaning is for me. However depressing as well as financially inadequate that may be. A decent wage would make a huge difference. So would more hours even though that would be exhausting and mind numbing to boot. (I can't stand the idea of being a cleaner during the day. I'd find it too painful. I always imagine it would be in a shopping mall. All those people pretending not to see you. Ugh! Oh please, no). I looked through all these jobs that I can't do for one reason or another. I know I'm not stupid but I kind of feel like it. There was nothing there I really wanted either.

Crapping On About Work

I don't want to go to bed yet. It's been hot the last few days but finally the firece wind outside is cool rather than warm. This is the easiest cleaning job I've had in terms of tasks to do but my God I was sweating up a storm last night. Not attractive. I was doing a bit of overtime but I think things are back to normal now. Bummer. Three hours a day fifteen hours a week, it's not a lot of money. I get paid fortnightly now. It kind of fools you into thinking you're making okay money, but I'm really NOT. I daren't re-check what the dole payment is because I know it's pretty close to what I'm making now. Rather than going on the dole I wanted to be making my OWN money but the strain it puts on my time and "social" life makes me think twice. Well it would if I could get over being on the dole again. Fuck no! Not again. Shit!

Spotted

Oh my God! I got recognised from the adult website BeNaughty in Dan Murphy’s this afternoon. This guy said something like, “How are you doing?” And I think, “Can I help you?” He was wearing a yellow high visibility shirt and carrying a case of beer so for a moment I thought he might work there. So after I said no thanks I went back to my wine selection and then he asked if my name was “Oz.” Well that’s what I thought he said but when I said no he’s like, “Eyes from the net?” I denied it but I felt my face going red while thinking “Oh shit!” He had a nice voice and was young to boot – woo hoo! – but it still freaked me out a bit. I wasn’t sure if I recognised him, but I didn’t get that great, or long, a look at him.

It was weird because when I was in Safeway earlier I was thinking about it happening. Not that I wanted it to. And actually one time in Safeway this man tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention because he seemed to know who I was. It turns out he was the painter doing next door’s house. I never really looked at him properly while he was working – shame because he was quite good looking in his civvies – so until he told me who he was my face must have been a startled blank. He was also with a woman, who I assumed was his partner so for a split moment I was thinking, “Is this some couple from BeNaughty who recognise me?”

It’s a weird, totally sex with little commitment, site. I won’t bore you with why or how I ended up as a member but as it’s free for women I have checked it out from time to time. You can look at people’s photos and chat, email or “wink” at them. You can see who has viewed your profile and do your own searching. There’s all this explicit stuff you can fill out for your profile too. In a way it just seems pointless to me when free chat is used often enough for hooking up with people. Seriously can’t understand why anyone would pay. Men! I don’t know. I know I have pissed off a few guys for not being interested. I did close my profile down but about a week or so later I joined again. (I missed getting the annoying emails okay).

I’m thinking now I’m going to be avoiding it. I’m not sure whether or not I will close it down again. I probably should but I have met some people I enjoy talking too. But really I know I have no proper place there.

Give Us A Go

Hello there, how can I fulfil your fantasy today?

Oh crikey dot com! Amazingly I got a call back from Adult Fantasy House this morning (before ten! I don’t know, that impressed me). I was totally surprised and in the middle of a car race on my mum’s Nintendo DS. It was all a bit crazy. I was shocked and sounded a bit hesitant but then I mentioned having done it for fun with men from chat. She said all our men are lovely and regulars. I was trying to work out how it all worked, especially as they patch you through on your landline, and she explained you do shifts, how much you’d be aiming to earn when you start out and that I’ll need a bloody ABN.

(That’s come up a lot lately in my job search. The first time I’d have to get one if I wanted to be a contract cleaner. There was no way I wanted to make that sort of commitment to cleaning! And it also came up for a job as a freelance writer for an online newsletter called WeekendNotes. You subscribe and they send things to do in your city. From what I’ve read I feel my writing is up to scratch but I don’t feel creative enough to write regularly to earn any money. Plus I’m in Melbourne and I’ve never found that much to do here. However, I am tempted to submit something just to see what they say. I would like get some feedback on my writing).

Anyway once I got an idea of how it worked it did sound doable. She suggested doing a trail shift next week. I was going to nominate Wednesday but I think I have a doctor’s appointment then and I hesitated again saying I need to check my diary and she said call the boss back if you’re interested and I was just about to ask for the number when she hung up on me. I hope I haven’t fucked up. I’ll just email them again and nominate Thursday morning. I need a bit of time to think up some dirty banter. It should also give me a bit of time to think and discuss getting an ABN.

The most exciting news from that call is that they do have work available and I really don’t want to miss out. Oh blimey sometimes I know I’m my worse enemy. Still I am a little bit excited now.

Should I Take That As A Compliment?

I had a job interview on Saturday morning for a fast food chicken bugger joint. They’re opening a new store in Highpoint. So basically it’s starting out from scratch. I was asked what I prefer to do, work out the front or out the back doing food prep. I said I love cooking so I wouldn’t mind working out the back. I think that was good that I like cooking but then he said, “We like to put the pretty ones out the front.” Now I already know that girls tend to be put out the front of fast food places. When he said it though I was like, “Oh?” I think that OH may have even been expressed on my face at the time. A nice addition the pink I could feel on my nervous, flushed cheeks. Was that a compliment? Was he flirting with me? (Fucked if I know!) Although a good looking (young) man, I had already noticed his thick and prominent wedding ring. I was thinking, “Well what does that mean?!” And, “Surely that’s up to you/the customer (if I’m pretty or not).” It feels like it, but I just don’t know. I asked the Old Man about it and he thinks he probably was flirting. Okay that’s nice – as I said he was good looking so if it was an option I would go there. However what I really liked is he made me feel smart. Well smart enough to cope with that job at least. When he asked if I had worked in the industry before I said no but he didn’t think that was a problem. There’s going to be training and he said I could handle it. (Was that all he wanted me to handle? ENOUGH! God Amy get out a bit more would ya!) There are a lot of applicants so if I don’t hear by Friday then I didn’t get it. As far as interviews go it felt all right. But what the hell does that mean?

I went to the dentist today for the first time in over ten years. My mum had been recently so I was prepared for a long and expensive visit. She also told me not to get upset if they lectured me for not having a check-up in years. I got there early and once the receptionist was off the phone I was being lead into the surgery. I was shocked. Did you know you can now watch TV while you’re being scrapped and drilled? The sunglasses where interesting too. Not that I ever remembered being blinded by the overhead light before, OH&S at work here? If that’s the case I don’t think the TV was a very good idea. I could see the nurse glancing at it regularly. So, after all that I doubt I was in there for more than ten minutes. The doctor didn’t tell me off and I paid $45 less than my mother had to and I was expecting to. She was home when I got back and I told her. She was mightily pissed off about the money and rang them. It turns out my teeth didn’t need much cleaning and where healthy. It would have been nice of the dentist to tell me that at the time. At the end all he said was, “They seem good.” I was told to rinse and that was it. I was like huh? So once again I wondered, was that a compliment? I know for sure now because they explained the fee discrepancy to my mum.

One last thing, about two weeks ago there was an ad in the local paper for looking for ladies to join an adult call centre. I applied eagerly and perhaps a little naively. In all honesty I think it is work I could do and it’s been suggested to me by men on chat who I’ve ended up talking to on the phone. Some strangers and some I’ve gotten to know. Anyway, I may not be the best at talking dirty but there’s something about my voice that they love. I never did hear back from them. You could either email or phone but I only emailed. Seems a bit redundant but I don’t like calling people. I didn’t want to give up so I found another place to apply. They didn’t have any specific vacancies but you can leave a message and your landline saying you’re interested. So that’s what I did today:

Hello!

I have thought about doing this work before but I never knew how to go about getting it. (I tried applying to a newspaper advert a couple of weeks ago but they haven't got back to me).

As far as experience goes I've done this before as a bit of fun after chatting with men online. I have a nice, I'm told sexy, speaking voice. Some have suggested I do it professionally,(but I'm not sure if they were just teasing). I wouldn't mind finding out though. ;-)

About half of that came from my original email. See what I mean about it being a bit gushy/girly and naive? I’m curious to find out how it works. I remember seeing one of the characters, a stay at home mum, in Short Cuts doing it and other bits of telly and film. It all made it seem like something I could do.

I may not think I’m pretty – not Adult Fantasy House pretty – but I do think I have a nice and maybe even sexy voice. It’s one of the few compliments I can take.

I Don't Believe It

I went into Seek today, just to check out what was happening on the job market. Top, as in most recent, cleaning job was my old job! I don't know if I should apply. It's actually a Casual role and I see the hours have been cut back (minus half an hour). I already knew they were doing that. Oh fuck! I just had a thought, what if that message I left on the whiteboard comes back to haunt me? Well, I doubt I'd get my exact floors again. God I hope not. Why am I even considering this?!?

I actually applied for another cleaning job on Monday and got a rejection. Which is total bullshit because I was a certificate above what they were looking for but of course they tell me I'm not suitable. I DON'T want to be a Cleaner but I know I can do it.

This morning I sent a text message to my very first cleaning boss. She was from Spotless but I know that site and contract at RMIT has been lost. I heard she was still working there but I assume that her mobile was a Spotless one so I suspect that was a futile exercise. I plan to get up early and try to catch her on her way out. I've done that before. The hours were hideous but there were more of them and it had a much better penalty rate so, yes better money than my last cleaning job. The vain side of me also likes the fact that I lost a hell of a lot of weight doing that job and I know I've put on weight steadily since the last Christmas holiday period. None of the men seem to care but I do. And women know, because they no longer ask if I've lost weight! Bitches!!! LOL.


I don't know what I want to do. I mean writing would be great but what? How would that work? So how about admin? Yeah I try, and rather junior positions at that, but still no joy.

Looking at that photo I'd rather make a mess in an office than clean it up. I'm a bit reluctant to go back to school because I've done a short Tafe course before and it didn't help at all. The local Tafe is just down the road from Terry's place and they do offer admin classes but after a week here I'm not sure I could make this a permanent thing. (I'm a bit scared of meeting the family tomorrow. We're having a barbecue!)

I obviously have to do something. But I don't know what. I look at cleaning as something to do in the meantime and a bit of dosh for a holiday or something. But then I know when I was cleaning I wasn't job hunting as hard. God! Maybe I am just a cleaner, as depressing as that sounds. A lot of people do jobs they don't want to. Although I don't have enough hours to make the money to have much of a life outside of work. Fucky, fuck, fuck!

You see I'm still not sure about applying for the Transfield job. I still have their card in my wallet so I could be rather direct in my application. Should I be a bit more ambitious and try for something better than cleaning? I do apply for other things but....well you know. Money or nothing? I haven't gone on the dole and if I could get a job soonish (and to my mind that means cleaning) then I can avoid the dole altogether. I'd be happy about that but miserable about my job. Nothing changes.

So Much For That!

It was a month ago from my last post that I found - via a response to an email I'd sent whilst desperate for information - that there was no work for me at The Alfred. In Ms Gooden's words: At this stage, I don’t have anything suitable. Given your initial reluctance to take the isolation cleaning role, we had to allocate it to another candidate quickly. I still have your details so if something else comes up that is similar to what you were looking for, then I will be in contact. (Yeah right Helen!)

Now the thing that pisses me off most about this is that in the meantime I was getting messages from my boss and her that there WOULD be something for me. She knew there wasn't an isolation/specialist position right away. She should have told me that. I wrote to her: That's very disappointing and contradictory news. I don't think it was unreasonable of me to ask to think about it and have a chance to discuss this specialist cleaning role with my family and friends. I checked my email and I did get back to you the next day. You had told me originally it was a cleaning shift like the work I do currently, then at the second interview sprung it on me that it wasn't. I have to say I'm a bit surprised and rather upset by the news that there's nothing for me. I felt strung along and ultimately ripped off. I'm still furious there is nothing for me within Spotless. I worked SO hard for them.

Oh and yes you're right she never got back to me after that email. Terry wanted to call her and tell her off. He still wanted to last night when I started to cry and tell him about my last day. The shitty thing for me is a I found out the bad news a few days before my birthday party. I told people I wouldn't let it ruin my night and I'd try not think about it but you know me. No chance! And actually it was pretty much the only news I had to tell some people. LOL. (She can laugh now. But it won't last).

People have told me that's bullshit. (People at work have implied that too). Pretty much everyone is unhappy with that woman and Spotless in general. Most of the bosses and supervisors are out of a job now. Seems like all the other cleaners have something to tide them over. I don't know what I'm going to do. Even seeing it coming I don't think I could prepare myself for the tears I shed last night. I have applied for some jobs but no response so far.

I happened to mention to one of the Parking and Traffic Officers that it was my last week, that we had lost the contract and I'd be finishing on Wednesday. Word must have got around because one of the lady officers that's always been nice to me said goodbye and that I'd be missed. I know, I know, it's a crappy job and I've bitched about people there before but it was all I had. Now I have nothing and it's really fucking scary. People tell me how nice and smart I am and that I'll get something else. Well I have to but I don't believe it will be that soon. It was hard enough and long enough waiting for my previous cleaning jobs. Plus I know what I am like in interviews. Oh God!

Anyway I was really touched by that woman's words and sincerity. There was one other officer there I really wanted to say goodbye to but I didn't notice him around during the week. I think I would have cried if I had gotten the chance, but that's okay. He talked to me properly and always asked how I was. And more often than not waited for a reply. I cried a few times last night. The first time was a little after that woman wished me luck. Not long after that I came up with an idea to say goodbye to all of them. I decided to leave them a message on one of the whiteboards.

It said a few things I wanted to say and I hope it made it for most people to have a look at. Go out with a laugh!

My Facebook status from yesterday is My Last Day of Work (Ever?)!!! Not that many responses. Then today I put up this photo. While replying to a friend's latest status she replied, "It has been ages, how are you?" I'm sorry! What the hell is Facebook for? LOL. Omigod. Rather than resort to my usual negative self I replied, Today is the first day of the rest of my life!