The past three weeks has gone so quick but I have managed to get some things done and I have easily slipped into the semi retired way of life.

I’ve been to the library and picked up a few books.

Early morning walks have been extended.

I’ve managed to spend time in the garden and slowly slowly parts of it are taking shape.

I’ve been out on the bike a few times and even tried one of the longer routes although I did take the shorter option because I ran out of puff…….however next time I go out I’ll do the longer run.

I ate my Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney pie…….delicious…..

This morning I caught up with my mate Peter and we did a short bush walk, it was fairly easy but it was great to catch up after many months and put the world to rights and also make fun of a few of its inhabitants.

Only complaint so far is that the temperature is rising most days, today it says its 36c outside and I am just not in the mood for that, mind you I think it’s more the extreme UV which is the problem. Thankfully inside my blacked out house, all the curtains are drawn, it’s around 27c which is way better. Last year I was working and used their air-conditioning which was so cold I usually had to wear a jacket because it hovered around 22c which felt like winter.

The local bird life seem to be happy that I’m around more often……….for one thing they get fed more regularly but more importantly the bird bath is kept topped up with fresh water and not allowed to stagnate. It’s a ceramic bird bath and it sits in full sun, it’s hot to the touch and the water is rather warm but they still seem to enjoy it. I think they prefer it more in the winter because it will be like a hot spring.

When I went to fill it up today I discovered that my 3000 LT water tank was empty. I didn’t put the hose away yesterday or shut the valve off and so I’m not sure if it drained during the night or I have used that amount of water however they are forecasting rain in a few days so it should fill up fairly quickly.

Not having to be anywhere in particular is great, I can have a siesta and finish whatever I am doing tomorrow if I wish……I like that.

I applied for my Bus Driving Authority which allows me to drive school buses and the like and I’m thinking of doing this after the New Year. I only want to do some part time work and most of these positions are part time, although they usually are split shifts but if I work close to home then this should not be a problem. Driving is easy and I don’t have to think too hard when I do it and the bus runs are straight forward and there is no pressure to battle the clock so I think it will be OK. Peter has been doing this for the past 3 months and quite enjoys it and the money ain’t bad.

I also sent my reply to Kirk at Tradelink and cc’d in my old manager and the state manager and more or less asked him why he lied……..no response yet or fallout to report. I’ve attached the email below:

Hi Kirk,

I got a response from HR within about 30 minutes after sending my feedback, they said “Thank you” However it seems that you gave Tradelink Ipswich some feedback of your own about my comments, trouble was what you told them was absolute rubbish. I’m curious to why you would do that…..

I went into the store a few days after sending the email and got treated like an absolute leper. It seems that they got the impression that I said how bad Ipswich Tradelink was and that I would never want to work there again. They were not very happy with me at all………

To resolve this issue I forwarded the email that I sent to you to my Ipswich colleagues……they too were confused as why you told them a load of bollocks. I can only put this down to the two reasons; You don’t particularly like me or my big words in my email confused you……..either way the guys I worked with for 12 months at Tradelink Ipswich understood what I had to say.

Let me make this a bit simpler for you…..I enjoyed working with my colleagues and friends at Tradelink Ipswich and I will still keep in touch with them. However I feel that the pressures put on them are too much at times and some of the processes seem antiquated. My email was a criticism of Tradelink and not of any individuals, well maybe Gary for sending the termination email. These criticisms that I made offer suggestions which you can either choose to ignore or thank me for my input.

What I do not like is someone doing a character assassination on me while using a fabrication from their imagination……..

Merry Christmas,

Campbell