I have read and reread the legislation pertaining to my dilemma and it's all going to come down to human resources and interpretation - hence there isn't much I can do right now and we have no further information until Tuesday.
I have half started thinking about contingency plans and with the baby bonus now being paid fortnightly we will be fine after that comes through. We weren't really planning on having to spend it though - we were kind of hoping to invest it. Cest la Vie.
We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
As the week went on it really seemed to pick up (except for that glitch yesterday). I felt like rubbish on Monday and honestly didn't think that I would make it through another two weeks of work. This afternoon I stayed back a bit at work to finish off some things and felt like I could keep going for ages. I think that it helped that we had a very gossipy, chatty day today and it was fun and nicely broken up. I kind of wish I didn't have to leave because I feel as though I am just starting to break through the "You're newh ere" Barrier.
I am hoping that next week I am full of beans again. I have left myself enough work to be busy all week so that is one thing to look forward to.
It honestly doesn't feel like we are going to have a baby in the next few weeks. People keep asking me if I am getting excited and I wasn't really sure. Perhaps I am but it is so difficult to know what it is all really going to be like that it's hard to know what to be excited about.
I still keep thinking of him like a noisy kitten I guess.
4 weeks tomorrow until my kitten is due.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Bad Day much??
I WAS having quite a decent day today...getting through it....getting on with the work I have left...happy that tomorrow is Friday... you know how it goes. Until just after lunch when I took a phone call that crumbled it all.
As some of you may know I only started working in the ACT in June - so just a little over 6 months ago. I didn't know I was pregnant when I started. The requirement for paid maternity leave is 12 months continuous service, however if you previously worked for a goverment organisation, they recognise this prior service and waive the 12 months....or so all the forms say.
I spent a very long time last year fighting with a lady at QHealth to complete the forms I needed to have my prior 5 years recognised. Handed the forms in when they were done and assumed because I hadn't heard anything that it was all good.
As some of you may know I only started working in the ACT in June - so just a little over 6 months ago. I didn't know I was pregnant when I started. The requirement for paid maternity leave is 12 months continuous service, however if you previously worked for a goverment organisation, they recognise this prior service and waive the 12 months....or so all the forms say.
I spent a very long time last year fighting with a lady at QHealth to complete the forms I needed to have my prior 5 years recognised. Handed the forms in when they were done and assumed because I hadn't heard anything that it was all good.
hmnn.... not so it seems....
they decided to tellme today that i wasn't elligible for paid maternity leave until June when I have been there one year - even though I have worked at Queensland health for the past 5 years and have been granted recognition of prior service.
They are saying that it wasn't continuous because I had two weeks off between finishing at QHealth and starting at ACT health. now if you recall - the reason I couldn't start work on my originally arranged date (which would have negated the three weeks between May 9th when I finished in Qld and June 3rd when I started in ACT - was because I had a broken arm. But that is beside the point.
It's bad luck for them that I have a brain and am able to interpret legislation. The Public Sector management act has a definition of continuous service and as far as I can tell from the legal/industrial relations jargon - they would be right - except for the fact that my break in service was due to being unfit for duty due to a broken arm - hence negating the three weeks and the break being not considered a break. That is how I interpret it anyway. Only problem being that I don't still have a medical certificate from 6 motnhs ago do I - but I can get the evidence that it all happened from the hospital in Brisbane I am sure.
I don't think so somehow - how could a break of 2 weeks possibly negate 5 years of previously continuous service in a public sector organisation?
I am still able to access Unpaid maternity leave and then my mat leave payments will start once the 12 months continuous service (including the mat leave) has been completed - but that is besode the point.
I'm not letting it go without a fight.....you don't mess with a girl who is 36 weeks pregnant.
We are going down fighting.
On an up note - there was a stunning sunset just now.....
they decided to tellme today that i wasn't elligible for paid maternity leave until June when I have been there one year - even though I have worked at Queensland health for the past 5 years and have been granted recognition of prior service.
They are saying that it wasn't continuous because I had two weeks off between finishing at QHealth and starting at ACT health. now if you recall - the reason I couldn't start work on my originally arranged date (which would have negated the three weeks between May 9th when I finished in Qld and June 3rd when I started in ACT - was because I had a broken arm. But that is beside the point.
It's bad luck for them that I have a brain and am able to interpret legislation. The Public Sector management act has a definition of continuous service and as far as I can tell from the legal/industrial relations jargon - they would be right - except for the fact that my break in service was due to being unfit for duty due to a broken arm - hence negating the three weeks and the break being not considered a break. That is how I interpret it anyway. Only problem being that I don't still have a medical certificate from 6 motnhs ago do I - but I can get the evidence that it all happened from the hospital in Brisbane I am sure.
I don't think so somehow - how could a break of 2 weeks possibly negate 5 years of previously continuous service in a public sector organisation?
I am still able to access Unpaid maternity leave and then my mat leave payments will start once the 12 months continuous service (including the mat leave) has been completed - but that is besode the point.
I'm not letting it go without a fight.....you don't mess with a girl who is 36 weeks pregnant.
We are going down fighting.
On an up note - there was a stunning sunset just now.....
Things I have learn't about growing vegetables...
* That eggplants and capsicums like it hot - really hot. My eggplants and capsicums weren't doing very well at all and then bam - as soon as it got hot they have gone nuts. The capsicum is still coming to terms with deciding to start growing again but the eggplant is just crazy.
* That Peas of any kind need a trellis of some description
* That it is easier to grow pumpkins by just 'chucking some seeds in there' than it is to carefully plant seedlings. (Especially when a bulldozer happens to drive through tha part of the garden where the pumpkins were planted) It's OK though - now the seeds I chucked in there on the off chance they would grow are doing just that and it is far more satisfying.
* That tomato's are relatively easy to grow but they do need a trellis - and also like it hot - as do chilli's.
* That if you have a Labrador that has been trained to ea fruit and vegetables, you should keep it away from Plums, Apples, Apricots and Tomatos.
So my failed crops were Peas and Zucchini's - the zucchini's were munched my something but I think I will give them another go next year. I think I will also broaden my range and try a couple more vegetable varieties next year. I am also going to get a big pot and plant some strawberries...mmmnnn fresh strawberries.
* That Peas of any kind need a trellis of some description
* That it is easier to grow pumpkins by just 'chucking some seeds in there' than it is to carefully plant seedlings. (Especially when a bulldozer happens to drive through tha part of the garden where the pumpkins were planted) It's OK though - now the seeds I chucked in there on the off chance they would grow are doing just that and it is far more satisfying.
* That tomato's are relatively easy to grow but they do need a trellis - and also like it hot - as do chilli's.
* That if you have a Labrador that has been trained to ea fruit and vegetables, you should keep it away from Plums, Apples, Apricots and Tomatos.
So my failed crops were Peas and Zucchini's - the zucchini's were munched my something but I think I will give them another go next year. I think I will also broaden my range and try a couple more vegetable varieties next year. I am also going to get a big pot and plant some strawberries...mmmnnn fresh strawberries.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Just a quick post
Just a quick post tonight because it is soo hot here this afternoon that I really can't sit in this room for too long - in fact - I may just need to go and jump in the pool.
I did something amazing and slept through the entire night last night - how I don't really know. I much have achieved the right balance of food and tiredness.
It didn't really do me any good though because I continued feeling rubbish for most of today with just a slight pick up in the afternoon.
I think that the baby may have dropped down into my pelvis a bit more because walking has become uncomfortable, pressure down there has increased and his kicking position has moved a little lower.
I really didn't want to be at work today and I was thinking of telling them I would be finishing a week early - but I just need to take it one day at a time - only 8 work days to go.
A little bit later on...
I had to come back and do a bit of an edit because I just had a bit of an epiphany and I needed to write it down.
I have been going to work and moping around, clock watching and dreading each day because in my mind I have got myself believing that it is going to be tough being there all day.
I just need to reframe it. Sure I may have moments of tiredness (even a couple of hours!) and I am allowed to because I have another human inside of me.
But if I go in each day expecting it to drag on and be dreary and difficult - then how could it be anything else.
While I still need to do things at a slower pace - it's not like I am going to have the baby tomorrow. I think that I have been going in and being all prescious because every time I get a pain of any description I think my goodness this could be it.
In reality I have 4.5 weeks to go and there isn't any real reason why he should come early, so I just need to get on with life as though I wasn't expecting anything to happen and I am positive that 2 things will happen.
1) I will enjoy the next 4 weeks a lot more
2) It will go faster and the painful bit will be over and done with - minus all the anxiety and anticipation about waiting for it to happen.
I read something along similar lines in one of my favourite books a while back - although it was in regard to goal setting and overcoming fears about reaching goals. This is an excerpt from Fitter, Faster, Stronger, Smarter by Miranda Banks (xxiii, 2007).
I was looking at the challenge of the last few weeks and choosing to fight it and make it worse than it needed to be. Now I choose to reframe it to something thatis far more pleasant and makes the time go faster - not to mention the free airconditioning!
The brain wiring is there - I just need to figure out how to get it glowing again.
(PS - Next time you are struggling to get out of bed in the morning for your morning gym session - remember the lion and get up and face it - you'll feel better afterwards - AND you'll be one step closer to reaching your goal and overcoming your challenge!)
I did something amazing and slept through the entire night last night - how I don't really know. I much have achieved the right balance of food and tiredness.
It didn't really do me any good though because I continued feeling rubbish for most of today with just a slight pick up in the afternoon.
I think that the baby may have dropped down into my pelvis a bit more because walking has become uncomfortable, pressure down there has increased and his kicking position has moved a little lower.
I really didn't want to be at work today and I was thinking of telling them I would be finishing a week early - but I just need to take it one day at a time - only 8 work days to go.
A little bit later on...
I had to come back and do a bit of an edit because I just had a bit of an epiphany and I needed to write it down.
I have been going to work and moping around, clock watching and dreading each day because in my mind I have got myself believing that it is going to be tough being there all day.
I just need to reframe it. Sure I may have moments of tiredness (even a couple of hours!) and I am allowed to because I have another human inside of me.
But if I go in each day expecting it to drag on and be dreary and difficult - then how could it be anything else.
While I still need to do things at a slower pace - it's not like I am going to have the baby tomorrow. I think that I have been going in and being all prescious because every time I get a pain of any description I think my goodness this could be it.
In reality I have 4.5 weeks to go and there isn't any real reason why he should come early, so I just need to get on with life as though I wasn't expecting anything to happen and I am positive that 2 things will happen.
1) I will enjoy the next 4 weeks a lot more
2) It will go faster and the painful bit will be over and done with - minus all the anxiety and anticipation about waiting for it to happen.
I read something along similar lines in one of my favourite books a while back - although it was in regard to goal setting and overcoming fears about reaching goals. This is an excerpt from Fitter, Faster, Stronger, Smarter by Miranda Banks (xxiii, 2007).
It's 30000 BC and a misty predawn light is starting to trainl it's way into your cave. You're obviously the first awake because you can hear the rhythmic sound of heavy breathing coming from the other sleeping mats. As you yawn, stretch and contemplate the day to come, you notice that the fire has almost gone out at the mouth of the cave - not a positive sign of effective security.
Without warning, the silence is broken by a blood curdling roar. A large lion pads into sight. It stops - its body filling the cave's entrance - and eyes you hungrily.
Right now, your survival - and the survival of the other still asleep- depends on whether you're thinking one of the following:
- "I'm toast"
- "Great! I love pitting myself agains carnivores! My super-charged, light weight killer spear is handy and I'm feeling strong!"
- "Run! I'm trapped darn it. Didn't I tell the builder that I needed that escape hatch fixed yesterday"
- " I wish I'd paid attention in the "How to talk with lions" class"
- "I wonder if I should hide under the covers? If I can't see it, maybe it can't see me."
- "Where's steve? He's always claiming to be the lion tamer. Now here is his chance."
- "Dear Moggins - hand reared since a cub- is here for his breakfast. I just wish he'd turn down the volume on his wake up call.
In short, when people are faced with a challenge, they have behavioural choices from which to select. They can choose to give in to the challenge, fight it, run from it, reason with it, hide from it, pass it on to someone else or reframe it so that it no longer represents a challenge.
The ability to plan for an encounter with a lion (metaphorically speaking) - or to reframe the encounter so the lion becomes a kitten and is therefore infintely more manageable - forms a significant component of the thinking that sets achievers and non achievers apart.
I was looking at the challenge of the last few weeks and choosing to fight it and make it worse than it needed to be. Now I choose to reframe it to something thatis far more pleasant and makes the time go faster - not to mention the free airconditioning!
The brain wiring is there - I just need to figure out how to get it glowing again.
(PS - Next time you are struggling to get out of bed in the morning for your morning gym session - remember the lion and get up and face it - you'll feel better afterwards - AND you'll be one step closer to reaching your goal and overcoming your challenge!)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Gotta love a Bargain!
After spending the majority of this morning transferring my email address book over to my new email account (address hasn't changed though), and dilligently tidying my home desk and generally tidying up the study, I went to the shops at lunch time to see if I could find a dressing gown/wrap to wear at the hospital.
I must have had my eyes open or simply been in the right place at the right time today because there were bargains galore!
I found the wrap in Sussan for $19.95 - which is all I would ever really want to spend on one of them. I tend not to wear them at home - plkus it is a size Large - might fit me for a little while afterwards but then will need to go into the maternity clothes pile me thinks!
Then I went into Rebel Sport to see if they had any new running shoes for Mark - and found they were having a big sale on gym/running/crop tops. I wear these all the time when I am into it - and they were $10 each. So I got two Running bare ones and a Addidas one. They will be handy for when I get back to it.
So with all my money spent and starting to get a sore back - I headed home happy.
I logged onto the Lindy Olsen Forum for the first time in ages tonight - because I realised that when I am on Mat Leave and before the baby comes the internet is going to be a bit of a boredom saviour I think. There is lots of good stuff in there - so I think I will have a bit of reading ahead of me!
I must have had my eyes open or simply been in the right place at the right time today because there were bargains galore!
I found the wrap in Sussan for $19.95 - which is all I would ever really want to spend on one of them. I tend not to wear them at home - plkus it is a size Large - might fit me for a little while afterwards but then will need to go into the maternity clothes pile me thinks!
Then I went into Rebel Sport to see if they had any new running shoes for Mark - and found they were having a big sale on gym/running/crop tops. I wear these all the time when I am into it - and they were $10 each. So I got two Running bare ones and a Addidas one. They will be handy for when I get back to it.
So with all my money spent and starting to get a sore back - I headed home happy.
I logged onto the Lindy Olsen Forum for the first time in ages tonight - because I realised that when I am on Mat Leave and before the baby comes the internet is going to be a bit of a boredom saviour I think. There is lots of good stuff in there - so I think I will have a bit of reading ahead of me!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Ordinary
Last night and so far today (and it is only 8 am!) I have been feeling rather ordinary. I had a good nights sleep last night (relatively) and a bit of a sleep in (until 7:45am - but sleeping in usually makes me feel groggy) but it doesn't seem to have helped.
I have the daunting task today of tidying my home desk - I think I may also have to write a powerpoint presentation for work. I have all of the bits in my head I just need to put it onto paper.
Yesterday afternoon I started getting back pain again and that is (I think) what is contributing to the ordinary feelings.
I think it scares me a little because it is a sign that the impending birth is getting closer.
Daily affimation from now on should be:
I have the daunting task today of tidying my home desk - I think I may also have to write a powerpoint presentation for work. I have all of the bits in my head I just need to put it onto paper.
Yesterday afternoon I started getting back pain again and that is (I think) what is contributing to the ordinary feelings.
I think it scares me a little because it is a sign that the impending birth is getting closer.
Daily affimation from now on should be:
My body is designed to achieve this and I am strong and capable of achieving what I set my mind to.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Transformation
I wrote this post last night when i was feeling decent - not that I am not feeling decent right now - it's just that sitting at the computer is not very comfortable for me at the moment. I have to do it in spurts. So knowing that I wanted to write abou tthis I did so last night.
This morning we have finished tidying up from yesterday, gone out for breakfast, bought a car seat for the baby, and put the cot together. If he decided to come today we would be ready.
andyway - onto what I wrote last night.
Knowing what I have ahead of me in the next 12 months - both fitness wise and home life wise - I have realised lately that I haven't has as much focus on filling my brain with all of the wonderful positive motivational bits and pieces that keep me going when I am trying to reach a goal.
I think that it is going to be tough for me to get back into it again and get back to the point where I was at before.
Speedygeoff has included a few tidbits in his recent postings regarding transformation and I wanted to put them all down here in the one spot.
Keys to transformation - work in progress -
Key 1. Full of hope, anticipation and awe, ..knowing the future is malleable and that we can intervene to achieve worthwhile goals, …
Key 2. …we employ directed self-talk to get ourselves onto the desired track and to keep us there.
Transformation key 3: Stay dissatisfied, even frustrated, with where you are now. Stay passionate about wanting to change. Knowing that what could be is so much better than what is, never quit, never be satisfied, never be content with mediocrity, never think of yourself as average. Don't mark time, don't get complacent, keep running!
Keep them coming Geoff - I need reminding!
It is also interesting that both Nicole and Rae posted about self belief and overcoming self limiting beliefs. I think that self limiting beliefs are possibly one of the most self destructive habits in existence. I hope that is is OK with both of them - but I would like to republish their respective posts here. Here is Rae's:
And here is Nicole's:
We are what we think.
Everything we are arises
from our thoughts.
With our thinking
we create the world.
- Buddha
I guess that I spent the whole of 2007 and early 2008 teaching myself about overcoming fears and creating my own reality. It is true that we are only limited in what we can achieve by what we believe we are capable of.
I will do me good to keep this high in my mind in the coming 12 months - and also to keep doing things that push my boundaries of what I believe I amcapable of achieving.
This morning we have finished tidying up from yesterday, gone out for breakfast, bought a car seat for the baby, and put the cot together. If he decided to come today we would be ready.
andyway - onto what I wrote last night.
Knowing what I have ahead of me in the next 12 months - both fitness wise and home life wise - I have realised lately that I haven't has as much focus on filling my brain with all of the wonderful positive motivational bits and pieces that keep me going when I am trying to reach a goal.
I think that it is going to be tough for me to get back into it again and get back to the point where I was at before.
Speedygeoff has included a few tidbits in his recent postings regarding transformation and I wanted to put them all down here in the one spot.
Keys to transformation - work in progress -
Key 1. Full of hope, anticipation and awe, ..knowing the future is malleable and that we can intervene to achieve worthwhile goals, …
Key 2. …we employ directed self-talk to get ourselves onto the desired track and to keep us there.
Transformation key 3: Stay dissatisfied, even frustrated, with where you are now. Stay passionate about wanting to change. Knowing that what could be is so much better than what is, never quit, never be satisfied, never be content with mediocrity, never think of yourself as average. Don't mark time, don't get complacent, keep running!
Keep them coming Geoff - I need reminding!
It is also interesting that both Nicole and Rae posted about self belief and overcoming self limiting beliefs. I think that self limiting beliefs are possibly one of the most self destructive habits in existence. I hope that is is OK with both of them - but I would like to republish their respective posts here. Here is Rae's:
Excerpted from The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer (Hay House, 2008), by Sergio F. Bambaren"Discovering new worlds will not only
bring you happiness and wisdom,
but also sadness and fear.
How could you value happiness
without knowing what sadness is?
How could you achieve wisdom
without facing your own fears?
In the end, the great challenge in life
is to overcome
the limits within yourself,
pushing them to places you would never
have dreamed they could go."
And here is Nicole's:
We are what we think.
Everything we are arises
from our thoughts.
With our thinking
we create the world.
- Buddha
I guess that I spent the whole of 2007 and early 2008 teaching myself about overcoming fears and creating my own reality. It is true that we are only limited in what we can achieve by what we believe we are capable of.
I will do me good to keep this high in my mind in the coming 12 months - and also to keep doing things that push my boundaries of what I believe I amcapable of achieving.
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