W.O.R.K

I have started work! Whee! This week is the start of my 3rd week at work. I know... it doesn't seem to be 'new' news anymore but I was keeping it till I had all the wedding stuff posted. For some reason I wanted to keep the timeline intact on the blog. :)

Anyway, before the wedding whenever Alex and I have conversations about spending money, I always made references to "I hope I have a job by the time the Olympic games begin."

At the start of August I was starting to get concerned about my applications because I had spoken to other 'immigrants' who are now permanent residents and they had told me stories about how they started off in Australia. It seemed like the common denominator was the fact that finding the initial job was very tough since:-
1. Our degrees were not from Australia
2. Mainly because our resumes tend to get put away when the employers realise that our references were all international.
References may not be important in Penang because the interview is where we get judged but in Australia, without references, the application means nothing.

I had sent several resumes out but I had not gotten any good news. That was until Aug 8. Yes... if you haven't caught on, it was 08.08.08. The day the Olympic games began. How amazing is that? God is good :) I got an email from the hospital that I could begin work on Monday. It was quick and I was happy!

I had submitted my resume through Alex about 3 weeks back (this is the same place where Alex works) and his boss was ok with my hire. I quickly agreed to start as this could give me the Australian references I needed should I decide to look for another job. The best thing about this arrangement is that my boss is aware that I am still on the lookout for opportunities and has said I can choose to leave just so long as I give sufficient notice. This was very important as I didn't want my resignation to cause any problems for Alex since he works there as well.

I had some reservations about the job but looking at it positively, its a good move to at least have my foot in the door. The hospital is a goverment hospital and its only a 10 minute walk from our house! Goverment hospital means the pay is better than a private one. With that mentioned, I did get a call about another job at a private hospital the Monday I started but the pay was less than the one at the hospital so I thanked the lady and said if the current job doesn't work out, I hope to be able to call her.

So to cut the story short, I'm now in the middle of my third week at the hospital. My current learning curve needs me to move around the hospital getting specimens in and making sure the reports are done correctly. Soon, I will be put on the specimen bench, getting specimens passed into the other labs followed by data collection. Till then, I hope to regal you guys with interesting stories of things that happen in the hospital. I have a few already!

I don't know how things will go yet and how long I will be at this place. I am thankful this door has been opened to me and I will stick with this until the next door is open. Even though the current job is not as 'glamourous' as what I used to do in Penang, having money coming in and having to not go out of my mind with boredom at home is always a good thing. The whole housewife scenario was scaring me a little :p

Since I work at the hospital, the stories I will soon post most likely will be disturbing or disgusting. Hence I will be categorizing each story as such. I currently only have 2 categories and will add more should there be more variety in the events I encounter.

* Disgusting

* Disturbing

Till then.... thanks for praying for me and I look forward to the next phase of my life as God has planned for me. I am now a working woman! Never thought I would be excited about that!

cheryl