I find it interesting...

that my beloved *scoff* one-of-four-big-banks threatened all sorts of bollocks when they decided to cancel my line of credit over a measly few hundred bux whilst I was overseas... and yet I have just had a credit report back and there are no problems with it.

to which i say... you're a bunch of dirty liars AND maybe I'll just stop paying you, a-holes.

xj

Our Fundraising Efforts...

Going quite swimmingly really!

So there is a team of six ladies currently on the home stretch for FebFast... raising funds for drug and alcohol programs for Australias youth including things like Street University.

You can find our team and make a donation HERE: http://www.febfastfundraising.com.au/hairy_bins

And thank you all in advance for your kind words and donations. Let's crack that $1000 mark! It's for a good cause.

xxJ

Dear...

one of the Big Four Banks...

You're about to lose me as a customer. You seem upset, almost shocked about this?! But why?

I've been your customer for nearly 8 years. I've had to call you a lot to sort out stuff ups, been charged many fees, even had my correspondence denied even though lodged through my OWN account in SECURE MAIL that YOU provide for your customers to talk to you. When overseas in slightly dire financial situations, you didn't even accept my correspondence; you wanted to talk to me on the phone. What part of 'I have no money' did you not understand?! Offering to provide back up documents to that effect?! Customer service my backside.

Now you go and charge me nearly 60bux for an annual fee on a credit card that no longer exists.

Well, you can be thankful you did that. Because I'll be sayin' bye bye birdie quite soon.

End Rant.
xJ

judgement day...

sounds like a bad Hollywood film... oh wait, that was independence day.

Sometimes I get this strange feeling that it's terribly hard for people to understand why I'm earning a living in the way which I have chosen. That includes family, though they do support it, sometimes it's pretty evident that I'm the odd one out.

Well to me, it's pretty simple. 13 years in what I always refer to as "corporate business" did my head in.

Now this isn't to say that I didn't have jobs that I didn't enjoy, the majority of them I did even if you do run into the occasional wanker (happens in any workplace, unavoidable); however I have to explain something. Being in roles that are more 'operational' than anything else, you know the day to day operations of a business whether it be accounting or student enrollments or publishing sales or keeping your sales reps on their toes, buying merchandise, buying stationery, organising a couriering system, booking travel, keeping track of bills (I digress... you name it, I've probably done it)... well this basically leaves you open to being trodden on.

For those that are further up in the hierarchy will barely consult you when it comes to cost cutting or changes in procedures, national frameworks and things that effect YOUR every day and not theirs. I had great passion for what I was doing - always. To get things done efficiently; to not be wasteful; to find the cheapest way to do something, the best deal; to be the 'general bringer of joy' in any tough situation.

But when you get shit on from above, like a giant crow crapping on your favourite jacket then squawking and flying off and letting you deal with the clean up, well the reality is I got jack of it.

I got sick of consistently having to clean up other peoples messes; sick of walking into jobs where they had assumed the person would never leave and so there were never any procedures or notes on anything you were responsible for; watching people get made redundant for no reason other than upper management screw ups or desperate scrambles to cost cut (oh yeah, that is screw ups); providing data you thought would assist, but in the end they didn't give a crap anyways. It was never my immediate Management I had trouble with.... it was always some imaginary douchebag up there on his or her little fluffy cloud pulling the strings.

Too. Freakn. Frustrating.

At times you know it's a great challenge, but when you are constantly banging your head against a wall - well, something eventually has to give. Usually your days become longer, the frown in your forehead more pronounced, and the liquor sometimes flows a little more ;)

There has been the odd occasion that I really have run into some nasty sorts in offices too. Like absolute insane asylum candidates. Alcoholics who decide it's a good idea to move in together after getting drunk and shagging one Friday after work, and then bringing every single argument into the office from then on in. Ex-secret service (not kidding) agents whose faces go bright red and start to peel when they get stressed. And customers who think it's okay to call and start their conversation with you by screaming down the phone (and I think I went through about 5 receptionists that year). Oh wait, that was all in the same job. Yes indeed, that was so much FUN!

Add sarcasm, stir.

There's just something about that routine too. Having the same hours every day makes me terribly complacent. I guess the 9-5 just doesn't really gel too well with me unless the content is something that I really really care about. It took me a number of years to work that out.

So I changed things. Started with one paid arts gig here and there, then two... then kerblammo quit all corporate realm and move to Canada. And what do I end up with?! Two jobs in things I like... a Hostel (meeting travelers from all over, never a bad thing - sometimes frustrating, overall enjoyable) and an old Theatre (be still my beating heart...).

I must admit on my first journey there, because of the cashed up situation I was in, I had the luxury of simply volunteering for a number of months - meeting a bunch of like minded people and exploring the new scene and new environment. However it did lead to three paid festival gigs in the following year and I thought "I Have Done It" - I'd even been headhunted once - on community / arts / music festivals in a foreign country. Like holy CRAP! Why did it never occur to me earlier in my life that it was possible to make a living off of this?!

Well who knows. Maybe it wasn't quite time. Maybe I needed to learn the lesson. Maybe I had that revelation of earning loads of cash often still equates to having eff all to show for it (except my intermittent jaunts overseas of course).

The abilities I have in an administrative sense absolutely help me every day, and keep me going on the in-between times (you know, winter...!) - temping's not so bad because there's generally an end in sight... and you know, I've got pretty mad admin skills if I do say so myself. Sort shit out I do...

but now I'm gosh darned determined to just bounce from Fest to Fest, no matter what the topic, check it all out.

All scenes, all mediums, in all parts of this beautiful world.

Now to finally work out the balance - my real purpose in life in 2012 I guess.

Find it, work it, keep it.

Balance, Repetition, Composition...

Sod it. I like the downtime between contracts; earning less money but getting more satisfaction (and actually, somehow, having more money at the end of it). Life's funny. Hardy Har. And that.

End thought.

xx

unpacking... duex...

well yes, although all of my stuff with the exception of a couple of boxes fit in my old car and was driven all the way from Bristanbul to RADelaide several years ago... well gee there still seems to be quite a bit of it.

Though I am the Tetris mistress from HELL.

Rant:

I've wanted a filing cabinet for years... maybe I felt like I could get more organised. And immediately a friend came to the rescue on that front after I mentioned it. "Hey, we've got one in the shed - it's been sitting there a couple years. We don't use it."

My friends, you ROCK my world! You ALWAYS come to the party somehow. The party, being mostly, doing awesome stuff for me for which I am eternally grateful.

So... said filing cabinet now lovingly filled with hanging files, named and all, with all of the festival related garb I've been doing over the years. This may seem like a small victory to many, but to me it's like FINALLY there is some HOPE that I can find things and not just put them in rad boxes and tins that I manage to find along the way.

New room, however, still slightly fuckified until I can get my old set of drawers out here. Been raining a bit so an open trailer and furniture ain't such a good combination.

Anyhoo... so how do I really FEEL about all of this? That's kind of undetermined. I like my new place to live and the people that are here. I'm excited about my new role learning about all things box office here.

But overall... kinda sad. Lost. Pining for Vancouver.

Todays word: Transition.

I was well aware of it, knew it would rear it's ugly head AND I know it sucks, it's just taking a little longer this time because the truth is, I don't know when I can get back there - and that is what makes it sad.

I admit to being mostly in hiding up until now. Slowly but surely catching up with the kids here in RADelaide which I'm enjoying. I just can't unfortunately promise to be always looking myself for the time being as things tick on and on in my head.

That is, of course, until next Festival kick off (very VERY soon) which will snap me right out of any procrastination and bring all my fun clothes and flair out of hiding.

Scarves and buttons and hats, oh MY!

xx

unpacking...

finding little bits of paper with notes written on them is always interesting...

here's an example:

Soul Coughing - El Oso "Blame"

www.naturalevent.com.au

"Wake in Fright" 1971

"Zombieland"

>myface>black fridays

volunteers - ocean care

paulo.... - letterman

Now some seem obvious, one seems incomplete. Oh well. best go hunting and see why I wrote these random things down!

hehe.

xx