The BIG news has to be that I have a job. I wasn't looking for one. But in my dreams I had come up with criteria for what would be ideal: late start, as I am not a morning person; not in Auckland, so I wouldn't have to contend with motorway rush; part-time and flexibility built in so I can work around ME problems. Each time that I ran into the principal at Rosehill I told him that I would try relief teaching when I felt like working again. So when the school decided that they needed a computer technician I jumped. It is the perfect job. I start at 10:30AM, it's only a couple minutes walk from the house, 5.5 hours/day, I can come home at lunch. The only criteria is that I am there at lunch (12:30-1:30) and after school (3:30-4:30) to watch over the students in the computer rooms. I am not teaching and I don't have front-line problems of dealing with the students, so it is a low stress job. Just me and the computers, although I do have contact with staff and pupils. I don't have to make decisions - just do what I am told.

It is great being back at the same school that I taught at for eight years in the 70's. Of the staff of 100+, I knew 25, so that made it easy to walk right in. Felt like going home. Most think that I must be extremely rich to have taken two years off and then take on a job that pays pittance (about 1/6th what I had been making). They all seem to wish that they could quit teaching and get out and get a good paying job. This is really an experiment to see if I can handle working. Well, I can - just. I come home completely knackered. So it means that nothing is being done about fixing up the house and the yard and gardens are going to weed. They wanted me to start the day I spoke to them but I asked for two weeks so I could finish painting the garage and attached shed. It would seem that I can have a job and that's all. Can't handle life like a normal person. Luckily, this being a school job I have the same holidays off as the family. So I should get a nice six week break in the summer.

The job is pretty much like it was at the mill - except that there I told someone to do it. Here, I do it. I had to fake it the first week. I was taking computers apart and replacing drives and doing things I had never done. Luckily, I have been able to fix every problem so far. I also knew nothing about MACs, but had told them that at the interview - didn't matter they said; in their wildest dreams they didn't think they could get someone with my experience to take on the job. So over the first month I absorbed as much as I could about MACS. The vendor we deal with says that they like me the best out of all the schools that they deal with. So I reckon I am doing a good job. Aside from being out with people again, I guess learning has been the real "kick" from the job. Mind you, when I left the mill, all burnt out and so low with the ME I said I never wanted to see another computer again. Well, there are over 100 waiting for me at school. As I told a teacher last week who was wishing he could be out fishing instead of in school: I am enjoying my job so much that I'd rather be at school doing it than anything else. Good to feel like that again. But also good to be on an hourly wage. When 4:30 comes I stop and go home. That has been a good check on me as I could so easily put in 10-12 hours/day like I was doing at the mill.

The other big event of the fall would be attending the wedding of Julie Breeze. The Breezes were at QVS in Fiji. I babysat Julie and Chris. Then they followed us to Papakura and lived next door to us even. Julie then babysat our kids. So the next logical step is for our kids to baby sit Julie's... when the time comes. Her parents flew in from Brunei for the wedding which was an outdoor ceremony in a garden setting. I was the official video man, so I featured prominently during the ceremony and made a nuisance of myself during the reception. We have only been to three other weddings so it was a big deal. Ne had to get an outfit and we even had to buy David a dress shirt and tie. Was an unusual reception in that the speeches seemed to be about the parents not the happy couple. Ne and David were out of place since they were the only under-20's. And as was expected, we were the first to leave - shortly after the dancing began.

Doug got all wound up at work over buying his building and just the pressures of being a dentist and has decided to take it easy for awhile. That has meant that he comes over once a week to listen to my albums and we play some sort of musical trivia for a few hours. I, of course, love that and can remember back to the late 70's when he and I went through my 45's collection. I have 500+ LPs so at 2/week it will be 10-11 years before we finish the project.

Speaking of projects, we asked another friend, Mike, to give us an estimate to put in new real wood kitchen cupboards. Well, we have been waiting 2 months to hear back. Cheap laminated cupboards start at $4000, so we are looking at $6000+. We reckon that my pay for this year will cover the cupboards.

Been such lousy rainy, cold weather this year that we hardly got out. But we finally made a trip to Wairoa Gorge with the Whites. Last time we were there was in 1978 with my mother and the Aldersons. have been saying that we must get back, for the past five years. Its just out our backdoor, and really not that spectacular, but was a place to explore anew and spend an afternoon with nature.