Bouncing Back From The Brink

Life is somewhat random and our lives can shift and change in ways that are very unexpected.

A year ago my life was very different. I was mourning the loss of a relationship / friendship with a woman with borderline personality disorder. It took another 6 months to figure that out.

I was grinding two fulltime jobs; the first being at a food factory and the second was as a contractor for Splinterlands in their official Telegram page.

This came to an abrupt halt in April 2022 when I needed a hernia operation, which meant I couldn't lift anything over 5kg for 6 weeks while I healed.

A month later my contract with Splinterlands was dissolved. I signed a non disclosure agreement, so the less said about that the better.

I will admit to selling my Byzantine Kitty card the next day out of disgust though and it serves as a reminder to always protect my reputation at all costs.

I'd managed to save a considerable amount of money up until that point and have been living off that money ever since.

The occasional piece of casual work has slowed down the financial erosion of my bank account somewhat, and where possible I have invested in training and licences that would open up more employment opportunities.

The Responisble Service Of Alcohol ticket paid for itself, with a shift working at the Adelaide Oval during a cricket game on New Year's Eve.

My strategy was to work, not for one employer, but multiple. It had the strange effect of working for the same event but on different days for different companies.

The money is good but the shifts are too sporadic to even break even. This is a level of financial uncertainty that I find uncomfortable.

Based on some dodgy advice, I applied for jobs at my local burger places. McDonald's said used the excuse that my 24/7 availability didn't meet theor availability criteria. I'll translate that as them being ageist.Hungry Jack's didn't get back to me at all.

It's OK, I shouldn't be eating at these places anyway.

McDonald's No Entry

With all of the above in mind, I signed a contract with a call centre, which is not something I see myself doing long term given the toxic nature of it but I have no option left.

The contract itself is worded in a rather draconian way, but laced with the usual forced "happy fun times" to lighten it up somewhat. There were warnings about dealing with angry customers, and discussions of coping strategies. You shouldn't tolerate an abusive relationship long term.

My internal conflict has between financial certainty and uncertainty, and certainty will always win out in tough times and cooler heads prevail.

Slurping at Subway

Thank you for reading.

Shaidon.

I am a real person and I refuse to use A.I. in my posts.

All images are produced by me unless indicated otherwise, and sources will be linked to.
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