It is Autumn.

Whoa! Okay, so things got a bit more bizarre on the job front.I scoped a project in Melbourne as I mentioned above. This detailage above confused many of you and made a couple of you cry.... which made me cry.... which made a couple of you laugh.

Last Friday it all got stressy. I was supposed to hear from the Melbourne project by Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning, which is what I told all these other contract offers that came out of the woodwork (like with sweet, sweet lovin' - recruiters are only interested in you when you're interested in someone else). Wednesday afternoon rolled on by and they told me they were 80% sure it was all going ahead... confirmation would come on Friday, but hey also invited me to a presentation.

The next day I got some serious calls of other contracts that seriously needed my services and were going to be far more interesting projects and quite possibly pay more.

Friday. Duh! Those presentations are so freakin' deadly, please-stab-me-in-the-eye-with-a-Bics-ballpoint-pen-so-I-have-an-excuse-to-get-the-heck-outta-here, boring. I did go along though to keep up good appearances. It was boring.After the presentation they told me they weren't going to know if it was going ahead until 4pm. That was unfortunate because I told the other contracts (I'm talking to three different contracts at this point) that I should have a clue by lunchtime.

Okay, okay. Easy. All I have to do is stall these other contracts for 4 hours until I get word. Not easy. These other contracts all want me to start on Monday. The Brisbane contract was the most tenacious. After calling a few times, Brisbane decides that I have the contract even though the company has never heard of me. Guaranteed 3 to 6 month contract at good good money.

Suddenly I'm totally torn, Melbourne is easier but far less exciting. Brisbane will actually give me work to do, let me work in a team (last couple of projects I've been a loner with no friends and no one to learn from) but will require a whole lot of expense and effort on my part.
I'm half hoping the Melbourne contract falls through.

Brisbane wants me to start on Monday. Holy Whoa! I'll have to move interstate over the weekend.

Somehow sensing my heightened state of indecision, people from all over call me within those four hours. Other companies want me to work for them. Old collegues suddenly randomly call me. By finance guy checks in on me. All of them have their own opinions and agendas and confuse the waters (also confuse the adam).

4:06pm. No word.Phone rings. It's Brisbane. They ask me how long I'm going to let Melbourne string me along.

4:15pm. I call the Melbourne recruiter (to the Melbourne company) and tell him that I need a decision now. He tells me that he's trying to get a hold of the Melbourne company. He says they must be in a meeting.

4:30pm. My finance guy rings again. He says Brisbane is a massively good thing and I shouldn't mess them around. He wants me to can Melbourne now, I decide to give them until 5pm on the dot.

4:45pm. Adam is stressed. Has a sandwich.

4:52pm. The Melbourne recruiter calls me and says the company is now 99% sure I'm starting on Monday. Adam gets more frustrated. They say they'll call back in a few moments to confirm that last percent... I never told them I was going to can them at 5pm, they must be able to sense these things.

4:56pm. The Melbourne recruiter calls back. 100%. Congratulations, I have myself a brand new 4 week contract.What.Sorry?4 weeks?Yes, 4 weeks to sort out the situation and decide how long I'm actually required.

4:59pm. I call Brisbane, tell them I did actually accept the Melbourne contract. Bummer they say. Yeah, and the silly part is that it's only a 4 week contract. 4 weeks? They gesture over the phone, What are you doing after that 4 weeks? Come work for us?

Whoa! This opens a whole can of worms.I guess I could possibly do the work in 4 weeks and set the Melbourne contract up for success and good fortune and some kind of company version of wellbeing. They might not go for it, because another nother company is actually paying for my time so the Melbourne company would be lothe to let a free resource run away - even if that resource has nothing to do.

I tell the Brisbane dudes that I'll check out the situation and get back to them.

Monday.

On Monday I start my new contract. I'm looking pretty spiffy.Everyone is smiling and happy. It's a brand new week.It's all a bit blue collar so they chat happily about sport on the weekend. I was far too living up my last days of freedom and have no clues about the latest sporting things. I make some stuff up.

They ask me for a project plan so they can manage it.Um, sure. I thought they may want me to do that, but I'm happy for someone else to.Cheatingly I did this a couple of weeks ago when I was supposed to be scoping the project.... so I fall asleep instead, had a late, late, late night.
I'm woken up after lunch by someone wanting the project plan in an hour.

Done, done, here you go. I play with the internet for the rest of the day.

I get a call from someone who wants to offer me an awesome massively well paid job near my home in Melbourne for 6 months. Throwing money at me that I've never seen before.... Can you quit your current contract - you've only been there a day? Send us your resume when you get home and we'll talk tomorrow.

Tuesday.

They have no information for me to start working with, so I start doing random boring stuff. It totally puts me to sleep (had another late, late night). After lunch I get e-mail. I spend the rest of the day re-establishing my online adamness.I also find out late in the day that a lot of the actual work I was intending to do is actually going to be done by someone else. That makes sense, he's going to have to look after it when I'm gone. Good decision.

That night I get a call from Brisbane.Mate, they start with. They definitely want in 4 weeks when you've finished.Whoa! Hold on a sec... That's quite flattering but I said I might be finished, nobody knows, I'm not guaranteeing anything.Okay. Well can the Brisbane company call you anyway to see if you're suitable. Sure, why not.

No call from the massively awesome contract in Melbourne... I start to think it was all made up to get my resume. "We have 400 SAP (the system I work on) Professionals on file" is a line recruiters use to get business from companies.

Wednesday (today)

Traffic is craziness.

I live near a freeway (that you have to pay for using) and the Melbourne contract is a long, long way away but just near that same freeway. I drive for 30 minutes but only turn 4 corners. That road is closed. A million cars flood every other road nearby. Without knowing, I take Cara's car instead of the bike..... I'm trapped by I'm comfortable. Not in any hurry.

I finally get there and I have a different computer again. Nothing works on it.I ask what is required since everyone else could do this work.Oh yeah, um, can you write up a plan so everyone can just follow it to the word and not have to think?Cool. This is my out.

Crap. I have no information to work with and this computer doesn't work and IT Support hasn't called me back.

I write this entry.

I have no access to anything to post it.