### It’s been a heck of a month, but here we are. Four weeks ago I was worrying about my job, and the six week long swap with the assistant manager of a sister hotel, one that’s got 9 times as many rooms and has a reputation for being crazy-busy!
But I didn’t need to worry. Aside from two busy days full of complaints about things I couldn’t control – body corporate works, and stuff – it’s been pretty smooth. A fair bit busier, especially on the afternoon shift, but by 8pm it slows down enough for me to complete my work.
Anyway, I guessed I’ve either impressed someone, or gotten someone to hate me so bad, because I’ve been offered a permanent swap! There’s some pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons.
I’d been at my job in Maroochydore for just over 14 years, and now I’m five minutes up the road. It’s had its challenges, mostly trying to find things, and answering questions about the local area. A nice restaurant? Ummm…
And where I was in Maroochydore I couldn’t progress in my career. It was like a dead end with a set routine, having everything done to a schedule and often a lot of free time to bludge (well, procrastinate). I prefer to be productive, to go home knowing I’ve accomplished something more than looking at my phone for 3+ hours of an 8 hour shift.
So yeah, all the fear and worry about working in a busy hotel was all for nothing.
After all that, home life hasn’t changed much. Misa-chan had her procedure at the hospital the other day and I know she was still under the influence of the general anaesthetic on the way home because she told me to speed up, it should be 90 here, when going past the 7-Eleven (60 zone!). Normally it goes something like “It’s a 60 zone! Slow down!” “But I’m doing 58.” “It’s still too fast. In Japan it’d be 40.” “Whatever.”
I killed a little time in downtown Nambour while she was in surgery and it was horrible. Bogans everywhere!
And the new Ball Park Music album I pre-ordered in March arrived! I just found out there was only 400 Spotify fans editions made, so to get a copy is so good. I’m really enjoying the album. And doing some research, I found out I saw them in 2013 when they supported Weezer in Melbourne. I only took notice of them when I Googled the song from the RACQ ad (still can’t find a copy of it) and started to listen to their music on Spotify. So good! One of my favourite ever Australian bands.
We’re still waiting for Japan to open. It’s been much too long. No idea what’s happening, or their train of thought, as Japanese citizens can leave and return to Japan with no issues, yet me, the spouse of a Japanese citizen, needs a spouse visa to be granted under special circumstances to visit. Sooner or later they’ll open and we’ll get to finally visit the fam. Have been adding a lot to the itinerary and am getting excited to visit the places and do the things that look nice, delicious and/or pretty.
24 hours after writing that last paragraph, I searched the Japanese embassy website and have found some (hopefully) good news. It’s possible we can go if I am granted a spouse visa for travel less than 90 days. It’s not the regular spouse visa where they need to know every little detail of my life and bank account, it’s just a form, a copy of our passports and some family register called a /koseki tohon/. I think that’s the family tree-like document that the government makes when we registered our marriage with the Japanese embassy two years back.
Fingers crossed!
Leave a Comment