a catch up

crikey.. i can't believe it's been over a month since i last posted an update. i didn't even wish everyone a merry christmas and happy new year. how rude!!

since i last posted, i finished my lengthy period of unemployment and started a payroll job at the go marine group which is going well. it's only a three month temp role but there's indications it should go permanent. i've always said that a job is only as good as the people you work with and i've been lucky in the past to have worked with some really great people who ended up becoming good friends. the crew i'm working with at go marine are also a very friendly, fun bunch and i can see that my time with the company is likely to be very enjoyable.

2009 was an interesting year. it started with a lot of promise as my contract with chevron continued. unfortunately a new payroll manager started at the beginning of january and took an immediate dislike to me. i'm still bewildered as to why but feedback i've received from other people has reassured me that she regularly has problems with people she works with. she never gave me negative feedback about the quality of my work so i can only assume it was something about my personality she didn't like. needless to say, when my contract with chevron finished in june i moved on, only to find there wasn't a lot of work for payroll officers. i ended up getting a short contract for five weeks and when that finished i choofed off to the philippines for a couple of weeks. i got home from there in mid september and had a couple of job offers but decided that neither were what i was wanted and that i'd hold out for something better. interestingly, it was around this time that chevron wanted me to come back. of course, i said no as i don't want to work with that payroll manager again. i must say that, immature as it may be, i got quite some satisfaction in saying no. early in the year i'd booked a two week trip to cambodia and as that got closer, it became pretty much impossible to get a job as no one wants a new employee who is going to take off soon after starting. still, it didn't take long after getting back home before my current job started.

and that brings me up to date. i've got no travel plans for this year but if some very cheap flights become available i may just head off. i still want to go to vietnam, laos and thailand and would also like to return to the philippines.

so, a belated happy new year to everyone and here's hoping 2010 is a good one.