The Light Still Shines

The blog really serves me well as a memory store. Otherwise I would not have remember that more than a month has passed since my first and last job interview since I came to Perth. That took a while but like they say here WA also stands for Wait Awhile. Okay, so what do we have here today? They got back to me with a contract to sign and if I do that and send it back to them I reckon I would have landed my first full time job in no time.


The Singaporean gang, particularly Denise and Micky, has unanimously voted 'sign' over 'reject'. Their reasons are simple. The new job should do me good, perhaps better off than I am now. To me it wasn't so straight forward. Overall, I will be earning less annually but I probably work less hours as well. It's a simple trade off but I have to examine my priorities here. It is a fact I need more money than time than than any of them here with my circumstances. Much as I want to, I am not here to shake legs. That was why I work 5 hours of OT on Friday with a strained wrist for 2 weeks.


I can't dispute against Micky and Denise's reasonings though. Accepting this new job may be better for me in the long run. In many ways I see the situation similar to my migration from Singapore to Perth. I am  in a comfort zone now though it isn't really that comfortable. My work is a mere 9 minutes drive from where I stay now. That's really a short distance by any standard especially so if you consider I drive only at 60km/h here, which is the speed limit of that road that takes me to and fro work.


That makes a lot of economical sense to me. Consider this, if you drive 1 hour vs 15 minutes to and fro work you are practically working an extra of 1.5 hours per day. Assuming you work 260 days a year, that makes it an additional 390 hours. Divide that by an 8-hour day work you get 48.75 work days. That means you work an additional 48.75 work-days. Unpaid.


I know people will start telling me driving to work is not work so I cannot include that as working hours. That is where people start getting silly. If I don't have to work, I would not be even driving on the road! I would be sleeping in my bed or playing with Albany. Thus, driving to work is work and working an extra of 48.75 days is an issue to me. Worse, I don't get paid for these hours and on top of that I have to burn significant extra money in petrol to get there.


Fortunately my equation is not as dire. It will be around 32 minutes vs 9 minutes. That works out to be 46 minutes per day, 24.9 extra work-days a year. Still crappy but not as crappy. Though I have to admit driving in Perth roads do not make me piss shit like driving in Singapore, especially if I am not driving to Perth city. The potential new job site will be at Bibra Lake so I will be driving horizontally across the map while most will be driving vertically up or down, depending where they live. I may even have a mercifully pleasant drive, watching a few cows along the way in the more remote part of Southern River road.


I'll sign the contract and see where this leads me to. Wait - I don't have a printer.


Shit.

11 comments:

  1. hahhaa see whose house have and borrow lal

    ah pooh

    ReplyDelete
  2. yr driving there sure better than in singapore, where u can vomit blood every single day...nomatter what transport u take u will sure vomit blood.

    ah pooh

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,

    If you need help with printing, let me know. Can lend mind to you. :)

    Edmund

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your new job may open up more doors and paths, so don't just look at the current status. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. You may make more dough now at your current job but it also comes with multiple occupational hazards. For instance, Continually straining your wrist for prolonged period of time may cause arthritis or other joint problems when you are old.

    ReplyDelete
  6. you can always move nearer to ur new workplace.congrats btw

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aren't you entitled to Worker's Compensaton from all the injuries you've sustained at work? Please look into it. Workers are very well protected in Australia. That's one of the reasons we pay high taxes. It's not a cop-out. You should get something for the pain you are going through. Any money you get from Worker's Compensation (which can be fairly substantial) can see you through the transition period in your new job where you get a lower pay.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congrats on the new job, bro! Let us know how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Adding to comment made by Anon@02:43, please see www.workcover.wa.gov.au for more info. There's also occupational health and safety law.

    ReplyDelete
  10. For the benefit of all, I would also add that claiming workers comp (WC) is a double edged sword. Though a worker is entitled to be compensated for injury sustained at work, it can come with consequences. Therefore, one should weigh the pros and cons of claiming WC. It is important to find out the facts in case before deciding to claim or not, and what to claim. WC law seems simple but tricky. Take note: employers can't contract out of (or avoid) liability under the WC legislation.

    ReplyDelete