Just when I was wondering what to do this weekend... It turns out that Saturday is a working day for everyone in the unit! Apparently there's some evacuation handling training going on, and therefore there'll be enough people around to warrant a regular shift happening in the Airmen's. All hands on deck, or whatever the RAAFie equivalent is meant to be.
The interesting (or perhaps not) part is that we've been asked to bring a set of civvies, a small backpack, and a water bottle. In the event of what, or for the purposes of what, I do not know. Chances are, because someone has to stay back and cook for people, we're not going to be involved in anything cooler than working on a Saturday, but I can only hope that evacuation handling means some of us might get chosen to bugger off from shift.
I'm sounding crankier than I am, really. It's just that usually on a Wednesday I feel like I've broken the back of the week and it's all smooth sailing (I've been at Cerberus too long, clearly) henceforth... But the reality is that today is more like a Tuesday, if Saturday is truly my Friday. And I just worked a real Tuesday yesterday! It's like Groundhog Day or something. It also means that I have *eight* more working days until I leave for Brisvegas, not the sweet sounding *seven* that I thought it would be by now.
I shouldn't complain, though. One of the ACs was called back to work tonight for the late shift, after he'd started with me on an early. I'm not sure if he's working tomorrow as well, but still. Things can always get worse. That's one thing I've learnt from the military - no matter how bad you think things are, you can always think of a situation that's even suckier. Or come across someone who's actually in that situation!
Actually, I just remembered that I have two days of training on field equipment next week, which means that I technically have six more working days remaining. That's much better! I don't want to dwell on the fact that doing field phase at Latchford could possibly have been pointless if the RAAF uses better/different equipment (apparently we dig in for longer at locations, so we don't have to rely on being as mobile and thus basic/antiquated as the Army). It's always good to be versatile, you know?
Even though I'm about a week off going on leave, I'm going to try and sneak in another leave application before I go. This time it's to use up my free Next-of-Kin travel, which is basically my annual entitlement to fly 'home' to wherever that address may be. Seeing as I've been in Melbourne for the duration of initial employment training, I haven't actually used up my free flight, and it has to be claimed within the
financial year or it will be forfeited.
Hopefully it doesn't look like I just want to get out of work (I'm sure someone will say to me that hey, I only just had a holiday!), and more like I'm just using whatever benefits I can, while I can. I guess technically speaking, the powers-that-be can decide against giving me leave (although we might not be as short-staffed by June), but I'm hoping that because I can't use my NoK travel otherwise, and because it's only a long weekend that I'm wanting to take off, it'll be approved.
Just when I thought I got a reprieve from homework and work history/comp. log stuff, it seems that every Corporal and his dog is being hounded to give me taskings whenever possible. Which is meant to mean every shift, and prior to any shift I'm meant to be told what I have to prepare recipe-wise for the next day (as opposed to looking at
the board first thing in the morning and then trying to figure things out for myself).
Don't get me wrong, I like having an idea of what I'm going to be doing before the morning of the day comes around. Sometimes I'd just rather tune out and do salads and vegie prep instead of trying to juggle five different things on all sides of the kitchen. I know I've got to get used to multitasking, and not expecting people to help me out or keep an eye on what are essentially my dishes, but it's been stressing me out when in a typical day on shift, I keep getting advice, requests, and orders, from pretty much everyone else in the kitchen... all while trying to do what I need to get done.
I can't wait 'til I'm no longer the new kid. I'm sure I'll feel better once someone else comes into the kitchen and cops everyone else's handy tips and interventions. I'm willing to listen to and learn from other people, I guess I'm just not used to hearing so much from so many people at once. I think it's bringing out the inner autistic in me; I've forgotten how to filter out the unnecessary information and stop taking
absolutely everything that everyone says and does on board.
Sometimes I wonder what it is that gives people the impression that you don't have to be smart to be a cook. Other times, I wonder what it is that gives people the idea that I'm *too* smart to be a cook. All too often, I come home from work and it's like my head's about to explode. Strangely enough, all it takes is a good war movie, reading about intergalactic battles, studying knife skills, doing a workout of some
kind, or having a cup of coffee, to make that feeling go away.
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