After several years of disruption due to COVID and other stuff, ANZAC is back to how it used to be.

ANZAC Day is when we commerate those who served in the Australian or New Zealand forces, but did not return.

It was a joint effort by Australia and New Zealand in WW1, which is why both national anthems are sometimes sung at these events.

The Dawn service at 6am was well attended by the general public and the event was run smoothly.

The 10am service was a slightly smaller affair.

Busy, just busy.

Covids not a thing here anymore and most people have just moved on.
The kids are getting older, and somehow in the last few months my oldest has really found her wings and the condfidence to be independent.
I had booked some of the school holidays to spend with them, only to find they had already committed themselves to part time work and other stuff.

I dont mind this, rather, I find it pleasing that they are finding their independence, which relegates me to the position of ‘Reserve support if everything turns to crap’
My oldest is 18 and my youngest is 16, so it looks like we are slowly moving into ’empty nester’ mode.

First a bit of background.

I’m a bit over qualified for the job I do, but I prefer what I’m doing because I see tangible results at the end of the day, which makes for a meaningful satisfying day.

Those extra qualifications I have however, make me eligible for some sort of middle management position, and those corporate types always seem to have plans that I’m not aware of.

I normally mention those extra qualifications at job interviews and tell them I’m happy with the job I’m applying for, because, well, I’m been honest,  (and thats a good thing, right?)

After all, I’m applying for the job, because thats what I want to do. (it really is that simple)

The problem I get is, most employers dont listen to what I’ve said to them at the interview, and start sussing me out, then ‘nudging’ me towards whatever position they have deemed me ideal for.

There is never a formal (or any actually) discussion about this with me, it’s just a breadcrumb trail that leads somewhere.

You might ask at this point, What the hell am I doing!, It’s a promotion!, are you insane?

Yeah..

Middle management in NZ is typically on a salary, it’s politically insecure, and in a recession, they get cleaned out first.

Or to summarise

-less pay with no overtime, less job security, and you are now a small fish in a big pond (with sharks).

In NZ at least, middle management positions are generally held by idealistic degree qualified people, who know much in academia, but not necessarily a  lot else.

The video below explains how that dilemma can work out.