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Re: making things worse

Posted by alexandra_k on August 29, 2013, at 20:25:42

In reply to Re: making things worse, posted by Twinleaf on August 29, 2013, at 15:22:57

> I'm so glad you told us the story of your pdoc in Australia. It sounds as though he went way out of his way to make therapy possible - and that it was a helpful, meaningful relationship for you both.

I think so, yes.

> Is it hard to move to Australia from NZ? (if you wanted to).

Not with NZ citizenship. Can fly to Sydney for a couple hundred (New Zealand) dollars. Can live and work there indefinitely without visa.

The problem is finding a job there. I'm not eligible for unemployment / sickness benefits etc. My only experience is teaching / researching in a University environment. I need to finish my PhD before I will be considered for anything further in Australia. I stopped working on my thesis before, you see. Only way to unburn those bridges is to finish my thesis and get myself ahead (e.g., publications and maybe a book).

I managed to find a job in hospitality in Aussie once my scholarship ran out. Actually, I was given it out of pity, since I needed to pay my rent and I was living in student rooms as part of a University Hotel. They didn't want to give me the job because they considered me 'quiet' and so on. Not the vivacious person they usually looked for.

Then they found me to be strangely competent. They found that (oddly) the visiting academics liked my quiet manner. It was a lot of running around on my feet, though, and my feet didn't cope so well with it. It didn't pay very well, either. After a 4 hour shift I could barely walk. And I was only getting 4 hours a day. I was gradually paying back the money I owed on my rent and eating... Not making progress on my thesis... Constant back and ankle pain from the work... Returning to NZ and going on welfare seemed preferable. I learned now... (when i asked them for references)... That I should have pushed harder for a job on reception.

But then I discovered that welfare isn't enough for you to live in an appropriately quiet environment. They vary the accommodation supplement portion of the base rate in a way which... Prevents you from living independently no matter where in the country you are based.

The only thing to do is... To seek out like minded individuals in a similar position. LIke slime mould... Us organisms are forced together in times of hardship. The main peril is all the people who are fundamentally incapable who are determined to keep other individuals at their level at all costs...

I got to talk to student accommodation services today. Basically... Things are sh*t. This is what you get from putting a university in a 'destination' place, I see, now. That was what was so wonderful about some of the places I"ve been that are basically small university towns. One can joke 'it is a good place to do research because there is nothing else to do'. It is more that it is a good place for community because people live close to campus (walking distance) which is close to decent bars etc so people can hang out a lot, drink a lot, and then get themselves safely and conveniently home at the end of the evening. Unlike Sydney (for instance) where people live all over the show and most people won't even turn up for work since it is too much effort and expense to make their way in.

I do keep thinking about Dunedin... The student town. The southernmost university in the world. The south f*ck*ng pole. The cold. The scottish heritige buildings (for some reason it is considered impolite to cite WHO standards on appropriate temperatures for not stressing the immune system). The student ghettos. I kid you not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4A85ZRj5Dw

there are places here in the city... absolute dumps. but in the city and close to the library. i have to face... that is my life now.

perhaps this is what i need to sufficiently motivate me to get the hell out of here.

there were a couple others where I was a grad student. they were f*ck*ng determined... to get the hell out. perhaps... all that shock treatment i had... my undergraduate institution... was in a place that is notoriously unpopular. it wasn't that bad... but a bit of dump, yeah. no reason to go there. one would prefer to get the hell out. i managed to get places with a self contained room attached to the garage. and then university accommodation. i guess i was lucky for the quality of life i had there given poverty. perhaps i didn't have the memories of quite the struggle they had had. perhaps... this will be good for me.


 

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poster:alexandra_k thread:1049633
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20130807/msgs/1049871.html