Running the high hurdles

So, guess what. It seems that MedLab was feeling a little overwhelmed because everyone was bringing in their sperm samples on a Saturday morning. So how did they deal with this? Perhaps by engaging extra staff. Oh no, they now refuse to accept them on a Sat. How client-centred is that?

Now we not only have to go through the stress of getting the sample in the little plastic jar and taking it across town to MedLab within an hour, we also have to find some way to do this on a weekday before work.

I have to say that I don't think this approach is particularly compassionate to people who are already stressed because they are experiencing fertility issues.

Grouch. grouch grouch

Vampyric

Wanna take bets on how many test tubes of blood this is gonna take?

Yes folks, today I started the ball rolling for me and L to see a fertility specialist by visiting my GP. It seems this whole thing involves a rather large number of blood tests for me and a couple of blood tests and a little plastic jar for L.

Plan A is that I find out next week that I got pregnant this cycle. Plan B is for us to go visit the fertility doctor and likely undergo a slew of even more invasive (at least for me) tests.

Lets all cross our fingers for Plan A shall we.

Epiphany

I think I had a small epiphany last week.

I spent one day on an interview panel to recruit some new people into my team. Several of the people we interviewed appeared to have incredibly boring jobs - jobs that would make my soul shrivel away. They were eager to work in my team, they found the idea appealing.

At first I felt bad, sometimes I get so bored at work. I felt maybe I should just step aside to let these enthusiastic people do their thing. I remember something one of my friends once told me - that he was doing somebody else's dream job. And I realised that essentially I don't really believe that most of what I do makes a difference. I have the Myers Briggs personality type INFP - that means its really important to me to find meaning in my work. And therein lies the core problem. The thing is, I never get to see whether it does make a difference and I, immense cynic that I am, would have to take it on faith. Then it occurred to me that maybe, much of the time my work does not actually make a difference but it has the potential to and I have opportunity to influence whether or not it does. In small ways, its true, but I do.

This has been enough to make me feel better at work over the last few days than I have for a while.

Then this weekend I went to a dinner party with some friends from my last workplace and it made me remember how I got to where I am now in my working life. That workplace was dysfunctional and it severely knocked my confidence in my ability. At the dinner many other people discussed similar experiences. I had forgotten how significant it was. No wonder I stopped believing that I could influence or make a difference.

So now I feel a little more forgiving of myself too.

I really feel that ever since my holiday away a couple of weeks ago I have turned a corner for the better. I feel almost cheerful.

Holy jumper

Well, I've completed my first, albeit small scale, clothing reconstruction. I bought this jumper from Mary Potter Hospice Op Shop in Miramar. Its made from merino and only cost $10 but had a hole right smack in the middle of it.

Then I bought a bit of clearance quilting fabric from spotlight for $2 and some fusable interfacing for $3. And voila - a wearable garment. After I take the lint remover to it, it might even be work-friendly.