my day taken care of

Today was one of those rare days, almost a nine-to-five workday, driving into the city, trouble with parking, greeting colleagues, professionally smiling for much of the day, managing to be of real use from time to time, rushing out to the Central Market for a lunch on the run, demonstrating computer expertise to the boss, making suggestions, learning about systems, becoming more integrated into the team. Warmed at the end of this working day (the coldest Adelaide day in near twenty years) by thoughts of a job well done, even if unfortunately all unpaid.

I’m volunteering one day a week at the new Adelaide South West Community Centre, staffing the reception desk mainly. Today was a special day though, the day of its official launch. The official launcher, our Lord Mayor, Micky Harbison, actually spoke to me at one point, having mistaken me for a mover and shaker. ‘You’re on the committee, aren’t you?’ he asked. ‘Committee…? No I’m just a ring-in, just volunteering…’ I began, but that was enough for him, he quickly disappeared back into the crowd. At least Janie Lomax-Smith looked comfortable when confronted with a volunteer. She asked if I lived locally, and when I said I used to, but no longer, she urged me to come back to live in the city. Presumably these people think it’s just a matter of putting your hand up for a bit of plum city real estate. She seemed nice enough though.

So, after all this heady stuff, I finally arrived home to more bills and a call from JS telling me that he’d changed his mind about hiring me for stock-taking. Quel désastre, that’s a thousand dollars not coming my way, because of his whim, and I’m looking financial ruin in the face, mainly because of that little liar, but really it’s myself to blame for not having a more secure income stream set up, at my age. But hey I’m meeting a few interesting people, I have a roof over my head and sometimes I’m in reasonable health. I’m sure something good will turn up soon.