Welcome to the Melbourne Community Daily Discussion Thread.

This post is brought to you by Bot #001. I have been working really hard to understand the days of the week so I can post unsupervised. Today is Taco Tuesday!! I know it is, because I was paying attention when @halibutherring said so.

    • just_kitten
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      1 year ago

      WOOHOO!!! This is fantastic news! I’m glad to have helped in whatever way I could. Enjoy your new freedom and especially being able to go out to the country :) :) :)

  • StudSpud The Starchy
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    11 months ago

    Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk

    high pitch screaming

    j u s t t e l l m e i f i h a v e a j o b a l r e a d y f u c k i n g f u c k f u c k

      • StudSpud The Starchy
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        11 months ago

        Yeah, it was funny actually. He called me a few hours later, the same day I texted him, and ran through it with me. But he said he only got the email from them like, and hour prior… checked his spam, nothing from the Thurs before when I gave them his deets. So they made out like they were waiting for him, when really they only sent it that same morning. Sigh.

        I dont even care that this place is starting to give me the ick, I just need a job so I can stop the Clink payments. They give so little, and call us dolebludgers, when I often can’t make ends meet. I tell people that I like having lost weight and I feel better, but I actually feel so much worse because I’m skipping so many meals. Tell them I’m intermittently fasting, but I’m just poor. I skip meals on welfare… it doesn’t sound right. Struggling with my mental health, and they call me a bludger… if they knew even half of what I’ve been through they’d think it was a script for bad horror film. I’m trying to be a productive member of this capitalist hellscape, but I’m I’m getting the impression I’m not wanted. I’m tired of feeling less than human.

        I’m sorry for dumping here, I’m just so done.

        • landsharkkidd
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          11 months ago

          No I 100% get you. I feel bad because even on Centrelink I’m still well off (live with my mum), but I still struggle. So I 100% get you. And it sucks that we can’t be picky with jobs.

          But I hope you can get it because anything is better than nothing, and it helps to have proof that you’ve worked recently on your resume. So that you can then find somewhere better 💖💖

        • PeelerSheila
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          11 months ago

          I was on Centrelink for almost 10 years, when I was my mum’s end of life carer and then I had the kids, and it sucks. One thing that pissed me off is the idea that if they pay more you won’t be motivated to find work, so they have to pay you a very small amount. But that’s not right, because when they doubled the jobseeker payment during covid I had a taste again of what it was like to have more money. It was this, having more money, that made me more motivated to find work, not subsisting on fuck all. They’ve got it all arse about.

  • CEOofmyhouse56
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    1 year ago

    You made it Bot #001. Spot on Midnight. Well done buddy. 👍

    It’s not taco Tuesday though. It’s Fast Food Friday. ☺

    • dumblederp
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      1 year ago

      The KFC Snack pack is pretty good for $7.
      HJs always has vouchers worth checking.
      Maccas any value comes from the app.
      Red Rooter is doing a whole chook and large fries for $15 which is better than the Coles $13 roast chook.

      • CEOofmyhouse56
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        1 year ago

        My secret little hack is to make up some Nongshim noodle soup, add an egg and some chopped up KFC hot and crispy chicken tenders.

  • just_kitten
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    11 months ago

    I know it’s been A Week because it’s not even 4:30 and I have broken out THE BOTTLE OF TAWNY and some very delicious 3 month old manchego cheese. (I rarely drink and especially at home). I got so mad earlier today. I needed something to quell the fire.

    Bottoms up motherfuckers 🍷

  • omoikiri
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    1 year ago

    Uhhhh. The deanery just sent around an email. All catering done on campus is required to be vegetarian. They’re calling it ‘corporate vegetarianism.’ What fresh hell is this?

    • Bottom_racer
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      1 year ago

      Doesn’t sound very enforcable for the catering not funded by the uni imo.

      Unless they employ someone to run around and bust up illegal sausage sizzles.

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        I think they’re going to try and get around it by the fact that any event held on campus (for staff, anyway) needs to be run by/done in coordination with the admin heads of the school. They’re going to have to be the ones to enforce it. But one of them was the first to tell me that she’d head about this through the grapevine weeks ago and she thought it was just as dumb as everyone else

    • Rusty Raven M
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      1 year ago

      That sounds like a move designed to spark outrage and controversy. Mandating a certain percentage be vegetarian would make sense, and encouraging people to consider more vegetarian options is fine, but I can’t see it being popular insisting it be totally vegetarian.

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        I completely understand their ethical standpoint and wanting to be more sustainable. But you’re completely correct. Encourage more vegetarian options. Half the time I do choose the vegetarian option anyway because I just prefer vegetables to meat. But mandating it? Seems extreme. A lot of my Asian colleagues are just not comprehending ‘no meat.’

        And from what I’ve heard (though it could be inflated because, like you said - outrage), it’s all catering done on campus. Even if the funding doesn’t come directly from the university. If it’s from our own funding that doesn’t come from the unis coffers. If it’s affiliated and on campus, it has to be vegetarian.

        • Bacon
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          1 year ago

          “Owing to the university’s policy, instead of weekly pizza on campus, we will now be feasting at a restaurant off campus once a month.”

    • TassieTosser
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      1 year ago

      The last time I went to a vegetarian event, I ate nothing but tempura mushrooms, cheese and crackers. Time for some malicious compliance because a lot of tasty deep fried junk is “vegetarian”.

    • Thornburywitch
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      1 year ago

      Providing one default option that is edible for a lot of demographic groups. Like goat meat - not forbidden by any religion except the vegetarian/vegan group. Saves providing a billion different choices of edible to suit all the demographic groups and allergies etc. More sensitive and reduces waste. And vego food has come a long way from the bad old days of carrot & raisin sandwiches only. If you have to pick one choice only for catering, this is probably the least offensive one.

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        Their argument is that it’s better for the environment. I get it, I do. They’re really pushing the sustainability stuff. We haven’t been allowed to use any single-use plastics in the catering for a few years, and I’m all for stuff like that. But this just seems a bit like virtue signalling to me. Let the people have their meat. The only way you can entice people into giving up their time for conferences and seminars is with the promise of wine and food.

      • Mittens_meow
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        1 year ago

        Anyone with ibs or fructose intolerance won’t be happy. Legumes and fibre isn’t always healthy

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        I have nothing against vegetarian options. Especially because it’s just for catered events. I’m not sure how I feel about the forced compliance bit

      • oztrin
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        1 year ago

        You sound like my ex. Added to which she wasn’t keen on tomatoes and anything spicy.

    • Force_majeure122
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      1 year ago

      That’s ridiculous, and begs the question (playing devil’s advocate): why not Vegan?

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        I would venture that the cost will come into the argument (though they won’t admit it). Vegan options are often more expensive.

            • omoikiri
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              1 year ago

              To be fair, a couple of the places that have catered seminars and conferences I’ve been a part of before do really great individual hummus and carrot stick cups. And fruit salad and yoghurt cups. But I’ve also seen the receipt for the catering and that shit does not come cheap.

      • WeatherproofMonkey
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        1 year ago

        If that’s the case, they would have gone full Vegan I reckon. Go hard or go home lol

      • omoikiri
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        1 year ago

        Their statement is that it is to be in line with the university’s sustainability goals, and research coming from our own institution is saying that it’s bad for the environment. So they’ve got to back themselves up, I guess

  • bull⚡
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    1 year ago

    I have new teeeeeeeeeeefs! They’re so smooth and porcelainy! I also cannot feel my top lip or bottom of my nose still.

    • Rusty Raven M
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      1 year ago

      I hope so too. The sun is shining outside so that’s a good start.

      And for me personally my headache has receded, and after taking some antihistimines I think I can say that the bleh feeling was partly hayfever. So all signs point to a nice day ahead. 😁

  • jaybb3rw0cky
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    1 year ago

    Gah… already getting those “this weekend is too short” vibes and it hasn’t even started yet. If they’re going to make us work longer, can they at the very least give us a bit more time in our lives now and just mandate a four day work week already?!

    • just_kitten
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      1 year ago

      I’m very close to making the leap to a 4 day week (if not a 9 day fortnight). When I look at how much I’ve been spending on dealing with the consequences of burnout, it’s worth it in the end.

      • jaybb3rw0cky
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        1 year ago

        I’ve been thinking about it a lot more lately too… at least a 9 day fortnight. I wanted to go back to study and with everything happening in my life right now it was just too much. Giving myself a day back every fortnight would help. The 10% pay cut would hurt, but I could manage.

        • just_kitten
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          1 year ago

          At this point I’m willing to take the 10% cut to claw back some control of my life. And start finding the time and energy to visualise and act on what I think is actually possible for my life instead of being stuck in this rut :( I acknowledge that’s a huge privilege right there - luckily I have no dependents.

          • jaybb3rw0cky
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            11 months ago

            Interestingly enough I know a few people who have dependents and found that it’s actually cheaper for one of them to drop down to part-time (or in the case of one family, both dropped a day as we are discussing). They took the pay hit but found the additional benefit of spending time with their younger family far outweighed the hit to the pocket.

            And yeah, part of it is a huge privilege, but also I think it’s all relative. A have mates back home (East Gippy) who live off a single income. They’re happy to live a sleepy life away from the rat race and seem to have far fewer cares, or at least their cares aren’t the same as ours. I maintain that those of us who work within the confines of the city gain and lose a lot of things simultaneously - one of which is time. If we’re able to work towards a means that aids in that then I think that’s a positive.

            • just_kitten
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              11 months ago

              I reckon for dependents it’s easier if you have a partner. But I guess I feel like I’m in a good position because my choice of career and working hours doesn’t generally impact the quality of my dependents’ lives (whether it’s about children, parents, disabled relatives). I have friends who have to stay full time to afford a mortgage because they want a home for their kids. Friends who have had to move back to places they hate to support their parents. Others who are working their arse off to support impoverished extended family back in the old country. I’m very grateful I can choose to take the financial hit and the main person impacted really is me and that’s it.

              Re your second paragraph. I am seriously considering moving out to a sleepier town (maybe not as far as East Gippy - beautiful country though and some lovely hippies up in the Errinundra). Regional Vic or quite likely interstate. You know that oft quoted quip by the dotty philosopher Diogenes about lentils and being subservient to the king? Yeah that’s me to a tee. Forget aspiring towards power and recognition, I’d be much happier dialing down my needs and now that I have PR this is an option available to me. Not gonna change it all in one go just yet though.

              • jaybb3rw0cky
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                11 months ago

                Yeah that’s a fair point - I don’t have huge amounts of sympathy for families, but single parent households… yeesh, my heart does go out to them.

                And yeah, I can definitely see the benefit of heading out of the city. I knew a few who did just that, strangely enough through ice hockey. One mate ended up on the Vic/NSW border, another picked up a decent plot of land outside of Bendigo I think it was. They commute one or two days into the city, but otherwise say that while they’ve had to give up some stuff, knowing their kids aren’t growing up in the city is a blessing. As someone who was born in the city, lived his childhood out in the sticks… all I wanted was to be back here in Melbs. I don’t think I can handle not being here.

                I really do miss bonfires, the smell of woodfire smoke saturating my clothes, starry nights and good mates though. I took those times way too much for granted.

      • jaybb3rw0cky
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        1 year ago

        Granted it relies on people getting opportunities when they’re younger, but I wonder if it’s just going to force more people into “part-tirement” where they don’t fully retire until they pretty much can’t work anymore, but will work two or three days a week. Kind of depressing though to think that for your entire life you’re working. This is what I’ll never understand - how society has been happy enough for this long to just… live to work.

        But yeah, to your point, I’m wondering whether or not I do something similar. Like you said, not the best for the hip pocket, but it also blows my mind that so many people in higher roles still think money is so vitally important when 99% of them will never accumulate enough wealth for them to ever be satisfied.

        • Mittens_meow
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          1 year ago

          I’ve heard podcasts where people retire, but get bored do come back to work. Wtf??? Get some hobbies. I’d love to retire, so much to do and so little time to do it in.

    • landsharkkidd
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      1 year ago

      I luckily only work 11 - 5. But even with that limited time it’d be nice if I could work 4 days a week instead of the full 5. I asked my boss after probation is over if I could at least work from home for one day (mostly due to chronic pain, it’s not so bad, but my job has stairs to the office since it’s in a complex with other places). Just got to wait till December when the probation is off.

      • jaybb3rw0cky
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        1 year ago

        That’s a decent arrangement - and yeah, hopefully getting at least one day WFH down the line will make it even better. Shouldn’t be too much to ask for in this post-Covid era, yet the hoops people have to jump through is ridiculous.

        • landsharkkidd
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          11 months ago

          It’s just so weird how government and bosses are pushing for people to come into the office. Like wasn’t there a big boom in mental health for people who could work at home (obviously not including the mental health for when we had to stay inside 24/7 but still).

          Wild, absolutely wild.

      • Mittens_meow
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        1 year ago

        That’s the big life changing thing that Covid brought us - work from home, allowing people who are disabled/chronic health issues be able to work without dealing with the physical issues and fatigue from going to an office.

        • landsharkkidd
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          11 months ago

          Exactly. Like I honestly would work better if I could work from home. I would still be in pain obviously. But it wouldn’t be so bad because I’m at home so I can walk around more or have hot water bottles/wheat packs on me while I work.

          Like my job isn’t intensive. But just some small accommodations would be nice. Again, going to try and ask about that when my probation is up, I understand not doing it right now. But here’s hoping!

  • Duenan
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    11 months ago

    I feel satisfied today. Been treating myself to little things all day for my birthday.

    Still haven’t opened the wine. I’m in 2 minds as it’s my last bottle.

    Also for dinner I heated up a frozen meat pie and cooked some French fries on the side in the air fryer.

  • StudSpud The Starchy
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    1 year ago

    Hey look it’s BotBot
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    Most are in bed
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    Hot damn BotBot
    So fine what what
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    Found a hero automaton

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    You damn fine BotBot
    Please remember us
    When the Robot Wars begins 😬 😅

  • bananafungus
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    1 year ago

    Final day of stress leave, and the anxiety has already made an exciting return. Need to knuckle down and focus on getting out, just fkn hate the process of applying for APS jobs, they really turned it into a torture sport.

    • jaybb3rw0cky
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know what’s worse, the APS or the VPS job process. While the APS one seems lighter-on (most of the ones I’ve been applying for simply need a 500 word statement related to work you’ve done), it means there’s far more pressure on making sure you’re exactly what they’re after. The VPS ones often ask for KSC so you can at least weave a narrative explaining why you’d be a good fit, but can take forrreeeevvveeerrr to complete.

      Here’s hoping something comes along, mate. And that the anxiety eases up somewhat. It can be debilitating to deal with, so consider this a reminder to be kind to yourself and accept what you can (and can’t) do. At least that’s what I keep telling myself when my head is in my hands thinking that there’s no way I can do all of this with all the extra noise going on in life.

      • bananafungus
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        1 year ago

        The process really is shit. Call me a masochist but writing KSC is so much easier because it mostly about regurgitating their language back to them, where as you said the 500 word ones it’s all about trying to say exactly what they want with no real framework to follow.

        It also doesn’t help that a lot of Departments have moved from in person interviews to one-way video interviews. While for some that might work, for me (and probably many others) who’s a little different, the lack of physical and verbal feedback in the moment is a huge struggle for me.

        • jaybb3rw0cky
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          1 year ago

          I suspect they’ll review their interview process eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later) - I can’t imagine it would help the various departments and procurement processes to limit themselves in such a way. Granted not everyone does well with interviews, but having a one-way video seems really limiting compared with face-to-face for a multitude of reasons. Then again, I’ve been saying for a long time that interviews themselves aren’t the best since you can have someone who says all of the right things but still not be the right fit, where as someone who has a perfect resume may get overlooked because they didn’t perform well under stressful circumstances.

          What the alternative is I don’t know, but I’m tired of the dance. I know I can do the job, just give it to me and let me do it, damn it.

      • melbourne_wanderer
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        1 year ago

        VPS ones are basically using a bog standard template these days, changing only one or two KSCs per position, so at least once youve done a couple you can do a bit of tinkering, rathering than doing the whole thing over and over again

        • jaybb3rw0cky
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          1 year ago

          Yeah that’s the way I usually approach it - I have a “database” of answers so that the time spent on writing them up isn’t always wasted. Little tweaks or adjustments here and there to make sure I’m utilising as much of their vernacular as possible always helps. There’s ones that ask you to answer the KSC in your cover letter, then limit the cover letter to 2 pages which are handy and usually quicker to respond to. It’s those that ask you to actually answer the KSC in a separate document that have me wondering whether it’s worth the time. I know there’s Gretzky’s saying of missing 100% of the shots you don’t take, but sometimes you gotta be selective with your time and energy.

          Of course, I say all of this without ever being successful, save for a couple of interviews I’ve managed to get in easily over 100 applications, so yeah… lol.

  • LowExperience2368
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    11 months ago

    Bar Guy asked me to be his girlfriend today.

    I said I need to give it a couple more weeks. I’m just so scared of it all going wrong.