Brandon's Post

It has occurred to me that Kristen has taken over OUR blog and you people have no idea what has been going on in my brain. Some of you might be thinking to yourself: “I didn’t think Brandon had a brain?” or “I can’t believe that Brandon is actually writing.” I would have to say Kristen has a way with words that I could only dream about acquiring. That being the case, this could be my one and only post. When the screen is covered with green and red squiggles, it can be a little discouraging. I have a lot to cover so hang on and enjoy the ride.
If you have read the previous posts, you will have read that it has been quite the adventure. If we were looking for an adventure, we sure got ourselves into one. My job situation has been a little peculiar. From landscaping, to being a Maintenance Officer, to a Builder’s helper, I have been able to get around Auckland, meet new people, and confirm what I learned at Alberco: Get a ticket! Being a labourer with the landscape company was just a job to pay the bills. But the maintenance officer position was an experience in itself.
Being a Maintenance Officer requires one to constantly be on one’s toes. We need to be the people the zig when everyone else zags. Our ability to be flexible and be masters of all trades is a necessity. Maintaining an educational facility is not only enabling leaders of our future to learn, but more importantly, to be able to defecate in a clean and sanitary bowl.
Weather plays a large part in what a Maintenance officer is able to accomplish. I found myself having a hard time keeping busy. The weather was either too hot to work hard, too humid, too cloudy, or too nice, too wet/rainy or too windy to work hard. The weather really held us up from getting our jobs done.
If, for some odd reason, we found ourselves in acceptable working conditions, we had a certain unspoken worker’s code of conduct: You can’t work too hard on Friday because you need to wind down for the weekend. Monday was never a good day because Monday is just a depressing day to be working. Tuesday is going to feel like a long day so you might as well take a few more breaks and Wednesday you celebrate with an extra long break because the week is half over. Thursday feels like the weekend is just at your fingertips so you better go get a cuppa coffee to cope. So, needless to say, I will miss being a maintenance officer at Pasadena Intermediate School. The staff and my maintenance superiors will forever hold a place in my heart.
I have been working for a builder for about a week and a half now and so far I like it. I can only think of the poor guys at Alberco who have no clue that there is more to life than work. It is truly a weird feeling to work for someone who actually wants to enjoy life and not have work kill you or your spirit while you are at it.
One of my goals in moving to NZ was to gain a better quality of life and I think I have found that. We only have a one bedroom flat on a noisy street. I don’t have a T.V. let alone LCD or Plasma. We went from two cars to one and the one we have now is a step down from the ones we had back home. (Man, I miss my 4X4.) I took a considerable pay cut and went from having lots of friends to few. Yet, I can get up in the morning and look forward to the day.
I love this place.